Rethinking social enterprises from the ground up
Prof. Dr. Michael Boecker invited students and social entrepreneurs to an open discourse as part of the Master's courses in the Faculty of Applied Social Studies.
The question was whether it is possible to create organizations that can make an evolutionary contribution to our world with all their strength. Social enterprises in particular are asking themselves this question, as their original aim is to help and thus shape the world in a positive way.
However, social enterprises in particular are often stuck in structures that generate demotivation, sick leave and conflicts and do not offer young people an attractive working environment.
Bernd Schulte's keynote speech highlighted the key levers that can be used to initiate change and thus create a new culture of work: How are decisions made? How do we manage to communicate at eye level? Can we maintain transparency of all operational facts? Can we develop trust and disclose mistakes? Can we find a way to become more fearless and contribute our full potential? Can we be economically successful with this new culture of working?
The example of the success story of the Dutch outpatient care service BUURTZORG made it clear that this is not just a utopia. The company has grown from 5 to 14 thousand nursing staff in the last 13 years and employs around three quarters of all outpatient nursing staff.
The lively discussion that followed, led by Dipl. Soz. Arb. Meinhard Wirth M.A. from Caritasverband Hagen e.V., showed the great appeal of this new approach. Students reported on their own professional experiences in traditional organizations and, together with the social entrepreneurs, asked above all about the feasibility of the model in existing systems: What do I do with employees who don't want to join the journey? How can we proceed in large organizations that have many organizational levels? What makes the model so attractive for the next generation?
Consultants Bernd Schulte and Daniela Nowak from the management consultancy NowCon (www.nowcon.de) outlined the consulting process and gave examples from their current consulting projects. It became clear that the most important prerequisite for a successful transformation is the willingness of managers to embrace changes in their role and get personally involved.