What is the best way for social entrepreneurs to measure their performance? Give specific examples from your experience with your community partner that highlights your position. Due by Wednesday, Nov. 24th
Traditional businesses typically measure their performance based on quantitative values; revenue generated, profit margins, and number of products or services sold. Commercial enterprises normally use a standardized and straight-forward method for calculating the bottom line. For the social entrepreneur, this process is not so cut and dry. Social enterprises are driven by a commitment to deliver some sort of social value. More often than not, social value is intangible and difficult to measure. Evaluating the impact of value served by a social enterprise in monetary or concrete terms can be a complex and challenging task. Nevertheless, performance measurements play a critical role in the advancement of social organizations. “It provides vital information for assessing an organization’s efficiency, sustainability, and progress toward achieving its mission” (Alliance, Social Enterprise, 2010, 149). The best way for social entrepreneurs to determine organizational impact is to follow an internal performance measurement system specifically tailored to their unique enterprise. The following measurement ratios have proved to be effective and reliable for the social entrepreneur: • cost/benefit analysis- measures the cost to the benefit of an operation/idea and decides whether it worth the cost/risk • stated preference- asking those around you what they would pay for something, this gives you the idea of what is desired and for what price • revealed preference- measuring what was done in the past and what was paid for the product/service • social impact assessment- measures the estimated direct cost of an action, the probability that something will work, and its likely change on future outcomes • life satisfaction assessment- judges social products/services and programs by how you would need to improve your life, how your life will become better overall. • government accounting measures- those standards set by the government to measure your organization and its non-profit or for-profit status • public value assessment- measures how much the community values the thing, product/services, being offered. • value added assessment- measures what additional quality needs to be added to your product/service and how much product or service In the last few months of working with LifeSpan, Inc. in addition to Morgan’s prior knowledge of the organization, we have seen the company measure their performance in many different ways. For example, employees speak directly with the individuals and their families to see what is liked, disliked, or expected. LifeSpan also consults their staff to determine preferences and aspirations. LifeSpan uses many methods of measuring performance/social impact including: • cost/benefit analysis: measures social and organizational gain as well as cost of a new product or service compared against its projected benefit • stated preference: determine the needs and wants of the community, the individuals and their families • social impact assessment: estimate social value delivered and possibility for organizational growth and advancement • public value assessment: establish community values and the community’s perspective worth of the organization • LIFE SATISFACTION ASSESSMENT: performance measurement best suited for LifeSpan; determines what the organization is doing to enrich the lives of the individuals, families, and communities served. Posted by Catherine Langley and Morgan Vickers
The best way to measure performance for a social venture is probably a mix between measuring and evaluating sustainability and social impact. Sustainability involves a number of things, including looking at costs vs. expenses to come up with total revenue. If the organization can’t afford to continue and is losing money, then social entrepreneurship isn’t happening due to no long term business stability. Social impact for a company or organization involves how social value is created that directly changes the fundamental problem the organization is trying to fix or help. If an organization isn’t fixing the root social problem at its core in a way that actually fixes, rather than temporarily alleviates the problem, then a positive social value is being created. These two aspects are the most critical for an organization to evaluate because they measure what they’re trying to fix and if they can sustain this system of creating social value. As a group we have been working with the Salvation Army. Specifically, we have volunteered during the Give a Kid a Coat project. There are several different ways in which they could measure their performance during this project. When coat donations are received, inventory is taken. From there they are placed in the warehouse for individuals or families to come pick them up. When picking up coats the recipients must provide their social security number and for the people they are getting coats for. Their performance for the day can then be measured when the names and numbers are put into a database to provide a count of how many coats were given out and to ensure that no one has came twice. Through this system they can measure how many individuals in the community they are serving. We have also worked with the Christmas Gift project. Families sign their children up to receive gifts from the Salvation Army and they will be distributed to them in early December. Their performance measure will be similar to the Give a Kid a Coat project, but they will be more prepared because families must be signed up in order to receive the gifts. Therefore, they will know the quantity of the community they have served before the gifts are distributed. A third way the Salvation Army measures their performance is through the amount of profit that is made in the Family Stores. This is a great measurement because the profit made in the stores is the main funding source for their projects. Within the Salvation Army, the main way to measure performance is through quantifying how many community members have been served. Whitney Buchanan, Paul Brady, Chris Ruffin, Dennis Andrews
There are many ways a social entrepreneur can measure their performance. It’s important to know how sustainable your venture is and how much of an impact it puts on a community. According to Dr. Alex Nicholls of the University of Oxford, there are two basic models that can be used to measure performance of a social entrepreneur. The first are qualitative models. This would consist of a triple-bottom line measurement, social auditing measurement, a balance scorecard system, and a family of measures. The triple-bottom line looks at social and environmental outcomes. Social auditing measures internal performance of an organization. A balance scorecard is a test which measures organizational objectives. Finally a family of measures focuses on impact measures, activity measures, and capacity measures. The second model is a quantitative model. One model that Dr. Alex Nicholls describes is the SROI or Social Return on Investment. This model is a financial measure of economic return and shows how organizations create value beyond the economics. This model asks three questions when measuring performance. How do we know whether we are accomplishing what we set out to do? How can we make informed decisions about the ongoing use of resources? How can we test and convince others what we have achieved and show the value of our social outputs in terms that would be understood by those financing social ventures?
