WHAT MAKES SOCIETY: SOCIETY

Society
The New World Encyclopedia has described society as an association of
people who have shared interests and may have their own culture and traditions. A
"society" might refer to a specific ethnic group like the Nuer, a nation-state like
Switzerland, or a wider cultural group like Western culture. A society is an
organized collection of people who get together for religious, charitable, cultural,
scientific, political, patriotic, or other objectives. The term society is taken from
the French société that dates back to the fourteenth century. The French term
societas comes from the Latin societas, which means "a cordial relationship with
others," and is derived from socius, which means "fellow, associate, comrade, or
business partner” (ECU, n.d.). The members of a society must have some common
concern or interest, a shared goal, or traits, and in many cases, a common culture.
Human societies are characterized by patterns of interactions (social relations)
between individuals who share a similar culture and institutions; the total of these
connections may be considered the society's component members. According to
the social sciences, stratification and dominant tendencies in subgroups are
commonly observed in larger communities. If a society is collaborative, its
constituents can benefit in ways that would not be possible on an individual basis;
both personal and societal (shared) gains can therefore be distinguished, or in many
cases, overlapped.
A society can be made up of harmonious people who are governed by their
own set of laws and values within a larger, dominant society. A society can be a
specific ethnic group, such as the Saxons, a nation-state, like Bhutan, or a larger
cultural community, like Western civilization. A "society" can also refer to a social
structure, such as an ant colony, or any cooperative aggregation, such as some
artificial intelligence formulations.

Innovation
Pete Foley has described innovation as "a fantastic idea performed
wonderfully and conveyed in a way that is both intuitive and completely embraces
the initial concept's brilliance. To succeed, we'll need all of these components.
Breakthrough or disruptive innovation is defined as anything that either creates a
new category or drastically alters an existing one, rendering the current market
leader obsolete. We may make ourselves or others obsolete, and it can be 'sexy' or
meet a fundamental human need - for me, the iPad and disposable diapers both
qualify. However, it must either establish a new market or significantly alter an
existing one." Innovation is essentially about coming up with new ways to adapt to
change. It's all about birthing fresh ideas, performing research and development,
refining procedures, and redesigning goods and services.
On a deeper level, it's about one’s company's mindset: one in which their
employees are continuously focused on continual development and constantly
thinking outside the box. It might be convenient to look at examples of other
entrepreneurs who have created or are building a name for themselves. A larger-
scale endeavor where a new product or service, such as Google, has profoundly
transformed how they conducted business. It might also be a low-cost internal
project, such as refining a company process, resulting in significant cost savings.
Through this, the paper aims to discuss the connection between society and
innovation and its costs and benefits.

Social Innovation and Economic Growth

Assessing a prosperous society as a whole can be quite difficult. Apart from

substantial GDP development, one must need to witness peace and happiness,
economic and financial well-being, and individual freedoms and rights to define a
community as prosperous (Urama et al, 2013). To put it another way, Urama and
Acheampong have described that a wealthy community is combined by both
economic and social prosperity. The USA in the two decades following World War
II is an example of a successful society. During this time, the country saw
remarkable economic growth and the development of numerous important new
sectors, including electronics, aircraft, plastics, and frozen foods. The United States
arose by embracing technology and capitalizing on the trust that free-market`
economics and democracy provided. As a result of all the additional funds created
and the social structures and governmental policies in place (for example, powerful
unions and high-income taxes), affluence was distributed across society. More
middle-class jobs meant greater earnings, which drove consumer demand by
allowing more people to purchase houses and leisure activities. The United States
has become a very materialistic culture in terms of social structure. The United
States saw a population boom and the beginning of the civil rights movement
during this period, both of which had far-reaching implications for the country's
political and economic institutions.

If money is concentrated in the hands of a privileged few rather than being

spread freely, nations that experience economic prosperity aren't truly prosperous.
Because social and economic prosperity is intricately linked and mutually
dependant, this is the case. Good health, well-being, access to lifelong learning,
social inclusion, safety, stability, and citizenship are all necessary for social
success. Workforce development, job creation, fiscal discipline, a green economy,
infrastructure development, and energy supply are all necessary for economic
success. Effective coordination and collaboration between the two will result in a
long-term social fabric that supports self-sufficiency and prosperity.

Integrating Social Innovation with Science, Technology, and Innovation

Social innovation offers enormous yet untapped potential for fostering

science, technology, and innovation growth in Africa. The majority of Africa's
current social innovation efforts are at the grassroots level, with little potential to
influence decisions at higher levels. In the agriculture sector, we've seen creative
applications like M-Shamba and Farmerline, which were developed at the
grassroots to give farmers vital information on agricultural best practices and
climate change mitigation (Okello, 2012).

Many easy approaches exist for governments to improve the atmosphere for
creativity and encourage the expansion of research, technology, and innovation.
The government's primary advisory council on science, innovation, and research
(SITRA) in Finland, for example, has proposed that innovativeness establish a
criterion for competitive bidding in public procurement. They also suggested that a
certain amount of money be set aside for government agencies' innovation and
development efforts, which are commonly considered to encompass service
innovation.

Although it is encouraging to see that social innovation has sparked widespread

interest, there are three concerns that need to be tackled if we are to see even more
inventions for social and economic prosperity:
● When it comes to science, technology, and innovation policy, social
innovation must be expressly considered. Policies must provide democratic
 forums where various professionals may engage in order to ensure that
innovation benefits the whole society.
● Requiring effective coordination and integration of social innovation
initiatives in national and regional socio-economic planning to enable their
successful implementation in diverse nations.
● Only if there is adequate ability to scale up social innovation can it be
successful. For social innovators to succeed, they must revitalize the social
foundation by investing heavily in capacity building and providing a
platform that encourages contact and cooperation.

