Mark Elliot Zuckerberg an Example of an Entrepreneur - Essay Example

? The Entrepreneur I Most Admire of the Number Module and Number Due Word Count Mark Zuckerberg The growth and successof a business organization substantially depends on the efficiency of the various factors of production. Entrepreneurship or organization is the most important factor service that helps to synchronize all the other factor services used in an organization. According to the view of the researcher, Mark Elliot Zuckerberg is a living example of an ideal entrepreneur. He is a young American corporate computer programmer as well as an internet entrepreneur. He was born in 14th of May, 1984. The role of social media is priceless in the contemporary world. Both for commercial and non-commercial purposes, internet media sites or companies, supported social media, have turned out to be giant multinational firms. Mark Elliot Zuckerberg is one, among the five skilful and innovative co-founders of Facebook. As recorded in April 2013, Zuckerberg had become the chief executive and the chairman of Facebook Inc. Thus, Zuckerberg is a corporate entrepreneur of the famous publicly traded company (in National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations). Zuckerberg is the living example that emphasizes the fact that a common student of Harvard University can actually be creative enough to promote such a famous company and acquire a net worth of about US $19 billion. Zuckerberg belonged to a middle income family in White Plains, New York. His mother was a psychiatrist and his father was a doctor. Right from his early age, he had special interest in computer related affairs. At the age of 12 years, he used the software of Atari BASIC to make a special message program named “Zucknet”. Despite his interest in computers, Zuckerberg had excelled in literature studies. In his school life, he had invented the special music software named “Synapse”. Companies like, Microsoft and AOL, had showed active interest in purchasing the special software from the young creative student. However, the most interesting factor was that the genius undergraduate student (Zuckerberg) did not accept the heavy price offers of these famous software giants. Zuckerberg enrolled himself in the Harvard University after completing his graduation from Exeter. In his university life, Zuckerberg had introduced a special program named “CourseMatch”. This software helped the students to find their classes on the basis of the different selected sources. Later on, he even invented special software that was related to social networking. Finally, with the help of some of his friends, Zuckerberg invented the special software of Facebook within his university days. Overtime, this social network has become popular among millions of users, thereby turning Zuckerberg into a corporate business entrepreneur (Migliorisi and College, n.d.). According to the view of the researcher, Zuckerberg sets the best example of an entrepreneur. It is highly rational to analyze his entrepreneurial skills. Zuckerberg even possess high quality of personal skills. An entrepreneur would only be successful in the long run if he has good personal habits and knowledge. The above profile of the person explains that he has the best of knowledge and personal skills that are all required for an entrepreneur. He also possesses the crucial skill of effective communication which facilitates the promotion of his invention and creativity to millions of individuals today. Zuckerberg is a living legend in the business world and his contribution in the corporate, social and economic fields is priceless. Facebook, in the current epoch, is not only used for the purpose of social communication, but is also valid for the usage of business-to-business as well as business-to-consumer transactions. Zuckerberg is not only creative in nature, but is also a good leader in the industry. He is the best living example that enumerates the true power of human capital in the world. Similarly like economic capital, produced means of production, human capital is also a productive resource in the market that might generate undesirable results in the world. According to the researcher, Zuckerberg through his good entrepreneurial skills have not only enhanced the social lives of people, but have also helped the business firms to conduct their own business growth programs. Thus, it is highly rational and logical to analyze the entrepreneurial skills of Mark Zuckerberg (Gonzalez-Alvarez and Solis-Rodriguez, 2011). Theoretical Concepts In this context of the paper, the researcher would analyze the entrepreneurial skills of Mark Zuckerberg. There are basically three dimensions in the conceptual framework of the study of entrepreneurship. These three dimensions concentrate more on the concept of entrepreneurial behaviour rather than simple entrepreneurship process as a whole. There three dimensions are: Process Behaviour Outcomes The beginning of a new business venture is encompassed by the entrepreneurial process. Besides the management of a business firm, the concept of entrepreneurial process also includes other factors within it (Crayford, Fearon, McLaughlin and Vuuren, 2012). An entrepreneur must be able to find, develop and evaluate the impending business opportunities by surmounting the different negativities that resist the growth of a business. Mark Zuckerberg had abided by the basic rules of entrepreneurship process. It was his creativity that had helped to produce the social networking software in the digital market. He