Showing posts with label Communicating Change. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Communicating Change. Show all posts
Monday, August 22, 2011
EXTREMES OF OFFICE POLITICS IN MULTICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS
Jacob Waiswa
Situation Health Analyst
Dishma-Inc.
P.O. Box 8885,
Kampala-Uganda
Tel. +256392614655/+256752542504
dishma.imhs@gmail.com
www.situationhealthanalysis.blogspot.com
Architects of organizations and institutions usually have a lot of urge and positive dreams to start-off ground-braking work, and become popular within their organizations. But, along the way, confusion crops in –at the time when prospects begin to show up.
At take-off stage, the founders and administrators sooner than later begin to focus on the small financial benefits that start to flow in, scramble for shares, struggle for more influence or power, and mud-splash one another to force some of the undesirable founders and executives out of office.
Radical measures are set; carrying all ingredients of the legal support system -by those who stay behind. They, of course, do it to protect; their "greedy" interests, their now ‘rights’ and ensure absolute powers to the new chief executive of the victor group at the end of chaos. Hardly do most organizations survive this metamorphic stage through their way to success.
They do stand half chances of either surviving or running out of business. The management is often led on the whims of suspicion and mistrust. Such are then transformed into stringent, yet inhuman rules.
The work environment is often characterized by disrespect of workers, shouting at them, threatening them with dismissal, active bullying, character assassination, reduced wages or no pay, and error-searching of workers.
As such, the organization structure and development processes are constantly interrupted by greedy founders, as same authors of the structure begin eating it away –as some animals do to their young ones. It would take really shrewd people to help support the organization beyond this point. Otherwise, the likelihood can always be that; it will collapse.
The once-upon-a-time dream of registering a social impact as any organization would morally be expected of remains more of a dream than a reality. And, because no impact has been observed or felt, they cook reports –including ghost activities or possible community benefits for the purposes of receiving more funding, amassing personal wealth, and preserving healthy relationship with very optimistic donors in as far as community development is concerned.
It would perhaps be different if donor representatives annually or abruptly made fact-finding missions to the organizations' areas of operation. If some of the work has to do with research, focus is put only at calling people out for questioning; taking up to two to four hours of community-members' most productive time of the day.
Firstly, community benefits are sometimes not highlighted by field officials and results not shared and agreements reached hardly reached to strike out various ways the community and the organization working in the area could join hands to deal with development deficits.
Not even will they leave behind copies of photographs taken; of the area or community members. Yet that, alone, could not only strengthen the new bond with the community, but also for remembrance purposes; in terms of a service rendered or of project organization attributes.
Besides, there would have been support-systems running, and directly helping community members with periodic follow-ups to ensure effective community management of the project as well as the long term benefit from it. Of course, that includes: financial, technical, information, political and legal or security for real sustainability of the then community-run projects.
However, soon after conducting interviews, some organizations have always thought it satisfactory to only obtain knowledge of community needs, extract all they would be interest in for publication, mindless of the several hours unaccountable for by the community, more over with no tangible community benefits left behind.
Soft skills for effective services delivery or field operations such as; team building for team leaders, team work, social skills, conflict resolutions, negotiation skills are often taken lightly but, later, turn out to be most regrettable act, as damages to organization reputation ensues. But through experiencing a lot of challenges like active community resistance, perhaps after evaluation, they would be shocked to find technical errors encountered.
Perhaps, it is important for community leaders to demand a clear outline of anticipated benefits -having learnt from previous bad lessons. It is such outlines they would long for from any emerging organization or firm. Then, further checks or filtering ought to be made along the course of working with them (organizations) to avoid tendencies to manipulate and plunder.
Yes, it is possible that where our leaders betray us, we take up the necessary tools and be ready to protect ourselves from hungry beasts -including them, like the kind of Judas Iscariots. And, when possibly fooled; noticeable, at the end of the organization's project time, they should be in position to boldly express their dissatisfaction, and vow never to cooperate with them in future; as simple as that.
In the bid of realizing organization's health development, founders or board of governors ought to allow breathing space -through setting clear guidelines; derived from its history (if it has any), values or cherished culture, and set clear role descriptions as well as have autonomy at roles-play by staff while it only focuses on results in a given period of time –through their independent and well supported monitoring and evaluation departmental tool.
In many cases, if the organization is sick or dysfunctional, such symptoms would be seen on the faces of staff too. And, worse, if their grievances are neither heard nor listened to. Both ways, it would negatively affect work and organization's general outcome.
