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Lexington Public Library SWOT and Appreciative Inquiry Analysis
Dominic Norwood
Walden University
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Description of Lexington Kentucky Public Library
The Lexington Public Library is found in Lexington, Kentucky. It was established in
1905. serves the merged city-county of Lafayette and Kentucky. The library has six branches
that serve approximately 300,000 people in the city of Lexington and the surrounding central
Kentucky countries (Lexington Public Library, 2017). The branches include the downtown
Lexington Central library which is the largest of the six, the Village branch, Eastside, Beaumont,
Northside, and Tate's Creek Branches. In 2016 the organization was visited close to 2 million
times. Additionally, it has a big online community; the online users make use of various digital
applications. The website had over 8 million visits in 2016 while the ones that used its mobile
applications were over 6 million having close to 370,000 computer sessions (Lexington Public
Library, 2017).
Besides the use of online applications, the organization had many visitors who preferred
the print-formats making up 59 percent of the content, followed by DVDs and audiobooks being
preferred taking up 22 and 9 percent respectively (Lexington Public Library, 2016).The vision of
the organization is in having a lifetime connection and dedication to the community which it
serves. The Lexington Public Library mission is connecting and stimulating ideas which will
lead to changing of people’s lives. The core values of the organization are in the excellence of
the service that it offers, it also focuses equality on how they treat their staff members and the
visitors that they serve. It also looks at integrity which is targeted at maintaining trust within the
community which it serves. The others are in stewardship and also passion in the work that it
does. The Lexington Public Library strategic goals focus on six main areas which include
access, inclusivity, culture, stewardship, education, and space (Lexington Public Library, 2017).
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Reason for strategic change
Lexington Public Library is in need of strategic change to be able to continue offering
services that are responsive to their clients' needs. The organization also serves the public, who
are also its financiers, it is, therefore, vital that it brings change to enhance its services, be
accountable to its stakeholders. There are also many technological changes that have brought
along innovative tools that the organization can leverage on. There are also policies within the
organization that need to be improved on to stay with the times and in line with the legal
requirements. Through various strategies, it will identify opportunities that exist and be able to
take advantage of them, improve on the weaknesses and be able to prepare for any challenges.
SWOT analysis
The process of analyzing the strength, weakness opportunities, and threats (SWOT)
which faces Lexington Public library will assist in analyzing both internal and external factors
that assist in the implementation of strategic plan that will in turn benefit its performance as an
entity and also the other stakeholders such as the community it serves, the staff and so on
(Bryson, 2011; Millett, 2006). SWOT analysis is critical to the continued success of the
organization, it will be able to focus its services and programs in areas where one is strong and
where the greatest opportunities are found.
Strengths
a) The library has a talented, skilled and dedicated workforce.
b) The library maintains a good relationship with the community it serves within the Kentucky
and Lexington areas.
c) The organization has a wide array of literature material that it offers to its visitors. They
range from books, audiobooks, DVDs, movies, magazines and many others.
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d) The organization also has an active online community which enables it to serve a much
bigger clientele.
e) Lexington library has innovative services which have widened its offerings from the
conventional use of print format to digital platforms and other applications.
f) Because of the organization's good reputation and many years of services, the can attract
more partners (Bilmes, 2011).
Weaknesses
a) The organization has a total of six branches which work independently but managed as one
entity at the very top. Such an arrangement makes creates a bottleneck in the delivery of
service, there is also a slow response by the board whenever there is a concern which may
lead to delays and poor management.
b) The organization is governed by laws which make it hard for the administration to institute
changes or corrective action without going through a long and slow process of approvals and
legal challenges.
Opportunities
a) With the ever-increasing number of visitors and patrons, the organization is able to raise
more resources to boost its growth and activities.
b) The organization has increased the literature material that it has, and is also able to offer the
services through a wide array of services and platforms. That promises to increase its
standing in the community and be able to serve a wider audience who can visit the facilities
both physically or online.
Threats
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a) Lexington library relies on grants and public funds which may be affected by economic
situations and uncertainties such as economic downturns that may force the government to
reduce its funding.
b) The organization may be affected by the political environment considering that it is a public
entity that is guided by federal, state and local laws (Shafritz, Russell, and Borick, 2013).
c) Considering that it is a public organization, any performance related issues are bound to
affect the organization in a big way. In 2014 the organization suffered a major blow when a
former director sued it after it terminated its contract. The organization suffered greatly in
terms of finance and its reputation.