had realized that social network was a factor that could connect people all across the world. It was a highly relevant invention because in the globalized world, where trading practices between nations thrives, social networking is a crucial factor that facilities further growth and improvement in international trade. The whole world has merged into one zone with the help of social networking practices. There were many legal issues that had resisted the start-up of the company initially. It was claimed by some legal authorities that Facebook’s business idea imitated another business idea, created by some other entrepreneur. However, the company, with the help of the correct entrepreneurial skills of Zuckerberg, surmounted all such problems and turned out to be a successful organization in the long run. Mark Zuckerberg reflects the perfect behavioural traits as expected from a good entrepreneur. He was ambitious in nature; if in the undergraduate stage, he would’ve sold off his software to the big companies for big money, then he might not have become such a great personality in future. He could achieve such success in life only because he had the thirst of becoming a great inventor and entrepreneur in future. He, as a good entrepreneur, is extremely humble and possesses good communication skills. He has the power to motivate a large number of individuals for further new achievements in business. His business role in Facebook is also a “one man show” at an extent. Thus, this upholds his good leadership skills in business. The extensive business success of Facebook has been achieved only through good entrepreneurial skills of Mark Zuckerberg. The company, as recorded in 2012, has earned an operating income of about US $538 million. Inspite of being founded recently in 2004, the company has achieved almost a ten-fold growth rate already. The revenue of the company, as recorded in 2012, was $5.1 billion. The company now owns assets worth US $15.10 billion. Apart from economic returns, the company has generated employment opportunities for about 5794 employees. Such good economic and non-economic returns in business and social networking could only be achieved with the exceptional entrepreneurial skills of Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook, 2012). Mark Zuckerberg possesses all those traits and qualities that a good entrepreneur must have. These are: Energy: The success of Mark Zuckerberg in an early age shows that he is extremely energetic at his work. He had not confined his skills only to the field of science and technology. He excels in all dimensions of knowledge. Starting up such a big organization in an early age along with acquiring high productive returns would not be possible for him without the benefit of enthusiasm and energy. Not Terrified of Change: Zuckerberg had never shown resistance to business changes. The type of software used in the networking site of Facebook has been changing since the inception of the company. The outlook of the software and the features are constantly upgraded in order to deliver better communication facilities. This dynamic approach of the organization could not be achieved without the help of the business changing initiatives of Zuckerberg. Takes Risks: Zuckerberg has always stated that “Move fast take risks, it’s ok to try things.” According to him, risks taken in the business can only help in achieving success, sooner or later. Focused: Right from his childhood, Zuckerberg was focused on promoting a new company with new views and ideas. Regardless of all the business difficulties, he had the power to convert his university devisal into a big multinational service providing company. Excellent Vision: Social networking requirement in the market is indispensable in this era of globalization. It was the excellent vision of Zuckerberg that has proved to be advantageous for all the corporate and non-corporate individuals (through the use of social networking). Persistence: His entrepreneurship traits show effective persistence, which also ensures the success of Facebook. Relationship Oriented: Zuckerberg realized that good relationship between the entrepreneurs and the consumers as well as employees in the organization is very crucial for the success of a company. This is the underlying force that helps to maintain the workers motivation in the company. Economists believe that a company’s growth is demand driven. Mark Zuckerberg has changed this notion in business. This is because when Facebook had started its business in the market, the demand in the market for social networking was almost zero. After the company launched its business, the experience of the product in the market had attracted consumers of all ages and income groups worldwide. Therefore, according to the researcher, risk taking, creativity and determination are the three pivotal entrepreneurship traits of Mark Zuckerberg. Entrepreneurial Strategy This context of the paper would explain the internal nature of Facebook’s business under the entrepreneurial regime of Mark Zuckerberg. The Business Life Cycle of Zuckerberg can be understood by observing the life cycle of Facebook. This cycle explains about the scale and scope of operations of the company. Figure 1: Business Life Cycle (Source: Authors Creation) Right from its inception, Facebook has achieved substantial amount of growth in business. The average growth rate of the company has been almost 55% annually (ISU, 2013). However, after analyzing the recent studies, it can be stated that the company has reached the stage of