Management Strategies in UNESCO - Case Study Example

Organizational Analysis Introduction It has been observed that the role of the cultural sector in the world today is very significant mainly due to the fact that there has emerged a globalised market economy order in the world, due to which a variety of cultures come in interactions with each other. Thus, it is important that there is established a clear understanding of the organizations and the way that they function. In the following paper there shall be a detailed discussion on the functioning and working of one such institution. The organization which will be the focus of discussion in the following paper is UNESCO. Importance of management Over the years there has been seen that the there has been an increase in the production process that is followed by man due to the coming of the industrial revolution. With time there has been observed the emergence of global economy which led to the development of an international economic structure where there has been experienced a systematic break down of the local barriers. Due to the changes that have taken place the organizations today have to ensure that they create product consciousness among the customer base through strategic management in order to ensure that there is a stable economic market available for their products and to ensure generation of demand for their products (Kang et al, 2006). This has become a vital part of the entire production system as without the creation of product consciousness and product management the competition cannot be met in the 21st century with the realization of global economics and market.                               With the changing demands and needs of the market there has been seen that most of the organizations in the world have changed their management and strategic policies to ensure that greater awareness can be created in the market. This has been seen to have reaped fruits for almost all the companies around the globe. But on the other hand there has to be realized that there have been certain companies and organizations which have emerged as global leaders in their field and sphere of influence but have not changed their policies or strategic management a great deal but have employed a persistent policy of organization and functioning (Kai et al, 2006).                              In the following paper there shall be conducted a detailed analysis of the various organizational strategy that is adopted by the UNESCO to ensure that they are able to promote their various programs. The strategies that the organization has adopted over the years have been seen to evolve and alter in accordance to the changing needs of the organization to meet the environmental issues that are present in the society today. Most of the strategies that are adopted by the UNESCO conform to the normal management strategies, but there has to be realized that the organization functions at the international forum and therefore has to be sensitive to the various needs and demands of the various cultures that it interacts with. There has to be realized that the issues that are taken up the UNESCO are usually highly political in nature and they also have economic consequences. Thus there has been observed that the organization leans rather heavily on its marketing team to ensure that there is effective awareness created in the various societies about the cultural diversification and the ethical problems that are facing the world today.     The organization which we are studying is an international organization and due to this the overall influence of the organization is vast. Therefore it interacts with a number of cultures and ethnicities. Thus when launching into a new project it is important that they have a clear picture of the groups in the region so that it can interact and function in an effective and successful manner in the region and can create efficient communication channels with the people in the region. But before there is a discussion conducted it is imperative that a clear understanding is established of the organization its formation its objectives and its long term purposes. UNESCO is a specialized agency of the United Nations and it was established in the year of 1945 on the 16th of November. The agency is based in Paris and has a total membership of 193 countries and also has seven associated members. The main objective and aims of the organization have been listed in the UN Charter. Projects sponsored by UNESCO include literacy, technical, and teacher-training programmes; international scientific programmes; the promotion of independent media and freedom of press; regional and cultural history projects; the promotion of cultural diversity; international cooperation agreements to secure the world culture and natural heritage and to preserve all forms of human rights, and attempts to bridge the worldwide digital divide so as to ensure that there is greater cooperation among the various cultures and nations n the world. It is one of the most influential organizations in the world and its aims at ensuring that there is greater cooperation and understanding among various groups which can lead to greater integration and there can emerge a truly united world order. The agency as already mentioned is an international agency and due to this it undertakes a number of projects in different parts of the world where they come in interactions with different cultural groups and ethical groups. The most important part of the management is thus to ensure that there is creation of awareness among the people and the groups as it looks at ensuring creation of awareness among the people. It therefore creates awareness through creation of programs and holding seminars where they look into establishment of consciousness among the people about various issues including educational; scientific and cultural ideas. In the following section of the paper the various programs that are usually adopted by the agency have been discussed in