Workforce Transitions from the Profit to the Nonprofit Sector: (Nonprofit and Civil Society Studies)

Since the early 1990s, the number of professional managers displaced from US corporate jobs has increased dramatically. This has coincided with the rapid expansion of employment in the US non-profit sector; a sector that has a high proportion of managerial and professional workers among its employees. This study examines the career sequences of dislocated white-collar corporate managers who want to move to the non-profit sector. It highlights the managers' motivations, the structural barriers which prevented them from making the transition, and the methods of penetrating the barriers. It uncovers the reasons why some corporate managers are able to make the transition and why others are not. Finally, it presents the methods of adaptation that were utilized in their new environments. This volume should be of interest to human resource managers in the profit and non-profit sectors, sociologists, occupational researchers, and organizational psychologists.

Table of Contents:
1: Introduction.- Research Problems and Methodology.- 2: Culture Change and Career Transition.- The Growing Trend of White-Collar Displaced Managers 1980–2000.- The Growth of the Nonprofit Sector 1977–2000.- A Definition of the Nonprofit Sector.- Workforce Characteristics.- Organizational Growth.- Revenue Growth.- Employment Growth.- Nonprofit Industries and Type of Manager Employed.- Managerial Diversity.- The Documented Need for Managers in the Nonprofit Sector.- A Shortage of Nonprofit Managers.- Low Proportion Change Careers.- The Lack of Mobility between Sectors.- Corporate Managers Face Obstacles.- Adult Socialization: A Typology.- Factors which Influence Socialization Methods.- Educational and Professional Training.- The Cross-Sector Student and Management Pool.- Differences and Similarities between the Profit and Nonprofit Sectors.- Cross-Sector Similarities and Interdependence.- Organizational Structures.- Work Styles.- The Reshaping of Occupational Identity.- A New Reference Group.- Anticipatory Socialization.- Obstacles to Assimilation.- Inefficacious Socialization.- Lack of Individual Motivation.- Career Transition and the Life Cycle.- The Life Cycle.- 3: Differences and Barriers between the Two Worlds.- The Nonprofit View on Cultural Differences and the Need for Culture Change.- The Cultures Are Different.- Differences in Governance and Leadership.- Differences in Decision-Making Processes and Language.- Appearance: Diversity and Dress Code.- The Cultures Are Similar.- Nonprofit Problems and Challenges.- A Tarnished Public Image.- A Need for Strategic Advocacy and Accountability.- Coping with Uncertainty: Mergers, Government Reduction, Attrition of Donors, Members, and Organizations.- A Lack of Bottom-Line Management Skills.- Culture Change: The Needfor Corporate Managers.- The Corporate Model.- Hiring Processes and Biases in the Nonprofit Sector.- Corporate Managers Experience Bias.- Lack of Peer Networks.- 4: The Nonprofit Management and Communications Program.- Description and Structure of the Program.- Applicant Occupational Backgrounds.- The Selection of Students: Determining Motivations.- A Need for Group Identity.- A History of Volunteerism.- Internalizing Values.- The First Day: Setting the Stage.- 5: The Program Components.- The Introduction.- Transforming the Corporate Resume.- Format of a Functional Resume.- The Assessment.- The New Nonprofit Resume.- The Cover Letter.- The Nonprofit Interview: Achieving the Right Chemistry 109 Preparing for the Mock Interview: The Dress Rehearsal.- The Mock Interview.- The Successful Mock Interview.- Networking.- 6: Transition from the Profit to the Nonprofit World.- Learning Cultural Expectations.- Nonprofit Managerial Career Paths.- The Successful Career Changer's Sequence.- Nonprofit Roles.- Relevant Skills.- Relevant Motivations.- Rehearsing Roles.- Building Self-Esteem.- Employment Opportunities.- Volunteerism as a Sign of Commitment.- An Odyssey of the Self.- The Disengagement of Self.- The Reconstruction of Identity: Self-Doubt and Frustration.- Resisting Identity Change.- Cohort Solidarity.- Finding Reference Group Acceptance.- Nonprofit Career Transition and Adaptation in the Workplace.- First Encounters and Culture Shock.- Obstacles to Assimilation.- 7: Conclusion—Implications for Management Approaches.- Implications.- A War for Talent.- Recommendations.- Developing an Organization Development Strategy.- Graduate Programs in Nonprofit Management: Recruiting and Presocializing the Career Changer.- Volunteerism: A Necessary Part of AnticipatorySocialization172.- A Growing Segment of the Labor Force: The Older Worker.- References.- Appendix A: Dislocated Worker Interview Questionnaire.- Appendix B: Career Transition Follow-up Questionnaire.- Appendix C: Recruitment of Applicants.

Review :
"...succeeds as a case study of changing roles, attitudes, and barriers to entry created by stereotypes held by nonprofit managers about corporate counterparts. The author is aware of the task...as evidenced by the wide range of sociological, anthropological, and organizational studies cited and related to his subject. ...we thank the author for pointing the way and for his contribution." (Monthly Labor Review (November 2002) "As managers attempt to move from the bottom-line driven world of for-profits to the values driven world of nonprofits, they are faced with the challenge of reorienting more than just their work styles. As Stein points out, they must also reorient their identities in fundamental ways. This book provides valuable insights to for-profit managers attempting to make the transition to the workforce. It also has much to say to managers already in the nonprofit workforce about how their values are embedded in the actions and structures of their organizations." (Paul-Brian McInerney, Dept. of Sociology, Columbia University, New York)