Entrepreneurship in the Global Environment - Dissertation Example

Running head: Entrepreneurship in the global environment Entrepreneurship in the Global Environment Insert Insert Insert Instructor’s Name 27th April 2011 Entrepreneurship in the Global Environment An entrepreneur is a person in possession of an idea, venture, or enterprise who also transforms his innovations into economic goods. According to Casson (2003, p.20), “an entrepreneur specializes in taking judgment decisions about the coordination of scarce resources.” James Dyson, an English industrial designer, is the founder of Dyson appliances Ltd, (DAL) which deals with manufacturing of appliances such as vacuum cleaners. His entrepreneurial prowess is evident from his engineering work and being an inventor of dual cyclone bagless vacuum cleaner, roles that have made him allegedly over 1 billion pound rich. Dyson’s idea of vacuum cleaners started back in 1970 when he innovated his first product named the sea truck and later he invented the ball barrow, which resembled a modified wheelbarrow. Dyson faced some challenges in marketing his product in the United Kingdom since no distributor was willing to distribute his product because of fear that his vacuum cleaners would overtake the replacement cleaner bags. He then opted to launch his product in Japan where he made profitable returns and even won the international design fair prize in Japan, in 1991. As a result of manufacturers failing to sell his product, Dyson decided to take that as a challenge and set up his own company in 1993 in a small town named Malmebury. Luckily, in 2005, Dyson’s vacuum cleaners were leading in sales in the United States and employment had increased in Malmebury by 1,200. Indeed, Dyson was awarded with the Queen’s award for enterprise for the outstanding growth and success abroad (Loch, 2008, pp 119,120). According to BBC News (2006), after dyson received a Knighthood, he told BBC that he is an entrepreneur who produces things that people want to buy. He adds that he has failed 5,126 times and has learnt that success alone teaches one nothing, but failures teach someone everything, since when one makes a mistake, he/she learns from that mistake to better on the product. According to BBC News (2006), by then, the company had 1400 staff in the United Kingdom and 4,000 workers placed in Malaysia plants. Therefore, Dyson is the best choice of an entrepreneur, since he has come a long way by putting his innovation into practice, beaten all odds of marketing, and failed numerous times before achieving the best and being contented with his products. Why James Dyson is classified as an entrepreneur According to Bolton (2004, p. 134), “Dyson is another entrepreneur who has challenged the industry giants with a revolutionary of vacuum cleaner, since his dual cyclone cleaner has a UK market share in excess of 50% and his international sales are prospering.” The main admirable aspect of Dyson as an entrepreneur is that he is always innovative and creative, thus focuses on what the customers want, and he always desires to improve his products. Dyson has also proved to be a risk taker, since he invested his resources on his dream of appropriate vacuum cleaners. Finally, he succeeded and his returns tell it all. Dyson’s idea of a vacuum cleaner started back in 1979 when he was only 31 years of age. At that time, he needed a machine that would separate particles from air. He faced many challenges, one of them being that manufacturers rejected his idea, since they did not want his machine to interfere with the replacement dust bags market. In 2000, Dyson managed to launch the dual cyclone cleaner that used battery to operate. He later launched a washing machine with the ability to spin and almost dry clothes. These were some of his achievements after being rejected by other manufacturers (Bolton, 2004 pp 135, 136). Dyson portrays the spirit of a true entrepreneur, since entrepreneurship is about opportunities and risks in business. Successful entrepreneurs usually spot an opportunity especially where others fail to see the importance of that idea at that particular time. When an idea has been put into action and a product generated, customers should be attracted to this product and in return, it should satisfy them. When the product is not satisfactory to the customers, then the entrepreneur finds ways to modify and improve it to be better than before, such that it can acquire and sustain a competitive advantage. In every implementation process, there are risks and uncertainties and an entrepreneur should be in a position to embrace the uncertainties and find ways to deal with the challenges. The main aim of entrepreneurship is spotting an opportunity and reacting to it by doing something positive about the opportunity (Bolton, 2004 pp 137). Though it took James Dyson several years to achieve his dream of eliminating replacement cleaner bags with vacuum cleaner, he finally managed to innovate a vacuum cleaner that did a marvelous job on cleaning, and was fast and reliable. According to Foreman (2009 pp 20), it took Dyson 5000 prototypes to before he came up with a perfect vacuum cleaner. An entrepreneur tries to market his products to other countries to attain a market share, and so did Dyson. He introduced his G-Force vacuum cleaner in Japan and the product gained fame such that he was able to sell it at 2000 dollars each. He also received a first prize because of his vacuum cleaner, but Dyson did not stop at that. He went back home to the United Kingdom and tried to even better his product by using the profits he had made in Japan. Nevertheless, according to Foreman (2009 pp 