Head Start, the largest early childhood organization in the United States, was federally mandated to employ bachelor degreed operational employees, with no additional funds. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore effective strategies that successful leaders of Head Start Nonprofit Organizations use to retain operational employees. The population of this study included 5 Head Start CEOs/Program Directors in 5 Head Start nonprofit organizations in Alabama who successfully retained operational employees in their organization. Kouzes and Posner's transformational leadership theory provided a conceptual framework for this study. Data were collected via telephone interviews and employee records from the human resources department. Reviewed human resource documents included the highest level of credentials for the leader, the policy for degree requirement for operational employees, and the number of operational employees, and the participants' highest level of education. The data were analyzed using inductive analysis which consisted of a line-by-line approach to review data identifying words, phrases, ideas, and actions consistent among participants and organizations to identify patterns and themes. Results indicated that Head Start leaders used incentives, continuous training, educational support, and job benefits to retain their operational employees. The implications for social change include the potential for young children to receive optimal teaching and caregiving from retained qualified operational employees.

This study explores how one highly institutionalised organisation, namely The Salvation Army engages with policy discourses, how it responds and how it is shaped by its engagement with government. The move from a unified public service to the use of third sector organisations such as The Salvation Army to deliver public services represents a major shift in institutional relationships. This study focuses on the introduction of market discourse throughout the contracting process, in particular how this discourse seeks to reconstruct service users as ‘customers’, and the Salvation Army’s response to this reconstruction. By exploring the ways in which this religiously and socially motivated non-profit organisation sought to mediate neo-liberal discourses of competition and consumerism, this study seeks to reveal the processes and pressures affecting faith-based and other non-profit organisations which increasingly find themselves acting as agents of government policy under the principles of New Public Management (NPM). The altered relationships brought about by the shift in institutional relationships depend upon new institutional forms to deliver government services, and these new relationships are manifestly displayed in the Job Network. This study focuses on the ways in which The Salvation Army mediates social policy within this new institutional relationship. The changing relationship between government and The Salvation Army, as manifested in the development and implementation of employment policy in Australia between 1998 to 2007 is explored in this study. Neo-institutional theory provides the theoretical framework of this study. Neoinstitutional theory addresses the impact of shifts in the relationships between government and third sector organisations such as The Salvation Army via contracting out of government employment services. This changing relationship between government and The Salvation Army, as played out in the specific institutional field of the employment service through the creation of the Job Network is explored in this study. Within a constructionist approach, Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) is deployed as the analytical technology. This study uses textual material as its main source of primary data, including extracts from job network contracts, internal and public Salvation Army documents, and utterances by government. The study explores the ways in which The Salvation Army has attempted to mediate social policy and the organisational tensions that arise as the Army seeks to maintain organizational independence. This study reveals that though government as the creator of the new quasi-market and purchaser of services in that market is perhaps the most powerful actor, the new institutional relationships are not completely a master/servant relationship; third sector organisations such as The Salvation Army do have the capacity to influence government. Additionally, this study calls into question the notions that the third sector and the government sector are differentiated realms and suggests that new paradigms should be developed to explore the institutional relationships that are now developing in the provision of welfare services in Australia. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

This study explores how one highly institutionalised organisation, namely The Salvation Army engages with policy discourses, how it responds and how it is shaped by its engagement with government. The move from a unified public service to the use of third sector organisations such as The Salvation Army to deliver public services represents a major shift in institutional relationships. This study focuses on the introduction of market discourse throughout the contracting process, in particular how this discourse seeks to reconstruct service users as ‘customers’, and the Salvation Army’s response to this reconstruction. By exploring the ways in which this religiously and socially motivated non-profit organisation sought to mediate neo-liberal discourses of competition and consumerism, this study seeks to reveal the processes and pressures affecting faith-based and other non-profit organisations which increasingly find themselves acting as agents of government policy under the principles of New Public Management (NPM). The altered relationships brought about by the shift in institutional relationships depend upon new institutional forms to deliver government services, and these new relationships are manifestly displayed in the Job Network. This study focuses on the ways in which The Salvation Army mediates social policy within this new institutional relationship. The changing relationship between government and The Salvation Army, as manifested in the development and implementation of employment policy in Australia between 1998 to 2007 is explored in this study. Neo-institutional theory provides the theoretical framework of this study. Neoinstitutional theory addresses the impact of shifts in the relationships between government and third sector organisations such as The Salvation Army via contracting out of government employment services. This changing relationship between government and The Salvation Army, as played out in the specific institutional field of the employment service through the creation of the Job Network is explored in this study. Within a constructionist approach, Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) is deployed as the analytical technology. This study uses textual material as its main source of primary data, including extracts from job network contracts, internal and public Salvation Army documents, and utterances by government. The study explores the ways in which The Salvation Army has attempted to mediate social policy and the organisational tensions that arise as the Army seeks to maintain organizational independence. This study reveals that though government as the creator of the new quasi-market and purchaser of services in that market is perhaps the most powerful actor, the new institutional relationships are not completely a master/servant relationship; third sector organisations such as The Salvation Army do have the capacity to influence government. Additionally, this study calls into question the notions that the third sector and the government sector are differentiated realms and suggests that new paradigms should be developed to explore the institutional relationships that are now developing in the provision of welfare services in Australia. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

