Mission Statement for the World Health Organization, Research Paper Example

As individual nations increasingly and inevitably move toward a greater globalization, the World Health Organization, as an entity within the United Nations, is dedicated to focusing efforts to promote the well-being of all concerned.   Through a ceaseless monitoring of current health issues, establishing standards, disseminating information, and offering healthcare support to nations in duress, the organization is committed to promoting in every way the immeasurably important issue of health, for the well-being of the people must be the first priority of all nations.

Statement Critique

Although frequently viewed as essentially a slogan or ephemeral ideology, the mission statement exists to serve a function; because of its presence, measures should be developed to comply with its message (Bryson, 2011,  p. 138).   It has, simply, a job to do.  This in mind, it is then necessary to evaluate the above statement for the World Health Organization (WHO)  through the six questions posed by John Bryson.

The first criterion Bryson sets forth is that of actual identity, which must go beyond a merely recognizable name. The WHO statement accomplishes this, largely by virtue of the mentioned, greater organizational entity of which it is a part. The United Nations, quite frankly, needs no introduction, and the reference to it clearly indicates that the WHO must represent the same ambitions of the UN. Identity, as Bryson notes, should not be confused with actual function (p. 139), but that is not an issue within this statement.   Through a generalized recitation of the WHO’s chief ambitions, as well as with the well-known agenda of the UN, the WHO identity is established in the statement as a global health resource. The UN factor comes into play with the second question as well, which inquires as to the political and/or social needs the organization must confront and accommodate. These issues are addressed within the statement by virtue of the UN’s status as a mediating, non-aggressive presence. Consequently, and as reinforced elsewhere in the statement, the WHO is concerned with political matters only as they relate to health issues. It is made clear that the WHO exists to serve health matters, and only these. Regarding the third question, which asks what the organization must do to address the problems its statement speaks to, the answer lies within the brief listing of aims. The blatant fact that the WHO is concerned with the nations of the world inescapably affirms that its work must respond to the individual – or collective – needs of these nations. This very much links to the fourth question, that which goes to the organization’s response to stakeholders. In the case of the WHO, virtually every resident of every involved country is a stakeholder, and the reactive nature of the organization as noted above is the only means of properly addressing this matter. More precisely, the WHO’s statement is averring that it will take into full consideration all stakeholder needs, but it cannot do so until those unique needs arise.

The fifth question asks what core values and philosophies are properly reflected in the statement.  In this instance, the question is particularly interesting, for the WHO refers only to its leadership role on its web site and does not, surprisingly, go far beyond this.   The statement, however, does, if in a relatively subtle fashion. By emphasizing at the close that nothing is of greater import than the health of people everywhere, a value is solidly presented, and one clearly serving as a foundation for all activities to be conducted by the organization. No core could be more central, or more pertinent. Lastly, regarding the final question of what renders the organization distinct, the statement has again the advantage of its base of operations.   As no larger collective of united countries exists than the UN, so too is the WHO unquestionably  unique, by virtue of size, resources, and the subsequent breadth of its actual mission.

References

Bryson, J.  M. (2011.)  Strategic Planning for Public and Nonprofit Organizations: A Guide to Strengthening and Sustaining Organizational Achievement.  Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

World Health Organization.  (2011). “About WHO.” Retrieved from http://www.who.int/about/en/