Running head: MANAGEMENT THEORY 1 ARTIFACT 1

Management Theory 1 Artifact

Ashley D. Solis

South Texas College

MANAGEMENT THEORY 1 ARTIFACT 2

Management Theory 1 Artifact

The Ronald McDonald House is a non-profit organization that I hold close to my heart

and will forever be thankful for. In August of 2016, my daughter was diagnosed with Leukemia

at 5 years old. From the moment the oncologist at DHR diagnosed her I asked for my daughter to

be transferred to Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston to seek treatment. We were immediately

sent on our way to TCH with just the backpack of clothes I had and no clue as to where we

would be staying. The next day of our arrival a social worker came to my daughter’s room and

educated me that after being released from her first intensive chemo treatment we were welcome

to stay at Ronald McDonald House down the street. The Ronald McDonald house was such a

blessing and we called it home for a little over a month while my husband got our finances in

order to rent a house in the Houston area.

The Ronald McDonald House we stayed in is located on Holcombe street in the Houston

Medical Center. In the application process all adults are required to pass a background check

before check in. There is a rate of $25 a night. No one is turned down due to finances and staff

will go out of their way to come up with a plan to assist you if needed. Guests can stay 45 days

and are then required to step out for 7 days before they can be eligible for readmission.

According to their website they have 70 private bedrooms to make a home away from

home for seriously ill children aged 21 and under and their families who reside outside of a 50-

mile radius. Each private bedroom consisting of two queen beds, a restroom, and can host a

maximum of 4 individuals. For the guests' convenience the Holcombe house has 24hr staffing,

gated parking, a community kitchen, laundry facility, indoor and outdoor play area, game room

and Wi-Fi available (McDonalds Corporation).

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During our stay businesses and volunteers would donate and serve a warm meal for all

guests for dinner. Organizations would occasionally host entertaining events for the children and

their families. Tickets to professional sports games, nearby activities, and movie theatres were

often given to guest to get their minds off whatever chaos was going on in their lives. Celebrities,

Batman, Professional athletes would drop by bearing gifts and treats for the children.

Now that I’ve provided a brief insight to how the Ronald McDonald house is about, I

would like to continue with avenues that could be taken learned in this class to help the Ronald

McDonald House continue helping families to the best of their ability.

First and foremost, I would like to set SMART Goals which is defined in our class text by

“The combination of gauging and learning about a topic should permit you to set some goals

related to your focal topic” (Lumen Learning). Each letter of the Acronym “SMART” stands

characteristic vital to tackling objectives. S-Specific, M-Measurable, A-Aggressive, R-Realistic,

and T-Time Bound.

My general goal for the Holcombe Ronald McDonald House is to help accommodate

families to the best of our organization’s ability. In competency 1 of this course we learned that

specific goals are more attainable than general goals and that in the process of setting a specific

goal we must ask the 6 “W Questions”.

1) Who: Who is involved? Marketing team, donors, and I.

2) What: What do I want to accomplish? Increasing donations for Ronald McDonald House.

3) Where: At what location? 1907 Holcombe Blvd, Houston, TX 77030

4) When: In what time frame? Within the next three years.

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5) Which: What are the requirements and constraints? Making sure we always have

toiletries in stock for families, money set aside from donors to cover families who are

without the $25 a night.

6) Why: What specific reasons, purpose, or benefits are there to the accomplishment of the

goal? Specific reason of helping families in times of need, with the purpose of providing

families with things they may need to survive, and with the benefit of alleviating some of

the financial stress they may be facing during such a trying time.

Referring to the characteristics of SMART Goals and with additional information from

the six “W” questions the specifics of my goal would be how to identify what needs to be done

for the newly assembled marketing team to increase donations for the Ronald McDonald House

on Holcombe. It is a goal that could be measured. We could compare donations in 3 years to the

previous year’s donations. That would give us some insight as to whether our goal is being met

or not. The marketing team would go into this knowing that aggressive goals are not met easily

and with that understanding they will have to be programmed to work harder and smarter to

successfully meet or exceed the goal set. The specific goal is realistic and achievable. Marketing

team is just going to push creatively and efficiently. The time given to the Marketing team will

be three years to climb to goal.

With the SMART Goal in place I would start to assemble the marketing team taking into

consideration diversity, the five personality traits (OCEAN), skills, education, and experience.

Houston has a melting pot of people from different social, economic, and ethnic background.

Having a diverse team with different outlooks would be an asset.

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Taking into consideration to allow them to have some independence in performing to the

best of their ability and the chance to show me why they were hired. I would limit

micromanaging to a minimum to avoid team feeling like I am keeping tabs of their every move.

“A culture in which employees are micromanaged and not given decision-making authority leads

to an unhappy, unproductive, paralyzed workforce that lacks self-motivation and is unable to

make prudent business risk or develop innovative ideas”, (Katcher & Snyder, 2007). Team will

have the floor during our weekly meeting to address any concerns or ideas.

Our textbook states how social media is a huge monster that can be utilized to reach

many platforms. It’s a powerful tool utilized to bring attention and promote an organization.

