Globalization - Nonprofits & Railroads?

As our class is almost done and our blog is about to close, I couldn't resist one final post - we began the class with railroads, so perhaps it's fitting to end with one!

I was thinking about yesterday's lively discussion on globalization of nonprofits, including the unintended consequence of the Compact phenomenon - a greater degree of scrutiny, accreditation, regulation even, of nonprofits by the government. The economic meltdown, including the recent failure of industries long taken for granted, has forced many to rethink how business is done. In fact, one NYC-based VP of corporate philanthropy suggested to me that as many as 30% of nonprofits may be out of business by the year's end.

Moving along to another nonprofit area, globalization has affected colleges and universities where the issue of accreditation has generated fierce debate and resistance, seen by some academics as a means of control. I came across the article "Globalization and the Emergence of For-Profit Higher Education" by Ann Morey of San Diego State University and she appears to confirm yesterday's discussion: "Higher education may no longer be viewed as a growth industry, but rather a mature one. Usually when this is the case, the government seeks to control and regulate the industry, thereby diminishing their autonomy and demanding greater accountability." (p.144).

http://www.jstor.org/stable/4151533

And Arthur Levine, former president of Teachers College at Columbia University, made the following statement in 1997: "There is an underlying belief that colleges and universities are
making precisely the same mistake that the railroads made. The railroads believed they were in the railroad business; they focused on making bigger and better railroads. The problem is that they were actually in the transportation industry, and as a result were derailed by the airlines. Similarly, it can be said that higher education is making the mistake of thinking it is in the campus business, when in reality it is in the very lucrative education business. High technology and entertainment companies are viewing noncampus-based education as an opportunity." (p.17).

http://www.jstor.org/stable/20027456

Though it's a scary time, failure can also offer opportunity.

So, as nonprofits move beyond grassroots startups to more sophisticated "third sector" organizations, there will be changes. And let's hope that the Baruch XMPA program helps prepare all of us to effectively meet them. (Or maybe it's time for me to find another line of work, selling pies from a roadside stand, as long as it's close to a train.)




All aboard!
Maryann McKenzie