Title:
Hope of Profit, Social Change Meet in New College
Programs
Description: This is
a VOA Special English Economics Report.
See text below
Text:
Small business entrepreneurs play an important part
in American job growth. Small businesses have
created almost two-thirds of new jobs in the last
fifteen years. The economy has traditionally been
divided into three sectors. One is the private
sector, meaning businesses. The second is the public
sector, or government. And the third is the
nonprofit sector. But now some people talk about a
fourth sector. It represents nonprofit and
for-profit organizations working toward goals of
social change and environmental activism.
Universities are starting to offer training and
degree programs to prepare students to work in this
area. One of these schools is Belmont University in
Nashville, Tennessee. It now offers a degree in
social entrepreneurship. Bernard Turner is director
of the Center for Social Entrepreneurship at the
university. He says student interest is driving many
of these new programs. "Students are saying 'Now I
want to be an entrepreneur, but I want to do
something that deals with a social problem or a
social issue that's dear to me." William Paddock is
founder and director of a business consulting
company in Tennessee called WAP Sustainability. He
has a business degree and training in the area of
environmental sustainability. Recently, the Custom
Packaging company of Lebanon, Tennessee, hired him
to help make its business more environmentally
friendly. The company makes cardboard advertising
displays for sales campaigns. Mr. Paddock advised
the company on recycling and ways to create less
waste. He also persuaded the business to use
electricity from solar energy. William Paddock
offers his consulting services for profit, but says
social responsibility is a big part of what his
company does. "For us it's about protecting the
environment, being better to society, but also
there's an economic piece to it. We love to ... find
our passions, but also save somebody money." There
are now more than sixty American universities
offering so-called green business degrees. The
definition of social entrepreneurship and the exact
nature of this sector continue to evolve. Some
people are more interested in social programs and
charity. Others are more interested in business
plans and profits. But the root of the movement
seems to be a desire to earn a living and make a
difference at the same time. For VOA Special
English, I'm Alex Villarreal. You can watch a video
report on social entrepreneurship at
voaspecialenglish.com.
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Hi. I
personally reviewed this video and found it appropriate for
the news section of English Global Group. This
is a Voice of America video which covers an interesting
topic in Special English. I would appreciate some feedback from both
students and teachers about this video. You can comment in
the window below using any of a number of different services
including Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, and Hotmail.
