published_or_final_version / Politics and Public Administration / Master / Master of Public Administration

This study focused on the similar and different roles that the non-government organization sector plays in the China and South Africa together with the challenges they face.

This study focused on the similar and different roles that the non-government organization sector plays in the China and South Africa together with the challenges they face.

published_or_final_version / Politics and Public Administration / Master / Master of Public Administration

published_or_final_version / Politics and Public Administration / Master / Master of Public Administration

published_or_final_version / Public Administration / Master / Master of Public Administration

本研究從人類學角度探討非牟利或慈善工作於香港的現況，以志願者及全職受薪工作人員為主要研究對象，並對他們的個人背景、以至他們對慈善工作的看法，作出詳細分析和比較。田野訪談結果顯示，慈善團體內的全職受薪工作人員，在業餘參與義務工作的原因各異；其參與義務工作的原因，不外乎偶然機會，又或是希望暫時逃離刻板的辦公室生活。然而，把他們慈善團體受薪工作與“意義掛勾的報導人當中，又以經濟獨立、服務性質屬於後勤者居多。 / 而志願者方面，他們參與義務工作的目的，主要為了獲取獨特經歷、學習技能、接觸社會上不同層面的人士，以及服務他人。本研究指出：雖然志願工作相對簡單，也不一定在表現上勝於全職行政服務工作，但是通常被認定為更具意義，也對服務對象更有助益。而通過田野訪談及觀察所得，志願工作者與全職職員在參與工作的動機最大不同之處，乃他們的家庭責任觀，以及經濟狀況。作者旨在說明“慈善相關工作的意義“，在香港這個社經氛圍底下，主要在於經濟獨立程度；由是，從參與慈善相關工作衍生出來的象徵性資本，在工作非為應付迫切經濟需要時，方才顯得重要。 / The present thesis is an attempt to understand the meaning of nonprofit work, both paid and unpaid, in Hong Kong. Specifically, I wish to understand the motivations individuals have for becoming involved in paid and volunteer nonprofit work, and how these individuals negotiate new identities for themselves through their involvement in this work. This thesis argues that, rather than a purely spontaneous outpouring of goodwill, altruism itself is a self-enhancement strategy and a counterbalance to the frustrations imposed by a capitalist society no longer able to offer the same promises for fulfillment in work that might have been expected previously. Altruistic acts, both paid and unpaid, are a way for individuals to renegotiate more positive identities for themselves. The “meaning in meaningful employment belongs disproportionately to those who already enjoy a comparatively great amount of economic freedom. Moving to lower levels of economic freedom finds individuals employed in altruistic roles more likely to perceive of their work as personally fulfilling, rather than identifying with the mission of their chosen organizations, while at the lowest levels, we find individuals who have merely ended up in their roles by accident. / The same self-enhancement strategy used by paid employees appears in the narratives of volunteers. While the primary spoken motivations of volunteers interviewed are to enjoy unique experiences and gain skills, to come into contact with different types of people, and to help others (confirming previous research on the reasons why people volunteer), the specific motivation a volunteer reports aligns closely with their relative level of socioeconomic mobility. Thus, the key difference between volunteers and full-time employees is that volunteers conceive of their volunteering as an enhancement of their primary identity as a worker or member of a family, rather than as a rejection of those roles. I argue that the life cycle of working-class and middle-class Hong Kong people makes societally meaningful employment a luxury that few can afford. In short, the ability to spend one’s time meaningfully is itself a marker of high socioeconomic standing. Thus, those with greater socioeconomic standing are more likely to be praised for their involvement, though their contribution is less reliable, their role is more interchangeable, and the work has the least interaction with the very problems they are trying to solve. Altruism functions as another form of cultural capital with which individuals fashion and assert their own place within the social hierarchy. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Mc Kay, Scott Alan. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2012. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 144-149). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in also in Chinese. / Abstract --- p.i / 論文摘要 --- p.iii / Declaration of Anonymity and Confidentiality --- p.iv / Acknowledgements --- p.v / List of Figures --- p.vii / Table of Contents --- p.viii / Chapter Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.1 / About Hong Kong’s nonprofit sector --- p.3 / Literature Review --- p.7 / Objectives and Significance --- p.28 / Methodology --- p.30 / Chapter Overview --- p.35 / Chapter Chapter 2 --- Employees of NGOs --- p.37 / Public performance and private selves: the meaning-motivated employee --- p.38 / Challenge and Moral Ambiguity: Experience-motivated Employees --- p.56 / Chance and Personal Connection: Unmotivated Employees --- p.65 / Conclusion --- p.73 / Chapter Chapter 3 --- Volunteers of NGOs --- p.76 / Community, Altruism and the Abstract Meaning of Volunteer Work --- p.77 / Self-enhancement and Growing Up: Experience-Oriented Volunteering --- p.91 / The Influence of the Life Cycle --- p.113 / The Social Hierarchy of Moral Capital --- p.117 / Conclusion --- p.121 / Chapter Chapter 4 --- Conclusion --- p.123 / The Thesis --- p.124 / Analysis --- p.125 / Limitations of the study --- p.130 / Suggestions for further research --- p.133 / Final Thoughts --- p.136 / References cited --- p.137

