Click here to receive your FREE subscription to Campus Technology
Viewpoint
A New Form of Business for a New, Socially Conscious World
7/23/2008
As a recently retired CIO I have had the luxury to reflect on my career, how I could have done some things differently and what things I should not have done at all! A CIO colleague (also retired) refers to this reflection activity as "Observations from above the Trenches" (Educause Review July/August, 2008). I had been in my new retirement location for just a few months when I read an article in the Business Section of the local newspaper about an IT professional services company with a new "socially conscious" form of business. I was intrigued enough with the concept (and, I will admit, I had time on my hands since I was no longer absorbed by 60+ hour work weeks) that I contacted the principals to find out more. After several conversations over coffee and lunch I found myself volunteering my services and eventually becoming a member of their Board of Directors.The Balancing Act: Achieving personal comfort and wealth while also making a difference in the world
During my 40+ years in IT, I had to balance my professional activities with my desire to serve the local community in which I lived through community service activities. As I rose through the ranks to the C-level, I encouraged my staff to do the same, often giving them the necessary time off from work. By day we designed and executed IT strategies and plans for our employer. During lunch hours, evenings, and weekends we would lend our IT expertise to local not-for-profit organizations as volunteers or as members of their boards. Those who could not afford the time for personal involvement in community-oriented activities satisfied their desire to have an impact on the welfare of society through the impersonal act of writing checks in response to fund-raisers or by agreeing to payroll deductions for their favorite cause. As a board member for several non-profits, I was always aware of the amount of time that was consumed with fund-raising rather than focusing on service delivery and technologies that might improve and expand services.
Impact Makers (www.impactmakers.org), a new company that I have become acquainted with in retirement, has created a unique way for organizations and individuals to fulfill corporate and personal social responsibility as part of their normal business and professional activities.
The B Corporation: Making a difference while you make a buck
Impact Makers is one of the founding B Corporations with B Lab. B Lab has received much attention in the national press, including a recent article in Entrepreneur Magazine (www.entrepreneur.com) in July 2008. B Lab was created in 2006 to identify and certify companies that are socially responsible in terms of environmental and social impact. To earn a B Corporation certification, a company must meet at least 80 of B Lab's 200 standards and amend its charter to include the interests of its employees, its community, and the environment. The certification is renewable every two years, and the certified B Corporations are subject to random third-party audits.
Recommended Reading
- California Community Colleges Partner with Waterfall Mobile on Statewide Emergency Notification Coverage
The Foundation for California Community Colleges (FCCC) has awarded a statewide emergency alert notification contract to Waterfall Mobile. The contract establishes Waterfall's AlertU as an approved technology through the official non-profit foundation for the California Community College (CCC) system office. Through this partnership, individual colleges may directly implement emergency communication services, eliminating lengthy technology evaluation and RFP processes.
- King's College and ASU Add e2Campus for Improved Emergency Notifications
King's College and Arizona State University have switched to Omnilert's e2Campus for emergency notification. Omnilert also has introduced a new program called the ENS Conversion Service that allows schools to bulk upload data from their previous emergency notification system into e2Campus at no charge.
- Saint Joseph Builds Out Wireless Network in Multi-year Upgrade
Saint Joseph's University has begun deploying a Meru Networks wireless local area network across its Philadelphia campus as part of a multi-year effort to bring wireless coverage to every building on campus.
- Vista Ramp Up Is Happening Now, Study Says
Organizations may have been slow to adopt Microsoft Windows Vista, but expect that to change by late 2008 to 2009, according to a Forrester Research report by Benjamin Gray et al., published last week.
- Talisma Launches New Version of CRM with Built-in Application Management
Talisma Corp. announced version 8.0 of its constituent relationship management (CRM) application for higher education. The new release includes application management, a revamped user interface, two-way text messaging, personalized Web portals, and an ADA-compliant Web client, among other enhancements.
- Bringing Composers into Classrooms Through Skype
Two Pennsylvania teaching colleagues with an interest in music and technology are bringing remote experts into classrooms at almost no cost, using Skype's free videoconferencing technology.
