To achieve the successful implementation of the In-home Supportive Services (IHSS) portal for applications and e-filing of forms, the new regional manager must analyze the effectiveness of the new system, address staffing needs, and make appropriate decisions; to ensure that the new software is efficient. Implementing changes in a public agency is often complicated because the dichotomy of political influence often causes inefficiency during the provision of services, which at times exceeds the benefits that are expected to be realized from the organizational change. This paper seeks to form a framework that will provide a theoretical toolbox that should be implemented by the new department head of IHSS and The Department of Public Social Services (DPSS), when launching a new software for clients’ application/case management process. The proposed framework will identify a starting point that requires a thorough analysis of the new software to determine effectiveness. The framework will also address managerial practices, staffing structure, and the informal role of decision-making; as a coalition that will aid the change process. Many co-dependent factors suggest that implementing a change in a governmental agency is risky. However, this paper will attempt to present a more comprehensive and holistic strategy for implementing change processes. The paper will also highlight the importance of developing a well thought out plan as a critical method of ensuring the successful implementation of the new software’s efficiency and longevity.

Introduction
In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) is among the largest home care programs offered in the United States. The program funds various activities that aimed at supporting people with disabilities. IHSS funds various needs including housekeeping, meal preparations, purchase and maintenance of breathing equipment, dressing assistance, and medication management. The program is available to all disabled people regardless of their age. The process of applying for IHSS support has often been tedious and extremely long as applicants are required to undergo a manual process of application that involves visiting the nearest IHSS offices. The manual process has also been challenging as a majority of the applicants suffer from various types of disability which may include the lack of sight, mobility disability. The automation of the entire application process including the introduction of e-filing of forms is, therefore, expected to increase the number of applicants and ensure that the process is fast, reliable and effective. The management of IHSS is dedicated to ensuring that the change from the manual process to the automated process is effective and considers the needs and expectations of all stakeholders. The change is expected to be embedded on various theories.
Effectiveness
Luther Gulick built on the ideas of Henri Fayol and proposed the acronym POSDCORB (Gulick, 1937). The acronym stands for Planning, Staffing, Direction, Coordinating, Reporting and Budgeting. The appointed IHSS manager will adopt the POSDCORB concept through various ways. Firstly, the manager will not only make decisions and implement ideas but will also schedule the execution of activities. Additionally, the manager will also have short term (weekly), medium-term (annual) and long-term (3-years) plans. The plans will clearly show the direction of the business entity after the change from the manual to automated IHSS platform. Secondly, the manager will delegate tasks under the new system to respective departments or staff. The implementation of the automated system will require various resources including a budget, paper work, personnel and technology experts. The manager will delegate responsibilities to employees based on their expertise and roles in the organization.
Thirdly, the manager will determine the required skills, expertise and experience required for each activity. The manager will then structure the recruitment, selection and training process to attract the best talent for the tasks. The manager will, therefore, be responsible for ensuring that all roles and responsibilities associated with the implementation of the system are allocated to the most qualified employees. The fourth element of implementing the change process will involves coordination. Specifically, the manager will have to ensure that all departments within the organization operate seamlessly to ensure the efficient adoption of the digital platform. The manager will enhance the coordination of tasks to ensure that the objectives are attained within the stipulated time.
The manager will also be required to prepare frequent reports that provide an updates on the progress of the projects. The monthly reports will highlight various issues including the stage of implementation of the new system, the performance of various departments involved in the adoption of the digital platform and the application of figures. Lastly, the manager will control the expenditure of all departments involved in the adoption of the digital platform.
Katz and Khan provided a distinction between open and closed system. Open systems have various characteristics including equifinality and feedback (Katz and Kahn, 1966). Organizations that adopt the open system are, therefore, able to recognize the external environment. The closed system has defined structures and policies and fails to consider the opinions of the surrounding environment. The IHSS manager will adopt the open system in which the opinions and ideas of employees will be considered. The manager will also consult employees regularly before making major decisions.
Fredrick Taylor developed the scientific management theory and proposed four main principles. Firstly, the scientific theory proposed the abolishment of rule of thumb and instead supported the adoption of the scientific method to study work and develop the most efficient way to carry out certain tasks (Taylor, 2004). Secondly, the scientific theory proposed that employees should be matched to their jobs on the basis of their capability and motivation. Thirdly, the theory proposed that the performance of the employees should be closely monitored to ensure that the employees utilize the most efficient ways of working. Lastly, the theory proposed that work should be delegated in an effective manner to allow employees to carry out their assigned tasks efficiently. This will help managers to focus on planning and training. The IHSS manager will adopt the scientific theory in various ways. Firstly, the manager will analyze the tasks that should be carried after the implementation of the new system and determine the most effective ways to carry out the tasks. The manager will also adopt the technology required to ensure that tasks carried out in the new system use minimum resources. Additionally, the manager will ensure that employees are highly motivated to carry out their tasks through incentives and other forms of support. The manager will also ensure that jobs are allocated to employees based on their morale and expertise to carry out the tasks.
Graham Allison compared public and private administration and determined that it was possible to identify a set of general management functions (Allison, 1980). According to Graham, entities should strive to form strategies by developing goals, priorities and procedures. Entities should, therefore, manage their internal components in a prudent manner by organizing staff, defining job responsibilities, hiring experienced workers and laying out budgets. The IHSS manager is, therefore, expected to develop clear goals and objectives which are SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound).
Staffing
Staffing is a major element of a successful entity according to Luther Gulick. Fredrick Taylor also emphasized on the need to match the right employees with available tasks. Based on the concepts proposed by the two scholars, the IHSS manager will create an effective staffing system. Consequently, the manager will need to identify activities that have to be implemented. The manager should then analyze the unique abilities, experience, motivation and expertise of all available employees. A manager should consider hiring additional employees in case the required skills cannot be sourced from the available employees.
