Effective Communication in Voluntary Arts Network - Case Study Example

STUDENT NAME: STUDENT NUMBER: COURSE NAME: COURSE NUMBER: TOPIC: EFFECTIVE CULTURAL MANAGER: VOLUNTARY ARTS NETWORK (VAN) INSTUCTOR: INSTITUION: DATE: INTRODUCTION Voluntary Arts Network is a development agency for voluntary arts in the U.K. which promotes participation in voluntary arts and craft across the U.K. and the Republic of Ireland. Voluntary Arts Network recognises that arts and craft are a vital part of people’s culture and that arts and craft are important to people’s health, social and economic development. In U.K. many people are involved in voluntary arts which include dance, folk, drama, media, literature, visual arts, music, applied arts and crafts, and festivals. People involved in the voluntary arts and craft do it primary for self-improvement, leisure and social networking and arts and craft for payment just comes as a secondary reason (VAN, 2010). Voluntary Arts Network is involved in various events across U.K. where those people within voluntary arts umbrella and /or lead bodies have a unique opportunity of meeting and discuss concerns and ideas as they perform their roles. Communication about the events is usually done via the internet in their official web site (VAN) and VAN e-news which is their official on-line journal. The role of communicating upcoming events is done by a marketing manager who also doubles as publicity manager for Voluntary arts Network (VAN, 2010). ROLES OF MARKETING MANAGER AT VAN As earlier mentioned, the marketing manager in VAN doubles as the publicity manager and therefore, he undertakes both the roles of marketing and publicity management. At VAN, the marketing manager’s roles are divided into three categories which are; media, event and activities support, and internal and external communications. The three categories encompasses both marketing and public role. Under media, the manager is responsible of driving public relations strategy for VAN in conjunction with Community Sector Coalition which VAN is a member. This involves identification of opportunities fro press releases, articles, feature stories and case studies across U.K. and Ireland. As publicity is very important for VAN, the manager acts as the contact person for PR agencies and country press. He is also responsible for participating and developing networks with other arts and craft association in order to source partnerships, speaking and performing opportunities and awards opportunities fro VAN (Lingham, 2006). Voluntary Arts Network recognizes that people in U.K. are made up of different cultural backgrounds and therefore, they have different ways of expressing arts and craft. It is the marketing and publicity manager’s role to ensure that the different cultures are represents in VAN. He is therefore responsible for developing, organizing and implementing events and activities program for the country which should be in line with VAN’s strategic objectives. In a cultural organization such as VAN, it is important that its events and activities are culturally appropriate with the local context. The manager ensures that VAN is presented in a professional manner both in U.K. and Ireland by making sure that all its events and activities are cultural sensitive. In liaison with the general manager, the marketing manager is also responsible logistics of both internal and external events (Lingham, 2006). Effective communication is of essence in every cultural organization. As a means of promoting arts and crafts inform of music, the marketing manger for VAN is responsible of developing and coordinating two-way internal communication to ensure that VAN is well represented in both in U.K. and globally. Use of e-mail newsletters (VAN e-news) and Van web site are the main medium for transmitting internal and external communication in VAN (VAN, 2010). The role of marketing manger is therefore to drive and maintain e-communication and web site strategy for VAN as well as ensuring that their web site is aligned with other cultural organizations web sites and corporate web policies. The manager acts as cultural communication advisor for VAN in terms of ensuring that marketing communication messages are relevant, cultural appropriate and convincing for local audience. MANAGEMENT APPROACHES APPROPRIATE FOR CULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS The main management approaches which are appropriate for cultural organizations such as VAN are cultural strategic management and cultural strategic planning approaches. The two approaches encompass planning, implementing and evaluating organizational projects in the most effective manner in a cultural or community based organizations. The key success factor for marketing manager in a cultural organization is serious consideration of the principal values originated from the cultural context of a given society in employing his leadership and management practices (Azimi, Kavousy & Amiri, 2010, p.3). Cultural strategic planning is a management technique employed in multicultural organizations which is intended to identify strengths and weaknesses, challenges and opportunities, facing the organization from a cultural perspective. It also involves identification of organization’s vision for the future and how the vision can be achieved (Azimi, Kavousy & Amiri, 2010, p.4). The focus of every strategic plan is on organization’s long-term goals. In a cultural organization such as VAN, cultural strategic planning helps it to assess its long terms goals and then assess the organizational capabilities to achieve these goals. It is under strategic planning that the environmental factors that have a potential for affecting the organization, cultural changes being one of them, are identified and then they are strategically designed to help move the organization forward. According to Mercer, cultural planning in organizations is an approach to cultural resources that links organizations to broader agendas fro economic development, sustainability and quality of life. Development of a broader and inclusive approach to cultural resources is very vital for cultural organizations. Mercer refers this “an active and use-oriented definition of resources accounting for the ways in which people and communities interact with and negotiate them’ (Azimi, Kavousy & Amiri, 2010, p.4). Today, political and geographical boundaries are being faced off and cultural boundaries are taking new direction. For example, in the field of music, people from different cultures are starting to appreciate music from other cultures and also the contemporary music where unlike in the past, people were used to doing their own music and contemporary music was not much appreciate. Nowadays, various festivals are held across the globe where different cultures show cases their music and it is appreciate all over. Different events and activities which used to be identified with music are slowly gaining international recognition. Identifying the significance of incorporating cultural strategy with wider planning processes is an implied recognition of the increasing acknowledgment of creativity as the raw material of the knowledge economy. “Creativity is not just the motivation for producing art, it is the key to entrepreneurialism and devising new approaches to complex contemporary urban challenges including that of sustainability in urban development” (Azimi, Kavousy & Amiri, 2010). Cultural strategic planning approach also involves identifying cultural values. Cultural values are values which tend to be common in every part of a culture and are derived form the larger philosophical issues. This form of culture is transmitted in various ways such as through media, art (music), family, churches and schools. Therefore, an organization in music and/or arts industry plays a very vital role in transmitting cultural values to the society. In the case of VAN, it is important that their cultural strategic plan is able to identify cultural values present in U.K. and Ireland so that it can be able to promote music and other forms of arts which are sensitive to the society’s cultural values. As the world today experience rapid rate of globalization, cultural organizations should apply cultural strategic management approach in their management practices. Cultural strategic management is a way of trying to legitimize actions and works within an organization so that they can fir into the local cultural context. There is a new concept under cultural strategic management which is known as cultural pattern making (Maede, 2010). Cultural pattern making involves designing and formulating a rational pattern in cultural strategic management to identify internal strengths and weaknesses and external opportunities and threats. This management approach is also appropriate for cultural organizations. ANALYTICAL TOOLS APPROPRIATE FOR CULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS There are various types of analytical tools available for organization and there is specific tool that is made for a specific organization or industry. Any tool can be used for analysis since the important part of the analysis is the data design, the quality of the data and the interpretation of the data analysed. In the case of cultural organizations, on type of analytical tool that can be appropriately applied is the balanced scorecard. Balanced scorecard is a strategic management tool that is used to measure performance of an organization in line with its vision and strategic plans (Jackson, 2002). In the case of VAN, which is a cultural organization, it can apply balanced scorecard in measuring its performance in terms of achieving the cultural objectives it has set under its cultural strategic plan. Instead of having the normal perspectives applied under balanced scorecard: financial, customer, internal processes and learning and growth, a cultural organization can develop its own perspectives which it aims to achieve within its cultural context. Since VAN promotes music and other forms of art without a primary motive of making money, then financial perspective can be aimed at achieving stable financial position. This can be through seeking enough funding to support those who volunteer in the network to perform music and other forms of art. The learning and growth perspective in a cultural organization can be tailored in such a manner that the volunteer members in the network are trained on corporate cultural attitudes that related to self-improvement of the individuals. In current context of rapid technological changes in the art and music industry, learning and growth perspective is important so that the participants in this industry are up to date with the current cultural changes taking place in the society today (Balanced Scorecard Institute, 2010, p.6). As a marketing and publicity manager for a cultural organization, it is vital that the products and services marketed to the society results in growth and learning of its members. Under business perspective, the manager in a cultural organization can tailor the perspective in such a way that marketing and publicity activities of the organization conform to the local cultural context. The same case applies under customer perspective where a cultural organization can ensure that the individuals who love music and art are satisfied