A fundamental difference between a for-profit and non-for-profit
is their required subservience to the purpose, or mission,
of the organization. Mission clarifies an organization’s
purpose, or why be doing what it does. Vision clarifies what an
organization should look like and how it should behave as it
fulfills its mission. A mission or purpose serves to define on
several levels:
- Identification of the organization’s
formal and informal mandate
- Defines what is required and what is allowed
- Reminds stakeholders what they can and cannot do
This difference frequently manifests itself in the following characteristics of non-for-profits:
- Smaller in size
- Lack of access to non-government based capital and job opportunities
- Local community focus
- A tension between government policies and the non-for-profits perspective of
what social policy should be
- Competition between non-for-profits for limited resources (e.g. government
grants and charitable donations)
- Grants that are dedicated to servicing a specific need not to building capacity
- Many Non-for-Profits feel they are tied to developing local resources
Changes in the Marketplace for Non-for-Profits
- Government is increasingly outsourcing responsibilities with more of a
business mindset i.e. shifting the risk to the provider if there is a failure in the contract.
- Government is awarding contracts on what they can do not what they are
- Government can satisfy the public’s need for more service and smaller government
Compare For-Profit Corporations
- Economies of scale
- Spreading risk over several contracts
- Recruitment of talent
- Ability to compete for contracts that deliver services over a wide range
- Ability to scale up to capture an opportunity
- Access to Capital
- Investment in innovation
- Investment in building capacity
- Mobility
- The ability for For-Profits to choose what marketplaces they operate
in
- Responsiveness
- Corporations can easily serve the two customers, the government
and the citizens because they do not have to justify the policy of the government
(that is left to the government)
An effective Non-for-Profit business model needs to recognize that it
cannot compete directly with For-Profits but must partner and collaborate
with other Non-for-Profits, For-Profits and Government.
Application of the iCapBiz Solution to the Non-for-Profits
The paradigm that Non-for-Profits must compete on the same business terms of a
For-Profits is fatally flawed. Without additional funds to innovate and invest
in capacity and capability the existing trend of government outsourcing and
adapting For-Profit business principles determining the award of contracts will
lead to either the demise of the Non-for-Profit as a result of poor performance
or the merging of Non-for-Profits into Profits.
iCapBiz believes that Non-for-Profits needs to differentiate based on strengths
and collaborate with other resources in win-win business relationships. The
strength of any modern service and knowledge driven organization is the competence
and commitment of the individuals. These people should be building all four
aspects of Intellectual Capital
- Human Capital
- Structural Capital
- Relationship Capital
- Innovation Capital
The Path-lign Process™ methodology dramatically impacts the following
core competences of organizations:
- Dramatically Improves the critical thinking of the executive,
middle manager(s) and operational talent;
- Dramatically improves the productivity of the organization
through the development of a branded system that delivers value to the customer
and financial returns to the organization i.e. makes it difficult for For-Profits
to compete without the knowledge and the systems;
- Enables collaboration and optimization of scarce resources. It
is time for Non-for-Profits to leverage their interdependent edge.The competitors
or For-Profits not other Non-fo-Profits;
- Elevates the organizations ability to deliver innovative
services and products.
I want to know more about how iCapBiz can apply to
my business!
