DOCSLIB.ORG

Introducing to Social Business by the Grameen Creative Lab.Pdf

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Introducing to Social Business by the Grameen Creative Lab.Pdf www.grameencreativelab.com Press Kit // Prof. Muhammad Yunus // Grameen Family of Companies www.grameencreativelab.com Contents Professor Muhammad Yunus Biography His Vision and Thoughts for the Future Values of Grameen What is Microcredit? What is social business? The Grameen Companies The Grameen Family of Companies Grameen Creative Lab 2008 Grameen Joint Venture: Grameen Danone 2006 The Grameen Creative Lab 2 www.grameencreativelab.com Professor Muhammad Yunus Biography Professor Muhammad Yunus is the founder and Managing Director of Grameen Bank, which currently has 2,565 branches providing credit to 8,3 million poor people in 81,373 villages in Bangladesh. He developed the concept at the core of Grameen Bank: banking without collateral for the poorest of the poor. Professor Yunus studied economics at the Vanderbilt University, USA, and received his Ph.D. in Economics in 1970. He taught economics in the Middle Tennessee University from 1969 to 1972. Returning to Bangladesh in 1972, he joined the University of Chittagong as Head of the Economics Department. He started the Grameen Bank Project in 1976. It was transformed into a formal bank in 1983. The Grameen Bank offers small loans for self employment to the rural poor, especially poor women. Muhammad Yunus was born on 28 June 1940 in the village of Bathua, in Hathazari, Chittagong, the business centre of what was then Eastern Bengal. He was the third of 14 children; five of whom died in infancy. His father was a successful goldsmith who always encouraged his sons to reach for higher education. But his biggest influence was his mother, Sufia Khatun, who always helped any poor who knocked on their door. This inspired him to commit himself to the eradication of poverty. Muhammad Yunus is married to Afroji Yunus, a professor of physics at Jahangirnagar University, Savar, Dhaka. He has two daughters, Monica and Dina. His Vision and Thoughts for the Future Extract from Muhammad Yunus‘ book Creating a World Without Poverty, pages 225 to 227: "Let me give a wish list of my dream world that I would like to see emerge by 2050. […] There will be no poor people, no beggars, no homeless people, no street children anywhere in the world. Every country will have its own poverty museum. […] There will be no passports and no visas for anybody anywhere in the world. All people will be truly global citizens of equal status. There will be no war […], and no nuclear weapons. […] There will be no more incurable diseases, from cancer to AIDS, anywhere in the world. […] High quality healthcare will be available to everyone. Infant mortality and maternal mortality will be things of the past. There will be a global education system accessible to all from anywhere in the world. […] The Grameen Creative Lab 3 www.grameencreativelab.com The global economic system will encourage individuals, businesses, and institutions to share their prosperity […] making income inequality an irrelevant issue. ―Unemployment‖ and ―welfare‖ will be unheard of. Social business will be a substantial part of the business world. There will be only one global currency. Coins and paper currency will be gone. Technology will be available with which all secret bank accounts and transactions of politicians, government officials, business people, intelligence agencies, underworld organizations, and terrorist groups can be easily detected and monitored. […] All people will be committed to maintaining a sustainable lifestyle based on appropriate technologies. Sun, water and wind will be the main sources of power. Humans will be able to forecast earthquakes, cyclones, tsunamis, and other natural disasters precisely and in plenty of time to minimize damage and loss of life. There will be no discrimination of any kind, whether based on race, colour, religion, gender, sexual orientation, political belief, language, culture, or any other factor. There will be no need for paper and therefore no need to cut down trees. […] Basic connectivity will be wireless and nearly costless. Everybody will read and hear everything in his own language. Technology will make it possible for a person to speak, read and write in his own language while the listener will hear and the reader will read the message in his own language. Software and gadgets will translate simultaneously as one speaks or downloads any text. […] All cultures, ethnic groups, and religions will flourish to their full beauty and creativity, contributing to the magnificent unified orchestra of human society. All people will enjoy an environment of continuous innovation, restructuring of institutions, and revisiting of concepts and ideas. All people will share a world of peace, harmony, and friendship devoted to expanding the frontiers of human potential." Values of Grameen What is Microcredit? What is Microcredit? By Prof. Muhammad Yunus, October 2008: ―The word "microcredit" did not exist before the seventies. Now it has become a buzzword among development practitioners. In the process, the word has been imputed to mean everything to everybody. No one now is shocked if somebody uses the term "microcredit" to mean agricultural credit, or rural credit, from credit unions, or from moneylenders. […] Whenever I use the word "microcredit" I actually The Grameen Creative Lab 4 www.grameencreativelab.com have in mind the Grameen type of microcredit, or Grameencredit. General features of Grameencredit are: It promotes credit as a human right. Its mission is to help poor families to overcome poverty. It is targeted at the poor, particularly poor women. It is not based on any collateral or legally enforceable contracts. It is based on "trust", not on legal procedures and system. This is the most distinctive feature of Grameencredit. It is offered to create self-employment for income-generating activities and housing for the poor, as opposed to consumption. It was