Social Capital in Bangladesh from Bangladeshi perspective. It is a part of study of Marketing for Nonprofit Organizations course...

1. Assignment
On
Marketing for Nonprofit Organizations
Course: 523
Topic: “Social Capital in Bangladesh”
Prepared for:
Dr. Mijanur Rahman
Professor
Department of Marketing
Faculty of Business of Studies
University of Dhaka
Prepared by:
Md. Abdur Rakib
Section: A
MBA Roll: 375
Department of Marketing (14th)
University of Dhaka
Date of Submission: 10th January, 2013 eng.

2. “Social Capital in Bangladesh”
Social Capital:
In sociology, social capital is the expected collective or economic benefits derived from the
preferential treatment and cooperation between individuals and groups. Although different social
sciences emphasize different aspects of social capital, they tend to share the core idea that social
networks have value. The term "capital" is used by analogy with other forms of economic
capital, as social capital is argued to have similar (although less measurable) benefits. However,
the analogy with capital is misleading to the extent that, unlike traditional forms of capital, social
capital is not depleted by use. In fact it is depleted by non-use (use it or lose it). In this respect, it
is similar to the now well-established economic concept of human capital.
Social Capital is also distinguished from the economic theory Social Capitalism. Social
Capitalism as a theory challenges the idea that Socialism and Capitalism are mutually exclusive.
Social Capitalism posits that a strong social support network for the poor enhances capital
output. By decreasing poverty, capital market participation is enlarged.
Evolution:
The notion of social capital is a useful way of entering into debates about civil society – and is
central to the arguments of Robert Putnam and others who want to „reclaim public life‟. It is also
used by the World Bank with regard to economic and societal development and by management
experts as a way of thinking about organizational development.
The term 'social capital' was in occasional use from about 1890, but only became widely used in
the late 1990s. Jane Jacobs used the term early in the 1960s. Although she did not explicitly
define the term social capital her usage referred to the value of networks. The appearance of the
modern social capital conceptualization is a new way to look at this debate, keeping together the
importance of community to build generalized trust and the same time, the importance of
individual free choice, in order to create a more cohesive society. It is for this reason that social
capital generated so much interest in the academic and political world
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3. Importance:
Social capital has been used at various times to explain superior managerial performance,
improved performance of functionally diverse groups, the value derived from strategic alliances,
and enhanced supply chain relations. The modern emergence of social capital concept renewed
the academic interest for an old debate in social science: the relationship between trust, social
networks and the development of modern industrial society. Social Capital Theory gained
importance through the integration of classical sociological theory with the description of an
intangible form of capital. Through the social capital concept researchers have tried to propose a
synthesis between the value contained in the communitarian approaches and individualism
professed by the 'rational choice theory. Social capital is generated collectively but it can also be
used individually, bridging the dichotomized approach 'communitarianism' versus 'individualism.
Social capital allows citizens to resolve collective problems more easily… People often might be
better off if they cooperate, with each doing her share.
Second, social capital greases the wheels that allow communities to advance smoothly. Where
people are trusting and trustworthy, and where they are subject to repeated interactions with
fellow citizens, everyday business and social transactions are less costly.
Social capital improves our lot is by widening our awareness of the many ways in which our
fates are linked. When people lack connection to others, they are unable to test the veracity of
their own views, whether in the give or take of casual conversation or in more formal
deliberation. Without such an opportunity, people are more likely to be swayed by their worse
impulses.
The networks that constitute social capital also serve as conduits for the flow of helpful
information that facilitates achieving our goals. Social capital also operates through
psychological and biological processes to improve individual‟s lives. Community connectedness
is not just about warm fuzzy tales of civic triumph. In measurable and well-documented ways,
social capital makes an enormous difference to our lives.
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4. Bridging, Bonding & Linking Social Capital:
Bonding social capital means which denotes ties between people in similar situations, such as
immediate family, close friends and neighbors.
Bridging social capital means which encompasses more distant ties of like persons, such as loose
friendships and workmates.
Linking social capital means which reaches out to unlike people in dissimilar situations, such as
those who are entirely outside of the community, thus enabling members to leverage a far wider
range of resources than are available in the community.
Benefits Associated with Social Capital:
 Child development is powerfully shaped by social capital.
 Trust, networks, and norms of reciprocity within a child‟s family, school, peer group, and
larger community have far reaching effects on their opportunities and choices, educational
achievement, and hence on their behavior and development.
 In high social-capital areas public spaces are cleaner, people are friendlier, and the streets are
safer. Traditional neighborhood “risk factors” such as high poverty and residential mobility
are not as significant as most people assume.
 Places have higher crime rates in large part because people don‟t participate in community
organizations, don‟t supervise younger people, and aren‟t linked through networks of friends.
The confidence to intervene born of higher rates of social capital - are characterized by lower
crime rates.
 A growing body of research suggests that where trust and social networks flourish,
individuals, firms, neighborhoods, and even nations prosper economically. Social capital can
help to mitigate the insidious effects of socioeconomic disadvantage.
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5.  There appears to be a strong relationship between the possession of social capital and better
health. Regular social attendance, volunteering, entertaining, or religious place attendance is
the happiness equivalent of getting a college degree or more than doubling your income.
 Women empowerment in a poor country like Bangladesh can add to a great contribution to
drive poverty & develop our economic backbones.
 Farmers association is the most important issue as almost 80% of our profession is related to
agriculture. The farmers‟ society must be improved with social capital.
Social Capital in Bangladesh:
Research studies recognized social capital as a useful resource, which facilitates social
interaction and promotes mutual support and cooperation and thus improves participants‟
livelihood through income generation, better community governance and capacity building. An
important observation is that social capital yields superior outcome if it is used in line with the
local conditions of a given society. The findings suggest lessons for policy planners, donor
agencies, development practitioners, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and civil society
to use social capital as a resource in order to achieve sustainable community development.
Non-governmental organizations in Bangladesh have established innovative development
models that have improved participant livelihood, through efforts in income-generation, social-
service provision, and group capacity building. However, the dominant focus of most agencies in
Bangladesh - including Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee, the Grameen Bank, and
Proshika MUK -is income-generation, often at the expense of longer-term structural change
associated with the extension of social capital. NGOs have expanded community norms and
networks, but this has been largely between agency practitioner and participant, as opposed to
within the participant community.
Social capital can be generated by the expectations of the rural poor who are victimized by
government and market failures. The demands of the rural poor of Bangladesh for economic and
social goods and services, for example, have been instrumental to their economic and social
well-being. Cooperation based on mutual trust and norms of reciprocity contributes to the
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6. creation of other kinds of capital, especially economic and human capital, that are mutually
reinforcing. Both governments and the NGOs make use of social capital as a tool for
implementing poverty policies.
Conclusion:
Social capital must be used carefully and employed with the interactions of needed social
participants .Awareness of the dangers of 'capitalization' must be created among participants.
There is a deep danger of skewing our consideration of social phenomenon and goods towards
the economic. There has been a tendency not to locate exploration properly within a historical
framework. Linking involvement in associational life and participation in social networks
enables the enhancement of educational achievement, the promotion of health and the reduction
of crime and so on. Social interaction enables people to build communities, to commit
themselves to each other, and to knit the social fabric and there by gaining both social and
economic benefits.
References:
 http://www.jas.sagepub.com
 http://www.wikipedia.org
 http://link.springer.com
 http://www.thesociologicalcinema.com
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