THE COMMITTEE OF PUBLIC COUNSEL SERVICES (CPCS)

THE COMMITTEE OF PUBLIC COUNSEL SERVICES (CPCS)

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THE COMMITTEE OF PUBLIC COUNSEL SERVICES (CPCS)

Organization Description

The committee of public counsel services (CPCS) is a 15-member committee which is appointed by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial court. It oversees the provision of legal representation to individuals in civil and criminal court cases as well as administrative proceedings who have a right to counsel. This representation is mainly provided by 3000 private attorneys who have been trained and certified not to reject any appointments (Claffey et al 2005). The supervision and support for these attorneys are availed by the Private Counsel Division (For criminal, juvenile delinquency, and related matters, children and family law division, and finally the mental health unit. The public defender has approximately 500 staff who work in their Massachusetts offices (Beane et al 2011). The staff defenders offer representation to their clients in the district, superior and Juvenile court delinquency, and criminal proceedings. The chief counsel who is appointed by the committee has the responsibility of overseeing the daily agency operations.

The committee has been given the responsibility of provision of both non-criminal and criminal services to the individuals who are not able to afford an attorney and have the legal right to be represented by a legal counsel. The legal representation includes delinquency, criminals, youthful offender, mental health, child welfare, sexually dangerous people, bulkpost-conviction matters, and related appeals.

After the audit report carried out on the organization was released, several issues came up. There was as well the identification of a problem within the organization that needed to be solved. This can be handled well by the creation of a management plan. The management plan will state the step-by-step procedures that will be put in place to tackle the identified issue. The theoretical frameworks that apply to the management plan will be listed together with the details of the management plan and finally, the evaluation approach.

Analysis of The Nature of The Problem

The main issue that emerged in this organization, (CPCS), was noted in the audit report dated from 1st July 2014 to 31st December 2016. The report was issued on the 28th of February 2018. The issues that were found were in the finance department.

In the department, there was improper processing of vendor payment which summed up to $7,205. The auditors reviewed 25 bills that had been submitted to vendors and undergone review by the Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS’s) Audit and Oversight (A&O) Department and were paid by CPCS (Suzanne, 2018). One of the bills upon review indicated that it was submitted 885 days late after the service was delivered. No document was present to justify why this bill was submitted on a later date. There was as well no document to show that there was an approval of the bill from the organization’s chief counsel. The payment was rather reviewed and approved by the Chief Auditor.

The stakeholders present in this issue include the vendors who are external stakeholders, the chief counsel, and the Chief auditor of A&O who are both internal stakeholders (Suzanne, 2018). The stakeholders who were affected are the vendors as they suffered delayed payment by close to three years because of the delay of submission of the bill. By failing to ensure the timely processing of the vendor’s bill in accordance to the policies and procedures laid down by CPCS, the agency was at risk of paying an amount that was incorrect for their services. This was in turn putting a risk to the company as if they are not careful, wrong payments can be made and would impact the organization negatively.

Improper payments can lead to a lot of harm in the organization. This is a major problem which can translate to low morale hence poor service delivery. This problem can also lead to loss of productive employees or other service providers. When this occurs, the organization is less likely to meet their client’s expectations. This has the potential of leading to the closure of an organization because of distrust from their clients.

There are some steps that can be undertaken to ensure that this issue is eliminated in the organization. These steps have been seen to work in other organizations as well. first, there is need to engage the stakeholders present and ensure all the organizational entities collaborate. When the organization comes up with solutions they need to ensure all the stakeholders and work on the entities which address the issue of improper payments in the organization. Secondly, there is the need to check on the payment process and assess it from the beginning to end. By doing this, they can be able to put in place the solutions which can address risks all through the process. Finally, there is need to have access to quality data. This includes accurate and timely data. This will ensure that the right payments go to the deserving person. Data is very key to understanding the main reasons for improper payments and help in informing the possible solutions

