Stakeholder

Stakeholders are a group of people united by a common objective especially when working together to accomplish a common goal. The smooth running of any organization depends on how stakeholders effectively utilize available management tools and any success they usher in will affect many people who will be attracted to the organization’s keen interpretation of its existing vision and mission statements. Stakeholder analysis helps identify the right stakeholders for the right positions. There are benefits to using the stakeholder-based approach which is using the opinions of stakeholders in shaping the destiny of an organization at an early stage. Likewise, getting the help of influential and experienced stakeholders will assist in gathering resources and also will in the end make all project implementations successful. The most important action to take is to communicate with stakeholders at an early stage so that they can comprehend the nature of your project and give support where and when necessary. It is necessary to have a plan for your project so that people can understand where you are headed to. According to Bryson (2004), having a false impression of one’s stakeholders can cause a dilemma for an organization. Some unique characteristics of shareholders include having an understanding of the required context and understanding the nature of the people involved.

Stakeholders in a project may be your boss, co-workers, and customers; they can be shareholders, analysts, lenders, or suppliers; they could be trade associations, the public, the community, or interest groups (Rachel, 2011). To better understand and monitor stakeholder interest in your project, it is best to utilize Power/Interest Grid for prioritization. They can be classified as such: low power and high power and low interest and high interest. In high power, these are the interest group that you will need to monitor. You will need to satisfy and engage the high power group as much as you can. The high power-less interested group deserve to be engaged but not pushed too hard or else they feel uninterested in the message you are trying to convey. The low power-interested group needs to be sufficiently informed of the project by constantly making them aware of the ongoing processes. The low power-less interested group deserve monitoring without being bored with excessive communication.


References

Bryson, J. M. (2004). Strategic planning for public and nonprofit organizations: A guide to strengthening and sustaining organizational achievement (3rd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Rachel, T. (2011). Stakeholder analysis: Winning support for your projects. Retrieved from http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newPPM_07.htm

Managing Money

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Nations, regardless of system of governance or financial capability, have to be prepared for disasters whose catastrophic impacts are hard to prognosticate. Almost every year, the world experiences disasters of various magnitudes that include devastating tsunamis, earthquakes of different dimensions, hurricanes that inundate vast stretches of lands, contagious diseases that spread beyond borders, civil wars that kill and displace undisclosed number of people, and volcano eruptions that spread beyond control with geothermal implications.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is a U.S. Government public organization that provides emergency assistance to state, local, and non-profit organizations. Former president Jimmy Carter created FEMA by executive order on March 30, 1979 (Woolley, 2005). FEMA is part of the Department of Homeland Security headed by Janet Napolitano. It was founded for the sake of averting disasters or triumphing over natural or human-made disasters (Adamski, Kline, & Tyrell, 2006). In its fiscal year 2011 budget, the Department of Homeland Security allocated 15% of its budget of $56,335,737,000 (a 2% increase over 2010 FY) for use by FEMA boosted by a further 7% grants (DHS, 2011). However, due to increased natural disasters, FEMA at times finds itself suffering austere measures that lead to budget deficits. Usually, it is Congress that passes appropriation bills thereafter to be signed by the president so that it becomes a law. Conversely, the president has the power to veto a bill or sign it in its entirety (Mikesell, 2011). Before appropriations are made for a FY, federal agencies may continue functioning through continuing resolution.

In order to succeed in its commitment to the public it serves, FEMA has to have the necessary tools and financial resources required to accomplish its goals and expectations. Since FEMA is a public not-for-profit organization that solely relies on the U.S. Government for its budgetary and other financial needs to combat disasters, it is prudent that accountability be considered with utmost importance to safeguard dwindling resources in case of economic meltdowns. Because the money provided by the government to FEMA is generated from businesses and the public through taxation, it is equally important for FEMA to ensure public services is distributed in the most applicable manner without hindrances of any sorts. According to Mikesell (2011), a budget is a valuable document that is fundamental in the way an organization is managed. Budgets apply differently to public and private organizations. Besides government, FEMA generates its budgetary needs from well-wishers and donors especially when catastrophes strike.

References

Adamski, T., Kline, B., & Tyrell, T. (2006). FEMA Reorganization and the Response to Hurricane Disaster Relief. Perspectives in Public Affairs. Vol. 3, Spring 2006.

