Running head: ORGANIZATIONAL ANALYSIS

Organizational Analysis:
National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence
Kathryn Sape
Wayne State University

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Introduction
Social work is a very broad field of work. A social worker can work in a variety of
environments with various populations. Social workers can work in schools, hospitals,
government, and agencies that are for profit or non-profit. It is important that social workers
understand the different levels of practice from micro to macro. A social worker may work on
the micro level with individual clients, but it is important that they also know how their
organization is run and the policies that they must follow. Taking the time to really analyze an
organization is important so that you are able to fully understand how it functions as a whole.
Organization and Services
During my senior year in the Bachelor of Social Work program at Wayne State
University, I had the opportunity to get hands on experience in a social work setting at my field
placement. The agency that I have been interning at this year is the National Council on
Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD), specifically in the Greater Detroit Area (GDA).
NCADD is a non-profit out patient treatment facility for clients suffering from substance abuse.
Being a non-profit agency means that it is mission driven and governed by a volunteer
board of directors. Their goal is to achieve a charitable purpose, the profit is used by the
organization, and they have an IRS designation. That differs from for profit agencies, which are
owned by shareholders, partners, and individuals with a goal to make profit for individual use
(Lebold, 2015). While at NCADD I have been able to gain information about what it is like to be
a social worker in the substance abuse population and also analyze the organization as a whole.
Mission and Goals
According to the 2012 Annual Report from the National Council on Alcoholism and
Drug Dependence (2012), the mission statement is: The National Council on Alcoholism and

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Drug Dependence is a voluntary, non-profit agency committed to improving community health

through providing substance abuse prevention, education, training, treatment and advocacy for
the Metropolitan Detroit Area (2012 Annual Report, 2012). Most organizations or agencies
whether for profit or non-profit have mission statements. A mission statement is a short
statement that tells what the organizations purpose is. According to the PowerPoint presentation
by Susan Lebold (2015), a mission statement also sets the direction for the organization and puts
limits on what the organization can do (Lebold, 2015). Just by reading the short mission
statement for NCADD it is clear that it is a non-profit agency that is dedicated to fighting the
problem of substance abuse in the Metropolitan Detroit Area.
The goals of NCADD as listed by the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug
Dependence in the Greater Detroit Area [NCADD-GDA], (2009) website include: to provide
quality addiction treatment, prevention education and recovery services; to advocate for proper
education prevention and addiction treatment services; to reduce the stigma and discrimination of
the disease of addiction; foster a safe and healthy recovery community (NCADD-GDA, 2009).
The goals listed on the website are similar to the agencys mission, but more in depth. The goals
state what the organization plans to do to in order to achieve their mission.
NCADD addresses its goals with individual and group therapy sessions. During both
sessions with the social workers, clients are educated on different substances, the effects they
have on the body, ways to prevent using substances, and how to recover from addiction. Clients
are educated through readings, talks, videos, and homework. The disease of addiction is taken
very seriously at NCADD. Clients are treated with respect and dignity no matter what their
situation. NCADD is a safe place for individuals suffering from substance abuse to come and
receive treatment. While working with individual clients as well as groups, clients are not

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stigmatized. Even in larger group sessions with clients who have very different backgrounds,
they are all treated as equal individuals. Whether the client has been self-referred with a serious
long-term addiction or is sent in by a probation officer and is in denial of even having a problem,
everyone is treated equally and with respect.
While observing group sessions I was able to see and experience different individuals
sharing personal stories and supporting one another, no matter how different they were from
each other. They all have one common factor, which is that they have a substance abuse
problem, whatever it may be. While at NCADD I have seen the agency address their goals. By
following their mission and goals, they have helped many people recover from addiction.
The information in the 2012 Annual Report for NCADD states, The NCADD Board of
Directors volunteer their time to guide the agencies activities and services in order to support the
residents of Southeast Michigan (2012 Annual Report, 2012). Based off of this statement it
could be assumed that the Board of Directors determine what the goals for NCADD should be in
order to guide them toward successfully helping clients in need.
Goal displacement is common in organizations. According to Netting, Kettner,
McMurtry, and Thomas (2012), goal displacement is described as this:
The formal goals of the organization-stated goals-and those of decision makers-real
goals-may be very different, but through mechanisms such as cooptation, growth of
oligarchies, and development of the bureaucratic personality, it is usually stated goals that
are displaced by real goals representing the interests of decision makers (Netting et al.,
2012, p. 226).

