Profiteering By Nonprofit Organizations Essay

Buckhoff and Parham provide documented information toward the fiscal misconduct of employees and volunteers within nonprofit organizations (NPOs). Citations include legal case results from several prominent NPOs, including Goodwill Industries and the Carnegie Institute. The research offers reasoning that corruption by an NPO may well be due to the isolated unethical behavior of key individuals. Buckhoff and Parham review how the a few individuals affect public perception of the organization as a whole even when no unethical activities by the NPO as an organization are legally founded. The research offered is critical to this paper as it introduces corruption as an existing act within an NPO, but not necessarily by an NPO. Hanson, J. (2008). Culture, change, and cascading damage at a United Way. Journal of Nonprofit & Public Sector Marketing, 20(1), 119. John Hanson, PhD, is the Director of Development, Evanston Northwestern Healthcare Foundation. Hanson has published over 60 papers focused upon third world interactions with nonprofit organizations, governmental interaction, and social standings of the Muslim faith. Hanson gives credence to social sector concerns when nonprofit organizations aligned with political ideals, opposed by the general public sector, continue to elicit civil sector funding not equitably distributed across stated mission programs. Hanson cites direct relationships between economic greed by non-profit executives through obscure programs and associated political agendas. The research introduces the term â€Å"Social Contract† (pp. 123-4) as Hanson provides empirical evidence towards ethical misconduct and potential profiteering. The research provided in this paper offers significant support toward exploring social expectations and ethical challenges when defining profiteering by nonprofit organizations. Kelman, S. (2007). Public Administration and Organization Studies. Academy Of Management Annals, 1. 225-267. Steven Kelman, PhD, is a Director of Governmental Studies at John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Kelman has published over 64 papers and books related to the subject of organizational studies, nonprofit management, and governmental influence. This paper focuses upon academic interests toward the progressive transformation of nonprofit entities as an isomorphic structure bridging private and civil sector service organizations. Kelman focuses upon an increasing manifestation of financial greed and managerial corruption fostered by a declining interest in nonprofit studies by senior academic bodies. The article provides evidence toward the shift between methodological and empirical research necessary to capture and report the differences between economic output and social outcomes to which governmental and non-profit organizations are accountable. This research presented is critical to the individual study of profiteering as it provides a compilation of historical case analysis within the (un)ethical behavior of nonprofit organizations. Levi, M. (2006). The media construction of financial white-collar crimes. British Journal of Criminology, 46(6), 1037-1057. doi:10. 1093/bjc/az1079 Michael Levi, PhD, is a retired British Magistrate and professor of law. Levi’s research focuses primarily upon how social media build and often accelerate public concern over white-collar crimes. The critical cases assessed by Levi review for-profit activities with only a cursory review over nonprofit organizations. However, the study offers that with both for-profit and nonprofit activities, media sensationalism produces an undue criticism upon financial misconduct. The information gained from this study, supports the necessary assessment and comparison of financial misconduct by nonprofit activities and that of a limited number of individuals during brief moments of the organization’s existence.  Nahan, M. & D’Cruz, D. (2004). NGOs undermining democracy. Review – Institute of Public Affairs, 56(4), 7-9. Nahan and D’Cruz share a combined success of publishing over 160 studies and texts focused upon the relationship between U. S. non-profit organizations (non-governmental organizations) and a global NPO marketplace. Researching non-profit impact upon political corruption Nahan et al, observe a tendency for corrupt government offices to cast doubt upon supporting NPO programs both within the U. S. and abroad. A social-political review of the Newmont Mining Company and Indonesian governmental activities within its mining industry is provided as designated NGOs supporting activities between major entities as a public sector watchdog demonstrate broad-spectrum signs of corrupt activities. This paper supports a relationship between non-profit activities and political corruption. Rashid, S. (2006). Watchman, who watches thee? Donors and corruption in less-developed countries. Independent Review, 10(3), 411. Rashid provides a critical study over financial misconduct by public sector and third sector organizations. Over the past decades, several nations working with the United Nations have supported the development of â€Å"Watchdog† organizations. These are public charities or other designated NPOs given the task to monitor mission and fiscal related national and international activities