STRATEGIC FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT - Term Paper Example

Countless NPOs, in some countries referred to as NGOs, work for various causes and spend their entire fortune on their causes. Such organizations may include SOS Home Villages, UNESCO, UNICEF, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Red Cross organizations, and many others (Rottman, 2012a). Similar to these organizations is another one known as the United Services Organization (USO). The USO is an American organization committed to the morale boosting and the spiritual enhancements of the American troops and their respective families all over the world.

It is an organization which supports and aids the US troops spiritually. This organization serves the US troops in nearly 14 countries worldwide, 27 states nationwide, with nearly 250,000 volunteers working hard in 160 centers worldwide (Howell, 2011). Ethical Significance Considering the ethical and moral values of the USO, we will find a very strict policy regarding the organization’s mission statement and conduct. The USO was formed back in 1941 during the Second World War, bringing the nation together to boost the morale of the American troops.

It did the same during the Vietnam War and is continuing to do so in the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. The USO also serves for the medication and rehabilitation of all those injured soldiers who lost their vital body parts. The ethical values of the volunteers in this organization are extremely strict. They have a set of rules or a mission statement which must be followed. They include Do the Right Thing, Respect, Collaboration, Excellence, Accountability, Gratitude and Innovation. Working in the jurisdiction of USO, a volunteer must follow these principles.

In return, volunteers are provided with various gifts according to the USO policy. These policies are very similar to those of every other functional NGO, as all these organizations have strict moral and ethical guidelines which a volunteer has to follow. The volunteers are not given any financial advantage, but the volunteership provides them with various gifts and invaluable credits (Rottman, 2012b). Capital Budgeting With such an inflow of donations and funds from different organizations to USO, these funds must be spent in a proper budgeted manner in various fields.

According to the financial statement of the USO, there have been total expenses of nearly $300 million by the 31st of December of 2011. The expenses of various processes of the USO are determined (Howell, 2011). According to their expenditure statistics, almost $228 million were spent on contribution of materials, facilities and services. This is the largest proportion of expenditures for the USO, which mainly includes medical support for all injured troops and facilities provided to various troops during their operations at the camps.

After these expenditures, come the maintenance programs of various USO camps throughout the world, which required a budget of nearly $33 million in 2011. These expenditures include all maintenance and day-to-day office work charges, which each camp particularly requires. Other than these expenditures, $35 million were nearly spent on various programs the USO conducted: the camp shows for the entertainment of troops, and the general public awareness programs, for which the USO pays to create awareness in the