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Even if an organization has stated goals that they plan to work toward, those goals may change
based on what is going on in the organization and who is in charge. I have not discovered goal
displacement at NCADD. The overall goals have remained the same even as time went on.
Some things that could have prevented the possibility of goal displacement at my agency
are that, NCADD-GDA has been an affiliate member of the National Council on Alcoholism
and Drug Dependence, Inc. since its inception in 1947 (2012 Annual Report, 2012). NCADD
is the leading advocacy organization in the world addressing alcoholism and drug dependence.
Since 1944, NCADD has raised public awareness about addiction throughout the United States
and increasingly across the global community (National Council on Alcoholism and Drug
Dependence, Inc. [NCADD], 2015). My agency, which is in the Greater Detroit Area (NCADDGDA), has been part of the original National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence for
decades, yet is still going strong and following the goals set years ago with no goal displacement.
Since NCADD-GDA is a part of NCADD they have much of the same goals and
practices, helping to keep my particular agency in Detroit from having any goal displacement as
well. The abuse of alcohol and drugs and the response to provide avenues for education,
treatment and prevention remain the core behind what has shaped and continues to guide the
history of NCADD as a vessel for hope (NCADD, 2015). Another reason for no goal disparity
at NCADD is because the goals were very vague to begin with. The main focuses of NCADDs
goals are to provide adequate treatment for clients struggling with substance abuse, while
allowing them to keep their dignity. The organization has added more programs, such as STEPS
and SAFETY to help the youth of the area stay away from substances (2012 Annual Report,
2012). However this is not goal displacement because the focus remains the same while
widening the age range to help a more people struggling to abstain from drugs and alcohol.

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Organizational Structure and Staffing

The organizational chart for NCADD-GDA makes it easy to see the relationship among
staff and programs. An organizational chart is a good way to see in a more clear and simple way,
the organizational structure. Organizational structure refers to the way relationships are
constituted among persons within an organization (Netting et al., 2012). While analyzing an
organizational structure you are able to identify the head of the organization to who is at the
bottom, the relationships with each other, and the different areas of work in the organization.
Distribution of Power and Control
By looking at the organizational chart for NCADD-GDA, you can tell who has much of
the power in the organization as well as the distribution of power and control within the
organization. At the very top of the organizational chart there is the Board of Directors and
below that is the President/CEO. After the President/CEO, would be the Executive Assistant,
however that position is currently vacant. After this point the organizational chart flattens out
and is separated into four different areas of focus. Each of those four areas within the
organization has a structure of their own with someone in charge of that area at the top.
The four different specialized areas on NCADD-GDAs organizational chart include an
area that focuses on youth, a recovery and prevention sector, a finance sector, and an area that
focuses on the clinical aspect. The youth sector is divided into two separate programs: the
SAFETY Program and the STEPS Program. Each of the programs have directors in charge with
specialists working under them. In the recovery and prevention section there is a head
coordinator who has an administrative assistant working under him followed by prevention
specialists. The finance section has a Chief Financial Officer who has people that work under
him in specialized areas of work. Lastly, in the clinical section of the organizational chart there is

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the Director of Clinical, Linda Woodward, who is at the top of this area of work and is also my
supervisor. Working below Ms. Woodward is a psychiatrist, counselors, therapists, and a
receptionist. There are many other individuals not mentioned on this organizational chart such as
interns and volunteers, however the chart is still very helpful while trying to analyze the structure
of an organization without getting into too much detail.
From this organizational chart, it is visible that much of the power comes from the very
top but is then distributed to the four main sectors within the organization, which each have
someone in charge of that particular area. According to Netting et al. (2012), In some ways, the
practice of social work fits well with the bureaucratic organization. For example, the profession
encourages job specialization based on expertise and the promotion of individuals as they
accumulate skills and seniority (Netting et al., 2012, p. 216). NCADD-GDA has a bureaucratic
structure in the way that it separates different tasks to areas that specialize in that area.
Management
The lines of authority in place are shown in NCADD-GDAs organizational chart. The
main authority comes from the top of the chart and moves downward. I have only had experience
in the clinical sector of the organization so I know firsthand how that part of the organization is
run. Ms. Woodward is not only my supervisor for my field placement; she is also the
authoritative figure of that entire clinical sector. However she also has people that are above her
in the organization, as shown in the chart, that have authority over her.
At my field placement, while working with Ms. Woodward and the other employees, I
have been able to get comfortable in that setting. The approach to management in the building I
work in is a combination of ideas from Human Relations theory and Theory Y. Some key
features of these theories according to Netting et al. (2012) are:

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These theories assume that workers are motivated by factors other than wages. Human
relations theorists noted that social relations among staff can enhance production, and
they sought to enhance performance by promoting group cohesion and adding social
rewards to the range of reinforcements available in the workplace. Others added needs
such as self-actualization to the list of additional motivating factors (Netting et al., 2012,
p. 222).
The atmosphere at my agency is pleasant. Everyone gets along well and work together as a team.
The individuals that I work with at NCADD also have a passion for their work that goes beyond
just a paycheck. This benefits the clients because they are being helped by people passionate
about helping them and willing to work together to help a client to the best of their ability.
Diversity
The NCADD-GDA building that I work in seems to have a fairly diverse group of people
working there. I intern only in the clinical sector of the organization, so that area I am most
knowledgeable in. At my internship there are different races, ethnicities, and genders present.
There are slightly more people of color than there are white people at my agency and there are
also more women than men. This could be attributed to the fact that the location where my
agency is has a population that has a majority of African Americans. Also more women tend to
go into social work, which could be why less men work there. Looking at the organization from
a wider perspective, by looking at the NCADD-GDA organizational chart there are also more
women than men listed on the chart. However there are several men as well and there are almost
an equal amount of men and women in positions of higher power in the agency.
I am unsure if there are any people of the LGBTQ community who work the agency. This
could be because they do not want to be known as part of this community or simply there are

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none who identify as this. I am also unsure about how many disabled people work at NCADD.
However my supervisor does have a hard time seeing and writing and that is a disadvantage for
her because she often needs help on the computer and it is difficult for the people she works with
to read her notes. These problems that she has are a disadvantage for both her and the agency.
Some problems that a minority would have in this agency or most agencies for that matter would
be moving up to a higher position, getting higher pay, or being discriminated against in general.
Discrimination is always here in our society and I am sure it is in my agency as well.
Internal and External Environment
While part of an organization it is important to know what that organization is doing well
and what it needs to improve. It is also important to think ahead about what possible positive
changes could be made in an organization as well as possible negative things that could occur. A
way to help an organization succeed in reaching their goals and to remain successful is to be
aware of the good and the bad, both within the organization and externally. Being aware of what
is going on both internally and externally in an organization is vital for in order to know what
things to continue and what may need to change in order to be successful.
Knowledge of the positives and negatives both internally and externally is important, so
many organizations complete SWOT analyses. SWOT is an acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses,
Opportunities, and Threats. In a SWOT analysis strengths and weaknesses are internal, while
opportunities and threats are external to the organization. According to my supervisor:
Every five years we all get together and complete a SWOT analysis to see where the
agency is and what could be improved. The SWOT analysis we have on file now is for
2010-2015, so we are planning on completing a new one for the next five years very
soon (L. Woodward, personal communication, February 16, 2015).

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I asked my supervisor, Ms. Woodward, to talk with me and help me complete a SWOT analysis
on NCADD; I was surprised that she already had one. We then talked about it and I was able to
learn about the organization by seeing what the people who work there felt should be filled in for
the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
NCADDs SWOT analysis was a full page with bullets that I typed out in a blank SWOT
analysis form that will be attached. Included in the internal strengths are: history of service to the
community, national accreditation for service, approved organizational infrastructure, competent
staff, lean administration, office space, program development and implementation, and strong
outpatient clinical service. Internal weaknesses are: annual deficits, mounting debt, staff
reductions, low staff morale, aging technology, and aging staff.
I was already aware of most of these things mentioned internally in the agency. One thing
I noticed while going over the internal strengths and weaknesses was that nothing mentioned
seemed to be relatively new. This SWOT analysis was written five years ago and the same
strengths and weaknesses used then still apply today. In particular, the internal weaknesses did
not seem to have been addressed at all over the years for they are still weaknesses today.
The external opportunities listed include: recovery oriented systems of care, co-occurring
mental health and substance abuse services, prisoner re-entry programs, organizational mergers,
and collaborations with other entities. These are all good ideas, however nothing seems to have
come from them. Listed under external threats are: reductions in funding, increased competition
for less resources, limited or no philanthropy, dire economic forecast, and increased competition
for clients from competitors. The main threat to this organization is a lack of money and
resources. That is not surprising for a non-profit agency such as this, but not having enough
money or resources can be a huge problem within an organization. Based on the Open Systems

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Theory, organizations receive inputs, operate on them through some sort of process called
throughput, and produce outputs. In human service agencies, inputs include resources such as
funding, staff, and facilities (Netting et al., 2012, p. 230). Without enough funding the agency
may stop working, because the lack of input needed to create an output of service to the clients.
Legitimization in External Environment

NCADD achieves legitimization in its external environment in a few different ways.