maturity in business. Rather the position of the company can be slightly right of the peak in the above graph. This is because a steeper rising rate of a company ensures that it reaches its maturity faster (Abeles, 2001). This is the reason for which the marketers of the company are now trying to improve their level of advertisement investment. It is believed by the authorities of the company that promotional activities would help to augment the level of growth for them. In the recent studies, the e-business growth strategy is explained efficiently with the help of growth models stated by Nolan and Grenier. The growth model for e-business was invented by Richard L. Nolan in 1970. There are six stages in this growth model namely: Initiation Contagion Control Integration Data Administration Maturity The researcher believes that the market position of Facebook is in the Maturity stage. This is because the company is now trying to raise its extent of opportunistic and competitive applications. The company is now undertaking strategic programs that would facilitate its future growth. The Greiner growth model (1972) is seen to state that a company gradually goes through various phases in the course of its business. Figure 2: Greiner Curve (Source: Changing Minds, 2013) The above diagram shows the different stages of a Greiner curve. According to the views of Greiner, companies with a fast growth rate often face certain problems regarding the management of workplace. This curve basically explains the various critical situations that a company faces in the course of business growth. The researcher suggests that Facebook is in its phase 4 (growth through monitoring and coordination) stage. According to the features of this stage, all the investments in the company are made on the basis of return on investment. The profit and the incentives of the company are shared by all the stakeholders. It is claimed that soon a situation would come, when the growth of the company would be overshadowed by the increasing number of bureaucracies. Lastly, this phase for the company would end in a Red Tape Crisis. A new business structure and culture for the company must be introduced to sustain the long term growth of the organization. Facebook’s original Business Model is the Old Internet Business Model (Dixon, 2012). This model states that a company can significantly grow with the help of advertisements through its web pages. However, it should be noted that extensive Display Ads negatively affects the user’s experience in the networking site of the company. The company generates lesser revenue than Google due to this reason. The analysts of the company are trying to introduce new business models that would not disturb the experiences of the Facebook users. The company is a profit maximizing publicly traded multinational organization. However, the company also attempts to maximize the welfare of the society by allowing its business stakeholders to enjoy its business surpluses. There are various types of opportunities available to the company for future growth. The company has a high brand value in the market and can easily increase the scale of its business with the help of strategic alliances. Data collection on different topics of business can easily be done. This can help the company to make future productive investments in different business segments in the market. The company still owns the power to influence the social and economic decision making activities of the individuals across the world. Vicarious learning in business deals with various factors learnt by a business firm from its external environment and implements the same in its business. The company has widened the scope of commercial activities in its social networking site. Many companies conduct their business promotional activities through Facebook. Innumerable recruitment processes are also carried out on this site. The company has attempted to undertake this initiative after observing the growing commercial activities in the digital marketplaces. As a part of the peer learning, Mark Zuckerberg has successfully imbibed his technical knowledge in designing the software for the company. The very idea of social networking is created by Facebook that allows individuals to communicate with each other with the help of pictures, music and videos. It is this networking site that serves the corporate and household clients with attainable thresholds of business. Facebook is a highly competitive company guided by the entrepreneurship of Zuckerberg. It can be stated that the company’s creativity is more inclined towards masculine driven characteristics. This is because the company attempts to maximize its economic surplus in the present competitive market of social internet media. The working characteristics of the company are mainly Left Brain Centric. This is because the company follows a linear, sequential, logical, realistic, verbal and symbolic approach in business. The company’s high level of creative thinking tools and experimental capabilities of Zuckerberg has been explained previously in the paper (Glover, 2013). The company primarily uses the tool of entrepreneurial marketing, apart from the traditional marketing methods (Marketing Schools, 2012). This type of a marketing method primarily concentrates on the idea of marketing spirit. The company uses the Viral and Digital pattern of entrepreneurial marketing. Under this regime, Facebook spreads their marketing messages on the internet to realize the customers’ analysis about the strategy adopted by the