Strategic Management for Nonprofit Organizations

Context and Nonprofit Human Resource Management

“…NPOs operate in an environment characterized by multiple stakeholders who directly impact and are impacted by the mission, strategy, operation, structure, products, services, and performance of the organization (Herman & Renz, 2004; Quarter et al, 2009; Speckbacher, 2003). Stakeholders are very important to NPOs to the point that these organizations cannot afford to alienate anyone (Courtney, 2002). Stakeholders from employees, volunteers, and board members in the internal environment to clients, government, funding organizations, advocacy groups, and the public in the external environment have varying degrees of expectations and goals for the nonprofit enterprise.…”

“…However, the increased economic and social contribution of NPOs coupled with the key drivers of change in their operating environment such as competition and accountability have emphasized the need for nonprofit Article Akingbola 975 managers to embrace strategic management to effectively manage human resources (Akingbola, 2006). In fact, managers and academics alike are not only emphasizing the importance of strategy but they are also increasingly recognizing the need for strategy to reflect the complex environment of the sector (Akingbola, 2005;Courtney, 2002;Stone, Bigelow, & Crittenden, 1999). This need is perhaps most evident in nonprofit human resource management (NHRM).…”

Complementarities Between Stakeholder Management and Participative Management: Evidence From the Youth Care Sector

“…As stakeholder identification has barely been studied yet in youth care, we have drawn on the broader area of stakeholder management in the nonprofit sector, with examples of classification of stakeholders from a university (Mainardes, Alves, & Raposo, 2012) and hospitals (Daake & Anthony, 2000). Courtney (2002) identified the following stakeholders in the nonprofit sector: customers or users of the services, members of the organization, public governmental financiers, individual or private business financiers, staff, volunteers, the management, referrals from other organizations who send customers, regulatory authorities, and society. Boulanger and Smets (2008) mentioned similar stakeholders in the public and nonprofit sector.…”

Implementation Through Risk Mitigation

“…Thompson and Strickland (1980) emphasize the dependence of strategy implementation on motivation supported by an appropriate reward system and, importantly, by a leadership approach that strengthens, trusts, and involves the organization’s employees in decision making. Courtney (2002) note that this approach, with its emphasis on active participation of employees in the decision-making process, should be even more dominant in the nonprofit sector with its emphasis on egalitarian values. In a survey by Stone, Bigelow, and Crittenden (1999) of research in the area of strategic processes in nonprofits, it is noted that very little research has focused directly on implementation of strategic plans in the nonprofit sector.…”

“…These guidelines include, for example, the requirement that members of the NPO participate in the planning phase to ensure their motivation during the implementation phase, the need to build detailed plans based on the strategic goals identified during planning, and the use of budget and control mechanisms. Other nonprofit researchers have identified the need for flexibility in the execution, monitoring, and evaluation of the implementation process (Bryson, 2004; Courtney, 2002; Koteen, 1991). An exception to the prescriptive approach is a case study by Fillipovitch (2004).…”