We believe that Food Assistance has done a good job at measuring their performance. The best way that Jane Carlson, CEO, measures her organization’s performance is by getting her volunteers to give out surveys to other volunteers that have helped with her social cause. Within this survey there are important questions, such as how would you rate your experiences in volunteering for the program? Would you be willing to make donations? Have you done acts of kindness for your participants? What is the best thing about volunteering for Groceries on Wheels? What was the thing you least liked about volunteering? What can be done to improve your experiences in volunteering? What can be done to improve the experience of the participants in the program? What impact has volunteering had on your life? This type of survey is a good example of a qualitative measurement because it is measuring the quality of the organization and what kind of impact it's having on the community. These types of questions in the survey are extremely important to assess because all of them have a tremendous impact on the volunteers and the participants in the program.
There are a few different ways to measure performance of any entrepreneur, but when considering the Social Entrepreneur there are some more specific ways of measurement. Some of the ways include: 1- Cost/Benefit Analysis - This simply means that the entrepreneur is being measured by the cost of their business decisions and the benefit that may result. It is important to remember that “there might not always be a benefit in the eyes of everyone.” (Dr. James.) 2- Stated Performance - When interpreting this measurement the entrepreneur can take into account the “importance/worth” it may be to other people. Some questions that can be asked could be, “What might someone pay for a certain product or service?” This can be helpful when deciding on pricing as well as pleasing customers. (Dr. James) 3- Revealed Preference - “This measurement explains choices people actually made. This can also interpret as what they did in the past and what they will do in the future as means of developing and perfecting their enterprise.” (Dr. James) 4- Social Impact Assessment - “Simply meaning that the social return the entrepreneur receives on an investment.” Measuring what impact it may have on the public/customers as a return. (Dr. James) 5- Life Satisfaction Assessment - “This means when “how much extra income is needed to improve your life.” (Dr.James) 6- Government Accounting Measure - “This involves governmental standards that an enterprise is to follow and as a means of measurement for the Entrepreneur and Government to use as analysis.” (Dr. James) 7- Public Value - “ When considering the public, it is important for the entrepreneur to determine what and if any public value is being developed through their enterprise. This can be a very important measurement, especially for Social Entrepreneurs.” (Dr. James) 8- Value Added Assessment - “This means how much additional value can you add to the enterprise?” (Dr. James) Each measurement signifies different aspects of the social entrepreneur while developing ways of analysis to help others and themselves. When considering our social entrepreneur, Elsewhere Collaborative, we found that there is one distinct measurement that the organization takes into account: 7- Public Value- is one of the main ideas of measurement. It is important that the organization develops public value in order to continue their business and operations. Elsewhere finds different ways to reach out to the public and involve them in activities happening at Elsewhere and encourage the idea of art. Elsewhere’s’ main idea is to allow a place for local and visiting artist to recycle collected material from a previous owner into pieces of art work. They hold days where artist can come in and use everything from old toys to piles and piles of ribbon and use them to create beautiful and unique pieces of art. Other times they hold art classes for young kids to encourage creativity and imagination. Creating public value is practically the backbone of the social entrepreneur, Elsewhere. Finding ways to develop value keeps them running and in business. So measuring public value and evaluating what needs to be improved is an important necessity for the enterprise.