initiated as a challenge to the conventional banking that rejected the poor by classifying them to be "not creditworthy". Microcredit created its own methodology. It provides a service at the doorstep of the poor based on the principle that the people should not go to the bank, the bank should go to the people. In order to obtain loans, a borrower must join a group of borrowers. All loans are to be paid back in instalments (weekly, or bi-weekly). Grameen credit is based on the premise that the poor have skills, which remain unutilised or under- utilised. It is categorically not the lack of skills which make poor people poor. Grameen believes that the poor do not create their poverty; the institutions and policies which surround them create it. In order to eliminate poverty all we need is to make appropriate changes to these institutions and policies, and/or create new ones. Grameen believes that charity is not an answer to poverty. It only helps poverty to continue. It creates dependency and takes away the individual's initiative to break through the wall of poverty. The unleashing of energy and creativity in each human being is the answer to poverty. Grameen brought credit to the poor, women, the illiterate, the people who pleaded that they did not know how to invest money and earn an income. Grameen created a methodology and an institution around the financial needs of the poor, and created access to credit on reasonable terms, enabling the poor to build on their existing skills and earn a better income in each cycle of loans.‖ What is social business? A social business exists to meet a social and ecological need. Its first motive is not profit, and it does not pay its investors dividends. Instead, it meets the basis needs of the world´s poor with products and services at affordable prices, or gives the poor ownership in a business and allows them to share in its profits. A social business pays back only its original investment and reinvests its profits in innovations or further growth that advance its social goals. Although the social business is pioneering in its aims, it is traditional in its management. Its workforce is professional and does not rely on volunteers. It may or may not earn profit, but like any other business it must not incur losses. The Grameen Creative Lab 5 www.grameencreativelab.com In every sense, the social business is sustainable: in its direct environmental impact, its impact down the value chain, and critically, in its financial independence. This is a key difference between social business and charity. Once its initial investment is repaid, the social business is financially self- sustaining, giving it the independence and security to focus its efforts on the long-term improvement of the lives of the poorest. Thus the social business is a new type of enterprise. The "social business entrepreneur" (SBE) is a new type of entrepreneur. What is ‗new‘ is that neither is interested in profit-maximisation. They are totally committed to making a difference to the world. They are social-objective driven. They want to give a better chance in life to other people. And they want to achieve this objective through creating and supporting sustainable business enterprises. Making profit will not disqualify an enterprise from being a social business. The basic deciding factor for this will be whether the social goal remains to be enterprise's over-arching goal, and is clearly reflected in its decision-making. There will be well-defined stringent entry and exit criteria for a company to qualify to be listed in the social stock market, and also for it to lose that status. Companies will emerge which will succeed in meeting both social goals and the personal goals of their investors. Investors must remain convinced that companies listed in the social stock market are truly social business enterprises. With the world economy expanding at unforeseen speed, personal wealth reaching unimaginable heights, technological innovations shrinking the globe, and globalisation threatening to wipe weak economies and poor people from the economic map, it is time to consider the case for the social business entrepreneur (SBE) more seriously than ever before.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Muhammad Yunas Dr
    Case: Muhammad Yunas Dr. Jack M. Wilson Distinguished Professor of Higher Education, Emerging Technologies, and Innovation © 2012 ff -Jack M. Wilson Distinguished Professor Muhammad Yunus • Bangladesh • Chittagong College • Dhaka College • PhD Economics Vanderbilt • Professor Economics in Bangladesh • Founded profitable packaging company • Invented microcredit and microfinance • Nobel Peace Prize • Founder of Grameen Bank – In the late 1980s, Grameen started to diversify by attending to underutilized fishing ponds and irrigation pumps like deep tube wells. – In 1989, these diversified interests started growing into separate organizations. The fisheries project became Grameen Motsho ("Grameen Fisheries Foundation") and the irrigation project became Grameen Krishi ("Grameen Agriculture Foundation"). – In time, the Grameen initiative grew into a multi-faceted group of profitable and non-profit ventures, including major projects like Grameen Trust and Grameen Fund, which runs equity projects like Grameen Software Limited, Grameen CyberNet Limited, and Grameen Knitwear Limited, as well as Grameen Telecom, which has a stake in Grameenphone (GP), the biggest private phone company in Bangladesh. – From its start in March 1997 to 2007, GP's Village Phone (Polli Phone) project had brought cell-phone ownership to 260,000 rural poor in over 50,000 villages.[24] – The success of the Grameen microfinance model inspired similar efforts in about 100 developing countries and even in developed countries including the United States. Many microcredit projects retain Grameen's emphasis of lending to women. – More than 94% of Grameen loans have gone to women, who suffer disproportionately from poverty and who are more likely than men to devote their earnings to their families © 2012 ff -Jack M.
