Human Resources Management for Public and Nonprofit Organizations

138 Human Resources Management for Public and Nonprofi t Organizations

Morrison (1994) recommends that the following information be provided

to board members:

Constitution and bylaws

Organization ’ s mission or purpose statement

Organization ’ s goals and current plans, strategic and long-range

Annual report

Budget and fi nancial report

Program description and its goals and objectives

Organization chart (staff names and numbers)

Committees: their goals and plans, such as fundraising expectations

and commitments

Public relations strategies

Personnel policies and expectations

A list with the names, addresses, e-mail addresses, and phone numbers

of board members

Meeting information, with attendance and time requirements

Minutes from meetings for the previous fi scal year

Any appropriate procedures governing conduct of meetings

Any evaluations conducted during the past year

Training and orientation are important for all board members

regardless of their professional expertise and experience. Bowen (1994)

acknowledges that when people from the for - profi t sector join a nonprofi t

board, they often lack an appropriate frame of reference as to the nature

of the missions served by nonprofi ts. Bowen cites the following example:

“ A business man on the board of directors for a church kept pushing for

‘ double - digit ’ growth no matter what the implications were for the church ’ s

capacity to fulfi ll its mission ” (p. 41). Herzlinger (1994) notes that board

members may be perplexed about their appropriate roles. Because some

board members are intimidated about the talent and professional exper-

tise of the organization ’ s employees, they abandon their oversight role.

“ How can I tell a symphony orchestra how to play Beethoven? How can

I tell a doctor how to operate? ” (p. 53). Other board members become

overly involved in the organization ’ s work. They feel free to give unso-

licited and unwanted counsel on orchestra programs, museum exhibi-

tions, educational curricula, or social service intervention strategies. Some

board members pour themselves into fundraising, while others use

their appointment for status seeking and social climbing. According to

Herzlinger, the role of a board ’ s director is to ensure that the organization ’ s

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