relation to the management theories. Management strategies:                          The UNESCO usually adopts various programs to further the various goals of that are directly concerned with the international environment and the various policies dealing with the issues that are facing the global society. The marketing strategies that are adopted by the organization aim to fulfill the promotion of these objectives among the various peers of society and ensure creation of awareness about these problems. Thus, they are mainly oriented towards attracting attention from all sections of society and are usually in sync with the government of the country. It usually tries to entail the help of the local NGOs that are functioning in the area so as to ensure that the local expertise that is required is provided and available. Some of the main managing strategies that are usually adopted by UNESCO while adopting and promoting a new program include public relation management through its PR team, brand management and other such endeavors. These have been discussed in detail below.   Public relations as a method of management for programs:                          Most of the scholars have defined public relations as the communication link between the public and the company. It involves the development of positive relations of the organizations and the products in the market, and it involves a variety of communicative tools to do so (Centre & Jackson, 1995). It traditionally made use of the media services to communicate to the customer base its view point and sell its product. But with the emergence of competition in the market there were a number of other skills and communicative tools bought in to ensure that the PR of firm is able to achieve its goal of capturing the interest of the customer base in the market with new innovative methods of communication links. PR has thus emerged as a vital part of the strategy of any company in the global economic order through which there can be conducted the creation of effective communicative channels and their maintenance be ensured (Pinsdorf, 1986).                               The role of PR has today evolved well past what it was a decade ago. Today it helps ensure that the information about the financial and the business transactions of the firm are communicated to the public, ensure that there is creation of good will of the product as well as the company in the market and among the consumers, look into all the media transactions and information that is being sent out, closely monitor all the media reporting and the public comment on the products and the organization (Burnett, 1998). Finally the most important role that has evolved of the PR in the current day scenario is that it looks into the handling of the crisis situation, where in case of any controversies, it responds to the negative information and looks at maintaining the goodwill of the product and the organization in the market (Hall, 2007). The PR department forms the voice of the company and all organizations communicate with the external world through its PR.  The agency of UNESCO usually collaborates with local agencies to ensure that they are able to develop programs which are culturally and socially viable for a region.       Tools of public relations:                            There are several tools that can be adopted by an organization under public relations. As has already been mentioned above the traditional tool that was employed by the PR branch was confined to ensuring that information about the product was communicated to the public where the public relation personnel worked in close sync with the media houses to ensure that a positive image of the product can be communicated to the consumers (Cutlip, Center, Broom, 1994). But there has been seen that as the market evolved into a global economic structure the role of the PR section of a firm also broadened and today there are three sections where the PR of an organization or a firm are actively involved. These include the Financial Public relations, the Product Public Relations and finally the Crisis Public Relations and these have been detailed above.                                The various tools that are used by the PR team of UNESCO to promote the products and the programs include some positive and the negative effects. The main aim that is pursued by most of these agencies is the promotion of the program in the various areas of the globe. The tools that are employed by PR firms in the promotion of the products and the organizations include a number of communicative tools like lobbying, Spins, Meets and Greets, and others.  These are usually managed and organized by the PR team of the organization. Also, the organization itself has a personal media base which it draws upon to ensure that the information about the various programs that are being under taken by it in various areas of the globe is available to the public. It calls for massive support from all the population as well as the states for all its endeavors, and to ensure that this support can be garnered, its PR team has to ensure that there is created enough awareness about the programs (Israel National News, 2010). The importance of PR therefore has been recognized by the organization as a very important management strategy. Lobbying: Lobbying is perhaps one of the most important tools that have emerged in the hands of the PR agencies in ensuring that the products receive support in the market. Through this tool most of the organizations establish pressure groups to ensure that their interest are upheld in the government (Lesly, 1981). This looks at behind the scene manipulation of the matters to ensure that the interests of the organization or the firms are upheld or that the cause of a certain group is promoted in a society. This is adopted by the organization in various fields including getting the UN to adopt resolutions, and also in individual countries to ensure that the programs be allowed to function and allowed