Evaluative case study : capacity building by incorporating a mission

This thesis contains research on how a mission might be incorporated into capacity building within an organisation. Specifically, it investigates the extent to which its mission is influencing the community at Les Roches Jin Jiang College - a private hospitality management college in China. As part of this, it also explores the general conditions under which an organisation's mission can foster capacity building. The research questions asked what members of the school understand about the school's mission, how they act on and gain ownership of the mission in their daily working life, and how the mission can be developed. The study obtains primary data through the collection of meanings, interpretations and perspectives that community members use in their everyday lives. It compares focus group data with data gathered from interviews, questionnaires and an analysis of documents. Many scholars (Bart and Baetz, 1996; Bart, 1998a; Campbell, Devine and Young, 1990; Davies and Glaister, 1997; and Klemm, Sanderson and Luffman, 1991) have argued that a mission statement needs to have a strong and las ting impact on an organisation. This case study supports these findings, but reveals that an organisation's mission statement is an effective tool only if it has an inspiring purpose that is understood by the whole community. This means that simply having a statement is not sufficient to incorporate a mission. Rather, it requires that the whole community of an organisation feels or senses the words expressed in the statement in its daily life at work. In addition, the study shows that the mission needs to be used in synchronisation with the communication of the organisation's market situation and its goals. Having inspiring communication about the institution's situation and its mission can integrate people and help them to work towards a com man purpose. This is what capacity building is all about!

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

edd

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

The Open University

Year dc:date.issued

2012

Author dc:creator

• Stocklin, Sacha Michael

Language dc:language

en