Free Delivery Over $100
|
|
|||
|
||||
OverviewFull Product DetailsAuthor: David Grayson , Melody McLaren , Heiko SpitzeckPublisher: Greenleaf Publishing Imprint: Greenleaf Publishing Dimensions: Width: 16.40cm , Height: 2.00cm , Length: 24.20cm Weight: 0.540kg ISBN: 9781783530724ISBN 10: 1783530723 Pages: 254 Publication Date: 01 May 2014 Audience: Professional and scholarly , Professional & Vocational Format: Electronic book text Publisher's Status: Active Availability: Not yet available  This item is yet to be released. You can pre-order this item and we will dispatch it to you upon its release. Table of ContentsFOREWORD INTRODUCTION What are social intrapreneurs and why are they important? What does jazz have to do with social intrapreneurism? How this book is organised 1. HOW SOCIAL INTRAPRENEURS ARE RISING TO GLOBAL BUSINESS AND SOCIAL CHALLENGES 2. UNDERSTANDING INDIVIDUAL SOCIAL INTRAPRENEURS 3. HOW COMPANIES REACT - CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIESs 4. EXTERNAL ENABLING ENVIRONMENT - EXTERNAL ORGANISATIONS AND NETWORKS: 5. IMPACTS OF SOCIAL INTRAPRENEURISM 6. RECOMMENDATIONS AND PRACTICAL TIPS 7. THE WAY AHEAD CONCLUSION: TOWARDS A NEW WAY OF DOING BUSINESS APPENDICES OUR RESEARCH ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ENDNOTES FURTHER READING AND RESOURCES LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS, FIGURES, BOXES AND TABLESReviewsCan business save the world? The question might distract business leaders from more immediate concerns, such as making a profit. Starting a conversation about sustainability, for instance, could even mark you down as an obstacle to success in some people's eyes. This is the dilemma facing so-called social intrapreneurs , desc-rib-ed in this insightful new book as the people in a corporation who put themselves forward to come up with innovations that address social or environmental challenges while generating revenue. The authors have done well to uncover dozens of social intrapreneurs at big businesses around the world, and to get them to tell their stories. The businesses involved include Vodafone, GSK, Accenture, Danone and DHL, among many others, and the individuals have been responsible for significant business activities, which are described at some length in the book. It turns out that techniques required by social intrapreneurs to advance do have some parallels in jazz that are not so far-fetched. Like a jazz musician, the intrapreneur must go in for woodshedding (solitary practice to improve technical skills), soloing (putting your ideas forward), being a sideman (contri-buting to a group in which you are a supporting team member), and paying your dues (contributing to your im-mediate team/community, and earning trust). In other words, social in-tra-pren-eurs must find and construct ensembles to prosper. The authors are guardedly optimistic. Their successful witnesses have mastered balancing the roles of risk-taking entrepreneurs and rule-following employees within a large organisation. They are tempered radicals . Don't change companies, change the company you're in, advises one social intrapreneur. But this radicalism, too, is tempered by the book, which reminds any aspiring social entrepreneurs of a question they should ask themselves: Am I prepared to lose my job if this doesn't work out? The writer is visiting professor in management at Cass Business School -- Stefan Stern Social entrepreneurism is in vogue at college campuses, new venture incubators and accelerators, and as a sustainable alternative to the classic development paradigm of foreign assistance. Numerous books, textbooks, scholarly articles, and blogs have been written on social entrepreneurs and the change they catalyze. In contrast, social intrapreneurism and its actors have - until recently - received little attention. Indeed, at the Skoll World Forum in Oxford this past April, many delegates noted that intrapreneurism was a new concept too them. Grayson, McLaren, and Spitzeck set out to characterize social intrapreneurs - people who can build a more just and sustainable world through their 'day jobs' - and illuminate the potential for a movement in doing so. Such a movement is welcome: too often, corporations seem to be missing from conversations on how to end poverty and preserve the environment. Some may wonder whether intrapreneurism is indeed a new phenomenon or merely a neologism for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and related practices that have, frankly, yielded few benefits for the global poor or the sustainability of our fragile planet. I wondered, and started reading the book with some cynicism. The authors' thoughtful analysis illuminated by numerous case studies, anecdotes, and qualitative comparisons provides a sound basis for believing that something more substantial is indeed afoot. That is heartening and reason enough alone to read the book. The core motif of parallels between social intrapreneurs and jazz musicians is apt. It affords lively undertones and engaging analogies throughout the book. The ability to partner or jam well with others surfaces as a core competency for social entrepreneurs and jazz musicians alike; most successful leaders of any form will resonate with these notions, and also appreciate the importance of diversity among team members, especially in situations disruptive innovation is required. How then, are social intrapreneurs different than innovators and leaders who happen to be in the context of generally large commercial organizations? That point is clear: the commercial focus on social impact and environmental sustainability. The authors also take care to distinguish between social intrapreneurs and their close relatives who hold CSR or sustainability positions with specific responsibilities for social or environmental impact. One might question whether some of the job titles of the profiled intrapreneurs are simply new labels for old songs. I was fortunate to speak directly with a number of those profiled in the book at the Skoll World Forum. Without exception, they voiced ambition to fundamentally transform the nature of business; most cited the potential for signal amplification of their social impact and sustainability initiatives as a unique opportunity available to social intrapreneurs: small changes can make a significant impact, in business elements as staid as procurement. The ability of social intrapreneurs to effect impact is highly dependent on corporate environment; roughly a third of the book is devoted to exploring factors that encourage or impede social intrapreneurship, among them the presence of traditional CSR specialists. Many of the identified organizational dynamics affect the broader innovation capacity of firms. For example, an organizational culture that discourages risk-taking and open dialogue is unlikely to be particularly innovative in any regard, including social innovation. Interested corporate leaders should pay particular attention to this section of the book. Firms with enabling environments, however, clearly have the potential to effect large-scale impact by rooting social innovations at the core of their businesses. Major firms with tens or hundreds of thousands of employees all aligned towards a common mission are irrefutably a major platform for change. It is here that the book really jams with examples that reveal social intrapreneurship a coherent, convincing movement. Strikingly, and to their credit, the authors draw from a wide range of industries - instruments if you will - from construction to pharmaceuticals, consulting to technology, consumer products to conglomerates. Who should read this book? Social intrapreneurs with whom I spoke voiced a sense of delight at the awareness that others like them existed in other commercial organizations, that their ambition for a new way of doing business was shared, that they were not alone. Thousands like them will benefit from the knowledge and structures presented in this work. CEOs and other corporate leaders who believe they have responsibilities to a broad range of stakeholders beyond shareholders will appreciate tangible examples and frameworks to apply to their cultures. The audiences that will most respond to the syncopation of commercial success and social impact, however, are Generation X and the Millennial Generation, together estimated to potentially inherit $41T in wealth over the next 40 years. Colleagues from many universities remark on the expectations of young people today for vocations that have meaning and investments that drive impact. As students, corporate employees, entrepreneurs, or investors, these generations will benefit from understanding the principles and practice of social intrapreneurship as a collaborative activity that like jazz benefits from creative improvisation. And hopefully, as the authors note, they will accelerate its impact. -- Thane Kreiner, Ph.D. Executive Director Center for Science, Technology, and Society, Santa Clara University Can business save the world? The question might distract business leaders from more immediate concerns, such as making a profit. Starting a conversation about sustainability, for instance, could even mark you down as an obstacle to success in some people's eyes. This is the dilemma facing so-called social intrapreneurs , desc-rib-ed in this insightful new book as the people in a corporation who put themselves forward to come up with innovations that address social or environmental challenges while generating revenue. The authors have done well to uncover dozens of social intrapreneurs at big businesses around the world, and to get them to tell their stories. The businesses involved include Vodafone, GSK, Accenture, Danone and DHL, among many others, and the individuals have been responsible for significant business activities, which are described at some length in the book. It turns out that techniques required by social intrapreneurs to advance do have some parallels in jazz that are not so far-fetched. Like a jazz musician, the intrapreneur must go in for woodshedding (solitary practice to improve technical skills), soloing (putting your ideas forward), being a sideman (contri-buting to a group in which you are a supporting team member), and paying your dues (contributing to your im-mediate team/community, and earning trust). In other words, social in-tra-pren-eurs must find and construct ensembles to prosper. The authors are guardedly optimistic. Their successful witnesses have mastered balancing the roles of risk-taking entrepreneurs and rule-following employees within a large organisation. They are tempered radicals . Don't change companies, change the company you're in, advises one social intrapreneur. But this radicalism, too, is tempered by the book, which reminds any aspiring social entrepreneurs of a question they should ask themselves: Am I prepared to lose my job if this doesn't work out? The writer is visiting professor in management at Cass Business School -- Stefan Stern Author InformationDAVID GRAYSON CBE is Director of The Doughty Centre for Corporate Responsibility, Cranfield School of Management, UK, where MELODY MCLAREN is an Associate. HEIKO SPITZECK is Professor at Fundacao Dom Cabral, Brazil. Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |
||||
