Abstract

The last decades have witnessed an extraordinary growth in non-governmental organizations (NGO) in all spheres of human activities worldwide, especially in developing countries. NGOs, as an integral part of civil society, concerned with management of a complex and diverse range of activities. They face internal and external management issues. This study provides a critical overview of the major issues involved in NGO management with an emphasis on four NGOs working in Iran as a proxy for developing countries. The study adopts a qualitative approach by conducting semi-structured one-to-one interviews with members of NGOs. Human resources, financial, organizational system are the challenging issues within NGOs (internal). NGO registration, interaction with other NGOs, private sectors and government as well as internationalization and financial crisis are the most challenging issues facing the NGOs in external relationship category.

Key words: Managerial challenges, non-governmental organizations, developing countries, qualitative research.