the use of various resources. The PR firms usually adopt the strategy of lobbying in countries to ensure that the programs and the employees are granted several rights from the local authorities. Thus, lobbying is an important marketing strategy in the functioning of the UNESCO. This is especially important in the world today as most of the industries look to ensure that they are able to secure resources for themselves, and the UNESCO through its lobbying is able to create awareness and pressure on these groups to maintain the safety of the resources and the natural balance of environment. For example, UNESCO has lobbied to ensure that certain areas are able to adapt to greater educational schemes for women. This is highly important as it allows for greater number of children to develop in a better manner. UNESCO looks at breaking social barriers through development of such programs as some cultures do not allow for education of women and believe that they should not be a part of the public domain. For example most of the programs that are undertaken by the UNESCO in the Islamic countries look into addressing this issue. Through lobbying they are able to make people more aware about the need for education for all children irrelevant of their gender (Popsop, Online Branding Magazine). Meet and greet:                           This is a method that is adopted by most of the PR agencies to ensure that two or more companies and groups can come together in an informal setting for introduction and communication (Bernays, 1945). This form of communication usually involves a large number of incentives. In such cases the PR firms are looking for certain goals, is it advertisement and promotion of a product or an organization or coming together of different groups. In such a setting there is usually seen the presence of a large number of media personnel for promotion. There are also other incentives that are handed out to ensure that the participation is high like catering, etc. This method of communication used for promotional purposes has become very popular in the recent times. These events usually invite huge media figures to promote their products Media is also invited to these events to ensure strong media presence in the market and product coverage.              In the case of the UNESCO there has to be realized that most of such meets are organized by the PR team of the organization to ensure that there can be garnered enough support for its programs and under takings and awareness can be created by the PR team among the various groups. These events are also planned out by the organization to ensures that there can be created awareness about a specific issue that may be facing the society, and also to collect funds for the conduction of its various programs. This is important as the organization mainly relies on donations to fund the various programs that are undertaken by it, and it can only garner support through such interactions. Brand:                          Brand has become a very important word in the marketing sector in the 21st century. There are a number of varying opinions in the market about what exactly branding is. Some believe it is the method through which companies are able to persuade people into doing what they want. Others still are of the belief that brand carries with it certain concepts and ideas which are associated uniquely with it. Brand is all of this. A brand can be defined as the image that the product possesses in the market and among the people (Heig, 2003). This includes the brand experience and the brand image. Brand experience is the sum of all points of contact with the brand, while the physiological aspect which is related to the symbolic concept which is present in the minds of the masses. The latter deals with the expectations from the product, that is, the set norm while the former deals with the actual experience of the masses. A brand thus consists of both the normative as well as the realistic aspects of the product.   Usage of brand personality: There are various reasons as to why there has been observed an increase in the investment in brands and brand personality. Some of the reasons that have led to the increased investment in the area are: Enriches Understanding: The most important usage of brand personality is that it helps in the gaining of an in-depth understanding of the psychology of the masses, their expectations and their behavior towards the brand allows one to gauze their needs. The insights that are gained are better than the ones that are achieved through attribute perceptions. Helps in the achievement of identity differentiation: Another important usage of the brand personality is that it helps ensure that there is differentiation in the brand perception in the market. This becomes especially important in cases where the brands are analogous in merchandise characteristics. It not only helps in product differentiation but also helps in categorizing the product’s class content and experience. Helps provide a guideline for product communication:  It helps in ensuring that the message that is communicated to the masses about the brand identity is evolved and attractive in its content and texture. If there are only very specific terms of characteristics that are associated with the brand the meaningful guidelines are provided for by the brand personality; and Helps in the Creation of Brand Equity: It helps in the creation of a long term image that is both stable and quantitative for the brand. It also distinguishes it from the other competitive offerings in the market and serves as a powerful relationship device between the brand and the masses. Growth of brand personality in the charity sector: There has been observed that the adoption of brand policy and branding personality has been adopted by all sectors functioning in the market. This is especially important in the 21st century, where there has been experienced the emergence of the globalised market and the competition has increased. The need for branding is thus been realized at a much higher level. This has even spread to the voluntary sectors and the role that is played by branding in the charity sector has increased manifolds. In a recent journal that was written by Esther Paterson and Jane Thomas, there was mentioned that for charities to grow today so that they can compete with the companies in the market place who have a much larger budgets and names, the charities have to carefully develop and establish their brand names and brand personalities. ‘The point of brand is very simple,’ says Max du Bois, a director at the Spencer du Bois brand agency, which specializes in ethical and charity branding. ‘It’s about getting people to do what you want them to do.’  