Invited reaction: Understanding the work beliefs of nonprofit executives through organizational stories

✍ Scribed by Tonette S. Rocco

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2001
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 36 KB
• Volume: 12
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1044-8004
• DOI: 10.1002/hrdq.12

✦ Synopsis

Ava Wilensky and Carol Hansen have investigated nonprofit executives' definitions of their function and mission; their views of obstacles, risks, and motivating factors; the differences between for-profit and not-for-profit organizational structures and missions; and the effect of executives' beliefs on HRD goals, priorities, and strategies. They chose to address these areas through a technique called story analysis. Participants related a story about the organization and with the help of the interviewer (through a semistructured interview scheme) identified the story components: villains, heroes, motivating forces, morals, and plot development. Story analysis seems an appropriate method to uncover norms, values, and other elements of an organizational culture.

According to Wilensky and Hansen, HRD scholars rarely consider nonprofit organizations as locations for their research. Nonprofit organizations are unique because they rely on both paid and volunteer employees. Furthermore, these organizations must constantly seek out funding sources and demonstrate their worth to a skeptical public, all the while serving clients whose difficulties are often challenging and emotionally charged (Alexander, 2000). Retaining paid and unpaid staff under these conditions requires leadership that motivates and inspires workers to stay and perform well. Many of these individuals work for rewards other than money, such as for stimulation, community, and increased flexibility (Daniels, 1988). Logically, HRD practitioners could be instrumental in improving performance in these challenging situations.