Do We Provide Opportunities or Only Value Productivity

International Research Conference on Management and FinanceAt: Faculty of Management and Finance, University of Colombo, 2017

Intellectually disabled individuals (IDIs) as a part of the society have difficulties in getting employment opportunities due to their inherent weaknesses. However there are instances where IDIs are employed in the formal sector. The present case study has been conducted with the purpose of understanding the role of social business in improving the quality of life (QoL) of IDIs. During the literature review it was identified that there is a gap in the literature on how social businesses improves the QoL of IDIs. The present study was conducted as a single case study and aimed at addressing this gap in literature. It followed a qualitative approach and a theoretical framework on QoL was used in assessing the improvement in QoL among IDIs. The findings of the present study suggest that the employment opportunity in a social business with managerial support and guidance from supervisory staff has enhanced QoL of IDIs. In terms of the QoL framework it was evident that all the key areas of quality of life have been fulfilled with the IDIs active involvement in the social business.

The answers to the problem of employment of people with a disability in businesses have often focused on social issues. However, the context which determines the inclusion process mainly depends on project management within organizations. Our purpose is the analysis of favorable factors in management strategies and approaches to people with disabilities.

Brazilian Journal of Development, 2020

Background Labour is considered a vital activity for every human being, even for those with intellectual disabilities. Therefore, this study aimed to analyse the activities of the Association of Parents and Friends of Disabled People (Associação de Pais e Amigos dos Excepcionais, APAE) in the state of Goiás, Brazil, in the preparation of people with intellectual disabilities, to characterize the apprentices inserted in these activities and to verify the workshops offered. Method The research was carried out in eight APAE units. Data were collected from January to July 2018, through the application of a questionnaire sent to the presidents of the participant APAE units. Results More than 2,300 people with disabilities, over 15 years of age, are currently enrolled in APAE units in the state of Goiás. Of these, 352 attend work preparation centers. The degree of functional impairment of these people varied. The workshops offered by the participant APAE units are very similar and include environment cleaning and sanitation and carpentry, gardening/horticulture and commercial kitchens, tapestry, telephone operation, reception, packing and selling. Conclusions Institutions need to seek a closer relationship with employers in order to offer them a better understanding of the functioning of these subjects, as well as better understand the expectations of the employer regarding people with intellectual disabilities. It is also understood the need for the formation of the family to stimulate the process of labour inclusion.

Journal of Entrepreneurship Education, 2019

People with disabilities usually face additional problems, which prevent them from launching an entrepreneurial activity. Such problems may be related to the competencies that they have acquired. In this regard, the variable related to the labour and professional situation has become so relevant that the focus of this article is on an approach to entrepreneurship considering the labour and professional situation of people with disabilities. Following the conducted survey, the obtained results indicate that for a significant part of those unemployed who are thinking of launching a business or have had a business, the reasons for not doing so are, in first place, the lack of economic resources when setting up a business, and, in second place, the doubt about the business profitability.

'Innovation in the Social Economy' Emerging Best Practice in Ireland and Wales - Edited by Deiric Ó Broin and Mary Hyland, 2014

People with intellectual disabilities have existed throughout our world across human history and make up a part of all cultures, they represent a small section of the extremely wide variety of people in the human population at any one time yet they are still the most discriminated and stigmatised section of our society and are often the last within the community of disabled persons to receive attention (Paramenter, 2011). Research has shown us that people with intellectual disabilities are ‘able to’ and ‘want to’ work but cannot because of the barriers that they face. There has been a lot of emphasis in the recent years on the value of social enterprises in Ireland and their ability to be able to provide employment to individuals who are at a distance from the labour market. Using qualitative research methods, this study explores the potential for social enterprises to be able to support people with intellectual disabilities to overcome the barriers to employment that they experience. The research presents a sample of social enterprises in Ireland and Wales that are currently supporting people to overcome barriers to employment. Findings from the literature and case studies have shown that that our thinking on employment for people regardless of their ability or disadvantage must extend beyond the traditional and conventional opportunities which to date been offered in the competitive market and which do not offer adequate accommodations and supports. The research has demonstrated that social enterprises that have been designed specifically to support people with intellectual disabilities have more potential to support their employees to overcome the barriers to employment. The findings also warn of the dangers of establishing social enterprises which are nothing more than a modern version of the segregated sector of sheltered workshops and job enclaves.

