Social Enterprise Book Report

Social responsibility makes a company more competitive and reduces the risk of sudden damage to the company’s reputation and sales.

In the article, “The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Profits,” Friedman states that “businessmen believe that they are defending free enterprise when they proclaim that business is not concerned merely with profit but also with promoting desirable social ends.” This social responsibility is defined as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), which is the belief that “corporations owe a greater duty to their communities and stakeholders” by having a “social conscience.” This, among other things, includes being environmentally responsible, contributing to non-profit organizations, and eliminating discrimination.

Social responsibility is a great way to not only to make profit; consequently, as well as building a

It allows for social change advocacy without the potential external consequences of "conventional activism." But increasingly, we are led to believe that ‘entrepreneurs’ and ‘social enterprises’ are the avant garde of ‘change making’. Like every concept has both pros and cons, similarly even social entrepreneurship has its own demerits. On one hand it is one major factor in bringing change while on the other end it is being overused by companies who start off with the motive of being socially responsible and use this for the advantage in future ,by diverting their focus on profits. The point is, all of a sudden, social entrepreneurship was everywhere and everyone wanted to be one. The key to sustainable capitalism is reasonable profits as opposed to maximizing profits. In the current system, a segment of society is trying to maximize profits without concern for the impact on the well being of the society as a whole, while another segment of social organizations have to deal with the fall out. The system is not working. If it does good in some areas it also does bad in others. The example of Toms one for one shoe program though does charity and is a social enterprise but at its worst, it promotes a view of the world's poor as helpless, ineffective people passively waiting for trinkets from shoe-buying Americans. While the shoes themselves probably won't lead to any kind of disaster, that worldview can lead to bad policies and real, serious harm also has a small negative impact on local markets. And so I have come to feel increasingly uncomfortable with the term “social entrepreneurship” and its main actor, the “social entrepreneur”. It creates a false separation between “this is where we make money, and this is where we do good”. And that is exactly what is wrong with capitalism today. Myths of social entrepreneurship are different from what and how it really works in the

For individuals to “serve the common good” it is essential to put others before themselves. Individuals need to be selfless and look at their actions as they relate to the well-being of those around them. In business, it is necessary for the employees to think of the company as a whole instead of individually. If this were to be achieved, then the world would no longer face issues such as poverty and homelessness. Individuals need to learn how to be empathetic and this will translate into the business world. Currently, the world of business is strict, unforgiving, and selfish, and this is not conducive to a healthy world population. If this were to change then the common good would be CONCLUSION SENTENCE.

Ed Freeman had strong beliefs that many companies have been following and strongly implementing social responsible in their workforce. In addition, Ed Freeman synopsis is very agreeable because social responsibility is being implanted in many companies. Furthermore, Ed Freeman disclosure is very compiling because in his disclosure he offers alternative ways for other firms to implement strong ethical policies and purpose. Due to the fact that Ed Freeman strongly believed that the primary purpose of all business is to have a purpose in improving their local or unknown neighborhoods. Also, another purpose that companies generally have is generating profits and keeping up a strong respectful image. Furthermore, in the synopsis it was determined

Bill Gates utilized the accomplishment of his foundation, that not only serves to helped those in poverty, but also help get rid of inequities. He utilized his foundation as leverage to the graduates that personal accomplishments are great but helping others in need is the true accomplishment they should pursue. His examples gave insight on how humanity has shied away from helping those in

Social economy organizations are set to meet social objectives that are drafted into organizations ' charters. These objectives surpass conventional decisions to adopt corporate

Social entrepreneurship is gaining such strong interest in nonprofit world because of the economic challenges that have plagued this sector with cuts in philanthropic and government funding. According to Nash (2010) not only are there cuts, there are many organizations vying for the limited funding. Studies support, the attitudes in capitalistic America, and the ease of nonprofits to embrace this concept; evidenced by their ability to sell their once free services, to meet the demands of the consumer. According to the IRS (2010) nonprofits have increased their selling power on unrelated business income, to the tune of 184% increase, in a sixteen-year time frame. This writer, believes these numbers are evidence which support this trend is

Organizationally, companies should not overburden their workforce with an overly cumbersome program that is riddled with features that they will never use. This reason has led to half of the respondents on a survey mentioned in the text that they believe the social networks have very little impact on employee retention, the speed of making decisions, or the reduction of meetings.

Shared value is a business strategy which focuses on creating overall value while addressing social problems. This concept of management strategy was expressed in the “Creating Shared Value” article by Porter and Kramer. Shared value is not just an aspect of a company’s growth strategy or general business operations. It is well integrated in the way a company operates along with what their goals are as an organization. The value created for a company’s targeted end user also has some sort of social impact which benefits their company purpose. Creating social impact is a company goal and success is measured through creating a shared value network. Porter believes that “The ability to address social issues is integral to profit maximization instead of treated as outside the profit model.” He is addressing that profits are not measured by impact not just monetary gains for the company, we can change our mindset to think of profit in a different way. Profit can be a benefit or some sort of added value. In this approach Porter argues that “Corporate social responsibility encompasses not only what companies do with their profits, but also how they make them.” This relationship is the driving force for a company’s development and future growth, and it goes beyond corporate strategy it also incorporates investments and key stakeholders for each company. Quantifying a monetary figure and amount for social impact may be extremely difficult, however it has progressed with awareness and

What sort of brands come to mind when talking about popular restaurants, clothing chains, airline travel, grocery shopping locations, or online stores? Chances are Chipotle, The North Face, REI, Southwest Airlines, Trader Joe’s, Costco, and Amazon all find their way into the conversation. What makes these companies so successful, even though many of them seem to rely on selling high priced goods? The answer is Conscious Capitalism. Conscious Capitalism is the new social entrepreneurship strategy that combines purpose and profit together to produce businesses that serve customers, communities, employees, and shareholders. Conscious Capitalism centered businesses will outperform businesses of similar purpose and size that do not practice Conscious Capitalism, and accelerator curriculums that promote Conscious Capitalism will produce more successful companies. In addition, it makes sense and is advantageous to expand these ideals to second-tier economic cities in order to promote growth.

Walmart is taking jobs out of America to other countries like china, where greater parts of their products are manufactured. This is not being socially responsibly to the community. Walmart again pays its employees low wages. The company do not care about the employees welfare, the fact that you need a job means you are in need and they treat you any how they want. There are so many questions that need to be answered. Walmart taking out life insurance policy on terminal ill employees while making millions in profit from customers. Walmart put small businesses out of business and the charge double what they were charging because there is no other choice. Is it ok to do all these wrong and donate to the society and charity and portray to the world that you are a good company.

According to (Young, 2008) “A social enterprise is thought to be something new and something distinct from classical business and traditional non-profit activity, combining at different extents elements of the social purpose, the market orientation and financial performance standards of business”. When looking at starting up a social enterprise there are important points that need to be looked at the help ensure the enterprise is successful.

After reading the first two chapters of Building Social Business, I was moved. I was inspired. Yunus opened my eyes to another side of business which in his words was selfless. And indeed it was selfless. Social business is truly selfless because it focuses on helping others and earning profit comes second. By reading this book and reflecting, I realized it is better to be part of the solution than be part of the problem. By looking at my community, at my environment, and at my experiences in life, there are problems that will need solutions and I firmly believe that having a social business is the solution. By my observation, slow public utilities, expensive medicine, and empowering marginalized sectors are problems that can be solved by putting up social businesses. By combining entrepreneurial mindset and experience, social awareness, and creativity, the ideal social business can be done. But what makes a social business truly a social business is the