In the Pursuit of Practical Solutions and “Satisficing” Performance: The Case of Israel’s Nonprofit Human Services

Rita Mano

Abstract


Evaluating performance in nonprofit human services remains an ongoing empirical and conceptual challenge. Here, we introduce the concept of "satisficing" to capture the influence of intra- and inter- organizational factors on performance. We contend that the combination of organizational age and size, which shapes an organization’s complexity and dependency, will define the balance between social and economic criteria. Further, we contend that this definition will ultimately enable nonprofit human services to reach a satisficing level of management practices. More importantly, we contend that a practical compromise between social and economic performance determines whether satisficing performance is possible though practical solutions so that both effective attainment of the organizational mission and efficient management practices are possible with little risk of goal displacement.


Full Text:

PDF

References


Abzug, R., & Webb, N. J. (1999). Relationships between nonprofit and for-profit organizations: A stakeholder perspective. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 28(4), 416-431. https://doi.org/10.1177/0899764099284003

Balser, D., & McClusky, J. (2005). Managing stakeholder relationships and non profit organization effectiveness. Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 15(3), 295-315. https://doi.org/10.1002/nml.70

Baruch, Y., & Ramalho, N. (2006). Communalities and distinctions in the measurement of organizational performance and effectiveness across for-profit and nonprofit sectors. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 53, 456-501. https://doi.org/10.1177/0899764005282468

Calabrese, T. (2013). Running on Empty: The Operating Reserves of U.S. Nonprofit Organizations. Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 23(3), 281-302. https://doi.org/10.1002/nml.21064

Camarero, C., & Garrido, M. (2009). Improving museums performance through custodial, sales and customer orientations. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 38(5), 847-867. https://doi.org/10.1177/0899764008319230

Carlson, J., Kelley, A. S., & Smith, K. (2010). Government performance reforms and nonprofit human services: 20 Years in Oregon. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 39(4), 630-652. https://doi.org/10.1177/0899764009360824

Carnochan, S. M., Samples, M. M., & Austin, M. (2014). Performance measurement challenges in nonprofit human service organizations Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 43(6), 1014-1032. https://doi.org/10.1177/0899764013508009

Charnes, A., Cooper, W. W., Lewin, A. Y., & Seiford, L. M. (Eds.). (2013). Data envelopment analysis: Theory, methodology, and applications. Springer Science & Business Media.

Chikoto, G. L., & Halicki, M. (2013). Contextual factors and negotiating spaces: exploring the emergence of nonprofit and hybrid voluntary organizations Nonprofit Management & Leadership, 23(3), 34-62. https://doi.org/10.1002/nml.21065

Child, C. D., & Grønbjerg, K. A. (2007). Nonprofit advocacy organizations: Their characteristics and activities. Social Science Quarterly, 88(1), 259-281.‏ https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6237.2007.00457.x

Costa, L. D. F., Oliveira Jr, O. N., Travieso, G., Rodrigues, F. A., Villas Boas, P. R., Antiqueira, L., & Correa, R. L. E. (2011). Analyzing and modeling real-world phenomena with complex networks: a survey of applications. Advances in Physics, 60(3), 329-412.‏ https://doi.org/10.1080/00018732.2011.572452

Coupet, J. (2018). Exploring the link between government funding and efficiency in nonprofit colleges. Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 29(1), 65–81. https://doi.org/10.1002/nml.21309

‏Coupet, J., & Haynie, J. L. (2018). Toward a valid approach to nonprofit efficiency measurement. Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1002/nml.21336

Fabak, R. (2010). Complexity in organizations and environment - adaptive changes: An adaptive decision-making Interdisciplinary Description of Complex Systems, 8(1), 34-48.

Garrow, E. E., & Hasenfeld, Y. (2014). Institutional logics, moral frames, and advocacy: explaining the purpose of advocacy among Nonprofit Human-Service organizations, Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 43(1), 80-98. https://doi.org/10.1177/0899764012468061

Golden, S., Longhofer, W., & Winchester, D. (2009). Nonprofits in need. Contexts, 8(3), 14-15. https://doi.org/10.1525/ctx.2009.8.3.14

Herman, R., & Renz, D. (2008). Advancing nonprofit organizational effectiveness research and theory: Nine theses. Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 18(4), 399-415. https://doi.org/10.1002/nml.195

Lecy, J. D., Schmitz, H. P., & Swedlund, H. (2012). Non-governmental and not-for-profit organizational effectiveness: A structured literature review. VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary Nonprofit Organizations, 23(2), 434-457. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-011-9204-6

LeRoux, K., & Wright, N. (2010). Does performance measurement improve strategic decision making? Findings form a national survey of nonprofit social service agencies. Nonprofit & Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 39(4), 571-587. https://doi.org/10.1177/0899764009359942

Libby, P. P., Deitrich, L., & Mano, R. (2017). Lobbying practices in Israel’s advocacy groups: An assessment of the Libby-Lobbying Model; In Mano, R. (Ed.) Nonprofit management in transition, Administrative Sciences, 3, 45-53.

