Innovation in Non-Profit Management, Essay Example

Non-profit management encompasses many areas of leadership that lead to the realization of goals and objectives that the organization was created for. Many non-profit organizations embark on such a venture and realize that they have to come up with innovative ways of executing their core functions and delivering services to the community so as to realize social change. The importance of innovation within the management practices and processes of a non-profit organization cannot be understated. This is because the level and quality of innovative ideas generated within a non-profit organization will determine the how effective and efficient the organization will be in executing its functions.

Growth in the Age of Ideas

Sustainable growth is urgently needed in the management of non-profit organizations in the 21^st century. In the information age, it is very difficult for organizations to grow owing to rapidly changing technological, financial and social aspects of the economy. It is vital that organizations avoid becoming static growth due to insufficient or the lack of the ability and potential to think of simpler and more efficient ways of executing certain functions.

Top-level managers are responsible for creating an environment in which innovation can be instigated by the different units of labour within an organization across all levels of management. The policy on the management of people and ideas is integral to the implementation of innovation to influence the society.

Relevance to Vision, Mission and Goals

Every non-profit organization is founded on certain principles that embody the organizational culture employed by the founders. These principles are the platform on which the organization’s vision, mission and goals are formulated. It is important that all elements of the organization are synchronized to the vision, mission and goals. When any given element fails to meets these three elements, then the organization is underperforming and can be assumed to be having systemic redundancies.

The social, economic, political, technological and internal environments of the organization are constantly changing, leading the economy to constantly evolve. It is essential that an organization remains relevant to its vision, mission and goals by adapting to the changes posed by its environment. Innovation is the only way in which organizations can adapt to these changes. By employing innovation to adapt to the changing external and internal factors, a non-profit organization is capable of realizing its objectives.

Quality Services

Quality can only be measured by the amount and level of utility realized by the user of a given product or service. In order to ensure that the organization is associated with quality, it is essential that the organization systems and processes are set up in a manner that efficiency is a fundamental requirement of the final product. Employing innovation in management of a non-profit organization ensures redundancies within the organization’s systems and process are either mitigated or eliminated. This ensures a seamless flow of information and processes along the same level and across all levels of management. The seamless flow of information and work creates and efficient system that produces quality services.

Cost Efficiency

The 21^st century has been characterized with a series of economic upturns and downturns. This has created unfavourable economic conditions for most businesses. Owing to the fact that non-profit organizations purely depend on grants, gifts and donations, the amount of funds flowing onto the organization is influenced by the prevailing economic conditions. It is therefore important that non-profit organizations manage their expenditure by coming up with new or altering existing methods of executing certain functions and/or processes. This creates a system that efficiently and reliably produces high quality services at a cheaper cost. Such non-profit organizations tend to attract attention and receive more donations as donors are willing to fund an effective and efficient organization. Innovation is essential in building a reputation.

Technology

The 21^st century has been heralded as the information age. This has largely been due to the technological advancements that have been made over the past 50 years. From the creation of the first computer to the modern day transportation, all the different areas of life have been affected. Health management can also potentially benefit through the existing innovation in technology.

Communication is an important facet of health management. It is important that a health manager establishes an efficient and reliable communication system so as to ensure a seamless flow of information within the organization. Several technological innovation in social media can particularly be of benefit to health management. Social media has revolutionized communication. Facebook has made it possible to communicate with friends and family all over the world, and even meet and make new friends while Skype has made live video communication possible. Mobile phones nowadays are evolving into devices that are a must-have. These gadgets can store every aspect of our daily lives, from schedules, appointments, reminders, e-mails, contacts and even sensitive personal documents.

In conclusion, innovation is an important element of health management in the 21^st century. In order to realize growth in the age of ideas, innovation has to be integrated into an organization’s corporate culture. This is essential for the organization to stay relevant to its objectives while ensuring it provides quality services in a cost-efficient manner.