Environmental Factors Checkpoint

Summarize the four external environmental factors and six internal environmental factors that help organizations achieve optimal function. Include in your response the factors that you feel are most important to the success of a human service organization. The four environmental factors that help organizations achieve optimal function are as follows.

• Economic Factors
• Sociological Factors
• Technological Factors
• Political and Professional Factors

Economic factors play a key role in how a successful organization functions because when the economy is in a recession and funding cuts are inevitable human services are usually first to be cut in the budget. Funding sources, non-cash revenues, clients or consumers, suppliers and competition are all economic factors that affect the optimal function of an organization. Political factors affect the optimal achievement of an organization because the attitudes of community leaders and citizens can affect the type of services provided.

Community value systems are more likely to support services provided to abused and neglected children or women who have suffered from domestic violence, however, they are less likely to support social service programs for recovering alcoholics or the homeless. A good manager needs to take into consideration the interaction between an agency and the community. Professional Considerations play a key role in the optimal success of an organization because accreditation is needed to ensure the agency meets a set of standards. Fundraising for agencies has been found to be more successful if the agency can advertise their accreditation status.

Technological Factors are important for human service agencies which regard the use of equipment such as computers and software as well as the development of new treatment approaches. The responsibilities that are being imposed on agencies today require data processing capability. The six Internal Factors that help organizations achieve optimal function are as follows.

• Organizational purpose mission and philosophy
• Organizational Planning
• Financial Resources
• Organizational Operations
• Technological Resources
• Human Resources

Successful organizations are those where managers are able to integrate organizational variables and human variables that are consistent and responsive to organizational mission and goals. Miles (1975) Organizational planning and program structure help an agency to deliver services and programs with effective organizational operations. Human resources, technological resources, and financial resources are essential components of an effective and successful human service organization which I feel are most important to the organization’s optimal achievement.