TERM PAPER

Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the

completion of a course on

Organization Management

Competencies Required in a Member of a

Non-Profit Organisation for its success

Under the guidance of: Submitted By:

Professor Vinayshil Gautam Sukhvinder Singh Bhatia

2010SMF6521
sukhvinder.bhatia@dmsiitd.org

DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES

INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, DELHI

Abstract

The world is changing and so are the design and dimension of the organisations. Today, the
organisations are experiencing a new challenge in terms of bearing the burden of incompetent
members, who neither contribute nor let others add value to the organisational endeavours. This
paper specifically tries to analyse and answer various challenges that a Non Profit Organisation has
to face on the similar lines.

For an Organisation, it is important to identify and compare its actual level with its desired level of
performance. Performance here could be interpreted as meaning the competencies and attitudes
necessary for staff to do the job or contribute towards the goal in an effective manner. No doubt that
Capability and discipline are the two pillars on which an organisation and its success rests.

Thus it is imperative to analyse what fits best in the framework of an organisation from the point of
view of the members. There has to be a near perfect, if not perfect, match between the member and
the organisational framework so as to ensure value addition for both the stakeholders. The paper tries
to focus upon the specific set of competencies that are desired in a member of A Non-Profit
Organisation for ensuring its success and helping it fulfil its goal and meet its vision.

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Contents

Title Page

Competencies- a misnomer vi

Organisations - a social entity viii

Understanding Non Profit Organisations ix

Competencies and Organisational Success x

Competency Mapping- in context of Non Profit Organisations xi

Competencies desired in a Member of a Non Profit Organisation xii

Conclusion xx

References xxi

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List of Figures

S.No. Title Page

1 Concept of Talent subset and an organisation Vi

2 The basic framework of employee (member)- organisation fit Vii

3 The Living Systems Theory of Organisations – J. miller, highlighting the fact Viii
that an organisation is a social entity

4 What a NON - PROFIT ORGANIZATION is… X

5 Skill Chain model Xi

6 Competency Mapping Xi

7 Skills Inventory Chart Xii

8 Organisation structure of S.W.Society Xiii

9 The fund raising universe Xvi

10 The advantages of having members with HN & A Xvii

11 Dynamism and focus Xix

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List of Exhibits

S.No. Title Page

1 Talent, capability and competency Viii

2 Exhibit 2: Only enthusiasm??? Xv

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Competency – a misnomer?

People are endowed with myriad forms of talents, one often different and diverse from the other. They bring
these talent subsets along with them as they become a part of another entity which integrates various such
individuals. This entity can be termed as an Organization. The formal definition of an organisation will be
presented later on when the topic of non- Profit Organisation and their framework will be introduced. Coming
back to the talent subset, an entity e.g. an organisation becomes enriched or so should be said, with a
kaleidoscope of different talents.

Fig 1. Concept of Talent subset and an organisation.

As shown in the fig.1 there are different Talent Subsets (Ts). Each person say person P brings with himself a
Talent subset „Ts P‟. So when he along with many others who are differently endowed than him, come
together to be a part of an organisation, an amalgamation has to occur. This amalgamation is preceded by the
formation of an imaginary Talent Funnel which marks the stage when people from diverse backgrounds and
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with different Talent Subsets tend to come together. After their proximity increases they tend to amalgamate
into a super set. This gives rise to an entity where different talents amalgamate- the organisation. But one
important point of consideration still remains; Talent is something one has been gifted with. It is a natural
ability on part of a human being to do something well.

But Nature alone is not responsible for the shaping up of human behaviour and personality. Nurture also plays
an important part. This is marked by the fact that the human brain is programmed to learn as well. Here comes
the word capability- being equipped with qualities that is necessary for accomplishing a particular task.
Learning plays the part of a significant contributor in terms of acquiring certain qualities that makes one a
capable person to accomplish that particular endeavour. Ultimately what matters is the capabilities, because in
the end, a person as such is not hired but his capabilities are hired. Moving a step ahead, the capabilities when
properly nurtured make a person competent enough in delivering his best.

Fig. 2 The basic framework of employee (member) - organisation fit.

Competency in a particular domain implies the ability to do something well to a certain extent that the set
standards to measure the performance are fully met.

