Our hands are vital for performing tasks throughout our daily lives and must be taken care of and cleaned regularly. They can easily spread germs, bacteria, or viruses such as Covid-19 (Coronavirus). Coronavirus has spread rapidly throughout the entire world in the past few months and health officials are very adamant that hand hygiene can help prevent further escalation of the virus. The reason is simple; viruses can spread from our hands to other objects that we touch, to which other people can touch those same objects and possibly contract the virus by putting their hands on their face. According to the World Health Organization, proper hand sanitation that uses alcohol-based rub or hot water and soap can kill Coronavirus and other viruses [1].

For some people, such as healthcare professionals, there are actually major consequences for neglecting hand hygiene. For example, the dirty hands of these professionals have a negative impact of 40% in the transport and spread of resistant microorganisms among patients. Hospital infections are actually among one of the main catalysts for increased disability and death rates in hospitals, along with additional healthcare costs [2]. In the United States, 1.7 million patients develop health-related infections every year, and 100,000 of them die. This increases the length of hospital stay by 20 times and the cost of treatment by 5 times [3].

It was not until the 19^th century that we began to understand that infectious diseases can be prevented by washing our hands. In the middle of the same century, the pioneer of antiseptic processes, known as the “savior of mothers,” Hungarian physician Ignaz Semmelweis, showed that microorganisms could be transmitted to patients via the hands of medical staff. This discovery began a new era of hygiene and healthcare. It is now well known that microbes reproduce rapidly, and that it is possible to prevent the spread of disease by keeping the hands and body, which is possible by following personal hygiene rules.

Hand hygiene is maintained in different ways in modern medicine. In daily life, washing hands with soap and water to remove dirt is called “social hand washing.” Common examples include washing after a meal and when visiting the toilet. For this purpose, it is sufficient to rub the hands and fingers for 15 seconds with a non-antimicrobial feature soap, rinse, dry with a disposable towel, and turn off the tap with a towel. Cloth towels used by many people in public places are not considered suitable for hygiene.

The more serious and professional form of hand washing is “hygienic hand washing,” where antimicrobial soaps are used in the washing process before and after contact with patients and bodily fluids. Other hand hygiene methods during surgical operations cover applications where alcohol-based 3-5 ml hand-disinfectant is rubbed until dry along with hand disinfection and surgical hand antisepsis, which includes washing the hands, including the forearms, with chemical solutions such as soaps, isopropanol, chlorhexidine specifically produced for this purpose for 2-3 minutes, and later wearing sterile gloves until the end of any procedures.

The World Health Organization published a guide on proper hand hygienics and explained when, how often, and how healthcare providers should wash their hands [4]. Despite the development of various programs and policies, especially hand hygiene, and increasing material expenditures in the fight against infections observed in health services, the control of infections remains well below the desired level.

Today, research also looks at the effects of hand washing on individual psychology. An experiment carried out by two psychologists from the University of Michigan, Spike W.S. Lee and Norbert Schwarz, shows that hand-washing reduces this classic post-decisional dissonance effect:

In individual sessions, 40 undergraduates browsed 30 CD covers as part of an alleged consumer survey as if they were in a music store. They selected 10 CDs they would like to own and ranked them by preference. Later, the experimenter offered them a choice between their 5th and 6th ranked CDs as a token of appreciation from the sponsor. Following the choice, participants completed an ostensibly unrelated product survey that asked for evaluations of a liquid soap; half merely examined the bottle before answering, whereas others tested the soap by washing their hands. After a filler task, participants ranked the 10 CDs again, allegedly because the sponsor wanted to know what people think about the CDs after leaving the store.

For those who merely examined the soap, the preference for the chosen over the rejected alternative increased from before choice to after choice by an average of 1.9 ranks, replicating the standard dissonance effect. In contrast, for those who washed their hands, preferences were unaffected by their decision. Thus, handwashing significantly reduced the need to justify one’s choice by increasing the perceived difference between alternatives. “Washing one’s hands after making a choice eliminates post-decisional dissonance effects, suggesting that hand-washing psychologically removes traces of the past, including concerns about past decisions” [5].

In another study conducted in 2008, Schnall, et. Al. “hypothesized that physical cleanliness reduces the severity of moral judgments. In support of this idea, they found that individuals make less severe judgments when they are primed with the concept of cleanliness and when they wash their hands after experiencing disgust” [6]. This effect of hand washing, which relieves conscience, is called the “Macbeth Effect.”

Washing hands is one of those simple but compulsory practices we tend to take for granted and lose interest in as we progress in science and education. Simple practices like using each of our hands for different purposes and frequent hand-washing will surely contribute to the fight against healthcare infections and infectious diseases that threaten public health.

There are several traditions of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, in which washing hands is strongly emphasized.

“The blessings of food lie in washing hands before and after eating.”

“Wash your hands after you wake up; you do not know where your hands have moved while you were sleeping.”

The Prophet advised using each hand for different tasks. It is narrated that his wife Aisha said: “The right hand of the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) was for his purification and food, and his left hand was for using the restroom and anything that was dirty.”

