Ethical Issues in Social Entrepreneurship
~K Logadarshana
“Ethics is knowing the difference between what you have a right to do and what is right to do”
Potter Stewart
Abstract:
In the past, proponents of the field have predominated the literature on rising social entrepreneurship, ignoring criticism of the social enterprise in favor of highlighting its distinction from commercial entrepreneurship and promise for addressing social issues. In this regard, the research provided here has led us to the conclusion that there is a need to problematize the relationship between social entrepreneurship and ethics.
Moral conundrums:
We identified four categories of moral conundrums faced by social entrepreneurs: those involving community engagement (equality vs. efficiency and fairness vs. care), those involving spillover effects (right vs. responsibilities), and those involving juggling a variety of stakeholders (emotionally invested vs.
Although social value creation is a requirement for social entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship is actually the combination of social value production and other factors. Therefore, it is essential to have a thorough understanding of the nature of the social value provided and how it is assessed or measured in order to explore and frame the ethical character of social entrepreneurship.
Understanding of Ethics:
Our understanding of how social entrepreneurs might foster freedom without assuming a “true self” or glibly ethical expectations can be advanced through the study of ethics. They emphasize power at the individual and micro levels as opposed to work that focuses on hegemony at the meso- and macro levels. They contend that social acts that battle with power, subjectivity, and freedom are how the ethics of social entrepreneurship originate and are realized.
The ethical component is specifically founded on the idea that economic and cultural freedom — as well as empowerment — are beneficial to the women in question. Critical analysis, however, contends that this can come at a cost.
Although some husbands were supportive, some women encountered resistance from inside the home; this rejection might also be felt in the larger community. Therefore, if the business collapsed, there were personal risks. These writers highlight the important topic of whether capitalism is beneficial to emerging nations and the impoverished in rural communities given that this market-based system of liberation is obviously a component of capitalism.
Myths about entrepreneurship:
There are many myths surrounding entrepreneurship, like the heroic male who defies the odds and goes it alone, the entrepreneur who just so happens to be at the right place at the right time, the idea that anyone can become an entrepreneur, and now we may be able to add the myth of the moral social entrepreneur.
In our request for contributions to this Special Issue, we emphasized that our goal was to collect data to dispel what seemed to be a misconception about the nature of social entrepreneurs and social entrepreneurship.
The long-term possibility of the operation generating too great a loss to be continued outweighed the short-term benefits of hiring more severely impaired personnel. In order to balance justice and mercy, it was decided to find the more impaired workers other, albeit lower-paying positions. The conflict between self and community was interpreted as the need for the organization to make as much money as possible in order to continue helping all of its clients and employees in the community. Within the organization, the choice was viewed as an example of a tough but moral decision.
Social Ethics in Business:
For-profit social businesses as well as nonprofit organisations and charities can both participate in social entrepreneurship, which is the organisation of a business around certain social and environmental reasons.
Business is used by social entrepreneurs to propose fresh concepts for significant social and environmental effects.
A social mission’s enthusiasm is combined with a business-like image of discipline, invention, and tenacity in social entrepreneurship. Many social entrepreneurs start new businesses using creative and frequently risky methods to develop scalable solutions, including developing brand-new goods and services. Others join existing social companies that align with their passions and interests.
The ultimate purpose of sustainable organizations, which can be established as traditional businesses or nonprofits, is to bring about large-scale, systematic change through new endeavors.
Conclusion:
Therefore, Innovative and long-term solutions to social, cultural, financial, and environmental challenges are what social entrepreneurs work to create and implement, they give the money that they make from selling goods and services to others in need. They generate money for a cause or receive grants from the government.
