Class 10 - BU398

Vocabulary flashcards covering major concepts from the lecture notes on business purpose, organizational forms, social impact, and sustainability.

Total Societal Impact (TSI)

The overall benefit a company creates for society through its products, services, operations, and core capabilities.

Hybrid Organization

single entity that pursues both profit and a social or environmental mission; also called a dual-purpose organization.

Disparate View

Perspective in which business interests take priority, and society or nature are only considered when they align with business goals - their environmental scan is perceive narrow range of environmental issues

Intertwined View

Perspective that sees business, society, and nature as equally important and interconnected, requiring attention to many overlapping issues - their environmental scan is attend to broad range of environmental issues

Embedded View

Perspective that places nature first, society second, and business last, viewing business as nested within social and ecological systems - their environmental scan is attend to a broad range of issues

Sole Proprietorship

A for-profit business owned and operated by one individual who bears unlimited personal liability.

Partnership

A legal business form in which two or more persons share ownership, profits, losses, and managerial duties.

Corporation

A separate legal entity owned by shareholders, offering limited liability and perpetual existence.

Cooperative

A democratically controlled business owned and operated by its members—customers, employees, or producers—for their mutual benefit.

Co-operative Principles

Seven internationally recognized guidelines: voluntary & open membership, democratic control, member economic participation, autonomy & independence, education & training, cooperation among co-ops, and concern for community.

Social Enterprise

An established hybrid business whose dual goals are to address a societal problem and earn profit to sustain operations - can enter into mutually beneficial partnerships and mission dilution is a major risk

Mission Dilution

The risk that a social enterprise’s focus on its social mission weakens as it pursues financial goals or external partnerships.

Social Entrepreneurship

Founding and running a venture primarily to solve social or environmental problems while generating enough profit for sustainability.

Triple Bottom Line (TBL)

A framework measuring organizational performance on three dimensions: people (social), planet (environmental), and profit (financial).

People (TBL)

The social responsibility dimension evaluating how an organization treats employees, communities, and other stakeholders.

Planet (TBL)

The environmental dimension assessing an organization’s impact on natural ecosystems and resource use.

Profit (TBL)

The financial dimension representing the traditional bottom-line measure of monetary performance.

Benefit Corporation (B Corp)

A company certified by B Lab for meeting high standards of social and environmental accountability and transparency.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Management’s commitment to actions that advance the welfare and interests of all organizational stakeholders.

Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG)

A set of non-financial performance metrics used to evaluate a firm’s environmental impact, social responsibility, and governance practices.