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Short Answer Questions

Question 19

According to statistics, there were roughly 1.58 million registered nonprofit organizations in the United States in the year 2017. These organizations employed a significant part of the country’s population, numbering to about 12.3 million people (McKeever). This accounts for approximately ten percent of the workforce in the US.

Question 20

1. SHRM refers to strategic human resource management. It describes the process of aligning the goals of a particular organization with its human resources to realize employee efficiency, improve motivation and satisfaction, which translates into enhanced productivity and performance.

2. SHRM in nonprofits is essential because employees must believe in the organization mission as well as its purpose for them to be fully committed and productive in their work.

3. –Engage managers. Managers understand the workings of their various units, and hence, they are essential in developing a plan.

-Build a project planning team. Team members should include human resource professionals as well as agency leaders who must be accountable to each other.

-Access challenges and devise solutions. The team should be able to work together to come up with solutions to different problems. (Pynes 59)

Essay Questions

Question 1

Motivation can be defined as the desire that a person has to do something. This desire will help them persist and at the specific task until they achieve a predetermined goal. There are several theories of motivation. The first is the hierarchy of needs theory as proposed by Maslow. The approach consists of five levels of needs; physiological needs, safety needs, belongingness needs, esteem needs, and self-actualization needs in ascending order. According to Maslow, a person must satisfy a lower level before moving to a higher one (Pynes 305). The second theory of motivation is the ERG theory related to the first theory. However, ERG theory narrows down human needs into three general categories; existence, relatedness, and growth needs. Similar to the hierarchy of needs, people satisfy one need before the other while at the same time reducing frustration as they progress. The third theory of motivation is the theory of needs according to McClelland, who asserted that people have three primary needs; achievement, power, and affiliation. These needs are the driving influences that motivate people.

Some of the reasons that motivate people to volunteer in nonprofit organizations are the desire to help others. For example, a person with a passion for helping the poor can volunteer their time to cook and clean in homes (Stukas et al. 125). Another reason for volunteering is a desire to give back to the community.

Question 2

One of the challenges facing SHRM professionals is the change in the demographic characteristics in the workplace. People are likely to meet more women, different races and ethnicities, LGBTQs among many other diverse groups. One of the ways to deal with these changes is to increase awareness by educating people on how to interact with people of different backgrounds with respect so that they can work well together. The second issue facing SHRM professionals are changing laws; for example, an employer cannot force an employee to retire as long as they can still do their job (Pynes 412). To deal with such laws, SHRM professionals such acquaint themselves with the current laws and how to apply them within their organization. The third challenge facing SHRM professionals is the different skills required in the workplace. Employees need more than one skill to be more useful, hence the need to hire people with knowledge in different areas. To address this challenge, there should be a comprehensive hiring process to ensure that a candidate is qualified enough and can be entrusted with various tasks.

Question 3

In order to become a nonprofit rock star, the first step that a person should take is finding something that they are passionate about. Some of the fields in the nonprofit sector include health, art, and education. The second step is to find people with similar passion who can work with you towards achieving the goals of the nonprofit organization. Third, to become a nonprofit rockstar one should keep up with recent trends and news to make sure that their work is in line with the law and that their work helps to solve problems that people face in the current times.

Some of the things that I have learned about becoming an SHRM rockstar for a nonprofit organization is to apply the fundamental principles of SHRM that includes valuing employees as an asset towards achieving organizational goals. The second step is to understand how to motivate employees in an organization using the motivation theories so that they can do their best and help the organization excel. The third thing is to understand the challenges and issues relevant to SHRM professionals in the current age, such as the laws governing the workplace.

Extra Credit Opportunity

United Nations- virtual volunteers can enter data for UN projects

Catchafire- website design by virtual volunteers

Volunteers of America- online data collection and analysis

Action Without Borders- translation of documents from one language to another

Habitat for Humanity- collect data about home ownership online

Works Cited

McKeever, Brice. “The Nonprofit Sector in Brief 2018” National Center for Charitable Statistics. 13 December 2018. Retrieved from https://nccs.urban.org/publication/nonprofit-sector-brief-2018#the-nonprofit-sector-in-brief-2018-public-charites-giving-and-volunteeringPynes, Joan E. Human resources management for public and nonprofit organizations: A strategic approach. Vol. 30. John Wiley & Sons, 2008.

Stukas, Arthur A., et al. “Motivations to volunteer and their associations with volunteers’ well-being.” Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly 45.1 (2016): 112-132.