An Appreciative Inquiry 4-D analysis
An Appreciative Inquiry 4-D Process involves the searching for the best in people, the
community, and organization by finding out what gives life to the system at its most effective,
most economical, socially capable points (Whitney and Cooperrider, 2000). It is made up of four
stages that make inquiry into the process; they are Discover, Dream, Design, Destiny.
Appreciative Inquiries will vary across the industry as each organization has an exclusive and
diverse cultural and geographical mix of people. Additionally, in every organization, there is a
unique way of expressing what it values most and how it honors each relationship (Whitney and
Cooperrider, 2000).
Discover
At this stage there is stakeholder engagement and exploring the best experiences, hopes
and priorities for the future (Whitney and Cooperrider, 2000). The group will focus on the
strength, capabilities, competencies, positive hopes and feelings, relationships of the organization
and so on and so forth (Whitney and Cooperrider, 2000). By carrying out interviews and story-
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telling the stakeholders who include the staff, the members of the administration, Lexington
library visitors are asked to share their stories of what has been the accomplishments,
additionally, they will look at the factors, resources, and competencies that led to the given
successes. For Lexington, it has been a long journey from the late 18th Century. The organization
has grown by leaps and bounds and currently serves close to 300,000 visitors and a much bigger
online community of over 6 million users (Lexington Public Library, 2017). The organization
has a good relationship with the people of the Fayette and Lexington areas and other
stakeholders such as the Fayette Urban-county government, Lexington citizens, its staff, and
managers. The services have also grown significantly to offer literature material that currently
stands at over 560,000 items which comprises of books, audiobooks, magazines, music,
audiobooks and much more (Lexington Public Library, 2017).
Dream
Dream stage helps the stakeholders to challenge the status quo. I will involve sharing
dreams, enlivening, developing metaphorical presentations, and enacting the dreams (Whitney
and Cooperrider, 2000). The dreams of Lexington Library are also captured in its vision which is
in connecting the community in a lifetime of service. The organization has already taken
initiatives in serving the public, it has introduced after-school tutoring programs, summer reading
initiatives for children and the community at large. A long-standing dream for the organization
since its launch has been to reach more people irrespective of the gender differences and
economic status. To achieve that goal the organization has been engaging in non-conventional
and innovative approaches with the help of technology. It has been able to incorporate digital
services and now reaches a much bigger clientele. However, the dream is to reach more and
enhance its services through technological innovations.
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Design
This phase involves having specific activities in the creation of organizations design,
developing a proactive proposition, selecting high impact design elements (Whitney and
Cooperrider, 2000). Use of strategies such as incorporation of positive changes which can be
captured in the design statements. It is a provocative stage where the participants can come up
with concrete short and long-term goals to meet the dreams. Lexington Library intends to serve
the community better and also reach a wider and more diverse audience. It will, therefore,
develop better strategies that will enhance more interaction with the community through its
online platforms and also with physical visits. It will have forums where the management and the
community can interact through social programs and much more.
Destiny
This last phase is achieved through creating a commitment to a strategy that should be
implemented. I should involve developing possible actions, choosing the inspiring ones,
emergent task groups, and use of large group closing approaches (Whitney and Cooperrider,
2000). It will involve stakeholder actions, Lexington Library management, staff, and Fayette
Urban-county government and its citizens will pursue the dreams by applying the design
strategies, implementing the strategies that they chose to ensure that the organization meets its
goals and achieves the dreams.
Comparing organizational outcomes using SWOT and when using Appreciative
Inquiry
A SWOT is a critical process in strategic planning that helps the individuals or committee
in assessing both the internal and external environment of the organization. The benefit of that is
that it will help identify goals and strategies to guide Lexington Library in services and programs
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in the areas that it has strengths and where it has the greatest opportunities while at the same time
improve on its weaker sides and prepare for challenges.
Unlike SWOT, the Appreciative Inquiry approach starts from a point of what is working.