DHS (2011). FY 2011 budget-in-brief. Retrieved from http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/budget_bib_fy2011.pdf

Mikesell, J. (2011). Fiscal administration: Analysis and applications for the public sector (8th Ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Woolley, L. (2005). FEMA-Disaster of an emergency. Retrieved from http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2005/9/12/102827.shtml

Leadership, Ethics, and Money Matters

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Every year, many organizations suffer misappropriation of funds and white collar crimes of various dimensions that are either prosecuted in courts of law or neglected altogether due to laxity of organizational rules and regulations. Such improper behaviors resulting from poor book keeping and distorted accounting procedures ultimately result in the loss of millions of dollars. According to Franklin and Raadschelders (2004), bureaucracy can cause hardships on a state's economy. Political and self-interests are some factors that can impede budgetary operations of a state like in Oklahoma where disproportional distribution of services, kickbacks, unethical behaviors, and corruption have been the norm for some time. Budgetary wranglings is not limited to the state of Oklahoma only. In essence, it is a widespread practice that can be found in both private and governmental organizations. Bureaucrats or office-bearers driven by the desire to get-rich-quick have caused bankruptcies to many financially stable organizations. Failure to uphold constitutional values, conflicting ideologies, disregard for budgetary control and mismanagement are some of the causes that lead to budgetary breakdowns. According to DeThomas, Oliver, and Seereiter (1987), organizational success can be achieved by laying down an impressive financial planning that will serve as a guiding force.

Corporate financial scandal has become a global problem and that it is not limited to the U.S. alone. The latest financial scandal that shook Australasia happened in Victoria, a region of Australia. Located in the city of Melbourne, Sonray Capital Markets Pty Ltd. is a marketing company that deals in investments, derivatives, futures, and international and domestic equities. Former CEO of Sonray, Scott Murray, started a two-year jail-term without the prospect of parole for deliberately shuffling client money from one account to another leading to the subsequent collapse of Sonray in June of 2010. In total, Sonray lost a staggering $46.7 million (Wood, 2011). According to court documents, Murray, working surreptitiously in cahoot with his boss Russell Johnson, dragged money belonging to clients to Sonray's operating budget. This was done to rectify the financial afflictions faced by Sonray and also to fulfill the directives of his immediate boss who, in a separate court proceeding, was also charged with twenty-four counts including conspiracy to commit theft and making false accounting.

In order to resolve past financial follies, Sonray Capital Markets Pty Ltd. has hired a new external administrator who is tasked with overseeing its day to day activities until such a time when it can be determined if it can continue with its normal operations or go into liquidation. The new administrator has set up a line of communication that include telephone numbers, a postal address number, and a web site with e-mail addresses exclusively for people intending to lodge grievances. This is a commendable action as it will help Sonray deal with shareholders, creditors, and employees in an amicable manner without resorting to grueling court proceedings that could result in challenging financial settlements.

References

DeThomas, A., Oliver, J., & Seereiter, D. (1987). Designing the strategic financial planning system. American Business Review, 5(2), 23–31.

Franklin, A. L., & Raadschelders, J. C. (2004). Ethics in local government budgeting: Is there a gap between theory and practice? Public Administration Quarterly, 27(4), 456–490.

Woods, L (2010). CEO jailed for Sonray theft. Retrieved from http://www.theage.com.au/business/ceo-jailed-for-sonray-theft-20111014-1lp77.html

Comparing and Contrasting Levels of Government

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Budgets for the three levels of government often perform the same regardless of the scope of government though there could be variations in the size of earmarked budgetary allocations according to demand and population. According to Mikesell (2011), it all depends on how the entity pays particular attention to the demands and foundations of the institution to be funded. Budget allocation is the prerogative of select government appropriation officials who often debate on subjects related to what to spend, where to spend, when to spend, and how to spend. At the federal level, it is Congress that debates on government budgetary needs before sending their final bill to the president for approval. In the end, the president may approve it by signing it into law or veto it out-rightly. In the U.S., there are financing committees known as the Senate Finance and House and Ways Means committees that have leverage over federal tax and revenue measures (Mikesell, 2011). In essence, as a measure of easing work, the appropriation committee gets help from subcommittees that assist in making the necessary budget for federal operations. In the U.S., the two largest federal budget entitlements are Social Security and Medicare that are primarily for the elderly. Medicaid, a program that has been established to serve the needy receives 12.5 percent mandatory spending and is the third largest entitlement. Most government spending comes from tax cuts (Mikesell, 2011).

