Social enterprise Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Social enterprise - Essay Example The enterprises must ensure collaboration and implement competitive strategies that will ensure sustainability in providing high quality products and services to their stakeholders. The enterprises must remain committed to their strategies bottom lines of improving social and environmental welfare of the society. In addition, national government agencies must support their activities through favorable regulatory framework. Social enterprises aim at attaining both commercial and social goals. In this case, a social enterprise whether for-profit or non-profit organization will strive to attain social, cultural, economic and environmental outcomes through redirecting the surplus towards the pursuit of environmental and social goals (Paton 2003). The businesses range from credit unions, community centers, and companies that engage in solving societal problems such as producing renewable energy (Doherty 2008). Social enterprises can take the form of community interest company (CIC) whereby the social mission of the organisation is regulated or industrial and provident society (IPS) which is co-operative that is democratically controlled by the members for the benefit of the society (Ridley-Duff and Bull 2011). Another form is the companies limited by shares or guarantee whereby the memorandum of association outlines how the profits will be channeled towards social causes. The fourth is the group structures that have charitable status whereby companies engage in charitable activities in order to enjoy tax benefits (Doherty 2008). Unlike commercial enterprises that focus on profit maximisation, the social enterprises have limited access for debt financing and attain most of their financing from grants such as trusts and foundations (Doherty 2008). Other sources of financing include community finance from credit unions, equity finance from the