Discuss About The International Journal Of Corporate Responsibility.
For profile article on Herbert Management Review magazine, this essay analyses the objectives, operations, and performance of Good Cycles enterprise. Good Cycles is a social enterprise based in Australia that operates with a mission of using bicycles to change lives of people and communities that are less advantaged. Their bicycle services mostly cater for the needs of Melbourne cyclists, giving them convenient and excellent services within the city and across borders. Since Good Cycles is a non-profit organization, their mission is to reach more people through training and offering employment opportunities for people who struggle to find good jobs in Australia some of who are migrants and homeless (Terziev 2018,p 98). At Good Cycles, a bicycle is not just a mode of transport, but instead, it is viewed as a tool that can provide new opportunities and skills for those people who are in need as a way of impacting their lives positively. Good cycles have been able to form partnerships through contracts with leading transport advocates such as victoria’s RACV and Good Cycles chief executive officer said that donations from RAVC would greatly help in expanding the organizations reach and he was quoted saying, “The agreement will provide significant opportunities for us to engage further, educate and employ people from vulnerable communities.
Social enterprises are businesses that operate to achieve their mission which is to help those people in the community who need help. One of the things that distinguish these businesses from the regular business corporations is that they do not aim to make any profits for the shareholders or the owners. Instead, any money raised from social enterprises is used towards other charitable operations to keep the programs of the organization running. In the case of Good Cycles, the organization apart from getting funds from well-wishers, they get funds from their commercial activities such as bicycle repairs and selling bicycle parts to run the existing programs, support the participants in their social programs, and reach more people. In their mission to extend their services and include as many people as possible in their plans, Good Cycles targets the following groups of people in Australia (Good Cycles 2018)
One of the people who has benefited from Good Cycle programs is a young boy Thiery Henri from Madagascar who was brought to Australia to undergo a lifesaving surgery on his legs which were bent at a 90-degree angle. After best pediatric surgeons in Australia fixed the boys legs, he was able to acquire a wide range of skills from one of the Good Cycle programs and once he returns to his home country, he believes that he will be able to change his life as well as his community.
To achieve the community and social mission of changing lives, Good Cycles runs a variety of bicycle-based programs. All these programs aim to train, mentor, educate and employ those who are experiencing hardships in life. Below are some of the programs run by Good Cycle organization (Melbourne 2018).
This program aims to provide newly arrived refugees and asylum seekers who are willing to learn to ride and own bicycles with training and bikes in Australia. The bikes given to these people are restored from abandoned bikes in Melbourne city. The organization in partnership with other community-based organizations, teach the refugees basic road rules of riding in the city. With the support from Victoria police, AMES, and Squeaky Wheel, Good Wheel program has been able to transform the lives of many refugees and asylum seekers who find themselves in the city of Melbourne.
In Australia today, there is an alarming number of youths and adults who are isolated and struggling with issues of unemployment. In the pedal empowerment youth program, young people are introduced to a five-week bike mechanic course. Typically, the program covers the process of servicing and bile restoration. At the end of the course, successful participants are given a bike and also exposed to other potential employers and other job openings. This program has changed lives of many youths in Australia who are willing and interested in learning more about bicycles and other mechanics (Melbourne 2018).
People who participate in this program are contracted for 12-24 months a period during which they undergo training. The trainees also enrolled to a Certificate III Bicycle Workshop Operations program where they receive assistance and personal support on how to find and keep a job. Since the aim of Good Cycle is to help people secure employment, the program is supervised by the professional management team to assist the trainees to overcome barriers in job seeking.
Apart from programs run by the organization, Good Cycle also participates in other community programs. These include; partnering with Red Cross to service bicycles owned by refugees and asylum seekers for free, giving free bicycle servicing to charity events like Ride to Conquer Cancer, and lastly, offering weekly mechanic courses to homeless people in South Melbourne and Hanover (Kilipiris & Zardava 2012, p 62).
People faced with employment barriers get work experience opportunities from Good Cycle workshops. The suitable people to participate in these workshops are identified through job services agencies or community-based organizations. These people can also be selected from the work experience program.
