The Community Company
The community company is a business model which was developed in the 1970s. It was distinguished from more conventional business models of the time by its lack of a rigid corporate boundary (facilitating the easy involvement of people at their chosen level) and its internal gift economy which was distinct from its exchanges with the external monetary economy. As an alternative to a hierarchical, top-down control system, it practiced what was called emergent decision-making, which required that those involved with the implementation of a decision should be involved in making the decision. The model rests on research into human personality carried out at the Centre for Human Communication. The model was first publicly presented by Kevin Kingsland in his 1977 paper to the 1st European Conference of the Association for Humanistic Psychology, University College London entitled ''You can tell a man by the company he creates''. It was updated in the Kingsland K. and Kingsland V. paper pre ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Business Model
A business model describes how an organization creates, delivers, and captures value,''Business Model Generation'', Alexander Osterwalder, Yves Pigneur, Alan Smith, and 470 practitioners from 45 countries, self-published, 2010 in economic, social, cultural or other contexts. The process of business model construction and modification is also called ''business model innovation'' and forms a part of business strategy. In theory and practice, the term ''business model'' is used for a broad range of informal and formal descriptions to represent core aspects of an organization or business, including purpose, business process, target customers, offerings, strategies, infrastructure, organizational structures, sourcing, trading practices, and operational processes and policies including culture. Context The literature has provided very diverse interpretations and definitions of a business model. A systematic review and analysis of manager responses to a survey defines business m ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gift Economy
A gift economy or gift culture is a system of exchange where valuables are not sold, but rather given without an explicit agreement for immediate or future rewards. Social norms and customs govern giving a gift in a gift culture; although there is some expectation of reciprocity, gifts are not given in an explicit exchange of goods or services for money, or some other commodity or service.R. Kranton: ''Reciprocal exchange: a self-sustaining system'', American Economic Review, V. 86 (1996), Issue 4 (September), pp. 830–851 This contrasts with a barter economy or a market economy, where goods and services are primarily explicitly exchanged for value received. The nature of gift economies is the subject of a foundational debate in anthropology. Anthropological research into gift economies began with Bronisław Malinowski's description of the Kula ring in the Trobriand Islands during World War I. The Kula trade appeared to be gift-like since Trobrianders would travel great dis ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Centre For Human Communication
The first Centre for Human Communication was founded in 1971 by Kevin Kingsland, a member of the Publications & Communications Board of the British Psychological Society and Venika Kingsland in Devon, England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ..., to provide an intentional centre for personal and community development. They proposed that human communication is the basis of society and the creator of community and that through deep human communication comes the most positive of human experience: co-operation, sharing, harmony, peace, love and creativity. Purpose The purpose of the Centre for Human Communication was articulated in its 1978 Education Prospectus: "The centres are more like living organisms than rigid institutions. In recent years the pace of life has quick ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Social Enterprise
A social enterprise is an organization that applies commercial strategies to maximize improvements in financial, social and environmental well-being. This may include maximizing social impact alongside profits for co-owners. Social enterprises can be structured as a business, a partnership for-profit or non-profit, and may take the form (depending on in which country the entity exists and the legal forms available) of a co-operative, mutual organization, a disregarded entity, a social business, a benefit corporation, a community interest company, a company limited by guarantee or a charity organisation. They can also take more conventional structures. Social enterprises have business, environmental and social goals. As a result, their social goals are embedded in their objective, which differentiates them from other organisations and companies. A social enterprise's main purpose is to promote, encourage, and make social change.J., Lane, Marc (2011). ''Social enterprise : empow ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Grameen Bank
Grameen Bank ( bn, গ্রামীণ ব্যাংক) is a microfinance organisation and community development bank founded in Bangladesh. It makes small loans (known as microcredit or "grameencredit") to the impoverished without requiring collateral. Grameen Bank originated in 1976, in the work of Professor Muhammad Yunus at University of Chittagong, who launched a research project to study how to design a credit delivery system to provide banking services to the rural poor. In October 1983 the Grameen Bank was authorised by national legislation to operate as an independent bank. The bank grew significantly between 2003 and 2007. As of January 2011, the total borrowers of the bank number 8.4 million, and 97% of those are women. In 1998 the Bank's "Low-cost Housing Program" won a World Habitat Award. In 2006, the bank and its founder, Muhammad Yunus, were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. History Muhammad Yunus was inspired during the Bangladesh famin ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |