| Business Education Series
Entrepreneurial skills are hugely valuable when it comes to charity
work, writes Caroline Madden
JOHN O'SHEA is the epitome of social entrepreneurship, embodying
the key traits needed to excel both in the world of business and
as a force for positive social change.
Having started out as a sports journalist, O'Shea set up the charity
Goal in 1977. In its first year, Goal spent just EUR2,000 on a street
children's project in Calcutta. It has now spent more than EUR500
million implementing relief and development programmes in 50 countries.
Its aim is clear – to help the poorest of the poor.
Although Goal is a non-profit organisation, business skills such
as budgeting and planning have been as important to its survival
as any other business.
As is evident from this week's visual case study (www.irishtimes.
com/business/education), O'Shea's entrepreneurial flair has been
vital to the organisation's success.
Careful budgeting has enabled Goal to keep down its cost base.
In particular, it has succeeded in keeping administration costs
exceptionally low. One of the ways in which it has achieved this
is through the secondment of staff from the corporate sector.
Keeping administration costs to a minimum is particularly important
for charitable organisations as it can make fundraising easier –
members of the public considering making a donation are often keen
to know that their money will fund frontline services rather than
pay for office staff.
In the case study, O'Shea describes how social entrepreneurs can
use their business skills to help local communities help themselves.
O'Shea's dedication to alleviating the suffering of the world's
most needy people was recognised in 2005 when he won the social
entrepreneurship category of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur
of the Year Awards.
Entrepreneurial skills are hugely valuable when it comes to charitable
endeavours, but the reverse is also true: businesspeople can benefit
greatly from being socially minded in the pursuit of their goals.
This does not mean they have to dedicate their purpose in life
to a charitable cause. By simply keeping ethical, social and environmental
considerations in mind, they can not only help the local and wider
community but they can boost their bottom line.
But with companies concentrating all their energy on the immediate
challenge of surviving the current downturn, is social entrepreneurship
under threat?
Eibhhin Curley, assistant chief executive of the Dublin City Enterprise
Board, thinks this is not necessarily the case. "I don't think
it has fallen off the agenda," she says.
Curley ran round-table events last year for various sectors of
the business community at which topics such as ethical trading and
green issues were discussed.
The feedback was mixed, but she says many of the businesspeople
who participated regard socially and ethically responsible initiatives
as representing a "massive competitive advantage".
Being able to say their product is eco-friendly or made from renewable
resources, for example, can help a business stand out from the crowd.
"They are being quite clever about how they do that,"
she says. "It's really about how it is marketed."
In the food industry, for example, small businesses cannot compete
on price with bigger operators, so they must be able to differentiate
themselves in another way. One strategy is to focus on niche areas,
such as produce that is organic, ethically sourced or produced,
or that has a Fair Trade label. "It might be the only thing
that makes your product or service stand out from others,"
she says.
The Fair Trade movement is increasingly appreciated by consumers,
as it guarantees that a large part of the price they pay reaches
the producer.
Study aid
This week's case study ties in with the following area of the Leaving
Certificate business studies curriculum: Unit 6: Ethics and social
responsibilities in business – as founder and chief executive
of Goal, John O'Shea works with the most vulnerable people in developing
countries. He found that by applying his entrepreneurial skills
he could help these people.
Unit 2: Enterprise – O'Shea demonstrates some of the key
skills and characteristics of an entrepreneur. In particular he
is an innovator, risk taker and motivator and is both decisive and
realistic.
THE BUSINESS Education Series provides second-level students with
an insight into key business issues, and is published every Friday
in the Business This Week supplement.
The entire series can be viewed at www.irishtimes.com/business/
education/
It is intended to complement a series of 12 visual case studies
available on the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year programme's
new online business education channel, www.eoy.tv.
Teacher support notes are also available here. Students can watch
the clips at home or in the classroom. The case studies have been
developed in collaboration with the Business Studies Teachers' Association.
Each case study is directly related to the Leaving Certificate
business course and links to the curriculum are outlined here each
week.
© 2006 The Irish Times
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