Jimmy C. Dabhi
Organisation Culture of NGOs. Does it Matter?
New Delhi: Indian Social Institute. 2008
Pp.240. Rs.250. US$ 25 (HB)

Abstract

Our personal and public lives are greatly influenced by organisations of various kinds. Organisations whether governmental, profit making or not for profit, in today’s globalised and increasingly privatised world, facilitate or/and obstruct lives of millions of citizens in terms of their wellbeing and rights to live as human beings. The ever increasing role of organisations in shaping society directly or indirectly necessitates that we examine and understand them in order to improve their governance, management and thus their output and impact. Non- Governmental Organisations (NGOs) as the name suggests are not directly governed and managed by the State. These are also known as Voluntary Organisations (VOs), Charities (as in UK and USA), Not For Profit Organisations (NFPOs) and Civil Society Organisations. This book is about these organisations. The book attempts to further explore the world of NGOs/NFPOs. The NGOs have played an important role in wellbeing of millions of citizens, development and empowerment of communities in various parts of India. Much is said and written about what they do, the attempt here in this book is to throw some light on how they do it. The internal world of NGOs may be looked from various angles and aspects; the focus here is on the NGO culture. People often talk about culture within organisations and interventions of these organisations to change the culture outside which may then facilitate development and empowerment process in favour of the excluded, discriminated and marginalised communities.
Organisational culture is very much talked about and researched in the corporate sector. Here is an attempt to see whether the organisation culture of the NGOs matter in their functioning. The book highlights how organisation culture affects the effectiveness of the NGOs. The book is based on the research done by development NGOs with a focus on their organisation culture. The book defines and explores the various dimensions and role of various actors with regards to organisation culture; and examines if these aspects of the NGO culture influence the effectiveness of these organisations