Instead of assessing what is wrong with Lexington Library it focused on what was experienced
and the greatest examples, experiences, encounters of the organization. It focuses more on the
positives and what has been achieved instead of the negative. The drawback is that it does not do
a thorough analysis similar to a SWOT that can guide the organization into correcting the
negatives and weak points. On the contrary, it helps the stakeholders focus on the experiences
and capture lessons from them to guide the planned changes.
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References
Bilmes, L. J. (2011). Federalist Nos. 67–77 How Would Publius Envision the Civil Service
Today. Public Administration Review.
Bryson, J. M. (2011). Strategic planning for public and nonprofit organizations: A guide to
strengthening and sustaining organizational achievement (4th ed.). San Francisco, CA:
Jossey-Bass.
Lexington Public Library (2017). Strategic Plan. Retrieved December 20, 2017, from Lexington
Public Library on, https://www.lexpublib.org/strategic-plan
Millett, S. M. (2006). Futuring and visioning: Complementary approaches to strategic decision
making. Strategy & Leadership,
Shafritz, J. M., Russell, E. W and Borick, C. P. (2013). Introducing public administration (8th
ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
Whitney, D and Cooperrider, D. L. (2000). The appreciative inquiry summit: An emerging
methodology for whole system positive change. Journal of the Organization
Development Network
Running head: STAKEHOLDER ROLES
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The Lexington Public Library in Lexington Kentucky and Roles of the Stakeholders
Name
Institution
Instructor
Date
STAKEHOLDER ROLES
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The Lexington Public Library in Lexington Kentucky and Roles of the Stakeholders
Introduction
The Lexington Public Library is located in Lexington Kentucky where it offers its
services to over 300,000 residents of the merged city-county of Kentucky and Lafayette through
its six branches. This report gives an in-depth look at the organization by focusing on its
operations, the size of the operation, its mission, and goals. It will then focus on stakeholder roles
and the obligations that I have as a member in helping the organization meets it objective. Lastly,
it will look at some recommended strategic goals that the organization can integrate into its
operations and assist the entity in meeting its mission and vision. The final section will be a
conclusion that will give a summary of the main areas that have been discussed in the report.
Lexington Public Library operations
The Lexington Public Library started its operations back in the late 18th Century initially
serving the members of Transylvania Seminary before transferring the facility to a more central
location in order to better serve the community and a wider audience. Through the years it has
grown in leaps and bounds to where it is today a facility of national repute that offers over half a
million items ranging from books, audio-books, e-books, music, movies and a host of other
materials. Currently, the organization has six branches namely the Lexington Central Library in
downtown which is also the largest of the six; there is the Beaumont branch, Eastside branch,
Northside branch, the Tate's Creek branch, and finally the Village branch (Lexington Public
Library, 2017).
Part of its massive growth has been boosted by the organization’s online activity that
currently has over 8 million online visits, the other digital platforms such as the mobile
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application also saw heavy traffic with over 6 million visits in the 2016 (Lexington Public
Library, 2017).The organization also enhances its online plan and focuses and was able to
provide the community with over 360,000 computer sessions within the same period (Lexington
Public Library, 2017). According to the 2016 Annual Report, the items rankings saw the printformats taking the lead, they were still preferred by the visitors more than the digital alternatives
and made up 59 percent of the items on offer, at the second position were the DVDs at 22
percent, audiobooks and CDS taking up the third and fourth position with 9 and 4 percent
respectively (Lexington Public Library, 2016).
Mission and goals
The organization’s mission is in the connection of people, inspiring ideas, and in the
transformation of lives. The organization aims to connect the community through a lifetime of
discovery (Lexington Public Library, 2018). In order to achieve that mission, the organization
depends on five main values which are in excellence the kind of service that the organization
offers, through equality in how they treat their visitors and the staff which has a strong
foundation in respect and fairness (Lexington Public Library, 2018). The third guiding principle
is integrity which helps the organization to gain the public’s trust in their abilities, the next is one
of stewardship which is in the care of the organization that has been entrusted on them. The final
one is passion, it is the main driving force of the Lexington team who are dedicated to their
service and they also value what they do (Lexington Public Library, 2018).