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Exhibit 1: Talent, capability and competency.

As described in Exhibit 1, Competency is the ultimate stage that a person can acquire in a particular skill-set.
However various superlatives can be added to it in order to enhance its efficacy as a concept. Armed with this
minuscule piece of information, it is time to move towards organisation as an entity paving the way for Non-
Profit Organisations.

Organisations- A social Entity

Human needs are many and most of the times they cannot be satiated by personal efforts. If each one of us
were in a position to satisfy all our individual needs with absolutely no support from others, it would have
been possible to live without organisations. But practically that is not the case. So organisations are
fundamental to human existence.

Fig3. The Living Systems Theory of Organisations – J. miller, highlighting the fact that an organisation is a
social entity.

Organisation is formed by a group of people who come together for fulfilling specific objectives. The
formation of organizations is perhaps the most natural trait of human beings. Organisations eventually have
become important instruments to meet our sociological needs. Hence organisations have been rightly
described as a social entity.

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The very act of organisations obviously results in defining the roles of individual members. And with these
roles comes the responsibility to satisfy one‟s assignments as a member of an organisation. Here again
competencies come into picture. Before taking that issue, Non- Profit Organisations warrant a detailed
explanation.

Understanding Non-Profit Organisations

Despite the tremendous size and impact of the non-profit sector, it is not well understood by most people.
Suppose you asked someone, “What is a lion?” and the person answered, “A lion is a non-elephant.” One
would probably find the answer unsatisfactory. Yet the term Non-Profit Organisation describes something that
is not something else- it suggests a business enterprise not organised to make a profit. But it tells very little
about the essential characteristics of such an entity.

It is not a piece-of-cake type approach when one attempts to define Non-Profit Organisations and this is partly
responsible for making their management such a difficult task fraught with challenges and problems. The
issues, moreover, are nebulous in nature as far as NON - PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS are concerned. This is
so because they are related to a more abstract concept of Public Service. But again this is not true in entirety
as many Country Clubs and Labour Unions are not organized to serve the common man.

They are also different from Public Agencies in the sense that their constituency of action may be far more
limited than the public agency working in the same field. People say that money making is not the purpose of
such organisations, but again it can be countered saying that many of such organisations are quite
entrepreneurial in nature, e.g. a zoo or a community centre.

However, a NON - PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS neither falls under the profit sector nor under the public
sector but sits somewhere in the middle of the two. This allows greater flexibility in its operation and also
requires a greater skill in managing such organisations.

However, these entities should not be called as NON - PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS:-

1. Entities that have been set up to make profit but are failing to do so.
2. Organisations that are governed informally by a collection of people who, they have banded together
to serve some public good; have been granted no special status by federal and state authorities.
3. Organisations that do not have a public purpose.

It is important to cite examples in order to better the understanding of what is not a NON - PROFIT
ORGANIZATIONS.

For entities listed under point 1, certain small scale initiatives that earlier were set up with an entrepreneurial
intent but later failed to capture profits due to changing trends and competition from the bigger players.

For entities listed under point 2, many religious organisations like committees governing the management of
Religious places which has not been duly registered with the authorities should not be classified as NON -
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PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS. Obviously, the donations to such organisations cannot be counted for tax
deductions but are a great source of societal reputation and definitely a means to help society in general.

For entities listed under point 3, many trade unions and country club can be used to serve as an example.

In short NON - PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS should meet the criteria mentioned in fig.4

Fig4. What a NON - PROFIT ORGANIZATION is…

Armed with a basic understanding of the Non- Profit Organisations, it is time to move forward to the bigger
issue that is competencies that a member of a NON - PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS should possess which
ensures the success of the organisation.

Competencies and Organisational success

Management is a craft which depends upon a common basis of acquired skills, particular mind sets and
appropriate attitudes. These can be called as competencies. The organisation should provide an environment
which engages employees or the members (as the case may be) and concentrates their energies by helping
them find avenues that make them utilise their strengths and capabilities (in short competencies) to the
maximum or the optimum.

This calls for an approach that is dual in nature. It should link the individual‟s capability development plan to
the organisation‟s mission.

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Fig.5 Skill Chain model.

