Social Entrepreneurship: What Everyone Needs to Know - Coursework Example

Written Assignments Admin [Pick the Written assignment Literally defined social entrepreneurship is when common citizens take responsibility and build institutions that are aimed at solving social problems. These institutions are built or are transformed and are usually indulged in solving problems of society like poverty, illiteracy, abuse of human rights, environmental destruction and corruption. The ultimate aim is to make life better for everyone. These enterprises are usually non-profit which means that the main aim is not to make money. Unlike commercial business, the main motive of a social enterprise is to serve humanity (Bornstein and Davis, 2010). There are different types of social enterprises that are used in social entrepreneurship and they are as follows: The first type is a Leverage nonprofit organization. This is when the enterprise has a mission of transforming the society within a defined community by using their own initiatives to move towards a planed vision. In doing so, they do not expect any primary influence from external sources. In this model, the focus is on attaining sustainability by leveraging the resources that are freely available within the community. In other words, this is the model that promotes self sustainability. Later, when required, there could be a call for external resources that can be applied to the internal ones. Such enterprises are usually funded by the government or external grants. The focus is also on community development. For example. A restaurant that is opened and run on this model would hire youth from within the community to prove pay and job training Second one is the Hybrid model that lies between the profit and nonprofit category. Here, the social entrepreneurs are largely nonprofit but they sustain themselves by earning enough in order to support their business. Even though there is profit involved in this model, the social aspect of the enterprise remains the primary purpose. The third and last method is the social business method which is very similar to a regular profit based business model. Maximization of profit is the primary motive but the focus and vision is always to implement and achieve the social mission. Once profits loom, the business moves away and concentrates on the core social mission. All of the above mentioned methods work on the basis of social value. This is where one individual gets the drive and passion to work towards the betterment of humanity. Social value is the passion that inspires an individual to work for a social cause. Such elements inspire the person to place personal profits and benefits secondary. This is what is most integral when it comes to running a social enterprise. Once the social value is in the heart, the least important thing for a person becomes personal gains. This is the true essence of running a social enterprise when the interests of the community are given top priority. Written assignment 2 Strengths There will not be any lack of people who would be willing to send their kids or come themselves for attaining education An educational institution does not require heavy investments Operational cost is low No complex business model Weaknesses Lack of quality teachers willing to work at low wages Lack of facilities Dependency on external sources for funds to run the enterprise Finding quality administration staff at low wages Opportunities Increasing interest of the corporate world in social causes, hence funds available Partnerships with private schools Affiliations with universities to provide free admissions to kids at the enterprise Threats Finances People could still prefer sending their children to private schools Written assignment 3 For a social enterprise to be able to run successfully, it is imperative that it has good leadership at the forefront that is running the show. There should be a good structure in place where leadership is guiding the team towards effective and sustainable social entrepreneurship. The idea and the key to success behind such a structure is building appropriate collaborations with organizations, businesses and individuals who have a similar vision for social wellbeing. Everyone in collaboration should be able to share the same goal and vision. The passion and inspiration to move the world toward social success should be driving everyone involved in the partnership. When such collaborations are formed, where the primary motive is driven by sheer passion and a vision for the attainment of social goals, the mission seems more practical and achievable. The leadership needs to build a mechanism that inspires those involved to be able to utilize the available resources at hand, maximize their use and implement it in the social enterprise in the best way possible. It is important that collaborations and partnerships exist in heterarchy between nonprofit interests and private ones. Leadership needs to make sure that for everyone connected with the mission, the first and foremost interest and priority should be the social mission. Everything else should come after that. When such a mechanism is established, the entities who are in collaboration for the social cause, all indulge in making full use of the available resources at hand and ensuring that they are used wisely to achieve the ultimate social vision. When there is good leadership, personal interests and profits for personal use become the second priority with the first being the social cause itself. Through workshops and lectures, I would ensure that the main mission is engraved in everyone’s heart that is part of the collaboration. Once that is achieved, everything else falls in place itself. Writing assignment 4 My social enterprise is an educational institute that provides low cost education to the society. The biggest hazard in this society is the lack of education that has become the root cause for most of the problems of the world. Children are not provided quality education because of the lack of affordability of their parents to send them to quality schools. When there is no education, they never gain the ability to differentiate between the right and the wrong. They struggle to achieve in life and hence, indulge in unlawful means to earn money. This works in a circle and that is why education is essential. The ideal customers for the social enterprise would be people who belong to the lower income group who are not able to send their children to private schools because of affordability issues. Private schools have high fee requirements which are way out of the budget of a low income man. Hence, every man who wishes to send his children to school and has affordability issues becomes a part of our potential customer base. There is another section of the customer realm that would be interested in this project. Those organizations and companies who wish to become a part of such a social cause will also be customers for this enterprise. There are several companies who wish to be a part of something that has its mission set as the betterment of the society. This is more popularly known as corporate social responsibility. Companies who have a determined will to indulge in corporate social responsibility will also be our indirect customers as they would be interested in investing in the enterprise and ensuring it runs at quality level. There could be a question of quality however with private schools operating at high funding and provide better quality education. But that would not be considered competition because our enterprise is for those who cannot afford to send their children to such schools. Writing assignment 5 For a social enterprise to work well and get close to achieving its social mission, it is absolutely imperative that it is run by good leadership. One of the most important aspects of leadership that is essential for the running of a social enterprise is accountability. Accountability has a major role to play when it comes to social entrepreneurship. It is essential that the partners involved in the enterprise have transparency in the operations and the management of funds that are available or accumulated at the social enterprise. Accountable leadership is when the leaders involved in running the social enterprise are able to develop dynamics that are based on trust and faith on the people involved. This is extremely important when it comes to running a social entity. The reason behind this is that the main aim of a social enterprise is never profit making. These enterprises do make profits but only for self sustainability but the main mission is always the betterment of society. Also, such enterprises usually receive support in the form of external funds and with funds available, there could be mishandling as well. Those involved could shy away from the main mission and start thinking about profitability of personal gains. This is where accountable leadership plays a role. A leader ensures that there is absolute transparency in all the processes and everyone is held accountable for all actions including himself. Such actions develop a sense of trust and understanding. When individuals see an accountable leader, it inspires them to act the same way. An accountable leader is one who maintains absolute transparency in every operation that is involved towards at the attainment of social mission at the enterprise. It is a trait that instills passion, vision and a drive to be able to work towards the main goal. An accountable leader is transparent, trustworthy, believable and faithful whose mission is the success of the cause of the social entity. If this kind of leadership is practiced, the social enterprise moves towards success. References Bornstein, D. and Davis, S.(2010). Social Entrepreneurship: What Everyone Needs to Know. New York: Oxford University Press. Read More