Ethical Concern

Ethical concerns in organizations exist and it’s best to identify them early enough before irreversible damage is caused. Financial analysis and reporting are the basis of the well-being and success of an organization. The company’s ethics play a big role in ensuring this is done properly. This reporting is accompanied by ethics in any organization. There are ethical issues that were noted when carrying out the audit report. The first ethical issue is the lack of a direct chain of command. Every organization needs a well-laid chain of command which would enable them to provide the best financial analysis and reporting (Deer & Robertson, 2012). Once a problem is realized regarding financial reporting, there is the need to report it and ensure the chain is followed to prevent any issue from arising. Within the command chain, financial analysis and reporting might go unnoticed. This can impact the organization in the worst way. The lack of a command chain also makes it hard for the vendors or other employees to report their worries. In this case, the lack of chain of command is seen when the chief auditor of A & O reviews and approves the payment, which was the responsibility of the organization’s chief counsel.

Another ethical issue depicted is the lack of proper documenting. Every task carried out in an organization requires proper documentation. Lack of this, not only the figures but other details as well that involve payment might lead to misappropriation of funds. This might affect the organization negatively as any small amount that is not accounted for is a disaster in waiting. In this case, the lack of documentation to indicate why the bill was received late is an indication that the organization lacks proper documentation measures.

Such ethical issues generally affect every individual related to this organization. This includes the employees, the vendors, and the clients seeking judicial help. Many financial departments face a lot of unethical issues. This is a crucial department in any organization not only in the Committee for Public Counsel Services. There is a need to ensure that all the needed documents are availed in detail and all the financial expenditures are accounted for.

Theoretical Frameworks

The theoretical frameworks suitable for this management plan are the administrative management school of thought and the bureaucratic model. The administrative management school of thought has its focus on organizational management. It argues that administration theory is applicable in both the public and private sectors and thus the need to have an understanding of the principles which guide it (Eppel, 2017). Uzuegbu & Nnadozie, (2015) indicate that there are 14 principles that guide administration. These are authority, labor, unity of command, spirit de corps, initiative, equity, the stability of personnel tenure, hierarchy scalar chain, centralization, renumeration of the employee, the subordination of unity of direction, the interest of an individual to the general interest, and discipline.

Of these 14 principles, two principles apply effectively to the management plan. These include the stability of personnel tenure and renumeration of employees. The stability of personnel tenure stipulates that for effective operations in an organization, there should be less entry and exit of personnel in the organization. The organization thus has to ensure they have in place several strategies which ensure that stability in its workforce is efficient. T

Secondly, renumeration of employees is the compensation or reward given to the employees for the work performed. It gives an attraction to the employees to perform their duties effectively and efficiently. Renumeration ensures the motivation of employees. Salaries are very important to employees as they determine their living standards. Salaries affect employee work performance and productivity. The method and amount of remuneration are very critical to both the employees and the management. The employees at The Committee of Public Counsel Services (CPCS) require renumeration to get motivated and also boost their work morale just like in any other organization.

The bureaucratic model is another school of thought. It makes use of the historical and social perspectives in its organizational approach. Its main argument is that for the smooth functioning of the organization, bureaucracy needs to have professional public employees and also that these employees need to act in a way that surpasses the superior’s interest. It states that there are five characteristics that an ideal bureaucracy needs to possess. These include neutrality, impersonality, procedures, formally written rules, division of labour, and hierarchy (Van der Waldt, 2017). Neutrality and the division of labour will affect remuneration. If the well-laid guidelines are to go by, people will be paid equally depending on the roles in their organization. Neutrality will ensure fairness in remuneration as impartiality is ensured. These characteristics are the same as the administrative management school of thought. It provides guidelines on how an organization should run and the procedures that need to be followed for every action.

Public administration is a human activity that is generalized and has the concern of ordering materials required for social ends to be achieved. Administrative theory is a terrain of public administration. The validity of any theoretical construct depends fully on the ability to explain, describe and predict. According to Van der Waldt, (2017), Public administrative theory has the objective of drawing together the humanities insights and aims at improving the government process hence makes the set goals attainable. The theoretical framework is put in place by the use of different concepts and approaches.

One of the approaches that match the situation at hand is the developmental approach. This can be as well described as a goal-oriented system of administration. It is the process whereby the organization is guided towards the achievement of the progressive economic and social objectives set by the organization. This term can be used in two different ways, first, it refers to developmental programs administration, to the methods which are used by large scale organizations, in most cases governments, in the implementation of plans and policies which are designed as per with the organization’s developmental objectives. Secondly, it involves strengthening the administrative capabilities. These two aspects are intertwined when it comes to the definition of development administration (Van der Waldt, 2017). This type of approach depicts the policies that have been set by the Committee of Public Counsel service to ensure that the Chief counsel reviews and approves payment. This was however not the case as the payments were approved by someone who, according to the policy, was not meant to sign the approval. This approach can be very effective in cases whereby governmental policies can be adhered to as required. If the required person signed the payment approval according to the set company policies, then this mistake would not have happened.

This approach is backed up by the administrative management school of thought. It has most of its focus on the efficiency of organizational management. It argues that the administration theory can be applied both in the public and private sector and that there is a need to understand the principles which govern it (Eppel, 2017). Uzuegbu & Nnadozie (2015), states that administration is guided by 14 principles. These include authority, labor, unity of command, spirit de corps, initiative, equity, the stability of personnel tenure, hierarchy scalar chain, centralization, renumeration of the employee, the subordination of unity of direction, the interest of an individual to general interest and discipline.

The school of thought of administrative management stipulates the practical ways that can be used in organization and management. Of the fourteen principles of administration, some of them can relate to the problem at hand. These include the scalar chain of hierarchy, order, and discipline (Eppel, 2017). These principles would apply to the issue that was indicated by the auditor. The hierarchy of command would ensure that every task is undertaken by the required personnel as the order of command requires. Discipline would also ensure that the person responsible for documentation would have documented the delayed bill. The fact that the bill was late by a long period, would cause a serious problem especially in cases whereby the departmental personnel was changed. An employee who had no idea that the vendor submitted their services might fail to verify that this bill existed. This would lead to a loss on the vendor’s side. The vendor upon knowing that this bill was not documented might overestimate their services which would lead to a loss to the organization. Either way, the lack of documentation can be disadvantageous to both sides. Discipline within the entire organization and in this case the finance department would get rid of this risk.

As the theoretical framework states, an organization must have properly laid out renumeration structures. This will ensure employee retention and motivation as well. The employees will be able to work towards service delivery and ensure organizational goals are attained. This is specifically very important where critical public services are offered as they directly influence the well-being of the public. After the issues cited in the auditor’s report, the organizations need to refer to the said theoretical frameworks as they all interrelate. This will ensure that the same issue is never repeated.

Management Plan

A management plan describes the goals, objectives, and the planned procedures of the proposed project. A good management plan can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the organization (McAlister, 2006). It makes identification of the clients and services they offer. It also provides both the short-term and long-term goals hence enabling a successful operation.

Plan components

Corporate direction

It describes how this facility can fit into the parent’s organization’s general corporate direction (Heagney, 2016).

Systematic forward-thinking

The management has to evaluate the consequences of the alternative tactics and strategies.

Identification of competitors and customers

Products and services are tailored to be in line with the needs of customers. Competitive advantages and new opportunities are discovered.

Realistic goals formation

It gives a clear statement of what the organization does as well as what the stakeholders would wish it to be.

Coordination of resources and action

It describes the financial and human resources which are needed to operate the facility.

Financial forecasts production

The financial requirements needed for any operational activities and capital works are detailed.

Risk minimization

The potential risks and problems which are associated with the management of the facility are identified as well as the means of mitigating them (Heagney, 2016).

Formation of performance indicator

Ways of evaluating and measuring the facility’s effectiveness are established.