The strategic goals of Lexington Library are categorized into six main areas which are in
access, culture, education, inclusion, space, and stewardship. In meeting the education goal, the
organization seeks to develop a foundation for success by engaging all the groups across various
levels, they include adults, families, and many more. To do so the organization has focused on
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enhancing digital literacy, coming up with educational programs, and also fostering an
environment where the community stays engaged and informed. To boost access the
organization has developed a wider array of material and using different platforms in making
them available to the public. It has utilized innovative techniques such access through online and
other digital platforms. In meeting the space goal, the organization has sought to provide a
variety of flexible spaces that meet the needs of the customers (Lexington Public Library, 2017).
On culture, it has focused on having various events that showcase a diverse culture and
celebrates the wide array of art forms. In meeting the stewardship goal, the organization has
partnered with various organization and fostered collaboration with other government agencies
and community groups (Lexington Public Library, 2017).
Personal role as a stakeholder and the importance of Lexington Public Libraryto me
both personally and professionally
The Lexington Public Library has a number of stakeholders, they include the partners, the
visitors or customers who are also its financiers, the staff members, the local government
agencies, among others. The Library obtains most that it uses to run the operations of the
establishment from an Ad Valorem property tax, the organization get approximately 5 cents for
every $ 100 of accessed property values with the Lexington and Fayette Counties (Lexington
Public Library, 2017 b). It also obtains funding from State and Federal government, donations
and grants, and fines and other fees charged by the organization (Lexington Public Library, 2017
b). As a regular visitor and a customer to the organization, I am a key stakeholder. Part of my
role is to help finance the organization's operations, which are through donations and other
payments that I remit as I access the organization's services. My other role is in giving feedback
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on various services and critiquing any failures to guide the organization into making
improvements.
The organization is important to me both on a personal and a professional level. Through
the Library, I have been able to develop on a personal level, interacted with other members of the
community, build connections. The library has also helped me save a lot of finances that I would
have otherwise spent elsewhere in purchasing books and other material, by being a member, I am
able to access a wide array of resources at a fraction of the cost. Additionally, I have been able to
boost my professional career through research and reading of material made possible through my
membership, the Library has made it possible for me to access a myriad of literature and other
material which has boosted my knowledge. Through the library I am able to access top-notch
research material, journals, readers and other advisory and professional information which have
helped me brush up my skills in class and in other events. It has provided me with the material I
need in my studies, a wide array of books for my research work that has been invaluable in doing
my assignments and in many other areas.
Personal obligation and role in the evaluation and revision of the organization’s
strategic planning process and the potential legal implications for revising the Lexington
Public Library current strategic plan.
As a stakeholder in my capacity as a customer and a frequent visitor to the Library I can
help evaluate the organizations planning process by offering suggestions to areas that I feel have
fallen short, that can be done in various forums that are developed by the organization in
fostering integration. I am also able to critique some of the work being done and provide the
organization with feedback needed to improve services that may have fallen short. Through the
interactive forums with the organization's staff members I am able to share information on
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activities that have been happening in the marketplace and within the industry, such information
can then be utilized by the organization in enhancing their activities. A customer-focused
approach is the best way to improve the service of the organization, it is by being more
responsive to the clients’ needs can the organization boost its performance.
Strategic management plans should be evaluated in a periodic manner preferable on an
annual basis that is aimed at boosting the meeting of goals and objectives. Having an annual
assessment will point to the need for making some adjustments or some alterations to
accommodate various issues. Nevertheless, the strategic plan is not supposed to be overhauled or
be re-written whenever there are changes internally unless they are extraordinary in nature and
affect a much bigger need. Apart from those extraordinary needs that may have been introduced
by internal and external changes, or as a result of major revision and reviews, there should not be
any review on the strategic plan of the organization before the expiry of the set dates and
revision dates.
Recommended strategic goals for Lexington Public Libraryand howthey contribute
and effect positive social change.
The mission of the Lexington Public Library is in the connection of people, inspiring
ideas, and in the transformation of lives. To further enhance that mission, the organization could
focus more on the clientele or customers who are its visitors. I would propose the strategic goals
of being more responsive to the customers’ needs. It can achieve this goal by maximizing on the
six branches and their location, making them more responsive to the customers’ needs physically
that is in terms of accessibility, provision of the right items informed by what the clientele
prefers. By also enhancing the staff’s capacity through training and development, they can serve
the community better and give support where it is required when the need arises. Organizational
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capacity can be described as a set of attributes that assist the organization in meeting its mission
(Barman and MacIndoe, 2012; Eisinger, 2002). The organization can also learn and adopt the
best practices in a continuous manner on the industry by meeting that goal.
