Theory and Practice of Successful Entrepreneurship - Case Study Example

Analytical I do agree with Henry Ford’s statement “industrialization is prosperity and prosperity brings about world peace”. Henry Ford was one of the greatest people in the United States and was respected by all due to the kind of change he brought in relation to industrialization. The Americans strongly believed in him and he was therefore the one to bring about motor vehicle industry revolution in America. Actually, there are many reasons that made Henry to issue such a statement. He issued this statement while giving a speech regarding his collaboration with the Soviet Union. Henry helped Americans In solving many problems that was related to industrialization. His main dream was to enhance peace in the world through creating good relation among nations. Bringing Henry’s statement to a real life situation, it seems to make sense because industrialization is somehow connected to civilization and civilization in this case means high level of literacy. According to the research carried out over the last ten years, it is evidently true that the main cause of war is idleness. For instance, the issue of unemployment tends to serve as a major threat to the economical status of a country. The jobless will always clutch at anything o earn a living and this is what has led to the increase in crime rates following the statistics of various countries. Industrialization may also lead to the establishment of various businesses hence providing employment opportunities to the jobless. Looking at the various entrepreneurship activities and strategies, there are certain barrier in the field of entrepreneurship and innovation. Henry being an entrepreneur, his statement can be proved true through looking at some of the enterprenual activities in both the past and present. Over the past few years there has been a sort of re-evaluation of the whole concept of entrepreneurship all that it takes for someone to become one. Authorities and governments in various places have recognized the necessity and the importance of nurturing entrepreneurs. Many governments, across the world have come to discover the vital role entrepreneurs play in the political, economic and social welfare of citizens or a nation as whole. In the U.K. for instance, business enterprises are the main drivers of the economy and that is why UK government has come up with policies that target entrepreneurs in a bid to improve the economic performance of their government. Entrepreneurial activity and minds are vital to building a stable and sustainable economy. This can be explained in so many ways for instance it creates job opportunities, growth and makes the currency stronger. A number of things do contribute to increasing entrepreneurial activities in a country and in the developing of an entrepreneurial economy. The UK Government is so determined to promote enterprises particularly those activities which aim at achieving economic goals and those that also aim at increasing the productivity of the UK as an economic block. Many scholars have come up with different definitions but for the sake of this study a few qualify to be used for this study especially those that seem to be having the same meaning but only different wording. Both experts and practitioners seem to agree that entrepreneurship is basically an activity which involves the realization ,evaluations and exploitation of economic opportunities in a bid to realize or avail goods and services for the people ,penetrating new markets through putting together efforts which were not previously in existence .Others believe that entrepreneurship basically involves bringing together ideas and converting them to form end products that benefit people (Jensen 2006, p82). Competition and market dynamism Some of the biggest problems in matters entrepreneurship is the challenges of the market for instance business start ups and competition .When an individual come up with an innovation of a product that they intend to sell to a wider market for instance international market, they lack information about other far flung markets .A good example of this is seen when a film industry by the name Viacom was coming up and attempted to make it internationally. This was an entertainment company whose target audience includes television, film, radio, digital media and a wide range of other activities. This industry is ever changing and changes at an extremely rapid pace. Another barrier that is closely related to this is the fact that entrepreneurship in some fields for instance the entertainment industry requires a high amount of capital to remain a competitive force within the business. The biggest problem when it comes to matters concerning start up capital can be solved by organisations being able to reinvent themselves and become more entrepreneurial.Companies within this industry must innovate to be able to prosper with the rapid pace in which media and entertainment changes and a company must possess the wherewithal and the monetary capability to remain competitive (Porras 2005). Another big barrier is to do with embracing technology and incorporating trends in ones innovation. Most people’s lifestyles today are driven by technological savvy innovations and if one is interested in coming up with an innovation or any other kind of entrepreneurial idea, they have to ensure that they make it possible to be compatible with currents means of accessing it say for instance it should be easily accessible via internet. For instance in the entertainment industry one has to continuously make advertisements on the web using a website where customers can visit and get to know more about the company. In the midst of the pay television market showing growing signs of impending saturation debate brews