    [Show full text]
  • Press Kit the Grameen Creative Lab Professor Muhammad Yunus Social Business
    www.grameencreativelab.com Press Kit The Grameen Creative Lab Professor Muhammad Yunus Social Business www.grameencreativelab.com Contents Professor Muhammad Yunus Biography Highlights of Awards and Honours Membership on Boards of Advisors/Boards of Directors Values of Grameen What is social business? The seven principles of social business Microcredit as a social business The Grameen Companies The Grameen Family of Companies The Grameen Creative Lab GmbH Hans Reitz One Pioneer of social business: Grameen Danone Future Outlook Prof. Yunus’ Vision and Thoughts for the Future The Future of Social Business Frequently Asked Questions about Microfinance The Grameen Creative Lab 2 www.grameencreativelab.com Professor Muhammad Yunus Biography Since he turned 15 years, Muhammad Yunus has proven to be an extraordinary entrepreneur. He studied economics at the Vanderbilt University, USA, and received his Ph.D. in Economics in 1970. He taught economics in the Middle Tennessee University from 1969 to 1972. Returning to Bangladesh in 1972 after gaining its independence, he joined the University of Chittagong as Head of the Economics Department and tested different projects designed to fight poverty in practice. In 1976 he started the Grameen Bank project, which was transformed into a formal bank in 1983, and founded further 50 companies, which are designed to overcome social problems. Muhammad Yunus is also the founder of The Grameen Creative Lab. The Nobel Prize in Peace 2006 was awarded jointly to Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank “for their efforts to create economic and social development from below.” Grameen Bank is probably the most extraordinary social business worldwide. In addition to providing loans to poor people, Prof.
    [Show full text]
  • 20Years Towards
    20 YEARS TOWARDS a world unbound 20 years ago when Grameenphone first introduced mobile phone services in Bangladesh, its goal was to put a mobile phone in the hands of every person in the country and to enable access to modern technologies. Today, 20 years on, Grameenphone's vision is the full digitalisation of society and the creation of new solutions to simplify the lives of its customers. With the introduction of high speed 3G services, Grameenphone leads through innovative digital solutions that not only benefit customers, but society as well. Given the relentless conviction of Grameenphone to improve lives, its tools for progress at one's disposal, today and beyond, no dream is too big and no destination is too far. WELCOME TO OUR 2016 ANNUAL REPORT 2016 Grameenphone Annual Report Overview Business Performance Sustainability An introduction to our report with a Insights of our operation and how our Our sustainability efforts Overview snapshot of our business, key events strategy is delivered and achievements in 2016 02 Who We Are 10 Quarterly Business Highlights 2016 18 Sustainability Initiatives to 03 Vision, Mission & Values 12 Message from Chairman and CEO Drive Social Impact 04 History & Milestones 15 Management Discussion 20 Climate Change-Ensuring a Better Tomorrow 05 Products & Services & Analysis 22 Supply Chain Sustainability 06 Awards & Recognitions 2016 Business Performance 07 Performance Highlights 2016 09 Corporate Information Sustainability Governance Financial Analysis Additional Information Our framework for corporate
    [Show full text]
  • Meet the Entrepreneurs Dr
    Meet the Entrepreneurs Dr. Jack M. Wilson, Distinguished Professor of Higher Education, Emerging Technologies, and Innovation Entrepreneurship: Principles © 2012 ff -Jack M. Wilson Distinguished Professor Meet The Entrepreneurs - 1 What is Entrepreneurship? Most of you will come to this course with some understanding of what entrepreneurship is, who entrepreneurs are, and what those entrepreneurs do. We develop those understandings because of the things we read and see in the media and the people we meet in our lives. As with so many things, our personal experience is often a small window into the field and may or may not reflect the larger picture that could be developed with more extensive experience. In order to create that larger picture, we need to draw upon both a larger set of experiences (primary research)and upon the research and study done by others (secondary research) who have taken a systematic look at the field. This research has also shown that there are some widely held misconceptions (often termed “myths”) about entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship. We will consider some example entrepreneurs. We will confront the myths, and we will try to develop a more accurate and evidence driven insight into entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship: Principles © 2012 ff -Jack M. Wilson Distinguished Professor Meet The Entrepreneurs - 2 Interesting Entrepreneurs • Bill Gates –Microsoft • Harvard Dropout • Computer whiz • Wrote operating system for IBM – Because IBM was too cheap to license CPM • Signed Giving Pledge and Created
    [Show full text]
