Organizational Behavior of the Council for Exceptional Children: Motivation, Communication and Organizational Culture

References

Firestone, J. 2007 Interview on working for the Council for Exceptional Children,

Jobster.com, Retrieved on July 1, 2007 from

http://www.jobster.com/at/company/Council+for+Exceptional+Children/page/1


Robins, S. Organizational Behavior, Eleventh Edition, Chapter 10 Communication,

Published by Prentice-Hall. Pearson Education, Inc.

Robins, S. Organizational Behavior, Eleventh Edition, Chapter 7 Motivation: from

Concepts to Applications, Published by Prentice-Hall. Pearson Education, Inc.

Robins, S. Organizational Behavior, Eleventh Edition, Chapter 16 Organizational

Culture, Published by Prentice-Hall. Pearson Education, Inc.


The Council for Exceptional Children, Retrieved on July 1, 2007 from

www.cec.sped.org,

Introduction



  The Council for Exceptional Children’s Organizational Behavior concepts have effectively ensured successful business practices and relationships since their inception.
In evaluating the organizational behavior of this organization the following concepts will be discussed Motivation, Communication, and Organizational Culture. Having worked for CEC, I am uniquely qualified to discuss these three organizational concepts. Through what I have learned from Organizational Theory and Behavior, I will apply that knowledge to the research of this organization to determine its successful practice of these concepts.
“The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) is the largest international professional organization dedicated to improving educational outcomes for individuals with exceptionalities, students with disabilities, and/or the gifted. CEC advocates for appropriate governmental policies, sets professional standards, provides continual professional development, advocates for newly and historically underserved individuals with exceptionalities, and helps professionals obtain conditions and resources necessary for effective professional practice.” (CEC, 2007)



Motivation
CEC’s motivation concepts are evident in the type of work they do. Knowing that you are helping children who need and advocate is the most rewarding motivation there is. In an interview with a former employee one can really get sense of how much he enjoyed working for CEC and what his experiences were.
“What do people wear to work at Council for Exceptional Children? Casual to Business Casual (Depends on your role at CEC). It may be far different in 2007 from my time there.
What's the interview process like at Council for Exceptional Children? In my case I interviewed with the Director of Communications and the Deputy Executive Director. I might have also interviewed with the Executive Director, but I do not recall. Regardless I was treated with the utmost respect.
What are the three best things about working at Council for Exceptional Children? 1. Different pacing than corporate life. CEC is a Non-Profit. 2. You know you're helping kids with special needs and their teachers alike. 3. Great leadership at the top.
What advice would you give to a new employee at Council for Exceptional Children? Look for opportunities to make your life and the lives of the people you work with easier. It'll help out everyone in the end.
What did you learn along the way at Council for Exceptional Children? Bide your time. Be Patient. Learn when to fight for something and when to let something pass. Negotiation and collaboration is very, very important. Aside from those lessons which are good for any job, it pays to note that the Non-Profit world is NOTHING like the corporate world. But it also pays to note that there are times when an association wants very much to act like a corporation.
What do you miss most about Council for Exceptional Children? Coming to work every day knowing I could help someone just by doing my job.
What's unique about working at Council for Exceptional Children? Getting a real understanding of what it means to work with kids with special needs from the perspective of the teachers who teach them. They work so hard and do so much with far too little.
What's the best team you worked with at Council for Exceptional Children? The entire company. The entire organization was filled with inspired, dedicated professionals that really did their best to help teachers and their students.
What's one thing you would like to change at Council for Exceptional Children? The amount of funding the organization would receive and be able to spend on projects. "No Child Left Behind" left far too many children behind, and organizations like CEC had to do their best to pick up the pieces.” (Jonathan Firestone, January 22, 2007)
Motivational practices such as the Management by Objectives is another way in which CEC motivates employees. By having monthly meetings with directors and managers of the department staff is given monthly goals to accomplish and specific projects and tasks that need to be completed. Their annual convention planning begins each year right after the end each year’s convention. In most cases the venue and other specifics are planned out years in advanced and each employee knows specifically what needs to be completed by certain due dates throughout the calendar years. Then status meeting catch up and reaffirm what has been completed and what still needs to be done. This way CEC’s employees know at all times what is expected of them and that motivates them to get the job done to keep the time line moving forward.
CEC also motivates my recognition and awarding employees who have show excellence in their work or in their years of services. Annually they have a ceremony celebrating employees whose years of services have reached milestones such as 10, 15, 20, and so on. I myself attended two of these celebrations and helped honor employees who had been with the company 30 years or more. CEC is always looking for any opportunity to honor their employees for the service and commitment that they provide. Things such as holiday party and celebrating employee birthdays are another way CEC shows its appreciation and rewards employees.

