Approaching the Third Sector from a Management perspective: what does this offer?

In this paper the current situation of the management theory of organisations is examined and whether or not the NPOs need their own framework within this theory or not. Some authors have suggested that NPOs present special characteristics different from firms. From this perspective NPOs are a different group of organisations and the management theory of organisations have to develop in this area. Thus, what are the main issues to be faced? Second, what is an NPO? What is not an NPO? What is their specific behaviour? Are there differences or similarities between NPOs in Europe? Finally, NPOs are examined from a management perspective. Third Sector, Civil Society management present particular features in the application of concepts, procedures and management tools. For example, managers use democratic and participatory decision process. In this context, the recent applications and research into NPO management are summarised, and the main problems and challenges are discussed. *Dpto. Business Management Faculty of Economics Gran Vía, 4 50005 Zaragoza (Spain) Phone: 34 976 76 10 00 ext. 46 97 Fax: 34 976 76 17 70 e-mail: [email protected] web: www.unizar.es/geses The Third Sector from a European perspective. University of Trento, December 2001 Carmen Marcuello 2