Deck 5: Developing a Strategic Plan for a Social Venture

Question 1

Why should entrepreneurs and managers of new social ventures embrace planning?

A) Managerial leaders can more effectively enforce rules and regulations
B) The probability for success and sustainability increases
C) It helps provide a meaningful context and direction for investors
D) It is standard operating procedure for a new business

Answer 1

B

Question 2

In addition to information found in a typical business plan, social venture business plans should include all of the following except which one?

A) Social or environmental innovation
B) Social or environmental impact
C) Supplemental marketing/branding plan
D) Sustainability/scale

Answer 2

C

Question 3

It is advocated that an SROI should be demonstrated with a framework that assesses the double or triple bottom-line impact (social, economic and/or environmental). But what does the abbreviation SROI stand for?

A) Social Return on Impact
B) Social Return on Intelligence
C) Social Return on Investment
D) Social Return on Incorporation

Answer 3

C

Question 4

When defining the social venture concept, which five steps have to be undertaken?

A) New social venture idea; social venture (sustainability) model; market analysis; sales; management
B) New social venture idea; social venture (sustainability) model; market analysis; operations and social impact measurement; management
C) New social venture idea; social venture (sustainability) model; copyright; operations and social impact measurement; management
D) New social venture idea; social venture (sustainability) model; market analysis; operations and social impact measurement; competition

Question 5

What is not a part of coming to the new social venture idea?

A) The big idea/your solution
B) What social innovation(s) is this venture leveraging?
C) Who is your customer that is in need of your service product?
D) What are your main limitations?

Question 6

Which of the following aspects are not applicable for the social venture (sustainability) model, as part of the defining of the social venture model?

A) Potential sources of revenue
B) Initial funding
C) Competition
D) Cash needs

Question 7

Social entrepreneurs may want to consider which of the following questions as they conduct the market analysis component when defining their social venture concept?

A) What is your competitive advantage and is it sustainable?
B) What are your potential sources of revenue and initial funding?
C) What is your initial management and governance structure?
D) What are your initial financial projections?

Question 8

Which of the following questions should be considered by social entrepreneurs, for their operations and social impact measurement?

A) Who are my customers?
B) What are my cash needs?
C) What is my governance structure?
D) How does this business work, in terms of development?

Question 9

When defining their social venture concept, which managerial question is important?

A) What are the current team's qualifications for executing this plan successfully?
B) What is the initial management structure?
C) Answer a and b
D) What is the initial market structure?

Question 10

Radicalness is one of the core areas identified by Zahra and others that make for a promising social opportunity. What are relevant questions in this context?

A) How proven and innovative is the solution to solve the social problem?
B) How creative and standard is the solution to solve the social problem?
C) How creative and innovative is the solution to solve the social problem?
D) How proven and standard is the solution to solve the social problem?

Question 11

Which of the following is one of the core areas identified by Zahra and others that make for a promising social opportunity?

A) Social opportunity
B) Accessibility
C) Legacy
D) All of the above

Question 12

Once the social problem has been identified and the opportunity to create a venture is seen as innovative and sustainable, what will the social entrepreneur want to develop?

A) The vision of what the social venture does
B) The mission of what the social venture does
C) The vision and the mission of what the venture does
D) Neither the vison nor the mission of what the venture does

Question 13

A theory of change offers a clear road map to achieving results by identifying which of the following?

A) Necessary interventions
B) Necessary pathways
C) Necessary preconditions
D) All of the above

Question 14

Developing a theory of change and a logic model is a process of aligning stakeholder goals and expectations with the strategic planning process and business strategy by:

A) Making underlying assumptions about cause and effect explicit
B) Examining the dynamics that make the social venture successful on a blended value basis
C) Answers a and b together
D) Neither a nor b

Question 15

People can be seen as the social capital of the firm. Where do they fit in the logic model?

A) Under Resources/Resources Strategy
B) Under Activities/Operating Model
C) Under Outputs
D) Under Impact

Question 16

Once a go-to-market (GTM) strategy has been developed, a social entrepreneur should begin to identify partners that are needed to assist in maximizing success and social impact. Which of the following is not a consideration to take into account in a search for partners?

A) How to identify the partners needed to achieve the vision or mission in terms of competency and knowledge needs in particular
B) How to explain the value each partner will bring to the partnership in terms of the contribution each is making and why the social venture needs them
C) How to obtain a written commitment of willingness to be a partner
D) How to determine the value the social venture has for each partner, i.e., what is the synergy between the venture and the potential partner?

Question 17

Conducting a competitor analysis helps a social venture position itself in relation to others in the marketplace and create new strategies and value to its customer groups. Which of the following questions should be addressed when conducting such a competitor analysis?

