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Building Social Business: Capitalism That Can Serve Humanity's Most Pressing Needs

Building Social Business: Capitalism That Can Serve Humanity's Most Pressing Needs

by Muhammad Yunus (Author)

  • Used

    Hardcover 2010

    $3.25
Synopsis

Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus looks more deeply into the concept of social business, an alternative to unfettered capitalism that channels the best energies of capitalism while addressing pressing human needs, by showing how the theory and practice of this idea is growing in the business, academic and philanthropic worlds. Muhammad Yunus, the practical visionary who pioneered microcredit and, with his Grameen Bank, won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for his world-changing efforts, here develops his bold new concept that promises to revolutionize the free-enterprise system: social business. Designed to fill the gap between profit-making and human needs, social business applies entrepreneurial thinking to problems like poverty, hunger, pollution, and disease, creating self-supporting, self-replicating enterprises that create jobs and generate economic growth even as they provide goods and services that make the world a better place. Partnering with some of the world's greatest corporations, Yunus and Grameen Bank have already launched several social businesses that are addressing challenges like malnutrition, lack of potable water, and endemic illness in Yunus' homeland of Bangladesh, and other organizations around the world are developing their own experiments in social business. In this book, Yunus traces the development of the social business idea; explains its lessons for entrepreneurs, social activists, and policy makers; offers practical guidance for those who want to create social businesses of their own; and, shows why social business holds the potential to redeem the failed promise of free enterprise.

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More Information

Format: Hardcover
 Pages: 256
 Publisher: PublicAffairs
Published: 10 Jun 2010
ISBN 10: 1586488244
ISBN 13: 9781586488246

Media Reviews

CHOICE, September 2010
In nine short, well-written chapters, Yunus provides genuine insight into global poverty and a unique perspective on the ways in which social businesses can coexist with traditional businesses to alleviate poverty and improve the lives of the world's citizens. Malaysia Star, July 10, 2010 'Social business is about joy, ' says Yunus. Indeed, and the book itself is joy to read. In modest prose, Yunus tells of undertakings that instill hope. He also gives a lot of ideas, along with nuts-and-bolts practical advice for people who are ready to take the plunge into the world of social business. In the years to come, it seems certain that social business will become an integral part of our economic structure and will positively change the lives of many people. Daily Times (Pakistan), August 7, 2010 Yunus may be an astute (social) businessman, but he also has a savvy side. He is quick to point out that working for any social business does not mean lowering one's standards, for they offer employees competitive salaries and benefits; it simply means not profiting from the poor...Yunus has a Nobel Peace Prize 2006 (shared with Grameen Bank) to show for his efforts, and is already playing around with the building blocks of a new poverty-free world order. The Spectator, June 2010 [A] reminder that capitalism can take kindlier forms: microfinance pioneer Yunus explains how he believes social enterprise can redeem what he regards as the failed promise of free markets. Sacramento Book Review, June 22, 2010 Giving poor people the resources to help themselves, Dr. Yunus has offered these individuals something more valuable than a plate of food, namely security in its basic form.... Dr. Yunus has invoked a new basis for capitalism whereby social business has the potential to change the failed promise of free market enterprise. The Independent, June 6, 2010
There are times when Professor Yunus' aims for Glasgow sound like something ou


The Spectator, June 2010 [A] reminder that capitalism can take kindlier forms: microfinance pioneer Yunus explains how he believes social enterprise can redeem what he regards as the failed promise of free markets. Sacramento Book Review, June 22, 2010 Giving poor people the resources to help themselves, Dr. Yunus has offered these individuals something more valuable than a plate of food, namely security in its basic form.... Dr. Yunus has invoked a new basis for capitalism whereby social business has the potential to change the failed promise of free market enterprise. The Independent, June 6, 2010
There are times when Professor Yunus' aims for Glasgow sound like something out of the Conservative's Big Society pitch. His latest book, Building Social Business, is 300 pages of Big Society pleading for people to go out there and create businesses which generate cash and contribute to the greater good at the same time. Daily Star (Pakistan), August 1, 2010 Even a hard-core skeptic would find it difficult not to dream once the magic of Dr Muhammad Yunus' words as presented in the book start to make sense. Stanford Social Innovation Review, Fall 2010

CHOICE, September 2010
In nine short, well-written chapters, Yunus provides genuine insight into global poverty and a unique perspective on the ways in which social businesses can coexist with traditional businesses to alleviate poverty and improve the lives of the world's citizens.

Malaysia Star, July 10, 2010 'Social business is about joy, ' says Yunus. Indeed, and the book itself is joy to read. In modest prose, Yunus tells of undertakings that instill hope. He also gives a lot of ideas, along with nuts-and-bolts practical advice for people who are ready to take the plunge into the world of social business. In the years to come, it seems certain that social business will become an integral part of our economic structure and will positively change the lives of many people. Daily Times (Pakistan), August 7, 2010 Yunus may be an astute (social) businessman, but he also has a savvy side. He is quick to point out that working for any social business does not mean lowering one's standards, for they offer employees competitive salaries and benefits; it simply means not profiting from the poor...Yunus has a Nobel Peace Prize 2006 (shared with Grameen Bank) to show for his efforts, and is already playing around with the building blocks of a new poverty-free world order.
Author Bio
Muhammad Yunus was born in Chittagong, a seaport in Bangladesh. The third of fourteen children, he was educated at Dhaka University and was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to study economics at Vanderbilt University. In 1972 he became head of the economics department at Chittagong University. He is the founder and managing director of Grameen Bank. Yunus and Grameen Bank are winners of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize.