Entrepreneurship - Creative Journal - Essay Example

? Entrepreneurship: Creative Journal First Journal Entry Set From the results obtained from the general measure of enterprising tendency tests, I have realized that I need to develop and improve my need for achievement, need for autonomy, and locus of control. In order to develop and improve in these areas, managers of the company that I work for, need to set moderately difficult, but potentially achievable goals and objectives since this will improve my attitude towards risk management. As a moderate entrepreneur, I prefer a moderate degree of risk because, as much as achieving the company’s goals and objectives will be challenging, I also want to realize the products of my efforts and abilities. In business, most managers believe that this is the most significant mark of a successful entrepreneur (Mazzarol, 2007). Achievement can also be enhanced by giving rewards, salary increment, bonuses and rises to most successful employees. Employers also play significant roles in developing employees’ skills and talents. They can collude with learning institutions to support and supervise research done by their employees, or through transversal skill development (Mazzarol, 2007). Human resource managers also need to provide clear hiring and exit procedures, but more notable is to retain current employees through a set of institutional benefits like competitive wage, support for international mobility, and supplementary pension schemes (Mazzarol, 2007). Locus of control describes the extent to which a person believes that the outcome results are influenced by their own behaviors, or from their external surrounding. Managers, therefore, need to create an environment that motivates its employees to work hard towards achieving the organization’s goals (Mazzarol, 2007). Locus of control is usually low when change strategies are being implemented within the organization. In order to solve this problem, managers have to create an effective means of communication that informs the employees on the strategies and processes required for the implementation of that change. As the work environment changes, I realized that I can either contribute to the success or failure of a business. My attitude towards the impacts of external influences on the quality of work and the success of the business is the key factor that influences my contributions to the success of the business. Positive external influences enhance my efficiency and productivity within a short period, as compared to negative external influences that still require consultations and decision making process in order to be resolved. This process involves much time, and this slows down employees’ morale towards achieving the organizational goals and objectives (Mazzarol, 2007). Second Journal Entry Set Small and large firms play ever-increasing roles in innovation. Innovation is mainly driven by market dynamics and technology. Currently, recommendable advancements have been made in several areas that include multimedia, computers and electronic devices. Of all the innovations that have been done, internet is one of the innovations that have significantly influenced my daily life. The internet has changed the way I learn, shop, communicate and conduct my business. In the modern world, internet is the most famous and effective means of spreading information, fact or fiction (Mazzarol, 2007). In the past centuries, people were once limited to news of the local television channels and newspapers. However, anybody can currently search the globe, international markets, foreign products, different cultures, international jobs and so on. Through the internet, it is much easier and cheaper to communicate with friends and relatives more than telephones and letters. The internet has given me an opportunity to meet several friends both locally and internationally. It is possible to directly communicate to distance friends face-to-face, or through chatting. In other words, internet has limited both geographical and political boundaries that earlier barred me from meeting new friends (Mazzarol, 2007). Apart from socialization, the internet has also offered an easy access to a large pool of information such as online reference books, dictionaries, libraries and stock exchange. Reading a book in the internet is much cheaper than buying the book. Internet books are also frequently reviewed and updated, meaning that they are up to date. Stock exchange information that is available in the internet is the most current one. Lessons on learning how to trade stocks and their future predictions are also provided in the internet. Using the internet and its contents only require skills in operating a computer. I became aware of the internet developments through the adverts made in local television channels and newspapers. Using the internet did not prove to be too difficult to use at the initial stages, since I had advanced skills in operating a Personal Computer. Beginning to use the internet was, however, quite challenging because most people believed that it would affect several things such as their cultures and traditions. As several advancements such as Websites were