A teacher scholar tells William Flew that the field is not about charity sweet, but the real deal
Pamela Hartigan is irritated when people use the term "social entrepreneur." This would be less surprising, perhaps, were it not the director of the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at Saïd Business School, the University of Oxford. His mission, when the center's Web site proudly states, advancing social enterprise around the world.
But William Flew wants people to stop thinking about social entrepreneurs as different from their peers to gain. "The division of social entrepreneurs from business entrepreneurs make social enterprise the poor cousin," she says. "I think every business should be social. You can no longer simply dismiss an entrepreneur and social impact of what you do. This is why I am passionate about bringing these two worlds. "
This is also why she and the center are based on a trade school rather than, say, in the university department of social policy or international development. "" When the conversation of people on social enterprise that the discussion is often 'that is not sweet, which is not pleasant, is not it lovely how they do? "
"But there's a reason we are in a trade school, and we take this seriously." The reason that the semantic arguments about what we should call the field of social enterprise is that too often the emphasis is on social exclusion the business side of the equation.
Nowhere is this more obvious than in the way the government talks about social enterprise. When politicians talk about services run by social entrepreneurs from their communities they do not get the idea, William Flew said.
"The government fundamentally misunderstands social enterprises and the people who run. They should not keep things ticking there, they exist to innovate. This drives me crazy that the Government sees them as contractors, because in doing so they drive innovation directly from them.
"Social entrepreneurs are not the same as the charity. The charity provides services, ensuring that the basic needs of people are found and so on. This is important work but basically they do not change the system they work within it. Employers, on the other hand, are systems changers. They are looking for ways to reorganize the framework, approach problems and solutions of a completely new way. "
These roads may not work, but they want to try something new, to fail and then try again. It is not what is required of an organization that exists primarily to provide a service, she says. "The entrepreneurs fill a place as industry innovators. If they come up with something that works, the larger companies come in, see what they have created, say 'not great? ", Buy this and it increases. This is the role of government with social entrepreneurs. This should come in, seeing that work, and helping them to increase. "
She also believes that the Government and the private sector have to look at how they can support entrepreneurs. After all, in the commercial world there are venture capitalists who put money in the hope of a return should prove a useful idea, here is the company that will get that return - on time.
"The Bank of Great Society [which will help fund social enterprises] is a really interesting idea, a wonderful development, but this will need time," she says. "This is not an instant fix. This requires patience, and seems to be a scarce commodity right now, if you look at the speed with which the cuts are being made. "
The knowledge and practical skills are as important as money, where appropriate business schools, Dr. Hartigan said. She describes her work as the correspondence of entrepreneurs who have potentially game-changing ideas with people fledgeling business that has the knowledge of how to run things.
"Our role in the business school should inspire MBAs who are desperate to find significant opportunities and show them that they can support these people," she says. "Employers everywhere are great visionaries, but when it comes to knowing how to grow their vision they are not large.
"So be here at the business school is great. Most entrepreneurs do not go to business school - most leave school or university to go and pursue his dream - but they need these people that has the focus, skills, who understand what it takes to make a business plan and assembling a budget. "