HSM Week 5

The four external considerations for developing an integrated information management system for a human service organization are economic, sociological, political, and technological. Economic is made up of funding sources, contributors, referral sources, consumers, and competitors. The sociological includes consideration relative to the community and larger political subdivisions within which the agency functions. The political domain includes regulatory and accrediting bodies, including the agency’s board of directors. The technological domain encompasses all the areas of professional and technical advancement that must be monitored to ensure that the agency remains on the cutting edge as new developments and innovations emerge. The six internal considerations are organizational purpose, mission, and philosophy, organizational planning, organizational operations, human resources, technological resources, and financial resources. Revisiting organizational mission, purpose, and philosophy serves as a reminder that there is a long-range vision around which the organization has been structured, and it is important to develop indicators that will help decision makers understand how the agency and its programs are progressing toward that vision. The organizational planning framework is of vital importance to the design of the management information system. Review of plans will reveal strategic, long-term, and program-planning goals, objectives, and activities. If these plans are well designed, they should contribute to moving the agency toward its mission and purpose, and they should also suggest the types of data and information that will be needed to determine if these plans are on track. A review of organizational operations will be useful in understanding where the departments, divisions, or units are in relation to established expectations. Indicators that measure efforts and accomplishments should be incorporated into the information system. Questions