Tearing It Down from the Inside and Bringing the Outsiders In: Disrupting Power, Privilege, Marginalization, and Hierarchy in a Nongovernmental Organization (NGO)
Date of Award
5-5-2024
Degree Name
Ed.D. in Leadership for Organizations
Department
Department of Educational Administration
Advisor/Chair
Clare Liddon
Abstract
Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs) have been critical partners and key entities in addressing social and political issues throughout the world. However, as those organizations seek to challenge unjust and unfair conditions, they can hold organizational structures that perpetuate systems of hierarchy and positional power that create feelings of marginalization and oppression based on the proximity to power by staff. Decision-making within those organizations based on staff role and location can be challenging and contribute to feelings of marginalization because of the organization's hierarchal structure. This study seeks to address engagement in decision-making by remote staff in an NGO with offices throughout the world. The study examines whether the organization creates opportunities for participation in decision-making by remote staff and whether it is an intentional and deliberate function of leadership to communicate the importance of engagement with remote staff. Further, it explores the role of organizational culture and its compatibility with the local culture of the targeted country for project implementation. The study further seeks to determine if westernized leadership practices and hierarchal structures can inherently or inadvertently limit the ability of remote staff to feel engaged and connected to the organization. The relationship between the remote staff and the headquarters are examined to determine engagement at all levels of the organization to understand the perception of decision-making engagement at all levels. The study shows how organizational communication plays a key role in engagement across all employment categories with a particular focus on the diversity of management style and the autonomy of leadership in the field with remote staff.
Keywords
Power Privilege Hierarchy Marginalization Nongovernmental Organization (NGO) Leadership Remote Staff Cross Cultural Competence Organizational Structure Organizational Communication
Rights Statement
Copyright 2024, author
Recommended Citation
Sledge, James E., "Tearing It Down from the Inside and Bringing the Outsiders In: Disrupting Power, Privilege, Marginalization, and Hierarchy in a Nongovernmental Organization (NGO)" (2024). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 7637.
https://ecommons.udayton.edu/graduate_theses/7637
