Abstract
Purpose. To determine perceptions of six indicators of organizational effectiveness based upon the type of the nonprofit organization. This study specifically examined differences between community and member-based nonprofit organizations within the state of Nevada. Conceptual framework. Exploration of the evolution and influence of traditional managerial thought upon the development of nonprofit management logic, organizational effectiveness tenets and modeling and differentiation of the types of nonprofit sector organizations are employed in gauging the perceptions of six indicators of organizational effectiveness. Perceptions are then examined for differences in emphasis according to organization type. Emphasis upon multivariate predictive and evaluative criterion serves as the basis of the theoretical framework. Methodology. Utilizing descriptive research, a survey instrument was designed to query nonprofit organizations in both Northern and Southern Nevada as to (1) their overall perceptions of the individual indicators; and, (2) the prioritization that each indicator would have within their respective entity. In each of the two categories, descriptive statistics and the Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test of Differences were used to analyze and compare data. Findings. Nonprofit groups exhibited significant differences in the overall perception of four specific organizational effectiveness indicators. In addition, there were six instances of significant difference in the prioritizations of the organizational effectiveness indicators. Conclusions and recommendations. Simplistic organizational effectiveness criteria are ill-suited for nonprofit sector evaluation given the dynamics of the sector. Multivariate criteria and methodology are recommended. An organizational effectiveness model is presented including broad categories for which criteria should be developed: organizational configuration; organizational competencies and organizational capabilities.