A Personal View of Entrepreneurship - Essay Example

A Personal View of Entrepreneurship Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Characteristics of an Entrepreneur and How it Relates with Me 4 My Views of What Makes a Highly-Functioning Entrepreneurial Team, And How My Entrepreneurial Skills Fit Into Such a Team 5 How You See the Role and Impact of Entrepreneurial Activities in the Organizations in Which You Have Worked or Observed 6 Areas of Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship You Wish To Develop In Yourself, And How You Plan To Do That 8 Conclusions 9 References 10 Bibliography 13 Introduction In its simplest form, ‘Entrepreneurship’ can be stated as the route of starting a new venture for profit or non-profit seeking purpose. Learning and knowing about entrepreneurship has emerged as the blooming area of study in the current era. It was of no surprise to me that to become an entrepreneur, it is the necessary to know the formula of risk taking and turning the risks into profit, sufficing the goals of the venture (Casson, 2014). A general overview of the concept signifies that successful entrepreneurs bear some common features, identifiable in terms of creativity, innovation, dedication, flexibility, self-confidence, passion and smart investment tactics (U.S. Department of State/Bureau of International Information Programs, 2015). While these features can be observed among many, a skilled entrepreneur will know how to utilize these features for business purposes. In this essay, I intend to discuss the similarities in features that I possess to become an entrepreneur besides discussing the role of entrepreneurship in successful business undertakings, identifying the impacts of entrepreneurial activities in the business world and the roles played by innovation and creativity. The essay will also focus on my personal views of entrepreneurial activities, with reference to my experience in Sotheby as GNTG’s Human Resources Assistant. The discussion will also emphasize my roles in voluntary works in cooperation with my friends. In accordance to the context presented, I will discuss my IT skills and activities about how it helps in performing entrepreneurial activities. Characteristics of an Entrepreneur and How it Relates with Me Scholars and theorists argue that to become a successful entrepreneur, several key attributes must be possessed inclusive of creativity skills, leadership qualities, passion to work for betterment, self-confidence, and ignition to bring innovation in business, along with the abilities of making smart investments, dedication and flexibility (Business Case Studies, 2015). Although this provides a general view to the characteristics of an effective entrepreneur, there have been considerable arguments concentrating on the do’s and don’ts of entrepreneurship. Referring to these attributes, I was able to observe many similarities and dissimilarities as well as strengths and weaknesses in myself as an entrepreneur. These similarities became more apparent to my during my internship programme in GNTG, which is a Chinese investment firm, where I used to work as a human resource assistant. My work in GNTG was to receive and fill information relevant to the company’s business profile. The skills I was able to generate during my working experience in the firm were team building, motivational skills, independence and self-confidence, which I learnt as crucial for becoming an entrepreneur (Tyszka & et. al, 2011). Tyszka & et. al. (2011) also argued that skills generated are the key detrimental factors that every entrepreneur needs to posses in order to become effective. Implementing the skills of GNTG in my voluntary work along with all my friends aided in building my interaction with elderly people and in taking care of them. This value added service for the elderly people helped me to offer my service with some additional features, rewarding me with certain competitive advantages in comparison to my competitive peers. Understanding the virtues of my learning from real life experiences, I began utilizing my entrepreneurial skills in my voluntary work, where I, along with my friend used to sell flags and stickers, to gather funds and donate the same for elderly people in old age homes. Taking part in this kind of activity aided me in generating noble views and humanity in mind that further, as I believe, have enriched my leadership qualities. In my internship programme, I have acquired practical knowledge about several characteristics related to entrepreneurship. As per my views, team work has helped me most significantly in gathering knowledge and how to accomplish work through team efforts. My Views of What Makes a Highly-Functioning Entrepreneurial Team, And How My Entrepreneurial Skills Fit Into Such a Team In the view of Davis & BornStein (2010), features of entrepreneur cannot be enlisted precisely, rather, it requires a distillation process in order to extract the viable attributes of an effective entrepreneur. Praag (2005), Cantillion (2004) and many other scholars recognized characteristics of a highly-functioning entrepreneur, which depends largely on their team building efforts and competencies. As I had already mentioned, my most apparent development, during my experience in GNTG and in my voluntary work emphasized team building. My views in this relation asserts that motivating, channelizing and steering a team of talented professionals is a prime concern of modern entrepreneurship owing to the vitality of human resources and task forces in the current era. I also believe that innovative characteristics related to the development of entrepreneurship are crucial as it motivates search of opportunities to ensure success in the overall attainment of business goals. Relating to this particular characteristic Knight (2006) elaborated the concept of entrepreneurs and the key characteristics required for a highly-functioning entrepreneurial team. According to Knight (2006), entrepreneurs exhibits three kind of tasks, first entrepreneurs initiates useful changes in innovation; second, entrepreneurs adjust themselves with changing economic environment and third, entrepreneurs assume the concept of uncertainty and adopt skills through continued planning to derive profit from the risks taken (Minniti, 2009; Iverson & et. al, 2008). In my views, success in new venture depends on the feasibility feature of an entrepreneur that comes through team effort. I would like to mention in this context that my better performance skills in a group fit into such a highly-functioning entrepreneurial team. I am better in coordination than before and besides, I have also received appraisals at often instances for my communication skills, which in my view, is also helpful in performing within a highly-functioning entrepreneurial team. Contextually, as per my understanding, managing all the tasks of business undertaking is not easy. This is where