The claim that management of political party is not the same as management of corporate organization undoubtedly explains why most political parties fail under certain administrators. I read with much despair a piece on a social media platform with the above headline. Much as I respect the position of the writer, I have a contradictory view to his reasoning. The writer failed to acknowledge and appreciate the concept of application of knowledge, skills, experience, and the ultimate transfer of knowledge to a new setting.
The writer completely acknowledged the fact that Lawyer Justin Frimpong Kodua (JFK) has indeed performed tremendously well at the Youth Employment Agency as the CEO. One cannot highlight the achievements of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in the areas of sound youth policy, programs, projects, and the huge employment opportunities for the youths of Ghana without citing the various modules currently being run by YEA under JFK.
The various expanded modules that have been introduced by President Akufo-Addo under the able leadership of Lawyer Justin Frimpong Kodua have provided employment opportunities to thousands of Ghanaian youths.
The successful management of a corporate organization and political party requires both leadership and managerial skills. It can never be concluded that the skills needed to manage corporate organizations are entirely different from those required to manage a political party.
The most critical traits needed to manage a political party are not limited to one’s passion. Rather, it calls for, among others, one’s in-depth understanding of party ideology, party philosophy, understanding of the position one aspires to occupy, the current challenges confronting the political party, the expectations and the needs of the party’s stakeholders (grassroots, party leadership, financiers, founding fathers, foot soldiers, known and unknown interest groups, etc.), and the structures, practices, and processes of the political party.
It is also worth mentioning that anyone who aspires to manage political party should also be endeared to the people, have contemporary understanding of party management and grassroot mobilization. The fundamental principle of management is to forecast, plan, organize, lead, coordinate and control an activity to achieve the intended objective.
The once famous American political scientist, Luther Halsey Gullick gives the catchword POSDCORD to explain the key components of management and administration where:
P = Planning,
O = Organizing,
S = Staffing
D = Directing
CO = Co-ordinating
R = Reporting
B = Budgeting
Any proficient Manager of any enterprise must be able to apply these in their day-to-day running of day. These are as crucial to the management of a political party just as they are to that of any corporate organization.
Maybe, some tutorials in basic management, without necessarily taking the functions one by one, is necessary to educate us all.
Successful managers deal with unforeseen problems whilst others struggle with unforeseen circumstances. The difference lies in PLANNING. Every organization, irrespective of its nature and purpose, must place heavy emphasis on planning in order to grow and survive the test of time.
All other functions of Management mentioned above are undertaken after proper planning.
Planning deals with chalking out a future course of action and deciding in advance what to do, where, when, and how to do it, to achieve predetermined goals. Planning bridges the gap between where we are and where we want to be. It is a pervasive and an intellectual activity that helps to resolve confusion, chaos, uncertainties, risks, wastes, among others. The future is always full of uncertainties created by changes. It is planning that foresees the f…
Prof. Joseph Kwadwo Danquah
University of Bradford, UK
