NGO Mission and Staff Perception: A Case Study of the Finca del Niño
Myette, Michael-John
2008
- Submitted in partial fulfillment of the degree of Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. Abstract: In the non-profit world much is made of the importance of a well-conceived and constructed mission and mission statement that is operationalized by a strategic plan. This paper argues that these organizational tools are important but are not sufficient for ... read moremission-effectiveness to be effective criteria for decision making within an organization. The paper argues that employee perception is a key part of transforming mission from an organizational planning tool into a set of criteria that permeates decision at the level of the organization, but also at the level of individual staff members. The paper investigates these ideas through a case study of the Finca del Niño, a small orphanage on the North Coast of Honduras. The first section of the paper investigates staff perception of the organizations mission through interviews conducted with 28 staff members. The second section of the paper takes this understanding of the role of staff perception of the mission and applies it to a decision making process. It first outlines a policy analysis framework that can be used to evaluate a decision based on mission effectiveness and then traces the decision making process within the Finca del Niño. The paper then makes recommendations for further conversations within the Finca. Topics for these conversations include indicators for success of the mission, the mechanics of how mission is transmitted within the organization, the impact of turnover on community and how the unity of mission and vision can be maintained as a new leadership structure is put into place in Fall 2008. Finally the paper argues that the Finca del Nio represents an example of how staff perception can transform an organizations mission statement from a formal tool for organizational use into a practical set of criteria for individual decision making.read less
- ID:
- d791st635
- Component ID:
- tufts:UA015.012.074.00010
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