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.