over the actual cause are the issues related to the proliferation of video streaming internet pay sites or other “free” streaming venues or rather just a byproduct of a depressed economy hard hit by lost jobs and socioeconomic distress .Cord-cutting seems to belong to members of society lacking monetary means to pay for these traditional services without sacrifice, thus opting for lower cost innovations (Sutia 2002, p.26).Nevertheless, these trends may become the norm for many younger individuals, often college educated and seemingly indifferent to how content is delivered due to familiarity with various new media devices. With an industry loss of over three hundred thousand household traditional broadcast subscriptions in 2010 content owners must keep attuned to the potential lost revenues and supporting financial base television continuously enjoyed for more than thirty years. Longevity Most innovations lack longevity and that is another serious barrier.Entreprenrurs have very big problem of coming up with concepts that can last longer in the market. Most young entrepreneurs create new innovations but unfortunately they lose relevance or are overtaken with tine in as far as their applicability is concerned. A good technology is that which can stand taste of time and can still be used decades after its invention.Longeveity does help a business person a great deal .when it comes to customer loyalty, an invention that has along shelve life is more likely to be liked and sell more than that which has limited shelve life. Indeed, even the much talked about economic growth seen with older companies depends on the support of content owners who risk losing potential new market share if left behind due to inaction and lack of strategy in securing the new viewing audience of the internet television surge. Most entrepreneurs lack means or strategies of ensuring that their product stays in the market for longer periods of time. For a company to grow and become international it has to be different by coming up with technologies and ideas that the market lacks .Apple is unique and has a loyal and devoted following. Sometimes back, Apple had a relatively strong market share in bigger organizations and companies. For instance in the 1970's the very first spreadsheet data program called VisiCalc was launched and came together with the Apple II. To remain relevant, Apple still relates with other corporations like Microsoft who still a team that is dedicated to developing applications and coming up with business software mainly for the Apple Mac. A new version of Microsoft Office program for Apple Mac was released two years before same functionality was placed in the following version of Microsoft Office for Windows operating system. In the next few years, Apple seems to be interested in re-focusing on the corporate market. In 2009, Apple came up with what they called snow leopard, which was the new version of operating system meant for Apple Mac, it entailed features that allowed Mac computers to support the Microsoft Exchange. This improvement was essentially aimed at enabling corporate information and technology departments to help in supporting business users that had an interest in using Apple Mac for their email clients. Social forces that come as barriers Societal trends indicate a move toward internet capable media devices with viewership up by almost 96 percent since 2010.For any entrepreneur attempting to come up with an innovation, one of the targets he should never miss is the social media because there is where most the youthful people are found and even some older people. Unfortunately, managing to incorporate that in any business is the biggest problem and many entrepreneurs find it such a big barrier. Most entrepreneurs have a problem with ensuring that their message or innovation gets to the intended target group. With new contenders entering the internet video streaming scene regularly including shopping pioneer and popular open-source system providers attempting to provide content to a multitude of users up against heavy weights in matters innovation like Google and Microsoft. It is believed that any entrepreneur who intends attempts his or her hand on innovations to content providers must stay abreast of societal demands whether for internet or the others .The popularity of social network sites like Facebook and twitter which claims five hundred million users gives credence to various site owners such as Google’s YouTube currently gearing up to create viewer content instead of licensing from traditional providers which the company plans to make available as channels along with highly sought social-networking features ,but clearly this k9ind of innovation requires a lot of ordination and its Is very complex. Technical forces affect the industry as barriers. Technology is another barrier that greatly affects growth .companies that come up with obsolete technology finds it difficult to experience growth or development of any nature. For a company or entrepreneurs to incorporate state of the rat technology in their new concepts or ideas it costs them fortune. Technology is expensive and affording technology that is consistent with time is such an uphill task. In the world of electronics, there is always a lot of dynamism and different markets have different tastes and preferences .Some of the companies that come up with modern technologies only allow a few partners whose devices can operate together for instance when apple Inc. came up with their Ipad they did not want some other companies to partner with them and in fact they blocked their device from working together with others. Other related technology such as approximately 20 mobile TV devices showcased at the recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada intended to work in conjunction