Leadership Governance and Politics - Research Paper Example

Leadership Governance & Politics Introduction Organizational management is a multi-faceted process that encompasses both leadership and governance. Nonprofit organizations, just as their name suggests, operate purely on humanitarian basis and do not therefore exist to make profit. However, just as any other organization, they need adequate financing in order to operate and achieve their goals. This implies that they exist in extremely precarious environments where they must obtain funding from well-wishers and use the funds effectively to benefit the societies among which they operate. Managing a nonprofit organization therefore requires charm and charisma in order to appeal to the donors for funding while at the same time employ the limited funds in appropriate use in benefiting the society and sustaining the organization. Political strategies therefore become of essence in running nonprofit organizations given the fact that they operate in societies and most of their operations uplift the lives of people. They therefore need a working relationship with the governments of both the donor and the recipient countries in order to operate. Additionally, effective political strategies aid the actual management processes of the organizations. Just as any other organizations, nonprofit organizations employ human resource and therefore require appropriate management. Managers perform a number of roles key among which is a leadership role that is more political than it is management (Aquilar & Galluccio, 2011). Organizational managers must therefore employ tactful political strategies to lead heir nonprofit organizations to success. There are a number of political strategies capable of running organizations. These are political mechanisms of policy making and implementation. There are quite a number of these but among the most appropriate in managing a nonprofit organization include compromise, religion, and placating. Compromise is a case in which the management compromises with the ideas of each group. The management considers the thought of every pressure group in this all-inclusive approach. Politics is divisive and people foster different ideologies therefore belong to two contradicting views to ideas. Nevertheless, since nonprofit organizations rely on diplomatic relations both for funding and for operations, it becomes a prerogative for nonprofit organization to stay impartial in national politics and contain the ideologies of both sides in the political tussle (Trubowitz, 2011). Religion, on the other hand, earns allegiance through manipulating the beliefs of the people. Religion does not only dilute its adherents but earns loyalty to the management in an organization thereby making management easier. Several faiths exist including Christianity and Islam but all ascribe to similar doctrines always seeking obedience and loyalty among their adherents. Most nonprofit organizations infuse religion in their structures thus making them more appealing to the societies. They implore the societal norms and values that religion dictate among their adherents to manage operations. Religion therefore commands respect and obedience; this makes both the employees and subjects of the organizations develop a submissive attitude. They thus become easier to manage since they do not often challenge the decisions of management. Placating is a tool in marketing that is most efficient in selling ideas. It is also a tool in politics and management earns submission and obedience by drawing love from the managers. This is the process of always telling people that they are smart and embracing their ideas publicly. Like compromise, it seeks consideration of all the viewpoints only that this is less formal and the speaker has no obligation of implementing the ideas sought from others. This is management by flattery, which manipulates the thinking of others. However, it dictates that the leader affects favorable policies besides the numerous compliments. The three political strategies have relative relevance in the management of nonprofit organizations despite their different approaches. They all implore the possibilities of manipulating people’s mindset. They thus are psychological tools of management. As stated earlier, nonprofit organizations exist in societies. They draw their funding from the societies and implement project that favor the societies. They therefore interact with the society more often and will require an amicable relationship with the society in order to gain relevance to both the donors and their beneficiaries. Placating is an effective way of drawing funds from donors. It entails always complimenting and encouraging the donors thereby making them donate more. Education is a more involving sector that has often attracted more nonprofit organizations. However, governments through the public service bodies include the sector in the national budget and planning (Kinsella, 2007). This therefore implies that the nonprofit organizations must work in liaison with the state government a factor, which makes the nature of their relationship of essence. Religion has a workable reputation in every society; however, the nonprofit organization must consider the religious beliefs of the society since it is detrimental to an Islamic organization to operate in a Christian institution despite the evangelistic nature of religions. Compromise, which earns cooperation through settlement of common grounds, is the most effective in such a scenario. The strategy implores understanding of both the regulations of the government, the nature of its programs, and the policies in the sector and therefore operates easily with the effective consideration of the political state of the country. Furthermore, governments attach more importance on the quality of the education in the countries. It is therefore more difficult for governments to allow organizations to get involved with the operations of the sector if they are not oriented to quality addition. Placating, which is more effective in soliciting funding, may not have much relevance in operating in the education sector of a country. The state governments demand compliance with their national policies thereby making it more difficult to brainwash the educational stakeholders through compliments since they have their own institutions of assessment. This makes religion the most effective strategy in managing educational nonprofit organizations. Religion is part of the curriculum in every country; it therefore earns automatic cooperation from the existing facilities thus making the operation of the organizations seamless. Diversity comes naturally in an organization since varying people have different skills all of which are necessary in the coherent operation of the organization. Henry Fuyol, the father of modern day management, in his systems theory explains that an organization is like a system with various components which must work concurrently for the organization to achieve success. Each of these components requires different technical knowhow implying that naturally the organization employs diverse people. A diverse board is one which incorporates people with different skills and technical know how. Such a board is more effective in assessing the progress of the organization since at least every member in the board has an effective understanding of the specific department in the organization. However, diversity requires moderation since extremely diverse people constituting a board makes decision making more cumbersome since some will always antagonize others (Montana & Charnov, 2000). The board of a nonprofit organization is inclusive since every stakeholder deserves information on the activities of the organization. This includes the financiers, the organization, and the community. In such a situation, it becomes easier for the composition of the board to have top management people with diverse views on the issues of operation of the organization. Such situations compel such organizations to turn political as every divergent view seeks to build its own command on the community especially in the event that the stakeholders fail to harmonize their differences. Additionally, the fact that these organizations operate in communities earn them direct entry into the local politics. In soliciting funds in their donor countries, politics become integral since the diplomatic relations between the donor country and the community of operation affects the level of funding. The organizations therefore naturally become part of the local politics and must determine an effective way of existing despite the political situation. Placating work best in secular organizations operating in the heightened political environment. By appealing to every side of the political divide, the organization operates efficiently always collecting adequate funds to manage its operations within the communities. The board of directors is always the highest decision making organ in an organization. They deliberate on the issues affecting the operations of the organization and determine the effective solutions for the same. Since nonprofit organizations depend on the funding from donors to operate, it is often natural for the boards of such organizations to change their responses to fit the requirements of the stakeholders. References Aquilar, F., & Galluccio, M. (2011). Psychological and political strategies for peace negotiation: A cognitive approach. New York, NY: Springer. Kinsella, W. (2007). The war room: Political strategies for business, NGOs, and anyone who wants to win. Toronto: Dundurn. Montana, P. J., & Charnov, B. H. (2000). Management. Hauppauge, N.Y: Barron's. Trubowitz, P. (2011). Politics and strategy: Partisan ambition and American statecraft. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press. Read More