Notes

1. “Advice for Public.” World Health Organization, World Health Organization, www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public.
2. Pittet D, Allegranzi B, Storr J, Donaldson L. Clean care is safer care: the global patient safety challenge 2005-2006. Int J Infect Dis. 2006; 10(6): 419–24.
3. Allegranzi B, Storr J, Dziekan G, Leotsakos A, Donaldson L, Pittet D. The first global patient safety challenge “Clean care is safer care”: from launch to current progress and achievements. J Hosp Infect. 2007; 65(Suppl. 2): 115–23.
4. WHO Guidelines on Hand Hygiene in Health Care, www.who.int/gpsc/5may/tools/9789241597906/en/
5. Lee SW, Schwarz N. Washing away postdecisional dissonance. Science. 2010 May 7;328(5979):709. doi: 10.1126/science.1186799.
6. Schnall S, Benton J, Harvey S. With a clean conscience: cleanliness reduces the severity of moral judgments. Psychol Sci. 2008 Dec;19(12):1219-22. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02227.x. Also see https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2014-20922-011.html in which Johnson, D. J. et. al. suggest that “researchers investigating the connections between cleanliness and morality should therefore use large sample sizes to have the necessary power to detect subtle effects.”

In order to survive, organizations need to gain the commitment of their members regardless of whether they are non-profit organizations or large business-oriented enterprises. Organizational commitment has important implications for both individual and organizational outcomes and is a central issue for an organization.

Organizational commitment can be defined as the relative strength of an individual’s identification with, and involvement in, a particular organization and it can be characterized by three factors: a strong belief in and acceptance of the organization’s goals and values, a willingness to exert considerable effort on behalf of the organization, and a strong desire to maintain membership in the organization (Mowday et al 1979).

Organizational commitment can be categorized in three dimensions. First is the affective dimension and refers to the person’s emotional attachment to, identification with, and involvement in the organization. The second is the continuance dimension and refers to commitment based on the costs the person associates with leaving the organization. The last is the normative dimension and it refers to the person’s feelings of obligation to remain with the organization (Meyer and Allen 1984, 1990).

Positive organizational commitment is associated with improved organizational efficiency and effectiveness. Organizations need to support their human capital in every possible way in order to earn their psychological or emotional attachment rather than having a group of people who just comply solely for material gains. Many critical behaviors in organizations rely on acts of cooperation, altruism, and spontaneous unrewarded help (Smith et a. 1983). Also, innovative behaviors that go beyond role prescriptions are essential for functioning organizations (Katz 1964).

Considering these factors, what are the factors that today’s leaders need to pay attention to in order to not only retain, but also commit people to their organizations while heading their groups? Is there a magic formula?

Procedural justice, good communication, increased participation, more supportive management and reasonable rewards are some of the means to achieve this goal (Nehmeh, 2009). Perceived job characteristics (such as task autonomy, skill variety, supervisory feedback), organizational dependability, perceived participation opportunities, career satisfaction are also found to be related to organizational commitment (Dunham et al 1994).

We always compare and contrast the fairness of the behaviors of others that is particularly directed at us. We always question whether we are being treated fairly as compared to them. This thought is always present, unconsciously running at the back of our minds while we deal with others in our daily life. We get dissatisfied as soon as we perceive injustice being committed towards ourselves. Similarly, it is important to provide procedural justice in an organization. One example of fairness is the distribution of rewards or promotions. As members of the group weigh the treatment they receive, if they perceive fairness and equality in treatment, their organizational commitment level is likely to increase.

One problem we often encounter in our daily interactions, which is the cause of other problems, is miscommunication. When we misunderstand each others’ attitudes or behaviors, we tend to become easily discontent and lose touch with the reality of the situation. This applies to organizational settings as well. If the communication channels are open and clear, and if there are multiple ways of communication in order to clarify our intentions, we minimize the probability that other group members misunderstand us. This way, we can minimize the risk of alienating our peers. For example, giving timely supervisory feedback could positively contribute in an organizational setting in this respect.

Another way of achieving more organizational commitment is encouraging participation either through consultation or direct engagement. The more individuals take part in projects, the more they will identify themselves with the goals of the larger group. It always feels good to be asked one’s opinion, because it shows that their opinion is valued.

Socialization opportunities also contribute to an individual’s integration into the organizational culture. Leaders that seek ways to organize retreats, trainings, and team building exercises can help build an atmosphere of citizenship in an organization. As individuals integrate to the community and get reminded of the common goals in such settings, they tend to feel more valued, see the bigger picture, and understand how their work contributes to the final outcome. Such events also open more channels of communication between peers.

Further, the more supportive the leaders are, the more likely they are to gain their group’s attachment. It is important to envision coworkers as living and breathing people who have individual needs and responsibilities (such as family, voluntary work, religious, and academic responsibilities) outside the organizational setting rather than machines or tools to achieve project goals. The more support people get in these areas, the more committed they are likely to become to their organization.

For example, many organizations encourage their members to pursue higher degrees and support their professional activities outside the organizational setting. Research suggests that professionally committed individuals also tend to be organizationally committed. Such individuals like scientists who are committed to their specialized areas thrive for opportunities to associate with their peers and stay in touch with the latest advances in their fields. It is also important to match the skill levels of individuals with meaningful tasks. It would be a definite mismatch if an individual with a doctorate degree is given simple repetitive tasks that has very little to do with their expertise.

Other organizations provide silent rooms for individuals to meditate or pray during work hours. Respecting people’s daily habits and providing such conveniences at work can make a difference in employee performance and satisfaction. Flexible hours or work-from-home arrangements are also common among organizations with professionals who have to joggle work and family responsibilities.

Some of us get tired of doing the same tasks over and over again. We tend to get dissatisfied after a while and start looking for new challenges. In such situations, a change of setting or scope of the tasks we perform can make us more productive. Similarly, switching of roles in a group at an organizational setting can help to overcome the dissatisfaction such people could develop over time. Perception of various opportunities that one can pursue is also likely to increase individuals’ tendency to stay in the same organization.