with slightly limited mobile digital signals nationwide eagerly await long sought recognition in the playing field . Among the mix are many tables, a display device created for use in automobiles, a 3-dimensional screened hand-held device, as well as a device intended for aiding iPad and iPhone in receiving mobile digital signals. To penetrate international markets and boost their sales, Apple took advantage of the iPod and ipad craze and the halo effect that came with their advent. Owing to the fact that Apple's iTunes and iPhone music concept is being very profitable, Apple’s decision to venture in it was basically a strategy of using music to increase the appeal of Apple products and the brand. By using iTunes, iPads, iPod and iPhone to boost the image and brand personality of Apple, the organization indeed made an impact globally. This market strategy did not only boost sales but helped Apple increase relevance and create close association with consumers. Apple had to partner with other organizations for them to achieve some of their goals for instance they partnered with Starbucks to make their ITunes strategy a success (Hopkins 2007, p.46). According to industry pundits Apple was not necessarily the first company to come up with iPad but they came up with the best than their competition. When there was that iPad, iPod and iPhone halo effect, Apple Inc. banked on the idea that the popularity and preference of iPods, iPads and iTunes would make consumers to get some interest in Apple's products. This did happen indeed and from the inception of iPod and iTunes, there has been an overwhelming rise in the sales of Apple's products. A few years ago, the aspirations of Apple inc. to benefit from the iPod and iPad halo effect was highlighted and clearly brought out when Apple phrases that implied that they are the `creators’ of iPod while doing the iMac G5 advertisements. From this .the Apple products and solutions became popular for having been made to be part of an attractive branding system which basically originated in the PC market, then went into the electronics market, and then went back to PC market (Brinckerhoff 2004).Feuds with wasted some good amount of time that could have been used for development and growth of the two companies which had merged (Bygrave 2003). Personal attributes Personality characteristics of an entrepreneur are formed basically by the interplay between him and his environment. Some entrepreneurs have been very hard working but unfortunately their personal attribute seem not to tick and work for them but against them. If it is an organization or a company, the personal attributes of the top level officials will greatly determine whether the company will grow or not (Austin 2004). There are those that have attributes which seem to be meant for growth and development because their entities grow too fast. A good example here is Steve jobs of Apple .In this case Jobs’ vast experience play a big role in the success of Apple .Some theories on entrepreneurship that can be used to describe Jobs’ success include McClelland’s theory of desire to achieve and succeed. According to this theory, someone who has a strong desire to realize business success he should be ready to tackle and solve problems by himself and have achievable targets. Mr. Jobs has always been keen with his competition and handling competition is one of his strongest points. At some point Corporations like Google, Adobe and many others have on several occasions accused Apple of using its popularity and clout to fight their technologies in the market. One of the loudest accusations came following Apple’s barring third party software and programming solution from the iPad, for instance Adobe's Flash, widely and commonly used for creating online videos and other internet applications (Barker 2005). This led to public verbal war between Apple and Adobe. In 2010 Apple made things difficult for Google when they came up with a new mobile advertisement market policy which barred Google from selling adverts on iPhone 4. Apple maintains a tight and strict control over what kind of programs can appear or can be compatible with the iPhone. This idea got hit a little harder in mid 2010, when the US authorities declared it illegal for an organization or corporation to bypass a mobile phone's controls on which software or programs it can run. These became a topic of debate and heated discussions between the authorities at Apple, who believe that they have the right to control the kind of software that operates on their devices. Apple’s authorities also argued that by altering the gadget, it encouraged crooks to pirate applications, and that also exposed iPhones dangerous security risks. References Austin, J 2004, The Collaboration Challenge: How Nonprofits and Businesses Succeed Through Strategic Alliances, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers. Barker, J 2005, Paradigms: The Business of Discovering the Future, New York: HarperBusiness, A Division of HarperCollins Publishers. Brinckerhoff, P 2004, Social Entrepreneurship: The Art of Mission-Based Venture Development, New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Bygrave, W 2003, The Portable MBA in Entrepreneurship, 3rd Edition, New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Hopkins, B 2007, A Legal Guide to Starting and Managing a Nonprofit Organisation. Wiley. p46 Jensen, B 2006, Simplicity: The New Competitive Advantage in a World of More, Better, Faster, Perseus. p82 Porras, J 2005, Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies, New York: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. Sutia, K 2002, Managing the Double Bottom Line: A Business Planning Guide for Social Enterprises. Washington, D.C., p26 Stuart, A. 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