Megan Binns, Becky Austell, Erich Von Landsberg, and Craig Shannon
The best way for social entrepreneurs to measure their performance is by keeping the importance of their mission connected to the public social value. Mission statements help keep a goal in mind while also being a reminder of why the organization began. In doing so, they should look at areas such as the value that are being added to society, and are the general public satisfied with the impact the social entrepreneurs has created. At Ten Thousand Villages, they have created social value by establishing a fair trade relationship with different groups of disadvantaged artisans worldwide. The company has helped provide employment opportunity to the artisans who lack the access to market their handcrafted products. In addition, Ten Thousand Villages mission is to guarantee that their artisans will receive a fair price for their product. Another method is to look at the costs and the value created, which are inseparable. Performance of the enterprise can be determined by analysing whether or not costs are minimized and the value is maximized. Ten thousand villages must look at their turnover and use it to create the most value. Then, as a fair trade organization trying to optimize performance, the consumer as well as the producer (artisan) must be completely satisfied. Yet another method is by measuring Life Satisfaction of the artisan by judging how much more does one need to do to improve another’s life. People always need help. Life Satisfaction Assessment is measured by how the business practices affect the suppliers (artisans). Ten Thousand Villages should measure their Life Satisfaction on a monthly basis to determine whether or not the trade arrangement is beneficial for both the company and the artisan. It actually makes a difference in the lives of the artisans and their families.
Social benefits are often intangible and hard to quantify; the impact sometimes may be best evaluated in the distant future. For normal profit organizations it is easy to focus on tangible-quantitative measures of success: profit margins or products or services sold during the period of time. Social impact measurement challenges make it extremely hard to demonstrate success and to make strategic decisions about investments, resource allocation or practical costs. But as hard as it might seem, social entrepeneurs should measure performance because that is the only way the organization can improve their performance and keep suistainability in the community served. There are different ways of measuring performance for social entrepeneurs: 1. Cost/Benefit analysis 2. Stated preference 3. Revealed preference 4. Social impact assessment 5. Life satisfaction assessment 6. Government accounting measures 7. Public value 8. Value added For Big Brothers Big Sisters, the most useful measurement tools are: Stated and Revealed preference since it is easy to ask people about the program and enhance it from the comments retrieved. Also Life satisfaction assessment because it tests the service needed to improve the community life. It all comes down to what people say, really. Another way of effectively measuring the social impact in a long term is simply counting the number of volunteers being the Big, who were the little one in past years.
Gravenstine B., Jane. For Profit Social Ventures. Fuqua MBA 1997. Retrieved from:http://www.caseatduke.org/articles/0205/research.htm
Traditional businesses typically measure their performance based on quantitative values; revenue generated, profit margins, and number of products or services sold. Commercial enterprises normally use a standardized and straight-forward method for calculating the bottom line. For the social entrepreneur, this process is not so cut and dry. Social enterprises are driven by a commitment to deliver some sort of social value. More often than not, social value is intangible and difficult to measure. Evaluating the impact of value served by a social enterprise in monetary or concrete terms can be a complex and challenging task. Nevertheless, performance measurements play a critical role in the advancement of social organizations. “It provides vital information for assessing an organization’s efficiency, sustainability, and progress toward achieving its mission” (Alliance, Social Enterprise, 2010, 149).
ReplyDeleteThe best way for social entrepreneurs to determine organizational impact is to follow an internal performance measurement system specifically tailored to their unique enterprise. The following measurement ratios have proved to be effective and reliable for the social entrepreneur:
• cost/benefit analysis- measures the cost to the benefit of an operation/idea and decides whether it worth the cost/risk
• stated preference- asking those around you what they would pay for something, this gives you the idea of what is desired and for what price
• revealed preference- measuring what was done in the past and what was paid for the product/service
• social impact assessment- measures the estimated direct cost of an action, the probability that something will work, and its likely change on future outcomes
• life satisfaction assessment- judges social products/services and programs by how you would need to improve your life, how your life will become better overall.
• government accounting measures- those standards set by the government to measure your organization and its non-profit or for-profit status
• public value assessment- measures how much the community values the thing, product/services, being offered.
• value added assessment- measures what additional quality needs to be added to your product/service and how much product or service
In the last few months of working with LifeSpan, Inc. in addition to Morgan’s prior knowledge of the organization, we have seen the company measure their performance in many different ways. For example, employees speak directly with the individuals and their families to see what is liked, disliked, or expected. LifeSpan also consults their staff to determine preferences and aspirations. LifeSpan uses many methods of measuring performance/social impact including:
• cost/benefit analysis: measures social and organizational gain as well as cost of a new product or service compared against its projected benefit
• stated preference: determine the needs and wants of the community, the individuals and their families
• social impact assessment: estimate social value delivered and possibility for organizational growth and advancement
• public value assessment: establish community values and the community’s perspective worth of the organization
• LIFE SATISFACTION ASSESSMENT: performance measurement best suited for LifeSpan; determines what the organization is doing to enrich the lives of the individuals, families, and communities served.