A) Where is the competitor's home office located?
B) Who is on the management team of the competitors?
C) What is distinctive about the competitors?
D) What other service providers or models are there?

Question 18

One of the most crucial components of venture planning is deciding on the team that will be executing the vision or mission of the new venture. All of the following are questions a social entrepreneur would need to address when deciding on the team except one. Which question is not essential?

A) What background, experience, leadership, and expertise do they bring to the social venture?
B) What expertise is lacking and how the team can obtain it?
C) What is the gender and ethnic diversity of the team?
D) What it is about this team that makes it likely that they can execute the plan?

Question 19

Although difficult to foresee where a social venture may be after several years of operation, it is important to convey the potential of the social business for other customer groups and locations to which of the following groups?

A) The management team, employees and the general public
B) Volunteers, employees and the general public
C) The management team, employees, donors, investors and volunteers
D) Donors, investors and employees

Question 20

The development of the financial plan and resources needed to effectively launch and sustain a firm requires which of the following pro forma financial documents?

A) A profit and loss statement and cash flow analysis
B) A list of projected salaries by position
C) Sources and exact amount of seed capital acquired
D) A profit and loss statement and a list of projected salaries

Question 21

The real value of developing a social venture strategy comes from having a finished plan in hand that can be shared with others.

Question 22

Strategic planning assists social entrepreneurs as they develop their social venture business plan to meet the demands of the social venture market, potential investors, and employees.

Question 23

Social venture business plans should include a clear understanding of the social or environmental need or problem it seeks to address, the feasibility of the innovation, and the economic and social or environmental drivers of the business model.

Question 24

The first steps to developing a social venture plan are to determine your business model and who is your competition.

Question 25

The core areas identified by Zahra et al. that make for a promising social opportunity are accessibility, urgency, relevance, prevalence and radicalness.

Question 26

Once a social problem has been identified and the opportunity to create a venture is deemed innovative and sustainable with the potential to be scaled to other regions, next the social entrepreneur will want to write up a detailed working business plan.

Question 27

A vision helps the social entrepreneur think about the overall mission of the social venture and, more specifically, addresses how she or he can implement the vision and objectives that reinforce how the social venture will operate in solving a pressing social problem.

Question 28

A theory of change offers a clear road map to achieving results by identifying the preconditions, pathways, and interventions necessary for an initiative's success.

Question 29

A logic model places the social venture's theory of change into action by doing nothing more than communicating what are the key resources needed to begin solving the social problem.

Question 30

A full go-to-market (GTM) strategy encompasses channels that a venture uses to connect with its customers and the organizational processes it develops to guide customer interactions, but has little if any impact on its ability to cost-effectively deliver its value solution to its target segments.

Question 31

It is generally not difficult in the beginning planning stages to foresee where a social venture may be after several years of operation and it is important to convey this potential to all stakeholders.

Question 32

An operational plan details the processes that must be performed to serve customers every day (short-term processes) and the overall business milestones that the company must attain to be successful (long-term processes).

Question 33

Important questions a social venture should address regarding competition is how much money flows to its "issue" annually and how is it distributed?

Question 34

Although the social entrepreneurship field has matured, the ability to measure the impact of a venture's efforts still remains a significant challenge for most organizations.

Question 35

The last step in the social venture strategic planning process involves the development of the financial plan and resources needed to effectively launch and sustain the firm.

Question 36

There are four major reasons why entrepreneurs and managers of new social ventures should embrace planning. Which ones?

Question 37

What elements should be included in a social venture plan that might not be part of the more traditional business plan?

Question 38

What are the core questions that social entrepreneurs may follow as they embark on defining their social venture concept:

Question 39

Which necessary KSAs does the aspiring entrepreneur need to have to effectively solve the problem and to launch the social venture?

Question 40

Mention the five dimensions that Zahra et al. (2008) have identified that make a promising social opportunity.

Question 41

What does a theory of change offer?

Question 42

Which five elements constitute the logic model that can be utilized by social entrepreneurs as they communicate their own theory of change to their stakeholders and community?

Question 43

What makes the Gantt chart useful?

Question 44

What is in the baseline of the financial plan that the social entrepreneur should develop?

Question 45

Describe the role of strategic planning for a nascent social venture and explain why it is important for a social entrepreneur?

Question 46

What are the first steps you would recommend social entrepreneurs take as they embark on writing their social venture plan? What questions should be asked to customize the social venture plan?

Question 47

Although a comprehensive plan may be written, such a plan does not take the place of strategic planning - an activity that should be ongoing throughout the life cycle of the new social venture. Describe the life cycle of the social venture in terms of different development stages, and explain why these are distinguished.