IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ehl/lserod/29090.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

NGOs and participatory management styles: a case study of CONCERN Worldwide, Mozambique

Author

Listed:
  • Sheehan, James

Abstract

The concept of participation has become important in the struggle to improve the effectiveness of both the 'management of organisations' and the 'management of development'. However, NGOs may be confused about these two different though related applications of the term. The first part of the paper seeks to clarify this distinction. The author first disaggregates a range of complex issues surrounding the concept of participatory management and attempts to clarify the term. Secondly, the paper points out that the interest in 'participatory management' in NGOs is related to similar efforts within management more widely in the private sector, and has similar goals of seeking to improve organisational effectiveness. Thirdly, the paper distinguishes the introduction of a set of 'participatory techniques' from full-scale 'participatory management' as a comprehensive empowering strategy designed to involve staff more fully. In formalising the use of 'participatory techniques', it is argued that paradoxically more managerial control may be needed. The second part of the paper presents a case study of CONCERN's ongoing attempts to introduce a more participatory management style into its programme in Mozambique. As might be expected, motives and methods for such a change remain complex and diverse. Through discussion with key NGO staff it is found that CONCERN's primary aim in introducing a participatory management style is to benefit the people the NGO seeks to serve, rather than the staff of the NGO, whose needs are seen as secondary. The paper concludes that 'participatory management' for NGOs is perhaps best seen as an aspirational concept which can help to improve organisational impact on beneficiaries through the greater involvement of staff in decision-making. Rather than forming a unitary approach, 'participatory management' is best seen as a bundle of different ideas. It is argued that such a view provides real choices and opportunities for NGOs to improve their effectiveness.

Suggested Citation

  • Sheehan, James, 1998. "NGOs and participatory management styles: a case study of CONCERN Worldwide, Mozambique," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 29090, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:29090
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/29090/
    File Function: Open access version.
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ouchi, William, 1981. "Theory Z: How American business can meet the Japanese challenge," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 24(6), pages 82-83.
    2. Korten, David C., 1987. "Third generation NGO strategies: A key to people-centered development," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 15(1, Supple), pages 145-159.
    3. Nogueira, Roberto Martinez, 1987. "Life cycle and learning in grassroots development organizations," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 15(1, Supple), pages 169-177.
    4. Richard M. Auty & Ann C. Hudock, 1995. "Sustaining Southern NGOs in resource‐dependent environments," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 7(4), pages 653-667, July.
    5. Martin de Graaf, 1987. "Context, Constraint or Control? Zimbabwean NGOs and Their Environment," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 5(3), pages 277-301, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hanibuchi, Tomoya & Murata, Yohei & Ichida, Yukinobu & Hirai, Hiroshi & Kawachi, Ichiro & Kondo, Katsunori, 2012. "Place-specific constructs of social capital and their possible associations to health: A Japanese case study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(1), pages 225-232.
    2. Kaja Prystupa, 2017. "The Role of Organizational Culture in KnowledgeManagement in Small Companies," Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Innovation, Fundacja Upowszechniająca Wiedzę i Naukę "Cognitione", vol. 13(3), pages 151-173.
    3. Lefroy, Kathryn & Tsarenko, Yelena, 2014. "Dependence and effectiveness in the nonprofit-corporate alliance: The mediating effect of objectives achievement," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 67(9), pages 1959-1966.
    4. Sinem AYDOGDU & Baris ASIKGIL, 2011. "The Effect of Transformational Leadership Behavior on Organizational Culture: An Application in Pharmaceutical Industry," International Review of Management and Marketing, Econjournals, vol. 1(4), pages 65-73.
    5. Caligiuri, Paula & Bonache, Jaime, 2016. "Evolving and enduring challenges in global mobility," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 51(1), pages 127-141.
    6. Sarah Lister, 2000. "Power in partnership? An analysis of an NGO's relationships with its partners," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 12(2), pages 227-239.
    7. Dengjian Jin, 1995. "Bounded governance within extended order: The Confucian advantage of synergy under generalized constitutional rules," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 6(3), pages 263-279, October.
    8. Gatignon, Aline & Gatignon, Hubert, 2010. "Erin Anderson and the Path Breaking Work of TCE in New Areas of Business Research: Transaction Costs in Action," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 86(3), pages 232-247.
    9. Kertai-Kiss Ildikó, 2014. "The Fit of National and Organisational Cultures in International Scientific Literature," Proceedings- 11th International Conference on Mangement, Enterprise and Benchmarking (MEB 2014),, Óbuda University, Keleti Faculty of Business and Management.
    10. Masaaki Kotabe, 2020. "Japanese management and the climate of the time," Asian Business & Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 19(1), pages 25-35, February.
    11. Goncalo, Jack A. & Staw, Barry M., 2006. "Individualism-collectivism and group creativity," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 100(1), pages 96-109, May.
    12. Eleni ARAVOPOULOU, 2015. "Zmiana Organizacyjna – Przegląd Teorii I Koncepcji," Nowoczesne Systemy Zarządzania. Modern Management Systems, Military University of Technology, Faculty of Security, Logistics and Management, Institute of Organization and Management, issue 1, pages 19-32.
    13. Satu Teerikangas & Olivier Irrmann, 2016. "Cultural Change Following International Acquisitions: Cohabiting the Tension Between Espoused and Practiced Cultures," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 56(2), pages 195-226, April.
    14. Pramodita Sharma & S. Manikutty, 2005. "Strategic Divestments in Family Firms: Role of Family Structure and Community Culture," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 29(3), pages 293-311, May.
    15. Rao Indu, 2009. "The Behavioral Equivalence of Organizational Culture," IIMA Working Papers WP2009-07-02, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, Research and Publication Department.
    16. Mohan Pyari Maharjan & Tomoki Sekiguchi, 2016. "Human resource management practices at foreign-affiliated companies in least-developed regions: US and Japanese Companies in Nepal," Asian Business & Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 15(2), pages 137-164, April.
    17. Bonus, Holger & Greve, Rolf & Kring, Thorn & Polster, Dirk, 1999. "Der genossenschaftliche Finanzverbund als Strategisches Netzwerk: Neue Wege zur Kleinheit," Arbeitspapiere 16, University of Münster, Institute for Cooperatives.
    18. Büsgen, M., 2006. "NGOs and the search for Chinese civil society environmental non-governmental organisations in the Nujiang campaign," ISS Working Papers - General Series 19180, International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam (ISS), The Hague.
    19. Ivo Bayer, Holger Bonus, "undated". "Europäische Identität und symbolische Politik," Working Papers 201161, Institute of Spatial and Housing Economics, Munster Universitary.
    20. Bernard Burnes & Rune By, 2012. "Leadership and Change: The Case for Greater Ethical Clarity," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 108(2), pages 239-252, June.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J50 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - General
    • R14 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Land Use Patterns
    • J01 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics: General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:29090. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: LSERO Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/lsepsuk.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.