UnternehmensGeist

Bei UnternehmensGeist kommt es viel zu selten vor, dass Themen noch einmal aufgegriffen werden. Umso mehr freut es mich, auf den Beitrag “Das Management gemeinnütziger Organisationen ist komplexer als das kommerzieller Unternehmen!” vom 09.12.2009 verweisen zu können.

In der Zeitschrift Economist beschreibt die Schumpeter-Kolumne (“Profiting from non-profits”), warum auch “Business” von “Charity” lernen kann. Gemeinnützige Organisationen – so auch der Eindruck des Economist-Artikels – sollten sich bisher eher professionalisieren, also an betriebswirtschaftlichen Gesichtspunkten ausrichten. Die Schumpeter-Kolumne zeigt auf, was “Charity” auf Augenhöhe mit “Business” bringt:

It helps that they tend to have a clear purpose to which these underpaid employees and volunteers are often personally committed.

They often have a flat management structure. Non-profit bosses tend to muck in with volunteers when the heat is on (you’ll find them, for example, helping to stuff goody bags for fund-raising events).

New employees are quickly given real responsibility, even if they are young.

Ensuring there is plenty of time during the working week for genuine fun, not of the forced kind satirised in “The Office”, can deliver better results than a bonus.

The marketing prowess of many leading non-profits tends to derive from the fact that, unlike most for-profits, they have to persuade people to part with money for goods or services that are used by others. A lot of effort goes into convincing these donors that they are getting value for their money. The key is to focus on building long-term relationships based on frequent contact, repeatedly saying thank you and sending updates through newsletters.