as published in The General-The LOMs official publication Volume II Issue 9 Aug. 2003
Opinion:
Changing of Organizational Culture: A Challenge to the New Leadership
by: LOM President Ellie Acuesta, Jr.- PP Ellie is the Charter President of The General Santos "Twin Star" Junior Jaycees & the 2003 Lom President (March-Sept) of the JCI General Santos "Twin Star".
Culture is defined as the entire range of customs, beliefs, social forms and material traits of a religious, social or racial group. Organizational culture therefore mirrors what we are as an organization - a vivid description of our LOM in the Jaycees mirror. What is considered as the only thing permanent in this world is CHANGE. As the saying goes, “Change before change will change you”. Truly, the primary purpose of change is for the betterment or an enhancement of what’s already in place. Leaders and would-be founders of an organization regardless of its size should learn how to conceptualize the type of culture it wants to adopt and develop in the organization. Policies and procedures (policy manual in our case) therefore should be tailored-fit towards that culture.
Public Relations vis-à-vis Fund Raising Campaigns
We have to admit that public relations has a parallel magnitude with any fund raising project when we talk of goodwill created and promoting the Jaycees as credible, responsible and stable organization. For example, how can our sales force sell raffle tickets when the previous year’s winners have not received their prizes yet? Whatever the underlying cause of the problems may be, be it internal friction or otherwise, it should not outweigh the interest of the organization. The name and integrity of the organization must always be of paramount consideration in any official Jaycee act that we do in its behalf.
The Rise and Fall of LOMs
Local Organization Members or LOMs do experience having a rollercoaster ride in terms of membership growth, stability, and the like. But let us not take these circumstances as mere part of history but rather as real-life organizational survival lessons. The organizational status of LOMs in the countryside reflects that of the national leadership. We have to be brave in admitting that there is indeed a crisis in our midst. We ourselves are short of leaders not because we fail to sustain the manpower requirement of the LOM but we fail to recognize potential leaders who are completely equipped with the right attitudes and outlook towards their duties and responsibilities. Blame it on our ailing economy, but that would just be too easy a scapegoat. Let us dig deeper.
The turnover of administration is sometimes most disturbing. There are a lot of good and able leaders yet too hesitant to run because of the tremendous expenses involved once they are sworn into office and running it. If this is happening to your LOM, then you’re not alone in saying that there’s something wrong. What could be its cause? I believe, it is rooted in our culture. The LOMs who have enough fund is not so susceptible with this so long as transparency is in place. But for those who have insufficient fund, the officer (in most cases the President if he allows himself to) becomes the shock absorber of funds deficit the LOM entails. LOM elections comes, no one would run. But if there’s fund, it’s the other way around.
Other issues that beset LOM downfalls are also rooted in politics. For some LOMs, the political conflict of the elders is being passed on to the present generation. The losers in the election just simply slip away and form their own new LOM. Others are just too personal to tackle but still, the bottom line is our organizational culture.
Any Remedial Measures?
There is. The leaders should first and foremost see to it that they truly believe in Jayceeism, and have this belief and commitment transferred on to all members to the lowest level (Jaycee family – baby, Jaycee belles, Jaycee kids/teens, Jr. Jaycees, etc.). The policies and procedures should be clear. Most importantly, the financial matters should be transparent. Prior to election time, the members of the incumbent Board should hold a candidates forum where from the questions raised, the voting members could know the extent of understanding these candidates have about the organization. From there, the platforms could be assessed.
We are disheartened to know that there were maiden projects that were shelved or put on hold due to lack of funding. With our vast networking (Jaycees is worldwide, remember), it is best recommended that we have twinning with other LOMs preferably in the first world countries. There are wide arrays of foundations found in the Internet. They too are potential sponsors to our projects.
Finally, it has to be emphasized that the Jaycees is just a catalyst for change. That way, we just channel the available resources to where it is needed most. We are not supposed to spend our own money, but the money of the moneyed people in our community. Most of all, we should do projects as a team. Maximum participation of the beneficiary community is also desired. We are leaders and therefore we must be vanguards of our communities. We are not politicians so we don’t encourage politicians to play around with us. This is our culture.