World Vision International
Introduction
World Vision is an International Christian and humanitarian organization dedicated to working with families, children, and communities worldwide. It addresses the primary causes of injustice and poverty and, therefore, partners with communities, donors, sponsors, the government, and corporations for its global strategies. It has various objectives among them incorporated are, “Promise 2030; Building Brighter Futures for Vulnerable Children.” To be consistent on their humanitarian agendas, World Vision International has unique leadership strategies that envision the vulnerable and work with different partners to improve education and children protection, livelihoods and resilience, nutrition and HIV/AIDs, health, access to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) and affairs of the humanitarian agency. Furthermore, through its communication and organizational culture, world vision work of advocacy enables the voices of the children and communities to be decision-makers have the power to change and readjust to policies and practices (Kotter, John P, 2012). The World Health Organization report states that the World Vision International was founded in 1950 with programs in one-hundred and six nations that had spread in the six continents. Its headquarter is based in the United Kingdom; Uxbridge hence, the goal of this essay is to provide an overall assessment of World Vision International Management, putting into consideration fundamentals of leadership, strategic thinking, emotional intelligence, managing conflict, and change among others.
Fundamentals of leadership, including leadership styles and traits
The World Vision International fundamental of leadership adhere to the seven principles of leadership among them include Integrity, courage, planning, priorities, proactive, listening, and learning. For effective operations, the fundamental leadership in World Vision International organization relies on the core competencies in its styles of the ruling. Leadership in the premise comes with the right communication, adaptability, building relationship, task management, and production and developing others. World Vision CEO and President; Andrew Morley emphasizes relational and professionalism leadership addressing poverty and injustice in the most impoverished communities. Leading expertise in the firm from different departments such as Child Health, Agriculture, Microfinance, and Education, among others, adhere to its leadership styles connected to its core values (Lewis, James, 2003). They are Christians committed to the poor and value people.
Additionally, they are stewards, partners, and responsive in their line of duty. For instance, their leadership traits aim to promote humanitarian transformation, seeking justice and bearing as witnesses of the Kingdom of God’s good news. Such characteristics include confidence in service, honesty and integrity, decision-making capabilities, empowerment and delegation, accountability, excellent communication, and inspiring others.
Strategic thinking
World Vision International prioritizes its strategic thinking styles in various ways. The organization prioritizes its career advancement for the future. A union with over 981 million dollars as its total revenue based on the information presented by Forbes Magazine in 2014 follows the six steps of the strategic thinking process. They understand the present, establish a vision for the future, identify significant issues, establish objectives and goals, develop action plans, and advocate for resources. In the organization, strategic thinking is a critical tool that helps the firm understand how the firm operates regardless of the situation. It clarifies the organization’s purpose and overall direction and incorporates specific thought and action (Lewis, James, 2003). Its tool for analysis relies on its strategic conversations with the government, partners, sponsors, donors, communities, and corporate. Via SWOT analysis, they comfortably address their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. It has been vital for its survival with potentially addressing existing challenges.
Correspondingly, World Vision International Strategic Thinking pays close attention to the strategic purposes or rather the mission of the firm. It provides an understanding of what the organization does, in addition to its essential existing. As further incorporated in strategic thinking, the foundation focuses on its core six values to promote its organization’s culture. In the end, it fosters a culture that supports the vision and purpose of the organization and clarifies team interactions, learning, and strengths. Its phases and components address the mission, key goals, values, and purpose of the organization.
Emotional intelligence
Emotional intelligence, according to Dixie Fisher, Assistant Professor of Clinical Keck School of Medicine, is an essential tool for the success of an organization. According to Dixie, it’s a tool that facilitates individual capacity with motivation, resilience, reasoning, empathy, communication and stress management, and the ability to navigate precisely on conflicts and social situations (Bradberry & Greaves, 2009). World Vision International, as per information presented by Christine Talbot, the Senior Vice President under Human Resource and Margaret Schuler; International Programs Group Senior Vice President states that via emotional intelligence, the organization has built good teams even in social interaction which conducting solitary activities.
To improve its emotional intelligence, World Vision International utilizes the assertive style of communication. In the process, it has earned respect by confidently communicating its goals and objectives. It also responds instead of reacting to conflict and making conscious choices that focus on the actions and words aligned on its mission and vision. Its emotional intelligence method also adheres to active listening skills utilization where they listen to clarity and pay in-depth attention to non-verbal information.
Communication and leadership
Organizational communication in World Vision International is defined as the transmission of information between the person(s). It takes place in the form of voicemails, text messages, notes, and emails. Communication in world Vision International has improved worker productivity, increased job satisfaction by employees, and a positive effect on turnover and absenteeism rates. The organization has created an open communication environment to build trust and get the right feedback. Also, it employees an inclusive communication strategy that invites all its members to be part of the decisions made by its leaders. Its management encourages the employees to have communication that is result-oriented and focuses on obtaining tactful information for the firm (Kotter, John P, 2012). The process also employs multiple channels for message transfer to reach as much audience as possible. Among the active channels of transformation incorporated include postings, meetings, face to face conversations, emails, memos, faxes, and interactions through the telephone.
