A Crisis Situation Rodney Sneed walked into his office and sat down in his chair. Although there was a smile on his face, he had very mixed feelings about assuming the directorship of Alvon- dale Community Mental Health Center. On the one hand, he had achieved his goal of having his own agency within a year after having finished graduate studies in administra- tion. On the other hand, this was really the first agency he had ever administered and he wanted to make sure that he impressed the board. As he sat in his chair, he thought about the chain of events leading up to his present position. After graduating from college, he returned home to various jobs in the private sector, but knew that eventually he wanted to return and get a master's degree and work in local government. On completing his master's degree, he became an administrative intern with the county. In that position he performed quite well, impressing many superiors and other persons in the county. He was seen as being decisive, goal-oriented, efficient, and having a good knowledge of business principles. As a result of the impressions he made, Mr. Sneed was asked to take over the com- munity mental health center, which had been having a number of problems. Alvondale Community Mental Health Center had a budget deficit the last two years, and high staff turnover. Furthermore, there were allegations that it was not serving the community needs. In particular, the center was accused of having all the latest therapies, such as transactional analysis, behavior modification, and crisis intervention, which were seen as very trendy, but not relevant to serving thie needs of the indigent, whom many members of the committee felt the mental health center should primarily be serving. Mr. Sneed, of course, was concerned about accepting the position, as he did not have a background in mental health. However, it was his feeling that administration is administration and that a good administrator can work well in any organization. Later J'that day, Mr. Sneed sent out a memo to all staff saying that he would like to meet with each staff member and introduce himself. He completed this task within two weeks. His next major task was to develop the budget for the next year. He had some difficulties in doing this because (1) he was not completely familiar with the changes that were forthcoming in federal and state funding patterns, and (2) he was somewhat unclear as (to the expectations of the community toward the Mental Health Center. Given the problems that existed at the center, he thought it would be better not to involve all the staff in the budget process, for he felt their time was best utilized deliver- ing services. Over the next several days he and one of the staff psychologists designed the budget for the coming year. Unfortunately, even trying to be as conservative as possible; there was a projected deficit of $100,000 in revenues to run the programs that Mr. Sneed and the staff psychologist set forth. He was now in quite a dilemma. Should he attempt to obtain more funds or cut back programs24.he decided on the latter alternative, --. which programs should he cut back? He really did not know which way to turn. Mr. Sneed had met his first major crisis. Discussion Questions 1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the budget process undertaken by Mr. Sneed? 2. Was there any way that Mr. Sneed could have avoided the crisis he now finds himself In? If yes, what way? If no, why not? 3. What could you have done in Mr. Sneed's situation? What are the advantages and disadvantages of your approach compared to that undertaken by Mr. Sneed?