ABSTRACT
The purpose of strategic management is often described as trying to make organizations more effective. This chapter explores the concept of organizational effectiveness and the various models that have been put forward, under three main headings: the rational-structural frame; the human resources frame; and emergent approaches. In relation to each model the discussion will try to clarify the concept, the conceptual and operational difficulties presented by these models, and examine whether there is a way forward in considering the concept of organizational effectiveness that is both academically sound (as far as any model or theory can be) and pragmatically useful in the voluntary nonprofit sector.
