And here goes a provocative subtitle! What can businesses learn from nonprofits?
- Important reference to the administrative leadership of CSOs.
- Agile strategy and effectiveness of boards of directors in CSOs.
- Relevant motivation and productivity of volunteers and full-time collaborators in CSOs.
References
In the chronicle of the genesis of the CSOs multiple stories and theories concur about its emergence in Mexico; Several researchers agree that the process of birth and consolidation of the civil society contemporary is parallel to its own democratic transition, which was marked by certain key moments, such as the student repression of 1968, the response to the earthquake of 1985 and the uprising of the EZLN in 1994; however, there is information from the North American organization Appleseed about the origin of organized civil society in Mexico, exposing in their communiqués that it has had a long process of development, which according to them, can be divided into three stages that date from the period from 1850 to 1919; You will find details in this link of your Webpage.
Write or talk about CSOs it is like trying to precisely define the concept of life. This is thorny to define, since depending on the discipline in which we place ourselves, various answers will be obtained that can even be antagonistic to each other; Thus, dozens of questions and answers arise regarding the CSOsfrom the need for its existence, which some call foolishness, to understanding the reasons for the motivation of its volunteers to participate without receiving remuneration, who go as far as making contributions and passionately recruiting them and those associated with their causes, and of course of the incomprehensible way of subsisting in its operation and administration, in a word, of its survival, without knowing that today the CSOscould teach many companies what it means to survive from adversity.
The context of CSOs in Mexico
“Mexico is located in low levels of associative density; there are 33 organizations for every 100,000 inhabitants, in the United States 670, Chile, 670, Argentina 270 and Brazil 170. However, the CSOs in Mexico they are an important network which groups, according to figures from the Directory of Philanthropic Institutions of the Mexican Center for Philanthropy (Cemefi), more than 45,000 associations”.
As an illustration we present the following image that refers to the classification of CSOs in Mexico, this according to the parameters defined in the publications of the CEMEFI and supported by the existing legal framework in Mexico.
Root of the provocative title.
For those who are unaware of the activity carried out by civil society organizations (CSOs), the title of the article “What business can learn from non-profit” (What Can Businesses Learn from Nonprofits?) might seem laughable and even contemptible, especially in the eyes of some leaders and executives. However, when we “close the curtain” and show that said title was the one that headed the cover of the magazine “Harvard Business Review” in its July–August 1989 edition and that the author is Peter F Drucker (1909–2005), possibly the expressions will change or at least pay attention and time to the reading of this collaboration where we point out and reflect on the article referring to the CSOs by the management master.
In reality, businessmen and their directors judge that the management of a CSOs is more assimilated to the activity of ask for money at the door of a church that the arduous and demanding mastery of directing a CSOs (This mainly if it is a foundation or a professional group, not so with the chambers and the business or employer groups or confederations themselves); in this regard Peter Druker slams his hand on the table and writes: “his arrogance – referring to entrepreneurs and managers- it prevents them from realizing that running a non-profit organization is a lot more complicated than selling detergents.”
In the introduction of the article Peter Drucker refers to three important organizational concepts, which are contemplated in his book in the English language “Managing the non-profit Organization”.
- Administrative leadership of CSOs.
- Strategy and effectiveness of its boards of directors.
- Motivation and productivity of your volunteers and full-time collaborators.
Druker’s three variables in CSOs.
Three important variables exist in the reflections of Drucker which require a management and operation with efficiency, effectiveness and quality What are the beginning in a unique task referred to the management within the non-profit organizations which causes them to find themselves with a very complex management above the challenges faced by lucrative companies. The following image highlights all three:
These three variables will allow us to support Druker’s statement about the administration, operation and productivity of CSOs, the first will be treated in this collaboration, the other two will be broken down in later articles.
Mission and its requirements
“In CSOs what can be productive is a clear sense of mission and based on that, focus on results.”
There is a challenge in the CSOs, this consists of fundraising, which is accentuated in these times of animosity towards their existence by the declarations of the federal executive, as well as by the fiscal modifications generated by the federal government in Mexico, limiting the support that natural and legal persons give and could give, causing them to have much less resources than they need.
It is important to point out that CSOs do not design their strategy in financial budgets, they are not even the center of their programs as established in companies by corporate executives; Therefore, the norm is reasoned austerity based on organization, leadership, responsibility and results.
Specifically, contrary to corporate planning based on financial profitability, CSOs start with the following principles:
Fulfillment of the mission and its requirements:
This speaks to the importance of focusing on clear goals and implications for the work your members do, both full-time staff and volunteers. This requires a well-defined mission statement that serves as a reminder of the need to look outside the organization not only for grantees, sponsors, volunteers, etc., but also at measures of its success.
Peter Druker leads us to reflect on the need to avoid the temptation to be satisfied with the “goodness of the cause”, substituting good intentions in the place of “results”, that is why successful CSOs have learned to clearly define what actions outside the organization generate “results” and focus on them.
Having a well defined mission will stimulate creative ideas and support others to understand why it is necessary to apply them, however much they go against tradition, such a mission will allow CSOs to focus on action.
action-focused CSOs.
As an example, Druker points to the action-focused goal which emanates from the mission: The Salvation Army, its fundamental purpose is to convert the outcasts of society (alcoholics, criminals, derelicts) into citizens.
Non-profit organizations (CSOs) approach actions based on their mission, their purpose, they do not do it like for-profit companies that start internally with the organization, with the expected economic returns. These insights are just the beginning of what businesses can learn from nonprofits.
Note: In the following collaborations we will deal with the financing system and the clients (associates, volunteers, donors, etc.).