Article by:
Corne Ferreira
The overwhelming response on my previous article:
‘The Business - 2 - Consumer Partnership’ http://thefuturebiz.blogspot.com/embodies the future of Business. It has convinced me that the current business model is under siege and is viewed as a major cause of despair - prospering at the expense of communities in which they produce and sell.
The more business begins to contribute in terms of their social corporate responsibility policy, the more it has been blamed for the state in which society finds itself, today. Most CSI programs are only to improve company's public- profile; societal needs are at the periphery, not the core. Most companies are still driven by short-term financial gain, ignoring the broader influences that determine their longer-term success. This has diminished all trust in businesses.
Business needs to reshape and change its relationship with society. There are only losers, when the forces of business and society work against each other. Business is by far the most effective vehicle for meeting societal needs, and society (Consumers) is the only stakeholder with the ultimate power to either advance or reject every project of every business, every time.
Society's needs are large and growing, leaders and managers must develop new skills to collaborate across profit and non-profit boundaries. Economists have legitimized the idea that to provide societal benefits, companies must temper their economic success, such as hiring the disabled imposes a constraint on the business and reduce profits. Thus society must impose regulations, seen by businesses as invariably contrary to their interests.
The opportunity to create economic value through creating societal value will be one of the most powerful forces driving growth in the global economy. This thinking represents a new way of understanding customers, productivity, and the external influences on corporate success. It highlights the immense human needs to be met, the large new markets to serve, and the internal costs of social and community deficits, as well as the competitive advantages available from addressing them.
Sidelined for too long, are the rights of people with disabilities, efforts towards equal opportunities in all aspects of life are particularly important as the number of disabled people has continued to grow to more than 1 Billion people, or 15% of the global population, according to the 2011 – ‘World report on disability’, a joint publication of the ‘World health Organization’ (WHO) and the World bank.
UNESCO reported in 2008 that over 90% of children with disabilities in Africa are being denied the right to primary education.
Another shocking statistic is that in South Africa, 99.28% of employable people with disabilities are unemployed. This includes 160 000 people with a secondary level qualification and 65 000 people with a tertiary qualification.
More and more businesses have now begun to view qualified people with disabilities as a valuable human resource potential and recognize the fact that they can no longer ignore this human capital. To be pioneers in a competitive market, any business needs to have an innovative business strategy. With 'inclusive business' (which goes beyond CSR) as a strategy, you can generate more revenue in the market and provide better business performance, if it's accessible and available.
Business must recognize the value of diversity; companies embracing diversity are more resilient and focus on disability as an asset. People with disabilities are to be seen as part of the infinite richness of diversity, and can contribute to reduction of poverty. A business that includes people with disabilities as customers and workforce, then 1 Billion people can be the target of your business.
Every business looks for talented, capable and knowledgeable people. The unique experiences and expertise of people with disabilities can be the entry point of new ideas, sometimes necessary to unleash creativity and a wave of innovation and growth. People with disabilities are also a significant potential market, especially for certain products and services. People with disabilities are customers with special needs and demands that can create new business opportunities in an innovative way.
“There are no good jobs for people with disabilities in a company, but there is a good person with a disability for every job in the company”.
We cannot afford to let the issue of disabilities be simply an afterthought. Entrepreneurship is vital for any country's development; supported self-employment is the most direct route to social and economic empowerment for individuals. Developing entrepreneurial opportunities that support disabled individuals who have precarious opportunities in the job market can help them to achieve levels of self-sufficiency that they have never before experienced.
“What gets measured, gets done”
A staggering 96% of all 'able' entrepreneurs that start a business - fails within 10 years. It is common knowledge that people who don't get things easy in life are more likely to become successful entrepreneurs, the same characteristics can be found in people with disabilities, they don't get the breaks and they know what it is like to fight hard. Innovative technology presents a whole range of new opportunities - jobs that were impossible for an individual with a disability, are now possible.
We need more enterprises that are fueled by a 'double bottom line' of social and financial return on investment, companies that will create far more impact and benefit the maximum number of people, faster.
Successful people who have a disability or who have developed a disability, doesn't let it prevent them from leading full and rich lives, in fact most are an inspiration to both disabled and non-disabled people alike.
“The only disability in life is a bad attitude” - Scott Hamilton
CORNE FERREIRA