Rationale

This management plan is very essential in conducting business. With the identified problem, improper payments can degrade the quality of service and inhibit the credibility of the agency performing critical public services, there is a need to ensure the creation of an effective plan to ascertain this issue is solved. Every sector of this management plan is essential as they help to get an insight into the organizational goals and how they can be achieved. In this case, this management plan will help in bypassing the issue at hand as well as make an assessment of the organization in general. It will outline the contingencies as well as the benchmarks and the selected exit strategies. The plan will give details on authorities and accountability, determine the communication strategies, identify stakeholders, and the go-ahead to provide alternative strategies to handle the issue at hand.

Stakeholders

With regards to the case, the stakeholders involved are the employees and the management. The employees are affected directly by the salaries. The management normally decides on the employee’s renumeration and thus has the power to directly affect the employee’s retention and morale. The future collaborators are expected to be the auditors. They will be able to assess the salaries as well as other issues in the organization that relates to the working environment of the employees.

Addressing the Problem or Issue.

The management plan helps deal with the identified issue as fast as possible and efficiently as well so that the organizational duties can be put on a track. The plan will deal with the problem in the following ways: identification of the problem. This will include assessing the organization and coming up with a problem that might be leading to an outcome. In this case, the improper payments were found to be the reason for poor organizational outcomes as the employees are demotivated. Second, on the list is an analysis of the risk. This involves carrying out an analysis of what risk the identified problem might cause to the organization. Prioritizing the risk is the third way the management plan will handle the problem. If several risks have been identified at the second stage, there is a need to prioritize the risk that is deemed important. The fourth is to treat this risk. The management plan will provide ways in which this risk will be dealt with. A treatment plan will be created for the priority risks. As time goes by, there is a chance of developing some of the fastest ways of solving the identified issue. The final step is monitoring this risk. There is a need to go back to the project to assess how the identified issue is being addressed. In some cases, refining and modifying the approach to dealing with the issue might be needed.

Hierarchy

The organizational hierarchy has the power of influencing how the problem can be solved in terms of resources that might be needed and the procedure of handling the project in general (Friesl et al 2011). In this organization, for instance, there is a leader for each department. The staffs are thus under the leader and get orders from him. The departmental leaders report to the overall leader(s). This structure is quite simple hence making it easy to communicate. Proper communication is tied to the success of a business. It makes it easy to execute the processes and procedures.

Diversity management plan

Within the organization, the question of diversity might come up. A diversity management plan can be incorporated into the main management plan where the organization’s diversity policy can be included. Here, as indicated by (Kundu et al 2019) there are three main steps that can be followed: i. Assessment of the diversity. This includes employee discussions, satisfaction surveys as well as open forums which will give an insight into the obstacles that diversity faces. ii. Development of the diversity plans. Based on the first step, a series of measurable and attainable goals can be developed with regard to workplace diversity. iii. Plan implementation. Here, the management and executives’ commitments are very necessary. The entire organization as well needs to be part of this implementation for it to be effective. The plan will include some components such as recruitment and selection, testing, and finally pay and promotion. All these need to be fair in every way and not nondiscriminatory.

Evaluation Approach

The plan is meant to serve about 3500 people but it could be more. The organization is made up of about 500 staff attorneys and private attorneys who are 3000 in number. The number is likely to be higher as the number of attorneys varies depending on the number of cases that need to be handled. This number does not include the people in managerial positions. The plan thus can serve approximately 4000 people.

The management plan has come at a very favorable time. This is the time whereby the auditors have discovered an issue with the organization. An issue has as well been discovered with the organization about the salaries paid to the employees and how it would relate to the services offered at the organization. As per the audit report, the mistakes that were realized were mainly because of negligence. This negligence can be linked to improper remuneration thus effective service delivery.

The management plan affects the budget. According to Han et al (2020) there is hardly any organization that will have enough resources to cater to all their projects. There are as well other projects being run by the organization which is using the same resources. This leads to having less time as well as insufficient financial support. This dictates that there is a need to use the limited resources available and make use of the donations and direct them to help solve the problem identified. The presence of funding increases acceleration thus implementation success. The expenditures will be used in carrying out the study to validate the problem identified, this includes data collection and analysis and finally, there is a need to set aside an amount of money for allocation to the employees as there is a need to improve their morale in the job to ensure proper provision of critical services.

