scholarly journals Social entrepreneurship in rural areas as illustrated by social cooperatives in Poland’s Masovian Voivodeship

2020 ◽  
pp. 20-30
Author(s):  
Małgorzata Błażejowska
Keyword(s):  
Social Entrepreneurship ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
National Court ◽  
General Interest ◽  
Financial Situation ◽  
Cooperative Movement ◽  
The Social ◽  
Legal Nature ◽  
Services Of General Interest ◽  
Return On Sales

This paper aims to present the social cooperative movement in Poland’s rural areas as illustrated by social cooperatives operating in rural communes of the Masovian Voivodeship. Of the 32 units operating at least since 2014, only 10 have remained on the market. Based on the National Court Register data, the study examined activity profiles, employment levels, activity periods, founding entities and financial situations by using the method of indicators of dynamics and return on sales (ROS). Cooperatives were selected with regard to the legal nature of their founders in order to indicate any differences. The cooperatives established by legal persons had a stable financial situation in the case of 80% of the analysed entities. All of them recorded an increase in revenues in comparison to the year before and 80% of them reported a profit and a positive ROS. 80% of the entities established by natural persons generated a loss from conducted activities and a negative ROS in the last three years of conducted activities. The research results showed that the greatest chances for development were found in cooperatives that were established by legal persons and which rendered services of general interest.

FUNCTIONING OF SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP ON RURAL DEVELOPMENT ON THE EXAMPLE OF SOCIAL COOPERATIVES OF THE PROVINCE WIELKOPOLSKA

2017 ◽  
Vol XIX (5) ◽  
pp. 42-47
Author(s):  
Małgorzata Błażejowska
Keyword(s):  
Rural Development ◽  
Social Entrepreneurship ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Legal Status ◽  
National Court ◽  
Earned Income ◽  
Financial Situation

The article analyzes 20 social cooperatives operating in rural areas of the province. Wielkopolska. On the basis of data from the National Court Register, the profile of activity, number of employees, period of activity, founders and financial situation of analyzed entities were examined. The differences in the functioning of social cooperatives, due to the legal status of the founders, were indicated. Among cooperatives founded by legal persons, over half (58%) earned income and employed more than 10 employees. Among the cooperatives founded by physical persons 75% of them reported a loss from their operations, a much lower armount of revenues (63% below the 100 thousand) and the number of employees (average 7).The results showed that cooperatives founded by community with conty have the greatest chance of development.

Raum und Unternehmen

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martina Brandt ◽  
Elke Dahlbeck ◽  
Franz Flögel ◽  
Stefan Gärtner ◽  
Dajana Schlieter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
General Interest ◽  
The Social ◽  
Provision Of Services ◽  
Company Survey ◽  
Services Of General Interest ◽  
Shrinking Regions ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
A Company

The involvement of companies and people in the provision of services of general interest in structurally weak, demographically shrinking regions is becoming increasingly important. In addition to examining the social responsibility of companies under the term ‘corporate social responsibility’, this study also focuses on regional corporate engagement. Against the background of the known dilemmas in the area of civil societal engagement, in which fewer people are involved in structurally weak regions than in prospering regions, this book raises the question of whether this also applies to corporate engagement by focusing on whether companies are able to break through regional crisis cycles successfully while also fostering a positive influence on the development of the region. Using three case studies, the authors identify certain factors and obstacles in regional corporate engagement and evaluate the results of a company survey.

