B-corp: A new dawn for capitalism?

individual

|

INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

humanistic ----------------------------------------------- mechanistic

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

|

group - population

individual purpose, goals [ corporate [entity] purpose - goals? ]	environment
social society public good	"In 2006 they launched this new legal structure, dubbed a "Benefit Corporation" - or "B-corp" - with the authorisation of the Delaware courts, creating a legal framework for companies that requires managers to not just chase financial metrics (for shareholders) but environmental and social goals too." p.2.

My source:

Tett, G. Capitalism - a new dawn? FTWeekend, Life&Arts, 7-8 September 2019, pp.1-2.

The Fourth Quadrant - Johnson (2010)

For anyone who has read Steven Johnson's Where Good Ideas Come From, you might appreciate that for me it was a case of take-two from the previous post 'The adjacent possible'. How could I not include the chapter "The Fourth Quadrant" especially as the book's 'Conclusion'?

If title was one take, the other was "Oh! How does this relate to h2cm?" After reading and reflecting things fell into place. Johnson wants to represent the history of innovation (no less) using roughly two hundred of the most important innovations and scientific breakthroughs from the past six hundred years, starting with Gutenberg's press, Einstein's theory of relativity, the invention of air conditioning through to the birth of world wide web (pp.218-219).

There are three figures in the chapter spanning 1400-1600; 1600-1800; 1800-present. Johnson's diagram for 1800-present (p.229) is in-part 'mapped' to Hodges' model below.

A few insights into my reasoning. In the Interpersonal domain I am emphasising an individual's primary (and original) motivation for their work and what follows. In the sciences - here PROCESSES are central. As with all models this is an idealisation, so there is a lot of overlap.

Individual

|

INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

humanistic / non-market ------------------------------- mechanistic / market

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

|

Network

3. Non-Market/Individual Not devised for fiscal gain, individually devised .. amateur scientist, or hobbyist. Spectroscope           Hormones Bunsen Burner             E - mc2 Rechargable Battery      Special Relativity Nitroglycerine        Earth's Core Cell Nucleus          World Wide Web Stethescope         CT Scan ...	1. Market/Individual Devised for fiscal gain, individually devised i.e. Air Conditioner Mason Jar Tesla Coil Gatling Gun Nylon Vulcanized Rubber Programmable Computer Transistor ...
4. Non-Market/Network Not devised for fiscal gain, collectively devised. Open source envirnoment or academia. Braille      Periodic Table     RNA Splicing Chloroform        EKG    Aspirin Cell Division    Global Warming Benzene Structure        Continental Drift Hereditary       Superconductors ...	2. Market/Network Devised for fiscal gain, collectively devised, multiple firms interact Airplane    Lightbulb    Steel   Automobile Induction Motor      Radio  Contact Lenses    Welding Machine Moving Assembly Line   Motion Picture Camera Locomotive     Vacuum Cleaner Electric Motor     Washing machine Refrigerator      Vacuum Tube Telegraph      Helicopter ...

Johnson, Steven (2010) Where Good Ideas Come From, London: Allen Lane.

EHR Software Market Share Analysis & UK residential care / nursing home sector musings

Last month (20th May 2010) Chris Thorman, who blogs about EMR systems at Software Advice, e-mailed me (copied below). Could I mention his recent EHR post on my blog?

Well thanks Chris! It is very encouraging to learn that W2tQ is seen by others as an infocare centre and valuable media avenue. It is very difficult for me to comment on this USA based analysis ...

- but here are some thoughts. ... This is a great piece of work-in-progress which acknowledges the problem of being 100% comprehensive and coherent given the task, plus the market's spread and dynamics.

My perspective is UK and my full-time work as a nurse gives me a limited outlook on health IT markets as a whole. Nonetheless I value efforts to capture such data in order to better understand the health informatics industry and grasp the bigger picture. As Chris notes this project is challenging, the post is also an appeal for help. While a great proportion of surveys are commercial in motivation, the e-community and e-media can now add value by pointing out the gaps and other data sources. The comments that conclude Chris's post ably demonstrate this.

I would very much like to read something similar for the UK, including the use of information systems in the residential and nursing home sector (any suggestions welcome). It still amazes me how many care homes - including those that are part of large business groups - do not use a 'resident' information system.

Perhaps the new - post-election - health ICT market in England will see new opportunities?
(See post re. 1 July 2010 NW England BCS - British Computer Society meeting).

In ICT terms the care / nursing home sector to me seems passive; it is content to be waited-upon by primary care and the hospital based systems. If they are not engaged on this level can they (and others, e.g. commissioners) argue that they are integrated? I think not.

Care homes need to realize that a dedicated information system could pay dividends in terms of assessment; continuity of care (transfer of care); quality of care; client, family and staff engagement, reporting to inform commissioning, inspection and marketing. When we talk of a patient's viability, there is also the question of the future viability of this market sector amid competition, economics, standards and costs ... ?

[Previously ..] Buyer sought for Loyd’s Nursing Homes Group’s 64 care homes
Catherine Boyle, Times Online, 21 May 2010.

Chris' focus is the EHR market, very much concentrated upon physician, medical and medical billing coding applications. This is reflected in the search facility on the Software Advice website. The search is constrained and directed, driven of course by the underlying database of companies, their applications and reviews. Markets are, however, defined by their boundaries and the way they change over time. Anticipation of that change is a gift indeed.

The personal health record (PHR) lies outside the scope of this Software Advice post, since as per WikiPedia:

It is important to note that PHRs are not the same as EHRs (electronic health records). The latter are software systems designed for use by health care providers. Like the data recorded in paper-based medical records, the data in EHRs are legally mandated notes on the care provided by clinicians to patients. There is no legal mandate that compels a consumer or patient to store her personal health information in a PHR.

This work by Chris and respondents helps to establish and define the boundaries. The EHRs in question are not purely institutional (e.g. hospital-based), the vendors cater for varying numbers of users, in different care settings as you can see on the site's 3-stage search. So while I cannot add anything as such, I wonder if there could (should) be scope for residential care in there?

Or perhaps the EHR market is not viable when it comes to older adult* residential care?

Heaven forbid that the transatlantic (and global) EHR market is ageist!

Thanks again Chris.

*Residential care is also needed for younger adults too.

From: Chris Thorman
To: " Peter,"
Sent: Thu, 20 May, 2010 18:57:41
Subject: Blog post idea for your blog

Hello Peter,

I hope you've had a good week. I just finished a blog post about market share in the EMR industry and I wanted to give you a heads up about it. Here is the link:
...

In the article, I broke down:

• The size of the outpatient EMR market;
• What EMR vendors have the most physicians using their system; and,
• What EMR vendors have the most practices using their system.

As I'm sure you can imagine, it was a tough project to get accurate numbers on. I was hoping you could mention my article on your blog to get more eyes on it so we can clear up any discrepancies. Sort of a "crowd sourcing" project if you will. I'd also be interested to read your thoughts on our findings.

Would you mind mentioning my post?

------------------------------------------------------------
Chris Thorman
Senior Marketing Manager
Software Advice
www.softwareadvice.com