An organisation should continuously ask itself, “What are we good at?” and “What can we be competitive
at?” Once this is realized a competency based resource development plan can be taken up. This viewpoint if
communicated through all the verticals and the associated horizontals, would ensure that each and every
member or employee becomes cautious and aware of the fact that competency is the key.

As shown in Fig.5, an organisation is formed from subsets of small teams each having a job at hand. Each
team constitutes a group of individuals. Thus it is quite clear from the Skill Chain Model that as the output of
Job1 is fed into the Job2; similar is the case with competencies. Each person‟s competence comes into picture
as job1 if done in a manner which is far from the expected standards of quality, would definitely hamper the
quality of the job2. Even if people involved in job2 give their 100%, if the input (the output of job1) is a
compromise on quality, the overall quality of the process will definitely be below 100%.

Competency Mapping – in context of Non - Profit

Organizations

Fig.6 Competency Mapping

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As shown in fig.6, each individual member (person- p) is mapped into the organisation for accomplishment of
a job –j. He is mapped only because of a certain competency – c that he possesses.

There has to be a fit between requirements of an organisation and the set of competencies people bring to the
job. Here a very interesting concept called „The Deadwood Problem‟ needs a special treatment.

Mr. A Mr. B Ms. C Mr. D Mrs. E

Legal

Accounting X

Fundraising

Public relation X

Personnel X

Facility mgmt. X

Fig 7 Skills inventory chart

Regardless of how hard a nominating committee may work, there will always be some board members who
are not pulling their weight, are not active, and are not contributing either financially or otherwise in the
organisation. E.g. in fig 7 Mr. A does not have any competency to deal with any of the mentioned functions of
the organisation. So Mr. A demonstrates the meaning of Deadwood. This problem arises when people are
filled just for the sake of having them in the organisation but they seldom possess the competencies required
to handle the various functions within the organisations. Thus competency mapping is a crucial factor in
determining whether the organisation will be successful or not.

Talking about Non-Profit Organisations, one can also enlist certain competencies that a person should have to
ensure the success of his/her parent non-profit organisation. The following discussion will help us identify
certain competencies which if possessed by the members will help the Non Profit Organisation achieve
exemplary success and ultimately fulfilling its mission.

Competencies desired in a member of a Non Profit

Organisation

As the preceding discussion outlined fundamental issues and explained the concepts related to competencies
and organisational context in general, it is time to delve deeper into the matter of actual concern. For
identifying the competencies that a member of a non Profit Organisation should possess, the author did a case
study of one such organisation called Sewak Welfare Society (S.W. Society) with a deliberate interest of
understanding what competencies would best fit with the aims that the society intends to fulfil.

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Fig 8 Organisation structure of S.W.Society

Figure 8 shows the organisation structure of the S.W.Society. The count of executive members is however not
limited and binding. The society aims to serve the society and will be having an all India presence. The goal
of the organisation i.e. Social Service commands the possession of certain competencies by its members.
These can be listed as follows.

1. Altruism

The members of the organization should have a particular bend of mind in the sense that they should be
willing to carry out all such activities as may be necessary for the welfare of others. Though it is a quality that
a person should have but it can be treated as a skill in which people are willing to help others. If proper
guidance in the form of education and experience is provided to such a person then he/she actually becomes a
person who values the need to work for the welfare of others. He treats everybody as an essential part of the
social fabric and agrees that the world becomes a better place to live only when people care for others, help
others and think this as only means to achieve all round development.

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 2. Value sustainability

Since the development of the society will definitely require extra resources, these can be supplied by
manmade means or by utilising the gifts of nature. So another capability that a member of a non Profit
Organisation should possess is that he/she should value the nature and its gifts. Since Non Profit Organisations
tend to utilise these gifts as they are abundant and available free of cost , it becomes essential that every
member must do his bit in promoting and creating awareness among the people about nature and to work for
the improvement of the environment including plantation and water resources. He/she should value the
benefits and the need of sustainable development.

3. Resourcefulness

He/she should be able to handle unique problems, one that require special efforts to be made and the knack to
identify out of book solutions and to classify what will require special attention as many times the precedence
is not available. However he/she should also be able to provide guidance to avoid wasteful expenditures and
other arrangements that can have an impact on the image of the organisation.