The plan is projected to ensuring the problem is solved thus attaining its goals. The plan will state in detail the problem identified. The stakeholders involved will give an idea of how to handle the issue. It will also be beneficial in data collection. Knowing the stakeholders will help the data collectors know the type of questions to ask which will be relevant to the different stakeholders. Other issues such as diversity will be assessed. Diversity in organizations can be a great issue in cases where a management plan does not put into consideration the issue of equality regardless of the diversity of nature. In this case, the handling of diversity in different levels including recruitment, tests, promotions among other things will be discussed. This will give a guideline that will be adhered to by the management as well as other employees. The plan will help analyze the ways of assessing the measures that can be put in place to help solve the identified issues. A series of solutions can be provided and the most effective one selected to solve the problem.

The data that will be used to monitor the effectiveness is about 20 employees. The most effective solution will be affected by the selected sample size specified in the most affected department. This sample will be monitored for a particular period preferably not less than 6 months. The employee’s morale at work in terms of service delivery will be monitored after the successful implementation of the solution. If the implemented plan does not work, there is a need to have several alternatives which can easily be implemented in case one fails to work. Sample selection helps to monitor closely the success of a project hence help save on finances incase the implemented plan fails (Moser & Korstjens, 2018).

Recommendation

Procedures

The organizational procedure needs to be monitored and evaluated now and then. The department serves the public and requires a laid down work procedure that is strictly followed by all members of the department. The roles of every member should be clearly stated.

Staffing

The organization has to consider its workforce and its experience in the field. They have to create an organizational culture that helps in attaining the organization’s goals and objectives. Like offering the best services to the clients.

Organizational Structure

The hierarchy of the organization needs to be evaluated. The department has a hierarchy but still, the payments are delayed. This means that there are individuals who are not performing their duties as required.

Funding

Funding is an issue to the department and the processing of payment takes more than two years. Chain of command is required to help solve the issue.

Technology

Technology has a great impact on the organization. It has tangible and intangible advantages that will help enhance the organization’s performance. The introduction of computer management systems will help the organization track down the required documents and ensure timely payment.

Staff incentives

The department has to consider the introduction of staff incentive, this includes honoring the best employee, giving them double time, flexibility option, etc. These will help boost their morale hence positive service delivery.

Ethical consideration

The introduction of a direct chain of command in the organization will help tackle the financial issue in the department. Furthermore, members of the department should be familiarized with the role they play in the department. This will make it easy to track down processes as one will know who to approach in case of an issue.

Diversity Issues

The department has to consider including diversity policy and recruit employees without any type of discrimination. This will bring varieties of skills and experience to the organization.

Conclusion

Public officials have a responsibility of implementing the key public policies. There is a need for them to maintain the tendency of accountability for every action they undertake. There is however the possibility of the officials hiding behind their political office-bearers, a cloak of competence, and most importantly, their prescribed procedures. The administration’s faithfulness focuses on their ability to be responsible and answerable to the people’s will. It is thus an ethical duty that, no matter the mistakes that might be done in the line of duty, that they show the spirit of discretion and impartiality. They also need to let go of their interests when carrying out their assigned duties and responsibilities. As much as they take responsibility for their actions, there is a need to ensure that the organizational and departmental policies are adhered to. Skipping any procedure could lead to the failure of the mandate of the organization especially when it becomes a norm.

From the analysis above, it is evident the management plan is very important and should not be left to chance. Having a suitable management plan will help desirably shape the organization and make the likelihood of the success of the organizational strategies. To develop a management plan which works for the organization, there is a need to have a clear view of the philosophy and mission. With this, it enables the selections of a management model which fits the organization comfortably, defines the relationship between the board, director, the volunteers, and the staff, develop procedures and policies suitable for those affected hence covering the essential management areas: supplies and equipment, money, relations, activities, and people. Finally, there is need to design a regular schedule and system for evaluating as well as adjusting the management plan to fit its function successfully. When one creates a management plan that is right for the organization, they have made a step forward towards an effective organization.

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