Secondly, the manager will appoint an implementation committee whose primary aim will be to ensure a smooth change process. The committee will be composed of representatives from various departments. The committee will scrutinize the budget and ensure that the expenses are within the budgeted amounts. Additionally, the committee will create timelines for various activities and ensure that the entity achieves its set objectives within the stipulated time.
Motivation will be a vital element of the digitalization process. The manager will implement various strategies to ensure that the employees are highly motivated. Firstly, the manager will adopt transformational theory to ensure that all employees are involved and integrated into the process. Mary Parker Follett contributed immensely on organizational theory. According to Follett, transformational leadership focuses on integration. He added that transformational leaders adopt the “power with” concept as opposed to “power over” concept (Follett, 1926). The manager should, therefore, create various communication avenues including social media platforms and notice box to allow employees to express their ideas regarding the digital platform. The employees will also be informed and considered before making any major change.
The second strategy of motivation which will be adopted by the IHSS manager will involve meeting the needs of employees. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs can be viewed as a motivation model which can be adopted by entities to meet the various needs of employees. There are five major needs of employees and they include physiological, safety, love and belonging, esteem, and self-actualization needs (Maslow, 1943). According to Fayol (1916), employee satisfaction depends on fair remuneration for everyone. This includes financial and non-financial compensation. The manager should also ensure that organization’s staff are well remunerated and have access to a psychologist or therapist. Employees should also be given enough time to interact with their families. The manager should also ensure that employees are not segregated based on their country of origin or gender.
The manager should create a well-defined hierarchy and ensure there is efficient and effective flow of information from top level to bottom level employees and vice versa. According to Max Weber, an effective hierarchy or ideal bureaucracy is characterized by clear division of labor. Further, the hierarchy should show relationships, rules and regulations (Weber, 1996). The figure below shows the hierarchy that will be adopted by IHSS manager to ensure the efficient operation of the digital system.
Recruitment of new staff is a crucial process for any organization. The manager will, therefore, ensure that the recruitment process is effective and that it aims at attracting the best talent in the market. The manager will adopt the Pendleton Act which was established on 16th January 1883 (Appleby, 1945). According to the Pendleton Act, public employees should be appointed based on merit. The Act stipulates that appointment to government posts should be based on merit. To ensure that the recruitment process is free and fair, the implementation committee will ensure that short-listed candidates undertake an exam based on the appointed positions and that candidates with highest scores are employed. The exam will consist of 50% of the scores while the other 50% will be based on the experience and qualifications of the candidates.
Communication is a vital element of the change process. Based on the Fredrick Taylor’s scientific management theory duties should be distributed in a manner whereby managers play a supervisory role and guide other employees as opposed to dictating duties to their subjects. The manager will ensure that there is effective communication between all stakeholders including the beneficiaries, employees, and the management. The manager will hold various meetings which will create a platform for various employees to exchange ideas regardless of their positions in the entity.
Decision making process
There are numerous decisions that have to be made to ensure that the business entity operates efficiently. Chester Barnard developed a framework to guide organizations on how to operate effectively. Barnard developed the Acceptance Theory of Authority which argues that an entity can achieve its goals if it motivates and meets the needs of its employees (Barnard, 1938). Successful entities are effective and efficient. Chester evaluated formal and informal organizations. Formal organizations have defined rules and policies that ensure they achieve financial and production goals (Wilson, 1887). A formal management-employee relationship is defined by hierarchical framework. Informal organizations are usually characterized by effective communication between managers and other employees. The IHSS manager will adopt both formal and informal relationships. Formal relationships will be defined by the hierarchy while informal relationships will ensure effective and reliable decision-making and interaction.
Herbert Simon proposed bounded rationality which suggests that human rationality is implied by the concept of homo economicus (Simon, 1946). According to the bounded rationality concept, people are limited in their thinking capacity. There are various elements that hinder effective thinking including available information and time. A manager should ensure that information is easily available to enable employees to make the right decisions. The manager should create various guidelines including a code of conduct as well as an organization’ policies and procedures to enable employees to make correct and reliable decisions.
The decisions of a manager may be reliant on various issues including cost and time (White, 1955). The implementation committee in collaboration with the manager should develop a budget which shows expenditures. The manager should also ensure that financial decisions such as whether to purchase certain machinery, is made on the basis of available funds. Any financial decisions which might affect the budget significantly should be discussed between an organization’s manager, the relevant committee and other relevant stakeholders. The manager will utilize the critical-path analysis tool to determine the expected time for each activity and to determine the least amount of time that can be used to complete a majority of the tasks. Decisions regarding time will, therefore, be based on the critical-path tool.
Dwight Waldo popularized the idea of public administration and proposed that public servants should be active, informed and politically savvy agents of change who work to protect due process as well as to the public’s access to government services. Waldo claimed that public servants should support critical change which enhances the delivery of services to the public (Waldo, 1948). The IHSS manager will ensure that employees fully understand the digital platform and are ready to support its implementation. The manager should also develop innovative strategies to ensure that the adoption of the system will not adversely affect employees’ activities and past duties.
Conclusion
The In-home Supportive Services (IHSS) portal is aimed at improving the applications and e-filing of forms, by enabling applicants to file and register at the comfort of their homes. The newly appointed IHSS manager, therefore, believes that effective strategies should be undertaken to ensure that the system will be beneficial to all stakeholders. The strategies will be based on the various theories developed by researchers in the past. In particular, the strategies should ensure that the entity is effective and that the staffing procedures adopted are reliable and that employees can make the right decisions.