Introduction The contemporary workplace environment has experienced dynamic shifts in management styles and practices. The existing trends have led to broader and increased volunteer involvement in community work practices. As a result, it becomes plausible to note that management of such environment must be informed by the different organizational setting, factors as well as characteristics of the volunteer programs. Community involvement characterize working with volunteers who at times their activities must be managed within the most coherent and effective manner. The inclusion of professionals with volunteers call for the utilization of agency principles in a bid to incorporate mutual aid as well as independent dimension of leadership. This paper explain research about management styles and practices in a voluntary/community sector with reference to leadership theories. Background to the organizations Organization A (charity organization) This organization was founded after the Second World War on 11th of December 1946. It is basically a no- profit organization that receives two-thirds of its funding from governmental donations and the rest from donors who are either corporations or individuals. The organization has played significant roles in the society over the years. Having begun working in wartime as a humanitarian aid organization, this organization promoted humanitarian value engaging in disaster preparedness, response and encouraging respect for human dignity. With a staff of over 150 personnel, the organization relied heavily on the volunteership programs. It was formed to assist children who were adversely affected by the conflict. Even though the effects of the Second World War to children may have faded over time, the organization has continued to operate and is now one of the most efficient organizations around the globe. The organization is headquartered in The United States, New York City and focuses on long-term assistance aimed at promoting development for mothers and children especially from developing nations. It extends its assistance to 158 countries and has offices in countries like Switzerland, Botswana among other nations. Organization B (community organization) The major activities of this organization included engaging in capacity building programs as fundamental to manage the training of volunteers, creating opportunity for the network of parents and promoting the principle of humanitarian value. To achieve its mandate, the organization utilizes the services of over 100 volunteers and 50 professionals in the US. This organization was started by parents (a group of parents) who initially met to address the lack of services for children with disabilities. Their union gave birth to the agency that has experienced tremendous growth over the years despite the many challenges. Today, it boasts of serving 43 sites and, in addition, offers a wide scope of developmental disability assistance as well as services for mental health to over 700 individuals in southern New York. It is headquartered in Olean, New York and as of today, it records a $ 22.7m annual income. This income is primarily through program revenue even though they accept donations from individuals or corporations. Key observations from my visit Organization A (charity organization) Hospitality- The organizations staff are notably friendly and accommodative. The first encounter with the receptionist was through a telephone call. The call lasted for about 6 minutes. The receptionist was welcoming and willing to offer any possible assistance. In addition, she recommended me to the public relations officer who guided me through my study. Their assistance was extended to me even the day when I visited their offices to conduct my study. This fact, in my view, is a positive move for the organization. The organization is able to attract people who are happy to be associated with it. Attention to workers welfare- Another key observation I made about organization A was their commitment to employees welfare. This extended far beyond money remuneration. They have enough suggestion boxes through which workers can pass their complaints regarding how they are handled as well as compliments. They also have an employees union that is meant to enhance their empowerment as well as negotiate on their behalf. In addition, they have online forms that are filled at the end of every month and are primarily meant to check their satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the workplace. This is a sure way to propel the organization forward as they are able to attract and retain the most skilled human force as well as motivate them from time to time. Clear and well-established line of authority- Another observation that I made, which appeared to me as a major strength of the organization was the well-defined flow of power. It started with the most powerful person in the organization known as the executive director then the Director chief of staff directly under him. Directly down after this are the deputies of directors. This enhanced accountability in the institution since reporting roles are well defined. Organization B (community organization) Fastness in Customer service- One key strength I realized about the Rehabilitation center was their efficiency in customer service. For instance, every ten adults in the center and are above the age of 65 have one attendant. This also applied to the disabled persons. Customers have telephones in their halls that they use to call for assistance from workers. This fact has enabled the organization to establish as the most popular rehabilitation center in the region. Hygiene- Another attainment that was visible about the center was its surrounding as well as its internal environment. For instance, the internal environment is always green, well maintained and workers are always on the lookout. In addition, the facilities that are used in the center such as wheelchairs and sleeping