Analysis of World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
The organization’s set up should always be working within the mission in which it’s established. This will enable the organization delivers and be objective. The mission of the organization should be believed in by all the staff members; hence the results will be delivered. World Wildlife Fund (WWF) operates in a wide range of activities which go beyond conservation. The organization is a nonprofit institution that has been in operation for the last 50 years, making it a leader in the wildlife conservation industry.
The organization do have operations in 100 countries and have the support of over 1.2 million people in the US, and over 5 million others across the world. These people do give donations to this organization in support of its operations. The main activities of WWF include, conservation of places, empowering communities, influencing policies, international smart gear competition, protecting species, conservation finance, tackling environmental threats, transforming business and science. All these functions define WWF and have given the organization a unique identity across the world.
The WWF activities are from local to globe with the guide of their scientific creations that help come up with creative solutions benefiting both the environment and people. WWF has its head office in Switzerland. Its inception came due to the lack of funds that conservation organizations faced globally. International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources and the Conservation Foundation were facing financial challenges in executing their mandate of conservation. This led to the establishment of WWF to help in fundraising towards conservation on a global scale. The founding history has helped the organization on how it executes its operations, how they think of themselves and how they are being seen by others globally.
Discussion
The organization’s mission according to WWF.com is “to conserve nature and reduce the most pressing threats to the diversity of life on Earth”, and their vision is “to build a future in which people live in harmony with nature” (WWF.com). The organization has spearheaded a campaign in which the needs of people are realized in coherence with nature. The most important natural scenes in the world are being protected by WWF. They do influence world’s powers towards securing imminence of nature. WWF has ensured that people do feel valued as well, and that their knowledge of the organization is of powerful relations between the people and the environment. It’s important to bring to the attention of the people the importance of the environment, as well as the intention of WWF’s operations.
WWF has always relied on scientific evidence in all their operations. This is a culture that has been instilled, and it is such a positive measure on accuracy. It ensures that nothing can be done by the organization without a proven scientific success. The organization invests the money raised in a place and challenges that give a huge impact or effect hence; this is a culture that portrays transparency and excellent utilization of the funds within their disposal. The organization has shown that people have confidence in them and the money contributed. They do have confidence as well in the mandate bestowed in them; they are dedicated to embracing the best practices in authority, responsibility and transparency across all the organization’s ranks. The organization has put in place various goals that need to be attained by the year 2020.
These goals show clearly what needs to have been achieved come the year 2020. The goals will help the organization and other parties measure the efforts put by the organization. Goals give a sense of accountability and transparency. It’s still a measure of hard work, commitment, and proper utilization of donors’ funds. The funds as per the company website have been indicated to be utilized accordingly as per the percentages given. According to the Financials in the financial year 2013, 85% of the donations were used in saving the ecosystem and the species. Five percent went to the administration and 10% was used for fundraising. This is a clear way of WWF operations and its allocation of funds. Anything that does not go in line with this will be portrayed as a misappropriation. WWF has the main symbol as Panda bear. Panda bear is specie that the organization fought to save from extinction (Financial Info).
WWF’s funds have over the years increased meaning the organization enjoys quiet a high level of goodwill from donors. The donors include individuals, government grants and cooperate among others with individual contributions being the highest at least as per the 2013 financial year (Financial Info). WWF uses the funds according to the laid down policies and to overcome the challenges affecting the ecosystem. Its culture of executing various investments programs have been put in place to overcome strenuous challenges being faced. It’s the concept of putting aside funds for development in order to assist in protection of the environment. The culture of investment encourages a continuous effective utilization of scarce resources such as time and space. Investments done give an unrelenting engagement steered by the 3 key principles:
- Proceed to develop programs that yields maximum conservation’s value and output
- Guarantee the availability of relevant ability and resources that gives an assurance required for funding such programs
- Offer concrete mission backing as well as optimize the efficiency of the organization’s operations.
These Principles have ensured quality delivery and maximum utilization of the funds donated. This takes an account of effective utilization of funds that has seen excellent financial performance that has been an upward trend. The operating budget has been increasing as well as the percentage figure being kept intact. The higher the budget, the more the operating expense, the higher administration cost, and the higher the fundraiser amount. The percentage is maintained but the activities continue. The culture of use of funds has been important and it’s the spirit of development and maintains the mission statement.
Employees work relations culture
Employees in the company do the work with the love of their jobs and what the organization entails. Being motivated to work is by no doubt an additional fact that the company has a culture that employees do not let go easily. Staff members in this organization are friendly and a new person in their company will enjoy and learn quite a lot from their guides. Interns who have once worked there do have a lot of positive things to tell about their experiences. All applauds the organization to be the best place to be and work for if given the opportunity for the rest of their lives. The departmental heads and staff are helpful and always directs an individual as desired by the organization. An intern learns more than expected in the organization. Their wide range of activities gives employees an exposure that no one can get from anywhere else.