Liket, K. M., Rey-Garcia, & Maas, K. H. (2014). Why aren’t evaluations working and what to do about it: A framework for negotiating meaningful evaluation in nonprofits American Journal of Evaluation, 35(2), 171-188. https://doi.org/10.1177/1098214013517736

Mano, R. (2010). Organizational crisis, adaptation, and innovation in Israel's nonprofit organizations: A learning approach, Administration in Social Work, 34(4), 344-350. https://doi.org/10.1080/03643107.2010.500985

Mano, R. (2011). Predicting organizational development in Israel’s nonprofit human services: the effects of organizational context, structure and geographic location, Journal of Health and Human Services Administration, 31, 27-37.

Mano, R. (2015). Complexity and Crisis in Human Services, LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing, Saarbrücken, Germany ISBN 978-3-659-76000-6.

Mano, R. S. (2014). Social media and online health services: A Health Empowerment perspective to online health information. Computers in Human Behavior, 39, 404-412. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2014.07.032

March, J. G., & Simon, H. A. (1958). Organizations. New York: John Wiley and Sons.

McWilliams, A., Parhankangas, A., Coupet, J., Welch, E., & Barnum, D. T. (2016). Strategic decision making for the triple bottom line. Business Strategy and the Environment, 25(3), 193-204.‏ https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.1867

Mitchell, G. E., & Calabrese, T. D. (2018). Proverbs of nonprofit financial management. The American Review of Public Administration. https://doi.org/10.1177/0275074018770458

O'Toole, Jr, L. J., & Meier, K. J. (2011). Public management: Organizations, governance, and performance. Cambridge University Press.‏ https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511784040

Pajunen, K. (2006). Stakeholder influences in organizational survival. Journal of Management Studies, 43(6), 1261-1288. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6486.2006.00624.x

Pfeffer, J., & Salancik, G. (1978). The external control of organizations: A resource dependent perspective. New York: Harper & Row.

Pugh, D. S., & Hickson, D. J. (1976). Organization structure in its context: The Aston program. Lexington, MA: Heath, Lexington Books.

Radiah, O., & Norli, A. (2014). NPO, Internal controls, and supervision mechanisms in a developing country, VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 25(1), 201-224. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-012-9335-4

Ramanath, R. (2009). Limits to institutional isomorphism. Examining internal processes in NGO- government interactions. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 38(1), 51-76. https://doi.org/10.1177/0899764008315181

Rowley, T. J. (1997). Moving beyond dyadic ties – A Network Theory of stakeholders‟ influences. Academy of Management Review, 22(4), 887 – 903. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1997.9711022107

Schmid, H., & Almog-Bar, M. (2016). Correlates of trisectoral partnerships in the human services: Implications for policy and practice. Human Service Organizations: Management, Leadership & Governance, 40, 189-192. https://doi.org/10.1080/23303131.2015.1117557

Schmid, H., Bar, M., & Nirel, R. (2008). Advocacy activities in nonprofit human service organizations: Implications for policy. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 37(4), 581-603. https://doi.org/10.1177/0899764007312666

Verbruggen, S., Christiaens, J., & Milis, K. (2011). Can resource dependence and coercive isomorphism explain nonprofit organizations’ compliance with reporting standards? Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 40(1), 5-32.‏ https://doi.org/10.1177/0899764009355061

Wadongo, Β. Μ., & Magdy, A-K. (2014). Contingency theory, performance management and organizational effectiveness in the third sector, International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, 63(6), 680 – 703. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPPM-09-2013-0161




DOI: https://doi.org/10.5296/jpag.v9i2.14982

Copyright (c) 2019 Rita Mano

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Journal of Public Administration and Governance  ISSN 2161-7104

Email: jpag@macrothink.org

Copyright © Macrothink Institute

To make sure that you can receive messages from us, please add the 'macrothink.org' domain to your e-mail 'safe list'. If you do not receive e-mail in your 'inbox', check your 'bulk mail' or 'junk mail' folders. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------