Week 11 Journal

Week 11 discusses social business which was defined by Professor Muhammad Yunus as a “business created and designed to address a social problem, a non-loss, non-dividend company”. Such business is financially self-sustainable and profits realized by the business are reinvested in the business itself with the aim of increasing social impact.

The investors or the owners can gradually recoup their money invested, but cannot take any dividend beyond that point. Yunus said “the company must cover all costs and make profit, at the same time achieve the social objective, such as, healthcare for the poor, housing for the poor, financial services for the poor, nutrition for malnourished children, providing safe drinking water”

What did spark my interest is his ability to establish a social business like Grameen bank which allowed the poor to be an actor in the free market and to enjoy some of its fruits to try to come out of poverty. 

Research have repeatedly shown that income is one of the strongest predictors of measuring success and these can be linked with education. Since many are not privy to education many will continue to be in poverty. Lack of education makes up a major part of the poverty trap

Hybrid Organization

In summary, week 10 talks about Hybrid organizations which are, by nature, hard to define. Hybrids organizations often exhibit qualities of both nonprofit and for-profit activities. The core of any hybrid organization lies a commitment of creating positive social or environmental impacts. Hybrids pursue a social mission whiles they engage in commercial activities in order to generate revenue to sustain their operations. The Broken “Buy-One, Give-One” Model which talks about 3 Ways to Save Toms Shoes are better understand the problem, create a solution, not a band-aid and innovate business models, not marketing campaigns.

What did spark interest to me of hybrid organizations is their quest for legal recognition and access to capital, markets, and labor. The challenges they face are Legal Structure, Financing and Customers and Beneficiaries. This entails the establishment of two separate legal entities, one a for-profit and the other a nonprofit for legal structure. With financing the approach is the funding strategy they adopt that accesses profit-seeking investors for commercial activities and nonprofit fundraising and public subsidies for social activities and last but not the least the breaking of traditional customer-beneficiary activities by providing products and services that, when consumed, produce social value.

What makes hybrids successful is their approach in addressing social issues of environment, economic development, governance, and housing. They are also finding homes in sectors like retail, information technology etc.

Week 09 Journal

The summary of lesson 09 talks about robust infrastructure building of organizations, which includes sturdy information technology systems, financial systems, skills training, fundraising processes, and other essential overhead which are more likely to succeed than those that do not.

My response to a specific reading, video, or activity of lesson 09 was Dan Pallota’s Ted talk which reveals the perceptions working against the non-profit sector that make it hard to compete against businesses and mentally disabled people who just want compassion or love, and that can’t be monetized by a business.

As a nonprofit volunteer, donor, board member, or employee is to help build a robust infrastructure of any organizations I am associated with, which includes sturdy information technology systems, financial systems, skills training, fundraising processes, and other essential overhead which will help improve the organizations sustainability.

Corporate Social Responsibility

The summaries of week 08 lessons are all about corporate social responsibility and sustainability which in essence suggest the intended commitment of organization’s triple bottom line actions in its corporate processes. That is to incorporate the creation and maximizing of long-term, social and environmental, economic values into core strategy and operations. It is an indication of the challenges of the present world facing organizations from the public and private sectors.

My response to a specific reading, video, or activity in this week’s content which did spark an interest is the triple bottom line which is a framework with three parts of social, environment and financial which is use to evaluate organizations performance in a broader perspective to create greater business value. It takes care of people, profits and the planet.

People: fair treatment of employees, and enacting favorable practices in the communities where companies conduct business.

Profits: Positive effect on a company's financial bottom line.

Planet: The implementation of sustainable practices and the reduction of environmental impact.

Why CSR has become more and more popular in recent years according to Forbes, “CSR is a way for companies to benefit themselves while also benefiting society”. They use CSR as a way to push innovations, cost savings, brand differentiation, customer engagement etc. into  business processes.

JOURNAL 07

The summary of the main activities of week 07 teaches about the Lean Startups which in essence is to provide a scientific approach in creating and managing startups and get the desired product to customers' hands faster. It is a method that teaches entrepreneurs how to drive a startup-how to steer, when to turn, and when to persevere-and grow a business with maximum acceleration. It helps avoid major startup founder mistakes. The business model canvasses describe, design, challenge, and pivot a business model. In essence it is a visual chart which consists of elements describing a firm's or product's value proposition, infrastructure, customers, and finances.

My response to a specific reading, video, or activity in this week’s content is Lluis’s presentation on 5 keys to success for social entrepreneurs, an interesting point of view. The import of the whole lecture was that, what every investor is looking for are potentially successful social entrepreneurs. They know the real value of an idea, They hate- They are really pissed off about social problems, They shout their existence to the world, They are paranoid and They look at both the social impact and the money.

Sharpening business skills is a powerful way to accelerate learning and boost leadership skills and this could help or influence others. The potential benefits are many; it may help one focus and gain clarity on issues, they can therefore inspire others and provide encouragement and moral support when needed as well as help others discover their hidden strengths. The most important skill is leadership skill.