  • Is Banking for the Poor an Oxymoron? an Examination of Microfinance
    “Is Banking for the Poor an Oxymoron? An Examination of Microfinance Organizations across the Globe” Caitlin Rosser Honors Capstone Project, Spring 2011 Honors in Business Administration Kogod School of Business Bachelors of Science in Business Administration, Specializing in International Business Double Major in International Studies Professor Richard Linowes & Professor Jennifer Oetzel MGMT-458-002H Business, Policy & Strategy Rosser, “Is Banking for the Poor an Oxymoron?” 1 Table of Contents I. Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………2 II. Introduction and Background……………………………………………………………..2 III. What is microfinance?…………………………………………………………………….4 IV. Challenges for the microfinance industry…………………………………………………6 V. Differing strategies of microfinance organizations………………………………………..9 VI. Comparison of strategies within the industry……………………………………………18 VII. Recommendations for the Future………………………………………………………...21 VIII. Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………….23 IX. Appendices……………………………………………………………………………….24 Rosser, “Is Banking for the Poor an Oxymoron?” 2 ABSTRACT The field of microfinance has developed rapidly within the past two decades, with many nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and microfinance institutions (MFIs) established in various countries throughout the world. These organizations operate under the mission of “banking for the poor,” bringing opportunity and credit for the poor to lift themselves out of poverty. However, there are many varying strategies for these organizations to take, and many different structures to
    [Show full text]
  • ANNUAL REPORT 2013 Internet for All
    Internet for all ANNUAL REPORT 2013 Internet for all 17 years ago, Grameenphone embarked on a journey with the ambition to connect the unconnected by making mobile communication as part of everyday life for all Bangladeshis. As the world now moves into the digital era, it is time to focus on bring mobile connectivity to all. Internet and mobile data services open up new possibilities. Internet is an equalizer of opportunity, allowing people to access information, businesses to grow, education and health to reach remote areas. And this is just the beginning. There is an increasingly important link between progress and mobile connectivity-for individuals, as well as for society at large. Grameenphone will enable connectivity by making it available, interesting and affordable to all. With the launch of 3G internet services in 2013, an increasing number of people are now being able to go online. This journey will continue in the years to come, until the ambition of “Internet for All” has become a reality. Annual Report 2013 Contents This is Five Years’ Financial 02/ Grameenphone 45/ Summary 03/ Vision, Mission & Values 47/ Financial Review - 2013 48/ Value Added Statement - 2013 49/ Contribution to National Exchequer History & 05/ Milestones 50/ Directors’ Report 67/ Audit Committee Report 06/ Products & Services 07/ Accolades in 2013 Auditors’ Report & Audited 68/ Financial Statements Performance 113/ Useful Information for Shareholders at a Glance - 2013 09/ 117/ Notice of the 17th Annual General 10/ Corporate Information Meeting 11/ Business
    [Show full text]
  • Muhammad Yunus
    Biography of Professor Muhammad Yunus Professor Muhammad Yunus was born on June 28, 1940. He is the founder and managing director of Grameen Bank, which pioneered microcredit. This is a method of banking where small loans are given to the poor, mostly to women, without collateral, for income-generating activities, to help them get out of poverty. The third of nine children, Prof Yunus was born in the village of Bathua, Chittagong. His father was Haji Muhammad Dula Mia Shawdagar, a jeweller, and his mother was Sofia Khatun. In 1944, his family moved to the city of Chittagong, and he studied at Lamabazar Primary School. Later, he passed the matriculation examination from Chittagong Collegiate School. During his school years, he was an active Boy Scout, and travelled to West Pakistan and India in 1952, to Europe, the USA, and Canada in 1955 and to the Philippines and Japan in 1959, to attend Jamborees. In 1957, he enrolled in the Department of Economics at Dhaka University and completed his BA in 1960 and MA in 1961. Following his graduation, Prof Yunus joined the Bureau of Economics, Dhaka University. Later he was appointed as a lecturer in economics in Chittagong College in 1961. In 1965, he was offered a Fulbright scholarship to study in the United States. He obtained his PhD in economics from Vanderbilt University in the US in 1969. From 1969 to 1972, he was an assistant professor of economics at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, TN. During the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971, Prof Yunus founded a Citizen’s Committee in Nashville, TN, published a newsletter named Bangladesh Newsletter, and ran the Bangladesh Information Center in Washington DC with other Bangladeshis living in the US, to raise support for the liberation of East Pakistan and lobby at the US Congress to stop military aid to Pakistan.