While performing our share of work in a group, we generally want a certain level of autonomy. We may need some direction at the beginning, but no one likes to be micro-managed. Good leaders should be able to find a balance in the degree of their involvement while dealing with their coworkers. Otherwise they may find themselves micro-managing others and being overloaded with extra work. This also can alienate the people who prefer to perform autonomously.

In summation, organizations need committed individuals to reach their goals. When we associate with the values of an organization, we tend to contribute more positively, even in an altruistic manner. Good leaders should see their team as individuals who have their own needs and responsibilities. It is important not only to retain people but also to win over their hearts in order to attain the highest quality of outcomes.

Alptekin Kavi is an electrical engineer and designs computer chips at a high-technology company. He lives in Superior, Colorado.

References

Dunham B., Grube J. A., Castaneda M. B. "Organizational commitment: the utility of an integrative definition." Journal of Applied Psychology. 1994, Vol. 79, No. 3, 370-380

Katz D. "The motivational basis of organizational behavior." Behavioral Science. 1964, 9, 131-133.

Meyer J.P, Allen N. J. "Affective and continuance commitment to the organization: evaluation of measures and analysis of concurrent and time-tagged relations." Journal of Applied Psychology. 1990, 75, No. 3710-733.

Meyer J.P, Allen N. J. "Testing the side-bet theory of organizational commitment. Journal of Applied Psychology. 1984, Vol. 69, No. 3, 372-378.

Mowday R. T, Steers R. M, Porter L. W. "The measurement of organizational commitment." Journal of Vocational Behavior. 1979, 14, 224-247.

Nehmeh R. http://www.swissmc.ch/Media/Ranya_Nehmeh_working_paper_05-2009.pdf "What is organizational commitment, why should managers want it in their workforce and is there any cost effective way to secure it?" SMC Working Paper, Issue 05, 2009.

Smith C. A, Organ D., Near J. "Organizational citizenship behavior: its nature and antecedents." Journal of Applied Psychology. 1983, 68, 653-663.

Spending so much time in the library for a particular book further amazed me about the answer I was searching for in my research. I am trying to understand how our genome is organized and how it functions. In order to make myself clear, let me first try to explain what the genome is. I bet you will be amazed by the impressive genome organization and its flawless function, too.

The genome can be thought of as a library. Each book in the “genome library” is what we call a “gene”. Every gene is different in size and the information they contain, just like the books in the library. Like the different sections in the library, our genes are also compartmentalized into different chromosomes. We have 23 pairs of chromosomes. One pair contains the information from our father and the other one from our mother. Therefore, unlike libraries, where you may find more than one copy of a book, our genome has two copies of each gene (except the genes on the X and Y chromosomes which carry only one set of genes).

Every cell in our body carries its own library: the genome. Our genome is the smallest library in terms of physical volume, yet contains relatively the largest amount of information. In our body, which contains roughly 100 trillion cells, we carry 100 trillion of these libraries. Here comes the amazing part; each of these libraries contains 3 billion letters of information. If this information were to be printed, it would take 1000 books of 200 pages each. The information in our genome is coded by a 4 letter alphabet; Adenine (A), Guanine (G), Cytosine (C) and Tymine (T). These four letters (A,G,C,T), called deoxyribonucleic acids, are the building blocks of every DNA strand on earth. The collective amount of these letters in any organism constitutes of its genome. We, as humans, have about 3 billion of these letters in our genome, which is encapsulated in the nucleus of every cell in our body. The total length of our genome is 2 meters long. This 2 meter long stretch of DNA (3 billion letters of information) is highly compacted and packaged in the nucleus, which is only 2 micrometer in diameter, an amazing 1,000,000 fold compaction!

How is our genome, which is 2 meters long, compacted so much that it fits in a nucleus only 2 micrometer in size? In the nucleus, DNA is wrapped around a group of 8 proteins called histones. This combination of DNA and histone proteins forms a special structure called “beads on the string”. Each bead is called “nucleosome” (Figure 1).

Multiple nucleosomes are then coiled together and stacked on top of each other. This organisation further packs the DNA up into a thicker fiber called “chromatin”. This chromatin fiber further condenses by forming tight loops. The structure which we call a “chromosome” is actually the most compact form of the chromatin fiber, which is only visible under the microscope during cell division. This remarkable chromatin organization allows a 2 meter long DNA to fit into the nucleus of each cell, an object so small that 10,000 of these nuclei can fit on the tip of a needle!

This remarkable genome organization further impresses us when we think about the utilization of this genetic information by over one hundred trillions of cells in our body. These many cells in our body are not all similar to one another. Most of the cells in our body are specialized to carry out specific functions. We have more than 200 different cell types specialized for unique functions. Some cells, like B and T cells in our immune system, are dedicated to fighting against infectious agents, whereas other cells, like neurons, function by transmitting signals between our brain and muscles. Since these cells have different structures and carry out different functions, they require different sets of instructions coded by genes in the genome. There are roughly 20.000 genes in our genome. Importantly, each specialized cell in our body utilizes only a subset of these genes, not all of them, at any given time. In other words, from the library analogy, roughly two third of the books (i.e., genes) are needed for each cell to function. The remaining one third of the genes is not necessary for that particular cell type. For example, the MYOD1 gene encodes a protein required for muscle cell differentiation. Therefore, this gene is absolutely required for muscle cells. However, the same gene is not required for the B or T cells that function in our immune system. While the MYOD1 gene has to be stored in an easy access location (open chromatin) for muscle cells, immune cells do not need this gene, and therefore it is stored in the depository section of the “genome library” (closed chromatin), which is not used very often.