Putting security at the heart of the European social pact – proposals to make flexicurity more balanced

2008 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 419-433 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pascale Vielle ◽  
Jean-Michel Bonvin
Keyword(s):  
Public Funding ◽  
General Interest ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Pact ◽  
Services Of General Interest ◽  
Employment Rates ◽  
New Instruments ◽  
The Eu

The concept of flexicurity opens up new avenues for rethinking our approach to social integration and security for Europe's citizens. In the current European debate, however, flexicurity is out of balance on two levels: it leans too far towards flexibility at the expense of security, and it is too focused on the labour market (and increasing employment rates) at the expense of other aspects of quality of life. This article suggests ways to rebalance flexicurity, giving more substance to ‘security’. In particular it proposes that, in addition to the mutualisation typically found in conventional social security strategies, services of general interest and time and space policies should also be developed. It recommends the negotiation of a new social pact in which all partners (not just the social partners) should have their say. The conclusion highlights the particular role of the EU in promoting harmonising measures and establishing new instruments for security and different ways of approaching public funding and investment.

scholarly journals Public Services between the Citizen’s Need and the Possibilities of the Administration

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 23-34
Author(s):  
Adriana Grigorescu
Keyword(s):  
Public Services ◽  
Living Environment ◽  
General Interest ◽  
Public Authorities ◽  
The Public ◽  
Financial Strength ◽  
The Social ◽  
Public Resources ◽  
Services Of General Interest

Abstract This paper aims at the balance between the citizen and the public authorities with public services as an interface. Public services place themselves at the crossroads of many elements such as: needs of the citizen, social need, public will, public resources, private availability, and civic sense. Without claiming to have identified all factors that converge to defining / structuring the public services (PS) / services of general interest (SGI), the paper tried to highlight some of the most important. The social need is covered at the macro level and it represents what society - as a whole - needs. Citizens’ needs are more specific, individualized and custom-designed, rundown by gender, age, education, social condition, financial strength, religion, living environment etc. The public will is an expression of what the Administration encompasses in mid- and long-term national strategies and addresses in detail the PS / SGI in sectorial policies where responsibility is assumed. Public resources include in our assessment all resources at the disposal of the Administration at some point. Private availability can be expressed through various forms such as public-private partnerships, development of complementary private sponsorships, donations etc. A balanced public service can also benefit of citizens’ civic sense. Even if they are completely satisfied with the services at hand they understand that it would be without sense to unnecessary ask for them just only because it’s free.

WELL: keeping the social mission alive

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-34
Author(s):  
Nitzan Merguei
Keyword(s):  
Social Entrepreneurship ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Personal Development ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Indian Society ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Social Mission ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Venture ◽  
Commercial Entrepreneurship

Subject area Social entrepreneurship Study level/applicability Bachelor/master students. Case overview Women Empowerment through Local Livelihood (WELL) is a social venture that was founded in September 2005, by Danny Merguei. Danny was raised in Israel and had a long career in the corporate world as an auditor. After many years of work, Danny and his family moved to India. Shortly after the family arrived to the south of India, one of the biggest tsunamis in history hit the Southeast coast, on 26 December 2004. Many women who were dependent on their husbands as the family’s breadwinners lost them to the tsunami. Danny reacted to the situation by setting up a program to help these women. As the businesses expanded and the effects of the tsunami subsided, the focus of WELL shifted to women from rural areas who were interested in starting a shared business with a group of other women. Women who are selected for the training offered by WELL are guided for six months on how to create products made of recycled materials, such as household items and accessories. During the training, the women also take classes on how to run a business and on personal development. After the women complete the training, they receive a micro loan to start their own businesses. WELL monitors their development, offers business consultancy and quality controls assistance for the products. WELL also buys the products from the women and sells them to shops in India and around the world. The income generated by these sales is used by WELL to sustain and increase its operations. The women, however, are free to decide whether they want to distribute their products through WELL or find other ways to generate income. The mission of WELL is to provide empowerment tools and alternative livelihood to women. Behind it is WELL’s vision to see the status of women in the Indian society and their self-empowerment improve. Expected learning outcomes With the help of the case and literature students should understand/learn: Some of the differences and similarities between social and commercial entrepreneurship. The students should try to inspect where there is an overlap in social and commercial entrepreneurship (and how this is reflected in the thought-process and decision of the entrepreneur) and where the two separate. The importance of the social mission in social entrepreneurship. This is one of the crucial differences that exists between social and commercial entrepreneurship. The students think about the motivation that drives the entrepreneur. The students should think about the influence that the lead entrepreneur has on the social business, and how the two are linked. That a social problem can have different layers. The students should come to a realisation that sometimes the “real” or deeper problem is not so easy to see and can be obscured by other more exterior problems. About the complexity involved in building up and operating a social venture. The students should try to identify with the protagonist’s struggles while maintaining their own points of view. To have a critical perspective when making an important decision, and to be able to use and put together the relevant information. How to apply models, theories and concepts from the provided literature to answer the case questions. Supplementary materials Teaching Note 2 videos. Subject code CSS:3 Entrepreneurship.

