"Great Cause/Unethical Organization"
in Virginia Beach, VA
Doesn't Recommend
Negative Outlook
Disapproves of CEO
I have been working at Operation Smile for more than 3 years
Pros
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Get to travel around the world.
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Work next to dedicated individuals who believe in the cause.
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Create relationships with talented volunteers from around the world.
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The work looks great on a resume and a lot of people have gone on to bigger and better things.
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Usually extra holiday time for the year.
Cons
There have already been so many reviews that cover this information, but it's worth stating again. It’s apparent that so many of the issues we face are a result of an egocentric founder that has created an atmosphere where self-centered people believe that their work justifies unethical behavior. Its hard to believe that people that work for such an important cause can be arrogant narcissists.
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Upper management overworks their employees and then uses that to “look good” in front of the founder and CEO. They push young, passionate employees until they are burnt out then move on to the next batch. It's a continuous cycle, and the high turn over rates doesn't matter to them because there are always new passionate, idealistic individuals who want to make a difference in the world but don't realize what they need to sacrifice to do it.
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There have been many times where leadership has made mistakes, costing the organization hundreds of thousands of dollars. However, no one gets reprimanded, and the behavior continues. No successful organization runs this way.
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The only way to advance in the organization is to kiss up to a Magee. One day new leadership will take over. But I can tell you one thing if their last name is Magee than they will have the same narcissistic attitude.
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I personally have witnessed bribery of international officials in other countries.
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There is regularly mistreatment of patient information such as carrying patient information out of countries that prohibit it.
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Other employees hand carry items that should only be shipped, and leadership tells them to show pictures of the kids we help to pass through customs.
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One last important aspect of the organization is their unethical treatment of donor money. There are frequent happy hours which include kegs, wine, and food, despite a financial crisis which has cost people their jobs. One way they make their numbers look so much better is calculating surgeons, anesthesiologist, and nurses volunteer time as a “gift in kind.” Thus it gets a dollar amount associated with it. No other organization does this. In fact its the reason you won't find Operation Smile listed on sites like charity navigator. Also spending millions of dollars on producing a television segment for raising donations and then classifying it as a programmatic expense since it is “educational.” Then why was it produced by the fundraising department and not the education department? Because just like many things in the organization, it is a smokescreen to cover the real motivation. There is a saying that if someone is nice to you but rude to their waiter, they are not a nice person. Well, it doesn’t matter how many times a person tears up talking about their cause to a donor. Look at how they treat people. The Magee family only treats people well if you have something to give them.
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Advice to Management
Pick up an updated business or leadership book. Everything we are doing is the example of what not to do.
Stop mistreating employees. The high turnover rate is because you are wringing out passionate young people and it's getting old.
Have everyone named Magee realize they are not as great as they think they are and stop being so conceited.