At the state and local governments, expenditures are geared towards general public needs and that is the delivery of health and sanitary needs, educational enrichment, and welfare and public safety measures. Unlike the national government that has a broader reach in international affairs related to dispute resolution, state governments put greater consideration to the attainment of fiscal stability by tending to the needs of local governments. The largest recipient of local government expenditure goes to primary and secondary education (Mikesell, 2011). Public welfare programs receive the largest share of state budgets. Governments-federal, state, and local-generate their expenditures from taxes levied from income taxes, payroll taxes, capital gains taxes, wealth taxes, property taxes, corporate taxes, and estate and excise taxes (Taxes and Government Spending, 2011). A state may use innovative ideas of dispensing its money without causing harm to the rest of the national economy.

At the local level, departmental heads prepare Christmas lists that are devoid of executive guidance and at times unreliable in context. Some important features that make local governments perform well in their fiscal policies when executed efficiently include choices and responsiveness, citizen participation in decision-making, accountability, improved revenue mobilization, and easier monitoring of results (Shah, 2007).

References

Mikesell, J. (2011). Fiscal administration: Analysis and applications for the public sector (8th Ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Taxes and government spending (2011). Retrieved from http://www.libraryindex.com/pages/1309/Taxes-Government-Spending-OVERVIEW.html

Shah, A. (Ed., 2007). Public sector governance and accountability series: Local budgeting. The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. World Bank. Washington, DC

Strategic Planning

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Strategy is defined as a policy or stratagem while planning connotes to mean preparation, scheduling, or arrangement. Thus, strategic planning, entails having a complete approach that is capable of producing realistic and positive results when applied to an organization. Strategic planning that has been prearranged before application is a crucial tool that helps alleviate future misconceptions and organizational breakdowns. According to Bryson (2004), strategic planning involves carrying out elemental decisions for safeguarding implementations necessary for running an organization or entity for the present and for posterity. Strategic planning that lacks preparation, dexterity, group support, and group effort may not hold long and end up in failure. Strategic planning is best applicable when focus is given to present and future organizational expectations having success and productivity in mind.

The Kansas City, Kansas Public Library’s mission statement is one geared towards connecting communities by coming up with the required tools, resources, and creating the factors that help enrich the lives of the inhabitants of Wyandotte County (KCKPL, 2010). Its vision calls for striving to become the frontrunner in the dissemination of information and knowledge in the State of Kansas. KCPLS’s desire is to disseminate knowledge and create a healthy, educated society. The use of intelligence and profound marketing strategies can be useful when implementing strategic planning (Weier, 2008). KCKPL’s strategic planning is a flexible one that is susceptible to change depending on the needs of its patrons, stakeholders, and employees.

KCPL is struggling to shine in an atmosphere of competition where libraries abound. Levy increases will be deliberated by a board before implementation. Some of the new strategies to be included in the library’s strategic plans include library charges for the purchase of new products, self-registration features for patrons, new informational brochures, and the crossing out of old bills as a gesture of goodwill for library patrons confounded by financial hardships. The library is determined to introduce PlayStation, Wii, Kindle, and Gameboy after assessing patron needs.

References

Bryson, J. M. (2004). Strategic planning for public and nonprofit organizations: A guide to strengthening and sustaining organizational achievement (3rd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

KCKPL (2010). Strategic plan 2010-2012. Retrieved from http://www.kckpl.lib.ks.us/documents/2010_2012_approved_strategic_plan.pdf


Weier, M. H. (2008). Collaboration and the new product imperative. InformationWeek, 1195, 26–30, 32.

Motivational Factors in Leadership

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The success of any organization, whether public or private, depends on the effective use of strategic planning. According to McNamara (2010), there are various organizational strategic planning models. Charting a strategic plan depends on the purpose, plan of action, culture of organization, and existing environmental conditions. Since organizations exist to serve their clients, there has to be a comprehensive, broad-based, and long-term strategy to serve as navigational aid. Almost all organizations have vision and mission statements.

McNamara (2010) argues that models one and two are vital to smaller businesses while model three is ideal for organizations looking toward implementing solid foundations and planning to expand their working strategies. Often, newly-founded non-profit organizations lack the expertise to look forward to new changes and challenges and that they simply stick to their initial plans at the time the organization was founded. Vision entails having the prudence to see further afield and make new additions that are deemed necessary. On the other hand, goals are list of items that have to be accomplished in a certain period of time despite projected handicaps. In model three, whatever is causing organizational stoppages will have to be lubricated and fine-tuned to enable freedom of movement and operation of personnel and machinery. What is known as scenario planning or model four may be incorporated with other models for successful strategic planning.

