A Change of Paradigm or Just another Philanthropy Cause 

The vision of many people is that many global problems we face can be solved through the creation of Social Business. This is a form of business that is mainly driven by a cause, rather than by traditional business school objectives such as profit maximization with minimal investment and cost reduction. The social business concept goes far beyond accomplishing personal or investor goals. It is focused on the human being and seeks to achieve one or more social objectives through a company. In this new form of a company doing things well, all costs are covered so that investors or owners recover their investment, albeit through a reduced dividend distribution policy that places the social cause first, thus bringing a new perspective to what is morally ethical. This new concept of social business allows obtaining benefits, but under the condition that benefits are maintained in the company and reinvested; investors and shareholders receive a fair retribution equal for their investment and always will make some profits. Thus, social business brings a new dimension to the business world and a new sense of social awareness among the community. If social objectives can be achieved more efficiently and effectively by adopting a social business format that is sustainable, then, why not take this venue? Why give up the notion of profit, if it has established itself in mankind as a key performance indicator? To abandon the idea is quite illogical and contravenes the essence of the human beings. To do so would cause great surprise. To be totally clear: social business does not ask people to give up a retribution for their effort. The idea of "giving something up" were usually a cause of a tremendous shock in any human. This paradigm for social enterprise does not ask anyone to "give anything up." Rather, it proposes that if you are concerned about a social problem, you can make a significant contribution, perhaps even through your current activities, to solve a problem that involves all of us. Perhaps this could even open a door that leads to solving a world problem. It is up to you, to reinvest the company's money in itself and make it grow, which will benefit everyone within, from the janitor to the owner; its customers; the community as a whole, the region, the country and perhaps even the planet. With this practice, you will be making a contribution towards humanizing the economy, a purpose that has long been lost due to the greed of people in all sectors due to their lack of business ethics education, and lack of solidarity to the disadvantage in the economic system.

Bernardo Javalquinto, Economist