Management Roles in Nonprofit Organizations (Essay Sample)

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01 May 2014
Management Roles in Nonprofit Organizations
Introduction
Nonprofit organizations have taken the mandate of improving the social welfare of citizens in different countries. The organizations promote social welfare and civil integration, which aim at improving living standards of society through reduction of social evils and injustices. These organizations help in reducing the marginalization gap prevailing in the society due to various factors such as capitalism, nepotism, favors, and authoritarian leadership. Since nonprofit organizations do not engage in profit making business, they raise money for carrying out the organizational activities. The organizations can obtain funds and other resources from external donors, government, and members of the organization.
Nonprofit organizations require excellent management strategies to help in the growth of the organization. Previously, there was no application of modern management strategies in the nonprofit organizations. This is because the most of the management of nonprofit organizations was on a voluntary basis. Currently, the nonprofit organizations are applying modern business management skills in managing the aspects of the organizations. Some of the nonprofit organizations are employing expatriates and highly qualified professionals to manage the activities and projects of the organizations (Herman, 132). This transformation of management of the organizations has resulted in fast growth of many nonprofit organizations to multinational organizations. The large nonprofit organizations have presence more than 100 countries and implement multimillion projects across the globe (Herman, 137).
According to Wolf (167), there are four main functions in the management of nonprofit organizations. These include planning, controlling, leading, and organizing the resources of the organization (Wolf, 178). The management must develop plans for the implementation of the organization activities. The project implementation plans comprise both short-term and long-term plans, which align with the organization vision and mission. The managers of nonprofit organizations must also organize the resources effectively and efficiently to obtain optimum outputs from each unit of input (Wolf, 183). The managers must provide guidance to the employees and members of the nonprofit organization, which focus towards achieving the vision. Furthermore, the management must be competent in controlling the available resources to achieve excellent outcomes and enhance organizational growth.
There are different management levels within the nonprofit organizations. The development of the management levels helps to steer the growth of the organization through counterchecks. These management levels resemble the management levels in corporations. Most nonprofit organizations have management boards. The board comprises of external members that are not working in the organization (Ridder and Piening, 623). However, some of the top-level managers such as Chief Executive Officer, human resource manager, and senior accountant in the organization are part of the management board. The second level management includes the executive (Ridder and Piening, 625). The third level management includes the lower level managers that help in implementing the organization activities. The largest nonprofit organizations have middle level managers.
According to Ridder and Piening (608), regardless of the management levels within the nonprofit organizations, there are basic responsibilities that the management of both local and multinational organizations has to accomplish. These include developing work plans, recruitment of employees, overseeing the implementation of activities, reporting on the unfolding process of activities and accounting for the use of funds. Since nonprofit organizations have to account for the use of funds and have the desire to improve the social welfare of the beneficiaries, the organizations have to adopt modern management techniques. This research study evaluates different management roles of nonprofit organizations. The research study includes the research questions, literature review and research methodology.
Research Question
What are the management roles of the nonprofit organizations?
Do nonprofit organizations have unique management roles?
Literature Review
Although there are many researches regarding nonprofit organizations, the researches relating to management roles in the organizations are few. Many close researches focus on the management structure and strategies adopted in managing nonprofit organizations. Since this research study evaluates on management roles, there will be focus on existing management roles in corporations that are appropriate in managing nonprofit organizations. This is because there have also been changes in the management strategy of nonprofit organizations whereby many nonprofit organizations have adopted the corporations structure in the management (Herman, 78). This aims at transforming and enhancing growth in nonprofit organizations using the scarce resources available.
The changes in the management of nonprofit organizations are attributed to increased competition between nonprofit organizations that are delivering services in the same sector (Ridder and Piening, 611). The desire for the growth of the organization from local to regional and multinational levels also inspires the management of nonprofit organizations to adopt modern management methods (Ridder and Piening, 613). Moreover, the organizations must also account for the use of resources provided to both the donor and beneficiary of the project. This is because the success of one project provides a platform for lobbying extra funding from donors.
Planning
The management of nonprofit organizations must develop plans that will help in achieving the vision and mission of the organization (Wolf, 98). The management develops both short-term and long-term goals based on the project under implementation and outcome of the project. According to Herman (104), the nonprofit organizations must develop plans that align with the financial resources available, communicate with the organization stakeholders, and improve the community goodwill. In order to achieve these factors the organization must seek competent managers. When the manager achieves these factors, he will help in improving the growth of the organization.
Since nonprofit organizations employ competent business managers, the managers help in planning to obtain optimum output from limited resources. This is because nonprofit organizations tend to have fewer resources. The donors of funds want to see evidence of optimum use of the funds donated to the organization (Wolf, 112). In some cases, the donor requests for a strategic plan that outlines the use of the funds before releasing the funds to the organization. Herman (234) states that the strategic plan outlines the activities that the organization intends to do in the future. The strategic plan is also used in accounting for the use of funds. Therefore, the organization management must adhere to the plan presented when fundraising. The accountability of funds also makes managers of nonprofit organizations to develop appropriate plans for implementing their activities. The people assessing the performance of nonprofit organizations review the achieved outcomes in relation to the target outcomes in the plan (Wolf, 132). The managers must account for the financial and capital resources donated in order to get more donations. When the managers fail to account for the funds, this may result to blackmailing of the organization. This prevents the organization from accessing funds in the later years.
Organizing
Apart from planning, the management of nonprofit organizations must be competent in organizing the plans and resources available to the organization. Proper organization of resources results for achievement of optimum output for each input into the organization (Wolf, 187). Moreover, organizing refers to making logical decisions, delegation of duties, and assigning duties within the organization. The process of organizing resources, plans, and making decisions makes nonprofit organization similar to corporations (Herman, 202). According to Herman (205), when there is an effective and efficient organization of resources in a non-profit making organization, this increases the chances of getting funding from donors. Wolf (188), states that donors prioritize on organizations that provide high quality services when using the minimum resources available. Therefore, this aspect makes the nonprofit organizations adopt modern technologies and management strategies to improve efficiency.
Although many nonprofit organizations struggle with recruiting qualified employees, some organizations are employing competent staff and expatriates in the organization. This aims at ensuring the organization achieves the anticipated goals with the limited resources and time deadlines (Wolf, 188). This has resulted to shift of focus in some countries where people resign from a secured job in corporations and government to work with nonprofit organizations. Although the nonprofit organizations may lack job security, they have competitive salaries and allowances as compared to corporations and government. The improvement of social welfare also triggers some people to shift from secured employment to contract employment in nonprofit organizations.
Leadership
Nonprofit organizations must have excellent leadership to transform the organization. Apart from the application of exemplary management skills, the managers of nonprofit organizations must demonstrate leadership qualities. This involves leading the staff, board and project beneficiaries towards achieving the organization's vision (Ritson, 36). Excellent manager...