AY Honors/Administration/Answer Key

2. Define the following terms of administration:

a. Plan

Planning: The most important and most difficult step, but if done right it makes the other steps much easier. Planning includes understanding all aspects of an organization, all of its parts, resources, time availability, skill sets, inputs and outputs, as well as external factors that may affect the organization and its operations. Planning is forward looking, so it also must take into consideration changes over time. Planning must ultimately be clear, concise, communicated, but also flexible.

b. Organize

Organizing: Organization is a key part of management. Organization includes having the right people in the right positions, based on skills, temperaments, and other factors. It also means proper delegation of responsibilities (and authority), and ensuring there are sufficient and proper resources available. Frequently, to build the right organization, there will be a need for additional training of staff, as well as consideration of mentoring and succession plans to ensure continuity.

c. Command

Commanding: Although we sometimes don’t like to think of managers and leaders as needing to command, the reality is that one of the main responsibilities of leaders is to lead, and that requires commanding. Commanding is not authoritarian (though in certain emergency situations that may be necessary). Rather, it is about giving clear, understandable commands so that each individual in the organization knows what their responsibility is, so the organization works efficiently and effectively. Proper command encourages fulfillment of responsibilities and a desire to live up to expectations; it does not bully or discourage.

d. Coordinate

Coordinating: While commanding is a relationship between the manager and the subordinate, coordinating is the manager’s ability to ensure all of the components of the organization are working smoothly together, that each piece is fulfilling its responsibility and thus the whole works together relatively seamlessly. Coordinating will also require being attuned to friction within an organization, and adjusting assignments or individuals to reduce the friction.

e. Control

Controlling: Managers must ensure that all of the work of the organization moves toward the overall fulfillment of the mission of the organization. This requires assessment of the various activities within the organization to determine whether they are remaining on mission, and where there needs to be some positive motivation to redirect energies and activities to continue to keep the entire organization working together toward its common goal. A clear understanding of this goal must be shared within and by the entire organization.

3. Tell the difference between efficient and effective.

Effective means accomplishing the desired task, efficient means doing a task in a timely and resource-conscious manner.

The first time a Pathfinder Unit sets up their tent, it may take them quite a while, they may make mistakes and have to re-do some steps, but they will eventually set up their tent properly. In the end, they were effective at their task - setting up the tent. But we can clearly see that they were not necessarily efficient. Had they understood the steps, had all the components (tent, ground cloth, poles, stakes, mallet, rain-fly, etc) laid out and ready to go, and each person knew what part they were supposed to accomplish and in what order, they would be much more efficient at accomplishing their task effectively.

While we all want to be effective, it is important to also consider efficiency in operations, and efficiency is usually the result of good training, good preparation, and good communication.

It is also possible to be efficient, but not complete the task required, and thus not be effective. This, too, is something to avoid.

4. According to Maslow's theory of motivation, human needs as are organized and arranged in a hierarchy of levels of importance and influence. Explain these needs, also known as Maslow's pyramid.

Abraham Maslow, a psychologist, first published his Theory of human Motivation in 1943. Over the years, it has been modified and adapted, with the current version comprising eight “layers” to the pyramid, the most basic needs at the base (bottom), moving upwards beyond needs to self-actualization and ultimately self-transcendence (caring for others above oneself). Maslow proposed that the first four levels, the so-called deficiency needs, were requirements that humans strove for in order from the most basic (Physiological needs including food, water, sleep and physical comfort), and that each step could only be a motivator for behavior if the needs of the prior step were achieved.

In order from the Base to the tip of the Pyramid (so opposite of how it would appear in the accompanying picture), the eight levels are:

(Basic Needs)

1. Physiological Needs (Hunger, Thirst, Physical comfort)

2. Safety/Security Needs (Staying out of danger)

(Basic Psychological Needs)

3. Belongingness/Love (Being accepted by another individual and/or a group)

4. Esteem (A sense of approval for behavior, recognition for achievement)

(Growth)

5. Cognitive (The desire to know, learn, understand and explore)

6. Aesthetic (An appreciation for symmetry, order, beauty)

(Self Fulfillment)

7. Self Actualization (Realizing ones own potential, living up to ones capabilities)

8. Self Transcendence (Placing others first, desiring to help others fulfill their potential)

6. Make a flow chart of the organization of the Pathfinder club, in all its levels (worldly and nationally), highlighting the club you belong to.