20), manufacturers did not believe that people would spend so much to buy a vacuum cleaner, but Dayson concentrated on making a product that customers would want to buy. Today, Dyson has sold more than 15 million vacuum cleaners worldwide, while his scientists and engineers have increased as they search for ways to better these products; for instance, by reducing the loud sound they make when cleaning. The author insists that, not only did James Dyson find an opportunity and fulfill it, but he also created the need for bagless vacuum cleaners and so did he pioneer it. According to bloomsberg business week (2007), Dyson also invented a hand drier named Dyson air blade, which is up to standard and does not heat the air. Today, James Dyson is one of the richest men in the world, with his dual cyclone vacuum cleaner being the best selling vacuum cleaner in England. Entrepreneurial strategy deployed by James Dyson in his business According to Rabenberger (2003 pp 1), there are four entrepreneurial strategies. 1) Being fustest with the mostest, which aims at leadership and dominance; 2) Creating imitation that also aims at leadership and dominance in a market; 3) finding and occupying a specialized ecological niche, it aims at controlling; and 4) changing the economic characteristics of a product, a market or an industry in order to create a customer. Being fustest with the mostest, a strategy is very risky as it proceeds but in case it succeeds, it is very rewarding. Entrepreneurs should either do things right or miss everything. It hence involves the creation of something new and different from the rest that will surprise many. It further leads to high prices of products innovated. According to Drucker (2007, pp 193), ‘fustest with the mostest’ requires one to be ambitious in order to aim higher and last longer, otherwise the business may fail. The main aim of this strategy is to create a new business or a new market. He also adds that once innovation of a product is successful, this strategy demands the effort of the entrepreneur to sustain leadership position for the business. This strategy requires an entrepreneur to work even more harder now that he has attained leadership, he has to make sure that his product is obsolete otherwise a competitor may outwit him. Finally, this strategy requires the entrepreneur to cut down on the prices of his products so as not to encourage to ‘Hit them when they ain’t’ (Drucker 2007, pp 195, 196). Therefore, it is evident that James Dyson has implemented the ‘fustest with the mostest’ strategy. Dyson started out humbly and he was even shunned by manufactures, as they were afraid he would outshine them. He generated a new idea on the production of a vacuum cleaner, which was unheard of at that time. He then transformed his idea into a product, which despite many challenges, was a success. Later on, he gained recognition in Japan for his high tech vacuum cleaner and earned some profits from the sales he made in Japan. The ‘fustest and mostest’ strategy requires a new and different product that will dominate the market. Hence, Dyson has proved this point by being the inventor of the first vacuum cleaner that outshined the use of replacement cleaner bags. Though back in 1970 he started with the sea truck vacuum cleaner, he later modified it to a ball barrow vacuum cleaner. Today, his dual cyclone vacuum cleaner is the best selling vacuum cleaner in England. Dyson states that he continues to better his products so as they are the ones customers want to buy. Drucker (2007 pp 193) clarifies that the ‘fustest and mostest’ strategy requires one to sustain the market leadership once he attains it. No wonder, Dyson has remained the best in the market of vacuum cleaners, since he keeps bettering his products all the time. According to this strategy, an entrepreneur must be ambitious and ready to risk and face challenges. Nevertheless, Dyson took the risk of even venturing into Japan, a new market, just to try to market his product. Surprisingly, he succeeded and later took the initiative of bettering his product. Dyson proves to be a real entrepreneur, since he states that, he believes that failure leads to success and that success alone cannot teach one anything. He also attributes his success to the many 5,126 times that he has failed, since it is from these failures that he has been able to work harder to achieve the best and satisfy his customers, thus becoming among the richest people today (BBC News 2006). Dyson has managed to sustain his market leadership up to date, since he is on the look out for competitors and thus generating new ideas everyday on how to better his products. Nevertheless, his products vary in prices; according to business week (2007), his vacuum cleaners range from $400 to $600. It is very clear that Dyson has implemented the ‘fustest with the mostest’ entrepreneurial strategy in his business. Since entrepreneurship is about opportunities and risks, it is evident that James Dyson is an entrepreneur indeed. The importance of entrepreneurship People engage in entrepreneurship for various reason; some want to make extra money as a source of income while others become entrepreneurs as a form of employment. However, entrepreneurship education can be used as a tool to empower people to be able to fit in the market; such may apply to women in the developing countries who find it hard to engage in business in a male dominated market. Moreover, entrepreneurship is an encouragement to students or even citizens who are willing to venture in to the business world, it provides them with knowledge such that they are able to identify opportunities and market diversification. Market