Introduction
This study paper seeks to explore the management subject of the National Safety Council website. The study paper will review the content provided on the website in connection with the benefits of the website, shortfalls, and other relevant information. The paper will also explore the different areas of interest of the website, links to other sites the website provides, and how user friendly the site has been created. Management of associations or organizations can be through online services, and the most notable one is websites. In this study paper, we look at the management of the National Security Council through their websites. This website is a remarkably intriguing one because of the subject safety is one that affects almost every individual. Safety is a minor matter which most people overlook hoping that there are better ways of getting information on the subject. I choose the website on safety because of the recent increased awareness on the subject, which has made the subject popular. More so, I figured it would be fascinating to explore the safety website because most people have not ventured into this field. Even though safety is a daily occurrence to most people, there is no sufficient information on the subject and this website is one of the best sites on the subject.
Discussion
Just like any other organization in the present era, the National Safety Council cannot avoid the impact of technology and the benefits that come with using technology. Through technology, people can manage their affairs, and this has been possible through the development of websites. Websites allow the creators to exhibit information concerning the group, association, or site and other people can access the information. National Safety Council is a non-profit association, which dedicates its services to protect life and promote health. Visiting the site, the front cover has a display of information, which directs the user to what, and where to find information about the group. Noticeable is the color green that is paramount on the website. The titles of different information on the website are in dark green and white. The front page of the website has several parts starting with news and resources, safety at work, safety at home, on the road, products and training, NSC congress, and expo. Finally, we have the subject of identifying NSC nearby. This is not the only information, as there are other, plenty subtitles on the page, which also has information related to the organization.
For any new visitor to the website, the first compelling tab will be the one, which provides information concerning the group. In this website, this falls on the ‘about us’ which has information concerning the organization. As I went through this option, I learned a lot about the National Security Council. The objective of the groups is to save the lives of people by preventing injuries and deaths at work, in communities, and at home. Also, the council aims at protecting lives on the road. From the description, the organization carries out these activities through research, leadership, advocacy, and education. This is a paramount responsibility, which cannot be handled by the organization alone. For this reason, this section provides information about the other businesses and organizations that NSC partners with to accomplish its objectives. The ‘about us’ section on the website also gives brief background information of the organization from its year of foundation to the current state. In as much as the information is brief, the creators give relevant information, which allows users to understand the organization’s mission, history, and duties at a glance (Summers, 2009).
The main areas of interest in the website are matters to do with safety. This is evident from the news sections, which give safety highlights, and the organization’s activities about safety matters. For instance, the website had information on the organization’s participation in NTSB attentive driving forum. This forum aimed at creating awareness amongst road users to avoid accidents and protect lives on the road. Since this is a safety organization, matters of safety are foremost on the website, and this profoundly contributes to the areas of interest. Safety can influence lives in different areas; therefore, the site tries to highlight these areas, which are prone to accidents. Roads form the greatest part of hazard areas followed by home, workplace, playgrounds, and even in communities.
Apart from highlighting the accident-prone areas in the community, the website also provides other data about safety. The provision of information related to safety is beneficial to the users, which makes the site even more popular. The news section enlightens the users on the recent developments on the safety matter. For example, visiting the site enlightened me on the safer-bus mobile application. This is the most recent application, which protects the lives of people on the bus. After several types of research, the organization came up with an application, which can allow users to continue with their operations while traveling and not be in danger of hurting their lives.
Exploring the National Security Council website, one quickly realizes that the site is user friendly. Starting from the language used on the website, the user can easily understand the setting and design of the organization. The words used to lead the users are clear and brief, which means it, does not require any unique interpretations. Websites, irrespective of the users, need to be friendly, and this should be in terms of understanding. The layout should be appealing and understandable without the user having trouble finding information about the organization. For instance, the home page of the National Safety Council displays all the relevant information of the group and the user only needs to click on the given title. This makes the site friendly to users of all age groups. More so, the site does not require the user to introduce other links or sites to gain access to the information. Other websites require users to subscribe to the sites to access information or materials of the given organization. However, for this case, there are no such requirements, which make access to the website easy and fast (Wankel, 2008).
