[NB - The second round of responses largely reinforced the findings of the original thirty-one questionnaires. As such, the data below represent the cumulative tally from both rounds of research. Originally, I had planned to display separate findings if there had been significant discrepancy between the two.]

Of the fifty-five responses received, one response showed a significant portion of invalid data. The respondent did not fill out the ranking questions correctly, and responded to training questions with numbers, as if to indicate how many trainings he had received or wished to receive. I did not follow up with this participant to determine intent (as a consistent methodology would require follow-up with other respondents, if similar questions arose), and instead invalidated this portion of his questionnaire. Another response, from the second round in March 2001, appeared to be an incomplete submission of another completed questionnaire, and therefore was considered entirely invalid. The other fifty-three responses were successfully filled out for the most part, with only some specific omissions. The high return rate, completeness and quality of responses, along with the noticeable trends in the data, all suggest a successfully administered research instrument (Hansen, 1980).

The data show some very strong trends:

* Responses came from UNVs of 31 different countries (1).

* Average age of respondents was 33 years.

* Education: Respondents had the following levels of education: 46.3% with Master's, 13% with Doctorate, 37% with Bachelors, 3.7% with other education listed.

* I requested that UNVs rank their three top motivations for working in Kosovo; humanitarian interest was the greatest single motivator in this regard, with 88 points, followed by UN interest with 61 points, and cultural/regional interest with 53 points (2).

* Paid Job or Volunteer? 43.4% said they felt their UNV work was more like a paid job than volunteer, 13.2% said paid job, 32.1% more volunteer than paid job, and 11.3% said volunteer.

* UNVs ranked the importance of financial compensation for their work in Kosovo: 67.7% said financial compensation had some importance, 25.8% great importance, 3.2% little importance, 3.2% not relevant.

* 33.3% of participants would be very inclined to extend their contracts as UNVs if there were greater financial incentive for years of service or performance, 35.2% would be somewhat inclined, 20.4% said this would have no change on the decision to extend.

* Following percentage of respondents did NOT receive training in these areas: UN overview 64.2%, Kosovo Socio-political situation 50.9%, Culture Shock 77.4%, Burnout 88.7%, Foreign Language 98.1%, Other training 56.6%.

* Of the thirty-seven UNVs who expressed opinion about the effectiveness of these trainings, 48.6% said they were moderately effective, 29.7% very effective, 18.9% useless, and 2.7% negative or dangerous.

* 73.6% of UNVs surveyed would have found more training useful.

* 57.4% of UNVs surveyed said that they had great interest in professional employment within the UN; 27.8% had some interest; 11.1% had no interest; 3.7% responded that this issue was not relevant to them.

* Nearly mirroring the responses to the issue of professional employment, 55.6% of UNVs said that opportunity for professional advancement in the UN system would greatly increase job satisfaction: 29.6% said this would somewhat increase, 11.1% no change, 3.7% no interest.

* Overall levels of work satisfaction for UNVs in Kosovo: 51.9% were somewhat satisfied, 24.1% very satisfied, 7.4% extremely satisfied, 11.1% somewhat dissatisfied, 3.7% very dissatisfied.

* In response to open-ended questions, 31.5% of UNVs complained of discrimination based on their Volunteer status, 31.5% of poor administrative support, 22.2% complained of bureaucracy or inefficiency, 20.4% for lack of transparency in professional hiring practice or for no consideration for professional posts (based on the 18-month rule), and 13% expressed dissatisfaction with pay (3).

These responses were surprising in that overall work satisfaction was much higher than initially expected, with 83.4% of UNVs reporting some degree of satisfaction (ranging from somewhat to extremely satisfied), despite fairly broad complaints of discrimination, bureaucracy, and poor administrative support. The level of training received by UNVs in Kosovo was even lower than I would have predicted, and as such, needs to be looked into closely. As shown in the excerpt from the Conditions of Service for International UNV Specialists handbook below, preparation is a fundamental component of the UNV mandate, and it appears from the above findings that this responsibility is severely neglected by the UNV administrative offices in Kosovo.

Literature Review

Pool, S. W. (1997). The relationship of job satisfaction with substitutes of leadership, leadership behavior, and work motivation. The Journal of Psychology 131, 271-283.

