Clocks, beginning with the simplest ancient sun dial, to the intricate time pieces that grace wrists today, have remained instruments that serve a specific purpose in human society. The difference between earlier clocks and those in use now is that they are not only being used to tell time but they also managing to let us know the month, day, and year. The fascinating thing about a clock is that all of its different components, whether they are spinning wheels, swinging pendulums or digital displays, are adapted to working together to reach the goal of letting us know what time of the day it is. In fact, you can visualize the particular components and operations of clocks and relate them to a number of different details within certain organizations that serve people every day. Just like clocks these organizations help assist individuals to cope with the events occurring during their lives by offering them a level of order and structure.
When you break down some of the operations that are integral aspects of your basic clock, you have the slow moving short or hour hand, the faster long or minute hand, and the individual numerals, numbered from one to twelve, that the two hands point to designating the actual time. It is true that there are other important parts to a clock; however by just using these three separate components, it is possible to make a comparison with three organizations that people have access to each day.
One example of how a clock can be used to represent an organization is Natale, a care facility that provides assistance to individuals dealing with Behavioral Health difficulties. Natale is a dual service health care facility that provides both residential and out-patient assistance to its clients. It is comprised of a very diverse staff; for instance some full-time employees are Mental Health professionals with more than 5 years of experience. Most staff members have at least a Bachelors Degree and are skilled in handling the different types of problems presented by clients. Yet, regardless of their different Behavioral Health backgrounds or educations, the Natale Staff function as a cohesive unit, adapting itself on a daily basis to assist clients by providing the optimum level of care.
In order to gain an understanding of how a clock can be compared to the work provided by Natale, let us take a look at the Unit Director. Natale’s Unit Director is the person who shoulders the responsibility of coordinating the facility’s daily business. This individual, much like the hour hand of the clock, spends most of his or her day positioned in an office involved in either setting up the work schedules for Natale’s employees or evaluating the client records to monitor the effectiveness of the treatment plans being implemented by the program.
Unlike the Unit Director, who basically remains stationed in one area most of the time, the other employees working at Natale are like a clock’s minute hand. These employees are the ones moving at a rapid pace; for example the therapists are the individuals who must devise the different treatment plans that are specifically developed for each client. This work may often entail collaborating with other staff members, also represented by the clock’s minute hand, who are able to observe the different behaviors of clients and as a result may offer insights into what may possibly be troubling a particular individual.
Many of the regular employees of Natale, like the maintenance crew, health aides, and other support staff are truly representative of a clock’s minute hand. This is because these individuals are the most active participants in the work that takes place in the facility. Members of the maintenance staff must work diligently in order keep the area clean and safe, while the therapeutic support personnel are the ones who work in close proximity with the clients in order to monitor their behavior and be positioned to assist them at all times.
Finally, the client population that receives the services offered by Natale are like a clock’s numerals. Each client poses a different challenge to Natale’s staff just as each clock numeral will indicate a separate moment in time. Natale’s Unit Director, therapists and employees must utilize a variety of approaches in order to implement adequate therapeutic assistance to each client being serviced. Although they operate and perform their own individual tasks, their labor is directed towards accomplishing the singular objective of helping Natale’s clients enjoy a comfortable quality of life.
It is important to note that a number of Natale’s clients participate in treatment on a voluntary basis. These clients are not housed in a residential environment but instead travel from their homes daily to receive assistance from the program. These individuals suffer from a variety of difficulties; for example substance abuse and co-occurring mental health problems. However, like the clients housed in the residential program, the clients who attend Natale on a voluntary basis are still recipients of the same high quality intensive therapeutic treatment provided by the staff.
The wonderful thing about Natale is that the program implements a system of care where the staff, regardless of the many different personalities and other varied characteristics, is able to function in a unified manner keeping the care being offered to its clients as the program’s primary focus.
Another example of how the components of a clock represent an organization is a church. The hour hand of a clock is much like the Reverend that oversees the business of the church. As the head of the worshipping body the Reverend, like the clock’s hour hand, moves patiently and slowly, while providing comfort, religious support, and understanding to the members of a congregation. Serving as partners with the Reverend, much like the minute hand, are the various officers of a church. For instance, the treasurer, the secretary, and the deacons move at the minute hand’s swifter pace assisting in accomplishing certain necessary tasks that lighten the burden of a congregation’s leader. Also, the individual numerals present on the clock’s face are like the members of the congregation, the people who attend the worship services seeking assistance in handling their hardships or just to offer prayers of thanks to the Creator for what He has given them.
Even though the congregation’s leader, its church officers and members are involved in many different activities, they are all concentrating their energy in a singular effort geared towards fulfilling the purpose of the church. The behind the scenes effort that is provided by the dedicated members of a church body often go unnoticed, as do the inner workings of a clock, but their collective and determined work is realized in the prolonged and successful existence of their congregation.
At times the business of a church can become somewhat chaotic because of conflict that develops between church officers or other members. It is during these trying times that the Reverend seeks to exert his or her calming influence. As the chosen head of the congregation, the Reverend is familiar with the members of his flock and likely knows what steps need to be taken on order to eliminate any problems that surface. Since it is human nature for people to sometimes develop interpersonal difficulties, being aware of the personalities and temperament of the group of people that he or she serves is one of the most important assets possessed by a Reverend.
Although quite different in its comparison to a clock than Natale or a church, the activities within a school can also be viewed as having some of the same components. For example, a school principal can be placed in a clock’s hour hand position. This is because, even though these men or women might also teach in a classroom, it is usually their primary duty to handle the school’s administrative responsibilities. The principal is not often required to interact in as close a relationship with the school’s students like each individual teacher. In fact, teachers, as does a clock’s minute hand, are more actively involved in the daily education of students. It falls upon the teachers to develop a daily learning plan of routine lessons for his or her students and to have this plan approved by the principal. The principal and teachers meet on a regular basis to evaluate the progress of the students and to affect any curriculum changes that need to be implemented to improve the education afforded each student.
It is essential that the education of a young person in school is a collaborative effort taking place between a principal and teachers since the information conveyed within a classroom builds a foundation that students will use for the rest of their lives. In fact, a school’s students are like the numerals on a clock’s face and, just like the minute and hour hands work within a routine pattern to give the proper time, the school’s principal and teachers follow a plan to ensure that students are being properly directed towards learning in a routine manner. During the process of educating students a school’s principal and teachers face occasions similar to those encountered by Natale and a church, where chaos and confusion surfaces in an attempt to hinder success. However, this is when the knowledge accumulated during their combined years of experience as educators helps them to overcome such difficulties.
The educational process is primarily an exercise in communication. The staff of a school must build a rapport with its student body. It is this rapport that allows a principal and a school’s teaching staff to form a trusting bond with students. This bond is what causes students to become comfortable with and interested in the different concepts offered in a classroom by teachers.
Attempting to establish a metaphor of the relationships between a clock, a care organization like Natale, a church, and a school was not an easy task. The premise was very difficult to form and I am still not sure if what has been written adequately covers the assignment’s topic. It is my hope that I have given proper examples of what a CAS metaphor is and that my comparisons are clear and easy to understand. Striving to provide an understanding of how a clock telling time is relative to the three organizations described in this paper actually opened my eyes to how different systems may appear to be orderly and stable when they are in fact in disarray. I now believe that it is the particular way that an organization is viewed by an individual that causes that person to determine what state it is in.
