Blockchain Papers

Megan Bradley

This chapter introduces and analyzes IOM’s Constitution and mandate, member state politics, organizational structure, and institutional culture, with a view to understanding the possibility of autonomous action on the part of IOM. First, the chapter explores how IOM’s “permissive” Constitution has enabled its engagement in a remarkably wide range of activities, including in emergency and post-crisis contexts, and the implications of the organization’s lack of a clear, legally entrenched protection mandate. Second, it provides an overview of IOM member state politics, stressing the clear imprint of the United States on the organization, and the rising influence of member states from the global South. Third, it reflects on the relationship between IOM’s organizational structure and culture, examining the role of the director general; IOM’s decentralization and project-based funding model; and some of the tensions that shape the agency, including those between IOM’s humanitarian-oriented Department of Operations and Emergencies and its Department of Migration Management. It also considers generational differences between “old guard,” operationally-focused staffers and younger cohorts. Despite IOM’s rather unlikely institutional foundations for independently shaping migration governance and, more specifically, humanitarian responses to displacement, this chapter argues that the agency has strategically cultivated its capacity for autonomous action, at the same time as it remains highly deferential to states.

Thomas Aitken

The more one penetrates the role of the manager abroad, the more it becomes apparent that it depends on the degree of centralization or decentralization to which his company is committed. However, this apparent simplification conceals complexities within it. As we have seen, even the most decentralized firm tends to hold a firm rein on financial management and as we will observe, the most home-office oriented corporations must concede considerable freedom to the manager afield in the matter of marketing. The qualifications do not end there, because while different industries may share the same viewpoint on finance, their emphasis on marketing varies tremendously. It is not unusual for a man who has made his mark in marketing consumer goods abroad to wind up his career as president of the firm at headquarters, but this is most unlikely when the company is in the petroleum business, heavy industry or banking.

Elicia H Berger

P²D (Personal x Professional Development) is the United Nations Children’s Fund’s staff-created non-traditional career development program. It is delivered in the form of two and three-day workshops, with tools and support in place by the organization to support staff’s ongoing development. Its purpose is “to create a self-reliant UNICEF workforce by empowering staff members to realize their potential, and to manage their own careers…This, in turn, provides a sustainable, competitive advantage in the delivery of results for the children of the world” (P²D). A P²D unit in New York Headquarters (NYHQ) coordinates the program, but it is actually delivered by volunteer “Champion” facilitators. The system of delivery is decentralized and events are autonomous, therefore many events go unrecorded resulting in a loss of programmatic memory, as well as a lack of communication, system reporting and accountability. This inquiry asks the following question: What is the most effective way to communicate with Champions about UNICEF’s P²D? The research methods included are a survey and secondary source materials such as case studies, guides, and other scholarly research. Data findings will be applied by the P²D unit in NYHQ in facilitating the creation of a global communications strategy with P²D Champions. While a more in-depth analysis of the survey results in regards to cultural preferences proved to be challenging, the survey yielded useful and practical results and recommendations.