Using Nonprofits as For-Profit Student Training Grounds

Abstract

Students can develop important management skills by requiring them to work in non-profits as acomponent of their curriculum. What they can learn will be information usually not found in textbooksbecause this type of organization focuses on a mission that blends the desire for long term successwith the desire to serve special groups of people in need. The fascinating mix of social consciousnesswith any of a variety of business models creates dynamic environments that produce unusual situationsnot found in for-profit businesses. Exposure to these situations and occurrences can teach studentsmanagement responsiveness, adaptability, and critical analysis techniques within a constrained socialframework.