Running head: ORGANIZATIONAL ANALYSIS

Organizational Analysis of Eastside Community Network

Abigail Constant
Wayne State University
March 3, 2015

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Introduction

The Eastside Community Network (ECN), formerly Warren/Conner Development

Coalition has been an agent for the eastside of Detroit for over 30 years. Through authentic
collaborative community engagement, partnership cultivation among all sectors of the
community, advocacy, leadership development and groundbreaking approaches to development
of open space and commercial properties, ECN continues to make positive transformation in the
local community. Over the years, ECN has been essential in channeling human services and
retail resources to its residents.
Organization and Services

Eastside Community Network is a non-profit community development organization on

the eastside of Detroit that was founded 30 years ago. The organization works collaboratively
with other organizations in Detroit to improve the quality of life for residents. ECN has adopted a
singular focus, called the Lower Eastside Action Plan (LEAP), as its strategic framework. LEAP
is a community-driven project designed to engage residents in a process to change and improve
neighborhoods. This is done by transforming vacant land and property into uses that improve the
quality of life in Eastside neighborhoods and surrounding areas. LEAP has mapped out a specific
district, spanning from Alter Road on the east to Mount Elliot Street on the west and from the
Detroit River to the south to Interstate-94 to the north. Within the LEAP district, ECN works to
engage the community residents to focus on public land reform.
In addition to engaging the community in public land reform, ECN has also established a
youth program. Established in 1985, Youth on the Edgeof Greatness (YOE) is ECNs oldest
program. YOE is a licensed substance abuse preventative program with a goal to develop the
knowledge, skills, and understanding needed by youth in order to become effective leaders
within the community and the City of Detroit through education, activism, and service. YOE

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provides after school programs, as well as summer programs, for middle school and high school
youth who live on the eastside of Detroit.
Eastside Community Network works collaboratively with a number of organizations; the
most notable are their collaborations with the Chandler Park Conservancy and LAND, Inc. The
Chandler Park Conservancy is a resident-driven organization that is working to revitalize
Chandler Park through the construction of a new school, recreation areas, and conservation of the
natural environment. With the help of ECN, Chandler Park Conservancy is managing a $2
million revitalization project. ECN is the parent organization to LAND, Inc., A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization working for innovative and sustainable community driven development in the
LEAP district. Together, the organizations are working to decrease blight, improve storm water
management, and to create green infrastructure in order to repurpose vacant land. A more indepth analysis of these projects will be provided later on in the paper.
Mission and Goals
According to the Warren/Conner Development Coalition 2013 Annual Report (Appendix
B), ECN acts as a catalyst to influence the transformation of Detroits Eastside through
facilitation, community education and systemic change. Through interactive community
engagement, partnership cultivation amongst all sectors of the community, advocacy, leadership
development and innovative approaches to development of open space and commercial properties, ECN
strives to make positive transformation on the eastside of Detroit.

As established by their Board of Directors, ECNs goals include the following:

employed residents

a thriving environment for locally-owned and green businesses

high quality public education

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an informed, engaged, and technologically adept community

outstanding recreation facilities

repurposed, well-maintained vacant property with beautiful commercial corridors

responsible resident and youth leaders and strong neighborhood organizations

a healthy community

ECN and LAND, Inc.: focused, adept, properly resourced organizations.

ECN seeks to fulfill its goals through two strategic contexts: Supporting our People, especially
our Youth and Stewarding our Land.
Supporting our People, especially our Youth
Eastside Community Network helps residents to have a better quality of life, by providing
excellent educational and recreational facilities, literacy and leadership programs for the young
and old alike and making sure that the community is well-invested in by commercial retailers
and small businesses to serve residents. According to ECNs 2014-2016 Strategic Plan, the
organization is working to provide a number of activities to help support local residents. Some of
these activities include leadership development, basic skills support, entrepreneurship support,
community outreach, and youth development, all of which have been offered at different events
hosted by the organization. A number of these goals have been fulfilled through the organizations
bi-monthly Stakeholder Advisory Group meetings. Every other month, ECN holds a meeting
where residents can come and voice their opinions. In addition to the open forum, the
organization provides resources fairs, educational lecture series on blight elimination, grant
writing workshops, and informational meetings. Their youth development goal is fulfilled
through the Youth on the Edgeof Greatness program. ECN is also active in social media, using
different social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to engage