The leadership management in the World Vision International follows unique components to meet its goals and objectives. For successful leadership, it tries to understand others’ views and recognize and develop the aspects of the organization. It employs democratic leadership, which allows the lower and level employees to exercise power. Generally, democratic leadership in World Vision international promotes participation as it involves all people. Correspondingly, it brings more views to the table, allows for better problem-solving skills, and builds team relationships (Lewis, James, 2003). Higher levels of commitment are also invited under democratic leadership and that there is a strong and clear vision that builds the future.
Organizational culture and climate
Organizational culture identifies the proper way in which the overall fraternity behaves. The World Vision International organization culture is bounded to the shared Christian values and reflects the partnership. They follow the Lord and Jesus Christ as the savior in working with the vulnerable. Culturally, the careers implemented in World Vision are God-given and that staffs presented in the premises are according to God’s purpose. Regardless of the team’s proposition, the members believe in celebrating the efforts made by each staff member from diverse backgrounds (Project Management Institute, 2017). The organization’s cultural values believe in the life to its fullness, and prayer is a critical tool for every heart. They believe in Jesus’s promises to its fullness and that communities working with the organization create preservations to care for the vulnerable and provide them with opportunities and live in confidence and security.
Organization climate in World Vision International addresses the recurring patterns of attitudes, behavior, and feelings in the organization. Organizational climate is people-oriented and goal-oriented. It understands and anticipates in the situation happening on the premise and has several benefits. Among them include creating a positive work environment, which is an excellent tool for organizational success. The goal-oriented climate allows the employees to meet the organizational goals set daily, weekly, or monthly. Members assigned specific positions are expected to achieve the goals within the periods presented in the organizational goals and rules.
Managing change and Conflict
World Vision International follows the six steps of efficient organizational change management. Hence, it clearly defines change and aligns it with the business’s primary goals and determining impacts and those affected. Each department’s effect is reviewed, and later a communication strategy is created on the change journey. Change in communication is highlighted based on the timeline with critical messages, channels, and medium considered. Complex changes in the premise calls for training to teach the necessary skills and that a supportive structure is implemented to help employees adjust to change. World Vision International defines change management as a systematic technique and application of tools, knowledge, and resources dealing with change (Project Management Institute, 2017). It identifies and adopts corporate procedures, strategies, and technologies when enacting organizational change. The primary goal of World Vision International change, just like any other organization, is to implement new products, processes, and business techniques and minimize adverse outcomes. Managing change in the premise addresses the nature and extent of the organization and the global and legal considerations. Human Resource Department plays a critical role in managing change as they initiate and lead the process. They perform a variety of activities with implementation, communication, and the track of core changes. They assist the employees by as serving as a contact person for any question in times of change and explain the impact of any organizational change.
Conflict management in World Vision International is a systematic process of limiting adverse aspects of conflict and increase positivity. It is vital for enhancing group and learning outcomes via increased effectiveness and performance in the sphere. Early conflict management models, as implemented by World Vision International, include democratic and participative leadership techniques. It is a blend of people-oriented and task-oriented, and leaders in the process provide direction and guidance and encourage feedback from the members involved. It is an effective method that promotes not only loyalty but also boosts the morale of the employees’ ad considers their opinion. Its form of conflict management based on democratic style allows for more practical problem-solving skills, and an eventual solution is necessary.
Problem management and decision making
Common problems experienced in organizations include the absence of clear direction, difficulty in blending with multiple personalities, failure to develop critical behaviors and competencies, poor communication and feedback, and lack of awareness. To solve the problem, the organization identifies the issue, understand everyone’s interest, list the possible solutions, and evaluate the options. Problem management in World Vision International is a brief evidence-based intervention. It uses Problem Management Plus (PM+) to reduce problems and strengthens social support in the firm (Lussier & Achua, 2012). The process often administers policies consistently and fairly in addition to following legal basics of the organizations, requiring the association of FMLA and protects employees under the law.
Decision-making in World Vision International incorporates different skills them include intuition, teamwork, emotional intelligence, creativity, time management, reasoning, leadership, and problem-solving. It is the process of making choices and vital for achieving organizational goals and objectives. The strategy applied includes Analytical Decision Making, where the relevant information is available at the premise. Hence, it is a well-ordered sequence and breaks the complex decisions in interlocking portions. In World Vision International, decision-making skills facilitated in management include active listening, incorporation of interpersonal skills, collaboration, communication, problem-solving, time management, and critical thinking. As a result, the union can comfortably identify problems facing the organizations, facilitates consensus-building techniques during input, and generate possible solutions depending on literal organizational thinking.