Posted by Catherine Langley and Morgan Vickers
The best way to measure performance for a social venture is probably a mix between measuring and evaluating sustainability and social impact. Sustainability involves a number of things, including looking at costs vs. expenses to come up with total revenue. If the organization can’t afford to continue and is losing money, then social entrepreneurship isn’t happening due to no long term business stability. Social impact for a company or organization involves how social value is created that directly changes the fundamental problem the organization is trying to fix or help. If an organization isn’t fixing the root social problem at its core in a way that actually fixes, rather than temporarily alleviates the problem, then a positive social value is being created. These two aspects are the most critical for an organization to evaluate because they measure what they’re trying to fix and if they can sustain this system of creating social value.
ReplyDeleteAs a group we have been working with the Salvation Army. Specifically, we have volunteered during the Give a Kid a Coat project. There are several different ways in which they could measure their performance during this project. When coat donations are received, inventory is taken. From there they are placed in the warehouse for individuals or families to come pick them up. When picking up coats the recipients must provide their social security number and for the people they are getting coats for. Their performance for the day can then be measured when the names and numbers are put into a database to provide a count of how many coats were given out and to ensure that no one has came twice. Through this system they can measure how many individuals in the community they are serving. We have also worked with the Christmas Gift project. Families sign their children up to receive gifts from the Salvation Army and they will be distributed to them in early December. Their performance measure will be similar to the Give a Kid a Coat project, but they will be more prepared because families must be signed up in order to receive the gifts. Therefore, they will know the quantity of the community they have served before the gifts are distributed. A third way the Salvation Army measures their performance is through the amount of profit that is made in the Family Stores. This is a great measurement because the profit made in the stores is the main funding source for their projects. Within the Salvation Army, the main way to measure performance is through quantifying how many community members have been served.
Whitney Buchanan, Paul Brady, Chris Ruffin, Dennis Andrews
There are many ways a social entrepreneur can measure their performance. It’s important to know how sustainable your venture is and how much of an impact it puts on a community. According to Dr. Alex Nicholls of the University of Oxford, there are two basic models that can be used to measure performance of a social entrepreneur. The first are qualitative models. This would consist of a triple-bottom line measurement, social auditing measurement, a balance scorecard system, and a family of measures. The triple-bottom line looks at social and environmental outcomes. Social auditing measures internal performance of an organization. A balance scorecard is a test which measures organizational objectives. Finally a family of measures focuses on impact measures, activity measures, and capacity measures. The second model is a quantitative model. One model that Dr. Alex Nicholls describes is the SROI or Social Return on Investment. This model is a financial measure of economic return and shows how organizations create value beyond the economics. This model asks three questions when measuring performance. How do we know whether we are accomplishing what we set out to do? How can we make informed decisions about the ongoing use of resources? How can we test and convince others what we have achieved and show the value of our social outputs in terms that would be understood by those financing social ventures?
ReplyDeleteWe believe that Food Assistance has done a good job at measuring their performance. The best way that Jane Carlson, CEO, measures her organization’s performance is by getting her volunteers to give out surveys to other volunteers that have helped with her social cause. Within this survey there are important questions, such as how would you rate your experiences in volunteering for the program? Would you be willing to make donations? Have you done acts of kindness for your participants? What is the best thing about volunteering for Groceries on Wheels? What was the thing you least liked about volunteering? What can be done to improve your experiences in volunteering? What can be done to improve the experience of the participants in the program? What impact has volunteering had on your life? This type of survey is a good example of a qualitative measurement because it is measuring the quality of the organization and what kind of impact it's having on the community. These types of questions in the survey are extremely important to assess because all of them have a tremendous impact on the volunteers and the participants in the program.
Posted by Koula K/ Amanda B/ Matt I.
There are a few different ways to measure performance of any entrepreneur, but when considering the Social Entrepreneur there are some more specific ways of measurement. Some of the ways include:
ReplyDelete1- Cost/Benefit Analysis
- This simply means that the entrepreneur is being measured by the cost of their business decisions and the benefit that may result. It is important to remember that “there might not always be a benefit in the eyes of everyone.” (Dr. James.)