Marketing will be using Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and other means of social media to reach a

broad audience and reel in donations. It would also serve to keep donors updated on how their

donations have been of use to the families staying at the Ronald McDonald house on Holcombe.

Marketing team will be reaching out to local businesses nearby to see if they would like

to schedule an appointment to view the Holcombe house in person to see what it offers to the

children seeking medical treatment and their families. Giving them the chance to experience a

typical day in the house educate them on why we rely so much om donations and how much they

are used in a daily basis. We would also be reaching out to restaurants who would like to host

dinners on weekdays and breakfast on weekends for the guest of the Holcombe house. In the

next 3 years we are confident we will be able to provide proof that we have successfully

accumulated more donations to help the families coming from all over the world.
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The following is the wish list located on the Ronald McDonald House Website:

Kitchen and Snacks Toiletries Others

Cleaning Supplies (Individually Wrapped) (New Travel Size)

● Paper towels ● Granola Bars ● Deodorant ● Blankets

● Lysol Kitchen ● Pop Tarts ● Razors ● Baby Diapers
cleaner ● Crackers ● Shaving Cream ● Baby Wipes
● Clorox Wipes ● Pretzels ● Contact Solution ● White Copy Paper
● Dishwasher ● Bottled Water and Cases ● Bulk Cereal
Liquid or Powder ● Juice Boxes ● Feminine Products ● Gift Cards with No
● Dye and ● Fruit Snacks ● Tissues Expiration Dates
Fragrance-Free ● Microwave Meals ● Shampoo ● Monetary
Baby Laundry ● Tuna and Chicken ● Conditioner Donations to cover
Detergent Lunch Kits ● Body Wash families whose
● Trash Bags ● Hot Chocolate ● Body Lotion insurance does not
● Sponges Packets cover stay and
● Latex-Free Vinyl don’t have the
Gloves financial means to
● Toilet Bowl cover the daily $25.
Cleaner
● Gallon Ziploc
Freezer Bags

Results

Everything worked out as planned. The few obstacles that arose throughout the three

years were quickly fixed by the awesome marketing team collectively. Donations from the wish

list have increased as we intended. We have some illustrations to give some insight on how this

was achieved and our results.

Outcome 1

To increase donations, we used all forms of social media to promote the mission of

Ronald McDonald House of Holcombe. With the family’s permission we posted pictures of them

on our social media account for potential donors to see the faces of those they could be of help

to. We contacted businesses big and small in the area and let them know how dependent we are

on the donations and in addition to be a blessing they could also use it for a tax write off. We

studied donations to have a close eye on how close we were to our goal and how much more
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pushing we needed to get it done. Made notations of all donations being dropped off and money

being donated to see what we were short on. Volunteers then restocked pantries and closet and

money was placed into account that covers $25 a night fee for the families who do not have the

means to pay.

Promote
Wishlist on
Social Media
Platforms

Restock House
and Segregate Contact
Monies for Organizatons
Family's stay

Make Notation
ofwhat has been Study Monetary
needed and Donations
what is missing

Outcome 2

With consistency and drive of the marketing team the SMART goal was met. The chart

below gives you a visual representation of the toiletries donated from the beginning of the goal to

now 3 years later. Increased donations mean our goal was achieved.
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Increase on Toiletries Donated

250

200

150
UNITS

100 Previous Year

End of 1st Year
End of 2nd Year
50
End of 3rd Year

TOILETRIES

Outcome 3

We also have an illustration to showcase the amount of families we were able to assist to

stay at the Ronald McDonald house thanks to the generous increase in monetary donations.

Families Covered for their Stay

PREVIOUS YEAR 67

1ST YEAR 103

2ND YEAR 139

3RD YEAR 152

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160

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Discussion

The Ronald McDonald House is a wonderful non-profit organization that helps the

financial burden that many families face when they have a seriously ill child seeking treatment at

a facility in the Houston Medical Center. No one truly knows how chaotic it can get when your

child is in dire need of medical treatment far ways from home. It brings great pleasure to be able

to identify and strategize to increase donations to better assist the guest of the Ronald McDonald

House of Holcombe street.

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References

Katcher, B. L., & Snyder, A. (2007). 30 Reasons Employees Hate Their Managers: What Your

People May Be Thinking and What You Can Do About It. Retrieved June 10, 2019, from

https://eds-a-ebscohost-

com.ezproxy.southtexascollege.edu/eds/ebookviewer/ebook/bmxlYmtfXzE5MTg4Ml9fQ

U41?sid=9175ae82-80ef-4779-b4e4-b7e2d4e10e81@sdc-v-

sessmgr02&vid=8&format=EB&rid=14

Lumen Learning (Ed.). (n.d.). Principles of Management. Retrieved June 10, 2019, from

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/principlesmanagement/chapter/1-7-your-principles-of-

management-survivors-guide/

McDonalds Corporation. (n.d.). Holcombe House. Retrieved June 10, 2019, from Ronald

McDonald House Houston: HOME. Retrieved June 10, 2019, from

https://rmhhouston.org/