They have a National Accreditation for service and have over 66 years of experience working
with substance abuse (2012 Annual Report, 2012). Also according to NCADDs 2012 Annual
Report, NCADD has a well-established positive reputation in the region for its efforts to meet
the community substance use disorder prevention and treatment needs. NCADD is a constant
presence in local drug prevention activities (2012 Annual Report, 2012). Not only does
NCADD have experience and accreditation, they are also involved in the community. Their
presence is well known and established in the community.
The Clients
The clients that receive treatment at NCADD-GDA come from different areas but mostly
are from here in Detroit, oftentimes nearby the agencys location. Clients could be self-referred
seeking to receive help. There are also many clients that are ordered to seek substance abuse
treatment and are referred to our location. This is usually because there was some type of legal
issue that they need to work through and it could be part of their probation.
Relationship With Other Organizations
NCADDs relationship with other organizations in its environment is good. NCADD
refers clients to other organizations when necessary if they are not able to adequately meet all of
the clients needs. An example of this is that clients are often referred to Alcoholics Anonymous
(AA) or Narcotics Anonymous (NA) to receive additional help that can be vital for recovery. I

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found while working at NCADD that there are many resources available for clients so that they
are able to get the help they need if it is not something we can directly do for them. It is
important for any agency in the social work field to have a good relationship with other
organizations in order to help the client as much as possible.
NCADD often works with other organizations for the benefit of the community. The
2012 Annual Report for NCADD states:
To enhance the ability of the community to effectively provide prevention services for
ATOD (Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs) the NCADD prevention staff collaborates
with community partners (2012 Annual Report, 2012).
NCADD works with other agencies in order to benefit the community as a whole. Having good
relationships with other organizations is good for both the client and the agency.
Theoretical Construct of Organization
The organizational theory that best describes NCADD in terms of its overall functioning,
management structure, decision-making practices, and organizational culture is the Management
By Objectives (MBO):
MBO argues that management must ensure the continuing presence of clear goals and
objectives for the organization. Once these are in place, the task of management becomes
one of decision making regarding how best to achieve each objective. Success is
measured by the extent to which objectives were achieved (Netting et al., 2012, p. 224).
At NCADD there are always clear goals and objectives for the organization as a whole and for
most of the work that I have seen and have been a part of. When I started at NCADD there were
clear directions on what I was to do, know, and expect. Interns had long-term goals of having our
own clients, but in order to achieve any goals we had to first complete the objectives. Which

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included learning how to fill out the paperwork, observing other social workers, and learning the
rules of the organization.
While working with a client at NCADD it is a necessary part of the paperwork to create
goals and objectives for that client. The client must first work on some smaller objectives that
will help them reach a goal. Part of each clients Master Treatment Plan is a section for goals and
objectives. In order for a social worker to make the decision that a client has successfully
completed treatment it is always necessary that they have reached their goals and objectives. Just
as the MBO theory suggests, the success is determined by what objectives were achieved.
Recommendation
Based on what I learned about NCADD though the SWOT analysis, my time working
there, observations, and readings, I have been able to identify problems that the agency should
resolve. Many of the problems are stated on the SWOT analysis already. Some of the biggest
problems are deficits, mounting debt, staff reductions, and especially aging technology. There is
not nearly enough technology used in this agency. Everything that must be inputted into the
computer is first printed off, written on, and then brought back to the receptionist to be manually
typed out. This process is inefficient and also leads to disorganization.
I would recommend attempting to get more funding in order to make necessary changes.
With more funding NCADD could increase and update the technology making things much
easier and efficient. Additional funding would also solve other problems of deficits, mounting
debt, and staff reductions. To gain more money for the agency, NCADD could reach out to other
organizations, sponsors, or attempt to get more grant money. As nice as it would be to just get
more money to fix the problems in the agency, it is not realistic. Lack of money and resources is
common for agencies such as these. The state may be unwilling to give additional funding to

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help. A way to deal with this obstacle would be to get more involved in policy and advocate for
changes that will make non-profit agencies that help the public a higher priority in government.
Conclusion
There are so many different things to learn before becoming a social worker. My field
placement was my first experience as a social worker though I am not one yet. Working in the
social work profession for the first time has been very exciting and I am continually learning new
things. At first I was focused only on what I was doing, however now I am learning to see the
bigger picture. The different levels of practice all work together and it is important to understand
each part. I am now able to understand and analyze the organization I work in as a whole.
Analyzing organizations, identifying problems within organizations, and thinking critically about
how an organization works, all lead to being a more knowledgeable and useful social worker.

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References
Lebold, S. (2015). Week 4 Understanding Organizations [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from
https://blackboard.wayne.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-4991036-dt-content-rid5578557_2/courses/SW_4020_1501_003/Week%204%20understanding%20organization
s.pdf
National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence. (2012). 2012 Annual Report (Brochure).
National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc. (2015). Our history. Retrieved
from https://ncadd.org/about-ncadd/press-releases-a-news-articles
NCADD-GDA. (2009). NCADD-GDA. Retrieved from http://www.ncadd-detroit.org/index.html
Netting, F.E., Kettner, P.M., McMurtry, S.L., & Thomas, M.L. (2012). Understanding
Organizations. In D. Musslewhite & A. Dodge (Eds.), Social work macro practice (pp.
208-252). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.