This thesis aims to provide a coherent theoretical framework to guide the development of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) information systems within international aid agencies. The thesis applies soft systems methodologies (SSM) to explore the research question and to develop conceptual models. The theoretical basis for the M&E framework proposed is drawn from a transdisciplinary review of three academic fields: information systems,organisational effectiveness and project management. It is argued that inadequacies in the operationalisation of M&E systems arise from divergent epistemological and ontological assumptions about the nature of information and its role within organisations that are concerned with effecting social change. The M&E framework proposed seeks to resolve the dilemma posed by these divergent assumptions. This involves a M&E information system (i.e. MEIS) that is novel in terms of its scope, purpose and application. Firstly, the scope of the proposed MEIS takes in the entire aid organisation, going beyond the dominant, conventional approach, which is project-centric. This enables alignment of project strategies with organisational mission. Further, it aims to promote the institutionalisation of lessons learned within projects (conceived as 'social experiments') for organisational learning, thereby enabling informed debate about the effectiveness of the organisation in fostering sustainable development. Secondly, the purpose of the proposed MEIS has been defined as being concerned with promoting organisational success. The critical success factors of learning and accountability are identified, and the role of M&E in encouraging responsive management decision-making and critical inquiry and reflection is described. Thirdly, the application of the proposed MEIS involves a modified logframe. The '3D-Logframe' serves as a conceptual basis to address limitations found with the conventional two-dimensional logframe matrix when employed for M&E purposes. The proposed M&E framework was developed out of iterations of action in the field and reflection. Further research will involve applying the framework in its entirety.

Concerns over the future of the nonprofit sector due to increasing resource pressures and an economic rationalist political climate in Australia have led to increasing public and private interest in partnerships between nonprofit organisations and the private sector. The purpose of this research is to describe, understand, map and analyse the experiences of nonprofit staff in organisations that are linked to businesses in a variety of funding relationships. The major questions that drove the research were: 1. Does the language used by nonprofit staff and in organisational documentation relating to relationships with for-profits reflect the status of and contribute to the reproduction of the power relationship between the organisations? 2. Do nonprofit/for-profit relationships affect the organisational capacity of nonprofit organisations and the social agency of individuals? If so, to what extent can balanced power-sharing arrangements contribute to increased organisational capacity? 3. Does the media aspect of the institutional context of relationships in which nonprofits operate affect the social agency of individuals and the capacity of nonprofits? The thesis presents a grounded theory (Glaser & Strauss 1967; Strauss & Corbin 1998) of language and power in inter-sectoral relationships, using five case studies, a media analysis and a quantitative component as the data from which to draw theoretical implications. The work develops an innovative methodological tool called 'linguistic threads' and uses Clegg's circuits of power model (1987) to culminate in static state and process theories of language and power in relationships between nonprofits and for-profits in the Australian context.

Typescript (photocopy) Includes bibliographical references.

Managing for Survival explores the ways in which individuals holding management roles in secular non-government human service organisations in South Australia deal with the potential and actual conflict between their personal values, the implicit values of their agency and the tasks required of them by the demands of the economic and political environment in which their agency operates. Changes in the requirements and practices of management, due to changes in government funding and support as a result of economic reform, are the focus of the research. Particular attention is paid to the strategies adopted by managers to cope with the shifting priorities and requirements of a restructured community service industry. / thesis (PhD)--University of South Australia, 2003.