published_or_final_version / abstract / Politics and Public Administration / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Finally, this thesis put forward specific recommendations in relation to social welfare policies, social work practice, organizational capacity building, organizational performance assessment and the future areas for research on philanthropic foundations. / The purpose of this research is to describe and discuss the magnitude of success, use of strategies and extent of public participation in philanthropic foundations under the socialist system of China. It also analyzes how the effectiveness of these philanthropic foundations is related to their selected strategies and their extent of public participation. / The research also found that public participation was an essential value in the philanthropic foundations. Public participation was a tactic to obtain resources, and to realize success in the organization. However, empowerment of the service users had not been given enough attention. Meanwhile, the participants in the philanthropic foundations could be classified as individuals and legal entities, administrative units, public organizations and quasi-governmental organizations. The mode of participation varied from the "one-way model", the "participatory model" and the "decision-making model". Accordingly, four models of participation were identified. / The research found that the successful philanthropic foundations had differing manifestations and weights in variables pertaining to "objectives", "degree of satisfaction", "legitimacy" and "resource input". Whilst the variables were related to each others, the weight for each variable differed in the studied cases. Classified in terms of the weight of the variables, there were four models among the successful philanthropic foundations, namely, the "equilibrium model", the "satisfying model", the "legitimate model" and the "sustainable model". / The research further found that there was correlations among the manifestation of success, strategic orientation, and mode of participation. The case background is related to certain manifestation of success, strategy and mode of public participation, constructing four reaction patterns. These reaction patterns are premised on "organization", "resources", "need", and "government", producing different relationships among "success", "strategy" and "public participation". / The study identified the functional dimension (philanthropic versus charity) and the instrumental dimension (market versus government action), from which five different strategies were derived from the philanthropic foundations studied. They were the "strong market orientation", the "compromising orientation", the "weak market orientation", the "mutuality orientation" and the "governmental orientation". / This research is a case study of 7 legally registered philanthropic foundations supported by non-governmental funds. Twenty senior management staffs working in the 7 philanthropic foundations participated in the in-depth interviews. The samples were selected from various departments under different administrative levels in Mainland China, including the central government level, the provincial level and the municipal level, and taking into account the economic strength of the regions. All the selected cases included philanthropic services for children, and have been operating for more than 5 years. These homogeneous cases are to a certain extent typical cases. / 陳津利. / 呈交日期: 2005年6月. / 論文(哲學博士)--香港中文大學, 2005. / 參考文獻(p. 406-426). / Cheng jiao ri qi: 2005 nian 6 yue. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-01, Section: A, page: 0336. / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in Chinese and English. / School code: 1307. / Lun wen (zhe xue bo shi)--Xianggang Zhong wen da xue, 2005. / Can kao wen xian (p. 406-426). / Chen Jinli.

University of Macau / Faculty of Social Sciences / Department of Government and Public Administration