Working solutions -- Honduras. ASHONPLAFA analyzes the management functions of central and regional managers
Family Planning Manager 4(2): 9-11
1995
ISSN/ISBN: 1060-9172 PMID: 12289904 Document Number: 427608
ASHONPLAFA is the principal provider of family planning services in Honduras. The organization has 260 employees, runs six medical centers and 1900 community distribution service sites in six regions of the country, and administers a social marketing program from its head office in Tegucigalpa. ASHONPLAFA has grown significantly in the last few years. To respond to the increased growth and make sure that ASHONPLAFA's programs were able to respond quickly and effectively to clients' needs, senior managers at the organization began considering ways in which the organization could increase efficiency, expand service coverage, and recover more program costs. ASHONPLAFA needed to analyze the systems they used to manage their programs as well as the various management styles of their staff and the institutional culture in which they had become accustomed to working. Throughout the process, ASHONPLAFA has consistently examined the extent to which program functions were being successfully managed by the central and regional managers, assessed the impact of the changes on program performance, and determined what additional training might be necessary for managers given their new roles. General issues are presented followed by consideration of the analysis of management functions in the following areas: strategic and operational planning, information systems, mass media communication, income generation and fund raising, marketing, new services, and service fees and clinic hours. The following initiatives were determined to be those which would directly support the achievement of ASHONPLAFA's objectives for 1995: the transfer of new responsibilities, technical assistance, new initiatives, and evaluation.