Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
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Jonathan Hargrove
Abstract
Starting a nonprofit organization from the ground up is one of the hardest things a group of
likeminded individuals can do, especially an organization that caters to disabled veterans and
their families. Being able to radically innovate is something that takes a lot of time and energy.
Systematically implementing a plan of action to get an organization off the ground takes
relationships and collaboration, and quality employees and services are just a few of the things
Checkpoint Veteran is a non-profit organization that I have the pleasure of being a part of.
The organization is still in the “crawling” stages since its creation. However, as time keeps going
by, there seems to be a sense of urgency to get the organization into the “walking” and then the
“running” stages. There are some very important management operations that need to take place
One of my biggest concerns with this organization, being as we are just starting out, is
innovation management. The services that we want to provide to other veterans are not the
typical services that other organizations that are like ours provide. The type of services provided
by veteran organizations are essentially social services typically dealing with counseling,
housing, claims and medical care. The problem is that most organizations only provide limited
service and, from what I have personally seen, only if it stands to benefit the organization as
well, such as with numbers and money. The only issue I can foresee with what it is that we have
in mind for Checkpoint Veteran is that there is going to be a lot of moving parts that need to be
So, to combat all these issues that me and my colleagues face, we have decided that to
really provide veterans with what they need, we must consider radical innovation to accomplish
our goals. The idea that we have for our organization is to provide veterans with not only social
services but also mental and physical wellness as well as services that are normally not
considered by other organizations, such as vehicle repairs or other industrial services. The plan is
to eventually set up a one stop for veterans. A place where they can come and get all the help
they need without having to spend more time driving around and filling out paper work than
getting actual help. As I said, this is quite an ambitious endeavor and there are a lot of moving
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parts that need to be coordinated, but, having a centralized location to do all of this will make
To have a centrally located facility that will be able to house all the different departments
we want, from counseling services to outdoor activities and physical fitness to vehicle
maintenance, is going to take some very careful planning. Process focused measures are going to
have to be put in place for us to be able to track our success rates. Milestone progress measures
are what is most likely going to have to be used. As we build up our organization, there are going
to have to be progress measures in place to help set up future milestones. Take for example
counseling services, this in theory should be a goal that can be reached quickly. There is not a lot
of equipment needed, only qualified counselors and a facility. However, if it takes 6 months to
set up, how long will it take to set something up like a recreational wellness facility or an
automotive shop? So, to help figure out the time frames needed to create these different facilities,
Concurrent engineering is also something that we must consider to be able to build this
organization. Most non-profit organizations, especially veteran organizations, rely much more on
relationships and collaborations with others. An example would be donations from vendors to
provide food at an event. Being as non-profits do not have a lot of extra money, building
relationships with the community members and businesses and working jointly with other
Again, being as this is a very new organization, there is going to have to be a lot of
analyzing of the processes that we will use to be successful. Kaizen is most likely going to be,
initially, the main improvement process that we are going to have to utilize. Since this is a start
from nothing sort of deal, incremental improvements are going to be necessary to develop into an
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improved organization. Analyzing these improvements are also going to be necessary. There may
be instances where we try to improve something, and it doesn’t work. In cases like this, we will
Quality is something that we are going to have to manage very closely. Being as we are a
new organization, but also an organization that helps veterans, we are going to have to make sure
that we provide quality services to those we are trying to help. Most of what it is that our
service, counseling service, physical and mental welfare service. Everything we do is going to be
based on the face that we are serving others. So, we are going to have to set up service model
that will give us the confidence that we are providing the best quality service to our customers as
possible.
Plan of Action.
Now, as far as setting this up and putting together a plan of action goes, there is going to
have to be a starting point somewhere. There are many aspects of action planning needed to
reach the specified goals. We are going to have to create a broad/overall corporate level plan of
action that covers all facets of what it is we want to do. For every specific section of the
organization, there is going to have to be a well thought out plan of action. These plans will
dictate how the plan of action will be implemented. We are going to have to make sure that each
person we hire as managers can bring a plan of action that fit in with the overall concept of what
our organization wants to do. The general format of the plan of action will be similar to this but
can be modified to fit our organizations particular concept. “The plan for the organization, each
c) What specific results (or objectives) much be accomplished that, in total, reach the
e) When the results will be achieved (or timelines for each objective)” (Basics of Action
Planning, 2018).
Once we organize everything, we are going to have to build up our organizations name.