scholarly journals Privatización (de la administración) = Privatization (of the administration)

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 260
Author(s):  
Lucylea Gonçalves França
Keyword(s):  
Social Benefits ◽  
General Interest ◽  
Social Rights ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Legal Regime ◽  
State Regulations ◽  
The Social ◽  
Services Of General Interest ◽  
The Republic ◽  
General Economic Interest

Resumen: Este artículo examina los recientes cambios en la actividad administrativa de los países cuyos mercados de servicios públicos han sido liberalizados en el nuevo marco de influencia neoliberal. Con la aparición de funciones públicas asociadas a la creciente extensión de las actividades económicas, los nuevos reglamentos se evaden de las exigencias tradicionales del régimen jurídico administrativo. La evolución del Estado social ha impulsado, también, una actividad administrativa global dirigida hacia los mercados liberalizados, que es responsable de difundirlos en nuevos entornos tras los procesos de privatización de servicios de interés general. En ese sentido, esa uniformización de normativas del Estado administrativo inicia la aplicación de métodos desarrollados para permitir el ejercicio eficaz de las prestaciones sociales y el derecho al acceso a la información al usuario. ¿Es posible y eficaz esa unificación para la mejora de los servicios de interés general? Esas prestaciones obtienen el reconocimiento de la responsabilidad estatal compleja en la medida en que exige averiguar el nivel de compromiso con el ciudadano, usuario de las prestaciones sociales. Ese análisis muestra la importancia de indagar cómo actúa el Estado de Brasil a la hora de evaluar los diferentes instrumentos jurídicos y materiales de las nueva administración pública global.Palabras clave: Derechos sociales, Regulación de servicios privatizados, Control PúblicoAbstract: This article analyses the recent changes in the administrative activity of countries whose public service markets have been liberalized under the new neoliberal framework. With the emergence of public functions associated with the increasing extension of economic activities, the new regulations evade the traditional requirements of the administrative legal regime. The evolution of the social state has also promoted a global administrative activity directed towards the liberalized markets, which is responsible for diffusing them into new environments after the processes of privatization of services of general interest. In this sense, this standardization of administrative state regulations starts the application of methods developed to allow the effective exercise of social benefits and the users´ right to access to information. Is it that unification possible and effective so as to improve the services of general economic interest? These benefits obtain the recognition of the complex state responsibility as far as it demands to ascertain the level of commitment to the citizens, who are users of the social benefits. This analysis shows the importance of investigating how the Republic of Brazil acts to assess the different legal and material instruments of the new global public administrations.Keywords: Social rights, Regulation of privatized service, Public Control.

Assessing social concerns in water tariffs

Water Policy ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rita Martins ◽  
Luís Cruz ◽  
Eduardo Barata ◽  
Carlota Quintal
Keyword(s):  
Water Supply ◽  
Universal Access ◽  
Social Dimension ◽  
General Interest ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Water Utility ◽  
Water Charges ◽  
The Social ◽  
Access To Water ◽  
Services Of General Interest

