Leadership in Non Profit Organizations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Leadership in Non Profit Organizations - Essay Example A preliminary review of the literature has revealed that there is a lack of research on leadership specifically in the context of non-profit organizations. This is noteworthy omission as the non-profit organizations have traditionally made a large impact on the socio-cultural and economic uplift of the people, and governments across the world rely on their partnership and support for welfare activities. As such, it is essential to assess what leadership style may be most suitable in the context of the environment in which non-profit organizations operate. There is however, another difficulty in leadership studies related to non profit organizations. This lies in the fact that leadership effectiveness can not be measured simply in terms of revenues or any other objective economic indicator. As such, it becomes difficult to objectively assess the effectiveness of leadership in non profit organizations. The current research therefore proposes that effective leadership should be able to positively impact on the job satisfaction of the employees, which in turn leads to highly motivated and committed workforce. The proposed research is therefore directed at assessing the leadership styles in the non-profit organizations in the USA and their impact on the satisfaction levels of the employees. The research is expected to provide insights about the leadership styles that are best suited in the context of the non-profit organizations.   2. Literature Review   2.1 Non-profit Organizations: Concept, Growth and Development of Non-Profit Organizations    A non-profit organization can be defined as a group organized for purposes other than generating profit and that does not issue stock shares or distribute its surplus funds  to its members, directors, or officers (Young, 2001). The purpose of Non-Profit organization is to serve the public, and not the owners and the members of the organization. There are a variety of non-profit organizations in different sectors, lik e sports, education, health, social services and artistic groups. Non-profit and non-government organizations are legally comprised entities that work independently from the government. The history of a non-profit sector is embedded in the broader political culture and social improvement of a country or a region, and is also impacted upon by cultural and religious factors. The evolution of US non-profit organizations and non-profit sectors is associated with development of constitution of the US society. In contrast to the US, the non-profit sector development in the Great Britain was closely attached to the changing social needs and political confederacy of the time (Anheier, 2005). Non-profit sector is highly developed in U.S due to its relatively low level of social welfare spending and it seems to be the largest among other countries (Agard, 2011). There are more than 8,00,000 charitable non-profit organizations in the United States, majority of them are Universities, hospitals and churches and these entities make up the major part of the sector in terms of assets and employment (Agard, 2011). According to the John Hopkins’ comparative non-profit sector study, over half of the hospital beds are in the non-profit hospitals, half of all colleges and universities are non-profit institutions, 95% of all orchestras are non-profit organizations, 60% of all social service agencies are non-profit (Salamon, et al, 2003). The non-profit sector has a rich and diverse history in the United States. In USA the non-profit organizations are mainly active in three fields: education, culture and recreation, social service. (Salamon and Anheier, 1996). In the context of European countries as well, the establishment of the voluntary