The nature of leadership style that exists in an organization should be taken into context when implementing strategic planning. Leadership styles will have to be adjusted to be acceptable to the planning process. Leadership styles come in various styles: transformational, transactional, and situational. One non-profit organization that I was involved with overseas had a transformational leader. One vital motivational factor in any organization is seeing there is continuous, sustained developmental growth. As long as the organization is on the right path in its firm commitment to production, internal and external forces will be assured that the future is bright. Growth and production are interrelated and will have to be watched carefully.

A second motivational factor is caring for the customers that make the organization’s operations possible. Targeting customers in the most applicable manner and giving them appealing products leads to satisfaction and trust. The third motivational factor is the management that is responsible for running the organization. Management will have to undergo training so they understand the operational procedures of the organization and how best to leap further from the current stagnation. According to Bryson (2004), vision, goals, and issues require developing objectives in various ways and places.

References

McNamara, C. (2010). Basic overview of various strategic planning models. Free Management Library. Retrieved from http://managementhelp.org/strategicplanning/models.htm

Bryson, J. (2004). Strategic planning for public and nonprofit organizations: A guide to
strengthening and sustaining organizational achievement (3rd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Collaboration, Coordination, and Cooperation

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In modern times, collaboration, coordination, and cooperation are three leadership concepts widely used in organizational management. If used effectively, these three concepts increase productivity, augment better communication procedures, and enhance better working atmosphere. According to Stein (1982), coordination allows different actors to converge at equal equilibriums. Thus, coordination is an arbitrary convention where no actor wishes to lose in case of market competition. Often, actors adapt contextual rules where for example, like in an intersection, drivers avoid head-on collision. In this case, both coordinate a plan that allow one driver to proceed while the other yields. Coordination enables leaders having strategic plans to bring together various sectors of an organization under one umbrella without harming the autonomous working principles of each and every segment.

Collaboration is an important working feature that embodies teamwork, partnership, alliance or group effort in ensuring the success of any organization. The exclusion of one group in a collaborative network is cause for failure and a deviation or departure from traditional working relationships (Thompson, Perry & Miller, 2009). According to Sharma and Kearins (2010), collaboration among members develops an enhanced understanding of the economic, social, and environmental factors that may be affecting an organization. However, according to Prins (2010), moving away from competition to collaboration may lead to drifting from initial objectives and multi-stakeholder approach attributable to apprehension of an embryonic process. This can happen when parties are driven by self-interest and not organizational goals and expectations. Sincerity has to flourish among stakeholders when instituting collaborative endeavors or else there will be nothing to salvage if disingenuousness prevails.

Cooperation entails working together in an atmosphere of compliance while having organizational goals and expectations at heart. Cooperation is a synchronous movement practiced among groups with identical agenda. Armies move in marching order as a mark of discipline; churches have choirs that sing in harmonious synchrony; and corporations work in concert to achieve positive outcomes (Wiltermuth & Heath, 2008). Cooperation has been so effective in the last few decades mainly as a result of increased human interaction, improved communication, and the rise of globalization. We often hear phrases like departmental cooperation, international cooperation, social cooperation, cross-border cooperation, religious cooperation, military cooperation, and organizational-level cooperation to refer to humans joining hands to break a barrier and reach success. When collaboration, coordination, and cooperation become tripartite working impressions in organizations, increased harmonious relationships and enhanced productivity will prevail.

References

Prins, L. (2010). From competition to collaboration: Critical challenges and dynamics in multiparty collaboration. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science. Vol. 46, 3: pp. 281-312

Stein, A.A. (1982). Coordination and collaboration: Regimes in an anarchic world. International Organization. Vol. 36, No. 2pp. 299-324.

Thompson, A.M., Perry, J.L., & Miller, T.K. (2009). Conceptualizing and measuring collaboration. Journal of public administration research theory. Volume 19, Issue1, Pp. 23-56.

Sharma, A. & Kearins, K. (2010). Interorganizational collaboration for regional sustainability: What happens when organizational representatives come together? Journal of Applied Behavioral Science. Vol. 47 no. 2 168-203.

Wiltermuth, S.S., & Heath C. (2008). Research report: Synchrony and cooperation.
Department of Organizational Behavior, Stanford University. Volume 20—Number 1. Retrieved from http://personal.stevens.edu/~ysakamot/175/paper/synchrony.pdf

When Leaders Resist Change

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Today’s leadership is confounded by a plethora of problems that need to be addressed if genuine organizational change is to be affected. One major obstacle to organizational change is the constant resistance to change that has become a daily occurrence and an enigma to all sorts of development. Most often, leaders, management, and lower level employees may resist organizational changes simply because of fear of being exposed to something new that they deem unnecessary or infringing on their previous working styles. A new environment that comes with alterations may not be welcoming to some individuals in a workplace.