    [Show full text]
  • Aspects of Microfinance System of Grameen Bank Of
    Jamal Nazrul Islam, Haradhan Kumar Mohajan, Rajib Datta, Int. J. Eco. Res., 2012, v3i4, 76-96 ISSN: 2229-6158 ASPECTS OF MICROFINANCE SYSTEM OF GRAMEEN BANK OF BANGLADESH Jamal Nazrul Islam Emeritus Professor, Research Centre for Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Chittagong, Bangladesh Haradhan Kumar Mohajan Premier University, Chittagong, Bangladesh. E-mail: [email protected] Rajib Datta Department of Finance, Faculty of Business Studies, Premier University, Chittagong, Bangladesh. E-mail: [email protected] ________________________________________________________________________ Abstract The microfinance system of Grameen Bank is a revolutionary tool to eradicate poverty of the rural people especially the women of Bangladesh. At present GB is the largest microfinance bank in Bangladesh and probably the biggest microcredit organization in the world. It provides loans to assetless and landless poor people whom no commercial bank give loan. Microcredit is the most useful and popular financial system in the world to face financial crisis of the poor people. Grameen Bank loan distribution has risk of default and sometimes the loans are used even dowry which is crime against women right. The rate of interest in Grameen Bank is very high and due to high interest rate the poor women can not use the loan in a high profitable business to bear this burden, so some of the borrowers lose lands and assets to pay the loan. The paper discusses both advantages and drawbacks of Grameen Bank with mathematical calculations in some details. Keywords: Grameen Bank, Microfinance, Joint liability, Loan, Risk of default ________________________________________________________________________ INTRODUCTION is a difference between them. The aim of Grameen Bank (GB) is to Microcredit refers to the act of providing reduce poverty in both rich and poor the loan.
    [Show full text]
  • Redesigning Economics to Redesign the W Rld
    6th SOCIAL BUSINESS DAY 2015 DHAKA, BANGLADESH REDESIGNING ECONOMICS TO REDESIGN THE W RLD NOBEL LAUREATE PROFESSOR MUHAMMAD YUNUS Will the present economic system be able to establish appropriate level of moral social, and material balance in the world? I DON'T THINK IT CAN. The present system is like an impersonal sucking machine which thrives on continuously sucking juice from the bottom to the top. The higher you are in the system, the more juice you are able to suck. It is not because bad people are running the machine; just that the machine is built that way. The system was not designed to have any moral responsibility. At least that is not in practice. Discussion on moral responsibilities is an after-thought. This machine turns people into money-centric robots. The stock market which is the ultimate judge of business success, does not grade businesses on the basis of its moral commitment. Moral issues were never included in their reporting template. 02 I SOCIAL BUSINESS DAY 2015 SOCIAL BUSINESS I have been proposing and practising a new kind of business which is based on selflessness, replacing selfishness, of human beings. This type of business runs parallel to the selfishness-driven business that rules the world. Conventional business is personal- profit seeking business. The new business, which I am adding, is personal profit-forsaking business. It is a for-profit business, but personal-profit forsaking business. I call it social business -- a non-dividend company to solve human problems. The owner can take back his investment money, but nothing beyond that.