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community members.
Furthermore, ECN works to collaborate with other organizations and facilitate the
continued improvement of the quality of life for residents on the Eastside of Detroit. The
organizations collaboration with the Chandler Park Conservancy is a tangible example of their
collaboration efforts. Together, the two organizations are successfully managing a $2 million
makeover of Chandler Park. ECN and Land, Inc. have worked tirelessly to facilitate the
development of LEAP, which will continue to better the community.
Stewarding our Land
Eastside Community Networks collaboration with Land, Inc. is a major component to the
success of LEAP. All of ECNs projects encourage green infrastructure and repurposing to
improve quality of life. Green infrastructure uses plants and vegetation, soils, and other natural
processes to improve water management in urban environments. This is used to help decrease
storm water and flooding problems throughout the city. According to ECNs mission statement,
residents of Detroits Eastside should ultimately define our communitys future and direction
and we are committed to implementing resident-led plans (ECN, 2014). ECN enables residents
to improve neighborhoods by offering beautification grants. Residents also participate in
perception surveys and focus groups to approve of any neighborhood projects before the projects
can begin. ECN believes that residents are the real agents of systemic change and must take
leadership and initiative in organizing for that change (ECN, 2014).
Eastside Community Network previously had a goal to advocate for a city-wide policy
change regarding blight elimination. Through careful deliberation and consideration, the Board
of Directors did away with that notion due to the scope of the goal. Because ECN has a very
small staff and is currently working on a number of other projects, the Board of Directors

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thought of a new goal to take place of the policy change. Instead of advocating for a city-wide
policy change, ECN is soliciting the help of City Council in order to obtain an endorsement of
the Blight Elimination Standards. These standards establish explicit procedures and steps that can
be taken to eliminate blight in urban areas. This is an example of goal displacement within the
organization. By obtaining an endorsement, ECN will have a stamp of approval from City
Council. This type of support will help the organization to continue to demonstrate to the
community that ECN has positive goals that will continue to benefit the community over a long
period of time. Although the goal of policy change has been discarded, a new, more tangible goal
has been adopted.
Organizational Structure and Staffing
Although ECN has a Board of Directors to make decisions and create strategic work
plans, the organization is run in a relatively top-down management style. The president of ECN,
Maggie DeSantis, has a very strong and dominant leadership role within the community and
among the Board of Directors. DeSantis holds the power in the organization. The directors of the
branches within the organizationFinance and Administrative Director, Communications and
Resource Director, and the Community Engagement Directorreport directly to DeSantis.
Additionally, the Executive Director of LAND, Inc. works with DeSantis, but reports directly to
the LAND Inc. Board of Directors. The Communications and Resource Director does not have
any additional staff support. The Finance and Administrative Director has one additional staff
member, the Administrative Clerk. The Administrative Clerk acts as a receptionist and secretary
for all members of the ECN staff. The Community Engagement Director has two staff members,
a Community Project Manager and a Community Engagement Director. Additionally, the interns
within the organization report to the Community Engagement Director. A visualization of the

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organizations hierarchy can be seen in Appendix C. This form of power distribution is not
conducive to producing a happy work environment. The president has the majority of the power
within the organization, which places a great deal of pressure on the organizations staff members.
The organization has a relatively high employment turn-over rate as a result of employee
dissatisfaction.
A benefit to the organizational structure of ECN is that each staff member has their own
objectives. Together, the objectives come together to accomplish a single goal. Having
individuals working on different tasks and objectives in order to accomplish one overarching
goal is an effective way to accomplish goals in a very effective manner (Netting, Kettner,
McMurtry, & Thomas, 2012).
A management by objectives approach can be observed within the organization.
According to Netting, Kettner, McMurty and Thomas (2012), management by objectives is a
process that involves defining objectives. ECNs Board of Directors is responsible for defining
the organizations objectives. Once objectives are identified, employees can agree to the
objectives and identify what they need to do within the organization in order to achieve the
objectives. When considering the day to day schedule of employees, it is always varied. Because
ECN is involved in a wide variety of projects with an extensive list of objectives and goals, staff
is frequently attending off-site meetings, hosting meetings on-site, conducting research, writing
grants, collaboratively working with representatives from other organizations, and participating
in community outreach efforts, such as making phone calls or physically meeting with residents.
There is very little diversity among ECNs staff. The organization has twelve employees.
Six of the employees are African American females, four of the employees are Caucasian
females, and two of the employees are African American males (refer to Appendix C). Although