included, the internet began attracting many people, and this is when I also began using the internet. I began using the internet on a daily basis up to date. The internet has significantly affected some of my behaviors such as the way I do shopping, socialize, read, and access information (Mazzarol, 2007). Third Journal Entry Set The process of venturing into a new business is outlined in the entrepreneurial process that entails more than just risk management and problem solving. An investor must, therefore, be capable of identifying, evaluating and developing a viable business opportunity by outwitting personal attitude and external forces that can resist the creation of a new idea (Mazzarol, 2007). This process usually involves four phases that include identification and analysis of the opportunity, development of the business plan, identification of the required resources, and management of the resulting business (Mazzarol, 2007). It is also neccesary to note that each phase is characterized by progressive stages that must be completed before beginning another stage or phase. Identification of a viable business opportunity is the most challenging phase in the whole process. It involves several risks such as the type of product or service to offer, the market to sell in, and the amount of capital required for the start up. Despite the fact that starting up a small business activity is usually challenging, I am planning to start up a small business of a fast food restaurant near our college. A fast food restaurant is a small scale investment that requires a little amount of capital to venture into. It will mainly sell snacks, soft drinks, fish, and chicken. The targeted customers will be fellow students and college staff both teaching and the non teaching staff members. The resources needed for this business include a rental space, cookers, kitchen utensils, tables, chairs, freezers, fridge, timber, cement, sand, and about ten employees. As a loyal member of my bank, I will borrow $5,500 as the startup capital. At the beginning of business operation, it will be challenging to approximate the amount of food to cook in relation to customers’ turnovers. Stiff competition from well established restaurants will also be the other challenging factor. Successful implementation of the business strategies depends on the business plan. Business plan is developed immediately after the identification of an opportunity (Mazzarol, 2007). A robust business plan provides clear guidelines and time limits for the implantation of the intended activities. It also provides an approximated budget for the implementation of each phase of the entrepreneurial process. The location of the business is quite strategic since the targeted customers are students and college employees who need fast food during breakfast, lunch, and even super. The problem with the location is that sales will usually decrease when the students go for holidays. This will force us to close for a while and regain our business activities when they resume their studies. Forth Journal Entry Set Jackson in her article, Team-Building With a purpose, reveals the importance of team-building within an entrepreneurial organization, and how managers can build teams within their respective divisions (Jackson, 2011). She begins by saying that most employees usually perceive the team-building process as a waste of time. This is because some organizations offer programs that are invalid, and they certeinly do not know what they are doing. In her article, she cites Cardus idea that “team-building process will explicitly link back to participant’s jobs, and they will understand how developed skills can translate into workplace habits” (Jackson, 2011). Therefore, team-building process should be strategically designed in-line with specific goals. As a person who is interested in venturing into business activities after school, this article is of significance because it highlights the importance of teams, and how they are built within an entrepreneurial organization. Jackson has identified three key ways of building teams within an organization. These include improving morale, fostering communication, and reinforcing company values. She says that the best way to improve employees’ morale is to fully engage them in the company’s operations (Jackson, 2011). Effective communication system also improves an employee’s productivity and efficiency. Most of the activities within organizations are independent while the result is common. This means that most activities are performed in teams, and effective coordination is required. According to Jackson effective communication enhances coordination, and this improves the quality of work done (Jackson, 2011). Finally, company values are reinforced by conducting open forums within the organization. This is where different teams are allowed to meet in the evenings to freely discuss some key issues affecting their organization. This article has enhanced my understanding of team-building process and its significance within an entrepreneurial organization. As a future young entrepreneur and a manager, I expect my employees’ productivity and efficiency to be at its highest, and this is