| Course | MGMT 602 Non-Profit Management (MGMT602) |
|---|---|
| Module/Week | 4 |
| Assignment | DB Forum 2 Replies |
| Paper type | Two discussion replies |
| Length | about 463 words (thread and replies). Course guide: per the course guide, at least two replies of at least 200 words each to classmates' Forum 2 threads |
| Format | APA 7 citations and reference list |
| Points | 40 |
| School | Liberty University Online |
| Program | MS in Management and Leadership |
| Where it sits | Module/Week 4 in Liberty's published MGMT 602 course guide; current sections can differ |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for MGMT 602 Week 4
Discussion Board Forum 2: Replies
MGMT 602 Non-Profit Management, Discussion Board Forum 2: Replies (two)
Thread by [Student Name]
The two classmates and their threads are composites standing in for the forum's own posts; the articles, Worth's textbook and Scripture are real; the requirements follow Liberty's public course guide for MGMT 602.
Reply to Rachel
Rachel, your account of the children's museum in Grand Rapids was a hard story: the founder retired after twenty years, chose her deputy as successor, and the successor resigned after fourteen months, worn out and, as you put it, never able to step out of the founder's shadow. You attributed the failure mostly to the founder's lingering influence with donors.
I think that was part of it, but your details suggest a second cause. You described the successor as an excellent operations manager who reorganized the exhibits staff and cut the deficit, and you also mentioned that the board met only four times in her tenure. Herman and Heimovics (1990) found that executives rated effective by others were distinguished by board-centered leadership: they took responsibility for the board's work, helping it function, keeping it focused on direction and supporting its relationships with the community. The founder had probably done that informally for twenty years. Her successor may have assumed the board would lead itself.
Worth (2017) treats board and chief executive as partners who cannot do their jobs without each other. If the board was passive and the executive did not draw it in, the successor faced the donors alone, which may explain why the founder's influence never faded.
Did the board choose the successor through a search, or did it simply approve the founder's choice?
Reply to Tom
Tom, I appreciated your thread on the food ministry in Spartanburg whose founder stepped down after eighteen years and handed the executive role to a younger pastor. You praised the founder for staying on as volunteer chaplain, keeping an office and leading the Monday devotions, and you concluded that the transition succeeded because the founder remained present.
I wonder whether the presence could become a problem. You mentioned that staff still bring questions to the founder's office first. Worth (2017) emphasizes that the board is responsible for selecting and supporting the chief executive, and that support includes making sure the executive has the authority to lead. A beloved founder down the hall can unintentionally hold that authority, especially when staff have worked for him for years.
Scripture offers a different model. When Elijah was taken up, the mantle that fell from him was picked up by Elisha, who struck the Jordan with it and crossed over, and the prophets watching said that Elijah's spirit rested on Elisha (English Standard Version Bible, 2001/2016, 2 Kings 2:13-15). Elisha's authority was confirmed in part because Elijah was no longer there to be consulted. The founder's continued service is a gift, but the board might consider a season away, or a role outside the building, so the new executive can be seen as the leader.
Has the new executive made any decision the founder disagreed with, and how did staff respond?
References
English Standard Version Bible. (2016). Crossway. (Original work published 2001)
Herman, R. D., & Heimovics, R. D. (1990). The effective nonprofit executive: Leader of the board. Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 1(2), 167-180. https://doi.org/10.1002/nml.4130010207
Worth, M. J. (2017). Nonprofit management: Principles and practice (4th ed.). SAGE Publications.
What the MGMT 602 Week 4 instructions ask
The second forum closes in Module/Week 4 of MGMT 602 with replies worth 40 points, read with chapter 5 of Worth and one presentation; no quiz falls this week, since Quiz 2 came in Module/Week 3 and Quiz 3 waits for Module/Week 5. The rule is the same as for Forum 1: reply to at least two classmates, never fewer than 200 words in any reply. The forum's purpose is analysis of the assigned reading on founders and executive leadership, so each reply should connect the classmate's organization to that reading or to a second source that sheds light on it. A reply that turns a classmate's story into a question for the class, such as what a successor should do in the first year, keeps the discussion going.
How this MGMT 602 Week 4 example is built
Both replies start from what the classmate reported and then add a lens. The first, to Rachel, accepts her account of a successor who resigned after fourteen months at a children's museum, then brings in Herman and Heimovics's finding that effective nonprofit executives take responsibility for the board's work as well as the staff's. It suggests that the successor, an excellent operations manager, may have left the founder's board without a leader once the founder was gone. The second, to Tom, questions his praise for a founder who stayed on as volunteer chaplain, noting Worth's point that the board and the new executive need room to lead, and contrasts Elijah, who left Elisha the mantle and was gone.
MGMT 602 Week 4 grading rubric: where the points go
Forum 2 replies are graded on their engagement with the classmate's thread and the reading. Two replies of at least 200 words each are required. Strong replies add evidence or a perspective the classmate did not consider: a study of executive leadership, a point from Worth about board and executive roles, or a biblical example of succession. Accurate description of any research is expected, including what kind of executives it studied. Disagreement should be respectful and specific, aimed at an idea rather than at the classmate or the people in the organization. Correct APA citations for every source and a last question grounded in what the classmate witnessed complete each reply.
MGMT 602 Week 4 help: mistakes that cost points
Replies on this forum sometimes simply agree that founders are hard to replace. Look instead for the assumption in each thread that deserves a second look: that a successor failed because of personality, or that a founder who stays is always an asset. Bring in one source per reply and apply it to the specific organization. Keep the details the classmate gave, the museum's size, the ministry's programs, so the reply stays anchored. Be tactful when the people involved are real, since classmates may know them. Neither reply may dip under 200 words on its own; end each with a question about what the classmate saw happen, not a rhetorical one.
Related MGMT 602 sample papers
Other MGMT 602 weeks
- MGMT 602 Week 1: Forum 1: Why Nonprofits Exist
- MGMT 602 Week 2: Forum 1 Replies: Sector Theories
- MGMT 602 Week 3: Forum 2: Founder's Syndrome
- MGMT 602 Week 5: Forum 3: Nonprofit Collaboration
- MGMT 602 Week 6: Forum 3 Replies: Merge or Stay Apart
- MGMT 602 Week 7: Forum 4: Financial Vulnerability
- MGMT 602 Week 8: Nonprofit Analysis Project
More MS in Management and Leadership sample papers
MGMT 602 Week 4 questions, answered
What is due in MGMT 602 Module/Week 4?
Only the Forum 2 replies, worth 40 points, with chapter 5 of Worth and one presentation; Quiz 3 and the Forum 3 thread follow in Module/Week 5.
Where can I find a free MGMT 602 Week 4 sample paper?
Two complete MGMT 602 Week 4 replies on nonprofit succession, one about a children's museum and one about a food ministry founder, are posted on this page.
What makes a nonprofit executive effective?
Herman and Heimovics found that executives judged effective took responsibility for leading the board as well as the staff, for example by helping the board work well and by keeping it focused on the organization's direction.
Should a nonprofit founder stay involved after stepping down?
It depends on the role; a founder who stays close to staff can make it hard for the board and the new executive to lead, so boards often set clear limits or a time away.
Why do successors to nonprofit founders often fail?
Successors inherit structures and relationships built around the founder, and when the board has been inactive, the new executive may lack the board support and authority the founder held informally.
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