Organizational Performance Improvement Plan
SPECIAL POPULATIONS AT
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY
RECREATION CENTER
By
Jimmy Kateeb
PRESENTED TO DR. BETH FREEBURG
In partial fulfillment of the requirements
Workforce Education Needs Assessment
Department of Workforce Education
Southern Illinois University – Carbondale
April 28, 2009
Organizational Performance Improvement Plan
1 Performance Analysis
Organizational Analysis: Special Populations at the SIUC Student Recreation Center
MISSION STATEMENT
The Office of Intramural- Recreational Sports is committed to the enhancement of the educational experience for the SIUC community by providing quality diverse recreational programs, services, and facilities that promote the holistic development of participants.
VISION STATEMENT
We are prepared to meet the challenges of the 21st century by empowering patrons to recognize and optimize their full potential: by fostering an environment where educational, social and emotional needs of each are addressed through a focused comprehensive program.
VALUES
SAFETY is our first concern in all aspects of our programs and facilities.
Quality is exhibited in everything we do, reflecting the concept that no job is too small to perform.
Consistency/Dependability is displayed in our ethics, knowledge, and leadership on campus and in the community.
Fun and Educational is our goal for all who participate in our programs and use any of our facilities.
GOALS
TECHNOLOGY
Expand and utilize the infrastructure for technology. Research, utilize and assess the capabilities and potential, identify and secure technical support in the forms of personnel, maintenance, hardware, replacement schedule, software and training.
MARKETING & COMMUNICATION
Establish a plan through an inclusive process. Commit resources to implement and continually evaluate outcomes. The plan will include website usage, modern technology and graphics/media as well as the most valuable resources – RSS employees. In addition, include a strategy for current/potential customers and supporters through direct contact.
FACILITIES
Continue the current recreational facility analysis culminating with a complete indoor and outdoor master plan including renovation of the SRC, expansion and or addition of activity spaces, replacement of fields/tennis courts as a result of Saluki Way. This is to be done through the creation of a Park environment that features amenities that incorporate the enhancements and additions to the lake, beach, walking trails and existing playing fields. Completion of Phase One of the Park and any indoor facility renovations should be managed from the perspective of maximizing life cycle cost and developing a student sense of ownership and Saluki pride.
EQUIPMENT
Assessing current equipment for repair, cost effectiveness and safety. Research and purchase equipment replacements with consideration of life cycle costs, accessibility, current recreational and technological trends, branding and colors.
NIRSA – STAFF, STUDENT, DEVELOPMENT, ACADEMIC INTEGRATION, PATRON HOLISTIC
For example: campus, state, regional, and national recognition for staff development – to be recognized by our national association as a leader in education and for graduating students that will be leaders in the field. Host site for tournaments and/or events.
Environmental Analysis
I Organizational Environmental Level
A. Customers
1. International students
2. People with disabilities
B. Professional Associations
1. Arthritis Foundation Aquatics Program (AFAP)
2. Adaptive and Inclusive Recreation (AIR)
C. Competitors
1. Gold’s Gym
2. Great Shapes
II Work Environment Level
A. Resources
1. Money for special population programs comes from student recreation fees. Each student attending SIUC pays 10 dollars per credit hour, maxing out at 120 dollars.
2. Arthritis Foundation Aquatics Program is funded by participation fees.
3. Nationally Recognized Recreation Center.
B. Policies and Procedures
1. Extensive Applicant Questionnaire for Graduate Assistants
III Work Level
A. Job Design
1. Programs Designed for Special Populations
B. Job Responsibilities
1. Specific Job Duties
IV Worker Level
A. Knowledge
1. Certifications
2. Degrees
3. Professional Staff
4. Specializations
B. Motivation
1. Leadership Team Member of the Month Award
2. Student Employee of the Month Award
Performance Gap
Gap Analysis
Based on the information that we got about the programs being offered by Special Populations at the Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC) Student Recreation Center, we feel that the area of Special Populations has done an admirable job in their efforts to target and attract diverse groups such as international students, minorities, children, individuals with disabilities, etc. The Special Populations staff (the Assistant Director, Graduate Assistants, and other student employees should be commended for the establishment of programs and special events such as Women’s Swimming, Women’s Water Workout, International Olympics and International Night. This could be defined as the Actual Workplace Performance.