Ethics and professional codes of conduct
The codes of ethics and professional conduct in World Vision International identify fundamental ethical principles that regulate organizational behavior and decisions. Its ethics and professional systems provide an overview of employee behavior in addition to handling other cases connected to safety, harassment, and conflict of interests, among others. Codes of professional conduct incorporate interpret and adhere to confidential information standards, possess expert knowledge and skills, explain the specific situation, respect for humanity, and develop professional development (Lussier & Achua, 2012). Employees understand codes of ethics and rely on their operations. Even in times of hiring, the premise advocates for safety standards that have precise rule cuts and well-defines outcomes and consequences.
Ethics and professional codes of conduct involve acting with diligence, integrity, respect, and competence, placing the interest of the community above personal importance and usage of reasonable exercise when making investment recommendations, conducting investment analysis, engaging professional activities, and investment actions. Its code of conduct promotes the viability and integrity of global relationships in the ultimate societal benefits and tries to maintain and improve professional competence in addition to maintaining ethical standards of avoidance of interest, truthfulness, and objectivity in the organization.
Strategic planning
In management, strategic planning is a roadmap used to align organization activity functions. Therefore, it guides discussions and decision-making management in the premise and determines budget and resource requirements for set objectives. The strategic planning process in World Vision International tends to clarify the vision. It defines the short and long term goals and objectives and identifies ways of accomplishment (Lussier & Achua, 2012). The goals set are often detailed, matching, and realistic to the values of the organization’s vision. Gathering and analyzing information in World Vision International tries to understand the needs of the vulnerable and, as a process, clarifies the inputs, outputs, activities, and outcomes of the foundation. The process tends to evaluate the company’s weaknesses and strengths, personal values, industrial opportunities and threats, and a broader clarification of societal expectations. For input, World Vision International introduces a competitive intelligence program to understand the environment it’s working on. Its activities focus on various meetings and the surrounding in which it operates (Lewis, James, 2003). Therefore, it pays attention to the organization’s interest, the value and consistency of the firm, services rendered, and the geographical scope of the foundation.
Strategic tools and approaches pay keen attention to PEST analysis that tackles surrounding external elements such as technological, social, political, and economic units. Its scenario planning discusses the organization’s future scenarios and classifies phenomenal and the responsive evaluation where it identifies objectives outcomes and supports future strategic planning.
Power and Politics
Power and politics affect the overall organization performance. For instance, politics decrease the overall productivity of the firm and affect concentration, spoils ambiance, and transforms employees’ attitude. Apart from that it demotivates employees and increases stress in the firm from wrong information present to manipulate the desired mission, vision, goals and objectives. World Vision International practices legitimate power where leadership comes from the top-most personnel (Kotter, John P, 2012). Despite the ability of the powers following humanitarian agendas, employees’ regulation comes from its core authoritative personnel. He or she is an expert based on the skills, experiences, and knowledge, and the referent is on its top-most. The boss is often trusted and respected and can handle stressful situations. To avoid politics, on the other hand, World Vision International helps employees understand each other, encourage respect, provide training to manage and resolve conflict, build efficient teams. In the process, it breaks down cliques that are inevitable in the workplace.
In conclusion, organization management depends on a series of planning and designing. Therefore, it covers the facility’s technologies and services, among others. World Vision International tends to achieve better productivity and greater efficiency via its style of leadership, communication strategies, and strategic planning, among others. Leadership, as presented in World Vision International, serves as a critical tool for effective management. And, via provided direction for organizational leadership development, strategic planning, and communication management in the premise have boosted the attention of corporate members.
On the other hand, in World Vision International, emotional intelligence comes with self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills. In the process, it has improved its communication, problem-solving, and management criteria and building a relationship in the workplace. The firm’s organizational culture, which includes the shared norms, beliefs, and values, adhere to the humanitarian standards aligned to the characteristics of stability, goal unification, alignment of culture, and process implementation. Its culture has the organization leaders to work as a team in developing strategic initiatives and re-establishing and building a new partnership. Also, to effectively manage its culture, World Vision International adheres to the ethics and professional code of conduct. Among them include adhering to the company’s values, dressing codes, leave policies, employee break policies, communication, and conflicts of interests.
References
Bradberry, T. & Greaves, J. (2009). Emotional intelligence, 2.0. San Diego: TalentSmart.
Kotter, John P. (2012). Leading change. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
Lewis, James P. (2003). Project leadership. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Lussier, R.N & Achua, C.F. (2012). Leadership: Theory, application, & skill development (5th Ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.
Project Management Institute (2017). A guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK Guide, 6th Ed.) Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute, Inc.