In line with this, each cell has to organize its genome in a special way so that the genes needed for its function should be easily accessible. This remarkable genome packaging and organization allows each cell to easily and very quickly access the required genes for transcription into the proteins. On the other hand, those genes that are not going to be used are stored in relatively inaccessible regions in the genome library. Therefore, the genome is not packaged similarly all along. Certain regions of the genome are “open” and therefore easily accessible (called euchromatin) for transcription, while other regions are kept “closed” by condensed and packed structure (called heterochromatin). Since each cell type requires different set of genes, the genome is also differentially organized between cell types. Genome organization in a muscle cell is remarkably different than genome organization in, let’s say, a skin cell.

After all these explanations, I hear you asking, “How does each cell in our body know how to organize their genome? How does, lets say, a muscle cell decides to become muscle but not a blood cell?” These are exactly the same questions that many scientists are asking nowadays. Since the completion of the Human Genome Project (HGP)1,2, which determined the entire sequence of information of our DNA, scientists have been trying to understand how this amazing alphabet is being used in each and every cell in our body. Francis Collins, one of the great scientists of our time and the current director of National Institute of Health (NIH-USA), is especially noted for his landmark discoveries of diseases associated genes, as well as his leadership in the Human Genome Project. He calls the information coded in our DNA the “Language of God” in his recent book.3 Recent technological advancements allow scientists to better study the structure and function of this language and get better clues about the organization of this genomic library.

Whether we believe that this genomic information is “the language of God” or not, we are closer than ever to understanding the codes of this amazing language. New technological advancements allow us to get better insights about the organization and utilization of this information. The more we learn about it, the more we are amazed about not only its flawless packaging but also its differential utilization in each cell. At any time and in any tissue, trillions of cells are using different sections of the genome library to get the necessary instructions decoded from “the Language of God” and continue their journey in our bodies without any conscious decision making on our part.

Ahmet Mir Fazil holds Ph.D. degree in molecular Biology. He is a research scientist in Boston.

References

1. International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium (2001). “Initial sequencing

and analysis of the human genome.” Nature 409 (6822): 860–921.

2. Venter, JC, et al. (2001). “The sequence of the human genome.” Science 291

(5507): 1304–1351.

3. Francis S. Collins. 2006. The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief. Free Press.

Can we control time?

Some people say yes, we do, some say possibly, but the reality is we do not and we cannot! Time flows without interruption or interception. We grow, we change, we suffer; time laughs at us. And then comes our end, but time never ends… Controlling time could be possible if we were the creator of time. We make watches, clocks, and bell towers to keep track of time, but none of us is capable of stopping it for a second. Time is beyond our dimensions.

Time management methods

Currently there exist several methods to manage time. Everybody, including Dale Carnegie, suggests several different ways of planning for the best agenda.1-3 One of them¹ is to start with a “personal time survey,” and this helps you with a “study-hour formula,” asking you to prepare a daily schedule on a poster board, or some other surface, while suggesting practicing critical behavior:

“Don’t be a perfectionist”

“Learn to say no”

“Learn to prioritize”

“Combine several activities”

And here we give a “personal time survey” which has been presented as a means to oversee your current usage on an hourly basis:

1. The number of hours of sleep each night

________ X 7 = _______

2. The number of grooming hours per day

________ X 7 = _______

3. The number of hours for meals/snacks per day – including preparation time

________ X 7 = _______

4a. The total travel time, weekdays

________ X 5 = _______

4b. The total travel time, weekends

________

5. The number of hours per week for regularly scheduled functions (clubs, worship, get-togethers, etc.) ________

6. The number of hours per day for chores, errands, extra grooming, etc.

________ X 7 = _______

7. The number of hours of work per week

________

8. The number of hours in class per week

________

9. The number of average hours per week socializing.

Be honest! ________

Now add up the totals: ________

Subtract the above number from

168 – ________ =________ 1

What’s wrong with these systems?

Dale Carnegie passed away tragically. Something was missing in his life, leading him to commit suicide, despite being one of the time management experts for a better life. So, what was really important and what was it that he failed to notice?

The most valid explanation is that the spiritual nature of human beings was not taken into account. Such experts seem to think that if we put things in order externally, our lives will be organized and consequently we will be happy. But evidently, we cannot progress without spiritual satisfaction.

Below are the key concepts in perfect time management:

• Priorities

• Careful organization

• Spiritual needs

Priorities

Since time is immutable, we have to adjust ourselves to the speed of time. We have to list what is important for us and categorize them to see if there are possible combinations for extra time savings. It is truly important in such a concept to know our short term and long term goals, without excluding our needs and any dependants. The first priorities list may not work properly, but sooner or later, we will arrive at the optimum schedule.

Careful organization: A successful agenda

Regardless of our professional lives, every one of us needs sufficient time to relax. Thus, a cleverly organized day is what we should work towards first. Most studies show that a morning-afternoon-evening type division is insufficient to prevent the tediousness of long working hours. Counting every minute is the other extreme, if one desires to be fully organized. There should be some other way to divide up the day in the best way to ensure full-capacity performance.

So glorify God when you reach evening and when you rise in the morning; for all praise is His in the heavens and on earth, and towards the end of the day and when you have reached noon. (Rum 30:17-18).

This succinct daily plan mentioned in the Qur’anic verse above would be a good program if it can be applied (it is important to note here that this verse is not concerned with time management per se).

Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, in his 9th Word,⁴ talks about the meaning of this verse, including how to glorify God. And also he mentions the parts of the day and their corresponding meaning with spiritual insight. He basically divides the day into five parts. A day starts with “early morning,” continues with “just past midday,” “afternoon” follows, and “sunset” leads you onto “nightfall.” By dividing one’s day into spiritual sections, it is possible to review the day and the progress between these parts.

Spiritual needs

Human beings are not animals. They feel, they choose, they live as they want. And they are free to go in any direction. They have a soul that guides their way of living. There are plenty of stories that have unhappy endings solely due to an ignorance of a spiritual life. Time management, of course, is directly related to the spiritual life of the individual; the choices people make are formed in their souls. They desire, they plan, and they implement. Thus, people also need time for their desires, and due to the large number of wishes people have to manage their time. An individual sets their priorities to achieve their goals. But due to the external effects (mostly other people) the schedule of this person changes to the best-suited model. Some people like such changes, but the majority do not. This is actually not very surprising, as human beings have different personalities and characters arising from their spiritual background. Therefore, anything that has an impact on spiritual life has to be important in managing our time.

To have the ability to control our life and to manage our time, we have to look within ourselves and discover what is in our hearts. For example one of my close friends told me that he had been able to experience a highly-ordered daily life when he left home after having read some verses from the Qur’an. He added that in a busy day, with tons of work, he still manages to handle all of it if he reads from the Qur’an at the beginning of the day. But if he doesn’t do this he loses control and everything becomes confused, and his mind jams. What is happening here is that perhaps he is able to clarify his mind by taking a spiritual shower that gives him strong support throughout the whole day.

Once we get into a spiritual flow we will be able to realize that everything has a harmonic rhythm that will help to build our schedule on the path we have anticipated. The key concept is, then, keeping our spiritual life balanced in a way that does not let anything interfere. My friend found the perfect key; this should also be possible for every one of us.

Action plan

Knowing that priorities, careful organization, and spiritual needs are key concepts in time management, one should find the best way for them to succeed. Below is a possible to-do list:

1. Identification of priorities: What is really important for me?

2. Planning the time: How do I like to do things?

3. Feeding your spiritual self: What can help my mind to be perfectly clear?

4. Reviewing the status: Where I am?

To start or give feedback if you have been carrying out a feasible plan you must be able to observe your present course. Prof. Rustu Kalyoncu suggests a plan with 15 MINUTES slices at this point: “Write down what you’ve done for every 15 MINUTES (for a couple days) and criticize how efficient you have been. I promise you’ll find lots of free time waiting for you…”

Notes

1. www.gmu.edu/gmu/personal/time.html
2. www.see.ed.ac.uk/~gerard/Management/art2.html
3. www.tsuccess.dircon.co.uk/timemanagementtips.htm
4. Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, The Words, (translated by Sukran Vahide), Sozler Publications, 1998.

Wolf (1999) notes that a nonprofit organization is neither in the profit sector nor in the public sector but sits somewhere between the two. This position allows the nonprofit great flexibility in its operation but requires great skill in its management. Nonprofit organizations have characteristics of profit and public organizations. Wolf defines nonprofit organizations as “those legally constituted, nongovernmental entities incorporated under state law as charitable or not-for-profit corporations that have been set up to serve some public purpose and are tax exempt.” All nonprofit organizations must have the following characteristics:

• They must have a public service mission-their main goal must be to serve others, not themselves.

• They must be organized as a not-for-profit or charitable corporation-they must formally claim to be non-profit.

• Their governance structure must preclude self interest and private financial gain-this goes back to the first characteristic in that the organization’s main goal is to serve people.

• They must be exempt from paying federal tax.

• They must possess the special legal status that stipulates gifts made to them are tax-deductible.

It is obvious that the nonprofit sector has expanded dramatically over the past few years, so has public scrutiny over the sector. Governance is needed to ensure that the organization is providing services that are permitted within the legal system and the bylaws and to ensure that the organization does not permit fraud, potential abuse, and violations of the expectations of the public. Governance of a nonprofit can be defined as the ultimate authority, accountability, and responsibility for an organization (Ott 2001). Leadership, such as the board, is important in the nonprofit sector because it is governed through a complex set of functional roles and procedures that are defined in laws and tax codes that differ from those for the public and for-profit sector. The board is responsible for policies, procedures, financial outcomes, and ensuring that the mission of the organization is being implemented and accomplished to the best of the organization’s ability to serve its target population or general public.

There are some challenges that nonprofit organizations face in our modern societies. The first major challenge for a nonprofit organization is articulating a clear public service mission. A nonprofit organization is required by law to limit its activities to those articulated in the mission statement, so the mission statement must be broad enough to cover all possible activities. The mission statement must also guide the direction of the organization’s programs, services, and activities. In addition, a mission statement may require review and revision over time. For example, an arts council can begin with a mission to develop, foster, and promote the arts, and then develop a stronger mission statement that provides detailed plans for programs and activities, such as working with the school district to develop art education programs, and seeking funds from state, federal, and private sources.

The second major challenge is risk/survival analysis: the search for the proper balance between organizational extension and risk-taking, and organizational security. Engaging in risk/survival analysis means having an understanding of what should and should never be compromised, always being cognizant of the mission and whether or not daily activities or decisions are in harmony with that mission. This challenge identifies a great dilemma for nonprofit organizations: whether it is more important to ensure survival of the organization or to stay true to the mission. There is no easy answer. To meet this challenge, the organization must continually plan, analyze future options (both practical and idealistic), and debate the pros and cons of each option.