with their events and activities. Customer perspective is concerned with improving customer satisfaction (Balanced Scorecard Institute, 2010, p.6). Another analytical tool that can be applied in a cultural organization especially VAN is software analytical tools (Soren, 2005). Software analytical tools are analytical tools that assist managers to collect and analyse data through the use of modern information technology. This tool is appropriate for VAN since it depends heavily on web site for communication. Therefore, it can be able to collect data over the internet through posting various questions or using any other data collection method applicable over the internet. Interpretation of the data analysed can then help the management to make sound decisions. IDENTIFICATION OF WEB-BASED CAPABILITIES AS AN INFORMATION RESOURCE FOR CULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS Due to the rapid changes being brought about by globalization in the world today, organizations including cultural organizations need to embrace the use of information technology in transmitting and receiving information. Use of web-based methods of getting information has been possible by the modern technology and all organizations can be able to make use of web-based methods as a source of information. In cultural organization, getting information is very important for the efficient running of the organizational activities. Where VAN is involved in organizing cultural events and activities across U.K., it can rely heavily on web-based information resource to keep itself up to date with the unfolding of activities across U.K. In fact, there is a big capability for VAN to make use of web-based information source as it is a national organization and it has an already established web site. Web-based information source can be very good as cultural organizations can be able to get feedback about its activities from across the globe. The organization can also be able to monitor people’s reaction to numerous organizational events and activities with ease access. Based on information sourced from the web, a cultural organization is at a better position to make improved product and service deliver to the people based on the local cultural perspective. The e-mail newsletter by VAN (e-news) is yet another web-based information source capability that lies in this cultural organization. Information published in this newsletter is transmitted to many people across the country within a short period of time. Any cultural related issue of concern can be quickly noted and the organization is able to receive quick feedback, and employ appropriate measure to resolve the issue. ENTREPRENEURAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR CULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS There has been increasing reaction by the media industry, television in particular to the shifts in broader cultural, economic and political shifts in the U.K. in the recent times. Responding to Sir Brian McMaster views on supporting excellence in the arts, the media industry has of late been representing entrepreneurship on the small screens. VAN fall under the music and art industry and there are potential entrepreneurial opportunities for this organization. Such opportunities can include conducting theatre education to individuals whose ambition is pursue performing arts as a profession. Since VAN has been organizing and hold cultural events and activities in various parts across U.K., it has gained a good reputation in art performances. This gives VAN an upper hand to pursue theatre education as an entrepreneur activity so as to capacity build the local cultural context of the people of U.K. Entrepreneurial opportunities is always associated with profit making or earns for the people involved. Another entrepreneurial opportunity for VAN is to open a theatre where by after training people on how to perform arts, they can then have a platform to show case their skills and talents to the members of the society through theatre performances. This entrepreneur opportunity opens up an opportunity for both the organization and the society as it can act as a source of income for the organization and as a source of income to professional art performers. Therefore, Voluntary Art Networks has an ability to identify entrepreneurial opportunities that can benefit the organization and the society at large. REFERENCES Amiri, S., Kavousy, E., & Azimi, S. 2010. The Role of Cultural Strategic Planning in Increasing Organizational Productivity. European Journal of Social Sciences , 1-6. Balanced Scorecard Institute. 2010. Balanced Scorecard Basics. Retrieved November 18, 2010, from: http://www.balancedscorecard.org/BSCResources/AbouttheBalancedScorecard/tabid/55/Default.aspx Boyle, R., & Magor, M. 2008. A nation of entrepreneurs? Television, social change and the rise of the entrepreneur. Intellect , 125-144. Jackson, T. 2002. International Human Resource. In A Cross-Cultural Approach (pp. 1-33). SAGE Publications, Inc. Lingham, L. 2006. Marketing Management in Organizations. Retrieved November 18, 2010, from All Experts Marketing: http://en.allexperts.com/q/Marketing-1090/Marketing-Management-Organisation.htm Maede, J. 2010. Analytical Tools Give Meaning to Data. Retrieved November 18, 2010, from bnet.com: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3495/is_11_46/ai_80327071/ Soren, J. 2005. Management Of Cultural Organization Performance. International Journal of arts and Management , 50-62. Voluntary Arts Networks. 2010. Voluntary Art Networks: Increasing Participation in the Arts. Retrieved November 18, 2010, from: http://www.voluntaryarts.org/ Read More