For a healthy organization, the structure and development process provide for smooth and swift information-flow and feedback, synchronically –which eventually provides for; conducive working environments, a feeling of ownership of the organization, high morale and high performance, among other positives.
In developing ideas for comprehensive community-development package, partnership development, itself, would be inevitable towards enabling the filling of growth and development loopholes.
Probably, not until the organization develops a second independent functioning arm of its own to handle new development ventures and associated challenges independently, it will always need business partners.
However, between partnering organizations there must be courtesy or of some kind. For example, it is unwise to convene a meeting at the company premises, having invited corporate representatives of other firms from places that are miles away and fail to provide lunch, transport fares and accommodation –especially when their input greatly serves to compliment or make efficient of the work done by the hosting company or organization.
Monday, August 31, 2009
THE TWINS: OFFICE DATING AND OFFICE POLITICS...
Almost from day one of the first meeting to joining a new office or organization, scenes of attraction, sexual intimacy, casual friendships should be anticipated characteristic to doing work together.
It is also time when some people betray their previous relationship vows or suffer confusion as to whom they could identify with most. They are likely to get confused about priority (as who should be most important to them) in all the levels of relationships -be it close ones the casual type or the loose -yet potentially good ones to deal with, while some may find it as first ever chance to hook up with new surprises (men and woman friends) and even replace old ones.
Back home, it turns out to be chaos, especially if spouses discover intruding advances by wife's or husband's work-mates. Instant, too, can be loss of attention, when the formerly “intense” care gets split into halves, sharable with spouse's work-mate(s).
It is true that there some, who stick to their original intimate relationships and only choose to relate with anybody around office for the sake of work success, while ensuring no other “business” goes beyond that.
And those considering their respective spouses most valuable could harbor jealous feelings, sometimes even when there is nothing reflective of their sense of what might be happening.
However, people like to derive instant meaning and conclusions about other people's collaborative or partnership actions even if there are work-related. It is as though everyone's right to do CMI or spy work. For example; two good friends of different sexes, linked by work, could be taken for lovers.
Of course, for some others, the smoke could be accompanied by fire. Indeed, there are people, who think a woman could never relate to them as a friend. If it so happened, to them, she will not be just a friend, but a prey in the tiger's craws.
They are fans to a saying, “embwa weezanyisa ekigodo, eeba enakirya,” which literary means that when a dog plays around with another animal's hard-skin, it is most likely that it will eat it.
Within an organization or just office, there are people who would have a part-time un-called for responsibility of passing news about whoever “must” be running a love project. They find it so fulfilling reaching every office or any high caliber person to post daily breaking news. It is one applied way of raising their profile, corporate image and sometimes, chances of promotion.
Because people like to be entertained, moreover at no cost -to free themselves from everyday stress, frustrations, disappointments and domestic problems, they will find it a potential feast to have such news reported to them. If, probably, they met a boss, sometimes easy promotions could ensue, time after another – due to some “excellent social skills demonstrated.”
Whether it were fires or mere smoke; those, whose names are used as capital for selfish interests can lose out. Under certain circumstances, where unofficial sexual intimacies or cohabiting tendencies are not allowed, those involved could be in trouble. Of course, society only runs after the man, not woman.
And worse if some of the bosses are involved in the same pursuit. To some, if true, they do not feel swept away regardless of what the work regulations stipulate. While others, if falsely accused, so much that what had been thought to be sexual intimacy, is actually casual friendship or casual talks at work that suspected persons are only fond of, suffer image damage.
Perhaps, those alleging were once vying for the same prospective male or female staff or was involved in such idle talks to win specific favors from above, though, at the expense of innocent others. Unfortunately under such circumstances, those completely uninvolved in sexual intimacy could be victimized, as those having it as a hobby get glorified and celebrated.
If response to untrue information that could be circulating around, non-violence approach is often the best strategy. It can involve carrying out several meeting with all organization's most powerful people to reverse the irreversible effect of the rumor, taking all efforts to clear the air of the extremely dangerous work-environment toxicates.
That is done, while having it in mind that the goal of communicating dismay is to defend one's image and, perhaps, carry some broken pieces of it off the floor. It also ensures every problem segment in the now conflictual work-environment is addressed.
The purpose of the defense statement is to neutralize toxic communication relay modes at the earliest possible time. Again, while doing so, starting one's defense earliest, too, helps to ensure more time to undo toxic statements, to demystifying them and to impart the rightful information in everyone's mind.
As this is carried on, clear points must be made to ensure that, the incidentally unknown breed of facts about one's self are those portrayed in character assassins' perception, while mindful to act or behave in line with them (facts).
