Degree Name
MS in Management
First Advisor
Annie Viets
Abstract
In this paper the author used his six months of experience as an intern at The Windham Foundation and its subsidiary business, the Grafton Village Cheese Company (GVCC) to critically analyze strategic management tools and techniques in a social enterprise. This paper reviews the actions that GVCC took to record substantial growth from 2007-2009 despite an economic recession, and the contributing role played by its parent organization, The Windham Foundation.
This paper considers the views of other scholars of social enterprises in analyzing the complexity of managing a dual bottom line organization, and what led to its successes and failures. The author uses strategic management frameworks such as the Resources Based View (RBV) and analysis of some financial accounting ratios to determine the short and long term viability of the social business, GVCC. Lastly, the author suggests ways forward for GVCC and The Windham Foundation which, if implemented carefully, could help them to be more competitive commercially while remaining true to the core mission of supporting Vermont’s rural way of life through the tradition of artisanal cheese making.
Disciplines
Strategic Management Policy
Recommended Citation
Rwabuhihi, Eric, "How Does A Social Enterprise Strategically Manage Its Dual Bottom Line During A Significant Economic Downturn?: A Case Study about the Grafton Village Cheese Company (GVCC)" (2010). Capstone Collection. 1345.
https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/capstones/1345