Effectiveness of Social Entrepreneurship in Improving System of Life - Research Proposal Example

EFFECTIVENESS OF SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN IMPROVING SYSTEM OF LIFE University Name Course Tutor ABSTRACT The field of social enterprise lacks well-developed and firm philosophical backings. Most of its advocates are engaged with traditions in research and pedagogies, like for instance Marxism and institutional theory. Research dealing with social economy relies heavily on the work of Karl Marx while those dealing with social capital hinges on the work of Putnam. This intellectual backing, however, does not cover the field of social entrepreneurship. Social entrepreneurship derives most of its influence from Joseph Schumpeter’s work on entrepreneurship and liberalism. This is further bolstered by the emerging fields of actor-network theory, social innovation etc. which explains its process (Haugh, 2007). Social entrepreneurship has become an important issue in the business world. The few scholars who have written on the issue can be divided broadly into two camps. One side are those who believe that social entrepreneurship plays a fundamental role in improving system of life. On the other side are those who, while likely to find that social entrepreneurship is here to stay, nevertheless find the notion of the significance of social entrepreneurship as an exaggerated issue.(Nichols, 2006) However, this is not to say that there are two neatly defined positions, with all those supporting it employing a common set of principles and standpoints. Indeed, it would be foolhardy to expect all scholars to agree completely with each other on all aspects. The complexity of this debate is the main agenda of this paper, it will strive to present and look at the strengths and weaknesses of the various arguments in a reasonably impartial manner, even while commenting on their strengths and weaknesses. In this way I mean to provide a clear understanding of the principal areas of contention in the debate, with a good basis for evaluating the competing claims about the importance of social entrepreneurship in bettering social life. This will be executed through a study which will be guided by the following objectives: to determine the influence of social entrepreneurship carried out by steel companies on the living standards of the African-American community in Hoover area, Birmingham, Alabama; to examine the influence social entrepreneurship has on the steel companies fiscal performance in Hoover area ,Birmingham, Alabama; to establish how government policies influences social entrepreneurship for companies in Alabama; to assess how dependency ratio influences the people of Hoover area and finally to find out if Social enterprises address directly the social needs of the African-American people of Hoover area Birmingham using their goods or services or through offering of employment opportunities to their disadvantaged employees. The research will be based on structural functionalism theory and the conceptual framework which show how the variables interrelate with each other where the independent variable was social entrepreneurship activities and dependent variable was living standards. The study will employ descriptive survey design which will describe the state of affairs of the respondents. Households and companies in Hoover area Birmingham will be the target population, Alabama. The sample size will be arrived at using Yamane (1967) simplified formulae to calculate sample sizes. Systematic random sampling will be utilized during data collection. The data collection instruments will be questionnaire, observation and interview schedules which will be chosen because they can give the inside of the influence of social entrepreneurship in Alabama. Qualitative data will be analysed using direct quotations from the respondents. Quantitative data analysis will take the form of frequency tables, means and percentages. CHAPTER ONE 1.1 History Social entrepreneurship has a long and winding history throughout the world. It is referred to in different names and has unique tendencies in different places in the world. Most of the social enterprises are mostly enterprises that seek independence through creation of strategies that creates s social economy. They may receive financial and other form of support from the government but mostly they strive to be independent. The use of the term 'social enterprise' and 'social entrepreneurship' originated from Beechwood College, Leeds, England as from 1978. Freer Spreckley coined the term social enterprise to describe community co-operatives which applied the use 'social accounting and audit' system which was designed and at Beechwood, and at ASHOKA during the 80s. Bill Drayton started a program to assist the growth of social entrepreneurship. Another early origin was the Italian worker co-operatives who campaigned for the establishment of ‘social co-operatives'. The cooperatives were targeted at offering members with mental or other health disabilities a place to work while recuperating. The work of ASHOKA was picked up and studied in the US by Harvard, Stanford and Princeton universities. They then made and developed social entrepreneurship field via various publications and project initiatives. 1.3 The context and Research Issue The African-American society of Hoover area, the microcosm of the study, has become a very complex, differentiated society exhibiting ambivalent responses to social changes. (Popin, 1995) Although it is clear that there is a degree of reluctance on the part of some enterprises to accept social entrepreneurship, a number of them have, nevertheless, embraced it. The African-American society was chosen as there appears to be a number of apparently antithetical themes, or tensions at work in some section of the society. There seems to be some degree of conservatism expressed in the reluctance of some members to advance in education etc. Eleven years ago, White and Meadows surveyed 60 households in Hoover, Birmingham, Alabama on such topics as education, migration, wage-employment and dependency ratio and found out that 50% of the households: “Depended on cash inflows from wage-employment. 