However, our group believes that Special Populations needs to do more to identify groups such as international students, women, and minorities and offer programs which will benefit them immensely. Currently, Special Populations does not offer enough programs for international students, minorities and other groups. Their ability to enhance their efforts would be described as the Desired Workplace Performance. One of the groups which need to be more specifically targeted is international students. We strongly believe that the Student Recreation Center through the assistance of Special Populations must offer more programs and opportunities for international students to participate. It would also be good to work with minorities to offer programs that are beneficial. To some extent, the gap between the Actual and Desired Workplace Performance could be accurately termed as the Performance Gap.
Cause Analysis
Lack of Environmental Support
Data, Information, and Feedback
How do data, information, and feedback support performance and relate to why people do what they do at the Student Recreation Center?
Complete, clear, unambiguous, and up-to-date data on performance expectations and information regarding correct procedures are required for successful on-the-job performance at the Recreation Center. Data and information which are vital to successful performance include the policies of the organization, job or task procedures, customer requirements, etc.
Environment Support, Resources, and Tools
Are adequate materials, supplies, and assistance usually available to do the job well? Are they tailored to the job?
Environment support, resources, and tools are those things that the Student Recreation Center provides to support or assist the employees in their tasks. At the SIUC Recreation Center, health, wellness, and safety factors have a huge impact on the performance of the employees. Factors such as workspace, lighting, workload, safety hazards, etc. have the potential to cause gaps in performance.
Resources need to be adequate and of good quality in order to ensure that the performance is successfully accomplished. The allocation of inadequate resources and or poor quality resources would most likely lead to performance problems. Currently, the Student Recreation Center faces funding problems which is similar to the problems faced by other departments and units on campus. This has a severe impact on the functioning of the Special Populations unit as it hampers its efficiency and effectiveness. One of the ways in which Special Populations could overcome some of the deficiencies would be to generate revenue on its own through offering programs and activities which are specifically tailored to meet the needs of minorities, international students, veterans, etc. Special Populations could do this by working with other departments or units at the Recreation Center in order to reduce costs and to generate sufficient revenue.
Tools are necessary to complete the job such as computers, printers, copiers, paper cutters, laminating machine, scotch tapes, desks, chairs, etc. The tools should be available, accessible, efficient, and safe for the employees to operate.
Consequences, Incentives, or Rewards
Is the pay for the job competitive? Are there significant bonuses or raises based on good performance? Is good performance related to career advancement? Are there meaningful nonmonetary incentives (recognition) for good performance based on results? Are they scheduled well, neither too frequently nor too infrequently? Is there an absence of hidden incentives to perform poorly? Is the balance of positive and negative incentives in favor of good performance?
Consequences are events or effects which are created by previous actions. Poor condition of the tools acts as a hindrance to the employees from performing to their maximum potential.
The Student Recreation Center provides incentives to student employees as a means to influence or encourage them to perform their jobs. These incentives include the Student Employee of the Month Award, of the Leadership Team Member of the Month Award. Rewards include the National Intramural Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA) scholarships, the Illinois Intramural Recreational Sports Association (IIRSA) scholarships, the William and Dorothy Bleyer scholarship and numerous other awards.
Since the past couple of years, the Student Recreation Center has instituted the Student Employee of the Month and the Leadership Team member of the Month in order to recognize outstanding performance among its student employees and graduate assistants. These also motivate the student employees to strive and work harder in their jobs. Student employees and graduate assistants become productive which in this organization means being customer friendly, helpful toward patrons and community members, organizing programs and activities for special populations such as children, international students, minority groups, etc.