4. Strive for excellence not necessarily perfection

The member of such an organization should remember one thing that it takes a lifetime to improve something
as big as the society or to change the perception of the general public towards the destitute. So it is required
that he/she should continuously try to achieve the results that indicate a sense of improvement. He /she should
strive for excellence and not necessarily perfection as perfection is an absolute concept and sometimes quite
utopian. Hence one i.e. the member should try to improve, add something and contribute towards the ultimate
goal of the society. Perfection will come on the way.

5. Enthusiasm

Members of Non Profit Organisations should be full of enthusiasm and zeal. They should reflect the ideology
that they are there for helping others and that their main aim is to help others approach the situation with a ray
of hope, a certain degree of optimism. This should be the driving factor since the members of non profit
organisations often work without remuneration as is the case with S.W.Society, so only enthusiasm can act as
the fuel for their energy and abilities which if channelized in a proper direction, courtesy the organisation‟s
goal would definitely yield results.

But should one be always enthusiastic without having a directed vision? Exhibit 2 highlights one such
instance when someone went about a mission for the success of an organisation and eventually ended up
paying heavily for it.

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Exhibit 2: Only enthusiasm???

As Ms. Clarke found out later that her organization is actually carrying dead woods rather than contributors, it
becomes imperative to understand that merely being enthusiastic neither adds value to the organisation nor
justifies the spirit of being a member of such an organisation. Therefore one should be competent enough to
realize that enthusiasm should be coupled with a goal directed vision so as to have a clear understanding of the
way in which to channelize one‟s potential and energies.

6. Fundraising

For a non profit organisation donors become a critical element when it comes to the smooth functioning and
fulfilment of goals that an organisation has set for itself. Thus to raise fund, through gifts, grants donations,
subscriptions and membership fees (from India and abroad) and generally to obtain money for the objects of
the society in a lawful manner and to invest, apply or deal with the same in such a manner as may be
considered most desirable for giving effect to the objectives, should be a skill that a person who is a member
of a Non profit organisation should possess.

To ensure that the organisation remains healthy on the fiduciary front, fundraising becomes indispensable.
This skill should be converted into a competency in a following way. A person should be clear of the
objectives his/her organisation is willing to achieve. Moreover, there should be an understanding deep within
that one has to contribute to the bottom line. Also, the money would be used to better somebody‟s life. Hence
the member who attempts to raise funds for the ultimate purpose of his/her organisation should be creative and
not crafty while approaching the donor.

Here, the idea of a fund raising universe warrants some attention which is provided pictorially with the help of
fig. 8

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Fig 9 the fund raising universe
(D = Donor
B = Board
M = Management)

As shown in fig 9, fundraising requires members to be active as they form the heart of such an organization in
the form of Board and management. Also the members have to be the interface between the universe and
various layers of a fundraising organisation. This can only be achieved if the members are competent enough
in this regard.

7. Tolerance

In Indian context, especially because of the fact that India is a democratically governed political entity,
tolerance is an essential quality that a member of a Non Profit Organisation should possess. It becomes a
matter of being competent at it because in India the religion, caste, creed and many other parameters assume
dominance as there is widespread diversity.

Therefore tolerance or patience is one such competency that is desired in a member of a Non Profit
Organisation. Patience is also necessary because many a times a person has to deal with people who are often
careless or to say the least casual in their approach towards the goal fulfilment. In such cases, if the person
loses temper then not only does the basic purpose of the organisation stands defeated but also the spirit of
working together is thrown into jeopardy.

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 8. HN & A

As mentioned in the previous discussions that fundraising is an integral part of a non Profit Organisation, so
the fact that a member of such an organisation should be the one with high networking and association (HN &
A) gains enough pertinence to be discussed separately. This helps to get the support and to mobilise funds for
the organisation.

Fig 10 the advantages of having members with HN & A

Most importantly, if a person with high networking skills and contacts becomes a member of a non profit
organisation then figure 10 clearly highlights the benefits that can accrue to the organisation.

9. Sense of ownership

Till the time people do not take the goals and objectives seriously, in a way so as to embrace them as a part of
their own life, the organisation won‟t be able to prosper. If due to the efforts of few people, it survived then
also its days will be numbered. Sooner or later it would need revitalisation or may easily slip into
obsolescence.