A new staff in the organization is guaranteed to learn a lot within a short time from the all-staff monthly meetings, weekly brown bags, and just from having a one on one talk with other staff members over lunch hours in the patio. The company has a panda Fridays, where people work under pressure throughout the week and they all get an off on every Friday. This makes employee have good moments while at work and deliver adequately professionally in their areas of operations.
Most staff members do not feel even a pitch of laziness or demotivation while at work and they hardly long for the annual leave since they have the passion for working. The culture has been instilled in all the employees and they so love it all the way past being employed in this organization. This has given WWF an identity that most people would want to work with this organization as well as participates in its activities. The organization has shared much information in its website that talks positive of them, which is a good thing in order to get all the help they need from well-wishers (Kendell & Solway, 2005).
Influence of culture on strategy and marketing
Jayawickrama (2011) has given history of WWF. WWF has been clearly indicated as having been incorporated in April the year 1961 in Switzerland and later in the same year another office was established in US. Fifty years down the line, shows a well-established organization with over 5000 employees in 100 countries. The organization’s main objective was to protect the endangered species from extinction. Currently, the organization has expanded its operations offices, associates, and has gone beyond just protecting the species to include habitat conservation and minimizing pollution. This has been achieved as a result of having a culture on strategy and marketing. The culture of the company is evident and no uncertainty of its existence. WWF have a brand panda that has been iconic in almost all the national conservation agencies. Their influence in various countries on wildlife and the environment has been noticeable in these agencies’ firms (Jayawickrama, 2011). A logo is a symbol of being the leaders in the industry in maintaining and protecting the endangered species and the environment. It’s through this that has seen the organization implement various policies that have helped in creating such awareness and propagating their functions. It has attracted many people of goodwill and this has seen their funds raised goes up each year. The brand has attracted many investors, and well-wishers. A lot is being discussed on the brand integrity that has been able to combine how the brand of WWF is being seen and what the organization does. WWF has a brand ethics where values of delivery and respect through it and the way it has been employed. There is brand democracy where employees in the organization are important emissaries of WWF brand (Species).
In a forum, in Yale University about Religion and Ecology, WWF has taken the initiative of encouraging the faithful to maintain the sacred earth. People who are faithful do know that the environment and those sacred places/sites need to be protected as the creator instructed. This goes a long way in supporting the program being executed by WWF and conserves the environment. The faithful leaders have been involved in various activities towards maintaining the sacred earth such as watershed refurbishment, and forestation among others (Forum on Religion).
According to Carroll (1998), WWF has done a lot of commendable jobs in various countries to help protect the environment. WWF has been involved with government institutions and other non-government institutions to help in fighting various attacks on the environment such as poaching, mining, timber concessions and timber trade, and conservation finance (Carroll, 1998). A serious issue is on the logging and conservation that must exist as shown theoretically but, in a real world, it’s practically impossible to co-exist. The main reason is distrust and a clash of interest. The success of these problems of logging and conservation clash has been adequately addressed by WWF.
Conclusion
WWF has shown leadership in the conservation industry across the world. It’s through partnership with this organization that challenges in various conservation places has been achieved. It’s through the brand name of species and conservation, panda name that has seen the culture being established in the organization. This culture has made WWF be known of its good intentions in protections of various species from extinction as well as conservation of the environment. This cultural identity has made the organization be felt in all the corners of the world and various regulations have been passed. The show of confidence in the organization has led to its originality and attracting various donors as well as associates besides the establishment of various offices across the world.
References
Carroll, R. (1998). World Wildlife Fund (WWF-US) organizational overview: Dzanga-Sangha
Reserve, Central African Republic. New Haven, retrieved from
<http://www.umich.edu/~infosrn/PDF_FILES/ENGLISH_.PDF/SEC._3/CARROLL.PD
F>
Financial Info. Retrieved from <http://worldwildlife.org/about/financials>
Forum on Religion and Ecology at Yale. World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Yale University,
Retrieved from <http://fore.research.yale.edu/religion/judaism/projects/world-wildlife-
fund-wwf-sacred-earth-faiths-for-conservation/>.
Jayawickrama, S. (2011). Embracing DNA, Expanding Horizons: The Panda Turns Fifty.
Harvard University, The Hauser Center, retrieved from
<http://www.hks.harvard.edu/hauser/role-of-
brand/documents/wwf_brand_case_study.pdf>
Kendell, P., & Solway, A. (2005). World Wildlife Fund. New York: Hodder Children's Division.
