NCWDDP

What You'll Do

Organizational Development involves the foundations and evolution of organizational culture and climate, which consist of shared values, norms, attitudes and perceptions that influence how organizations behave. An organization or agency’s culture and climate directly affect how child welfare staff do their work and how they feel about it. As part of this module, you’ll gain a deeper understanding leadership attention to culture and climate, as well as how agencies interested in promoting innovation and change can (and must) support a learning organization, participatory decision-making, flexibility, and continuous improvement.

What You'll Learn

This module will be centered on an Agency’s Culture and Climate. Organizational Culture refers to the shared behavioral expectations and norms in a work environment, whereas Organizational Climate represents staff perceptions of the impact of the work environment on the individual. An agency’s culture and climate influence how child welfare staff at all levels do their work and how they feel about their work.

Alternatively, Organizational Effectiveness is a systemic approach to continuously improving an organization’s performance capacity to change and client outcomes , via Organizational Assessments. In short, it is a step-by-step approach to continuously improving an entire organization. Understanding the organizational data policies, protocols, and practice is key to how an organization improves outcomes.

Much of the work that needs to be done in child welfare requires knowledge of Change Management, but an added layer of knowledge must be established in Project Management, as well. As part of your new role, you’ll need to look at what work is currently being done within the organization, assessing what is being achieved and where improvement is needed. Once a Mapping Exercise is completed it can serve to inform leadership about which current structures exist that may serve in all future implementation efforts.

How to Prepare

In preparation for your Module 2 Learning Experience, here are some resources to review:

"Change & The Roles People Play"

"Three Tools to Guide Change Efforts"

"Organizational Culture & Retention"

"Ten Drivers of Sustainable Implementation"

Some Things to Think About

As you begin to consider what you’ll learn or reinforce as part of Module 2, consider the following:

"Have you ever done or been involved in an organizational assessment in other positions?"

"What was that experience like for you? Was it valuable?"

"What are your thoughts about doing an organizational assessment?"

"What do you think may be the most challenging thing about performing an organizational assessment?"