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Thus it is very important for the members of such organisations and all others in general to have a sense of
ownership. This quality can become a competency only when people develop a habit to own everything not
with a view to extract everything that is on offer but to be able to take care of it as a responsibility. This habit
if inculcated in the citizens of our country, will not only make the concept of efficient organisations a reality
but will also change the way a nation progresses.

10. Follow the rule of the road but develop detours and shortcuts

It is not advisable in 9 out of 10 situations to follow the path that is not as per the law. The rule of the road
needs to be followed but then there is a fear of becoming stereotypic and once the organisation loses its
differentiating identity, it becomes difficult to recognize it. Even of the organization is recognized in the eyes
of the law, it is important that people in general are also able to differentiate between the same.

Hence, though the organisations have to follow the regulatory framework as put in place by the federal
government, it also becomes necessary to devise certain strategies so as to catch the eye of people around you.
This will serve many purposes. One, the fundraising will not be a problem anymore. Two, people will be able
to support the organisation. Three, members will be motivated to put in more effort so as to meet the vision of
the organisation.

As mentioned at the beginning that one should be willing to develop detours and shortcuts does not imply that
people take wrong means. That is where the legal aspect plays the role of a watchdog. So what then is to be
done? It is the creativity of an individual that is at test. In that sense it becomes a competency. Creative
approach to problem solving may involve different methodologies and many times yield out of the box and
unconventional solutions. Hence one should not ignore the urge to do something new and innovative as it may
turn out to be path breaking!

11. Dynamism with a focus

Passivity is often the first step on the path of recession. Here recession does not carry its economic relevance
but talks about the phase signalled by the decay and eventually the death of the organisation. Hence each
member needs to participate actively in the endeavours of the organisation and also should display a certain
degree of dynamism. Since people make up an organization, it becomes important on part of the members to
reflect their sincerity and sense of urgency in their actions. This no doubt builds up the image of an
organisation.

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Fig. 11 dynamism and focus

But excess of everything is bad. Also anything that is unchecked will one day assume disastrous form.
Feedback and control is thus a necessity. So dynamism should be coupled with a focussed approach. Figure 11
shows that the target functions in an organisation can be M, I or O. To hit the desired target, i.e. to fulfil the
desired function, it is necessary to shoot it with a focussed eye. As without focus, the arrow is bound to miss
the aim. So dynamism coupled with a focussed methodology gives good results.

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Conclusion

Non profit organisations like S.W.Society also require that the members of the organisation are competent
enough to carry out the various functions within the organisation. Such organisations, since they are not
created with an aim to make profits most of the time, require a specific set of skills and practices so as to fulfil
the objectives of the organisation. Organisations like S.W.Society come into existence to make life better of
those who are deprived and also to contribute towards the growth and development of the society.

Thus the discussion begins with a clarification of the concepts and progresses to enlist the competencies
required in members of such organisations for ensuring the success and achievement of set goals and
objectives. The pictorial representation tends to present the whole idea with appreciable simplicity. The
findings from the study of S.W.Society point towards the fact that people make the organisation and are
responsible for its success. Therefore, in light of above, it is quite correct to say that the competencies
possessed by the people are the ones that they bring to the organisation and which ultimately decides the fate
of the organisation.

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References

1) Smith, Bucklin & Associates, Inc. – The complete guide to Non-profit Management- John
Wiley & sons, New York, 2000

2) Hecht, Ben and Ramsey, Rey - Managing Non Profits.Org - John Wiley & sons, New York,
2002

3) Wolf, Thomas - Managing a Non Profit Organization in the Twenty First Century – Fireside
Book, New York, 1999

4) Gautam, Vinayshil and Batra, S.K. – Organisation Development Systems- Concept

Publishing Company, New Delhi, 2007

5) Vita, C.J.D. and Fleming, Cory - Building capacity in Non Profit Organization – Urban
Institute, Washington D.C. , 2001

6) Non Profit Organisations – California State Board of Equalization, Publication 18, California,
2008

7) Sewak Welfare Society – Documents Archive , Delhi, 2010

8) Woodrock, M. and Framis, D. – Developing your people, John Wiley and Sons, New York,
2002

9) Storey, J.; Mabery, C. and Salaman, G. - Human Resource Management , 2002

10) www.oxforddictionaries.com

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