Posted by Blake Sunshine in social media, Uncategorized.
Tags: facebook, facebook charity gifts, facebook gifts, social cause
I love social media and I love charity, but I sometimes think they live in such different lands that I shouldn’t even use their names in the same sentence. But once again, Facebook has come along and proven me wrong.
Last week, in honor of their amazing accomplishment of having 200 million members, they created virtual gifts for numerous charities. When you purchase one of their special charity gifts, the proceeds go straight to the charity.
What a great idea Facebook! What would be an even better idea is if Facebook created a gift for a different charity each week. This way the charities could get more exposure and donations while Facebook enhanced their public image and corporate culture. Come on Facebook, make this a social cause!
Posted by Blake Sunshine in public relations, Uncategorized.
Tags: charles handy, purpose, purpose of business, social cause
In my advertising and public relations ethics class we spend a lot of time talking about the purpose of a business. We debate and discuss the pros and cons of different businesses, many of whom focus their purpose on either their employees, customers, shareholders, or other stakeholders.
Since the class started I have changed my views on who I think a business should focus their purpose toward. And at the risk of alienating my readers who think the focus should be only on the “bottom line” or that a company’s purpose should be their stakeholders, here is what I believe (via Charles Handy, the author of “What’s a business for?”):
“The purpose of a business, in other words, is not to make a profit, full stop. It is to make a profit so that the business can do something more or better. That “something” becomes the real justification for the business. Owners know this. Investors needn’t care.”
What do you think is the purpose of a business?
