Special Interest Society

SPECIAL INTEREST SOCIETY
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
Type of Engagement/ Imposed/Purposeful
Collaboration Short/Long-term
Understanding Impact of Management
on Macro-Social Systems
Strategic/Tactical
Formal/Informal
Dimensions
Organizational
Interpersonal
Cultural Norms
vertical/horizontal/hybrid
values/behaviors/principles
scope/direction/focus
Competencies/Capacities
role clarity
socialization/orientation
skills
Preparedness - Management
project
meeting
member
Social Cohesion
social bonding
productive working relationships
Communications
direct/indirect
Connectiveness
community of limited liability
Notes:
M
embers join seeking to make the most of their membership.
Yet a vast majority remain on the margins. Too often we accept
that this behavior is a conscious decision. Research conducted by
the Melos Institute has dispelled this myth. In fact, most members don’t
understand what it means to be a member or even how to make the most
of their membership. Those that do, prove that regardless of how busy they
are, they find time to participate across a broad spectrum.
The Melos Institute is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit independent think tank
focused specifically on addressing the challenging issues that have
persisted within membership-based organizations.
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info@melosinstitute.org
www.melosinstitute.org
When members learn their role in the association, when they learn how
to navigate the organization to achieve their immediate and distant goals,
and when they recognize the vast pool of information and talent that can
be tapped...the more eager and willing theybecome to get involved.
Organizations successful at increasing member engagement do more than
change their strategies, they adapt them in ways that align with their
distinctive type of macro-social system.
Four Key Social Systems in Democratic Societies
Social systems reflect populations tied together by shared behavioral standards and mutual
dependence. They can be as simple as family units or as complex as a major corporate entities/
bureaucracies. These entities often share the same functions (produce goods/services, distribute
goods/services, recruit/train members, and maintain social control). The actions these entities
pursue to achieve their goals must be adapted from one another to reflect their distinctive
purpose, audience, expectations, and goals. Unfortunately, systems now too often replicate the
same management techniques across the board and as a result unintentionally produce results
that fail to fulfill expectations.
For-Profit
Transaction-oriented
Nonprofit Government
Civic-oriented
Nonprofit Philanthropic
Humanitarian/Cause-oriented
Reason
Emerge
need means to distribute
goods in market-based
economies
need for social order
in democratic societies
need to address key social issues via need to address threat/challenge
government-sanctioned status
within trade, profession,
personal avocation
Primary
Purpose
generate profit
maintain civil society
mitigate social problems/
fulfill “social contract”/care within
commonwealth
capacity building
advancement of members
(individually/collectively), domain, & larger society
Primary
Role
customer/consumer
citizen
client population/clientele
members/citizens
Type
Engage
buy goods
follow social norms
pursue/enlist in the services
participate & contribute
Outcome value of purchase
Expect
desired quality of life
self-empowerment/positive change
recognize/realize investment
Manage
Model
constitutional governance
philanthropic
relation-centered
business
Nonprofit Domain-centric Organizations = Membership-based Organizations (MBOs )
Membership-based Organizations (MBOs):
Institutions that represent a population of eligible individuals or organizations that voluntarily join
together to promote and protect their mutual interests; primarily advancing the body of knowledge.
They exist to support their members’ self-fulfillment and that of the discipline they represent. These
“special interest societies” are micro– or portable communities that are built upon a network of relationships in which members recognize themselves as citizens; where members are recognized as the
greatest asset. These organizations advance when members are highly-engaged and are willing to be
of support to their peers.
© copyright 2010, 2015 Melos Institute Pacifica California
Nonprofit Domain-centric
Relation-oriented