Introduction
A non-profit organization is a company that does not have earnings as the primary goal of its activity the extraction of profit and its distribution among the participants. This type of organization can engage in entrepreneurial activity only if it aims to achieve socially important goals (Chepelyuk, 2020). Most such companies do not have outside shareholders providing capital to the business. A study of a non-profit organization using the example of the American Heart Association (AHA) can help to understand its work’s principles and identify ways to improve the organization.
Organization Overview
American Heart Association has been engaged in non-profit activities for quite a long time. The primary goal of such formation is to fight against various diseases and heart defects. This is a significant public concern as many people in the United States are prone to developing cardiovascular disease (Malakar et al. 2019). The organization is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and provides assistance to people suffering from heart problems at no cost. Thus, the organization is struggling with an existing problem without capitalizing on the suffering of its customers. AHA works in a general direction on all possible common problems related to the heart. It has over 35 million volunteers and 2,900 workers (American Heart Association, 2022). Such a large number of volunteers and employees allows the company to effectively deal with heart disease’s consequences and help prevent them. The American Heart Association is 501(c) certified which means it is a tax-exempt organization. AHA is a public charity type of organization that is completely exempt from taxes due to the fact that the people who work there do not receive benefits.
Compliance
The organization complies with all laws, safety requirements, and regulations in the United States. The American Heart Association also requires all its employees and volunteers to comply with the law. This is a positive side of the organization, as it defines it as a legitimate entity. The American Heart Association adheres to all standards of confidentiality and data security that come to it from customers. In this regard, we can conclude that this company meets all legal requirements.
Transparency
Transparency in the organization is ensured by complying with all adopted legal acts and rules on confidentiality. When requesting the data of specific individuals, the company indicates for what purposes the information is collected and who will see it. In this case, any client can refuse to collect data or withdraw consent to their processing. At the same time, any necessary documents confirming the processing and collection of data are drawn up.
Political Activity
The political position of the company is indicated by the struggle for the necessary medical reforms and lobbying for the interests of people with cardiovascular diseases. Thus, the organization tries to support this group of people and make the conditions for their treatment and life more comfortable. Many of the company’s actions aim to ensure that medical institutions specializing in heart problems receive more attention from the authorities.
Evidence of Unethical or Illegal Behavior
The organization is guided by its ethical code that does not allow unethical actions. All employees comply with the rules due to the well-established corporate ethics of the company. Such monitoring of order does not allow any deviations from ethics. The company’s ethical policy is one of the main factors, depending on which the organization’s credibility is formed.
Organization Reputation
For any non-profit organization, the fact that it is trusted by the people it seeks to help is essential. In the absence of a trusting relationship, it will not be possible to provide all the necessary assistance as it should be done. People who do not trust the service provider will not turn to them for help. In healthcare, trusting relationships are of paramount importance since their lives and health depend on the organization to which people turn. All of the company’s core healthcare operations are managed by the American College of Emergency Cardiac Care’s Department of Cardiology (Panchal et al. 2019). Such support significantly affects the reputation and credibility of the organization because a reputable medical unit supports its activities. People will be more inclined to trust a company that has specific qualifications in the field in which it operates. In addition, the AHA is one of the oldest non-profit organizations in the world. It was founded in 1924, which means it has been in the heart disease business for nearly a century (American Heart Association, 2022). This fact has a positive effect on trust and reputation since extensive experience in the field of medicine is a determining factor in choosing a particular healthcare provider.
Evaluating the impact of an organization on the situation around the problem it is designed to solve can also significantly increase its reputation. Since February 2018, the organization has reduced the death rate from stroke by 13.6% (American Heart Association, 2022). This indicator is significant for the public to which statistical data on the company’s work is directed. Performance is one of the key factors that build trust in organizations. Since the same period, the company notes that it has achieved a 15.1% reduction in heart disease deaths (American Heart Association, 2022). In the context of the number of people who suffer from heart problems, this data is significant proof that the organization is reliable.
The company should strengthen ethical standards and confidentiality rules to continue building trusting relationships with customers. In this case, people will feel that their data is safe and trust the organization more. Privacy policy is a serious aspect of any company’s work. When it comes to medicine, this sector of the rules must be especially strictly observed. Transparency in data collection allows people to understand that organizations can be trusted with their problems.
Recommendations for Improvements
One of the improvement aspects is to improve the quality of the services provided. From the consumer’s point of view, quality improvement is the creation of a new or additional value for the consumer. This area can significantly help an organization achieve disease prevention goals. Gupta & Wood (2019) argue that preventive measures can have a significant impact on reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease. In this case, this recommendation is essential since the eradication of the causes of the disease is as important as the treatment.
Developing effective heart disease awareness programs can help people take action to improve heart health. These actions will have positive results aimed at preventing strokes and heart attacks. The organization’s scientific achievements can expand due to good funding and the involvement of qualified specialists. In this way, projects can be successfully implemented that will help people at risk to better monitor their health. With a successful outcome, they will not have to seek help, as the disease may never happen.
Conclusion
Non-profit organizations are a robust foundation for achieving various social goals. Improving the health of people is a top priority for any medical company. Many deaths in the US are caused by heart disease problems, so the existence of companies such as the AHA is a powerful way to help people improve their quality of life. Recommendations for improvement can make a company function more efficiently by targeting not only the problem but also its cause. The positive findings are that the organization significantly reduces the number of deaths from heart disease. Negative factors can be called a lack of attention to preventive measures.
References
American Heart Association. (2022). About us. Heart. Web.
Chepelyuk, N. (2020). Methodological Aspects of Assessing a Non-Profit Organization’s Influence on Ensuring of Economic Security. In Ecological-Socio-Economic Systems: Models of Competition and Cooperation (ESES 2019) (pp. 595-600). Atlantis Press.
Gupta, R., & Wood, D. A. (2019). Primary prevention of ischaemic heart disease: populations, individuals, and health professionals. The Lancet, 394(10199), 685-696. Web.
Malakar, A. K., Choudhury, D., Halder, B., Paul, P., Uddin, A., & Chakraborty, S. (2019). A review on coronary artery disease, its risk factors, and therapeutics. Journal of cellular physiology, 234(10), 16812-16823. Web.
Panchal, A. R., Berg, K. M., Cabañas, J. G., Kurz, M. C., Link, M. S., Del Rios, M., Hirsch, K., Chan, P., Hazinski, M., Morley, P., Donnino, M. & Kudenchuk, P. J. (2019). 2019 American Heart Association focused update on systems of care: dispatcher-assisted cardiopulmonary resuscitation and cardiac arrest centers: an update to the American Heart Association guidelines for cardiopulmonary resuscitation and emergency cardiovascular care. Circulation, 140(24), e895-e903. Web.