Leadership in Action: A Report on World Vision Australia's Practices

This report presents an analysis of World Vision Australia's leadership practices based on an interview with an employee from the human services department. The report delves into the organization's background, mission, vision, and values, highlighting its commitment to social work and aiding children. It explores the development of leadership within the organization, emphasizing its participatory approach and the importance of open communication. The report outlines the organization's strategic goals, objectives, and how the interviewee's leadership style aligns with the organizational culture. It also discusses the influence of macro and micro-environmental factors on World Vision Australia's operations, providing insights into the challenges and strategies employed by the organization.

Running Head: WORLD VISION AUSTRALIA 1
STUDENT DETAILS
ACAP Student ID: 245226
Name: GBENGA BALOGUN
Course: MASTER OF SOCIAL WORK (QUALIFYING)
ASSESSMENT DETAILS
Unit/Module: SWSP6093 LEADERSHIP FOR THE PROFESSION
Educator: VESNA SUCUR-JANKETOVIC
Assessment Name: ASSESSMENT 2 (INTERVIEW)
Assessment Number: 2
Term & Year: T3/2018

2
DECLARATION
I declare that this assessment is my own work, based on my own personal research/study. I also
declare that this assessment, nor parts of it, has not been previously submitted for any other
unit/module or course, and that I have not copied in part or whole or otherwise plagiarized the
work of another student and/or persons. I have read the ACAP Student Plagiarism and
Academic Misconduct Policy and understand its implications. I also declare, if this is a practical
skills assessment, that a Client/Interviewee Consent Form has been read and signed by both
parties, and where applicable parental consent has been obtained.

3
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report covers an interview with human services employee at World Vision Australia. The
interview aimed to address issues such as: the organizational culture, mission and vision, aims
and objectives, leadership structure and various challenges leaders face together solutions for the
challenges in the organization. The report also seeks to outline the strategy for World Vision
Australia to enhance its success.

4
Table of Contents
DECLARATION.......................................................................................................................................2
Introduction...............................................................................................................................................5
Organizational background......................................................................................................................6
The development of leadership in World Vision Australia....................................................................7
The culture and values of the organization..............................................................................................8
The organizational strategic goals and objectives...................................................................................9
The objectives of World Vision Australia..............................................................................................10
The influence the leadership practice of the interviewee......................................................................11
Experience in leadership.........................................................................................................................12
Effective management of the team members.........................................................................................13
Appropriate Leadership in social work.................................................................................................14
Interviewees’ interaction with the stake holders...................................................................................15
The inteviewees’ interaction with the organizational structure and values........................................16
Macro environmental factors influencing the operations of World Vision Australia........................17
The micro environmental factors influencing the operations of World Vision Australia..................19
Conclusion................................................................................................................................................20
References................................................................................................................................................21
APPENDIX..............................................................................................................................................23
Questionnaire.......................................................................................................................................23

5
Introduction
World Vision Australia is one of the organizations that participates in social work activities
being an organization that gives back to the society through charity. The organization operates
within Australia and offers help to most of the needy children within the country. The
organization is built on the foundation of fairness, integrity, honesty and ethics which are the key
values for the success of any organization. World Vision Australia has an efficient culture of
leadership that promotes the growth of the leadership skills of the employees across all the
organizational levels. In relation to the interview with one of the employees from the human
services department, the organization has really shaped the lives of many children in Australia
through various programs such as sponsorship programme for education and helping the orphans
in the society. The report is going to outline the findings from the interview and is going to
highlight some of the challenges in leadership in World Vision Australia together with the
structure of leadership in the organization.
Organizational background

6
World vision Australia is dated back in 1966. It was meant to help the less fortunate in the
society especially the orphans. It has established various children homes across Australia and
receives donations from the government agencies from various nations to facilitate the program.
In the year 1947 DR Robert Pierce visited various countries such as Korea and China where he
met several individuals who had various needs. This sparked the idea for helping such people
and after he went back to the United States, he initiated fundraising initiatives to support such
people. He named his initiative as World vision which he said that he purposed to ensure all the
less fortunate people in various nations were catered for hence this led to the birth of the World
vision in September 1950 Pierce being the C.E.O. World Vision spread to various countries till
it reached Australia in August 1966. It played a very crucial role in supporting the refugees from
Indochina and the people who were affected by war in Bangladesh(Cosgrove & Rijsberman,
2014).
The Australians supported the project with various donations and by 1970, the World vision had
really grown and it dominated the whole nation through distribution of food and other basic
needs to the less fortunate in the society. World Vision played a crucial role during the Vietnam
War by hosting over 3000 refugees in 1976 which made it famous throughout the world. By the
year 1990 the international reach had really grown where it had a team that responded to various
emergency issues to various parts of the world. Currently, World Vision Australia is the largest
non-governmental organization in Australia and its working hard to eliminate poverty and its
causes in the society for a better tomorrow.
The development of leadership in World Vision Australia
World Vision Australia has enhanced the culture of open communication among its employees
and leaders from the top to the bottom level of management(Cameron & Rössler, 2016). The

7
preferred leadership approach is participatory where all the individuals are involved in the
decision making process across all the levels in the organization. This is efficient because it
enhances the commitment of all the employees in the organization towards the vision and
mission. The organization has adequate opportunities for nurturing leaders through career
development programs for its employees, the organization has training and development
initiatives for the employees which also enhances their leadership skills. World Vision Australia
provides development opportunity for both the employees and several volunteers who later
become more efficient for the achievement of organizational objectives. Most of the volunteers
assume the roles for various employees in the organization and in the process acquire necessary
leadership skills and obtain a better understanding of the organizational culture which increases
their efficiency
The culture and values of the organization.
The culture of the organization refers to the way various aspects of the organization are dealt
with. This range from the recruitment process, the leadership style used in the organization and
many other aspects. Organizational values refer to the set of beliefs that regulate how individuals

