(ISF) Re: An informal survey: Should nonprofit organizations be managed in the same way that for-pro

Dear ISF Colleagues,

Here are the current tallies in our survey:

===

"Should nonprofit organizations be managed in the same way that
for-profit organizations are managed?"

Yes, always 11% (8 votes)

Yes, sometimes 41% (29 votes)

No, sometimes not 13% (9 votes)

No, never 3% (2 votes)

Undecided 0% (0 votes)

This question is missing the point 32% (23 votes)

other 0% (0 votes)

Total Votes: 71

===

I note with great interest that NO ONE is undecided, and that 32% of
those surveyed think the question itself is wide of the mark.

If you haven't added your opinion to the survey yet, you can do that
by going to my blog:

<http://blog.deborah.elizabeth.finn.com/blog/_archives/2007/5/3/2922947.html>

Best regards from Deborah

Deborah Elizabeth Finn
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
deborah_elizabeth_finn%40post.harvard.edu">deborah_elizabeth_finnpost.harvard.edu
www.cyber-yenta.org

Recommended reading:
"Universal Declaration of Human Rights&quot;
<http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Universal_Declaration_of_Human_Rights>;

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Should nonprofit organizations be managed in the same way that for-profit organizations are managed?

This reminds me of the "Government should be run like a business&quot; mantra.

The rub is of course that the very people who use that mantra fail to understand it. If a business does not have the income it needs, then it does one of a few things, it raises the price, it lowers the cost of production, or it launches a new product and gets people to pay for that. Better yet it does all three. Whatever the business, the goal is to grow bigger and earn more.

But the "Government should be run like a business&quot; folks would never think of raising taxes (raising the price, earning more), or launching a new product then getting folks to pay for it (new program = new tax). The only option they look at is lowering costs and offering less for "product". And that sounds like the approach from, GM, Ford, etc leading them ever downwards (could it be said - Running a business like a Government?).

So if the translation was right, and Government was truly "run like a business&quot;, it might just be a good thing.

In the same way if the the concept of nonprofit organizations being managed in the same way that for-profit organizations are managed is not an all bad idea. It is all in the translation. What is the equivalent of a product? Who gets charged? What is quality? What is good management?

Clif

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Clif Graves Consulting
cgraves%40clifgraves.com">cgravesclifgraves.com -http://www.clifgraves.com
Phone: 207-512-2522

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