The third major challenge facing a nonprofit organization is constituency identification and involvement. Identifying and involving the constituency entails having a working knowledge of the clientele you desire to serve. This must not be too narrow or too broad. The nonprofit organization must establish a concise identification of its constituency in order to avoid problems in this area. The organization must identify the group that it seeks to serve, and then must create a structure that supports a commitment to that group. To meet this challenge, the organization must have a well-defined understanding of its constituency, seek to involve the constituency at all levels of the organization (particularly at the trustee level), and provide programs and activities that reflect a commitment to the constituency.

The fourth major challenge is testing for organized abandonment: that is, disbanding that is the result of careful deliberation, rather than unplanned events, such as financial crisis or management problems. In order to meet this challenge, the organization must have a clearly defined mission, establish criteria for evaluation of the mission, and have a formal system to determine whether or not the mission is relevant and effective. The organization must examine whether or not its mission is obsolete or if other organizations are more effective in achieving its mission.

In conclusion, nonprofit organizations go where other organizations fear to tread. Nonprofits eagerly work with the most disadvantaged members of society-the homeless, the hungry, the ill, and the befuddled. Nonprofits fill the gaps in society-consider the thousands of charter schools that have sprung up to provide a genuine alternative, most frequently for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Nonprofits extend and even function as government service-providers: how would most governmental social service agencies function if not by contracting out to tens of thousands of nonprofit service providers. Think too of the thousands of neighborhood associations that knit together their communities, and sometimes act indistinguishably from chartered governments. Nonprofits help people find meaning-both through quiet worship and organizing millions of people to do “good deeds.” People who want to “do something, to give back to society” sometimes do so through governments, but most do so through nonprofits. Millions of volunteers contribute and share in the nonprofit sector. Finally, unlike the other sectors, the nonprofit sector does not start out by asking how much money can be made, or where the money is going to come from; no, the nonprofit sector asks what the need is and how to fulfill the need. Only then does it seek strategies to support the social needs it discovers. Although by nature humble, it is the nonprofit sector that makes our complex and frequently materialistic and even selfish society, humane, purposeful, and cohesive. The private sector may provide the engine of growth and a quality of life; the public sector may organize us and keep the private sector in line; but it is the nonprofit sector that is our heart, our soul, and our spirit as a society.

References

• Ott, J. Steven (ed.), Understanding Nonprofit Organizations: Governance, Leadership, and Management, Westview Press, Boulder, CO: 2001.
• Wolf, Thomas, Managing a Nonprofit Organization in the Twenty-First Century, Simon & Schuster, New York: 1999.

In this ever changing environment, managing resources has not only become very important, but it has also changed over recent decades.

The main concern is limited resources vs. unlimited needs; this has been the dilemma of people throughout history. Some societies thought that they had found the answer by trying to limit needs and wants, while some other societies promoted needs and wants, motivating people to work harder to satisfy the same. However, questions, such as How to decrease the cost of production? How to increase productivity? and What is the best method for motivating people? remained important through the last century.

These are the very same questions for which the business world is trying to find the answers.

The efficient management of resources is very important. The management of manpower plays a critical role in the satisfactory completion of this task. To maximize the use of all resources one must also maximize the use of human resources.

A New Approach: Coaching vs. Managing.

In recent decades, we have seen a new approach, the use and effectiveness of which has been increasing in management; COACHING. More organizations have become interested in coaching their employees rather than managing them.

Managers manage numbers, goals, objectives and activities for results.

Coaches develop others to reach higher levels of contribution, personal attainment, and success.

Managers ensure there is a place to work, a procedure to follow, and a system for monitoring business.

Coaches, on the other hand, build high-performance teams by focusing on interpersonal relationships with employees and guiding them to achieve their dreams and aspirations. Everything else is trivia that should be delegated to someone else or relegated to after-hours. A leader or coach makes the relationship with their employees the first priority.

Management today recognizes the need to have a winning organization; it must be more knowledgeable and competent in dealing with and developing people.

Traditional management methods, which are organization-centered, although they have served business well and have accomplished a great deal, are now being challenged by the needs of the employees and customers. In dealing with these new challenges, most managers find that they are at the limits of their current skills. A changing business environment requires us to continuously improve our approach to management. Now is certainly the time for a new methodology which incorporates many of the approaches used by successful managers. That is the fundamental change.

The process of evolution is at the base of the need to develop a management competency in dealing with and developing people. The belief that all employees are self- motivated and that the manager’s role is simply to direct the activities of their subordinates through intimidation or any other method, assumes a results orientation with little regard for the means. In such a system, the employees generally have little opportunity to provide input to the process, and management becomes a numbers game, with little or no attention being paid to developing skills or people.

Because it is people who make things happen, and because we are dealing with a more enlightened and demanding work force, blind submission to direction is no longer feasible. We all want and expect a clear communication of roles, responsibilities and resources, and we expect to be evaluated as we perform our assigned tasks. We have to understand the dynamics of interpersonal relationships and how we are perceived by the people we are leading. We have to develop a competence and consistency in dealing with the people who are reporting to us. Indeed, we have to develop multiple skills, combining the sensitivity of a leader who is viewed as a capable and involved person with those of a trainer who provides the subordinate with skills enhancement and a defined pay off.

The new approach is employee-oriented rather than organization-oriented.

High Trust Leadership: High trust equals high performance.

Today’s younger generation, as well as many of the older generation, are assuming different interests which change the desired expectations and outcomes of their lives. We need to tune into these changes and be aware of the fact that unless we present a work environment that aligns with these expectations, we may not be able to keep our better employees. Without competent players, exemplary results become significantly more difficult to attain.

