Corporate social responsibility could swamp social enterprise in 2013

This article talks about how the author thinks that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) could swamp social enterprises in 2013.

The article mentioned how starbucks, offered to pay $20 million in taxes over the next two years. It also raises the point of how large corporate companies, such as starbucks, is able to make a difference with the amount of money they are able to come out, with little effort. With corporations like starbucks, they could easily afford millions of dollars to spend on CSR. Even though the author of the article has the view that social enterprises are not able to compete with companies such as Starbucks, I  beg to differ.

Firstly, I feel that these two should not be seen as competitors. While it is true that large corporations are able to easily spend the money and produce the impact that small social enterprises might take years to produce, I feel that they should be complimenting each other, instead of being competitors. To begin with, social enterprises are business that were created with the purpose of helping the society, the extent of their impact might be further than a company with CSR. Hence, I do not think that they be seen as competitors, instead, i feel that large corporate companies could introduce programs, grants or loans that can help small social enterprises as part of their CSR program. This way, they are not only helping the society, they are also able to help other social enterprises.

Could social enterprise be an answer to the Greek crisis?

This article talks about the Greek Crisis in Greek, where a large percentage of people are unemployed, and the debt level is 160% of the country's GDP. This article also talks about how social entrepreneurship, can be the solution to financial crisis such as the one occurring in Greek.

Being a third year student, I have witnessed on how social enterprises are able to help provide job opportunities for the disadvantaged. This article raises a good point, that social entrepreneurs might be able to help their own countries through a similar approach. This articles also highlights the importance of support by the government, in starting up social enterprises. In Greece, where such financial crisis is occurring, it is important for the government to provide support for such social enterprises.

I feel that social enterprise might be able to resolve the financial crisis. The article also states that the crisis in Greece is not just a financial one, it is also a political one and there needs to be a long term solution to it. I feel that this situation shows how important social enterprises be, they need not solve problems such as hunger or child mortality rate, a simple social enterprise that provides jobs opportunities can be useful to individuals and to the economy of the country. Social enterprises can be a sustainable and impactful solution, even for developed countries. Even though Singapore is financially secure for now, we still need to be prepared for any unexpected crisis. 

The Social-Enterprise Approach to Job Creation

In this week's posts, I will be sharing an article about how a social enterprise helped in job creation.

Article

The article starts off with the story of David, who was addicted to drugs, and ended up in jail. The article then tell us of how David had managed to get help at Community Housing Partnership, or CHP. CHP is a social enterprise that provides accommodation and skills training to their beneficiaries. By doing so, CHP provided David with a job, a place to stay, and they helped him to get off drugs.

The article provides great example of how social enterprises like CHP is able to help the society. The article explains that by providing employees such as drugs addicts, ex offenders with jobs, they are reducing their dependency on government assistance, while at the same time the employees are able to pay taxes.
The author also mentioned how an organization he funded, the Roberts Enterprise Development Fund, is able to help fund start ups for various social enterprises. The author also mentioned, that their motivation for helping social enterprises is to give people hope. He explains that when the social enterprises are providing employees with jobs, they are actually giving them hope to look towards the future.

My opinion

After reading this article, I can agree with what the author is trying to emphasis. He is trying to explain to us how social enterprises can be a viable way to create jobs, while at the same time reduce social issues such as drug addictions. During my first year, I managed to get the opportunity to interview an executive director of Breakthrough Missions, a social enterprise where they rehabilitate ex offenders. As such, I can say that I agree with the points that the author stated in the article. I also hope that in the future, there will be more such social enterprises, who not only help ex offenders, but also provide job opportunities to people such as the mentally challenged, or drug addicts. I feel that everybody deserves a second chance, and realistically, corporate companies would only want to hire the best with a clean record. It is important for social enterprises to provide the opportunities for the needy, and to provide them with hope.

References

Robert. R. George. (2012, September 26). The Social-Enterprise Approach to Job Creation. Retrieved 3rd January 2013 from: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444032404578010862607298532.html

Bakery Hearts

Today i would like to post about my experience this semester in volunteering with Bakery Hearts.

So what is Bakery Hearts?

Bakery Hearts is the social enterprise that my group had chosen to volunteer with.

It is a social enterprise aimed at helping low-income mothers supplement their income through providing them with jobs and training.
At Bakery Hearts, the beneficiaries learn various soft skills, such as baking skills, communication skills, learning how to do sales and conflict resolution.
While it may seem like an easy job, I learnt a lot during my time volunteering there.

Firstly, I learn a lot through my interaction with the beneficiaries. Even though the social enterprise is a simple one, by providing them with jobs, I am able to experience and see just how much it impacted their lives. Some of them have been housewives for nearly a decade, so this helps them to gain the exposure and confidence to go back to work in the society.

