Organizational Structures and Systems
Our vision is to enhance health and quality of life. To achieve this vision, we must develop and maintain a culture of involvement, innovation and personal and collective responsibility. It also requires that we have organizational clarity and synergy. To this end, we have developed a conceptual model and systems structures of the CHHS organizational framework.
Every organization, to be effective, must have a structure. Most organizations evolve through a process or series of stages into an enterprise that is structured as a hierarchy. A well-designed structure allows us to separate work into units to achieve efficiencies and reliability (control). In addition, while management hierarchies are necessary for an organization to regulate itself, a second system—organized as a network—is necessary to accelerate the work of the organization in a strategic manner. Thus, synergistic organizations must structure themselves as dual operating systems to be successful (Kotler. 2014). These systems must achieve a state of optimization between management and leadership for an organization to synergize and achieve its potential. The key in achieving organizational synergy is achieving a state of optimal integration of conceptual models, structures and systems.
As a rapidly growing and changing College, we have purposefully maintained a flexible, adaptable organizational structure in an effort to facilitate collaborative systems to grow and develop. Moreover, it is assumed that the organizational form or structure of our college is a living organism, evolving to support our maturation and evolution. In this regard, we value the development of our college as a “Learning Organization."
The core of the conceptual model is a Venn diagram for four primary sets. There is a primary set for each school—School of Health and Applied Human Sciences, School of Nursing and School of Social Work—as well as a set to collect the strategic partnerships that the CHHS has developed with internal and external unites/agencies. These four sets overlap to create spaces for the multiple possible combinations of interactions among the primary units. The key point is that each of the units have an independent identity, but also join together to create the College.
In the center, the four primary sets overlap to create a space for the College Shared Services and Governance Structures. This is intended to reinforce the shared nature of these elements. Specific shared service units are identified by name, including Academic Affairs Operations; Student Success; Business Services; Research and Innovation; Advancement; Communications and Marketing; Community Engagement; and Program Assessment, Accreditation and Development. The Office of the Dean is surrounded by a perforated boundary to indicate its distinction, but simultaneously its closer connection to the cluster of other shared services. The Committees, Councils, and Task Forces that form the backbone of the College Shared Governance are similarly identified. For completeness, the College is also set within the broader context of the University.
The following is the current conceptual model of the CHHS.