diversification increases the options that a consumer may have and creates competition in the market. Entrepreneurship creates employment for local citizen, like in the case of James Dyson Company. With the establishment of that company, he is able to employ thousands of employees who would have been jobless had his company never existed. In addition, entrepreneurship involves taking risks, thus it is important for entrepreneurs to have self-discipline, identify opportunities, be in a position to face and conquer challenges, and have patience. Entrepreneurship also contributes towards economic development such that, the establishment of businesses leads to creation of jobs, hence leading to boosting of the economy. Entrepreneurship also empowers citizens such that they are able to generate ideas, which end up in emergence of businesses, thus, creating an income for them and their families, and boosting the economy of their countries (UNCTAD, 2002). Entrepreneurs like James Dyson help in boosting the economy by creating job opportunities and also through innovation and research, hence contributing to an economy through invention on better way of handling tasks. Entrepreneurship creates wealth for many people who may be seeking business opportunities, hence boosting an economy due to invention of new products that find a market locally and even abroad. Rewards of starting a business may be enormous later on when the business has stabilized, thus being profitable to both the entrepreneur and the economy. Moreover, entrepreneurship also creates self-sufficiency in a person such that, one feels contented after his business starts growing and rewarding his hard work. It is evident that entrepreneurship is of importance to the economic growth, productivity, employment, and innovation of any country. In the case of James Dyson, the business started humbly with only an idea, but today, it generates millions of profits and it has provided job opportunities to majority of citizens in the United Kingdom and in Malaysia. Such a business contributes widely to the growth of the country’s economy. An entrepreneur like Dyson has to be patient and always protecting his leadership state in business in order to remain at the top. Hence, Dyson always makes sure that his research never ends on how to perfect his product to the customers’ satisfaction. For an entrepreneur to survive the harsh market, he has to have the will to carry on despite the many challenges involved. Nevertheless, entrepreneurs may be faced by finance challenges and the ability to penetrate into a market. Conclusion It is however evident that Dyson is an entrepreneur, since entrepreneurship is about opportunities and risks in business. For an entrepreneur to be successful, he has to first spot an opportunity especially where others fail to see the importance of that opportunity at that particular time. The idea should be put into an action, in order to generate a product that will attract, satisfy, and sustain clients for the longest time. A wise entrepreneur has to always find ways of sustaining his customers. The entrepreneur can try and finds ways to modify and improve the product to look better than before, such that, it can acquire and sustain a competitive advantage. Therefore, entrepreneur strategies must be implemented in any business in order to act as a guide to an entrepreneur. To ensure growth in a business that leads to success, an entrepreneur should be able to develop personal relationships with his customers, suppliers, and employees. He should also be flexible enough when it comes to responding to problems and challenges faced while conducting business. In addition, entrepreneurs must always be in a position to invent new ideas and develop those ideas. Moreover, entrepreneurs should be ambitious and willing to venture to foreign markets if possible. As James Dyson states, success alone cannot teach one anything, but when failure is inclusive, one is able to learn a lot from his mistakes, hence he works extra harder in order to achieve the best results. References BBC News. 2006. Knighthood for Dyson entrepreneur. BBC News. (Online). Available from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6217291.stm (accessed April 28, 2011). Bloomberg business week. 2007. The vacuum man takes on wet hands. Bloomberg business week. (Online). Available from: http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=tRbXQhtz4B4C&dq=is+James+Dyson+an+entrepreneur&source=gbs_navlinks_s (accessed April 28, 2011). Bolton, B., 2004. Entrepreneurs: talent, temperament, technique. Second edition. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann publishers. Casson, M., 2003. The entrepreneur: an economic theory. Second edition. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing. Drucker, P., 2007. Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Second edition. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann publishers. Foreman, G. and Abraham, K., 2009. Knockout Entrepreneur. NY: Thomas Nelson Inc publishers. Loch, C. et al. 2008. Management quality and competitiveness: lessons from the industrial excellence award. Berlin: Springer publishers. Rabenberge, M. and Steger, M., 2003. Chapter I.12 Entrepreneurial Strategies. (Online). Available from http://www.softwareresearch.net/fileadmin/src/docs/teaching/SS03/PM/Rabenberger_Steger_Paper.pdf (Accessed April 28, 2011). UNCTAD. 2002. United nations conference on trade and development; The importance of entrepreneurship. (Online). Available from: http://www.unctad.org/templates/Page.asp?intItemID=4320&lang=1 (accessed April 28, 2011). 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