Cultural Introductions
Ever since my childhood, my parents taught me to respect everybody, no matter what one’s race, religion, sexual orientation, gender, status, or ethnicity is. As a result, my American background has become something less crucial when defining me as a person. Therefore, my life experience has begun to seem considerably less significant as it does not serve as an obstacle in my way of supporting and respecting versatile communities and societies across the globe.
As a matter of fact, since I believe myself to be highly respectful of every group of people, my main goal remains to develop and further maintain equity in the modern world. The same values and beliefs are shared between nongovernmental organizations as their focus remains on enhancing the wellbeing of societies and solving the social problems that their members encounter. In other words, my desire for bringing a social contribution and volunteering is incredibly essential for nongovernmental organization activities and operations. Not to mention that such institutions are highly focused on creating a positive contribution to the growth and the development of our society on the whole.
My experience with nongovernmental organizations is strongly related to public relations considering that my principal responsibilities have been developing suggestions and designs of improvements for the explicit community. I have also participated in unusual activities for me, such as public advocacy all around the world. In addition, I have learned more about leadership and begun to be more active when helping people to enhance their health and wellbeing.
Such an internship has been purely based on daily teamwork, which also assisted me in developing crucial communicational skills. Overall, my experience with nongovernmental organizations has been insightful since I managed to help the impoverished communities in various countries across the globe. Additionally, this experience has played a pivotal role in me realizing the true value of non-profit help to those in need. Another critical point is that I realized that making assumptions about one’s culture based on common stereotypes is wrong and usually not true. In fact, individuals of the same cultures will never share similar traits, personalities, or behavior.
Leadership in International Nongovernmental Organizations — Interviews
To begin with, both Steven Matarelli and Sam Ormond are similar in their leadership characteristics as they are highly respectful of different cultures. In addition, they are ready to develop their knowledge of other communities and find new approaches to build better connections with staff (Organizational Assessment and Development, 2021). However, Kelly Thompson seemed more obligated rather than pleased to follow the traditions of Muslim people to maintain effective relationships with her staff during the meetings.
Furthermore, people’s thoughts on different cultures and attitudes to them strongly define their relationships with their staff. Kelly Thompson’s initial idea of the working environment did not include the compulsory greetings of Muslim people (Organizational Assessment and Development, 2021). Still, she admitted that if she had not followed their traditions of a simple handshake and a smile in the morning, her relationships with staff would have been entirely different (Organizational Assessment and Development, 2021). Since the beginning of the work, Steven Matarelli has been highly respectful of Thai culture (Organizational Assessment and Development, 2021). He believes that it is crucial to follow the tradition of the clothes’ color for each day of the week (Organizational Assessment and Development, 2021).
As a result, he impresses Thai people, and his relationship with staff becomes more pleasant and collaborative (Organizational Assessment and Development, 2021). In contrast, Sam Ormond reckons that culture should be treated in its complexity (Organizational Assessment and Development, 2021). In other words, she believes that community cannot be understood by just one belief, and usually, people have to be respectful and supportive to recognize the true nature of the culture (Organizational Assessment and Development, 2021). Overall, the three leaders share respectful and supportive approaches to different cultures and, therefore, maintain effective relationships with staff and clients.
Reference
Organizational Assessment and Development. (2021). Several international managers share their perspectives on culture and leadership in nongovernmental organizations. NGO Consultant.