Needs assessment
A needs assessment can be described as the process through which an organization or community will determine the gap that exists between where it wants to be and its current status (Mahmud, Saira Wahid, & Arif, 2019). It will help in the process of determining the strategies which should be implemented to reach the desired state.
One issue that requires a need assessment in the community of Plano, Texas, is looking at the manner that the COVID-19 pandemic has affected small businesses. Notably, there have been different measures that have been put in place to prevent the spread of the disease, for instance, social distancing and staying at home. So, how has that affected the small businesses?
There are different stakeholders who will be involved in this assessment. Firstly, it is the business owners in the community. Secondly, it is the local government and law enforcement. Thirdly, it the clients who go to buy from the businesses.
One of the key stakeholders is business owners. There are several questions that will be asked. Firstly, in what ways as the COVID-19 pandemic affected the manner that your business operates? What are some of the ways that you have devised to deal with the effects of the pandemic? In your view, what more is needed to be done to help you deal with this pandemic?
There are different obstacles that I am likely to encounter. For example, I might have an issue with getting enough respondents. As well, with the restrictions placed due to the coronavirus, the process of data collection might take longer than expected. Lastly, I will face an increased risk of contracting the coronavirus.
Moreover, there are ethical considerations that should be taken into account when performing a needs assessment. For instance, issues such as confidentiality and privacy of information should be guaranteed. Additionally, there should be informed consent for respondents who are participating in the needs assessment (Nusbaum, Douglas, Damus, Paasche-Orlow, & Estrella-Luna, 2017).
References
Mahmud, K. T., Saira Wahid, I., & Arif, I. (2019). Impact of training needs assessment on the performance of employees: Evidence from Bangladesh. Cogent Social Sciences, 5(1), 1-14. doi:10.1080/23311886.2019.1705627
Nusbaum, L., Douglas, B., Damus, K., Paasche-Orlow, M., & Estrella-Luna, N. (2017). Communicating risks and benefits in informed consent for research: A qualitative study. Global Qualitative Nursing Research, 4, 1-13. doi:10.1177/2333393617732017