Social Enterprise Design

India-Winter 2011

Offered in collaboration with Portland State University School of Business, Social Enterprise in India is a rigorous MBA course for graduate students of International Management, Business Administration, and International Development to learn essential elements of employing business principles and market-based approaches for good.

The course content revolves around the central theme that “social enterprise is a strategy for solving social problems and market failures.” Using a practice to theory approach, students explore a variety of societal problems in urban and rural India—poverty, illiteracy, lack of access to healthcare and education, environmental degradation, etc.—and then examine market approaches that address these problems.

Participants are taught nuts and bolts of social enterprise design, both as a business entity and a social change strategy. Working in teams on short consulting projects with Indian social enterprises, students gain first-hand experience of strategic and operational issues related to designing viable and impactful social enterprises.

Eight graduate level MBA credits are offered for this double course through Portland State University's Study Abroad Program. Applicants outside of PSU may participate in the program and receive academic credit as long as they are attending another accredited graduate school or have completed a bachelors degree from an accredited college or university.

Travel dates for India are from December 10 to December 22, 2011. Pre and post travel virtual courses classes and assignments will also be scheduled.

For more information, visit the PSU website or simply contact us.

Course in progress. Registration is now closed.

Follow the adventures of PSU students in India

Lessons Learned: Consulting in India

Submitted by emmycallero on Wed, 2012-01-04 20:16

Consulting has long been a profession that has interested me. I am attracted to the diversity of projects and exposure t to different organizational settings it offers and as a consultant I would not be charged with the responsibility of implementing, just kindly crafting recommendations, courses to follow and insights. Read more about Lessons Learned: Consulting in India

Reflections on Consulting for CARE Rural Health Mission

Submitted by gijoolee on Fri, 2011-12-30 18:36

Over the few days in Hyderabad and Bhimavaram, India that our health care consulting team of three learned about the CARE Rural Health Mission (CRHM), I have become quite excited about CRHM's work, its goals and aspirations, and the staff's shared value of "doing good." Read more about Reflections on Consulting for CARE Rural Health Mission

OK, I'll do Healthcare

Submitted by mailon on Fri, 2011-12-30 14:16

The consultancy project that I was on was for the CARE Rural Healthcare Mission (CRHM). My team members Ali and Katie both have health care experience, I do not. But with our leaders thinking I'm good with systems, I supposed they had their reasons and I was happy to do it. My earlier surveys had been on health care and drinking water, and made for good background for this project. Some of our survey questions had been:
- Do you go to the doctor when you are not sick?
- Do you think medical care is affordable?
Read more about OK, I'll do Healthcare

Awakening

Submitted by Tomomi_Arita on Wed, 2011-12-28 10:09

On December 23, I spent my morning at the hotel restaurant by myself. None of my classmates were there, and a few customers were reading papers and sipping on something to please their fancy. The room was filled with sun light and very quiet. I observed all the workers doing their daily chores such as sweeping the floor, serving tea and coffee, and wiping the bar counter. They must have been doing these chores for many years. It appeared as some kind of ritual. Read more about Awakening

Consultancy Assignment, Final Thoughts

Submitted by noel.mickelberry on Wed, 2011-12-28 08:09

Our whole last week in Hyderabad has been focused on consultancy assignments with local NGOs working on a variety of issues – and helping them to craft a plan that involves social enterprise. I was placed in a group of five students assigned to the LSN Foundation – who work with different disenfranchised groups – homeless, disabled, elderly and street children in many, many different ways. Read more about Consultancy Assignment, Final Thoughts

Exit Strategies

Submitted by federico on Tue, 2011-12-27 17:04

It started with the chills. All afternoon on our final day in Hyderabad, I felt chills despite the heat of the day. By evening, I felt my throat dry and then the coughing began. They are deep, dry coughs with no feeling of congestion. My body doesn’t ache, despite the exhaustion from the week. So maybe this is me expunging India.

Or maybe I’m just getting sick. Read more about Exit Strategies

Consulting: Process?!?

Submitted by tia.daems on Tue, 2011-12-27 12:23

A small subset of PSU Magic Bus India 2011 students arrived bright and early at LSN foundation HQ office, ready to make a difference. As we began our dialogue with the hosting organization, we quickly realized that there was not a scope well-defined, if one could call lack of scope not well-defined, and our team would need to begin unthreading all the tangles lines of intersection that wove into and out of the project to which we were assigned. If we didn't get a handle on this project fast, it had the potential to become a bit unwieldy. Read more about Consulting: Process?!?

Synthesis

Submitted by jackie.hamburgler on Tue, 2011-12-27 12:07

Have you ever learned something without really realizing it, and then found yourself surprised at the knowledge that appeared, seemingly from nowhere? That is how our final consulting project felt. I spent the first week of this trip busily working away on our daily tasks, head down and oblivious to the ultimate conclusion, so I was startled by just how proficient I had become by the time we began our consulting assignments. After our initial meeting with the client we were able to immediately formulate a clear plan for the steps we needed to take in order to accomplish our goals. Read more about Synthesis

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