This thesis aims to provide a coherent theoretical framework to guide the development of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) information systems within international aid agencies. The thesis applies soft systems methodologies (SSM) to explore the research question and to develop conceptual models. The theoretical basis for the M&E framework proposed is drawn from a transdisciplinary review of three academic fields: information systems,organisational effectiveness and project management. It is argued that inadequacies in the operationalisation of M&E systems arise from divergent epistemological and ontological assumptions about the nature of information and its role within organisations that are concerned with effecting social change. The M&E framework proposed seeks to resolve the dilemma posed by these divergent assumptions. This involves a M&E information system (i.e. MEIS) that is novel in terms of its scope, purpose and application. Firstly, the scope of the proposed MEIS takes in the entire aid organisation, going beyond the dominant, conventional approach, which is project-centric. This enables alignment of project strategies with organisational mission. Further, it aims to promote the institutionalisation of lessons learned within projects (conceived as 'social experiments') for organisational learning, thereby enabling informed debate about the effectiveness of the organisation in fostering sustainable development. Secondly, the purpose of the proposed MEIS has been defined as being concerned with promoting organisational success. The critical success factors of learning and accountability are identified, and the role of M&E in encouraging responsive management decision-making and critical inquiry and reflection is described. Thirdly, the application of the proposed MEIS involves a modified logframe. The '3D-Logframe' serves as a conceptual basis to address limitations found with the conventional two-dimensional logframe matrix when employed for M&E purposes. The proposed M&E framework was developed out of iterations of action in the field and reflection. Further research will involve applying the framework in its entirety.

<p><!-- @page { size: 21cm 29.7cm; margin: 2cm } P { margin-bottom: 0.21cm } --></p><p>Early studies of what motivates volunteering often have had an older sample and youth organizations have not been studied. A survey was used to study motives for volunteering in Swedish youth organizations. The importance of age and years of volunteering was studied. In the analysis 102 persons in age between 17 and 59 years participated. The participants ranked the motives as followed: knowledge, development, values, social, career and protection. The result of a serie of analysis of variance showed that the younger named career and development as a motive significant higher than the older. A significant interaction showed that youth who had volunteered for a longer time valued social motivation higher than youth who had volunteered for a shorter time, while it was the other way around for the older participants.</p> / <p><!-- @page { size: 21cm 29.7cm; margin: 2cm } P { margin-bottom: 0.21cm } --></p><p>Tidigare studier som undersökt motivation till ideellt arbete har ofta utgått ifrån en äldre population och ungdomsorganisationer har inte undersökts. Denna enkätstudie undersökte motivation till ideellt arbete i svenska ungdomsorganisationer. Betydelsen av ålder och antal år i ideellt arbete undersöktes. I analyserna ingick 102 personer i åldrarna 17-59. Deltagarna rangordnade motiven som följande: Kunskap, utveckling, värderingar, social, karriär och skydd. Resultatet av en serie variansanalyser visade att yngre angav karriär och utveckling som motiv i signifikant högre grad än äldre. En signifikant interaktion visade att yngre som jobbat ideellt en längre tid skattade social motivation högre än yngre som jobbat kort tid medan förhållandet för äldre var omvänt.</p>

<!-- @page { size: 21cm 29.7cm; margin: 2cm } P { margin-bottom: 0.21cm } --> Early studies of what motivates volunteering often have had an older sample and youth organizations have not been studied. A survey was used to study motives for volunteering in Swedish youth organizations. The importance of age and years of volunteering was studied. In the analysis 102 persons in age between 17 and 59 years participated. The participants ranked the motives as followed: knowledge, development, values, social, career and protection. The result of a serie of analysis of variance showed that the younger named career and development as a motive significant higher than the older. A significant interaction showed that youth who had volunteered for a longer time valued social motivation higher than youth who had volunteered for a shorter time, while it was the other way around for the older participants. / <!-- @page { size: 21cm 29.7cm; margin: 2cm } P { margin-bottom: 0.21cm } --> Tidigare studier som undersökt motivation till ideellt arbete har ofta utgått ifrån en äldre population och ungdomsorganisationer har inte undersökts. Denna enkätstudie undersökte motivation till ideellt arbete i svenska ungdomsorganisationer. Betydelsen av ålder och antal år i ideellt arbete undersöktes. I analyserna ingick 102 personer i åldrarna 17-59. Deltagarna rangordnade motiven som följande: Kunskap, utveckling, värderingar, social, karriär och skydd. Resultatet av en serie variansanalyser visade att yngre angav karriär och utveckling som motiv i signifikant högre grad än äldre. En signifikant interaktion visade att yngre som jobbat ideellt en längre tid skattade social motivation högre än yngre som jobbat kort tid medan förhållandet för äldre var omvänt.