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Temple University League for Entrepreneurial Women

2006 Essay Contest Winner

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“Businesses as Community Partners”

Takiyah Nur Amin, Pre-Doctoral Fellow

Department of Dance-Esther Boyer College of Music and Dance

Temple University

Takiyah@temple.edu

Expected Graduation Date: 5/2011

Philadelphia is often heralded for its rich history and diverse arts and cultural offerings. On the path to becoming “the next best city”, it is timely to consider what types of new business ventures would contribute to making Philadelphia a great place to live, work and play. I offer for provocation that the “type” of business ventures we need to answer this question are not industry-specific. Rather, business ventures that position themselves as community partners are needed in order to move Philadelphia to the next level, economically, politically and socially.

Philadelphia has a rich business culture. With an economy largely dependent on manufacturing, refining, food, financial services and customer service industries, Philadelphia is also home to several Fortune 500 companies and a plethora of small businesses, the numbers of which increase on a daily basis. Juxtaposed to this burgeoning economy are the city’s high rates for unemployment, poverty and violent crime. While approximately 50,00 new jobs were added this year, Philadelphia’s job growth rate only went up by 1.0 percent. Moreover, the city is caught in the grips of poverty with approximately 25% of households living below the national poverty level.

Most striking are the recent crime statistics that show high incidences of murder and negligent manslaughter (36), rape (123), robbery by force (1095) and various types of assault (3827).  My argument is that the kind of businesses that the city needs are those that understand the potential impact they can make on these negative trends.

 The line between businesses and communities is an artificial one—we all want the opportunity to live our lives in safe, healthy, crime-free environments. For some, when these realities seem impossible to achieve, turning to crime and negative behaviors seems the only answer. We need business ventures that recognize this and that are willing to partner with social service agencies and non-profit service providers. Through these strategic partnerships, businesses can give valuable information to service agencies and providers about the necessary skill-sets and perspectives that should be taught and fostered in job readiness and workforce development programs . Additionally, businesses can seek to work directly with persons who are considered unemployable (i.e. ex-convicts, the poor, the undereducated, etc.) in order to educate these populations and create a new and vibrant workforce that, in turn, can contribute to Philadelphia’s economic picture. We can see that on a micro level, the businesses benefit as active community partners by creating a potential consumer base for their goods/services while at the same time, helping to quell violent action, reduce poverty and encourage job growth. On a macro level, the city of Philadelphia stands to gain from a vibrant, healthy and educated workforce to populate its communities.

              Much like houses of worship, schools and service agencies, businesses have the capacity to contribute positively to their communities. Conventional wisdom and research posit that typically, educated persons are less likely to perpetrate violent crime and by extension, have a negative impact on local economies . As such, businesses would do well to support schools and contribute generally to education. Business owners serving as mentors to potentially at-risk youth and providing scholarship support for access to higher education can accomplish this. Additionally, by creating the means within business ventures to support alternative hiring practices where persons once considered necessarily outside of the job market can begin life anew, businesses stand at a meaningful crossroads between healthy, viable economic futures for all and an ever-increasing, downward cultural spiral .

I am aware that some might consider this approach idealistic, naïve and unrealistic. My thinking is that businesses need to position themselves as optimists and actively re-direct their resources in the direction I discuss above if for no other reason than to protect their best interests. Either these resources, both human and financial, will be directed to preventative measures that will ensure a healthy and safe community for all or businesses will suffer the brunt of violence in their communities, higher taxes for law enforcement and prisons and rising costs for education. Businesses can pay now, or pay later, but they will pay.

My vision is that business ventures that recognize their place in the larger community and world will can have a positive impact in so much as they assist in the creation of an environment where living, working and playing in Philadelphia is safe and healthy for all peoples. We need business models and ventures that see as an integral part of their implementation the need to create relationships and forge partnerships as in their communities. I reiterate for emphasis that this is not industry specific and moreover, does not require special skills. Rather, it requires business owners and leaders that are sensitive to their place in the larger world and who are as committed to fostering sustainable communities as they are to creating sustainable economies. To make Philadelphia the “next best city” we need businesses that believe in their ability to foster and implement positive social and political change.

“Philadelphia, Pennsylvania”. Retrieved October 7, 2006 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philadelphia_Pennsylvania#Economy

“PA. Unemployment Rate Inches Up.” Philadelphia Business Journal, October 5, 2006. Retrieved October 7, 2006 from http://www.bixjournals.com/philadelphia/stories/2006/10/02/daily30.html?t=printable

Burgess, Kate. (May 18, 2006) “Education and Economics”. The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved October 8, 2006 from http://www.cepr.net/cepr_news/phillinq_2006_05_18.htm

“Offenses Report for Metro Area: Philadelphia”. Uniform Crime Reporting System. Report Created and Retrieved on October 2, 2006 from http://ucr.psp.state.pa.us/lbi_apps?WFsServlet

Burgess, 2006.

Cook, Philip J. and Zarkin, Gary A.  “Crime and the Business Cycle.” The Journal of Legal Studies 14.1 (1985): 115-118.

Burgess, 2006.