Pool examines the relationship of job satisfaction with a number of variables (substitutes of leadership, leadership styles, and work motivation) to see how strong the impact is of each. He divides his sample into occupations (workers, managers, and executives) and analyzes his results. While my own paper examines only one population, UNVs in Kosovo, Pool's more complex methodology provides some insight for my reduced scope of work.

As mentioned above, this author cites the work of Weiss, Dawis, England, and Lofquist, and their five essential dimensions of job satisfaction. Using the same five-item scale (determined by a combination of the job itself, pay, promotion opportunities, supervision, and co-workers), Pool looks at the relationship between job satisfaction and substitutes of leadership, leadership styles, and work motivation.

The author suggests that the subordinates motivation may predict his/her job satisfaction. He cites the expectancy theory of Nadler, Cammam, Jenkins, and Lawler (1975), which says that a worker perceives two levels of outcomes from work: the first tier is the degree to which the job performance is successful, the second tier is the set of valued rewards attainable from this successful outcome. The theory describes the link in the mind of the employee between high job performance and valued rewards for his or her work. This would suggest for my purposes that UNVs would have greater motivation for their work if high rewards were perceived as a result (4).

In the results of his survey, Pool finds that the most important predictor of job satisfaction was work indeed motivation. Weaker predictors were consideration-style leadership, and task and organizational substitutes (both substitutes being characteristics which either neutralize or replace a leaders behavior). This coincides with the earlier work of Vroom (1964), which proposes a bi-directional relationship between work motivation and job satisfaction.

Pool's findings help to explain the contradictory data from my own survey. Since my results show a high level of work satisfaction along with simultaneous evidence of discrimination, under-support, and insufficient employee training, the importance of motivation as a predictor of work satisfaction is important. As shown above, humanitarian interest was the most cited motivation for UNVs working in Kosovo. Based on Pool's results, one may deduce that the perception of successful humanitarian work has strongly influenced the work satisfaction reported by these Volunteers, in spite of these difficulties (5).

Hackman, J. R., & Oldham, G. R. (1975). Development of the job diagnostic survey. Journal of Applied Psychology 60 (2), 159-170.

Hackman and Oldham speak here primarily of job re-design as a method to increase productivity and decrease employee alienation, but do not specifically address job satisfaction. For the purpose of making recommendations or establishing future baseline protocol for the UNV Program, their description is useful. The authors describe five core job dimensions:

* Skill variety

- The degree to which a job requires a variety of different activities in carrying out the work.

* Task identity

- The degree to which a job requires completion of a whole and identifiable piece of work.

* Task significance

- The degree to which a job has a substantial impact on the lives or work of other people.

* Autonomy

- The degree to which a job provides substantial freedom, independence, and discretion to the employee in scheduling the work and in determining the procedures to be used in carrying it out.

* Feedback

- From the job itself the degree to which carrying out the work activities required by the job results in the employee obtaining direct and clear information about his or her effectiveness.

- Feedback from agents similar, but from supervisors or co-workers directly.

These core dimensions would result in three possible critical psychological states:


* Experienced meaningfulness at work

- The degree to which the employee experiences the job as one which is generally meaningful, valuable, and worthwhile.

* Experienced responsibility for work outcomes

- The degree to which the employee feels personally accountable for the results of the work he or she does.

* Knowledge of results

- The degree to which the employee knows and understands how effectively he or she is performing the job.

Lastly, the authors describe three affective reactions to the job:


* General satisfaction

- An overall measure of the degree to which the employee is satisfied and happy with the job.

* Internal work motivation

- The degree to which the employee is self-motivated to perform effectively on the job.

* Specific satisfactions, e.g.:

- Job security, pay and other compensation, peers and co-workers, supervision, and growth satisfaction.

As the authors expect, the core job dimensions relate positively to the critical psychological states, work satisfaction, and internal work motivation.