Communication

CEC uses both written and oral communication. A weekly email called ‘This week at CEC’ is sent out by HR detailing upcoming events, visits from VIP’s and personal employee events they have chosen to share with staff, such as graduations, birthdays, educational advancements, or meetings that went exceptionally well. Through these e-mails employees in all departments are aware of what special events other departments are having each week and how they can assist in making those events go well. Written letters are sent to disseminate important information and new policies. Also weekly and monthly meetings are held to verbally notify employees and then follow it up with e-mails and written materials. Tasks and projects are communicated in this same manor. When working for CEC’s professional development department our boss held monthly meetings discussing what was due in the coming month as well as long term projects and annual convention news. Each employee was given time to tell what they were working on what they needed to get done and how other team members could assist them in their work.



Organizational Culture


The organization culture that I would like to be a part of is that of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC). The fact that CEC is committed to providing better teaching methods and quality education for general, special, gifted education is one of the main reasons why I like their organizational culture. I also like their sense of community and how all departments interact and work as a team. In CEC their goals are clearly stated and they work toward them effectively. At the same time they maintain an atmosphere of casual professionalism that allows for their employees to become like an extended family.
Values that CEC and I have in common are a diligence to working effectively to educate children. CEC believes in working within the community to help parents, teachers, educators, and students achieve their educational goals. This is a very big value for me and what makes CEC a top employer on my list. My values are centered around traditional family, service to the community I live in and hard work that accomplishes goals set forth. CEC mirrors these values for me. Especially being that my daughter receives special education services. CEC is an organization that helps the parent deal with special education issues.
CEC embodies three of the seven characteristics of organizational culture. Those three characteristics are attention to detail, people orientation, and team orientation. CEC is very attention to detail oriented. Employees must have an abundance of attention to detail as evident in their customer service department. Because CEC provides educational materials, books, text books, special education technology, and journals on the latest in educational resources and innovations their customer service staff who handles processing of orders and credit card receipts must pay close attention to detail to avoid mix ups with payments. CEC’s professional development department has to be detail oriented when developing web seminars and workshops to train teachers and other educators; they also handle publications and author contracts, as well as maintaining the company’s web site.
CEC is also people oriented as is evident in their dedication to their employees by discussing decisions that are to be made that will affect them. They communicate decisions and the direction that the company is taking in weekly and monthly meetings that start with the executives and then are spread out in meeting with team leads and their team members. CEC even has a weekly e-mail sent out by HR called This week at CEC which allows the whole organization know of upcoming events and even personal events of the employees. All staff are notified when certain meetings are being held and when VIPs are going to be visiting.
Finally, CEC is very much team oriented. Not only do individual departments work in teams to handle projects in addition to individual tasks and assignments. All departments often coordinate and work together on certain projects. The biggest one being their Annual Convention, all departments play an active role in setting up, staffing and working on the convention every year.
I would say that CEC has a strong culture. Their ethical and educational value systems are very strong and high priority throughout the organization. Below I have included their mission and beliefs that best shows their values and culture. Not only are their values high in the headquarters but they are also shared by the board of directors and the CEC chapters and affiliates. As is evident in their company’s motto “We are the voice and vision of special education.” (CEC)
I would say that CEC embodies all three; they are ethical, customer service responsive, and spiritual. From their work ethic to their ethics regarding education they are very high priority. CEC develops ethics standards for their Special Education Teachers so ethical standards are ingrained in their core values. They are customer responsive in they are dealing with teachers, educators, government and medical personnel they have to have strong customer service values to maintain their client base. The type of work done by CEC can only be described as spiritually nourishing. It is work that any employee would find this work meaningful and work that gives back to the community as CEC is a non profit organization.
“Our Mission
The worldwide mission of The Council for Exceptional Children is to improve educational outcomes for individuals with exceptionalities.
CEC, a non-profit association, accomplishes its mission which is carried out in support of special education professionals and others working on behalf of individuals with exceptionalities, by advocating for appropriate governmental policies, by setting professional standards, by providing continuing professional development, by advocating for newly and historically underserved individuals with exceptionalities, and by helping professionals achieve the conditions and resources necessary for effective professional practice.
Adopted by the CEC Delegate Assembly, April 1995