halls are perfectly clean. In addition, their washrooms are cleaned three times each day. This has led to it gaining a competitive advantage in the region. Reflections on observations in reference to community development and leadership theory Community development can be explained as a long-term process that aims at addressing power imbalances in the society thus bring about transformation. That is built on social justice, inclusion and equality. In the community development and leadership theory, the leader despite being a direction provider is also viewed as a supporter. He is deemed to be the reason why employees get motivated or demotivated. Employees may fail, but the reason behind their failure or success is their manager. In my study, I counter checked the theory against the way the two organizations run their daily activities and was able to make the following observations. Direction role of a manager Griffin Ricky (2003) notes that the leader as illustrated in this book is expected to provide instructions in most of the circumstances. This role, even though taken for workers who are less willing to follow rules especially when not under supervision cannot be left entirely to them. Workers who are willing to follow instructions too may fail for some reason such as lack of sufficient skills or demotivation. When I interviewed the organizations overall director, I noted that providing new guidelines around the institution or reviewing previously issued guidelines was a daily routine. This was further evidenced by the availability of the well-established hierarchy of authority. Authority was only concentrated at the top and could only flow downwards. For instance, the most powerful office in the institution was the Executive director, followed by the Director of the chief of staff and then the offices of the Deputy executive directors. This was followed by other officers of lower ranks. The same strategy of leadership was clear when I visited the organization B, high offices were impregnated with authority but it reduced as I checked down the organizational structure. For instance, the highest office was the office of the Chief Executive Officer while the next highest office was the office of the Deputy chief Executive officer which was followed by department heads. In both of these organization, any office could only receive orders from a higher office and if need be, it could pass them on to lower offices. The coaching role of a manager?? Roger Gregoire (1966)holds that the leader is expected to build employee confidence and motivation. He /she is expected to achieve this through encouraging two-way communication even though control and decision making are still his/her responsibility. The main reason for this move is to make employees feel involved and appreciated as intelligent resources. fAt organization A, there are numerous suggestion boxes meant for workers. There is an established office for the human resource manager as well an employees department. In addition, there is an employees welfare organization and at the end of every month, employees are issued with a questionnaire mainly aimed at their own welfare. I made a similar observation at the organization B. Employees have a representative especially in meetings in which major changes are expected to be made. For instance, before they established the department that was meant to steer the organization to its goals, employees were asked to suggest in various ways through which the organization would stick to its plan. In fact, this decision was as a result of an employees suggestion. Employee involvement did not stop the execution of the plan. Today, employees continue to take part in the development of the plan. The delegating role of a manager- Nonyelu, Nwokoye (1984): In contrast to the role of directing, this role was notable in both of these organizations. This was an indication that the organizations were flexible enough to use a mixture of the two types of organizational structures. Despite organization A having a clear vertical flow of authority, they are flexible to some degree. They delegate limited responsibilities to workers. This to me appeared to be a major advantage. For instance, some workers are allowed to order purchases when what they have in store is exhausted. This way, the organization is able to save time and avoid stock outage situation. The same was visible at organization B Workers are allowed to make a decision up to some extent but recklessness is usually punished. Performance monitoring role of a manager?? Norman, Scarborough (2000): The community development and leadership theory provide that members should be closely monitored for performance. This is a common practice at Organization A. Workers are issued with organizational targets that are mainly related to their areas. For instance, donations manager at the beginning of every year must develop finances raising plan and present it to the board of directors. They must then focus on it and at the end of the year, the department must counter check its achievements against its targets. Any shortfall must be presented to the board and discussed. When I visited organization B, the idea was extended to a strategic plan. The organization has a strategic plan and it is regularly reviewed. This plan is strategically divided according to the respective departments and issued to workers. Their performance is monitored from time to time and any discrepancy is addressed. Contrasts Even though there was enough likeness in the way the two organizations are managed, there still was some differences that could not be overlooked. The overall approach to organizational goals- For organization A, the organization develops an overall goal. The organizational objectives are taken as a whole and approached from that view. They believe the goals are synchronized and must be achieved together. They put emphasis on missions, values and strategies. In contrast, the