Social Enterprise Case in Point: Manchester Bidwell Corporation
Professor James Heskett believes that the integration of social enterprise cases into the MBA Program is essential on several levels. "Of course, social enterprise study will have direct impact on students who will pursue careers in this area," he explains. "For others, they will remember these cases as they decide whether to join a non-profit board or explore community involvement. Nearly all of our students will be involved in social enterprise activities at some point."
Professor Heskett's recently developed teaching case, Manchester Bidwell Corporation, provides an opportunity for students to see the challenges and opportunities of nonprofits. The case details the organization's success in building partnerships to serve the needs of at-risk inner-city high-school students and out-of-work adults in Pittsburgh through a center that offers programs in the arts, education, and job training. The center also features one of the most successful jazz concert series in the country; a fast-growing record-producing organization called MCG Jazz that has won several Grammys; and a greenhouse venture through which the organization trains people in horticulture to ship and sell orchids and tomatoes to supermarkets. The case examines the organization's history as its CEO, Bill Strickland, comes to a critical juncture and works with a consulting firm to explore his dream of expanding to create such centers across the country and even abroad.
"The case is really centered on the kinds of questions you would want a consultant to address—the challenges facing the organization in Pittsburgh and how this center might relate to new organizations," Heskett explains. "It's the typical challenges of focus, the correct rate of growth, and the relationship between the mother organization and start-ups."
The case is taught in the Required Curriculum (first year) course The Entrepreneurial Manager, where Heskett says the goal is to include a case or two about entrepreneurs in the social sector. With the topics the course seeks to cover, the case provides an ideal platform for students to explore growth models and going to scale. "You have to be prepared to grow," Heskett notes. "The case demonstrates the need for a well-focused concept in order to roll out a venture to multiple locations. It shows the need to have a staff well-seeded with talent from the home organization in order to inculcate the appropriate culture into these newer establishments. Yet, there must be some kind of organizational vehicle that provides separation from the home organization in order to preserve its strengths while simultaneously creating a vehicle whereby this can be replicated."
Heskett feels that in terms of the definition of entrepreneurship used at HBS—the pursuit of opportunity beyond the resources that you currently control—entrepreneurship is probably more prevalent in nonprofits than in many for-profit organizations. "Most social entrepreneurs are resource constrained," he notes. "But they don't let that stop them. They come up with good ideas and find ways to back them." The case on Manchester Bidwell Corporation provides a perfect example of that.