Subject category:
Ethics and Social Responsibility
Published by:
Harvard Kennedy School
Length: 24 pages
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https://casecent.re/p/6771
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Abstract
Thirty years after its founding in 1973, New York City''s Urban Homesteading Assistance Board (UHAB) found itself at a crossroads. The non-profit, church-related organization that had long provided tenants with assistance in renovating abandoned properties and converting them into cooperatives, UHAB was under pressure to adapt to a changing business climate, as the number of tax-foreclosed, city-owned properties declined in a resurgent New York City. What''s more, UHAB, led by the same executive director for more than 20 years, faced tensions between an idealistic, semi-autonomous staff and the needs and demands of public contracts with requirements that specific tasks be completed in a measurably cost effective manner. As UHAB entered its fourth decade, a new chief operating officer must address its programmatic and managerial challenges, such that its idealism and individualism could happily co- exist with sound business practice. This case is designed to provoke discussion of organizational strategy, in particular the approach best taken by a newcomer to an organization, charged with undertaking a significant change in its manner of operation.
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Abstract
Thirty years after its founding in 1973, New York City''s Urban Homesteading Assistance Board (UHAB) found itself at a crossroads. The non-profit, church-related organization that had long provided tenants with assistance in renovating abandoned properties and converting them into cooperatives, UHAB was under pressure to adapt to a changing business climate, as the number of tax-foreclosed, city-owned properties declined in a resurgent New York City. What''s more, UHAB, led by the same executive director for more than 20 years, faced tensions between an idealistic, semi-autonomous staff and the needs and demands of public contracts with requirements that specific tasks be completed in a measurably cost effective manner. As UHAB entered its fourth decade, a new chief operating officer must address its programmatic and managerial challenges, such that its idealism and individualism could happily co- exist with sound business practice. This case is designed to provoke discussion of organizational strategy, in particular the approach best taken by a newcomer to an organization, charged with undertaking a significant change in its manner of operation.