Websites need to accommodate all the users about the subjects. National Security Council deals with safety matters, and this is the center stage of the website. Safety requires various subjects and approaches which the website fully covers. User-friendly websites need to provide sufficient information on the group’s activities, missions, activities, and historical information. Appropriate websites should be one that gives users all the information regardless of the time, date, and place. This will be the case when one visits the National Security Council website. Interestingly, the website is up to date with all the information and activities the council takes part in and any other matters related to security. Websites need to be up to date with all the information and users should not have to look somewhere else for necessary information.
Management is not an easy task and requires varied mechanisms and techniques to attain managerial goals. According to the National Security Council website, the management of the organization has improved using the website. Security is an international matter, and this calls for management on an international level. Setting up offices in diverse regions of the globe which helps to manage the security matters can be helpful. However, this can be costly in terms of resources to handle the management of the offices and its affairs. For this reason, the major benefit of the National Security Council website is that it allows for management at the international level. People from all over the globe can access the security information provided on the website. It costs little to have a website where people can acquire information unlike setting up offices in different regions of the world. Another notable benefit of using a website is that there is no limitation on when and how to access the information provided. This can be at the comfort of the users, which can be at the home, office, or even when traveling. Users do not have to be dependent on the usual office programs to access information on the organization. Clicking on the different titles on the web page immediately informs the users of the different events, objectives, and recent information depending on the subject (Coyle, Novack & Bardi, 2010).
Management through websites, just as the National Security Council websites improves the users’ accessibility to relevant information. In the past times, when the internet was not a worldwide accessory, people had to be dependent on other sources for information regarding different subjects. Websites have made accessibility to information easy and less costly unlike the other methods formerly employed. The mode of communication allows the coverage of a wide area. Internet is an increased accessory, and in the modern days, everyone has access to the internet. For this reason, websites are a considerable way of communication because of the large of people the medium can reach. Also, this mode of communication is fast allowing users to have information as soon as they need or want the information. Notable is the fact that websites allow for easy networking and connection amongst their users. This networking can be for all users around the globe, and it allows people to air their opinions. There is a sharing of ideas about the subject and users can significantly contribute towards the development of programs.
Going through the website, I realized several things, which would be instrumental in enhancing the services of the organization. To improve these services in line with security, the website could do with a contextual inquiry section, which allows users to make inquiries. Through these inquiries, the management can continue to provide appropriate and useful information to its users. In most cases, websites have information but users find it to be insufficient. More so, websites do not provide channels through which users can make inquiries making communication difficult. The management of the website should also include a navigation bar, which allows for monitoring of the users. This navigation bar should allow users to report their findings and satisfaction on the websites. Having sections on the website whereby users can indicate their concerns and recommendations will be effective in improving the outlook and mission of the organization. This should, however, not be a public place as it may interfere with the trust people have with the website (Myers & Kent, 2005).
Since this is a website on a wide subject, the home page displays several icons, which can be confusing to the users. Big enhancement is necessary on fonts and text displayed to minimize the time users use to locate the information needed. Links and navigation should be more understandable for a user to expect what to find under a particular section. Mixing up information can be confusing to the users and hence reduce the ratings and use of the website. Another improvement that can be done on the website is for some information to be displayed on an actual website with options for users as a PDF download depending on their preference. The introduction of more noticeable text-decoration on hyperlinks on the website will be effective in helping the industry. The above improvements will help the industry to overcome the shortfalls noticed on the website.
Conclusion
Management is a task that can occur through different aspects, and the internet is one of those techniques. In the above discussion, it is almost certain that websites are paramount to management. Evidenced by the increasing number of organizations creating websites, management has received a new picture. Looking at the different advantages of online management, most people prefer to communicate through the internet. Reaching different and several people at any single time is one of the main reasons why most organizations chose to manage through online services. For instance, the above discussion explored the National Security Council website, which has been particularly instrumental in the management of the organization. Depending on the organization and presentation of information on the website, this mode of management can be effective and yield better results. Judging from the increasing number of hits the website receives daily, the website is beneficial to many people from all over the world.
References
Coyle, J. J., Novack, R. A., & Bardi, E. J. (2010). Transportation: A Supply Chain Perspective. Cengage Learning.
Myers, N., & Kent, J. (2005). The new atlas of planet management. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Summers, D. C. (2009). Quality management: creating and sustaining organizational effectiveness (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson/Prentice Hall.
Wankel, C. (2008). 21st-century management: a reference handbook. Los Angeles, Calif.: SAGE Publications.