Social Innovation Reflections

 BUS 374 W10 Reflection Six Traits of Successful Social Entrepreneurs and Hybrid Business Models We learned in week 10 about six traits that Bornstein believes set apart successful social entrepreneurs all share similar distinctive characteristics in their ambitions which drive them to achieve long-lasting goals. We learned that many social entrepreneurs have been able to achieve financial success because of their commitment to developing workable solutions that are not only efficient but of high quality by exploring opportunities, anticipating challenges, measure outcomes. Mr. Bornstein has also stated that successful social entrepreneurs must possess a deep-seated desire to make the world a better place.  I found it interesting that Social Businesses are companies created for social benefit rather than private profit. Like an NGO, it has a social or environmental mission, but like a business, it generates its own revenues to cover its costs. Investors may recoup their initia...

 The main idea and the topic we learned in class this week was how nonprofit organizations are to the foundation of resolving social issues in spite of the lack of progression in the development of social advancement.  The nonprofit industry is changing because of the ideas and the applications of social development, these charities have learned to harness their power by conquering their roadblock and the issues they have to face.  What I found to be interesting is learning about Nonprofit Starvation Cycle. This phenomenon occurs when nonprofit organizations continuously underinvest in their organizational infrastructure in response to external expectations for low overhead expenditure. What I have also learned this week is how valuable nonprofit volunteers are. The reason why they are so vital to an organization is that they know what the organization needs and they can expand the organization by raising the funding that is crucial is keeping the organization alive. They...

 For week 8, our class learned about social innovation and cooperative social responsibility. CSR is a recent concept within social innovation. This concept is based on the idea of a 'triple bottom line' and it focuses on people, the planet, and profit. Cooperative Social Responsibility suggests in order to make all parties happy, make enough income and protect our planet we have to invest equally in people, profit, and the planet.  We also learned about in order to achieve innovation organization we must have institutional listening skills, we must pay attention to the exceptional, design real solutions for real people and remember to focus on human qualities. These four keys make it possible for social innovators to understand who they serve, find the root cause of the problem, and find a simple solution.   A response to a specific reading video, or activity. For instance, did something spark interest, surprise, anger, inspire, or confuse you? I remember the news a...

 In week seven we learned about how new business models and lean startups. A lean start-up is a method for developing businesses and their products. New social ventures also implement these methods.  We learned that the business model canvas is a visual chart that can help new businesses and those that are established being about to document their finances, infrastructure, their value propositions, and the demographics of their customers. When this is properly used, it can be a powerful tool in assisting social entrepreneurs in creating maximum impact through social innovations. It is amazing how many different organizations that can make a positive change for our planet through the gift of social innovation.  How can sharpening your business skills help you help others? What skills are most important? If you have the right skill set, especially in the world of business it can help not only you but the others around you through social innovation and this can be possible w...