What I was aiming at when I said that a museum wasn't a "traditional"
business (and you are going to have to excuse my collections management
bias here) is that when things are going badly, they can't sell off assets
to raise funds without getting into some major ethical issues.  When a
traditional business is failing, whether product/sales driven or not, one
of the possible solutions is selling off what's saleable and closing up
shop.  For obvious reasons, that's a little more difficult in museums than
in other businesses.  Many people would be shocked at the number of
governing bodies of museums that suggest just such action when the going
gets tough.

I agree completely that good business practices such as long range
planning, cash flow charting, financial analysis, etc. DO apply to museums,
and more of them should be utilizing these tools.  Some of these practices
can be more difficult (such as long range planning) in museums, especially
when you don't know where your next year's operating budget is coming from,
but difficult doesn't mean impossible.  Some up-and-coming museum
professionals are realizing the value of a solid business background before
they enter the field, and I hope that more of these people are successful,
because then we will all benefit.


Alex Avdichuk

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In response:
Granted, but the fact of the matter is that a museum is not a "business" in
the traditional sense of the word, so traditional business practices don't
always apply.
     Which practices don't apply? Long range planning? A general business
     plan? Cash flow charting? Financial analysis? I think all of these
     certainly apply to "museum business."
     If museums aren't traditional businesses, than what are they? At last
     look, the museums I know of run like traditional businesses--they have
     expenses: rent, utilities, salaries, payroll taxes, office supplies,
     insurance expense, etc. And these are offset by revenues raised
     through admissions, gift shop sales, membership dues, special events,
     grants, corporate sponsorship, etc. Businsess is business. Museums are
     traditional businesses, just not product based/sales driven
     businesses.