OUR BELIEFS
WE BELIEVE. . .
• in advocating for the advancement of the education of individuals with exceptionalities.
• all individuals have the right to an education.
• all individuals have the ability to learn and attain self-fulfillment.
WE BELIEVE. . .
• in equitable access to and meaningful participation in quality educational opportunities for individuals with exceptionalities.
• in the development of preventative programs and services for children deemed to be at risk.
• in the opportunity for lifelong education for all individuals with exceptionalities.
WE BELIEVE. . .
• full participation of individuals with exceptionalities enriches all communities.
• education is a collaborative effort among learners, educators, families, communities, governments, businesses, and industries.
• CEC is THE professional organization of and for all special education professionals.
WE BELIEVE. . .
• qualified professionals are essential to meeting the diverse educational needs of individuals with exceptionalities.
• all special education professionals have a continuing responsibility to improve their practice.
• CEC has responsibility to assist special education professionals in improving their practice.
WE BELIEVE. . .
• Special education professionals have knowledge and skills to share with education and other professionals to meet the diverse learning needs of individuals with exceptionalities.
• Special education professionals should practice in a manner consistent with CEC's Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Practice.
• Special education professionals have a responsibility to collaborate with other professionals who work with individuals with exceptionalities to improve the delivery of instruction.
WE BELIEVE. . .
• Governments have a responsibility to assure the provision of a free and appropriate education for all individuals with exceptionalities.
• CEC is committed to an international orientation to all of its professional activities.
WE BELIEVE. . .
• CEC shapes the future of education by fulfilling its mission.
Adopted by the CEC Delegate Assembly, April 16, 1982

CEC CODE OF ETHICS
We declare the following principles to be the Code of Ethics for educators of persons with exceptionalities. Members of the special education profession are responsible for upholding and advancing these principles. Members of The Council for Exceptional Children agree to judge and be judged by them in accordance with the spirit and provisions of this Code.
Special education professionals are committed to developing the highest educational and quality of life potential of individuals with exceptionalities.
Special education professionals promote and maintain a high level of competence and integrity in practicing their profession.
Special education professionals engage in professional activities which benefit exceptional individuals, their families, other colleagues, students, or research subjects.
Special education professionals exercise objective professional judgment in the practice of their profession.
Special education professionals strive to advance their knowledge and skills regarding the education of individuals with exceptionalities.
Special education professionals work within the standards and policies of their profession.
Special education professionals seek to uphold and improve where necessary the laws, regulations, and policies governing the delivery of special education and related services and the practice of their profession.
Special education professionals do not condone nor participate in unethical or illegal acts, or violate professional standards adopted by the Delegate Assembly of CEC.
Adopted by the CEC Delegate Assembly, April 1983”
The research done in this paper should reflect that CEC has been successful in showing how the concepts of organizational behavior can be used correctly. The unique way that CEC uses motivation, communication, and their organizational culture concepts reflects their success in servicing the community. CEC is a good model for how organizational behavior concepts can and should be used.