Michael Winalski

Civic Capitalism

05/01/2011

Social Entrepreneurship Analysis

The view of civil capitalism is understood and portrayed differently amongst

various entrepreneurs and business owners. Throughout the years, the relationships

between businesses and their communities have become more cohesive. This relationship

has been categorized as civic-minded capitalism. Using the AGIL and Force Field

Analysis, we will determine the future of civic capitalism in relation to entrepreneurs and

current/future business owners.

AGIL Analysis:

Adaption Goal Attainment

 Work with community’s - most  Make a profit
committed leaders of community  Give back and help your
 Add for-profit to non-profit community
organization accomplishing their  Achieve end “Social Mission”
larger social mission

Latent Values Integration

 Make money while also being
socially mindful
 Give employees time off to
participate during community
events
 “Civic capitalists” –
Social/economic
 Connecting to communities
 Participate in ICE (InnerCity
Entrepreneurs)
 Collaborate with other businesses
 “Civic Capitalists”

After reviewing the AGIL analysis, it is clear that many businesses have some

type of social relationship with several volunteer organizations. In the past few years,

businesses have begun adapting to this new idea of civic capitalism. An entrepreneur

should focus on the community that surrounds their work location. The communities are
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essential because they’re the people who benefit from social capitalism. In many cases,

businesses that work directly with the community are viewed as the leaders. Additionally,

the best way for an entrepreneur to adapt to an environment is through the process of

understanding the modified non-profit model. A company should maintain the core

values of the non-profit organization but also should understand the need for making a

profit. A fraction of the income that is generated is used to fund various entities that

contribute to the accomplishment of the entrepreneur’s social mission. With this

understanding, the entrepreneur’s goal is to in the end make a profit. The profits keep the

business afloat as well as help fund the next goal, give back to the community. Whether

that is through volunteering, or financial compensation, the goal in the end is to

successfully achieve the entrepreneur’s social mission.

Social capitalism needs to motivate individuals towards achieving their end goal.

This motivation is defined as the latent values of civic capitalism. If a company knows

exactly what their work is contributing to, the employees are more likely to work harder

to achieve the social mission. A major problem in companies is the amount of time

allotted for employees to partake in community service activities. Allotting time each

week to perform community service as an entire company provides employees with

several benefits. The extra time benefits the community without interrupting the

employee’s work schedule. Integrating is essential to making this business model work.

The article coins the entrepreneurs as “civic capitalists” for that company. Civic

capitalists’ are the people who are inspired to succeed financially and at the same time

obligated to give back to their community any way they can. These people are

fundamental in the successful integration of this social capitalistic business model.

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Additionally, participating in the InnerCity Entrepreneur organization can help get an

entrepreneur or business on track to becoming a social capitalistic company. This

organization sets a business in the correct direction to success both financially and

socially. Finally, an entrepreneur should work closely with surrounding businesses. The

article explains the importance of working with surrounding businesses to arrange group

community benefits. After a thorough inspection of the business idea, the question is

again raised whether or not businesses can successfully achieve Civic Capitalism.

FFA: Can businesses successfully achieve Civic Capitalism?

Propelling   Restraining
 Beneficial to surrounding  Lack of time- Busy schedules
communities  Many owners interested in only the
 Willingness to give “bottom line” factor
 Many business are already involved  Difficult to make money and
in many organizations remain be socially mindful
 Costly resources to implement civic
capitalism

A Force Field Analysis is an excellent tool for describing the potential propelling

and restraining forces that effect a central question. The question at hand is whether or

not businesses can successfully achieve Civic Capitalism. The first propelling force is the

potential benefits to surrounding communities. The more community relationships built

helps to increase the overall social aspect of the community and business. Employees

across the country are willing to give contributions toward benefiting others.

Additionally, many entrepreneurs have their businesses already heavily involved in

organizations but do not arrange any time for their employees to participate. The

organizations are present and already available for many entrepreneurs and employees.
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Some of the retraining forces are the lack of time within the workday for employees to

volunteer. The major reason why employees do not participate in many of the volunteer

organizations is because there is not enough time during and after the workday to fit it in.

Furthermore, many entrepreneurs are economically inclined and only interested in

producing a large bottom line dollar amount. The most challenging restraining force is

the difficulty of becoming a profitable business and successfully remaining socially

mindful.

Entrepreneurs have the resources and opportunities to become civic capitalists for

their community. The idea of civic-minded capitalism is an amazing approach to building

a well-rounded organization. Using the necessary resources available and thinking both

socially and financially, an organization has the potential to earn a profit and achieve an

equal level of civic capitalism.

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Works Cited

The Canadian Journal of Sociology Online. Web. 01 May 2011.

<http://www.cjsonline.ca/reviews/civiccapitalism.html>.

"Civic Capitalism: Entrepreneurs, Their Ventures And Communities." IDEAS:

Economics and Finance Research. Web. 01 May 2011.

<http://ideas.repec.org/a/wsi/jdexxx/v12y2007i03p353-375.html>.

"Social Capital." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 01 May 2011.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_capital>.