Problem Definition: Problem Resolution as the Reason for Concern
A school library is an essential resource for learners and teachers alike. Containing an array of scholarly articles, books, and other resources, it enables the participants to engage in the process of data collection and acquisition of the relevant knowledge and skills (Egunjobi 21). However, in some cases, the process of gathering the relevant data and learning new information is impeded by the quality of services and the issues with the leadership strategy chosen by the managers. In a range of cases, the issue is ubiquitous for the entire community due to the intrinsic problems in it. Therefore, a detailed analysis thereof is required.
In St. Lucie County (Ft Pierce, FL), the lack of social skills among the staff members and the unwillingness to resolve conflicts efficiently can be viewed as the core problem that has been persistent in most libraries of St. Lucie County (Ft Pierce, FL). Because of the detrimental effects that the said phenomenon has on the success of the students’ research and the overall availability of the resources, it needs to be handled with the help of a committee that will help design a management strategy.
Diagnostic Tools: Determining the Cause of the Problem
Customer Satisfaction Survey
The use of the Customer Satisfaction Survey was considered appropriate for measuring the efficacy of the services provided by the library employees, as well as the quality of communication occurring in the identified environment. The choice of the specified framework was based on the necessity to determine the significance of the issue and the presence of the problem. In retrospect, the application of the tool helped identify the factors that contributed to the growth in the levels of customers’ dissatisfaction.
Particularly, the survey helped single out the areas that needed further improvements. For instance, the issue regarding the recurrent conflicts with the staff members, as well as the techniques used by the employees to handle the confrontations, were mentioned by the customers as clumsy, at best, and inadequate, at worst. Therefore, the survey served as a tool for identifying the key issue.
Interviews Among the Staff Members
Carrying out conversations with the employee, in turn, helped locate the cause of the problem, For instance, the issues associated with the staff’s lack of engagement and the unwillingness to cater to the students’ needs should be placed at the top of the reasons for concern. The interviews indicated that the staff members had little to no idea of how the communication process should occur in case of a conflict. Furthermore, the motivation levels were very low among the employees of school libraries in the identified area. Thus, the interview indicated that there was a need to reconsider the current approach toward the management of conflicts in the context of library facilities, starting from the elimination of the factors that did not allow controlling the conflict appropriately (Jorge 64).
Committee for Managing the Problem
To handle the problem, one should consider creating a committee that will develop the programs improving the communication process, in general, and conflict management, in particular, in the environment of school libraries. To be more accurate, the committee will develop the set of standards of organizational behavior along with a suggested model thereof with which the employees will be obliged to comply.
As a result, the prerequisites for conflicts to occur in the school library environment will be eradicated successfully. Furthermore, the committee will have to consider the feedback submitted by the students and other visitors. The feedback will inform the further choice of the HR strategies used by the committee to improve the staff’s performance and guide them toward an even better communication framework. While prevention of conflicts will be viewed as one of the primary goals, successful resolution thereof will also be viewed as an essential part of the staff’s functions. There is no secret that conflicts are not only inevitable – they are also crucial for the further improvement of the staff’s performance and the enhancement of communication.
Therefore, the outcomes of confrontations and misunderstandings will be analyzed carefully so that new approaches toward handling the requests of the students could be managed accordingly. The members will be selected based on their knowledge and understanding of the situation, as well as their impartiality (e.g., some of the school board members may be selected as the commission members) (Middleton and Perks 90).
Brainstorming the Issue: Tools and Techniques
The meetings with the commission members will take place every week so that a detailed overview of the changes that occur in the target environment within a week could be documented appropriately and analyzed successfully. Furthermore, the strategies that involve the use of social networks, i.e., brain-netting, must be considered a necessity. Indeed, by inviting people to participate in a social media discussion, one is likely to attract a significant number of community members. Thus, the premises for embracing as large an audience as possible can be created. Therefore, the committee will be able to learn more about the needs of the students and teachers. Consequently, the decisions made by the committee members will reflect the needs of the target population.
Effects of the Problem: Determining the Impact
Students
The increasingly large number of confrontations with librarians leads to a rapid drop in motivation levels among the target population. Thus, the learners will be unwilling to engage in academic research and similar activities requiring literature search of they face hostility when conversing with librarians.
Teachers
The design of an efficient teaching strategy will barely be a possibility if teachers conflict with librarians regularly. Thus, a significant drop in the quality of teaching can be expected unless changes are made to the current approach of conflict management in the library environment.
Administrators
The confrontations and misunderstandings mentioned above will also hinder the work of administrators. The latter will have to focus on the development of the strategies that will contribute to the future avoidance of the factors that trigger the development of conflicts and misunderstandings. The identified approach, in turn, may result in developing a convoluted framework of operation that will impede the acquisition of the relevant skills even more (Cutler 68).