While the UNV study does not inquire specifically about the correlation between these core job dimensions to critical psychological states or affective reactions, Hackman and Oldham show that there are a number of predictors that may influence high work satisfaction, and counter the effects of the negative elements reported, such as discrimination and insufficient support for UNVs. For example, a UNV reporting moderate to high satisfaction, along with significant complaints about program support, may have experienced a high level of skill variety, task identity, and task significance, which would have resulted in experienced meaningfulness at work and responsibility for work outcomes. Regardless of issues of discrimination and support, this UNV finds reason for work fulfillment based on these factors alone.

As many UNVs have job roles with some of these core dimensions already built-in, UNV could address some of the lacking dimensions that are within their power to change. Of these five, UNV program support could have a direct impact on the area of feedback, in two ways: first, by increasing the clarity and frequency of intra-organizational communication, and second by making an effort to address the perception of UNV discrimination within the mission (which now persists as a constant negative feedback for those who experience it).

Hancock, G. (1989). Lords of Poverty: The Power, Prestige, and Corruption of the International Aid Business. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press.

In Lords of Poverty, Hancock provides an extensive review and critique of international aid and development operations throughout the world. Specific statistics of mismanagement are not cited; rather Hancock lists a number of stories based on his own thorough investigation which support these claims. The authors description of the arrogance and abandon by which some international aid organizations act, ostensibly to relieve poverty and increase economic development, indicates the importance of self-review for any organization, even including those with high-minded goals. Hancock recognizes the sacrosanct nature of international aid when he writes, criticizing humanitarianism and generosity is like criticizing the institution of motherhood.

Lords of Poverty focuses on the broad scale programs and history of international development, but also describes smaller scale abuses and misguided behavior of so-called experts. A few specific examples:

} "All too often, during disasters, staff are not subjected to careful scrutiny before they are sent to the field; common sense gets abandoned in the rush to help" (p. 8).

} "Internationals seen as experts on expensive fact finding missions" (p. 8).

} The author lists many examples of the expatriate as patronizing outsider: "In general, the bigger, the more prestigious, and the more bureaucratic the agency, the more inclined it will be to despise and thus ignore the wishes and opinions of its clients" (p. 23).

} Hancock also describes the trend of Western development tourists, no longer content to visit beaches, who tour disasters and assess the scale of the problem (e.g. celebrities etc) (p. 119).

As Hancock describes, international development assistance is a sacred cow whose expenditures and programs are not always given the necessary scrutiny. While some international organizations rush to pile expatriates onto a problem, they simultaneously neglect the vital elements of employee preparation, critical program evaluation, and inclusive approaches to development.

The UNV program in Kosovo has apparently reinforced some of the less attractive of Hancocks assertions, for example by neglecting their own instruction to sufficiently train incoming volunteers. Expatriates who have not been provided even cursory knowledge of a culture or its norms or history can hardly be qualified to steer its development. As shown in the questionnaire responses, more than half of the UNVs surveyed reported no socio-political introduction or training, and ninety-eight percent of respondents received no foreign language training at all. It is unlikely that these internationals can be accurately informed of "the wishes and opinions of [their] clients" without receiving this important cultural preparation; moreover, their training gap is even more pronounced when considering the UNVs relative closeness to the beneficiary population, in comparison to professional UN staff (United Nations Volunteers, 1996).

United Nations Volunteers. (1996). Volunteers Against Conflict. New York: United Nations University Press.

UN Volunteers from various recent missions describe their experiences, giving a specific look at UN missions through the lens of the Volunteer her/himself. Certain trends seen in the Kosovo mission find precedent here in descriptions of other UN missions, such as the idea of the UNV as cheap labor, the division between UNVs and Professional UN staff, frustration with UN hierarchy, and the tendency of the UNV to be close to ground, or in the field very often.

On this last note, one UNV contributing to this account understood that the local population constantly observed him, to see if they could trust us and ultimately the UN. UNVs, with their frequent presence in the field, are in some ways the ambassadors of the UN. They are more visible and more in touch with the local population than the professional UN staff, both in missions described here and in the Kosovo mission.