The Arduous Relationship Between Innovation and Society

Innovation Has been a Driving Force in order for Society to Foster

Modernization

Since it tackles diverse social issues and enhances society's ability to

respond, innovation is important to society's growth. It is in charge of utilizing
emerging technology to address social issues in a cost-effective and sustainable
manner. These cutting-edge technologies, commodities, and services meet a social
need while also improving skills and maximizing asset and resource use. Many
variables influence the creation and effective application of new (innovation)
technology, goods, and services in our lives. Economic, legal, social,
informational, and other issues are among them. As well as elements that appear at
the organizational (business) and personal levels that include a system for
educating highly skilled employees, an organization's quality management system,
an individual's organization and readiness to carry out research and development
activity, and so on.

Innovation has redefined Society through:

Technology

Information and communications technologies are playing an increasingly

important role in all aspects of social existence, shaking the foundations of social
structures and processes, that result in dramatic transformations in politics,
business, culture, and everyday life. But "new" technology has a far broader
impact: innovation is altering our civilization. The next huge societal
transformation will be at this degree of integration. Not only is the world
reinventing itself around digital innovation, but also around the businesses that
offer those services.

Culture

According to a cultural perspective, we are living in an information society

because our lives are invaded by a globalized, massively digitalized media culture
that has become our primary source of meaning and purpose that essentially
defines our way of life. Several theories sought to describe the cultural
characteristics of the information society, resulting in a global cultural foundation
that could be utilized as a global reference framework for the media. This
technique also suggests that in the information age, the media have a particular
position and are the most significant drivers of social relationships.

Economy

One of the most significant advantages of innovation is that the contribution

it makes to economic growth. Increased productivity can result from innovation,
which means that the same amount of input generates greater output. As
productivity grows, more items and services are generated, indicating that the
economy expands. The rise in the inflation-adjusted market value of an economy's
products and services through time is referred to as economic growth. It's usually
expressed as a percentage change in real gross domestic output, or real GDP.

The Detriments Imposed by Products of Innovation

Despite a firm anchoring of innovation in strategies, things might appear

quite different in daily life: the day-to-day business takes precedence. And
originality is only a platitude. One of the primary reasons why innovations fail is
due to an unfulfilled commitment and a lack of support for innovation. As a result,
numerous resources are wasted due to friction, and innovative activities that don’t
adhere to the needed standard.

Externalities
 Externalities arise when the production or consumption of an item has an
influence on individuals who are not directly involved in the transaction.
Externalities can be advantageous or detrimental. They can also be developed as a
result of production or consumption. For an instance, driving to a city center
increases pollution and traffic congestion for city inhabitants.

● Air pollution

Air pollution occurs when harmful or excessive volumes of gases like carbon
dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitric oxide, and methane are pumped
into the earth's atmosphere. All of the main sources deal with technology
developed during the industrial revolution, such as fossil fuel combustion,
factories, power plants, mass agriculture, and cars. Higher quantities of
greenhouse gases in the atmosphere trap thermal energy in the Earth's atmosphere,
causing the global temperature to increase. Air pollution has negative health
impacts on humans and animals, as well as contributing to global warming. (e.g.,
chemical vapors and smoke that are blown out of factories through vents and
smokestacks, contaminating the air).

Exhaustion of Resources due to Innovation Technology

Natural resources are provided by the world without human intervention.

They are essential for human existence, but if consumed at a faster rate than their
natural renewal, as is the situation now, they will be debilitated. As the world's
population rises, so does the rate at which natural resources deteriorate. As a
result, the global eco-footprint is projected to be one-and-a-half times the earth's
ability to sustainably provide adequate resources to meet each individual's
consumption levels. Since the industrial revolution, large-scale mineral and oil
exploration has significantly increased, leading in the rise of natural oil and
mineral depletion. Because of improvements in technology, development, and
research, mining minerals has gotten simpler, and humans are digging deeper to
get access to more, causing innumerable resources to see a drop in production.

Although innovative activities and products aren't always significant enough

to protect the world, humans can improve anything they could possibly think of.
Small steps lead to bigger and better ideas, which might one day become
revolutionary. Because there are so many different methods to innovate, getting
started may be the hardest step. There is no single solution that will solve all
challenges. From technology to the environment, to the labor market, and
everything in between, innovation aids in the discovery of numerous answers to
society's problems. Even though it was the best option at some time, what worked
in the past will not necessarily work in the future. Innovation entails risk, but the
payoff is nearly always substantial.

References:

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A., Hengsberger. (2018, April 27). 4 reason why innovation fail. Retrieved
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fail

BDC. (n.d.). What is innovation? Building a more creative business.

Retrieved from https://www.bdc.ca/en/articles-tools/business-strategy-
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East Carolina University. (n.d.). Defining Society. Retrieved from

http://core.ecu.edu/soci/juskaa/SOCI2110/Lectures/Lect1

Edinburgh Sensors. (2019, November 13). The Impact of Technology on the

Environment and How Environmental Technology Could Save Our
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N., Skillicorn. (2016, March 18). What is innovation? 15 experts share their
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https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Society

C., Okello. (2012). M-shamba. Retrieved from

https://www.changemakers.com/discussions/entries/m-shamba-ltd

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