Lack of Repertory of Behavior
The other cause of performance problems within the Special Populations unit at the Recreation Center would be the lack of repertory of behavior among the employees. There are three factors which have an effect on performance within Special Populations. They are:
1 Information (Skills and knowledge)
2 Instrumentation (Individual Capacity)
3 Motivation (Motivation and Expectations)
Skills and Knowledge
Do people understand the consequences of both good and bad performance? Do they have the technical concepts to perform well? Do they have sufficient basic skills? Do they have sufficient specialized skills? Do they always have the skills after initial training?
In case, a performance gap exists between desired and actual performance, and if it is determined that this gap is not caused by environmental support problems, the question that needs to be asked is, “Could they do it if their lives depended on it?” There are two possible answers to this question, yes or no. If the response is no, then the focus of the cause analysis should be to determine the skills or knowledge deficiency which interferes with the desired performance of the employees. On the other hand, if the answer is yes, then we should rule out a skill or knowledge deficiency and instead focus on the lack of individual capacity, motivation, or expectations. It is difficult to expect employees in the Special Populations department to perform to standards if they do not have the require skills or knowledge. In other words, even employees with the right motivation, attitudes, performance standards, tools, support, capacity, and motives will be unsuccessful if they don’t know how to perform.
Analyzing Skills and Knowledge
Cause Analysis happens at both the macro as well as the micro levels. So it is necessary for us to understand and identify what the gaps or causes are within the Special Populations department and why they exist. We need to know what skills and knowledge are required for the desired performance. Documentation in the form of the job or task analysis, performance standards, etc. from the performance gap analysis should provide this information.
It could be pointed out that the employees within Special Populations possessed the necessary skills and knowledge at an earlier time, but the nature of the job has changed and they need training to update their skills and knowledge. The other factor to examine is whether the employees possess the necessary skills and knowledge, but have not had the opportunity to use them due to changes in the performance needs.
Individual Capacity
Individual capacity is another component of the employees’ repertory of behavior within the Special Populations unit. Capacity represents the individual’s ability to perform the job. It is represented by a match or mismatch between the employee and the job requirement. If there is a mismatch or employee selection error, this leads to a performance gap in the Special Populations area. Lack of ability could be explained as a mistake that was made during the employee selection process.
Analyzing Individual Capacity
In order to determine whether or not a lack of individual capacity results in a performance gap within Special Populations, we need to look at capacity from two perspectives. The first is whether the employees lack the capacity or ability to perform or learn? The second is does the organizational, workplace, and work environments support the capacity of the employees to perform or learn in their jobs?
We need to look at the performance gap analysis to find out what individual capacity or ability is required to meet the desired workforce performance.
Motivation and Expectations
Do employees seem to have the desire to perform well when they are on the job? Do their motives endure? Is the turnover within the unit low or high?
Motivation is basically intrinsic which means that it comes from within the individual. The employees who work in Special Populations encourage themselves to perform successfully and to give their best on the job.
Expectation is also intrinsic and comes from within the individual performer. The employees believe that certain conditions or resources are necessary to perform given tasks. In situations where the employees in the Special Populations unit have not been motivated enough to perform, or perceive that their expectations have not been fulfilled, there is a good probability that there will be a performance gap between the desired and the actual performance. By dealing with work environment factors such as information flow, resources, and incentives, the Special Populations unit and the Recreation Center would be in a better position to build an environment where the employees’ own intrinsic motivation has the potential to increase and grow.
Analyzing Motivation and Expectations
It is difficult if not impossible to determine the motivation of employees in the Special Populations department in their work performance. It is also very difficult to gauge their expectations in their jobs. Our organizational, environmental, and gap analysis will discuss the features of the performance system which guides and influences the employees to perform.
Performer Analysis
Motivation
It is very hard to measure a person’s motivation because motivation comes from within. Although, when people work in special populations in most cases these people are intrinsically motivated. They receive their rewards by helping others. This is the case when it comes to working with people with disabilities and people from other countries that are not familiar with their new country. We will be able to gauge a person’s motivation by developing a motivational rating scale based off of Gilberts Behavior Engineering Model.