As Pathfinders is a Ministry of the Adventist Church, the organizational structure generally parallels the Church structure.

The world church is administered by the General Conference, which comprises 15 Divisions and Fields. Most of these are divided further by Union Conferences, which are generally divided into Conferences, and finally, some conferences are divided further into Areas, where the local Pathfinder Club will reside.

The general organizational chart, from member up to the General Conference, as per the General Conference Pathfinder website, follows:

Pathfinder Club Members Counselors & Instructors Deputy Directors & other support staff Club Director Local Church Board Area Coordinators Local Conference Pathfinder Director Union Pathfinder Director Division Pathfinder Director General Conference Pathfinder Director

The Divisions and Fields can be found at [1]

The 10 Union Conferences and Missions of the North American Division can be found at [2]

The current World Pathfinder Director is Jonatan Tejel. The current North American Division Pathfinder Director is James Black. (see [3])

You will need to research within your own Division, Union, Conference and Area to determine the chain of leadership applicable to you.

9. Define the MASP (Method of Analysis and Solutions to Problems) method and discuss the importance of analyzing problems a club faces and finding solutions.

MASP (Método de Análise e Solução de Problemas), often translated as either Method for Analysis and Solutions to Problems, or Method of Analysis and Troubleshooting (MAT), is a method of assessing and resolving problems in organizations popularized primarily in Brazil. MASP is a variant of the PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act) or PDSA (Plan, Do, Study, Act) method of problem solving, often comprising an eight step process that begins with looking at behavior, actions or outcomes that need adjusted, and then proceeds to find and implement solutions, while also monitoring the overall effectiveness.

A general MASP process comprises eight steps.

1. Identify the Problem: What specifically is the behavior, attitude, or outcome that needs changed. Be clear, concise, and focused at this step. You cannot change everything at once, so start with the most significant or most troubling.

2. Observe/Study the Problem: What are the main characteristics of the problem? How is it manifest? What are the component parts?

3. Analyze the Problem: What is the root cause of the problem? Again, it is important here to be very specific. List several assumed causes of the problem, then work through each one analytically to try and identify the center of gravity, the core issue that, if adjusted, could lead to a more positive outcome.

4. Build a Plan of Action: What are you going to do to address the root cause of the problem? Be clear about the strategies to employ to accomplish change, don’t just say the plan is to change. How can you change certain behavior, actions, underlying causes?

5. Take Action: Communicate the plan. Communication is key to effective action. Execute the action. Don’t just say change is needed, act on it, and ensure others are acting as well. It is very easy to slip back into old patterns, or to too quickly assume changes will not be effective.

6. Verify the Impact: Keep track of what is changing, both in regards to the root cause, and to the outcome. Are the expectations of change being met? In what ways? How are they not being met? Identify and remove blocks to change, revise the action plan as needed.

7. Standardization: Once you have found the new set of actions and methods that lead to the desired changed outcome, standardize these actions. Clearly identify the new pattern of behavior, process or actions, and communicate these throughout the organization. Be sure they are understood and applied.

8. Conclusion: Review the steps of the process, review the application and changes, and assess where the process could have been better, more effective, or less disruptive (though at times being disruptive is necessary to effect change). Look for lessons to apply moving forward.

MASP is useful for mid- to long-term adjustments in structure to achieve a desired outcome. The shorter-term PDSA method may also be useful, particularly to keep in mind when rapid mid-course corrections are needed.

PDSA begins first with a basic set of questions. What am I trying to change, how can I change it, how will I know when the desired effect has taken place. Think of PDSA as a loop, rather than a linear process.

1. PLAN: What will you do differently in your process to achieve the desired outcome. Be sure to communicate clearly the plan and the desired outcome.

2. DO: Carry out a small-scale test of the plan. See how it works. Is it beginning to bring about the changes desired?

3. STUDY: What are the effects of the changes? Are they meeting expectations? Where can they be adjusted to be more effective? Are these the right changes to be made to achieve the desired outcome?

4. ACT: Implement the adjusted changes on a larger scale. At this point, you can return to Step 1, and continue through the cycle. As noted above, PDSA serves asa rapid cycle process, so it may be run numerous times to be most effective, or can be used in rapidly changing situations.

10. Find a Bible study that shows the importance of administration.

Exodus Chapter 18 provides a good lesson in administration, problem solving, and effective delegation, and serves as a good guide for leaders.