All these programs are designed to engage and involve all disadvantaged and isolated people in the community as a way of giving them a meaningful life. These programs aim to provide skills, provide a connection point, and create a relationship whereby those who benefit from these programs can be able to transform their lives towards a better living.
Good cycle run a wide range of businesses which are bicycle base operations such as mobile mechanics, maintenance workshops, and retail store among others. The most common service offered by trainees and experienced mechanics from Good Cycle is the mobile mechanical services. Good Cycle operates mechanic bike teams across Melbourne. Each team consists of several trainees and one experienced bike mechanic who go to schools, universities, and offices within the city offering mechanical services. Mr. Wright, one of the founders of Good Cycles hopes that by providing these services in Melbourne where people are now using bikes for transport, more people will be lured thus helping the organization to expand more and more (Good Cycles 2018).
In the city of Melbourne where more than 15,000 cyclists are coming to town each day, it means that most of them do not get their bikes fixed or serviced because it is hard to do so during the working hours. Therefore offering the mobile bike mechanics to these people is a service that is appreciated because it saves people time and money. Wright was quoted saying that, “One of the best ways you can affect anyone’s existence is to provide them with freedom and mobility.” By this, he meant that he finds it satisfactory to give the disadvantaged and vulnerable folks meaningful life through the charitable programs run by Good Cycle. The Good Cycle retail store is also another commercial arm of the organization that is run just like a regular store. The store is run by a total of 14 employees comprising of management team, trainees, experienced mechanics, and a head bike trainer (Good Cycles 2018). The organization also operates a workshop which is fully equipped where bicycle maintenance and repairs are carried out for cycles in Melbourne city.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the analysis of operations, objectives, and performance of Good Cycle shows a clear distinction between a social enterprise and other forms of enterprises. The main agenda of a social enterprise is to achieve its mission which is to use creative skills and innovation programs to help people who have difficulties in life (O’Donovan 2016, p 129). They are purely non-profit organizations which do not operate to benefit an individual apart from the community in which they are working. Today, the world is faced with so many social challenges which leave so many people living in poverty and misery. It is due to this reason that the number of social enterprises has been rising over the last few decades. Wealthy individuals and nations are now coming up with charitable organizations to try and reach out less fortunate people in developing people in Africa and Asia. Good Cycle is an excellent example of an enterprise which is positively impacting lives.
List of References
Becchetti, L. and Borzaga, C. 2012. The economics of social responsibility. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.
Good Cycles. 2018. Melbourne’s mobile bike shop. Bicycle repairs and bike servicing. [online] Available at: https://www.bing.com/cr?IG=36627154E7DB4772A9C7949AE86E6B1A&CID=1E7CDC1FD59C6D133156D7ECD4336C9D&rd=1&h=NsldEy2vV795ZvvekkKnLRsFSYV0cU5IO-mXyRCzQKI&v=1&r=https%3a%2f%2fwww.goodcycles.org%2f&p=DevEx.LB.1,5556.1 [Accessed 18 May 2018].
Kilipiris, F. and Zardava, S. 2012. Developing Sustainable Tourism in a Changing Environment: Issues for the Tourism Enterprises (Travel Agencies and Hospitality Enterprises). Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 44, pp.44-52.
Liang, S. 2016. The Development of Social Enterprises in a Developmental State. International Journal of Social Science and Humanity, 6(10), pp.775-778.
Melbourne.vic.gov.au. 2018. Bicycle Plan 2016-2020 – City of Melbourne. [online] Available at: https://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/parking-and-transport/cycling/Pages/bicycle-plan.aspx [Accessed 18 May 2018].
Michaels, A. and Grüning, M. 2018. The impact of corporate identity on corporate social responsibility disclosure. International Journal of Corporate Social Responsibility, 3(1).
Poole, D. and Negi, N. 2007. Transnational community enterprises for social welfare in global civil society. International Journal of Social Welfare, 17(3), pp.243-246.
Szyma?ska, A. and Jegers, M. 2016. Modelling Social Enterprises. Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, 87(4), pp.501-527.
Terziev, V. 2018. Social Enterprises as Providers of Social Services. International Journal of Social Welfare, 17(3), pp.243-246.
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