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a complete evaluation on sexual orientation was not completed, it has been distinguished that the
observable majority of the staff is heterosexual. There are not any staff members with mental or
physical disabilities. The president of ECN is a Caucasian female and the Executive Director of
LAND, Inc. is also a Caucasian female. Although the staff is very diverse, there has never been
in issue of discrimination or poor staff rapport as a result of the diversity. Staff members are
cohesive and work extremely well as a team. As a Caucasian female within the organization, the
overall rapport among staff members is very friendly and casual, as long as the president of the
organization is not present.
Internal and External Environment
Upon conducting an analysis of ECNs strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats
(SWOT), it can be deduced that the organization has a great number of strengths and
opportunities that will facilitate the organization to continue to grow and prosper. Some of the
observed strength includes the longevity of the organization, which was founded 30 years ago,
the authentic community engagement and outreach, and the capable staff that works diligently to
sustain the organization. The organizations youth engagement is providing ECN with an
opportunity that is unparalleled by any organization on the eastside of Detroit. YOE, which has
been an ongoing program of ECN since 1985, works to educate youth in order to develop
knowledge, skills and understanding that are needed to become effective leaders within the
community and in the City of Detroit. By having a stake in youth development, ECN has the
opportunity to take advantage of an external trend. Orlando Bailey explains that youth who have
grown up in the community are obtaining college degrees and returning to the city with the
intention of revitalizing Detroit (personal communication, Orlando Bailey, February 3, 2015).
According to the SWOT analysis, a significant organizational weakness is the organizations

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tendency to speak for the community without properly representing the community. Bailey
explains that ECN has the opportunity to have an unprecedented community outreach strategy,
which the organization is striving toward, but in the meantime, staff has to avoid misrepresenting
the community. External environment threats include low residential density in the community,
being that the LEAP district is one of the most blighted areas in Detroit. Low residential density
contributes to low voter turnout, which can affect legislation that provides the organization with
funding, according to Bailey (personal communication, February 3, 2015).
Eastside Community Network has been working to improve the quality of life for
residents on the eastside of Detroit for 30 years. This long standing devotion demonstrates a very
legitimate stake in the community. Another example of legitimization of the organization in the
community and the City of Detroit is the work that is being done to obtain an endorsement of the
Blight Elimination Standards by Detroit City Council. As previously mentioned, by obtaining an
endorsement, ECN will have a stamp of approval from City Council, which will help the
organization to continue to demonstrate to the community that ECN has positive goals that will
continue to benefit the community.
Eastside Community Network is a macro-focused organization. Due to its focus on
community development and betterment, ECN does not work directly with clients. Staff
members do not have caseloads like a micro-focused social service organization. However, ECN
does serve the community and groups within the community. The organization works to improve
the quality of life for an entire community rather than one individual. That being said, there are
times when staff members work one on one with representatives from other organizations. For
example, the organization hosted a Beautification Grant Blitz event, which allowed residents and
community group leaders to come to the organization to receive counseling and assistance from

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ECNs staff on their Beautification Grant Applications. This is also a great example that
demonstrates the organizations positive relationship with other organizations and community
groups within the community. The work that is done collaboratively with the Chandler Park
Conservancy and LAND, Inc., in addition to the attention given to smaller community group
leaders and residents demonstrates that ECN has a very positive presence in the community.
According to ECNs Annual Report (refer to Appendix B), the organization obtains
funding through sponsors, in-kind donations, government contracts, foundation grants, and
fundraising. According to the Community Engagement Manager, Orlando Bailey, the
organization holds an annual fundraiser, the Eastside Extravaganza, which provides the
organization with the majority of its fundraising for each fiscal year.
Theoretical Construct
As was previously stated, although ECN appears to be led by a Board of Directors, this is
not its reality. The strong leadership lends to a top-down management style, where all employees
report to the president of the organization. During my time at ECN, I have witnessed a great deal
of employee dissatisfaction. Although the organization is functioning and obtaining goals,
employees are unhappy. This contributes to a meager organizational culture. According to
Janicijevic, organizational culture determines the way in which the members of an organization
perceive and interpret the reality within and around their organization, as well as the way they
behave in that reality, through its assumptions, values, norms and symbols (2012). Therefore,
organizational culture contributes to the overall functioning of the organization. One overarching
theory can be used to describe ECN. The theory describes an authoritarian culture that is based
on a patriarchal family structure, meaning that the father of the family holds power. In the case
of ECN, the president of the organization holds the power. This theory claims that relationships

