The world today is more dangerous and less orderly than it was supposed to be. The world has more poverty more international insecurity and more nuclear proliferation today than it did a decade ago.
International institutions are weaker. The threats of pandemic disease and climate change are stronger.Cleavages of religious and cultural ideology are more intense then ever. The global financial system is more unbalanced and precarious.It wasn’t supposed to be like this.The evils of globalization are more dangerous than ever before.
Any healthy mind will wonder what went wrong?The answer to this question will be very very long to detail here as it is not the purpose of this posting but it can be summed up in three key words related to History,Finance and Politics:NWO, and Money, and The Ring of power major actors which have caused major global socio-economic disruptions worldwide and which has an incalculable impact on the environment and the future of humanity.
So what can be done about it? Social entrepreneurship seems to be the one solution.
But what is a Social entrepreneur?A social entrepreneur is one driven by a social mission, a desire to find innovative ways to solve social problems that are not being or cannot be addressed by either the market or the public sector.A social entrepreneur is someone who works in an entrepreneurial manner, but for public or social benefit, rather than to make money. Social entrepreneurs may work in ethical businesses, governmental or public bodies, quangos, or the voluntary and community sector.
Changemakers or social entrepreneurs, are agents of change in society, they combine passion, creativity, business discipline, innovation, and relentless determination to address social issues and problems -- in short to change our world for the better. As Bill Drayton, founder of Ashoka says, "Social entrepreneurs are not content just to give a fish or teach how to fish. They will not rest until they have revolutionized the fishing industry."
Social entrepreneurship can be defined as an emerging business paradigm that bridges the non profit and for profit business models with principles that historically have defined what entrepreneurs do.
This hybrid model of doing business matches social vision with sustainable profit in a business plan with two bottom line objectives; financial viability apart from reliance on external support, and a clear social mission that can be quantified and measured in financial terms.
"What does an entrepreneur do? The first thing is they've given themselves permission to see a problem. Most people don't want to see problems ... Once you see a problem and you keep looking at it you'll find an answer"
Bill Drayton Source: Massive Change: Bill Drayton Interview
- Why are Social Entrepreneurs important?
- Corporate Social Responsibility and Social Entrepreneurs
More then a trend, social entrepreneurship is closely related to Corporate social Responsibility since business cannot succeed in a society that fails, it has become imperative for companies to partner in the development of the community and environmentthey are in.Corporate responsibility is linked to Business ethics which is a form of the art of applied ethics that examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that can arise in a business environment.
There are two diiferent views on the matter, the humanistic view is that a deteriorating environment and planet is of no relevance in sustaining human life let alone a business. The naturalistic view is where we draw the line between exploiting our natural resources and destroying our fauna and flora for the sake of profiteering and sustainability (Grace and Cohen 2005,144).
Influence from the population, government and competitors are possible forces that can destabilize an organization should its motives or unethical processes become clear. Corporate Social Responsibility has been an issue of some debate. There are some people who claim that Corporate Social Responsibility cherry-picks the good activities a company is involved with and ignores the others, thus 'greenwashing' their image as a socially or environmentally responsible company. There are some other people who argue that it inhibits free markets.
CSR can attribute other business motives, which the companies would dispute. For example,programmes are often undertaken in an effort to distract the public from the ethical questions posed by their core operations. Some that have been accused of this motivation include British American Tobacco (BAT) which produces major CSR reports and the petroleum giant BP which is well known for its high profile advertising campaigns on environmental aspects of their operations.
In my opinion Successful entrepreneurs not only are able to see the future coming but they can help to create it by identifying and getting into emerging markets, social entrepreneurs signal emerging opportunity spaces. Their business models, often mutated to suit local circumstances, offer important clues as to how larger, mainstream, businesses will need to adapt to successfully enter these new markets.In addition to early warning of impending market trends, there are several other reasons for companies to focus more intensely on best practice in social entrepreneurship.
Famous social entrepreneurs: Although the term "social entrepreneur" is fairly new, history is full of people with big ideas whose influence resulted in the reconstruction of entire social and economic systems. Here are some faces that reshaped our world.
- Michael Young, is one of Britain’s foremost social entrepreneurs. Lord Young of Dartington is behind dozens of institutions and charities which he either was founder, or played a major hand in creating —including the Consumers Association and the Open University. He was an innovative and progressive thinker in political and social policy. At the end of World War II, at the early age of 29, he drafted the 1945 Labour Party manifesto “Let Us Face The Future”, which helped bring Atlee’s reforming Labour government to power.
What the world needs today is this sort of social entrepreneurs, persons who are both soft-hearted and strong-headed who are ready to take risks and who never take a 'No' for an answer,persons who are able to face global socio-economic disruptions with a Human face and a social conscience,yes, it sounds like modern crusading and heroism with a new business model with clear vision on the hidden agenda.
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