Aditya Rajagopalan – Class Discussion Worksheet PA5529: Class Discussion Worksheet
1) What are three of the most important themes that weave through the readings? Why?
Corporate Social Responsibility: Society no longer tolerates companies that damage the environment or don't care about worker's rights and conditions. Companies are held to a higher social standard and according to Michael Porter, this has been the key reason behind the rise of CSR. Companies have started to look at social issues which were previous not considered as a part of the business responsibility. Business & competition are no longer a zero sum game.
Defining Social Entrepreneurship: What exactly constitutes social entrepreneurship is still very much debatable. …show more content…
Many a times, social entrepreneurs’ personal experience, education, work experiences, and hobbies inspire them. Just as entrepreneurs change the face of business, social entrepreneurs act as the change agents for society. A behavioral approach to defining social entrepreneurship suggests that the action, not the outcome, of a social entrepreneur, matters the most. In my personal opinion, anyone who even tries to change any unfair equilibrium in the society is a social entrepreneur.
Scaling: Does a social entrepreneurial venture have to go to scale in order to be considered social entrepreneurship? Is scale a correct measure of entrepreneurship? These are pertinent questions for every social entrepreneur. Scale needs to be defined in terms of the context. Context varies drastically when the frame of reference fixed is social value.
In some cases scale could be geographical while in some it could mean depth of operations.
In the case of social entrepreneurship what works out well for a particular segment might not necessarily work out well for others. Realizing this fact is very important before we talk about scaling an enterprise. This was also clearly evident in Finding The Way article.
1
Aditya Rajagopalan – Class Discussion …show more content…
What are the key elements central to an effective approach to CSR?
Michael Porter and Mark Krammer argue that CSR can much more than a cost or a charitable deed and companies can develop a competitive advantage by aligning their CSR activities with the business. The fact that both the company and the community are interdependent makes it easier to understand that the relationships a company builds with the community can turn out to be a strategic partnership. There has to be a transformation of the relationship between the businesses and the society from a more generic and a philanthropic one to a strategic partnership, where the joint interests of all the stakeholders are taken care of.
Simon Zadek also explains how a company can take a strategic position, wherein it treats a societal issue and CSR as an integral part of business strategy, in contrast to a defensive position that shies away from taking responsibility for societal issues. In making a transition from a defensive approach to a strategic one, organizations may go through the stages
1) What are three of the most important themes that weave through the readings? Why?
Corporate Social Responsibility: Society no longer tolerates companies that damage the environment or don't care about worker's rights and conditions. Companies are held to a higher social standard and according to Michael Porter, this has been the key reason behind the rise of CSR. Companies have started to look at social issues which were previous not considered as a part of the business responsibility. Business & competition are no longer a zero sum game.
Defining Social Entrepreneurship: What exactly constitutes social entrepreneurship is still very much debatable. …show more content…
Many a times, social entrepreneurs’ personal experience, education, work experiences, and hobbies inspire them. Just as entrepreneurs change the face of business, social entrepreneurs act as the change agents for society. A behavioral approach to defining social entrepreneurship suggests that the action, not the outcome, of a social entrepreneur, matters the most. In my personal opinion, anyone who even tries to change any unfair equilibrium in the society is a social entrepreneur.
Scaling: Does a social entrepreneurial venture have to go to scale in order to be considered social entrepreneurship? Is scale a correct measure of entrepreneurship? These are pertinent questions for every social entrepreneur. Scale needs to be defined in terms of the context. Context varies drastically when the frame of reference fixed is social value.
In some cases scale could be geographical while in some it could mean depth of operations.
In the case of social entrepreneurship what works out well for a particular segment might not necessarily work out well for others. Realizing this fact is very important before we talk about scaling an enterprise. This was also clearly evident in Finding The Way article.
1
Aditya Rajagopalan – Class Discussion …show more content…
What are the key elements central to an effective approach to CSR?
Michael Porter and Mark Krammer argue that CSR can much more than a cost or a charitable deed and companies can develop a competitive advantage by aligning their CSR activities with the business. The fact that both the company and the community are interdependent makes it easier to understand that the relationships a company builds with the community can turn out to be a strategic partnership. There has to be a transformation of the relationship between the businesses and the society from a more generic and a philanthropic one to a strategic partnership, where the joint interests of all the stakeholders are taken care of.
Simon Zadek also explains how a company can take a strategic position, wherein it treats a societal issue and CSR as an integral part of business strategy, in contrast to a defensive position that shies away from taking responsibility for societal issues. In making a transition from a defensive approach to a strategic one, organizations may go through the stages