Comparing the Organizational Structure of Nonprofit Organizations and For Profit Organizations - Research Paper Example

r an organization is for-profit or non-profit, the organization exemplifies very diverse goals and objectives that are constructed around a particular strategic initiative and where all internal activities are aligned with these strategic objectives. It is the responsibility of an organization to not only fulfil its strategic goals, but to also satisfy the needs of very diverse and disparate stakeholder groups. To accomplish this, the organization must consider multiple dynamics, including economic policies within the organization’s region of operations, internal capabilities to accomplish its strategies, market conditions, social and cultural factors that will impact organizational strategy and be considerate of flexibility and change internally that will allow the entity to evolve with changing external conditions or needs.

In order for an organization to remain relevant in its region of operations and sustain long-term significance, the organization must continuously adapt and develop contingencies to mitigate risks and better service stakeholders (Buchanan & Huczynski, 2010). Understanding that both for-profit and non-profit organizations have very disparate visions, missions and goals, the organization requires leadership and governance that can ensure regulatory compliances, develop a valuable product or service, promote a desired social or political change in a society, or generally remain competitive.

Governance includes systems and oversights that direct and control an organization, inclusive of aligning management activities to strategic intention, performing various market analyses, ensuring all value chain activities effectively support the organizational mission and promoting change with minimal resistance (Tricker, 2009). For-profit and non-profit organizations operate quite differently in some dimensions, while also sustaining many similar characteristics. The most significant differences between non-profit and for-profit organizations are in