Employees at Madcap
The concept of social enterprises took concrete shape quite recently although its evolution could be traced back to the late 20th century. The concept refers to businesses that are established with a focus on human values with profit as a secondary motive. The owners of such enterprises are addressed as ‘social entrepreneurs’. These social enterprises do not belong to any welfare organizations or perform any charities. They succeed in achieving social changes by possessing an economically feasible business model that offers social services that are supported by the community as well. In the Australian context, the social enterprises have picked up remarkable pace in the last decade or so, which has even challenged small mainstream businesses. A report published in The Conversation reveals that the social enterprises are well ahead from mainstream small businesses when it comes to employing people with disability and female managers. The study further found that 12 per cent jobs in social enterprises are given to long-term unemployed individuals and 2 per cent to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. These statistics reveal the fact that Australian social enterprises have proved to be significant contributors to the development of the country’s economy. Employees at Madcap
The MADCAP Café in Victoria is one of the most prominent social enterprises in the country that serves coffee, tea and snacks. The café employs young Australians with mental health issues specifically to prepare coffee in the stands at Masters Hardware stores. The Sydney Morning Herald published a story on the employees working at the café where the employees shared their experiences. While Michael Garnham aged 31, considered working at Madcap as a “life changing experience”, Duncan McKellar, 25 shares that working there gives him the opportunity “to earn for himself and not being reliant on hand-outs”. Richard Waters, CEO of Eastern Regions Mental Health Association (ERMHA) that has funded the café, while airing his opinion states, “Madcap provides a safe place to take a risk”.
The CEO further made it clear that the aim of the program was to focus on the strengths of the mentally ill people rather than their weaknesses. The café was set up with an aim to provide an opportunity for the mentally challenged to display their talent and skills and earn for it as well. The café has provided a second chance to life for many of its employees who had been living on drugs. Anthony Cheeseman, manager at Madcap, states that the idea to have employees with and without mental illness work together, has worked. At Madcap, mentally ill employees work in collaboration with workers without mental illness. This strategy, believes Cheeseman, would help end the stigma associated with the mentally ill and make their lives easier. The main problem however, according to him, is the long working hours of the employees. Further, he also accepts that at times, the workers are so much engrossed in their jobs that they are unable to give proper directions to the challenged employees. Despite all these, he is positive that it would help them realize that the mentally challenged are no different from the mentally stable people.
Mentally challenged staff challenging stigma
Visiting the café personally reveals many interesting reactions and responses from the customers and clients as well. Graham, 45, with his wife and 4 year-old boy was enjoying at the café and seemed to have a good bond with the employees. When asked, Graham replied, “I enjoy coming here often, it gives a strange sense of relief when I come here and enjoy my sip of coffee”. Graham has been coming to the café for the past five years. Another customer aged 19 said, “To look at these people enjoying their work despite going through so much inspires me”. Everyday around 150 customers visit the stands of Madcap Café to have a sip of their favorite coffee or tea from their favorite servers . One of the employees at the café stated that the number has grown since the first day of the service and is most likely to grow in the coming days as well. The employee further expressed that although the work sometimes becomes very tiring, she has never been happier and satisfied than working there. She further adds, “This work has given me the opportunity to meet people with similar enthusiasm that I have despite the problems”. “The environment at the café is very positive and has great energy as the staff there always wears a smile while serving”, added another customer. The coordination between the workers however, at times seemed clumsy and disorganized. This might be because the employees without any mental illness might be facing difficulties understanding the correct way to instruct or assist the mentally challenged. Contrasting scenes have also been observed at the café where employees without mental illness were able to communicate proficiently with the challenged ones.
In the modern economy with increasing inclination towards capitalist ideology, the success of social enterprises is exceptional. The owners of these enterprises believe that the increasing awareness corporate responsibility has helped their business grow since their entire business is modeled on this concept. It is not that only the owners of such businesses are boasting about it, official reports also indicate the same. According to Finding Australia’s Social Enterprise Sector (FASES) 2016 Report, the size of small-sized social enterprises have grown to 73 per cent in 2015, 23 per cent medium-sized and 3.6 per cent large social enterprises have also made their presence felt. The report further reveals that above 40 per cent social enterprises are aged over a decade, which shows the rapid pace at which these are growing and sustaining. However, many are of the view that these enterprises do not have a long life span. S. Campin, J. Barraket and B. Luke argue that since entrepreneurs run the social enterprises, problems relating to finance arise on a constant basis. The problem arises mainly because of the high costs required for developing a scalable business and then applying for investment. Added to that is the small scope of investments and loans to set up the business despite the fact that same risk analysis have to be conducted as for any other business. J. Barraket, and N. Yousefpour counter the argument stating that many organizations are now coming forward to provide a helping hand to these businesses. in their view, many organizations specifically those involved with welfare of the deprived classes and support from the government come forward to help establish the enterprises. The case of Madcap is similar. It has been funded by ERMHA. Similar businesses such as the Fifty-six Threads Café receive funding from AMES, an organization providing humanitarian services to migrants and refugees.
Positive and negative aspects of social enterprises
Analyzing the functioning of Madcap Café in Australia has provided a clear picture of the way social enterprises run. The picture, although mostly positive, has some negative aspects associated to it as well. Some employees working there have revealed this. After receiving assurance that their names will be kept anonymous, these employees agreed to share their experiences. One employee reveals, “The working hours are exhausting, we are made to stand for hours to prepare and serve coffee to the customers”. The employee further added that at times, the company does not even provide them enough time to rest. Another employee tells that she has had a major breakdown once while working for five consecutive hours. These accounts bring out the dark side of the business. However, it needs to be stated that despite experiencing such situations, they all had the time of their lives as it gave them the opportunity to “open their wings and fly free”.
The FASES report also indicated that strong government support would “encourage new opportunities for social enterprises and generate growth”. More than 40 per cent respondents strongly agreed that the support from both federal and state levels would enhance better opportunities for the social enterprises. Many limitations confront the entrepreneurs who look to change the business scenario in Australia by focusing more on bringing about social changes than earning profits. These barriers include limited spread of intermediaries over large geographical areas, inadequate prospects for peer-to-peer education and limited awareness of the public. It is evident that although the fruits of social enterprises are sweet, strengthening its roots causes the main problem. Madcap Café represents the fruits of social enterprises while its least popularity amongst the mass demonstrates the problem in its roots.
References:
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