BUS 374 Week 3 Reflection

Social innovation comes as a result of wanting to fix problems that society faces. This week, we focused on how to identify those big problems. Once the problem was identified, it is important to get down to the root cause. There are several different ways to identify the root cause including cause and effect analysis, the 5 whys and the fishbone tool. The purpose of each method is to take the problem and break it down into smaller and smaller bits. These bits are how we identify the root cause and what we can build social innovation around.

The 5 why's really stood out to me. It takes the big problem and asks why. That breaks it down to a smaller problem. Each subsequent why takes the problem smaller and smaller until there is something small enough that a counter measure can be put in place to prevent each issue from compounding into the big issue. I think the 5 why's stands out to me so much because it has practical use outside of social innovation. I can use it as a quick mental exercise anytime I run into a speed bump in any task I'm doing. 

The social issue I selected has to do with students being able to access special education support without families having to put up a fight with their school district or learn case law in order to hold a district accountable. Because I have 2 children with learning differences, I have had to enlist the help of our school district in getting my children the support that they need in order to learn. This was incredibly difficult for me to navigate and I ended up having to spend thousands of dollars on doctor's evaluations and educational advocates to guide me through the bureaucratic red tape needed to have my children's needs taken seriously. While going through this process, I learned that it wasn't just a problem for me or even just for parents in my district. This is a nationwide problem. I am most looking forward to finding a way to help families like mine not have to sacrifice money or critical educational time in order for their children to receive an education.