The charities had to struggle to communicate their complex messages and goals across to the masses (Lake, 2000). To ensure that they were able to spread their messages across and garner support for their cause, the development of the brand and brand personality has become a necessity. As Max du Bois points out “You need good branding or else nobody is going to hear about you, no matter how good your cause is”. Brand personality and branding thus help in ensuring: Delivering a clear message that reflects the values, goals and aspirations of the charities. That there is credibility and confirms integrity and authority of the organizations. It also helps ensure that the target audience is approached in not only a professional manner but also at an emotional and social level. It thus helps forge relationships with volunteers and donors, and That the donors are motivated and committed to the charities. There can be seen that the UNESCO has adopted this form of management for a program from time to time to ensure that its programs can be promoted and to ensure support at the international level. There has been observed that the brand personality that has been involved includes celebrities from various fields such as cinema, sports figures, prominent social activist, politicians and others. At a given time, the organization is affiliated with many brand personalities and brands like Google, Levis, and others for the promotion of its programs as well as financial and material support. In the recent times it collaborated with L’Oreal in 2010 to ensure that there was recognition created about the role of women in the field of science in the international arena.   Advertisement and collaborative efforts:                          It can be observed that the brand personality and the PR management are effective only to a certain extent as most of the issues that are taken up by the UNESCO are directly in sync with the local environment problems that affect only a certain section of society. Thus, the organization usually conducts its affairs in sync with the local governing bodies and NGOs that are functioning in the area to ensure that there is no lack of local expertise while functioning and conducting program. There has been realized that this has helped WWF function in more efficient and economic manner.                              The organization also looks at ensuring that the there is awareness created through carrying out advertisements. They air advertisements pertaining to the issues, for example, Educate the young that is in place in India today. They use Brand Personalities such as Anupam Kher who is a veteran actor in the country Amitab Bachan another veteran actor and others. The organization also is affiliated with public forums such as Facebook, Twitter, and others. This has helped ensure that there is creation of awareness about the fact that even in the 21st century most of the little girls in the villages are not able to access educational facilities due to the cultural prejudices and spread the message of universal education and emphasizes on vts importance.                   Through the study of the charity sector it can also be deduced that the medium and high branded fundraisers are able to influence the masses more than small collaborations and are able to reflect a greater understanding of the principles and ideals that are propagated and promoted by them. As Mrs. Hankinson points out-‘In general, charities need to educate and train staff both in the benefits of charity brand status and in the need to 'act out' their charities' values in their day-to-day work.’ Working with the people  In case of the projects that are launched in a region the emphasis is on the maintenance of the local culture of the area and enhancement of the regional identity through strengthening of the economy in the region. This can be done through the employment of the local community and the indigenous people in the area of functioning. This helps provide for cheap labor, and also helps in the maintenance of the ecology, as they are aware of the ecology of the region and functioning accordance to this. They are a part of the local culture and help in ensuring that the cultural identity in the region is retained. In fact they only add to the enterprise as they have knowledge of the local practices and culture (Dinsmore, 2005), thus, they can provide for a more knowledgeable understanding of the environment of a region as well as add to the cultural value of the lodging making it more attractive to the population in the region. Conclusion In conclusion t could be reiterated that an organization such as UNESCO has a world view n its manner of functioning and growth. UNESCO has problems by way of the fact that it has become more of a global NGO than a place that would be known for its charity than the power of its effectiveness by way of growth and assistance. For UNESCO to achieve therefore the potential that it promised when it was born it would be important that it be given greater level of autonomy. References Bernays E, 1945, Public Relations, Bellam Publsihing Company, Boston. Burnett, J.J 1998, ‘Strategic Approach to Managing Crises’ Public Relations Review, vol.24, no. 4, pp. 475-488. 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