Essay on "Social Business and Microfinance"

Essay 7 pages (2531 words) Sources: 7

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Zahra and colleagues (2009) further subdivide social entrepreneurs into three further categories: 'social bricoleur, social constructionist, and social engineer'. The first of these, social bricoleur, is local and small-scale; the second, social constructionist, addresses social inequities to reform the broader system; and the third, social engineer, is more likely to approach social inequities through a process of a more radical change in the societal milieu.

Zahra et al. (2009) focus in particular on ethical concerns within the broad picture of social entrepreneurship. For example, the arena in which this activity is pursued is often one with little oversight and/or legal paradigms causing restrictions of activities; thus ethical short-cuts may be taken. Once again, the precise definition of 'social entrepreneurship' rises to the fore, and the considerable breadth of purviews concerning the topic are amply illustrated in Table 1 of Zahra et al. (2009), where some twenty different definitions of the term are presented. From a business perspective, it appears that 'doing well financially by doing good' is the appropriate model; other definitions include 'social wealth' and/or 'social justice' (Zahra et al. 2009), with a perhaps unifying theme being the active search and/or actions aimed at least partially towards social alteration rather than business profits. To more clearly define the issue, Zahra et al. (2009) propose the use of the term 'total wealth' as a 'standard', having both tangible and intangible outcomes.

The ethical aspects of social entrepreneurship rise to the fore when considerations of economic profit enter the picture. Zahra et al. (2009) state that the ethical issues are likely to differ between their three defined categories. Thus for the social bricoleur, the ethical challenge is one of delivery within the milieu, potential for sub-optimal products being delivered to the local community, and lack of oversight. In the case of the social constructionist, zeal to alter the social structure may lead to unscrupulous activities, from an attitude that their 'cause' justifies any action. This may include failure to appropriately use funds donated, and dishonest representation of the work being done. In the case of social engineers, the ethical issue arises in part from the fact that their ultimate aims are, in fact, subversive to the present fabric of society.

Finally, Zahra et al. (2009) address the managerial aspect of social entrepreneurship, beginning with the recognition that this realm is not one with established checks and balances. Their first suggestion is a reminder to said social entrepreneur of the original motivation(s) of their cause, so that zeal to succeed does not overcome the fundamental desire to aid and bring about positive change, particularly by the temptations of personal wealth generation.

Evaluation & Comparison

To some extent, both of these studies seemed far removed from the realities of what precisely was created when Yunas (Nobel Prizes, n.d.) originally loaned $27 to 42 Bangladeshi women. In a simple example of the precept 'a hand up, not a hand out', he provided these women with something their society would not, funds to buy a sewing machine and thus the ability to help not only themselves, but also their families, and their village. His act gave these women a chance to achieve something difficult within their milieu, a measure of self-responsibility, and an opportunity to learn. Similarly, Kiva (n.d.) makes global micro-loans that have an immensely high rate of repayment, and acts directly on the premise that micro-finance demonstrates that 'low-income individuals are capable of lifting themselves out of poverty if given access to financial services'.

Both Martin and Osberg (2007) and Zahra et al. (2009) speak from a perspective far removed from the realities of precisely what micro-finance is, and what it can do in terms of individual, family, local, and societal impact. One study, Martin and Osberg (2007) defines terminology, seeks to characterize the entrepreneurs, and describes the activity as one of altering an unstable social equilibrium into a new and better more stable social equilibrium. The examples used by Martin & Osberg (2007), of Steve Jobs, Snugli, etc., are precisely not true 'social engineers', even though their societal impact may have great. This is of course part of the inherent definition of 'entrepreneur' as a person who makes a profit, vide supra. The other study, Zahra et al. (2009), further sub-categorizes the entrepreneurs into three categories, ultimately labeling a person of immense impact, Yunas, as a subversive and radical 'social engineer' (for helping the female under-class of Bangladesh), and then discussing the need for managerial oversight of social entrepreneurs. Neither study actually takes into account the actual depth of motivation, beyond ivory-tower theoretical presentations, of a truly altruistic spirit that sees a need and strives to fulfill it.

Yes, perhaps we do need definitions for micro-finance and social engineering, studies of what it is, how it is done, and even analysis of potential and inherent dangers involved for unethical behavior, but at the bottom, the concept of a 'hand up, not a hand out', comes down to enabling others to become responsible for themselves. This should not be forgotten in the midst of all the theoretical studies.

References

Eds. Committee on Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine; Policy and Global Affairs (2012) 'From Science to Business: Preparing Female Scientists and Engineers for Successful Transitions into Entrepreneurship.' Washington (DC): National Academies Press (U.S.); 2012 Jul. Accessed: online 12/10/2014 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24851290

Kiva (n.d.) www.Kiva.org, accessed 12/10/2014

Martin, R.L., Osberg, S. (2007) 'Social Entrepreneurship: The Case for Definition', Stanford Social Innovation Review. PDF, www.ssireview.org

Nobel Prizes, (n.d.) http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2006/yunus-bio.html Online: accessed [12/10/2014]

Tucker JD, Muessig, KE, Cui, R, Bien, CH, Lo, EJ, Lee, R., Wang, K., Han, L., Liu, FY, Yang, LG, Yang, B, Larson, H., Peeling, RW (2014) 'Organizational characteristics of HIV/syphilis testing services for men who have sex with men in South China: a social entrepreneurship analysis and implications for creating sustainable service models.' BMC Infect Dis. Nov 25; 14(1):601. [Epub ahead of print] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25422065

Wall, S. (2014) 'Self-employed nurses as change agents in healthcare: strategies, consequences, and possibilities.' J. Health Organ Manag. 28(4):511-31. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25241597

Zahra, S.A., Gedajlovic, E., Neubaum, D.O., Shulman, J.M. (2009) 'A typology of social entrepreneurs: Motives, search processes and ethical challenges' Journal of Business… READ MORE

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