Secondly, I also learnt the hardships of running and managing social enterprises like these. Through our volunteering experiences, we have to contact and manage the work schedule for the beneficiaries. One of the hardest part, was to communicate with the beneficiaries and ensure that they listen to us. Volunteering also gave me the experience to be at the booth, where I managed to learn a lot and interact with the beneficiaries.

Overall, I'm glad to be able to have the chance to volunteer at Bakery Hearts, I find the job that they do very interesting and meaningful, and im glad that I managed to learn from my experience.

Social enterprise: Soul Kitchen

Today i will sharing about a social enterprise called Jon Bon Jovi's Soul Kitchen.

The model of the social enterprise made me feel that it is unsustainable, as a BZSE student, but at the same time, it also inspires me as an individual.

This social enterprise basically serves food, but it is not like the conventional soup kitchen or restaurant. In this community restaurant, there are no price or menus for the food served. customers are welcome to pay for their meals, while those who can't afford to do not. This bistro is mainly to help those low income families who are in needed by providing them with free meals while customers can pay whatever they can afford. The restaurant also allows customers to volunteer at the restaurant as payments for their meals. The operations are sustained by customers who are able to pay for their meals, while the restaurant also have it's own garden to grow their food supplies.



I feel that this social enterprise is an example of how we can give back or help the society. Even though it can be something as simple as free food for the needy, it can be very important to the needy. I think that the fact that social enterprise like this community kitchen is able to work, proves that people are willing to help out each other. Even though it is a "pay what you can" restaurant, some of the more well to do customers are still willing to pay extra, to provide for someone else's meal. I feel that another good point about the restaurant, is that it allows people to volunteer or work at the restaurant, in exchange for food. By providing job opportunities and meals, the restaurant is helping the poor to feed themselves, and giving them the opportunity to learn and find jobs. I feel that although such social enterprises might be hard to start up, it is definitely able to help others in the society.

References

Haindl, Sangeeta. (2011, October 24). Social Enterprise: Jon Bon Jovi's Soul Kitchen. Retrieved 22 December 2012 from: http://www.justmeans.com/Social-Enterprise-Jon-Bon-Jovi-s-Soul-Kitchen/50334.html

seven deadly sins of social enterprise

Article

Today, i will be sharing about the seven deadly sins of social enterprise. This article tells us the 7 common things that social entrepreneurs make.


Deadly sin #1: the belief that speaking at conferences, blogging, and tweeting are entrepreneurial activities
Deadly sin #2: insufficient ruthlessness about purpose
Deadly sin #3: unwillingness or inability to prove impact
Deadly sin #4: not nailing the business basics
Deadly sin #5: Ego
Deadly sin #6: not enough time spent understanding the customer
Deadly sin #7: the sector mindset – social enterprise v private sector

I would like to highlight and talk about a few sins that I feel that are important or crucial to a social entrepreneurs. 

Firstly, I agree with sin #3, unwilling or unable to provide impact. As a social enterprise, i feel that this is the worse mistake that can be made. Although a social enterprise is essentially a business, what defines it as a social enterprise is the social impact that it provides. If a business is unable or unwilling to provide that impact, it might as well be just called a business. 

Next, I feel that it is also important to take note of sin#4, while social enterprises have the ability and advantage to help others, it is also important for social entrepreneurs to take note and be reminded that their social enterprise is a business. While helping the society out, it is important to ensure that their organizations remain fully functional as a business. 

Finally, i feel that the most important is sin #5. Although there are quite a few examples of good social enterprise and entrepreneurs, i feel that the most important thing is to them to remain grounded, and be reminded of the purpose of them starting the social enterprise. It is important for them to continue putting in efforts to help the cause, and not be more arrogant once their social enterprise starts to be successful.

References

Stephens, Simon. (2012, December 13). The seven deadly sins of social enterprise. Retrieved 14 December 2012 from: http://socialenterprise.guardian.co.uk/social-enterprise-network/2012/dec/13/seven-deadly-sins-social-enterprise

More funding options available to social enterprise

Article

In today's article, i will be looking at the news that social enterprises in Singapore are able to get more access to funding. 

The article mentioned how social enterprises are now able to gain access to more funding, especially from banks such as DBS, where they offer loans at low interest rates. The article also mentioned that it is important for social enterprise to receive such help, especially after their start up, where they are entering the next period of growth.

In my opinion, i feel that such steps taken by banks are encouraging for the social enterprise sector in Singapore. It shows that investors and banks are having more confidence in social enterprises, by seeing them as a viable business. Even though there is no widespread social issues are poverty or hunger in Singapore, I do believe that there are still certain people that requires help. It is encouraging to see that banks are willing to make the extra effort and help companies such as Adrenalin, who hires youths at risks and people with disabilities. I hope that news like this will encourage the start up of more social enterprises, which is beneficial to Singapore.