Teaching at a Christian univeristy, it's not uncommon for someone to doubt the validity of a business school. I've written before about it here. People think business equals profit and greed, and for a Christian that must mean business is bad. However, suddenly business is hot again and that's because of this nifty little word called social entrepreneurship, which is also known as Business as Mission (BAM).

Social entrepreneurship is when a business uses for-profit means to accomplish a social good. This usually happens in one of two ways. A non-profit starts a for-profit enterprise and uses the proceeds to fund their philanthropic activities. Or a for-profit decides to put some of its business proceeds towards a good cause. An example of the first is the Salvation Army retail stores. An example of the second is Tom's Shoes, which donates a pair of shoes to children in need for every shoe that is sold. 

The reason this little lesson is important is because it has begun to shape the way that people think about business. If an organization has no cause-related marketing, individuals begin to question that business' movtives. It also is important because it has prompted Christians to realize that business can be used to accomplish a specific good. And this causes more Christians to consider business as a career. And frankly, that's a good thing for everyone because who wouldn't want to do business with a person that was following Christ's precepts, not only at church, but in the way they ran the business as well?

 What do you think? What's the most powerful example of business being used to accomplish good?