Role expectations among agency personnel

Abstract

concerning the formulation of policy. The executive director, who serves as a liaison between staff and board, shares this information with the board of directors, which has the ultimate power to formulate policy. Although it is possible to identify the primary functions of the board of directors, the executive director, and the staff, the actual operation of a voluntary agency entails the overlap ping of functions. For example, the community's need for a new service may be known and discussed sepa rately by all three divisions. Each can engage in such related tasks as apprais ing the community's need, assessing the present capability of the agency to initiate a new service, and planning for the funding of a new program. The decision to begin a new service, however, is a question of policy that rests with the board of directors. Fig ure 2 portrays the overlap of functions among the board of directors, the exe cutive director, and the staff. The literature on the management of voluntary social agencies indicates that a failure to observe the primary functions of each division can create conflict in administration. Role theory provides a perspective from which to study the proper functioning within the different divisions. Role expecta tion is an individual's concept of how the rights and duties of a position should be performed.2 Ideally the role expectations of the board, the executive director, and the staff should be similar to the primary functions of these divisions. The primary functions of each division are generally made known through an administrative man ual that sets forth the functions of each division or through annual training sessions for board members. To pre vent role ambiguity, it is essential that the role functions of each division are made clear both to members of that