Identify an Organizational Problem 1

Identify an Organizational Problem

Carl Harris

Northcentral University

MSOL 5106-3 Understanding Data

Dr. Thompson

Due March 7, 2021

Identifying an Organizational Problem

Problem solving for organizations can be difficult, especially when the organization does not understand the core problem. Identifying an organizational problem starts with understanding the problem rather than symptoms of the problem. But how do organizations begin to understand the actual problem? The answer lies within the data that is used to discover the problem. Using data to solve problems has improved the decision making of several industries because it provides a powerful tool for asking and answering questions in new ways (Mitroff, et al, 2017). This assignment will examine my current employer, and how the organization identifies problems using data and uses data to solve problems.

The Organization

Southern Crescent Technical College (SCTC) is a unit of the Technical College System of Georgia. The multi-campus institution is located south of Atlanta and provides technical education, adult education and learning opportunities through various teaching methods at the associate degree, diploma and certificate levels. In 2010, the institution was formed from a merger between Flint River Technical college and Griffin Technical College. The institution serves a nine-county region that includes Butts, Henry, Fayette, Jasper, Lamar, Pike, Spalding, Taylor and Upson counties. SCTC creates value to the community it serves in several ways. The college plays a key role in helping students obtain skills that increase their employability and achieve their full individual potential. The college attracts and retains students in the region keeping capital and resources in the SCTC service area. The institution serves the region by producing a well-trained workforce with customized skills that are specific to the needs of the regions industries. This benefit to the region extends to state government through increased tax revenues and public sector savings.

The Problem

Shortly after the merger, in 2011, the college began to expand facilities in preparation for the expected growth. The Flint river campus opened a 32,000 square foot industrial training facility that provided space for electronics, diesel equipment and automotive programs. The building has nine classrooms, five training laboratories, nine faculty offices and administrative office with an adjacent meeting site. In the same year, the groundbreaking began for a medical technology building on the Griffin campus. The three-story building currently houses dental assisting, medical assisting, orthopedic technology, pharmacy technology, nursing, radiologic technology, respiratory care technology, surgical technology and paramedicine programs. In 2012, groundbreaking began for the 35,700 square foot Henry county center. The film industry in Georgia also provided opportunity for the institution. In 2014, the Georgia Film Institute was created to meet the needs of the growing demand for qualified film and television production personnel. Southern Crescent Technical college offers certificates and advanced degrees and provides hands on experience in the industry. However, with all this opportunity and incentives for students to enroll, the institution experienced a period of flat enrollment from 2011-2016. The student population ranged between 4,000-5,000 students during that time period. Enrollment is the cornerstone for the livelihood of the institution. Meeting enrollment goals provides the revenue for the school to function. Enrollment data is also used to measure student achievement through various performance indicators.

The Enrollment Problem

In 2017, the institution conducted research and collected information needed to develop a new strategic plan. The internal and external stakeholders were involved in the plan. All stakeholders were instrumental in the development of the plan which is evidence of the organization fostering a culture of continuous learning (Miguel-Stearns, 2019). Senior leadership met to evaluate the data and engage on the information that was collected from the stakeholders. This process revealed that the enrollment numbers from the prior five-year period remained between 4000-5000 students. The goal was for the institution to maintain an enrollment population of 7,000 or more. Although the data revealed enrollment as a problem, it ultimately was discovered that enrollment was a symptom of the actual problem. During the time that the institution experienced stagnant growth, the school was going through a transition. The college had just merged therefore the name changed. The former names Griffin Tech and Flint River tech were familiar to the region so when the name changed, the community did not understand the change and therefore affected enrollment. Students believed that the institution that they were attending was closing, therefore, students transferred to other schools or simply went back to work at lesser paying jobs without credentials. Also, the college experienced turnover in faculty and staff due to layoffs, retirees and terminations. Finally, the college realized that the messaging about the change was poorly implemented, therefore enrollment was affected. The institution realized that the ultimate issue was organizational effectiveness. As a result, the organization made the decision to set goals and strategic objectives that focused on five major areas of emphasis:

1. Efficient and effective organization.

2. Enrollment growth, student retention, graduation and job placement.

3. Quality academic programs.

4. Culture of continuous improvement

5. State of the Art infrastructure.

Decisions that were made were data driven. Senior leadership began to focus on the messaging to the community. They began to focus on sound administrative policies and procedures. The goal was to gain buy-in from all stakeholders. The organization had already taken the first step in doing so by including everyone in the process of the strategic planning.

The data showed that enrollment was stagnant, however, stagnant enrollment was a catalyst for other issues such as retention and graduation. Leadership concurred that improved policies and procedures were what the organization needed the most to improve growth and sustainability.

The results of becoming laser-focused on data driven decisions have proven to be productive. Year over year increases in enrollment have continued since 2017 when the college was up 1% from 2016. The college went from 4,703 students to 4,756 students. In 2018, enrollment increased by 3% to 4899 students and in 2019 enrollment increased 7.2% for an enrollment of 5,256 students. In fall of 2020 during the pandemic, the school boasted a college enrollment total of 7,647 students (SCTC website).

Conclusion

Data driven decisions use facts, metrics, and data to guide organizations in making strategic decisions that align with their goals and objectives (Gholami, et. al, 2017). Southern Crescent Technical College current enrollment increases are attributed to several factors that were discovered due to the use of data. According to Vice President of student affairs Dr. Xenia Johns, a strong commitment to serving students by faculty and staff, has contributed to the enrollment growth. This commitment was stimulated by decisions made using data which guided leadership in making sound organizational decisions. The enrollment increases that were previously discussed were initially seen as the problem. However, by involving all stakeholders in the decision making process and using data collected from all stakeholders is evident that data driven decisions provide organizations with a powerful tool for making the best decisions.

https://www.sctech.edu/about/institutional-effectiveness/strategic-plan/

Mitroff, S. R., & Sharpe, B. (2017). Using big data to solve real problems through academic and industry partnerships. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 18, 91–96. https://doi-org.proxy1.ncu.edu/10.1016/j.cobeha.2017.09.013

Miguel-Stearns, T. (2019). Fostering a Culture of Teamwork around Continuous Professional Development. AALL Spectrum, 24(3), 12–16

Gholami, H., & Chang, C. K. (2017). Situation-Aware Data-Driven Decision Making in Smart Environments Using the MapReduce. 2017 IEEE 41st Annual Computer Software and Applications Conference (COMPSAC), Computer Software and Applications Conference (COMPSAC), 2017 IEEE 41st Annual, COMPSAC, 01, 722–730. https://doi-org.proxy1.ncu.edu/10.1109/COMPSAC.2017.214