One area where the Kosovo UNV experience takes a significant departure from those described here is in the training provided to UNVs. There is no specific mention of insufficient training in Volunteers Against Conflict; on the contrary there are a number of references to intensive training provided to UNVs in missions detailed therein. A UNV from the UN mission in Cambodia (UNTAC) reported that in fact UNV was the only branch to receive extensive training. With a six-week intensive training program, the UNVs were able to "avoid many of the potential pitfalls of being sent into the field too early" (p. 18). One volunteer described his intensive week-long training as "an important living experience (that was) crucial to our understanding the mandate of the mission" [United Nations Mission in South Africa, or UNOMSA]. UNOMSA was similar to UNMIK, in that UNVs there worked with professional UN staff in mixed groups, which was described as "an implicit recognition of [UNVs] ability to serve in an extremely sensitive mission that required the constant exercise of professional judgment" (p. 46). Based on this statement, the UNV Program in UNOMSA understood, in a way that UNMIK has not, the importance of training and professional and volunteer teamwork.

The marked disparity in training and preparation between these UNVs and those reporting in my survey shows that at least those missions had fulfilled their preparatory responsibilities to Volunteers. The contrast seen to the Kosovo mission is one of great concern, especially considering the significant role played by the UNVs in supporting UNMIK. Since UNVs have comprised at least a third of the entire international staff within the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (6), their role is clearly of fundamental importance to the success of the mission. This importance may have gone un-noticed by UNV however, which seems to have systematically ignored the strict requirements for training laid out in the Conditions of Service for UNVs (below).

Other issues from Volunteers Against Conflict finding similarity in the Kosovo UNV survey are references to UNVs as cheap labor (costing in some missions up to 75% less than professional staff) or as second-class UN staff. Both of these terms were mentioned as issues of concern within my own data, demonstrating that such perceptions are not limited to any one UN mission. Perennial reporting of the perception of intra-organizational discrimination suggests that UNV should examine and address the nature and extent of this unhealthy phenomenon.

United Nations Volunteers. (1999). Conditions of Service for International United Nations Volunteer Specialists.

This manual clearly describes the general roles and responsibilities of UNVs, vis-à-vis the mission in which they are working, in the overall context of the administering agency, United Nations Development Program. The framework for stipends, allowances, leave time, and other contract terms is described as well.

The handbook describes in the plainest terms the minimum suggested training that should be provided to each UNV, which includes the following:

§ Socio-economic development of the country, political structure etc.;

§ Culture of country of service;

§ UN system briefing;

§ Conduct and responsibilities of UN Staff, focus on UNVs;

§ Specific technical briefing for individual assignments;

§ UNV general procedures, miscellaneous in-country day to
day concerns;

§ Other trainings in exceptional circumstances;

§ Periodic meetings and workshops to enable experience exchange for UNVs.

One week to ten days should be considered for all in-country briefing and training programs upon arrival to the mission. Contrasted with the data from my survey, it is extremely clear that the UNV program in Kosovo is not meeting up to these standards for Volunteer preparation. UNVs are in many ways field ambassadors for the UN mission, as seen in Volunteers Against Conflict above; when these envoys are sent to a mission without a modicum of proper training, the example shown to Kosovars and to other organizations is one of ill-preparation and disregard.

Edelwich, J. (1980). Burnout. New York: Human Sciences Press.

Edelwich gives an in-depth look at the causes and effects of burnout in the helping professions. He describes burnouts stages, means by which to recognize this problem, and realistic methods with which it is effectively combated.

The author clarifies the corrosive danger of burned-out employees, and describes the contagion by which burnout spreads from client to employee, employee to employee, and employee to client (p. 25). The potential effects of burnout include employee indifference, cynicism, and continuous complaining.

Edelwich writes that hierarchal dead-ends, low pay, bad office politics, low appreciation from supervisors, and insufficient training are all strong causal factors leading to burnout. Each of these factors has been cited by UNVs in the open-ended negative aspects segment of the questionnaire; regardless of self-described moderate to high work satisfaction for UNVs, UNV should note that these elements, especially on a consistent basis, could lead to disease within the individual and the organization at large.

While the author asserts that training cannot ever perfectly predict and prepare employees for their work, it can fulfill one very important function: training can prepare the employee to be aware of the uncertainty common to the helping professions.

Letts, C. W.; Ryan, W. P.; & Grossman, A. (1999). High Performance Non-Profit Organizations. New York: John Wiley and Sons.