30% earned regular salaries, 12 were self-employed, 2 earned rents from leasing of buildings, and 5 were dependent on remittances” (2002: 115) These findings support the claim that many African-American households are relying on livelihood sources from wage-employment. These and other pressures have resulted in various changes within the local economy of the African-American community in Hoover area, Birmingham, Alabama. Some of these changes which may be seen as adaptations and responses are related to the communities’ perceptions and utilization of such “developmental options” as educations and circulatory migration for wage employment. This study will analyse the African-American community in Hoover area and their response to social entrepreneurship activities in the area. It will examine the diversification of livelihoods occurring among the community. The paper will broadly look at the means and methods of diversification presently observed at the community such as schooling, wage-employment, labour migration etc. The study will further look at the social entrepreneurship activities in the area and assess its impact on the livelihoods of the sampled population. The study will be concerned with social entrepreneurship and its impact on the lives of the African-American community in Hoover area. It will analyse the impact, and implication of one for the other. To collect data for the theme of the research, intensive interviewing was carried out among the African Americans of different statuses (males/females, educated/uneducated, wage-employed/self-employed/unemployed) In addition relevant data was gathered from documents in government records. The study was carried out in Hoover area, Birmingham, Alabama because of its representative nature to other African-American set-ups. The area has socio-economic diversification that is relevant to the study. Some research has already been undertaken among the general population of the area, this study wanted to build on them and be specific. For example, all the research carried out on the lifestyle of the community residing in Alabama (Grandin 1982, 1986; de Leeuw 1982; de Leeuw and Peacock 1982; Peacock 1983), as well as all the literature on the Social life of Alabama has been general. 1.4 Background Many commercial organizations have social objectives, the commitment to these objectives is mostly given impetus by the perception that such involvement and commitment will in the long run, boost and make the company more profitable. Social enterprises on the other hand, do not hinge their activities on the belief that their involvement in human and environmental well-being will benefit their investors, except where they believe that such activities will further aid their capacity to achieve their set environmental and social goals. (Elkington, et al, 2008) Social entrepreneurship has a mixed heritage, this is majorly because of its origin from philanthropy in the US and its cooperative movement roots in the UK, Asia and the larger Europe. In some other countries, stronger emphasis is placed on community organizing, mutual principles etc. as the major pillars of social entrepreneurship rather than charity/philanthropy. There is an increasing awareness of the concept of socially responsible business which engages in social responsibility directly or raises funds for the sam (Haugh, 2007). Even with economic growth, rising GDP, increment in per capita there is a good number of people in the society that still lingers in poverty (Arlisson, 2012). They do not have a feeling of economic growth; they are exposed and are likely to suffer more than when the economy has plummeted. It is in this line that the society needs direction rather than receiving reports of booming economy in the country. Reducing interest rates do not help much since they do not even have collateral to secure the loans. This means that it is apparent that the authorities need to come up with a system that may bring social justice in this challenging economic period (Bornstein, 2010). This may range from range from poverty, social crime, juvenile delinquency and other social problems. A research in social entrepreneurship will help solve this problem. With the gap between the have and have not continuing to widen, it is practical and relevant that people have the touch of this unexplored field in the society with many poor people (United Nations, 2006). Majority of economists and business enthusiasts believe that entrepreneurship has become a very paramount contributor to the overall well-being and development of the society. Entrepreneurship offers competition, and promotes productivity and health economic competitiveness (UNCTAD, 2004) Entrepreneurship which aims at improving systems of life is becoming very ubiquitous in the society. Peter Drucker, a renowned business philosopher holds that; social entrepreneurship is set to be important than for-profit entrepreneurship (Gendron, 1996). This paper seeks to find out if indeed social entrepreneurship helps in various life systems. Alvarez and Barney (2007) Diverse scholars have in the course of time reflected on the basic research agenda of collecting information in this field. This research will be important and salient in identifying research on social entrepreneurship that is aimed at breaching the gap on research areas that have an impact on social systems of life. The research will adopt a unique approach in identifying and giving future research cues to come up with a myriad of topics in social entrepreneurship. The paper will analyse various published content and research conducted, and what is considered of importance in social entrepreneurship. Even though there has been an increase in research on social entrepreneurship, there is still the need for further in-depth research in this area of study despite the challenges. In order to reduce the gap between improved knowledge aimed at fostering and researching in this field, and the present understanding of the paradigms of social entrepreneurship, this paper will the current condition of intellectual interactions and come up with probable ways of improvement. To fulfil this goal, the paper is aimed at critiquing and reviewing existing research on social entrepreneurship and to consequently identify a model which delineates the conceptual framework accordingly. This study will focus on the African-American community residing in Hoover, Birmingham Alabama. African-American constitutes majority of the poor and also a substantial section (73%) of the population of Birmingham-242,820 (Popin, 1995). Read More