GLADNET Collection, 2007

For.the.past.few.years,.the.European.Standing.Conference.of.Co-operatives,.Mutual. Societies,.Associations.and.Foundations.(.CEP-CMAF.),.through.its.group.on.disability.issues,. has.promoted.the.inclusion.of.the.disability.perspective.in.Social.Economy.enterprises.and. organisations.at.all.levels.of.their.work. As.a.part.of.this.work,.and.as.a.small.contribution.to.the.2007.European.Year.of.Equal. Opportunities.for.All,.we.have.decided.to.create.this.guide.to.share.our.expertise.in.the. field..We.have.tried.to.develop.a.practical.tool.that.can.be.useful.for.any.type.of.enterprise.. Although.the.cases.selected.to.illustrate.the.guidelines.provided.are.from.the.Social.Economy. sector,.the.proposals.included.can.be.followed.by.any.type.of.enterprise,.regardless.of.the. sector.they.operate.in. Disability.can.be.horizontalised.in.any.organisation,.structure,.policy,.or.activity.undertaken. by.public.or.private.actors,.active.or.not.in.the.disability.field..Often.these.actors.overlook.how. simple.measures.can.improve.the.quality.of.life.of.persons.with.disabilities,.or.they.are.just. not.aware.of.the.various.ways.their.actions.can.impact.on.disabled.people..For.them,.we.have. collected.illustrative.examples.and.simple.guidelines.that.will.help.them.to.easily.include.a. disability.perspective.in.their.work.. With.the.aim.of.ensuring.maximum.accuracy.and.usefulness.of.this.guide,.we.have.benefited.from. the.invaluable.cooperation.of.the.European.Disability.Forum.(EDF).and.have.involved.a.number.of. experts.from.the.various.Social.Economy.families.. (Co-operatives,.Mutual.Societies,.Associations.and.Foundations)..All.of.this.cooperation.has.been. efficiently.coordinated.by.Marta.Hernández.and.Ana.Mohedano.of.the.European.Foundation. Centre.(EFC)..I.would.like.to.thank.them.all.for.their.efforts.to.make.this.project.a.reality.. I.would.also.like.to.thank.all.the.organisations,.institutions.and.individuals.that.contributed. to.this.publication.after.the.presentation.of.its.preliminary.version.at.the.Seminar.on.Social. Economy.and.Equal.Opportunities.held.at.the.EU.Economic.and.Social.Committee.(EESC).on. April.17 th .2007,.which.was.organised.by.the.CEP-CMAF.and.the.EDF. Nevertheless,.this.Guide.is.not.an.end.in.itself,.but.just.one.more.step.forward.on.the.long. road.to.full.integration.of.persons.with.disabilities.into.society,.and,.we,.as.CEP-CMAF,.are. committed.to.continuing.to.promote.the.active.contribution.of.Social.Economy.enterprises.to. this.integration.

Personal development: satisfaction and ability to assert one's own autonomy in all contexts and for the entire life span; • Interpersonal relationships: enjoying connecting and ABSTRACT: The concept of quality of life is receiving more attention as a tool for evaluating policies and practices aimed at people with disabilities. This case study describes the process of professional inclusion of Giulia, a girl with intellectual disabilities, over the last three years of her attendance at a professional school in Northern Italy and the impact that this experience had on her quality of life and on the quality of life of the people who took part in this project. This research intends to: describe the three-year individualised process that leads to the professional inclusion of a girl with intellectual disabilities in a restaurant; highlight the benefits deriving from work for both oneself and one's work colleagues; emphasise synergies and strategies used in this experience. The paper ends with an analysis of the factors that can favour a positive experience and which can be a starting-point for other, similar experiences..

People with intellectual disabilities have existed throughout our world across human history and make up a part of all cultures, they represent a small section of the extremely wide variety of people in the human population at any one time yet they are still the most discriminated and stigmatised section of our society and are often the last within the community of disabled persons to receive attention (Paramenter, 2011). Research has shown us that people with intellectual disabilities are ‘able to’ and ‘want to’ work but cannot because of the barriers that they face. There has been a lot of emphasis in the recent years on the value of social enterprises in Ireland and their ability to be able to provide employment to individuals who are at a distance from the labour market. Using qualitative research methods, this study explores the potential for social enterprises to be able to support people with intellectual disabilities to overcome the barriers to employment that they experience. The research presents a sample of social enterprises in Ireland and Wales that are currently supporting people to overcome barriers to employment. Findings from the literature and case studies have shown that that our thinking on employment for people regardless of their ability or disadvantage must extend beyond the traditional and conventional opportunities which to date been offered in the competitive market and which do not offer adequate accommodations and supports. The research has demonstrated that social enterprises that have been designed specifically to support people with intellectual disabilities have more potential to support their employees to overcome the barriers to employment. The findings also warn of the dangers of establishing social enterprises which are nothing more than a modern version of the segregated sector of sheltered workshops and job enclaves.

Human Resource Management, 2018

This is the author manuscript accepted for publication and has undergone full peer review but has not been through the copyediting, typesetting, pagination and proofreading process, which may lead to differences between this version and the Version of Record. Please cite this article as

2018

It is not unusual that social discourses about different and diverse have often been in the shadow of a medical understanding of the normal, the average and the deviating or pathological. The classic norm from the end of the nineteenth century, based on the analytical difference between the normal and the pathological has been the basis of not only social differentiation and integration, but also of social practices for a long time, stepping into the field of the radical separation of the normal from the pathological, primarily with a strong reliance on a medical discourse. Persons with disabilities have long been labeled, marked, stigmatized as "the deviating", inappropriate, and unacceptable in relation to the established social-medical norm. The general medicalization of the Western society and the Western culture has its beginnings exactly in the typology and classification of persons who, by their appearance and behavior, deviate from the average. Today there are numerous mechanisms that enable overcoming the exclusion and isolation of persons with disabilities by their involvement in the community. One of the most important domains of this involvement is the right and the possibility of achieving work activity. The development and progress of civil society institutions can be also measured by the level of fulfillment of these rights. hiring people with disabilities employers training editor pavle milenković