Any leader whose goal is to effect new changes to an organization will need to be armed with some valuable philosophical resources to overcome perceptions harbored by some employees in the workplace. Since leadership is a personal characteristic that calls for persuasion and having an embodiment of vision and reflection, in the pre-launch phase, undergoing thorough self-examination could be an added advantage (Burke, 2011). Because undergoing organizational change can be messy and at times chaotic, having self-control, understanding employee behavioral changes, and inculcating tolerance could be vital tools for the pre-launch execution phase.

In the pre-launch phase, understanding the external environment of the organization is a means to improving relations with all people that have dealings with the organization. Coming up with priorities to institute change and providing vision and direction is a means to laying a platform for catapulting to the next phase. Effective leaders who have the trust of their followers have the best chance of succeeding when equipped with appealing behaviors and theoretically reflective foundations that serve as beacons for navigational purposes.

In the launch phase, the best equipment to stretch out immaculately in the launch pad will be effective communication tools. After all is ready for launching, there will be a need for further implementation and inspection of all available facilities to avoid last minute malfunction. In this phase, it should be noted that there will be extreme anxiety or excitement that can only be overcome with the application of scrupulous decision making. What comes after the launch phase will be the post-launch phase that will require collective perseverance and consistent scrutiny.

References

Burke, W. W. (2011). Organization change: Theory and practice (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

Corporate Responsibility

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Leadership of the yesteryears is quite different from today’s modern leadership styles that are mainly driven by the volumes of advanced literary writings that are widely available in electronic and in print form and the technological innovation we see sweeping across the globe. Modern academia has played a great role in shaping the various leadership styles currently in use in the running of organizations driven by massive globalization. As the nature of leadership changes by day, one trend that needs to be addressed thoroughly is the great imbalance between majority and minority groups in the running of government institutions, corporations, and international organizations.

For a long time, minority groups have suffered the effects of stratification and marginalization imposed on them by majority groups wielding considerable power and influence in government and in the private sector. There is a tendency for plurality groups to feel threatened when they are excluded from power yet they don’t allow minority groups a share of power (Fearon, Kasara & Laitin, 2006).

Organizations have a responsibility to the societies that make their existence possible. Corporate social responsibility has been accelerated by changing trends in global business and the arrival of globalization. While society plays a great role in the proliferation of corporations worldwide, likewise, corporations have a responsibility to elevate the living conditions of society through the provision of education, healthcare services, environmental protection, infrastructure development, and delivery of clean water and other humanitarian services.

References

Fearon, J., Kasara, K., & Laitin, D. (2006). Ethnic minority rule and civil war onset. Stanford University. Retrieved from www.stanford.edu/~jfearon/papers/fearonkasaralaitin3.doc

Hopkins, M. (2004). Policy integration department world commission on the social dimension of globalization. International Labor Office, Geneva. Retrieved from http://www.ilo.org/legacy/english/integration/download/publicat/4_3_285_wcsdg-wp-27.pdf

Social Responsibility

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In modern times, social change has become a vital tool for use in advancing the needs of society. Generally, social changes exist in various forms and can have positive or negative consequences. Social change, depending on impact, is a term implying changes in social, economic, religious, or political conditions. An example of social change is what is known as corporate social responsibility. This is when corporations engaged in philanthropy give back to society for the sake of maintaining societal health and foster close cooperation. Firestone, the great American tire manufacturer, in its pursuit of the precious rubber used in the manufacture of the durable tires we use in our cars, has been castigated for the tremendous environmental destruction it has wrought on the West African nation of Liberia (Makina, 2011). Rather than giving back something precious in return, Firestone has imposed on the land and the people of Liberia an environmental hazard that will take years to remedy. Firestone’s irresponsible actions have led to the destruction of vast tracts of land and the creation of other ecological hazards.

Social change can only materialize when those in authority partake in the training, educating, and transforming of communities. Social change is associated with fairness in dealings, accountability, changing attitudes, overcoming biases, organizing change, and determining solutions to problems. Leadership and social responsibility are inseparable. Hickman (1998) believes that corporations and business entities have to give back to communities and be thankful for the role society plays in their successes.

References

Hickman, G.R. (1998). Leading organizations: Perspectives for s new era. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.

Makina, A. (2011). The impact of globalization on Liberia’s ecosystem. Retrieved from http://wardheernews.com/Articles_2011/May/05_The%20Impac%20of%20globalization_makina.pdf