organization B is mired by day to day affairs. Organizational goal is broken down into subparts to the extent that some are even issued to individual employees. They believe that if every day is put towards a minor goal, the bigger goals will be achieved in the long run. The organization focuses on tactical issues. Organization- community organizing is usually focused on enhancing the union power of communities as they tackle issues of shared interest. Another discrepancy I realized was the organization of work. Organization B is located in New York and operates from there. Unlike organization A, It does not have subsidiaries. It thus works in a fairly homogenous environment. This is a desirable quality but is not possible with the organization because it is a multi-National Organization that is not profit oriented. With stations located all around the globe to over 120 countries, it is difficult to their operations. Challenges- The other conspicuous difference between the two organizations was about the challenges they face. Even though both of them rely on donations, organization A is more challenged as compared to B. This is mostly so because organization A is purely nonprofit and relies on donations. This is further worsened by the poverty that persists in some countries like that still rely on the organization. In addition, the HIV pandemic and the high rate of mortality for the under five years infants. Organization B is not as challenged since it generates revenue from its customers. Communication between workers- Organization A which is a complex organization, and is even a collection of people from vast diversity, the way of communication is more formal. It is even mostly conducted through offices such as through office telephones. For organization B, the mode is less formal. I felt it was that way because the organization is more local and its employees are less diverse. These comparisons can be summarized as shown in the table below. BASIS OF COMPARISON ORGANIZATION A ORGANIZATION B Pursuit of goals Goals are approached as a block Goals are approached from simplified technical points that. Organization It is large and is mainly run by a complex organizational structure. It is fairly large and thus runs under a flexible and simple organization structure Challenges management Challenges are mainly complex and numerous. They are handled from complex points of view. Challenges are fairly less and are handled from simple points of view. Line of communication Communication between workers is mainly formal. The process is slower. Communication between workers is less formal. The process is quicker. Conclusion The critical analysis of the case highlights the essential principle that link the role of sustainable leadership within the angle of strategy and influence. This reverberates the context of innovation, knowledge management, and social trends in supporting the long term focus of organizational change. Notably, the combination of all stakeholders in demonstrating the value of the organizational change promotes the question of sustainability thereby allowing all stakeholders to own the process of change. As a result, honeybee leadership plays a significant role in initiating and adapting change strategy through sustainable dimension. The components of business practice within the purviews of honey bee leadership and sustainable leadership model governs the predisposition of business activities towards excellent direction thus facilitating efficient and sustainable business operations. The inherent struggle towards achieving a distinct goal of organization, as evidenced in the two organizations echo a leadership structure that implies the consistent approach for volunteers management to strategically inform its change managements strategies, knowledge management dimensions and leadership influence. In conclusion, it is plausible to note that current research shows that the management approaches adopted in community based setups build on the contingency and universalistic frameworks. Such provides overarching foundation that anchors the principle appreciation of various practices and styles managers use in volunteer organizations. Changes in the community have paved the way for developments which have caused an urgent need for direction and coordination of human activities. This has led to the development of leadership in an attempt to synchronize the actions of humanity and create enough synergy for the pursuit of shared objectives. Thirdly, the feeling of purpose and involvement among employees is mandatory for any organization. Employees must own up the direction of the organization. They must understand that they are the creators of its destiny and any organizational accomplishments are their own accomplishment. Employees must be up to the task they are asked to perform. Their qualification does not start with their academic qualifications neither does it end there. It starts with their willingness to work, academic qualifications as well as motivation. Employees must be well motivated, they must be appraised from time to time and must be rewarded for their accomplishments. Last but not least, any organization that wishes to succeed must be flexible. It must be able to incorporate the vertical organizational structure to some extent and a horizontal organizational structure. This is a good way to tap the benefits of both structures as well as eliminate their respective drawbacks. References Griffin, R. 2003. Management. Dallas: Houghton publishers. Roger, G. 1966. Business management. France: UNESCO Publishers. Oakshott, L. 2001. Essential quantitative methods for business management. Hound mills: Palgrave publishers. Norman, S. 2000. Effective small business management: an entrepreneurial approach. Upper Saddle River: NJ Prentice publishers. Nonyelu, N. 1984. Introduction to business management. London: Macmillan publishers.
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