The second strategic goal is to have a more efficient and effective team. To meet this
goal, the organization should invest in its staff members, which will involve building capacity,
development of the employees through giving them more opportunities for growth (Carrigan,
2015).Another strategy that can be applied in meeting the goals is in creating a working
environment and culture that is focused on a reward system based on staff performance.
Ensuring that there is diversity in the organization and there are equal chances for all employees
irrespective of their personal differences. The organization can also continually learn and adopt
the best practices that are available in the industry in meeting that goal (Carrigan, 2015).
Finally, the organization’s other goal could be in enhancing collaboration with other
partners, within the industry and in other related sectors such as in research and technology. It
has been the intention of the organization to ensure premier service to the community, to do so,
the organization can collaborate with institutions of higher learning and other research centers
and get the best items to give its customers. Through such partnerships, the organization will be
able to learn from other leading libraries and use the new approaches in enhancing its
performance. The organization can also seek to establish a new strategic alliance on an annual
basis as it seeks to expand its service to the community through such collaborations.
Conclusion
The Lexington Public Library comprises of six branches located in Lexington Kentucky
where serving over 300,000 residents of the merged city-county of Kentucky and Lafayette
counties. The organization has grown and expanded over the years to where it is today offering
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over 560,000 items ranging from books, audio-books, e-books, music, movies and a host of other
materials. The organization also has a vast and active online presence which in 2016 saw it have
over 8 million online visits. It also has other digital platforms such as the mobile application that
also experience heavy usage with over 6 million visits in the 2016 (Lexington Public Library,
2017).The organization’s mission is in connecting people, inspiring ideas, and in the
transformation of lives. To achieve that mission the organization depends on five main values
which are in excellence, equality, integrity, stewardship, and passion (Lexington Public Library,
2018).
Part of my role as a stakeholder is in financing the operations through my membership
and other fees charged, I also give feedback on the performance of the entity and help the entity
improve its performance. The recommended strategic goals are being more responsive to the
customers’ needs. Aiming to have more efficient and effective team, and enhancing collaboration
with other partners. The overall performance of Lexington Public Library relies on its various
stakeholders made up of the management, the staff members, the customers, the local
government and other financiers. It will take a concerted effort and dedication of all to ensure
that the organization continues to thrive and is able to meet its mission of connecting, inspiring
ideas, and in the transformation of the community that it serves.
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References
Barman, E, and MacIndoe, H. (2012). “Institutional Pressures and Organizational Capacity: The
Case of Outcome Measurement,” Sociological Forum 27, no. 1: 74
Carrigan, D.P. (2015). Organizational Capacity and the Public Library (Featuring an Interview
with Lexington (KY) Public Library Executive Director Ann Hammond).Public Libraries
Online. Retrieved January 10, 2018, on,
http://publiclibrariesonline.org/2015/06/organizational-capacity-and-the-public-libraryfeaturing-an-interview-with-lexington-ky-public-library-executive-director-annhammond/
Eisinger, P. (2002). “Organizational Capacity and Organizational Effectiveness Among StreetLevel Food Assistance Programs,” Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly 32, no. 1;
117.
Lexington Public Library (2016). 2016 Annual Report. Retrieved January 10, 2018, from
Lexington Public Library
https://www.lexpublib.org/sites/default/files/file_uploads/annualreport-2016-web.pdf
Lexington Public Library (2016) b. Financial Statements. Retrieved January 10, 2018, from
Lexington Public Library
onhttps://www.lexpublib.org/sites/default/files/audit_report_june_30-2016.pdf
Lexington Public Library (2017). Strategic Plan.Retrieved January 10, 2018, from Lexington
Public Library on, https://www.lexpublib.org/strategic-plan
Lexington Public Library (2018). About the Library. Retrieved January 10, 2018, from
Lexington Public Library on, https://www.lexpublib.org/about
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