There is a pervasive and accelerating transition from the long term relationship between the employer and the employee, which represented the norm in the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s. Quality of life, family and independence have become the priorities for the worker in the twenty-first century. Management must be aware of these needs and it has to address the means by which the organization and managers meet them.

Each of us can remember a number of instances when we asked someone to explain or show us how to do something. Whether riding a bike, shooting a basketball or solving a difficult puzzle, there was a moment when we asked for help. Yet, after we asked for help, we were impatient with the helper or coach and wanted to get back to hands-on as rapidly as possible. Your team members are no different. They want to put their spin on the advice or the directions. The easier the manager makes it for team members to set the rules on how and when they are coached, the more likely it is that they will develop the discipline to find the information themselves and make their own decisions. An integral part of coaching is teaching and reinforcing. Whether it is sports or business, winning and losing do not depend on trick plays or new systems. The information your competition has is the same as yours. So what are you going to use to win? It comes down to motivating people to work and to prepare to play as a team. In a word, it is COACHING.

Six Essential Skills;

There are six essential management skills, or personalities, that are needed in order to optimize our efforts to become an effective coach.

1- Relationship builder: Get to know your team well and as individuals. Make sure you understand them, their values, their personal goals, and their objectives.

2- Team builder: In understanding each member of the team it becomes imperative that the manager develops the skills to link and blend these individuals into a coordinated, cooperative, and cohesive team in order to address the common goals and objectives of all.

3- Planner: An effective manager must also be a planner. Your team will look to you for direction, strategies, improvement processes, etc. They will expect guidance in managing their time and activities. It is essential that you have the necessary background, knowledge and skills to define and establish well thought-out road maps and game plans for your team.

4- Interactive Communicator: The essential key to acheiving this skill and the foundation for successful interactions is effective and active listening. Acquiring and sharing know-ledge and information is an integral part of the business world.

5- Organizer: A manager must also be an effective organizer. Organization is essentially preparing a framework for getting the job done properly, effectively, and efficiently.

6- Experience gatherer: Finally managers need to focus on the need to become experience gatherers. Managers must continue to expand their knowledge and their skill base and share that growth with their team members. To be a good manager, you must be a good leader and a great coach first.

The importance of coaching is that the scope of opportunity and success expands significantly as the manager’s skill dimensions increase. Therefore, the more effectively the managers incorporate each management dimension into their management process, the more likely it is that they will be able to attain results that are otherwise perceived as unattainable.

Leadership Qualities;

– Challenging the process: thinking out of the box.

– Setting the example: Do what you want your team to do, lead by example.

– Recognizing and rewarding value: Look for the right things that team members do and reward them; do not look to catch mistakes.

– Enabling others to succeed and attain goals: Make it the team’s own goal that they will accomplish.

– Establishing and sharing your vision: Give the team a road map and future hopes and dreams to catch hold to.

– Maintaining your commitments: Never break a promise and ensure that the goals and objectives are clearly communicated.

The organizations which employ more effective coaches to lead their work force will have the upper hand in the competitive business world, and will be a center for attracting better people. Since everyone likes to be on a winning team, it is critical for organizations which want to maximize their resources, lower their operation costs, reduce their turnover and increase loyalty to build teams to win. I hope to see every organization building their own winning team and getting ahead of the game.

The Drive for Ecumenical Unity

First, when speaking of unity, Jesus never specified a date or time period. Most probably he did this in an attempt to limit human weakness and shortsightedness in this field. However, separation and scattering happened anyway. Rather than considering this something undesirable, we should recognize it as a normal result of human diversity and a source of richness for humanity. Human diversity starts with diversity in the white, black, red, and yellow races, followed by new-color races arising from interracial sexual relations between the original races.

According to Teilhard de Chardin,1 the human race is undergoing a process of permanent change, continuous development, and an unstoppable growth toward an ever-higher level of spiritualization in its quest to achieve a clearer and better understanding of the Divine Reality, the Divine Truth. All faith communities can accept that the perennial Reality from which all existing matter originated is also the final Omega-destination of all beings. Only then, after a long period of growth, will humanity and all religions be united in the All of the spiritual Reality.

After centuries of war and conflict, collaboration and unity among nations progressed with the creation of the United Nations (UN), its affiliated institutes, and the International Court at The Hague in The Netherlands. Sometime in the not-too-distant future, we hope that the dream of Baha’ullah2-the creation of a world parliament, a world government, a world currency unit, and a universal language-will be realized. Is it not time for the world’s diverse faith communities to realize a similar union in collaboration?

Second, people are talking of a small ecumenism between Christian faith communities and a great ecumenism between the world’s faith communities. The ecumenism appellation undoubtedly will be greeted with suspicion by non-Christian faith communities due to its Western origin. In line with the growing trend of including non-Christian faith communities in Christian ecumenist encounters, it might be advisable to replace ecumenism with dialogue. Interfaith dialogue then can be used for all interfaith dialogue encounters.

Third, our world is faced with the problems of an escalating gap between rich and poor and the ever-increasing poverty of 20 percent of the world’s population. Although the world’s political, financial, and industrial leaders acknowledge that something should be done, they have not reached any consensus on how to tackle these problems. Faith communities, in cooperation with non-governmental organizations (NGOs), could speed up this process by fulfilling the necessary role of pressing and pushing these leaders to reach some kind of agreement. However, to be effective and have a lasting influence they must be able to collaborate with each other.

After many years of meetings, it is becoming clear to more and more people that drives for unity between the Christian Protestant communities, as well as drives for unity between the Catholic Church and other Christian communities, are not making any real progress. A growing number of people now believe that such unity should be considered as a very long-term goal.