8
behave within the organization. The values such as honesty, integrity, respect and loyalty
determine how individuals shall be operating within the organization as they strive to achieve the
set goals and objectives within the organization. World Vision Australia is built on the belief of
integrity and honesty as it receives donations from various stakeholders who are committed
towards charity. The management of World Vision Australia ensures that all the donations are
used appropriately to ensure the achievement of speculated goals and objectives. The
organizational behavior is built on the foundation of integrity where the management do not use
the donations for their own self interests. The belief that those who help the needy are blessed
drives the organization towards helping most of the needy children in the society.
The organizational strategic goals and objectives.
According to Grant, Butler& Murray (2014)world Vision Australia’s main strategy is to ensure
better life for the less fortunate in the society. It has the following strategic goals for the
achievement of the speculated mission and vision:
Competent Management

9
Through its competent management, World Vision Australia is in a good position to achieve its
objectives effectively. This is because a competent management can initiate effective decision
making processes to ensure the formulation of winning strategies within the organization
Forming partnerships
World vision Australia has purposed to collaborate with various Non-governmental
organizations to ensure that they cover a wide area in offering help to the needy in the society.
Through formation of partnerships, the organization shall be in a good position to access a wide
source of funds from various sponsors for their programs in the society hence increasing the
efficiency.
Ensure implementation of various policies.
World Vision Australia management ensure the implementation of various formulated policies
which is usually difficult for many organizations due to partial implementation of their
formulated policies.
Engaging and partnering with the stake holders
The success of World Vision Australia relies heavily on the support of the key stake holders who
need to be fully engaged in various activities of the organization in order to enhance a sense of
belonging among them.
The objectives of World Vision Australia
World vision Australia has the following objectives:
To help those who have various needs in the society within and outside Australia
To be an organization of integrity in the provision of its services
To promote equality among all the members of the society

10
To create a bright future for the refugees
To contribute to the sustained well-being of over 20 million children by 2021.
To reach out and actively involve more than a million supporters by 2021 to actively connect
with children and community in need.
To increase the income base of the organization to $1 billion by 2021 in order to achieve a long
term stability of income to enhance the well being of the needy children through: revitalizing the
sponsorship of the children, growing the organization’s income from major donors and
enterprises, growing the organization’s income from grants and goods in kind.
To transform the lives of children through: the process of delivering and supporting high impact
development, relief and advocacy programs that positively impact the well-being of children, the
process of delivering and supporting high impact programs that shall benefit the children under
their care.
To collaborate with the Australians to steer the agenda for helping children from less fortunate
families through: initiating the growth of an active citizen supporter baze, initiating the growth
of the value generated from various church partnerships in the country, enhancing good
relationship with different partners in the country, influencing the policy and attitudinal change
of the Australians towards the less fortunate in the society.
To build a sustainable organization through engaging and motivating employees to enhance high
performance and developing new models of operation to bring communities and supporters
close.
The influence the leadership practice of the interviewee.
The World Vision Australia’s culture has a major impact on John’s leadership practice. Being a
health practitioner as a lab technician in the past he had minimal experience in career in social
work which he had much desire to serve humanity especially those who are in need in the
society. The values of World Vision Australia has really shaped his skills as a leader. Values

11
such as integrity and honesty has really enhanced his leadership position since he is usually
responsible for the reception of donations on behalf of the organization and records everything
which without a value such as honesty and individuals can embezzle the organizational funds
received from the well-wishers. John uses participatory approach in leadership which enhances
employee’s participation within the organization. His philosophy of leadership is aligned to the
mission and vision of the organization which is the most important aspect for any leader. John
has been influenced by the strategic objective of the organization in a significant manner. It has
enabled him to incorporate his individual reflection into leadership which is the most important
aspect for any leader as it enables him to know the new ideas that can be incorporated into the
corporate organizational culture to increase the efficiency of the organization in relation to the
achievement of the organizational vision and mission.
Experience in leadership
The style of leadership used by a leader is usually central to the success or failure of the
organization. This is because it determines the degree of employee satisfaction within the
organization. The leadership style such as autocratic hinders employees from making decisions

12
in the organization hence the turnover rate increases in the organization. Participatory leadership
enhances the involvement of the employees in the organizational activities hence enhances job
satisfaction among the employees in the organization. World Vision Australia has a large number
of employees who need to be involved in various decisions in relation to various organizational
aspects hence John has to apply participatory style of leadership for efficiency. This has
enhanced employee retention in the organization because of been involved in the decision
making process in meetings and conferences where they make suggestions which are later
implemented within the organization(Chambers, et al, 2018).
World Vision Australia embraces the idea of sharing knowledge, tasks and delegation of various
responsibilities among the members which enhances unity in the organization. John as a leader
always delegate duties to various employees and expose them to various leadership roles which
is usually very crucial in the development of their future roles in leadership. This has always
enhanced the promotion of the employees to higher positions of leadership in the organization on
the basis of their integrity, performance and degree of leadership ability.
Effective leadership practices in the organization has enhanced the reduction of complaints
among the employees enhancing the achievement of various objectives and goals set within the
organization.
Effective management of the team members
John outlines that he is usually very interested to work with a committed team of volunteers and
employees within the organization. This is because this type of people are usually committed in
their service to the organization whether they are paid or not where they sacrifice their resources
for the success of the organization. Most of the employees in World Vision Australia started as
volunteers but later secured a permanent employment in the organization. John outlines that the