Social Business Essay

In this paper, you must expand on your group project by relating it to the social
business and management literature.
 
Length of the paper: 12’000 (+/- 10%) characters including spaces, but excluding title page,
bibliography, charts, annexes etc.  

What we expect to see in the essay: 

Ability to reflect on the ethical and practical challenges associated with the idea of delivering clean water in India.

To write this essay, you will need to get a grasp of the ongoing academic debates in the
field. We therefore expect you to engage with the relevant academic literature on
social business and development work, ideally in a water-related context in India
(this includes, but is not limited to, the compulsory assigned articles – PLEASE FIND ATTACHED suggestions in the downloads).

Growing a social business in INDIA (business related to expand/improve water delivery and production in the country) – Please think of a research questions (WRITER) and contact me to make sure we are moving into the same direction J

What is a social business?

Focus on value creation and operational delivery of the social business à

• problem to solve? (expand/improve water delivery and production in the country)
• what is realistic in terms of what could be approached taking into consideration ethical, financial, and social aspects in India like caste, power, gender, politics, lack of trust if being a foreigner, not 100% delivery of products on time, etc etc (all the factors that could affect -positive and negative- value creation of social business in India)!!
• Implementation issues from strategic management and business model literature
• How to finance social businesses in india? Maybe self finance? Maybe social investors? But what about their trust in your project? NGOs? What is the best financial approach to make social business in India?? New forms of attracting investors?
• How to run the operations of a social business in India sustainably in terms of financial, social and ethical perspectives???
• LITERATURE ON SOCIAL BUSINESS AND ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
• What are the regulatory constraints in India to make a social business?
• Use literature from previous experiences of other people who tried to make a social business

But what does it actually mean to carry out social business ventures in a country where millions still lack access to basic social goods?

In what ways do development interventions differ from, enable or hinder social entrepreneurship?

What are the concrete difficulties and ethical dilemmas involved in
carrying out development work and social business in a context characterized by the persistence of caste and religious identities, economic inequalities, corruption, and unreliable state delivery?

Thirty years after the liberalization of Indiaʹs economy, can market‐based solutions contribute to the elimination of deprivation in the country? 

In brief, the aim of the essay in to analyze and critically discuss (not descriptive) (from social business literature, peer reviewed articles, other social business experiences, etc) the financial, ethical, and social (politics, caste, gender, power, culture, language, etc) considerations when thinking on working on a social business in india (related to to expand/improve water delivery and production in the country) à Focus on value creation and operational delivery of the social business

It is important to show that we have read different relevant articles to critically discuss the challenges and issues (caste, politics, logistics, trust, power, lack of seriousness by locals etc) when working on a social business in India properly.

Ability to contextualize your argument/project within existing academic debates

à At least 6 or 7 references (HARVARD system) and no need for an ABSTRACT section

Ability to adopt an analytical, rather than a descriptive perspective. Analytical writing requires you to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of arguments found in the academic literature, to make reasoned judgments, and to draw conclusions. In contrast, descriptive writing evokes a particular phenomenon, recounts what happened, or only
explains a theory (or the view of a number of authors). Descriptive writing should be used as a means to an end, and not an end in itself. 

The paper must have a clear logical structure, argumentation and use of evidence; and display clear attribution of credible sources. 
 
Tips to write the essay: 
• Privilege peer-reviewed literature
• Citing or paraphrasing offer advantages over direct quotes: it shows you’ve understood what you’ve read and that you are able to incorporate it meaningfully into your essay.
Sometimes direct quotes are preferable though, for example where the actual words used by an author are difficult or impossible to paraphrase. 
• Avoid repetitions, patronizing statements, gross oversimplifications, and stating the
obvious. We’re not interested in your personal beliefs and opinions as such, but rather in
the argument that you have to make, using logic, comparison, deduction etc.  
• For referencing, we recommend you use the Harvard System.

Avoid sentences such as:  
• “I sincerely believe that what Digital Green does is amazing, and it gives me hope for the future. Also, Digital Green is constantly trying to improve. As we can see on their website, they have many other innovation initiatives that strive at
making their impact bigger.»
• « I have received enough information to believe confidently that a decreased indebtedness would improve the mental well-being of Indians. »
• « Every solution has its pros and cons. In my point of view, it’s important to tell the people not only the positive aspects but also explain the risks involved. In short, be transparent and clear that everyone can form his own opinion. As we heard in one of the lectures, for Indians it’s quite important to know the risks of a solution. »
• “In this paper I will explore a social topic that very much piqued my interest in class, but which I had no further time to explore in the setting of our group project: The Farmer Suicide Crisis in India. In class we learned a lot about the dyer
situations in which Indian farmers can find themselves in. We also explored the cultural and social dynamics of Indian society itself, which gave me a broad understanding of the motivation behind such a desperate act »