2- Stated Performance
- When interpreting this measurement the entrepreneur can take into account the “importance/worth” it may be to other people. Some questions that can be asked could be, “What might someone pay for a certain product or service?” This can be helpful when deciding on pricing as well as pleasing customers. (Dr. James)
3- Revealed Preference
- “This measurement explains choices people actually made. This can also interpret as what they did in the past and what they will do in the future as means of developing and perfecting their enterprise.” (Dr. James)
4- Social Impact Assessment
- “Simply meaning that the social return the entrepreneur receives on an investment.” Measuring what impact it may have on the public/customers as a return. (Dr. James)
5- Life Satisfaction Assessment
- “This means when “how much extra income is needed to improve your life.” (Dr.James)
6- Government Accounting Measure
- “This involves governmental standards that an enterprise is to follow and as a means of measurement for the Entrepreneur and Government to use as analysis.” (Dr. James)
7- Public Value
- “ When considering the public, it is important for the entrepreneur to determine what and if any public value is being developed through their enterprise. This can be a very important measurement, especially for Social Entrepreneurs.” (Dr. James)
8- Value Added Assessment
- “This means how much additional value can you add to the enterprise?” (Dr. James)
Each measurement signifies different aspects of the social entrepreneur while developing ways of analysis to help others and themselves.
When considering our social entrepreneur, Elsewhere Collaborative, we found that there is one distinct measurement that the organization takes into account: 7- Public Value- is one of the main ideas of measurement. It is important that the organization develops public value in order to continue their business and operations. Elsewhere finds different ways to reach out to the public and involve them in activities happening at Elsewhere and encourage the idea of art. Elsewhere’s’ main idea is to allow a place for local and visiting artist to recycle collected material from a previous owner into pieces of art work. They hold days where artist can come in and use everything from old toys to piles and piles of ribbon and use them to create beautiful and unique pieces of art. Other times they hold art classes for young kids to encourage creativity and imagination. Creating public value is practically the backbone of the social entrepreneur, Elsewhere. Finding ways to develop value keeps them running and in business. So measuring public value and evaluating what needs to be improved is an important necessity for the enterprise.
Megan Binns, Becky Austell, Erich Von Landsberg, and Craig Shannon
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe best way for social entrepreneurs to measure their performance is by keeping the importance of their mission connected to the public social value. Mission statements help keep a goal in mind while also being a reminder of why the organization began. In doing so, they should look at areas such as the value that are being added to society, and are the general public satisfied with the impact the social entrepreneurs has created. At Ten Thousand Villages, they have created social value by establishing a fair trade relationship with different groups of disadvantaged artisans worldwide. The company has helped provide employment opportunity to the artisans who lack the access to market their handcrafted products. In addition, Ten Thousand Villages mission is to guarantee that their artisans will receive a fair price for their product. Another method is to look at the costs and the value created, which are inseparable. Performance of the enterprise can be determined by analysing whether or not costs are minimized and the value is maximized. Ten thousand villages must look at their turnover and use it to create the most value. Then, as a fair trade organization trying to optimize performance, the consumer as well as the producer (artisan) must be completely satisfied. Yet another method is by measuring Life Satisfaction of the artisan by judging how much more does one need to do to improve another’s life. People always need help. Life Satisfaction Assessment is measured by how the business practices affect the suppliers (artisans). Ten Thousand Villages should measure their Life Satisfaction on a monthly basis to determine whether or not the trade arrangement is beneficial for both the company and the artisan. It actually makes a difference in the lives of the artisans and their families.
ReplyDelete>Team Johanson Urkle Grou
Emilie Roos
Audrey Paquet
Tran Ngo
Itay Baron
Myshaina Kehinde
Social benefits are often intangible and hard to quantify; the impact sometimes may be best evaluated in the distant future. For normal profit organizations it is easy to focus on tangible-quantitative measures of success: profit margins or products or services sold during the period of time. Social impact measurement challenges make it extremely hard to demonstrate success and to make strategic decisions about investments, resource allocation or practical costs.
ReplyDeleteBut as hard as it might seem, social entrepeneurs should measure performance because that is the only way the organization can improve their performance and keep suistainability in the community served.
There are different ways of measuring performance for social entrepeneurs:
1. Cost/Benefit analysis
2. Stated preference
3. Revealed preference
4. Social impact assessment
5. Life satisfaction assessment
6. Government accounting measures
7. Public value
8. Value added
For Big Brothers Big Sisters, the most useful measurement tools are: Stated and Revealed preference since it is easy to ask people about the program and enhance it from the comments retrieved. Also Life satisfaction assessment because it tests the service needed to improve the community life. It all comes down to what people say, really.
Another way of effectively measuring the social impact in a long term is simply counting the number of volunteers being the Big, who were the little one in past years.
Gravenstine B., Jane. For Profit Social Ventures. Fuqua MBA 1997. Retrieved from:http://www.caseatduke.org/articles/0205/research.htm
Stivaleit Guerrero. Ashlee O'connell. Jordan Fox