Pre-requisites

None.

Co-requisites

None

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, the student will be able to:

Unit Description

This course introduces students to the complex social issues and emerging models in social entrepreneurship, defined here as the pursuit of a market opportunity to benefit society. Reading and lectures will be dedicated to the social issues and emerging solutions found in the nascent fields of social entrepreneurship, theology and business science.

This unit will contrast the traditional view that there are only two types of organisations, those that seek to do something good for society (non-profits) and those that seek to make money (for-profit). A third option will be explored; that which relates to the exciting array of hybrid models and variations among entrepreneurs seeking to create social as well as financial value.

The integration of business and mission might seem something new today, compared to the last 50 years, but looking back further, this integration it not such a new phenomenon. In biblical times Paul, was a full-timer leather worker during much of his missionary career. From his letters, which are presented in the bible, can be derived that it was a purposeful combination. In the Middle Ages, Christian monks integrated work and ministry by tilling fields, clearing forests and building roads, while also tending to the sick, the orphaned and the imprisoned, protecting the poor and teaching the children.

Even as recently as in the nineteenth century, many early protestants such as the Moravians, the Basel Mission Society and William Carey integrated business and other secular occupations into their mission strategies. For instance, in 1844 the Missionaries of Basel Mission Society started a weaving industry to create employment. The aim of the commercial enterprise of the Mission was not to make profit, but to teaching how to conduct business on Christian principles. Maybe as a result of the modern worldview business and mission have temporarily drifted apart, because of the perception of a clear distinction between the so-called physical and spiritual world. Under a post-modern current these worlds are approaching each other again, since there is a renewed openness to a connection between ‘the spiritual’ and ‘the material’.

Learners will explore ways in which they can steward their business resources for social purposes as an essential part of their commercial activities. Learners will be taught to focus on profits in order to sustain long-term organisational mission and values that create social good.

Teaching Strategies

The learning process consists of three phases: Reading, Residential, and Research. Each phase has a blend of individual and group learning, and subsequent phases build upon the learning of those that come before.

The first phase is a Reading phase, and lasts for 12 weeks. The learner, as part of a small cohort study group (3 to 5 members), is guided through a reading program to explore the current scholarship on the practice of “Business as Mission”.

Reading assignments are compiled with the help of the librarian, the educational technologist, and administrative support staff. Required weekly readings are posted to the unit website once a week for downloading, utilising Tabor Victoria’s Moodle platform.

Students are also required to read the prescribed textbooks in this phase.

During this first phase learners in cohort groups embark on a guided social inquiry, resulting in a research project . Hands-on research conducted in context by each participant allows him/her to gain an understanding of specific, emerging ministry concerns/questions encountered by persons working in business.

Second phase is a residential phase: Equipped with the reading and research, learners then undertake a Residential phase of 40 hours’ worth (one week, full-time) of residential study. During the residency, all cohort groups gather in business companies and/or organisations chosen because of a leader who is known as a thoughtful practitioner, and because the business or organisation has a proven track record in providing business resources for social purposes and long term organisational mission.

In the third Phase students complete a personal theology in which issues related to “Business as Mission” are explored. Cohorts also plan and implement an intervention at a business company or organisation. The intervention is a professional presentation that summarises findings and proposes a number of ways the agency might go about addressing the emerging questions. The intervention invites thoughtful practitioners into theological reflection and constructive thinking about the concern and what might be done to begin addressing it. Following the intervention, the small cohort study group reflects upon and assesses their collaborative work.

Unit offerings

Please note

The Unit Offerings listed above are a guide only and the timetable for any year is the final authority. The College may vary offerings based on demand, regulatory requirements, continual improvement processes or other conditions.

This unit may be available in different modes of delivery i.e. online and face-to-face as listed above. The unit content will not differ between these modes of delivery. There will possibly be a difference in the schedule and/or the prescribed assessment tasks, however both will cover and assess the same content.