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in this type of structure are not very formal and lack systems and procedures (Janicijevic, 2012).
In many ways, this is true within ECNs culture. Employees report to one another in a hierarchal
manner although relationships are friendly and informal. There are few, if any, procedures that
dictate what a days work should consist of, but a majority of the decisions are made by the
president. From an outsiders perspective, this type of top-down, patriarchal management might
not be very appealing. Although the organization is functioning and achieving its goals, one must
question the effectiveness of the functionality of the organization considering that the majority of
the staff of the organization is unhappy in the organizational culture. An unhappy staff will
typically only achieve the bare minimum. Suppose the organization had an increase in employee
satisfaction. It could be argued that the increase in employee satisfaction would influence staff to
go above and beyond the bare minimum in order to achieve even more than what is currently
being done.
Recommendation
Throughout this analysis of ECN, it can be observed that there is one major problem
within the organization that is hindering the organization as a whole: the organizational
leadership and the culture that has been created as a result of the leadership. In my opinion, an
increased reliance on the Board of Directors opposed to the president of the organization could
decrease the top-down management that is being experienced within the organization.
Fortunately for ECN, change is coming, with or without my personal recommendations. Within
the year, the president of the organization will be stepping down, which will allow a new leader
to take her place. This succession of leadership, if done correctly, could redirect management of
the organization to the Board of Directors with the role of the president being that of a liaison
between the Board and day to day operations of the organization. Due to the lack of employee

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satisfaction within the organization, it can be assumed that this type of change will be welcomed
as a way to increase internal rapport between employees.
Conclusion
Eastside Community Network has completed a great deal of positive work in the
community on the eastside of Detroit. The organizations collaborative work has produced
impressive results, including the success of a long standing youth program, Youth on the Edge
of Greatness, and the implementation of a $2 million makeover to Chandler Park. The
organizations hard work successfully realizes the Board of Directors vision and goals. Although
the internal environment, specifically internal rapport, needs to be improved, the pending
leadership changes will provide ample opportunity for internal rapport to be improved. Overall,
ECN is an impressive organization with a number of remarkable projects. As an intern, the
experiences I am having are very educational and I am happy with my position as an intern
within the organization.

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Appendix A: Journal of Abigail Constant at Eastside Community Network, January 13, 2015 to
February 26, 2015
January 13, 2015: Staff has been very busy this week. The interns recently received grant writing
assignments. We will be drafting grants in order to get some grant writing experience that can be
put on our resumes. I have set meetings to meet with my faculty advisor and my supervisor in a
couple of weeks.
January 27, 2015: I just conducted a SWOT analysis with Orlando. The information is very
interesting. He asked that I take not of the poor internal relationships, especially in the wake of
another resignation announcement. Tracy told us that she is in the process of finding other work
and will be resigning within three months. This is the third resignation that I have witnessed
since I started my internship in September.
February 9, 2015: We had a staff meeting today. I have been assigned to setting meetings with
City Council members in order to get an endorsement of the Blight Elimination Standards. I am a
little reluctant to do this. I dont entirely understand the purpose of an endorsement. I tried to
conduct some informal research on the internet but I was unable to find any more information. I
was told that when I am setting meetings, I have to avoid sounding like ECN has an agenda, but
we essentially do have an agenda. I will have to speak with Sherita and Tracy some more to get
more information.
February 24, 2015: We had another staff meeting today. I have been unsuccessful in setting any
meetings with council members. Tracy brought this up in the meeting; she is not sure why we
need an endorsement either. I am slightly discouraged because she is questioning the overall
purpose of the endorsement. I feel that ultimately, an endorsement will be a lot of unnecessary

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hard work.
Appendix C: Organizational Chart for Eastside Community Network

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References

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Netting, E., Kettner, P. Kettner, P., McMurtry S & Thomas, M. (2012). Social Work Macro
Practice (5th ed.) Allyn/Bacon
Eastside Community Network, (2014). Guiding Principles. http://ecn-detroit.org/about/vision/
Personal Communication, Orlando Bailey, February 3, 2015
Janicijevic, N. (2012). The influence of organizational culture on organizational preferences
towards the choice of organizational change strategy. Economic Annals. 57 (193) AprilJune 2012. Page 25-51.