In the European Union, water supply services are referred to as ‘services of general interest’, meaning that they are subject to multiple, potentially conflicting, public service obligations. This paper considers empirical data for Portuguese municipalities and provides a comprehensive approach to assessing the social dimension by evaluating whether the concerns of universal access to water services for basic needs, affordability and equity are embodied in the corresponding water supply tariffs. Accordingly, ‘essential minimum quantities’ (EMQs) of water for representative households are calculated and then compared with the lowest tariff block's upper limit, by water utility. Next, charges underlying the EMQs are calculated and compared with the average income of each representative household, by municipality. The results show that, in general, the EMQs are enclosed in the first block of consumption and also that the corresponding water charges do not represent a disproportionate burden on average household size and income. Nonetheless, our findings indicate that, when considering the 20% poorest households, the water charges raise affordability concerns in an important number of municipalities. Further, the results show that there is a socio-economic inequity that favours the better-off households.

scholarly journals Towards Social Entrepreneurship in the Village through Village-Owned Enterprises

Society ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 163-174
Author(s):  
Muryanti Muryanti
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Social Entrepreneurship ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Local Economy ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Job Opportunities ◽  
The Social ◽  
Data Collection Technique ◽  
The Village

Social entrepreneurship is an important concept for realizing the welfare of rural communities. This concept refers to the dedication of individuals, who have the character of a leader, who collaborates actively with their communities, to realize collective welfare. This research aims to analyze the role of Village-Owned Enterprises (BUMDes) in improving the welfare of rural communities through social entrepreneurship. This research was qualitative. The data collection technique used in this research was the observation. The results of observations are then analyzed, combined, and enriched with secondary data. The results showed that BUMDes is an institution in rural areas, which has an important role in encouraging and supporting the principles of social entrepreneurship in rural communities. However, the various BUMDes activities and innovations have not yet provided significant changes for the village such as job opportunities for rural youth and various economic activities in rural areas to improve the local economy. Strengthening the social system in the village is needed to realize social entrepreneurship comprehensively through the active collaboration of village leaders and the community. Village fund management by BUMDes needs to be continued and evaluated in its implementation.

scholarly journals MODERNIZATION OF THE SOCIAL SERVICE SYSTEM IN THE CONTEXT OF INNOVATIVE DEVELOPMENT OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION: MECHANISMS AND BARRIERS

2019 ◽  
pp. 230-240
Author(s):  
Yuliya A. Petrovskaya ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Services ◽  
Social Entrepreneurship ◽  
Social Service ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Service System ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Innovative Development ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Service System

The most important condition for the successful innovative development in Russia is acceptance of the introduced reforms by the population and their understanding that these transformations entail improvement of the quality of life and growth in the level of social well-being. The quality and accessibility of social services are important components of social welfare. The system of social services currently existing in our country needs modernization which would include increasing the availability of social services, development of competition for the quality of their provision and extension of the range of services rendered to citizens. The subject matter under research in this paper is mechanisms and barriers of the social service system modernization in the context of the principal directions of Russia’s innovative development. There appear to be two main mechanisms of modernization: inclusion in the social services system of such entities as socially oriented non-profit organizations and development of social entrepreneurship that could extend the range of social services available to the population and compete for the quality of their provision. Special attention is paid to the analysis of interaction between governmental and non-governmental social service entities. The empirical research combines quantitative and qualitative methodology, since a number of phenomena (e.g. social entrepreneurship) represent an exception rather than a rule, and therefore they are of particular interest. Among the main barriers to the modernization of the social service system, there are both administrative barriers and the ideas and beliefs prevailing among the population (distrust of NGOs; low level of awareness of social entrepreneurship; reluctance of managers to register their organizations as providers of social services; low civil activity of the population in the regions of the Republic; concentration of non-governmental social service entities in the territory of the Petrozavodsk city, with the problem of access to social services being most acute in rural areas).

European Consumerss Attitudes on Services of General Interest: Accessibility, Price and Quality

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlo V. Fiorio ◽  
Massimo Florio ◽  
Silvia Salini ◽  
Pier Alda Ferrari
Keyword(s):  
General Interest ◽  
Services Of General Interest
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