Suchergebnisse

AbstractHigh‐Performance Nonprofit Organizations: Managing Upstream for Greater Impact, by Christine W. Letts, Allen Grossman, and William P. Ryan. Wiley, 1998. 207 pp. $29.95 cloth.
Mission‐Based Management: Leading Your Not‐for‐Profit into the Twenty‐First Century, by Peter C. Brinckerhoff. New York: Wiley, 1998. 258 pp. $51.95 cloth.
Financial Empowerment: More Money for More Mission, by Peter C. Brinckerhoff. New York: Wiley, 1998. 238 pp. $51.95 cloth.
Mission‐Based Marketing: How Your Not‐for‐Profit Can Succeed in a More Competitive World, by Peter C. Brinckerhoff. New York: Wiley, 1998. 214 pp. $51.95 cloth.

AbstractDrawing on the general literature on organizational effectiveness, the specialized literature on nonprofit organizational effectiveness, and recent research in the field, this article advances nine theses, or conclusions, about the effectiveness of public benefit charitable, nonprofit organizations (NPOs). NPO effectiveness is (1) always comparative, (2) multidimensional, (3) related to board effectiveness (but how is not clear), (4) related to the use of correct management practices but not in any simple "best practices" way, and (5) a social construction. Furthermore, (6) it is unlikely that there are any universally applicable best practices that can be prescribed for all NPO boards and management, (7) organizational responsiveness is a useful organizational‐level effectiveness measure, (8) distinguishing among types of NPOs is important and useful, and (9) level of analysis makes a difference in researching and understanding effectiveness. The article concludes by considering implications for organizational practice, boards and governance practices, program evaluation, including program outcomes assessment, and capacity building and capacity builders.

Drawing on a survey of 88 alumni of a master of public administration program with a long-standing emphasis in nonprofit management, this article addresses three questions: (a) Are alumni who are more satisfied with their careers more satisfied with course work? (yes, substantially); (b) is reported learning in nonprofit management course work related to satisfaction with career and with graduate program? (yes, to some degree); and (c) is alumni satisfaction with careers and graduate program more strongly related to extent of learning in some areas rather than others? (yes). Implications for curricular content of nonprofit management programs are considered, particularly the sort of enterprise nonprofit management education is (and the sort it should be). We conclude by suggesting that nonprofit management education distinctiveness is based on its moral imperative and urge some consideration of such in curricular design.

This study investigates whether nonprofit organizational effectiveness is judged consistently by differing constituencies and whether changes in board effectiveness and overall organizational effectiveness (judged by differing constituencies) are the result of changes in the use of practices regarded as the "right way" to manage. The results show that different constituencies judged the effectiveness of nonprofit organizations differently, at both periods; that a change in the use of correct board practices over time, controlling for board effectiveness at time 1, was not related to board effectiveness at time 2; and that a change in the use of correct management practices, controlling for organizational effectiveness at time 1, was not related to organizational effectiveness at time 2, except for board members. Implications of the results are considered. Claims about best practices for nonprofit boards and organizations must be evaluated more critically. Finding the right fit among practices is more important than doing things the "right way.

This study reviews evidence in support of the hypothesis that nonprofit organizations'effectiveness is related to the effectiveness of their boards of directors. It also asks whether various recommended board practices and processes affect board effectiveness. The study focuses on a subset of especially effective and less effective nonprofit organizations from a larger sample. The results show that the especially effective organizations (as judged by multiple stakeholders) have more effective boards (as judged by different multiple stakeholders) and that the more effective boards use significantly more of a set of recommended board practices. The results also show that nonprofit organizations using more of the prescribed board practices are also more likely to use other correct procedures. The results support the practical implication of urging the dissemination and adoption of the recommended practices.