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| Path: Main Street : Resources & Library : Book Reviews : Book Review |
Cost-effectiveness in the Non-profit Sector:
Methods and Examples from Leading Organizations
by Gerald L. Schmaedick.
176 pages from Quorum BooksPrincipally a compilation of papers presented at a Stanford University Conference in 1991, this book goes beyond the health care arena to address cost-effectiveness in the arts, at universities and in human services. It is a compelling argument for the need to better quantify and compare, and it calls for nonprofit boards, funders and sector leaders to demand more meaningful and comparable forms of measurement.
Each year society entrusts significant philanthropic dollars to nonprofits with the expectation that they will use those resources responsibly and ensure the generation of maximum benefit. In short, cost effective management.
To promote the concept, the book draws on a multitude of personal and organizational cases. As well, the book defines cost-effective analysis (CEA), presents five management principles and carefully illustrates the application of each.
CEA is defined as "a rigorous system which tracks the costs of an activity or programs and records the results, then compares the two in terms that permit an evaluation of whether the results justify the costs." It is a flexible system that can be applied to different types of organizations and is surprisingly simple to comprehend.
The book provides ample illustrations. In spite of some technical limitations, we see that non-profits can indeed design systems that give pointed results, executed within common budgetary and personal restraints. A concrete and universally applicable tool, the book is a comprehensive reference source for oprganizations wishing to upgrade their management systems and gain better results while lowering costs.
Buy the book:
International: buy through Amazon.com: US$64.95
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