    [Show full text]
  • Report of the Review Committee on Grameen Bank
    Report of the Review Committee on Grameen Bank Dhaka, 25th April, 2011 Table of Contents Serial Details Page Preface 1.00 Introduction 2.00 Organizational Structure 2.01 Organization of Grameen Bank 2.02 Share Capital of Grameen Bank 2.03 Structure and Tasks of the Board of Directors 2.04 Appointment of Managing Director 3.00 Financial Situation of Grameen Bank 3.01 Management of Assets and Liabilities 3.02 Internal Control and Monitoring 3.03 IT Management 3.04 Dividend Equalization Fund 3.05 Statutory Reserve Funds 3.06 Rehabilitation Fund 4.00 Transfer of Funds from Grameen Bank to Grameen Kalyan 4.01 Background 4.02 Chain of Events 4.03 News in national newspapers 4.04 International Reaction 4.05 Opinion of Norwegian Authorities 4.06 Analysis of the Events 5.00 Affiliate Organizations of Grameen Bank Flow of funds to affiliates Relation between Grameen Bank and its affiliates Review Observations 6.00 Interest on Loans and Deposits 6.01 Effective Interest Rate on credit 6.02 A comparative picture of the interest rate of Grameen Bank with other micro credit agencies 6.03 Calculation of interest on savings and deposits 6.04 Comparative analysis of the interest on deposits and other charges of Grameen Bank and other micro credit lenders 6.05 A comparison of the interest rate paid by Grameen Bank and other micro credit agencies 7.00 An evaluation of the Activities of Grameen Bank in the light of Micro credit Regulatory Authority Act 2006 an Grameen Bank Ordinance 1983 8.00 Opinions of members of civil society and different individuals and agencies related to micro credit 9.00 Conclusions and Recommendations Additional Observations made by Advocate M Mohsen Rashid 2 Preface 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Muhammad Yunus - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia
    Muhammad Yunus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Yunus Muhammad Yunus From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Muhammad Yunus (Bengali: মুহাদ ইউনুস, pronounced Muhammôd Iunus; born 28 June 1940) is a Bangladeshi Muhammad Yunus economist and founder of the Grameen Bank, an institution that provides microcredit (small loans to poor মুহাদ ইউনুস people possessing no collateral) to help its clients establish creditworthiness and financial self-sufficiency. In 2006 Yunus and Grameen received the Nobel Peace Prize.[1] Yunus himself has received several other Welfare economics , Development economics , national and international honors. Public Health , Gender Studies , Political Philosophy , Utilitarianism He is a member of advisory board at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology. Previously, he was a professor of economics at Chittagong University where he developed the concepts of microcredit and microfinance. These loans are given to entrepreneurs too poor to qualify for traditional bank loans. He is the author of Banker to the Poor and two books on Social Business Models, and a founding board member of Grameen America and Grameen Foundation. In 1996, Yunus introduced mobile phones to rural villages. Grameen Intel is just one of hundreds of public and private partnerships now mediated through Youth & Yunus (http://www.youthandyunus.com/) . In early 2007 Yunus showed interest in launching a political party in Bangladesh named Nagorik Shakti (Citizen Power), but later discarded the plan. He is one of the founding members of Global Elders. Yunus also serves on the board of directors of the United Nations Foundation, a public charity created in 1998 with entrepreneur and philanthropist Ted Turner’s historic $1 billion gift to support UN causes.
    [Show full text]
  • Compass 2008 Cover PROOF
    Volume X Spring 2008 COMPASS A Journal of Leadership and Service at Birmingham-Southern College Spring 2008 Volume X Editor-in-Chief Assistant Editor Staff Advisor CHANNING KENNEDY KATHLEEN SMITH JEANNE JACKSON In the preface to The Leader’s Companion, J. Thomas Wren writes, “Leadership is not a ‘fad,’ but a concept that is both current and timeless.” Understanding leadership is essential to understanding the human condition. Whether or not we admit it, leadership touches each of our lives on a daily basis. We may experience the effects of a leader’s decision, be inspired by a leader’s unique ideas, or even struggle in our own leadership endeavors. Continued contact with this elusive phenomenon certainly generates curiosity and a desire to know and understand the real purpose of leadership. As Wren comments further, “Knowing more about leadership and how the process operates permits one to realize the real end of leadership: the achievement of mutual goals which are intended to enhance one’s group, organization, or society.” In that sense, the Compass serves as a tool for exploring the definition of leadership and, more specifically, leadership that aims to impact our world. The Compass seeks to provide a forum for the discussion of issues related to leadership and service across every academic discipline and welcomes submissions from all students on these topics. This year’s edition of the Compass covers issues of leadership and service from a variety of perspectives. Carson Land’s paper Groupthink in Stalinist Russia employs the theory of Groupthink as a way to explain the lack of critical thinking in the Soviet Union.
    [Show full text]