In other words, the values stressed must be consistent with character being defended such that it does not turn out to be a matter of preaching different deals about self and, later, practicing something different. if that is the case, it would be a losing battle-fight.
If one feels that his or her future stood with the organization's, the defense has to continue or be on-going, until one starts to feel, on one hand, an atmosphere of sympathizing feedback -from almost every one at that organization. The sources of one's defense are the outlines of visual values that are unleashed to give another or real picture of what one really is.
But, while doing so, it is important for one to be mindful of acting respectfully and gently throughout the process. And, remain brotherly and friendly; attributes must that be showed to everyone -including the suspected maligners.
The key benefits, here, will be seen at the end of course. Apart from helping recover one's image and rediscover the real sense of positive self, suspected maligners, too, could become ardent sympathizers -while regretful of their actions.
It is interesting to hear some people saying “politics is a dirty game,” and that its something they will never associate themselves to. However, with office-politics, it is a different matter, much as it carries similar game styles as the common politics.
For one to survive, he or she must take part in it, more so, when very the sensitive areas concerning one's career security emerge. With it; one either plays it or chooses to lose. Beyond that, there is nothing else. Even the gods only bless actions.
The other option could be to shy away from work-politics, and have one's image badly destroyed to an extent of one facing identity crisis long after adolescent period, experiencing serious mental breakdown -most characteristic of these being paranoid schizophrenia -irrational fears and distrustful of everyone -with verbal and physical content portraying warring mood and state between him or her and the vast others.
But that can only be the peak -with a number of precipitant factors being fearfulness and distrustful -which can nurtured during child's early development years to become part of the being that has only been provoked by the aggressive office-politics -towards the already insecure, torn-down person.
It is therefore very important to be careful of how we treat children. We should rather go vent our bitterness to the heavens than to them. But the trend can be cyclic, too: from child-hood nurturing to anti-social and personality confusion, conflictual situations, abusive behaviors and, later, heightened personality problems or mental breakdown.
It is most likely that the same insecure feeling will be the one compelling some people -including the very educated to seek traditional expertise for reversal or to subject themselves to abalokole church facility. This shows how less serious issues of mental health are taken. Today, mental-health facilities remain everyone's last resort.
These, again, are the people who, despite serious vows to religion or Christianity, their behaviors remain unrelated to the original church or religious principles. They remain problem-people best suited for mental-health professional management or hand-in-hand. Those, who because of existing freedom of worship are left unattended to will be the kind making scandalous news, not once or twice.
Re-defining, creating or re-recreating another conducive work environment design for everyone's healthy social functioning, as well as resetting one's individual and social values that develop and promote positive self-good, self-respect into instinctual states could help change the trend for the better.
Jacob Waiswa
Situation Health Analysis
www.situationhealthanalysis.blogspot.com
It is also time when some people betray their previous relationship vows or suffer confusion as to whom they could identify with most. They are likely to get confused about priority (as who should be most important to them) in all the levels of relationships -be it close ones the casual type or the loose -yet potentially good ones to deal with, while some may find it as first ever chance to hook up with new surprises (men and woman friends) and even replace old ones.
Back home, it turns out to be chaos, especially if spouses discover intruding advances by wife's or husband's work-mates. Instant, too, can be loss of attention, when the formerly “intense” care gets split into halves, sharable with spouse's work-mate(s).
It is true that there some, who stick to their original intimate relationships and only choose to relate with anybody around office for the sake of work success, while ensuring no other “business” goes beyond that.
And those considering their respective spouses most valuable could harbor jealous feelings, sometimes even when there is nothing reflective of their sense of what might be happening.
However, people like to derive instant meaning and conclusions about other people's collaborative or partnership actions even if there are work-related. It is as though everyone's right to do CMI or spy work. For example; two good friends of different sexes, linked by work, could be taken for lovers.
Of course, for some others, the smoke could be accompanied by fire. Indeed, there are people, who think a woman could never relate to them as a friend. If it so happened, to them, she will not be just a friend, but a prey in the tiger's craws.
They are fans to a saying, “embwa weezanyisa ekigodo, eeba enakirya,” which literary means that when a dog plays around with another animal's hard-skin, it is most likely that it will eat it.
Within an organization or just office, there are people who would have a part-time un-called for responsibility of passing news about whoever “must” be running a love project. They find it so fulfilling reaching every office or any high caliber person to post daily breaking news. It is one applied way of raising their profile, corporate image and sometimes, chances of promotion.
Because people like to be entertained, moreover at no cost -to free themselves from everyday stress, frustrations, disappointments and domestic problems, they will find it a potential feast to have such news reported to them. If, probably, they met a boss, sometimes easy promotions could ensue, time after another – due to some “excellent social skills demonstrated.”
Whether it were fires or mere smoke; those, whose names are used as capital for selfish interests can lose out. Under certain circumstances, where unofficial sexual intimacies or cohabiting tendencies are not allowed, those involved could be in trouble. Of course, society only runs after the man, not woman.
And worse if some of the bosses are involved in the same pursuit. To some, if true, they do not feel swept away regardless of what the work regulations stipulate. While others, if falsely accused, so much that what had been thought to be sexual intimacy, is actually casual friendship or casual talks at work that suspected persons are only fond of, suffer image damage.
Perhaps, those alleging were once vying for the same prospective male or female staff or was involved in such idle talks to win specific favors from above, though, at the expense of innocent others. Unfortunately under such circumstances, those completely uninvolved in sexual intimacy could be victimized, as those having it as a hobby get glorified and celebrated.
If response to untrue information that could be circulating around, non-violence approach is often the best strategy. It can involve carrying out several meeting with all organization's most powerful people to reverse the irreversible effect of the rumor, taking all efforts to clear the air of the extremely dangerous work-environment toxicates.
That is done, while having it in mind that the goal of communicating dismay is to defend one's image and, perhaps, carry some broken pieces of it off the floor. It also ensures every problem segment in the now conflictual work-environment is addressed.
The purpose of the defense statement is to neutralize toxic communication relay modes at the earliest possible time. Again, while doing so, starting one's defense earliest, too, helps to ensure more time to undo toxic statements, to demystifying them and to impart the rightful information in everyone's mind.
As this is carried on, clear points must be made to ensure that, the incidentally unknown breed of facts about one's self are those portrayed in character assassins' perception, while mindful to act or behave in line with them (facts).
In other words, the values stressed must be consistent with character being defended such that it does not turn out to be a matter of preaching different deals about self and, later, practicing something different. if that is the case, it would be a losing battle-fight.
If one feels that his or her future stood with the organization's, the defense has to continue or be on-going, until one starts to feel, on one hand, an atmosphere of sympathizing feedback -from almost every one at that organization. The sources of one's defense are the outlines of visual values that are unleashed to give another or real picture of what one really is.
But, while doing so, it is important for one to be mindful of acting respectfully and gently throughout the process. And, remain brotherly and friendly; attributes must that be showed to everyone -including the suspected maligners.
The key benefits, here, will be seen at the end of course. Apart from helping recover one's image and rediscover the real sense of positive self, suspected maligners, too, could become ardent sympathizers -while regretful of their actions.
It is interesting to hear some people saying “politics is a dirty game,” and that its something they will never associate themselves to. However, with office-politics, it is a different matter, much as it carries similar game styles as the common politics.
For one to survive, he or she must take part in it, more so, when very the sensitive areas concerning one's career security emerge. With it; one either plays it or chooses to lose. Beyond that, there is nothing else. Even the gods only bless actions.
The other option could be to shy away from work-politics, and have one's image badly destroyed to an extent of one facing identity crisis long after adolescent period, experiencing serious mental breakdown -most characteristic of these being paranoid schizophrenia -irrational fears and distrustful of everyone -with verbal and physical content portraying warring mood and state between him or her and the vast others.
But that can only be the peak -with a number of precipitant factors being fearfulness and distrustful -which can nurtured during child's early development years to become part of the being that has only been provoked by the aggressive office-politics -towards the already insecure, torn-down person.
It is therefore very important to be careful of how we treat children. We should rather go vent our bitterness to the heavens than to them. But the trend can be cyclic, too: from child-hood nurturing to anti-social and personality confusion, conflictual situations, abusive behaviors and, later, heightened personality problems or mental breakdown.
It is most likely that the same insecure feeling will be the one compelling some people -including the very educated to seek traditional expertise for reversal or to subject themselves to abalokole church facility. This shows how less serious issues of mental health are taken. Today, mental-health facilities remain everyone's last resort.
These, again, are the people who, despite serious vows to religion or Christianity, their behaviors remain unrelated to the original church or religious principles. They remain problem-people best suited for mental-health professional management or hand-in-hand. Those, who because of existing freedom of worship are left unattended to will be the kind making scandalous news, not once or twice.
Re-defining, creating or re-recreating another conducive work environment design for everyone's healthy social functioning, as well as resetting one's individual and social values that develop and promote positive self-good, self-respect into instinctual states could help change the trend for the better.
Jacob Waiswa
Situation Health Analysis
www.situationhealthanalysis.blogspot.com
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