For-profit Sector versus Nonprofit Sector
The US non-profit sector is broad, dynamic, and varied, with organizations that are very distinct from one another in mission, scale, and other aspects (Worth, 2016). The Humane Society of the United States is an American non-profit organization that has evolved into the world’s largest animal protection group with millions of supporters and representatives. The HSUS was founded 66 years ago with a simple yet empowering ideology: preventing and deterring animal abuse and distress through outreach, field service, study, legislative action, and lobbying. While most non-profits create social value and for-profits create economic gain (Worth, 2016), PetSmart’s mission is to bring pet parents closer to their pets so that they can pursue more meaningful lives. As a for-profit organization, PetSmart has a lot of similarities with the Humane Society, but rather than supporters PetSmart promotes the profits of its employees, yet also gives back to the community (Gray, 2018).
Both non-profit and for-profit organizations have resources that can enable them to expand, evolve, or die. Performance is not always expected; continuous work is essential. At first, PetSmart struggled to find a sustainable strategy to generate revenue. Setbacks spurred the company in the 1990s resulting in the recruitment of Philip Francis to turn its operations around (Lundsten, 2015). Its supply chain has been enhanced with quality products, consumer growth, and animal-friendly service in stores. Now PetSmart maintains revenue by selling the best speciality animal products and providing services such as a vet centre, dog grooming, training, and daycare. In fact, in 2012, the total spending on pets was estimated at 52.9 billion dollars (Lundsten, 2015). But for the Humane Society, a non-profit organization must find different means to generate revenue. For PetSmart, resources arise from transactions and monetary capital flea market, while non-profit findings are from loans, subsidies, as well as philanthropy. Humane Society also profits through adoption and its supporters promoting fundraisers.
PetSmart’s mission focuses on providing the highest quality service, but also on helping animal shelters and protecting animals. As of January 2010, for instance, the program PetSmart Charities alone adopted 4 million dogs and cats in PetSmart Adoption Centers (Thompson & Young, 2015). For non-profit organizations, the mission is “critical” as for-profits organizations the mission is just “important”. For example, the Humane Society contributes a portion of all its operations to saving animals, whereas most of PetSmart’s revenue goes to its stockholders and employees. Lastly, the responsibilities and motivations of non-profit board members can be a lot different than for-profit. For-profits are interested in stock-price, and economic performances whereas the members of the Humane Society spend their time only contributing to the mission. Both types of organizations contribute to the economy and society overall, as both require the most influential business leaders and management.
References
Gray, E. (2018, August 20). PetSmart Provides Update on Comprehensive Action Plan to
Improve Grooming Experience for Pets and Pet Parents. Retrieved from https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180820005088/en/PetSmart-UpdateComprehensive-Action-Plan-Improve-Grooming.
Lundsten, L. L. (2015). PetSmart Searches for a Sustainable Strategy. Journal of the Academy of
Business Education, 14, 117–132. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.db07.linccweb.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=101 788609&site=eds-live
Worth, M. J. (2016). Nonprofit Management: Principles and Practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: CQ
Press, an imprint of SAGE Publications, Inc.