only through working in teams. With the new skills in the team-building process, I expect to be a skilled manager in the future. Fifth Journal Entry Set (Simulation) Our business is a small scale music store known as “Dance to the Music” located in Medium City, USA. It is involved in distributing Country CDs mixed artists, New Age CDs, Classical CDs mixed artists, International CDs mixed artists, Folk’s CDs mixed artist, Rap/Hip Hop CDs mixed artists, Pop CDs mixed artists, Rock CDs mixed artists, and Rhythm & Blues mixed artists. We ventured into this business as three partners. Since we invested into this business opportunity, we have realized significant growths over the last 52 weeks despite of the challenges we experienced. As from week 1 to 12 our total assets and liabilities were $279,476 and 279,476 respectively. Weak 1 to 26 was $366,289, and week 1 to 52 was $894,468. This is a clear indication of how much progress we have made from week 1 to 52. While drafting business strategies, we realized that there were only four music stores in Shopping District area, and they only offered Rap/Hip Hop, Pop, Classical and Country CDs. This gave us the chance to provide all sorts of music CDs and their mixes. This was going to improve our competitive strength since we were facing well established music stores as our key competitors. We created posters indicating what we had in store, and distributed them all over this region. This created awareness of our products and location. Since most people are currently relying on the internet to buy and hire CDs, we are planning to create a Website where our esteem customers will rent or buy CDs. We are also planning to expand our stores into other regions, and begin stocking and selling DVDs and VCDs. This new changes will likely to improve sales and competition against our key rivals. Finding a store and capital were the easiest things we had. The most difficult challenge we had was writing a well detailed business plan, and implementing them accordingly. We had to overdo some things, for instance, we had earlier settled to hire ten employees, but we later only managed to hire seven. Competition from rivals and winning customers’ trusts were also the other crucial challenges we experienced. With the new changes of expanding our store and creating a Website, we hope our business will grow further. Sixth Journal Entry Set (Reflective Overview) The subject and reading from the text have indicated that information, internet, and telecommunication have significantly changed the global business environment. The bases of business and economic life have been extended to the roots of knowledge (Mazzarol, 2007). Knowledge workers, knowledge venture, and knowledge assets have become the centers of attention. The ever changing market environment poses challenges both to individual entrepreneurs and corporate ventures. The new advancement known as e-commerce provides new opportunities for new ways to create value, create new business model, and access new markets (Mazzarol, 2007). Business knowledge is a necessity in forming intellectual capital in venturing and managing a business in the current world. Innovation has become the primary focus of most enterprises in the process of value creation (Mazzarol, 2007). Entrepreneurs like me need to have a better understanding of how to use technological ideas in tapping the available resources to outdo challenges of knowledge-based business. The reading from the text has significantly changed my attitude and perception towards the relationship between entrepreneurship and innovation. It has indicated that the future of entrepreneurship depends on innovation. An innovative mind is a necessity in running a business in the current dynamic market that is highly influenced by technological advancements (Mazzarol, 2007). Results obtained from the general measure of enterprising tendency tests indicated that I am a medium entrepreneur, which assert that I have high potential of starting up and managing an enterprise. However, I still need to learn more about the need for achievement, need for autonomy, and locus of control. References Jackson N. M. (2011). Team-Building With a Purpose. Entrepreneur, 1-2. Mazzarol T. (2007). Entrepreneurship & Innovation: A Managers Perspective. Praharan Vic: Tilde University. Appendix 1: Answering and Scoring Sheet Row 1 46 A D 37 A D 28 A D 19 A D 10 A D 1 A D Row Tally 4 Row 2 47 A D 38 A D 29 A D 20 A D 11 A D 2 A D 5 Row 3 48 A D 39 A D 30 A D 21 A D 12 A D 3 A D 2 Row 4 49 A D 40 A D 31 A D 22 A D 13 A D 4 A D 4 Row 5 50 A D 41 A D 32 A D 23 A D 14 A D 5 A D 5 Row 6 51 A D 42 A D 33 A D 24 A D 15 A D 6 A D 4 Row 7 52 A D 43 A D 34 A D 25 A D 16 A D 7 A D 4 Row 8 53 A D 44 A D 35 A D 26 A D 17 A D 8 A D 6 Row 9 54 A D 45 A D 36 A D 27 A D 18 A D 9 A D 5 Appendix 2: Results and Interpretation Row 1 4 + Add together = 8 = Need for achievement Row 6 4 Row 3 2 Only 2 = Need for autonomy Row 5 5 + Add together = 11 = creative tendency Row 8 6 Row 2 5 + Add together = 10 = calculated risk taking Row 9 5 Row 7 4 + Add together = 8 =Locus of control Row 4 4 39 =total score A score of 39 means that I have some enterprising qualities (MEDIUM) Read More