#EoF: The Stories - Venezuelan researcher Eveling Sánchez Mendoza is working on youth emergency: between rising unemployment and exploitation
by Maria Gaglione
published in Avvenire on 07/03/2020
"In Venezuela, the economic crisis has worsened and the number of people in poverty has increased in recent years. The country's economy,” explains Eveling Sánchez Mendoza, “is highly dependent on oil, of which it is one of the main producers and exporters in the world, and the same its true for some other mineral resources. But the exploitation of the deposits is creating irreversible damage to our common home, Mother Earth. I do not intend to surrender to despair, instead, I want to be part of the solution and propose alternatives that seek the common good”.
We think Eveling is probably an activist involved in some organization and, expecting a different answer, we ask her what she does. "Management. In particular, I am conducting research on management sustainability at the Central University of Venezuela. The strategies adopted by the companies follow guidelines established by the "top managers" of the companies that focus on achieving the objectives predefined by the vision of the organization. These management strategies are well designed and continuously monitored. My study investigates precisely the key criteria that allow efficient design and the monitoring of management strategies in certain types of companies (audit firms) to ensure effective business management. I tried to identify the main models and key elements needed to design and monitor the strategies adopted by financial services companies. I also studied the mechanisms used by senior management to define strategies and to describe the evaluation criteria used. For the companies I have studied, having key criteria to carry out a complete evaluation of their management is an indispensable tool to measure results and recognize the main causes that can lead to failures, to seek answers that re-orient decision-making processes and to take appropriate corrective measures, also in terms of managerial responsibility and sustainability". Eveling's studies allow us to make a broader consideration in an area that is little reflected on nowadays. Many economists say that if we do not change the paradigm quickly, we will destroy not only the planet, but also the common goods and relational goods.
This reflection leads us to consider environmental unsustainability as a phenomenon that also speaks of other types of unsustainability. For example, corporate governance. On the one hand, there are many young people who do not work, on the other hand there are too many who work too much, exploited by a way of understanding management and by the company that subjects them to unsustainable and accelerated rhythms. If, therefore, companies do not reconsider their internal working relationships, if they do not free space and time for workers by redesigning management to a personal scale, it is extremely difficult for them to respect and save the planet. "I feel that the spirituality of Francis,” concludes Eveling, “continues to inspire men and women in so many areas of life and work; people who want to make their lives a gift for others, especially for those who are considered the last ones. I too would like my life to be generative of beautiful and useful commitments for the people I meet. And as a researcher and scholar I want to put my work at the service of my most vulnerable brothers and sisters. I want to build a new economy”.