Fundraisers, social events, food drives and anything else we can do is going to have to be done to
let people know who we are. This is going to be a part of the collaboration and relationships
building that was mentioned before. Once the name Checkpoint Veteran is out there, and our
layout of this facility is going to have to meet very specific criteria for us to be able to reach the
goals that we have set. Being as we are going to have professional services (e.g. counselors,
claims reps, mental health providers) we are going to have to have a facility that is either already
laid out or will be able to be built to specifications. Also, since we are going to have other
services like shop services, physical fitness, and recreational facilities, the layout of the entire
facility itself is going to have to be well planned out. Since this is going to be a one stop kind of
organization, we are wanting to keep all these facilities in very close proximity to each other. The
only exception that I can see would be the automotive shop. I would prefer that to be adjacent to
the main facility. The reason being is that it’s going to interfere with other sections of the facility.
Shops are inherently loud and the produce a lot of smells and other debris that some customers
may not want to be around, especially if they are there seeking something like counseling or
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mental health services. Since the layout of the facility is very specific, the only option we really
Once everything is laid out the way we want, and we have all the counselors and
providers and trainers and technicians needed, we will have to set up a schedule for everyone.
With a facility this size and with all the different services provided, this is going to be a bigger
endeavor than most organizations must deal with. Assignments are going to have to be given out
to different workers for the specific job that they do. For example, a marriage/family counselor
will have to deal with couples and an intake counselor will be for new customers. Scheduling
service operations is going to have to be needed. Being as this will be a very large facility,
scheduling mass services is going to be, in my opinion, necessary. Even though this is not a
production service, mass scheduling will be needed for the simple fact that the services we plan
to provide are usually secondary to most people’s daily routine. Counseling services, recreational
facilities, and shops may have to have different time frames than other parts of the organization
Conclusion.
There are many aspects that need to work together to create and organization that can
allow it to go from a good organization to a great organization. The ideas I laid out are just a few
of the many things that need to happen to reach the goals that are established. A good quality
plan is needed when setting out on such an ambitious endeavor, however, that is not all you need.
Executing that plan to near perfection can be the difference between success and failure. So, over
the next few months, I will be taking these ideas and perfecting them to make sure this
References
Basics of Action Planning (as part of strategic planning). (n.d.). Retrieved February 10, 2018,
from https://managementhelp.org/strategicplanning/actionplanning.htm
https://www.chartgo.com/create.do?charttype=line&width=600&height=400&chrtbkgndc
olor=gradientblue&labelorientation=diagonal&title=Employee%2BGrowth&subtitle=&x
title=3%2BYear%2BProjection&ytitle=Number%2Bof%2BEmployees&source=&fontty
petitle=bold&fonttypelabel=normal&max_yaxis=75&min_yaxis=5&threshold=&show3d
=1&gridlines=1&labels=1&gradient=1&border=1&shape=1&xaxis1=Year%2B1%0D%0
A%0D%0AYear%2B2%0D%0A%0D%0AYear%2B3%0D%0A%0D%0A&yaxis1=10%
0D%0A20%0D%0A30%0D%0A40%0D%0A50%0D%0A&group1=Group%2B1&grou
pcolor1=green&file=&viewsource=lineView&language=en§ionSetting=false§ionSpecifi
c=false§ionData=false&usePost=#.WoB3jKjtzcc
Strategic Planning for Nonprofits. (2017, December 29). Retrieved February 10, 2018, from
https://www.councilofnonprofits.org/tools-resources/strategic-planning-nonprofits
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Graph # 1
This graph represents the percentage of customers helped over a three-year period. As a
minimum number of customers that must be helped to procure essential funding. The satisfaction
of customers is always a priority in the service industry. There are many positives that come
along with satisfied customers. Returning customers will allow an organization like this to be
able to keep numbers where they need to be so that proper funding can be allotted. The word of
mouth by satisfied customers will bring in new customers as the reputation of the organization
will be that of a high-quality organization and the organization will be able to grow. The larger
we get, the more customers we get, the better our chances of landing grants that will allow us to
really accomplish the goals we have set. Our reputation will amongst other organizations will
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allow for standards to be set with these kinds of services and in turn there will be rewards and
Graph # 2
This graph represents estimated employee growth over a 3-year period. The plot points
indicate that there will be a need for an additional 10 employees every six months until our goal
is met by the end of the 3-year period. There are many things involved with employee growth.
First there will be a need to adjust the pay system every time a new employee comes on. They
will need to be trained up on how the organization works and what we expect. It also shows how
the organization is growing. The more people we provide services to, the more employees we
will need to carry out those services. Eventually this will lead to other things as well. Employee
growth may lead to the creation of different departments, investments, and retirements.