Running Head: Organizational Change: The Boy Scouts of America 1
Organizational Change: The Boy Scouts of America
Organizational Behavior and Management
Organizational Change: The Boy Scouts of America 2
Organizational Change: The Boy Scouts of America
You have probably at least heard of it, if not was or still are a part of it. Throughout this
paper, the organization of The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) will be reviewed in detail. The
organizations mission, vision, size, location, some historical highlights, the structure, and several
other facts will be presented. The company’s current organizational culture will be reviewed
using the Competing Values Framework. The current organizational culture will be reviewed
against their stated vision and strategies. I will express my opinion on whether I believe the BSA
has the type of organizational culture best suited to accomplish their vision and goals. Also, I will
give my opinion on how the BSA could change the overall organizational culture in order to
better align with its stated vision and strategic goals.
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the nation’s largest and most prominent values-
based youth development organizations. The BSA provides a program for young people that
builds character, trains them in the responsibilities of participating citizenship, and develops
personal fitness[ CITATION Abo \l 1033 ]. The Boy Scouts of America has also been listed as
number 28 of The 50 Largest U.S. Charities with a revenue of $1.2 Billion [ CITATION For \l
1033 ]. The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) was inspired by and modeled on the Boy Scout
Association, established by Baden-Powell in Britain in 1908 and was incorporated in 1910. In
the early 1900s, several youth organizations were active, and many became part of the BSA. The
BSA grew rapidly and became the largest youth organization in the United States. Early issues
involved race, the “younger boy problem,” and the “older boy problem.” Troops initially
followed local community policy on race. For younger boys, the Cubbing program arose and for
older boys, Rovering and Exploring programs were developed. Additional programs and changes
have occurred over the years to adapt the program to the youth of the day [ CITATION His \l
Organizational Change: The Boy Scouts of America 3
1033 ]. The history of the Boy Scouts of America was summarized by the History Channel. On
January 24, 1908, the Boy Scouts movement begins in England with the publication of the first
installment of Robert Baden-Powell’s Scouting for Boys. The name Baden-Powell was already
well known to many English boys, and thousands of them eagerly bought up the handbook. By
the end of April, the serialization of Scouting for Boys was completed, and scores of impromptu
Boy Scout troops had sprung up across Britain.
In 1900, Baden-Powell became a national hero in Britain for his 217-day defense of
Mafeking in the South African War. Soon after, Aids to Scouting, a military field manual he had
written for British soldiers in 1899, caught on with a younger audience. Boys loved the lessons
on tracking and observation and organized elaborate games using the book. Hearing this, Baden-
Powell decided to write a nonmilitary field manual for adolescents that would also emphasize the
importance of morality and good deeds.
First, however, he decided to try out some of his ideas on an actual group of boys. On
July 25, 1907, he took a diverse group of 21 adolescents to Brown Sea Island in Dorset shire
where they set up camp for a fortnight. With the aid of other instructors, he taught the boys about
camping, observation, deduction, woodcraft, boating, lifesaving, patriotism, and chivalry. Many
of these lessons were learned through inventive games that were very popular with the boys. The
first Boy Scouts meeting was a great success.
With the success of Scouting for Boys, Baden-Powell set up a central Boy Scouts office,
which registered new Scouts and designed a uniform. By the end of 1908, there were 60,000 Boy
Scouts, and troops began springing up in British Commonwealth countries across the globe. In
September 1909, the first national Boy Scout meeting was held at the Crystal Palace in London.
Organizational Change: The Boy Scouts of America 4
Ten thousand Scouts showed up, including a group of uniformed girls who called themselves the
Girl Scouts. In 1910, Baden-Powell organized the Girl Guides as a separate organization.
The American version of the Boy Scouts has its origins in an event that occurred in
London in 1909. Chicago publisher William Boyce was lost in the fog when a Boy Scout came to
his aid. After guiding Boyce to his destination, the boy refused a tip, explaining that as a Boy
Scout he would not accept payment for doing a good deed. This anonymous gesture inspired
Boyce to organize several regional U.S. youth organizations, specifically the Woodcraft Indians
and the Sons of Daniel Boone, into the Boy Scouts of America. Incorporated on February 8,
1910, the movement soon spread throughout the country. In 1912, Juliette Gordon Low founded
the Girl Scouts of America in Savannah, Georgia.
In 1916, Baden-Powell organized the Wolf Cubs, which caught on as the Cub Scouts in
