Abstract
This paper explores the role of member participation in decision-making (PDM) from an organizational learning (OL) perspective. Community-based organizations (CBOs) serve as mediators between the individual and the local community, often providing the means for community member participation and benefiting organizationally from members’ input. Community psychologists have recognized these benefits; however, the field has paid less attention to the role participation plays in increasing CBOs’ capacity to meet community needs. We present a framework for exploring how CBO contextual factors influence the use of participatory decision-making structures and practices, and how these affect OL. We then use the framework to examine PDM in qualitative case study analysis of four CBOs: a youth development organization, a faith-based social action coalition, a low-income neighborhood organization, and a large human service agency. We found that organizational form, energy, and culture each had a differential impact on participation in decision making within CBOs. We highlight how OL is constrained in CBOs and document how civic aims and voluntary membership enhanced participation and learning.
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Notes
In this paper we have focused on internal influences but recognize and have included in our model external influences, which we are addressing in a separate paper.
Here redundancy does not imply inefficiency but rather suggests that when organizations have a systemic practice of bringing differing perspectives to challenges and opportunities that arise, they are more likely to generate novel solutions.
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We would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their extremely helpful comments, particularly related to the framing of our discussion.
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Bess, K.D., Perkins, D.D., Cooper, D.G. et al. A Heuristic Framework for Understanding the Role of Participatory Decision Making in Community-Based Non-Profits. Am J Community Psychol 47, 236–252 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-010-9396-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-010-9396-8