firm. Internet media is the primary source of any marketing activity undertaken by Facebook. The logo of the company is patented and the company claims to protect all the personal information of its network users. National security is a crucial determinant for the company. The company has a high brand value in all countries irrespectively (Bridge, 2013). The company as stated above has an efficient communication team and the organizational pattern is Participatory in nature. The ideas and concepts of all the employees of the company are considered during undertaking a business decision. Operating worldwide, the company acquires finances from the business stakeholders like, shareholders, business support groups and financial institutions. Evaluating Learning Outcomes A. Knowledge and Understanding Strategic decision in business helps an organization to achieve substantial growth by employing minimum time and cost. The context of the paper explains that the role of an entrepreneur in strategic business management is priceless. The factors that help in the strategic decision making in business are: Substantial amount of financial resources. The future oriented attitude of the key officials of the organization. The external environment where the firm operates. The decisions in business that are taken by the top management officials. With the help of knowledge and business understanding, the organizations can earn higher profits in future, enjoy greater goodwill in the market and expand its scale of business operations (Ferri, Deakins and Whittam, 2009). After the on-set of globalization in the economy, the state of economic affairs between the nations has become highly integrated. The cross-cultural and global dimensions in business have expanded with the economies opening up to the global market. The business decisions undertaken by an organization, at present, substantially depends on the changes in the global market. B. Cognitive Skills The paper is created on the basis of information accumulated from authentic secondary resources. The valuable knowledge gathered from the sources has been useful to the researcher, as it has facilitated the analysis of the desired topic efficiently. C. Practical and Professional Skills The researcher has gained substantial amount of commercial awareness regarding the business issues and priorities. It has been analyzed that the factors used in the production of a business are the key determining factors for its long term growth. However, among all the factors of production, entrepreneurship is the most crucial growth influencing factor. The primary issue of an organization is to reduce its business cost subjected to maximization of optimal revenue and profit. D. Key Transferable Skills According to the view of the researcher, Facebook is a superior social networking company in the market. The success of the company is largely dedicated to the young and prodigious entrepreneur, Mark Zuckerberg. The company has grown almost by 50% annually since 2004, only with the creative and innovative contribution of Zuckerberg. Despite a short learning curve, the organization has adopted certain business decisions which have been undertaken by matured established companies. Facebook is a true example which elaborates the fact that a company can show a magical progress, provided the officials are creative. The company has completely changed the rules of economics. It has proved that the profit of an organization is not necessarily demand driven in nature. Surplus generated largely depends on the success factor of an entrepreneurship. However, it is also true that the company would soon lose its profit without the help of efficient marketing strategies. The lateral thinking perspectives of entrepreneurship is the core driving force of success for Facebook. Indeed, innovation and creative solutions introduced by the entrepreneurs in business can be the ultimate success factor for the corporation in the present competitive market. Reference List Abeles, T. P., 2001. The Impact of Globalization. On the Horizon, 9(2), pp.2 – 4. Bridge, S., 2013. Reflections on the omission of social capital from enterprise education and business start training. Journal of Education and Training, 55(8/9), pp.899 – 910. Changing Minds, 2013. The Greiner Growth Model. [online] Available at: [Accessed 5 December]. Crayford, J., Fearon, C., McLaughlin, H. and Vuuren, W. V., 2012. Affirming entrepreneurial education: learning, employability and personal development. Industrial and Commercial Training, 44(4), pp.187 – 193. Dixon, C., 2012. Facebook’s business model. [online] Available at: [Accessed 5 December]. Facebook, 2012. Text of Generic Patent Secrecy Order. [online] Available at: [Accessed 5 December]. Ferri, P. J., Deakins, D. and Whittam, G., 2009. The measurement of social capital in the entrepreneurial context. Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy, 3(2), pp.138 – 151. Glover, J. L., 2013. Capital usage in family farm businesses. Journal of Family Business Management, 3(2), pp.136 – 162. Gonzalez-Alvarez, N. and Solis-Rodriguez, V., 2011. Discovery of entrepreneurial opportunities: a gender perspective. Industrial Management & Data Systems, 111(5), pp.755 – 775. ISU, 2013. Understanding Farm Business Transfers. [online] Available at: [Accessed 5 December]. Marketing Schools, 2012. Entrepreneurial Marketing. [online] Available at: [Accessed 5 December]. Migliorisi, M. and College W., n.d. Mark Zuckerberg: Changing the Lives of Today. [online] Available at: [Accessed 5 December]. Read More