Log in
Building the Knowledge Base of Nonprofit Management:
A Searchable Database
Searching for utopia: The cycles of service provider preferences.
Abstract
A recurrent theme throughout the history of modern social welfare is
dissatisfaction with how services are provided and by whom. This
article, using media reports, traces the cycles of public sentiment,
as expressed through the media, about the capabilities of public,
nonprofit, and for-profit human service providers. An enhanced role
for each sector is associated with periods of disillusionment with
other sectors, stemming from such factors as poor quality performance,
management and accountability failures, and outright wrongdoing.
Raised expectations, grounded on wishes rather than evidence, it is
argued, are likely to result in a cyclical "fall from grace" of each
type of service provider. Some of these sector failures in recent
years are discussed and their common themes identified. An analysis of
thematic patterns reveals that all sectors have been found wanting.
Media portrayals reflect perceptions about sector performance "in the
moment" and are susceptible to change at the next hint of problems in
another sector. Ultimately, access to finances may have more to do
with future scenarios than publicity about or the track record of the
three sectors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2007 APA, all rights
reserved) (journal abstract)
Journal
(2004)
vol28
no3-4
pages137-159
Categories
-
Communications and Marketing