This book centers on the idea of organizational capacity as the root, and often the missing ingredient, of program and overall organizational success. While an organizations donors may see any investmentas deadweight costs that take away money from program beneficiaries, these authors contend that organizational capacity investments are vital to high performance. A key component of organizational capacity is adaptive capacity, which is concerned with attracting, retaining, and supporting the staff needed to deliver quality services. Other important issues raised in the book:

- The need for performance evaluations to test effectiveness of programs.

- The importance of a learning component of the organization, which develops and/or applies research on program efficacy.

- Accountability to concerned communities (in this case, UNDP partners and donors, Kosovars, the UN Mission in Kosovo, and UNVs themselves).

These points would indicate the importance for UNV to undertake an evaluation of the Kosovo mission, and apply the lessons learned from this work to improve the overall program, and to benefit the multitude of stakeholders listed above.

Rollins, T. & Roberts, D. (1998). Work Culture, Organizational Performance, and Business Success. Westport, CT: Quorum Books.

The authors describe work culture as an all-important element that determines many aspects of work environment and organizational success. They note a number of definitions of work culture from earlier research; citing Schein, work culture is briefly described as a pattern of shared basic assumptions[used to teach] new members as to the correct way to perceive, think, and feel. Additionally, office values and behavior are strongly influenced by the history of the organization.

Work culture is now seen as increasingly more important by managers, management scholars, and consultants (p.29). Key attributes of any functional work culture include:

- Establishing a clear and well-documented work process.

- Treating employees fairly and consistently.

- Participating in training and continuing education.

Rollins and Roberts continue by describing the importance of surveying employees, using case studies, and converting the gathered data into organizational improvements (p.179). Key factors to organizational success include:

- Better training programs,

- Responsive management, and

- Investment in employees.

Taking note of these suggestions, UNV would do well to review the feedback provided in the Kosovo UNV survey, and make changes to those areas (e.g. training, discrimination, and administrative support) which most hinder the successful functioning of the program.

Statistical Charts

1) Sudan, Canada (3), Republic of Ireland, Italy (9), Venezuela, United Kingdom (2), United States (5), Romania, Germany (2), Argentina, Jordan, Honduras, Hungary, Australia (2), Kenya (2), Spain (2), Poland, Cambodia (2), Iran, France, Phillipines (3), Zambia, Pakistan, Peru, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Nepal, Belgium, Ghana, Bangladesh, and Sweden.
2) Point score achieved by assigning three points for every rank of 1, two points for every rank of 2, and one point for every rank of 3.
3) These categories were not offered to participants as choices, but their frequency in responses led me to codify accordingly.
4) Notes on methodology and procedure: Pool administered a questionnaire as the research instrument, which often used a seven point Likert-scale descriptor, with ranges of moderately important or less (1) to extremely important (7) and strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (7). The author used a five point Likert-scale descriptor to evoke frequency responses, ranging from always (5) to never (1). I developed a questionnaire as my instrument of choice prior to the literature review, and had begun to develop similar Likert-scale response indicators. The discovery that Pool and others used this methodology reinforced my own intentions to gather data with a questionnaire and Likert scale.
The author also indicates that participation within his study was completely voluntary, and anonymity was offered as an option for the respondents (also the case for the Shaffer/Harrison survey). Similar to above I had originally planned to make these points clear to UNV participants, and have now been reassured of the value of doing so.
5) This article led me to provide a work motivation component within my own questionnaire, to try to establish exactly what rewards are perceived by UNVs for their work in Kosovo. As briefly touched on earlier, one reward not available to the UNV is job advancement: a few months after the mission began, a letter circulated from UN Personnel office stating that no UNV could considered for hire into the mission until eighteen months of service had been completed. Though on the surface this seems like an appropriate screening mechanism, eighteen months in Kosovo only to reach eligibility could likely have a negative effect on UNV job satisfaction and Volunteer retention.
6) Percentage constantly varies depending on date; in November 2000, there were 507 professional UN staff (John Adoboli, UNMIK Personnel Office, personal interview, 20 September 2000) and in early Spring 2001, there were approximately 240 UNVs in the UN Mission in Kosovo (Anduena Sarabregu, UNV Support Office, personal interview, 15 March 2001).