Nov 14, 2006

Management Guru Trains Nonprofits

by Laura Starita

Go to the business section of any major bookstore and you will find at least half a dozen titles focused on teaching management the GE way. As one of the most successful and diverse companies in the world, the name GE has become synonymous with sound management principles - and now the company is sharing that expertise with the nonprofit community.

As reported in The New York Times, this effort started as a business: GE began offering management classes to its customers. The venture then expanded to include (for free) those nonprofits active in the communities where GE operates, most notably nonprofit recipients of GE philanthropic dollars. 

The GE Foundation, reluctant to see any of its money frittered away by inefficiency, has made management assistance a condition of some of the mega-grants that it makes. “If they won’t accept senior-level engagement from GE, they won’t get the money,” said Robert L. Corcoran, the foundation’s president.

The article highlights the potential danger of condescension on the part of the trainers, or of training in non-sustainable practices. But a greater danger exists: too much focus on efficiency (better fundraising, less overhead) to the detriment of effectiveness (do our programs have a positive impact on the recipients?).

New York Times: Lessons in Management from the For-Profit World