of other public and nonprofit organizations. Rashid offers that unethical activities are not only conducted by NPO/NGO activities, but also by donors of such activities in the reporting and distribution of materials, goods, and funding. Observing NPO activities in third world nations, Rashid finds that watchdog organizations become compromised as donors assert both political and public influence. The study provides critical insight leading to question methods of monitoring, reporting, and correcting fraudulent financial activities by NPOs. Shughart, I. F. (2011). Disaster relief as bad public policy. Independent Review, 15(4), 519-539. Shughart summarizes the governmental and social response toward fiscal distribution and political reliance upon nonprofit organizations supporting post hurricane Katrina recovery. Shughart researches the negative results of relying upon organizations of good will when awarding liberal grants with limited means of accountability or oversight. A relevant correlation is formed, demonstrating the relationship between federally funded nonprofit emergency relieve activities and slack political controls. Seminal works by disaster scholars and government reports investigating post hurricane Katrina cited arguments regarding â€Å"fiscal nepotism by executives† and the path leading to long-term social sector harm. The research supports concerns of nonprofit fiscal misconduct through publically documented federal research into Hurricane Katrina activities. Tarlson, N. G. (2008). Donor-advised funds: Preparing for closer scrutiny. Journal of Accounting, 205(1), 28-31. Nick Tarlson is a CPA and owner of Tarlson & Associates of San Francisco. Tarlson also acts as an adjunct faculty member of graduate programs in accounting, finance, and taxation at Golden Gate University. In this publication, Tarlson summarizes congressional interests in adjusting the regulatory policies governing donor-advised funds (DAF). The interest and proposed guidance is that DAF become a standardization applied to many charitable activities with strict policies and punitive actions when disregarding the desired distribution of funds. Incentives are offered to both donor and charity for supporting these new policies which offer the research into NPO fiscal corruption a potential alternative and corrective action in resolution to the growing dilemma of fiscal fraud. Tilley, C. (2010). Rally to our standards. Financial Management (14719185), 50. Charles Tilley, PhD, is the CEO of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. He has published or edited over 100 scholarly papers and books. Governments from around the world have coalesced to establish anti-corruption agencies that operate with, yet outside of local and federal government prevue from any nation. Tilley reviews the concerns of fiscal management by NPOs from the perspective of professional accountants. A concern introduced by Tilley and pursued by the research of this paper, is the influence political decisions have upon the funding of public charities by governmental offices. This article provides an international private sector review of shared concerns by civil and public sector agents seeking to understand the cause and control mechanisms of increased fiscal mismanagement by nonprofit executives. Tuckman, H. P. , & Chang, C. E. (1998). How pervasive are abuses in fundraising among nonprofits. Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 9(2), 211. Howard Tuckman, PhD, is a professor of economics and dean of the College of Business, Virginia Commonwealth University. Cyril Chang, PhD, is a professor of economics at the Fogel College of Business and Economics, University of Memphis. The research and publication of this paper reflect a study of fundraising abuses in 1988. The report is inherently dated and subsequently insubstantial toward validating current practices. However, the research identifies a subjective concern towards fraudulent activities that is subsequently negated, or at least minimized, following a qualitative scientific study. While current articles, studies, books, and published papers identify a continued concern toward NPO fundraising and distribution of funds received, the work of Tuckman and Chang present a need for continued qualitative research. It is imperative that the reasoning and outcome of this paper or similar research be included into any effort to expose unethical conduct of fiscal activities by NPOs. Werker, E. , & Ahmed, F. (2008). What do nongovernmental organizations do? The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 22(2), 73-92. Werker and Ahmed summarize accountability over the past decade of government activities outsourced to nonprofit activities. Executed as a means to reduce government costs of operations, there is an increased number of programs redistributed from the civil sector agencies to nonprofit entities assigned to supersede traditional government activities. This paper identifies how non-profit organizations miraculously appear with no past performance or history only to receive committed funding, often in excess of the originally expenditure to manage civil sector programs. The information presented within this paper offers supporting information toward nonprofit organizations and issues of political corruption.