Parents
Seeing that parents are concerned about their children’s academic progress, the problems in the relationships between the students and the librarians will inevitably cause the parents to worry about their children’s well-being. Consequently, the tension between the parents and the school staff will grow, eventually leading to a greater conflict.
Community
Without a strong conflict management strategy, the staff members of the local libraries are likely to disrupt the balance in the community and bring discord to it. Therefore, there is a possibility that the lack of conflict management techniques observed among the library staff may have a potentially detrimental effect on the relationships between the community members.
Readings for the Group to Consider: Exploring the Issue
In order to address the problem successfully, the committee will have to learn more about the target population. Seeing that diversity levels are high in the community, a comprehensive strategy aimed at motivating the participants to assume the required conflict management techniques will be required. Particularly, it will be needed to take into account the characteristics of the African American, Latin American, white, Hispanic, and Asian cultures.
Furthermore, the premises for acquiring the relevant knowledge and skills for managing conflict between the representatives of other cultures will be essential. Therefore, it is highly recommended that the principles of lifelong learning as the foundation for addressing the needs of the increasingly diverse community should be established. After deploying the said concepts, one will be able to promote mutual understanding among the target audiences, thus, improving the relationships between them. Additionally, the said approach will allow introducing a set of values and standards that will encourage the staff members of the local libraries to cater to the needs of the students in a more efficient manner, taking their needs into account based on the learners’ cultural background.
Group Recommendations for Managing the Issue of Problem Resolution
Local Level
The active use of social media tools should be viewed as the means of solving the problem at the district level. By engaging as many community members as possible, one will be able to provide detailed instructions about the required behavioral patterns to as many representatives of the target population as possible. As a result, the basis for reinforcing the significance of appropriate conflict management among both students and librarians will become a possibility.
District Level
On a district level, the principles of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and corporate ethics should be promoted to librarians, as well as the rest of the staff working in school libraries. Furthermore, it will be necessary to build awareness regarding the importance of managing conflicts successfully and addressing the needs of learners accordingly.
Determining the Recommendations to Be Followed at Each Level: Leadership Perspective
As stressed above, it is crucial to deploy the principles of CSR in the environment of the state libraries so that the employees should be able to refrain from starting conflicts and, instead, should be able to search for the appropriate tools for managing the confrontations successfully. For this purpose, one should reconsider the current
Budget for Implementing the Recommendations: Adopting a Sustainable Approach
To carry out the necessary changes, one will have to spend a significant amount of money on providing the salaries for the committee members, promoting and launching the campaign, locating the required resources for designing the set of standards according to which the library staff and the students will need to behave, etc. At present, a total of $10,000 is considered the appropriate amount of money with the help of which the campaign can be launched, and the committee can be created.
It is expected that state budgeting will be used to finance the operations of the committee. Thus, the needs of the stakeholders will be satisfied successfully, and a comprehensive strategy aimed at encouraging efficient conflict management based on the principles of multiculturalism and diversity will be deployed. It is believed that the identified approach will allow for a rapid increase in the efficacy of the library services, as well as a more efficient communication process between the students and the library staff members. Finally, the redesign of the values and principles based on which the current behaviors of the staff members were formed will serve as the basis for introducing the latter to the concept of CSR.
Table 1. Budget.
Expected Outcome and Its Correlation to Standard X
It is expected that the implementation of the program will lead to a drop in the number of conflicts and an increase in library attendance among students. Furthermore, the teaching strategies used by educators will presumably improve due to the increased availability of the required materials. The identified outcome aligns with standard X, seeing that it involves the participation and growth of the entire community. Indeed, to manage the issue of conflicts among the library staff and the visitors, one will have to consider redesigning the values on which the entire communication process is built.
Evaluating the Implementation: Tools and Strategies
Local Level
In the context of the local community, the use of interviews as the primary means of receiving feedback should be considered a necessity. It is important to make sure that every voice of the community is heard.
District Level
When considering the problem on a greater scale, one should use surveys. The specified tool helps retrieve the necessary data within a relatively short amount of time and helps embrace the entire district. Therefore, interviews will shed some light on the implications of the campaign.
Works Cited
Cutler, William W. Parents and Schools: The 150-Year Struggle for Control in American Education. University of Chicago Press, 2015.
Egunjobi, Rotimi. Effects of Two Instructional Strategies on Achievement in Library Use Instruction among Secondary School Students with Hearing Impairment in Oyo State, Nigeria. GRIN Verlag, 2014.
Jorge, Ricardo. Neuropsychiatry of Traumatic Brain Injury, An Issue of Psychiatric Clinics of North America. Elsevier Health Sciences, 2014.
Middleton, Michael, and Kevin Perks. Motivation to Learn. Corwin Press, 2014.