What should be sought now is not unity, but rather a union in collaboration. This seems to be happening due to advances in telecommunication technology, an acquisition of better knowledge and estimation of other cultures, and also the immigration of non-Christian faith communities to traditionally Christian countries. For example, this latter factor has made Islam the second largest faith community in the European Union.

Fourth, to realize such a union in collaboration, the following four attitudes must be present:

A True Interest in the World’s Problems. All interfaith meetings should deal with the suffering of so many of our brothers and sisters on this planet from a position of real concern and compassion. But more than that, they should formulate the sincere desire within themselves to do something about it. Such a global consciousness should be the basic mental attitude from which all faith communities start when working on interfaith dialogue.

The problems of poverty in South America and India, as well as many other countries, cannot be solved in a reasonably short time period by local and even nationally combined efforts. A change for the better in the socioeconomic infrastructures, many of which remain under the control of a small minority of landowners and industrialists who derive great financial benefits from the status quo, will be possible only through political and moral pressure from the outside. This represents a challenge for a United Religions Organization in collaboration with local politicians.3

A Clearly Defined Purpose so That Efficient Solutions Can Be Reached and Implemented. Efficient solutions will be produced only when all faith communities become a “One Voice Forum” having behind it the power of all their adherents. This could become a reality by creating a world religious organization, such as has been proposed by Episcopal Bishop William Swing’s United Religions Initiative (URI), launched in 1995. This body does not seek to unite all religions into one, but to bring them together at the same table so that their voice will be heard and taken seriously by the UN. An important step in this direction was the creation of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Geneva, Switzerland.4 The WCC could become a basis for a world organization if non-Christian faith communities and the Catholic Church were to become members.

In the case of Europe, a more unified European collaboration should be studied to promote communication between European interfaith dialogue organizations. An umbrella organization, something like a European Interfaith Council, is urgently needed, as is a European interfaith magazine, to combine all efforts on a European-wide level.

Giving Priority to the Common Welfare. This involves subordinating personal interests to the interests of the whole, a problem often encountered on the political level. For example, the UN’s activities will remain very limited as long as America gives priority to its own interests. This is also applicable to NGOs and faith communities, for concentrating on their own organizational agendas, instead of on the common welfare of humanity, makes real dialogue and real collaboration difficult. As far as I know, only Japan places the welfare of the whole community above that of the individual in all aspects of life. This is perhaps due to its centuries-old Buddhist and Confucian background. Whatever the reason, this remains a unique world phenomenon that is not recognized or understood sufficiently by the world community.

Adopting a “Go and Learn” Attitude. In other words, we have to move beyond the typical Western attitude of “Go and Teach.” This attitude is characteristic of Christianity and Islam, for adherents of both religions believe in their religion’s superiority and that they have exclusive possession of the whole truth. Unfortunately, such attitudes have resulted in colonization, negating and even persecuting other cultures and religions. What is required today is the attitude of “Go and Learn,” of being interested in and learning about others, of coming to respect their identity and values.

Due to this new attitude, we might integrate some of these values in our own way of life and be enriched as a result. As long as the Catholic Church and other Christian denominations, as well as Islam, do not renounce their claim of exclusive possession of the Truth, the above-mentioned union in collaboration will remain an almost-impossible undertaking. The only way forward is one of accepting and recognizing other faith communities and working to go beyond the differences and similarities to arrive at a union in collaboration. Overall unity should not be the goal

Footnotes

1. Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1955): Teilhard aimed at a metaphysic of evolution, holding that it was a process converging toward a final unity that he called the Omega point. He attempted to show that what is of permanent value in traditional philosophical thought can be maintained and even integrated with a modern scientific outlook if one accepts that the tendencies of material things are directed, either wholly or in part, beyond the things themselves toward the production of higher, more complex, more perfectly unified beings…. Teilhard argued that the appearance of man brought an added dimension into the world. This he defines as the birth of reflection: animals know, but man knows that he knows; he has “knowledge to the square.” Another great advance in Teilhard’s scheme of evolution is the socialization of mankind. This is not the triumph of herd instinct but a cultural convergence of humanity toward a single society. Evolution has gone about as far as it can to perfect human beings physically: its next step will be social and spiritual. Teilhard saw such evolution already in progress; through technology, urbanization, and modern communications, more and more links being established between different peoples’ politics, economics, and habits of thought in an apparently geometric progression. (www.britannica.com)
2. Baha’ullah (1817-92): Founder of the Baha’i faith upon his claim to be the manifestation of the unknowable God. He propounded a comprehensive teaching that advocated the unity of all religions and the universal brotherhood of man. Emphasizing social ethics, he eschewed ritual worship and devoted himself to the abolition of racial, class, and religious prejudices. (www.britannica.com)
3. For more information, check out: www.united-religions. org/newsite/index.htm, or contact: United Religions Initiative, PO Box 29242, San Francisco, CA 94129-0242 USA; e-mail: office@uri.org.
4. The World Council of Churches (WCC) is an ecumenical organization founded in 1948 in Amsterdam as “a fellowship of Churches which accept Jesus Christ our Lord as God and Saviour.” The WCC is not a church, nor does it issue orders or directions to the churches. It works for the unity and renewal of the Christian denominations and offers them a forum in which they may work together in the spirit of tolerance and mutual understanding (www.britannica. com). It now has 337 Christian churches as members, mainly Protestant and Eastern Orthodox. The Catholic Church and Southern Baptists are not members.