 | ISTR Sixth International Conference Toronto, Canada / July 11-14, 2004 Contesting Citizenship and Civil Society in a Divided World |
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Management models for non-profit organisations
by
Julia Montserrat
University Ramon Llull of Barcelona
1. The theoretical framework for organisational models of non-profit organisations Organisations need to manage and achieve their objectives, and to do that they need resources (human, economic, material, etc). Business organisation theories describe operative and management processes, and interaction, complexity and diversity between the same (Mintzberg, 1991; Metcalfe, 1996; Rodríguez y Rios, 2002).
However, there are few theories that describe the management models of non-profit making organisations and the differences between them and profit-making organisations. Certain authors use business theories to explain the operations of non-profit organisations, thereby developing theories for Third Sector organisations (Badelt, Ch, 1997). Others investigate different ways of organising non-profit operations in western societies. Sjöstrand (2000) proposes six types of organisational structure.
Kramer suggests the use of an inter-sector and multidisciplinary focus to describe the organisational models and behaviours of non-profit organisations. Weisbrod and others describe the different characteristics of the assets offered by the non-profit sector with respect to the assets provided by the State and Market, making this a starting point for the identification of organisational differences.
Most literature about the Third Sector analyses the causes that motivate the existence of this type of organisation based on different theories: State failure, market failure, the type of assets, the Welfare State, interdependence theories, etc (Salamon and Anheier, James, E, etc.). However, there is still very little theory to explain the causes of the different management and organisational styles of non-profit organisations and any differences in comparison with the Profit-Making Sector.
2. Research objectives and methodology The aim of this research is to identify theoretical organisational and management theories for non-profit organisations. The type of organisation that adopts a non-profit organisation is the consequence of several factors, including: the organisation’s objectives, the type of activity it is involved in, the size of the organisation, the level of development of the society in which it acts, the age of the organisation, etc.
The activities of non-profit organisations are highly conditioned to their objectives. A common factor between the objectives of NPOs is the desire to play a role in large social collectives, in the context of the social community, and to seek results that can improve the quality of collective life. In each country, and in each city, the movements of citizens and the objectives of NPOs are different, but they are all related to the spirit of citizen renovation and aim to promote a better nation and a better world in the areas of culture, sociology, ecology, services, etc. A common slogan for all of these could well be “A better world is possible”.
In order to achieve this “better world”, non-profit organisations should develop multiple activities. The need to communicate ideas and values, to demand rights, to make attitudes and behaviours more dynamic, can be added to the need to cover and satisfy the detected needs that are neither covered by the State nor the Market. This is when NPOs become involved in the need to manage services.
The differing natures of the objectives of non-profit organisations, the “management of ideas” or the “management of services”, lead to differences between the organisations that need them. Similarly, this affects the size of the budget, the abilities of the directors, information systems and, ultimately, the use of different management models to manage organisations.
The methodology used in the study is a semi-controlled survey of the presidents or managers of a sample of thirty organisations in Barcelona. This sample is representative of the number of bodies and the different activities they are involved in (humanitarian aid, cooperation with development, and environmental, cultural, health and education groups, etc.). A ‘cluster’ is applied to the results of the survey in order to identify the homogenous management groups.
3. Conclusions and relevance on an international level The data provided by the study aims to express the different characteristics of NPOs, which will therefore enable the identification of different types of organisations. The categorisation of organisations will enable us to demand economic information or legal and fiscal requirements depending on the capacity of the organisation.
Three organisational groups have been identified: those that “manage ideas”, those that “manage services” and those that “manage projects”. In each of the groups, differences can be identified with regard to: the objectives of the organisation, the characteristics of the activities it is involved in, the proportions of volunteers and professionals, the time-scale of the strategies used, the participation of professionals, relationships with “stakeholders”, types of funding, networking, the evaluation systems used, etc.
The interest of the study is to discover whether the characteristics that define the different management structures of non-profit organisations relate to reality. This involves empirical comparison of the theory exposed and the reality of non-profit organisations in Spain. The results of this research will provide the theoretical basis for a better understanding of the way these organisations work. Similarly, the results of the conceptual theoretical framework as shown for Spanish organisations can be compared to that of organisations in other countries in order to verify the similarities and differences between them.
Biographical details Julia Montserrat is an economist and professor of Economic theory at the Universidad Ramon Llull in Barcelona (Spain). My research includes “Sources for funding non-profit organisations” and “The size of the non-profit sector in Spain”. I am currently researching “The management models of non-profit organisations
Date received: September 26, 2003
Copyright © 2003 by the author(s). The author(s) of this document and the organizers of the conference have granted their consent to include this abstract in Atlas Conferences Inc. Document # camk-12.