Social Return on Investment (SROI) – Definition, Benefits, and Challenges

The performance of corporation organizations is an essential piece of information for investors and stakeholders. Return on investment is one of the most applied tools to measure the performance of business organizations. It helps investors establish the profitability of a given investment regarding capital. Social return on investment (SROI) measures how an organization adds value to the environment and communities. The change is measured by evaluating the company’s social, economic, and environmental outcomes, which are also the pillars of sustainable development. Social return on investment is an ideal tool for measuring social impacts and should be employed in medium and large corporations. To achieve true sustainability, organizations report on three main aspects: financial gains, as well as social and environmental impacts of their activities, processes, and products. Over the years, financial reporting has been the most dominant way of measuring the performance of corporate organizations. However, with the rising concern Continue reading

Understanding Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI)

The Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) is a popular framework for evaluating or appraising where an organization’s maturity ranks within a defined program. The CMMI could show where an organizational program is ad-hoc and unorganized as compared to a highly structured and repeatable program. The CMMI was originally developed by the Software Engineering Institute, a cohort of government groups, and industry experts. The CMMI was originally designed to have an application towards software engineering but was quickly generalized to other areas of program appraisal. In January of 2013, the CMMI Institute was formed at Carnegie Mellon to continue the research and dissemination of the framework. Practitioners should take notice that the CMMI is not a standard and does not provide detailed information about achieving the goals being measured. The framework was more designed to serve as a guideline to understanding current implementations and alternative mechanisms to implement maturity levels in Continue reading

The Factor of Authenticity in the Modern Business

Authenticity has been a popular trend for the past twenty years, and it continues to grow even larger encompassing new areas every year. Nowadays, almost any sphere in the economy has a niche which is devoted strictly to authentic products, which often imply being organic, chemical-free, and manufactured in accordance with ethical principles. This trend was initially started by so-called hipsters who often sold items which they believed to be unique in some way, such as customized jeans or retro sunglasses. Over time, this tendency was identified by market analysts and started being utilized by corporations, for example, Henkel, a German conglomerate, recently launched a brand called Authentic Beauty Concept. The fact that such large companies seek to exploit this idea shows that the authenticity concept is extremely powerful in society. Yet, at its core, authenticity is about people’s desire to discover and consume unique experiences which form their true Continue reading

Failure Modes and Effect Analysis (FMEA) – Operation, Advantages, and Disadvantages

Risks are common occurrences that happen in the daily operations of an organization. They are uncertainties that occur as a result of certain activity and may result in loss of value or other immeasurable.  Organizations must have risk control measures to ensure that risk identification, analysis, and mitigation are carried out effectively. Organizations spend a substantial amount of their budgets in developing risk management strategies. There are different tools that organizations employ in risks reduction practices. For instance, Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) is a part of the quality assessment tool that allows a company to detect possible failures. The Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) is one underlying concept of continuous quality improvement.FMEA is an analytic activity carried out on a product, service or process in order to know its strengths and weaknesses, deal with a potential problem before it occurs and ensure that it meets the set Continue reading

Sharing Economy Concept – Meaning, Drivers, Principles, and Forms

“Sharing economy” is the term that entered scientific literature not so long ago that is why it is still rarely used. Being also known as ‘collaborative economy’, this term is used to describe a type of business model that builds on the sharing of resources between individuals through peer-2-peer services – allowing customers to access goods and services when needed. The transaction between individuals takes place through sharing economy firms, which are called intermediaries. The intermediaries provide the platform, such as a website or a smartphone app, rather than providing the service directly. Sharing economy firms started to appear in 2008 and 2010, in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, which prompted people to look for new business opportunities. As a business model, the sharing economy takes different forms and is characterized by unique features.  More and more people and organizations become involved in the sharing processes currently. The Continue reading

Building Trust at Scale: Lessons in Transparency and Security from Billion-Dollar Digital Platforms

In today’s online economy, companies that handle millions of daily transactions and sensitive customer data have learned that trust is the single most valuable currency. Leading entertainment companies now invest billions in advanced security systems, transparent operations, and clear communication because they understand that one serious breach or perception of unfairness can destroy years of goodwill overnight. For instance, popular real-time games such as the live monopoly game broadcast from professional studios demonstrate how modern businesses combine entertainment with strict fairness controls and encrypted connections to create confidence among millions of users worldwide. The most successful online companies treat transparency and security as core business functions rather than mere compliance checkboxes. This article examines the concrete practices that allow large-scale digital enterprises to maintain customer trust while operating 24 hours a day across multiple countries. The Foundation of Trust: Independent Audits and Visible Fairness Large online entertainment companies routinely invite Continue reading