entrepreneurs need to delegate their tasks to their subordinates and work together as a team to meet the objectives of the new venture. It is with this view relating to team effort that my gathered experience in the field of voluntary work has aided me to apprehend the concept of team effort and the way team building helps in achieving success (Tran, 2013). How You See the Role and Impact of Entrepreneurial Activities in the Organizations in Which You Have Worked or Observed In the word of Chell & Ozkan (2010), entrepreneurs are professionals who readily take up risks to transform it into profits substantiating organizational goals. My experience in Schodett as an Assistant has greatly helped me to obtain such an understanding. Particularly, the information or knowledge I obtained mostly emphasized risk taking strategies of the company leader. Schodett had many ventures existing under its sub-head where risks were more precisely observed as arising from the market forces. The strategies implemented by my leader therein to deal with all those risks were truly a rejuvenating experience for me in my internship programme. From a theoretical perspective, entrepreneurship and its activities have marked a significant impact on the economy and in strengthening it (Shane, 2000). Economists are therefore of the view that entrepreneurs are the drivers of a country’s performance. It is through entrepreneurship that innovation in new dimensions of products and/or services are touching people’s life (Ekmekcioglu, 2015). Learning from this particular aspect, I could relate my skills developed in the internship programme in GNDT and Schodett. My earlier views regarding making investments were to derive interests from it. However, later my knowledge that I could generate from internship has entirely reframed my thought wherein I realized that entrepreneurs do not only work for profit but their role in doing business is additive for countries growth, which constitutes a highly-functioning entrepreneurial team. According to Carter & et. al.( 2003), to prohibit entrepreneurial activities and possess its characteristics, there are various attributes that one must possess in terms of cognitions, social conditions and other detrimental factors that determine the entrepreneurs’ success. The activity related to it thus focuses on the development of the economy, standard of living and establishment of the brand value of the company (Carter & et. al., 2003). Generating goodwill and market reputation is another agenda for the entrepreneur. For this purpose, entrepreneurs are needed to conduct several social awareness programmes in order to inform that besides retrieving profit, they are akin to achieve social objectives of the society (Caree & Thurik, 2002). As a voluntary worker, I also observed that doing social service is another part of an effective entrepreneurial activity. GNDT and Schodett both have contributed themselves in social services, as was the information received by me. It was in this context that Government has supported Schodett and GNDT in expanding their business as for their concern for society and environment (Chang, 2007). Areas of Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship You Wish To Develop In Yourself, And How You Plan To Do That As I have mentioned above and also was able to learn from the various secondary sources, innovation and creativity are the two key concepts that every successful entrepreneur needs to adhere to, as it enables the business entrepreneur to sustain in competition in the overall global environment (Watson & Olander, 1996). In my views, creativity is the flicker or sparkle that generates the idea of improving the existing product and/or services or introducing a new dimension. Creativity gives way to innovation, which further delivers the application of creative thoughts and ideas. As per my understanding, for the implementation of creativity and innovation, dedication is very significant. It is in this context that GNDT produces watch and has engaged themselves in creativity and innovative concept in its products along with dedication to sustain in the competitive market. This has motivated me to understand business entrepreneurial activities and the need to accelerate the concept of innovative idea, by improving the existing products and services. Creativity and innovation also help the entrepreneur to sustain facing the fierce competitive of the modern world (Morris & et, al., 2010). Referring to my personal experiences, flexibility is another criterion of entrepreneurs to be adjusted with the ever-changing market world and economic policies. Passion of innovation and creativity are the requisites for delivering creativity and innovation in products and services it offers. In my work in Schodet as an assistant, I obtained substantial knowledge about creativity and innovation to be applied in watches. It is in this context that my IT skills helped me significantly in improving my performances on a continuous basis. My internship training as assistant fellow in Schodett had helped me to identify many key factors for innovation and its implementation too. Conclusions During my internship, I became familiar to several key attributes including self-confidence, passionate outlook, flexibility, leadership, flexibility and many other additive factors. To be stated conclusively, my speaking capability in English, Mandarin and Cantonese helped me substantially to venture in China and its rural places. Venturing in foreign language has apparently produced effective results, which helped me realize the importance of effective communication skills in entrepreneurship. Working voluntarily for the elderly people and taking care of them in team effort has further enriched my thought of team building and its execution. This voluntary work has made me aware that working for profit is not only the sole motive of a successful business entrepreneur, as they are also expected to bear certain social responsibilities to build goodwill in the market and consumers, further ensuring long term sustainability of the business. References Business Case Studies, 2015. Characteristics of an Entrepreneur. Entrepreneurship in Engineering. [Online] Available at: http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/iet/entrepreneurship-in-engineering/characteristics-of-an-entrepreneur.html#axzz3bzToug2t [Accessed June 3, 2015]. Carter, N. M. & et. al., 2003. The Career Reasons of Nascent Entrepreneurs. Journal of Business Venturing, Vol. 18, No. 1, pp. 13-39. Caree, M. A., 2002. Industrial Restricting and Economic Growth. Small Business Economics, Vol. 18, pp. 243-255. Caree, M. A. & Thurik, A. R., (2002). Impact of Entrepreneurship. The Impact Of Entrepreneurship On Economic Growth. [Online] Available at: http://people.few.eur.nl/thurik/Research/Books/Thurikf.pdf [Accessed June 3, 2015]. Casson, M., 2014. Role of Entrepreneur. Entrepreneurship: A Personal View. [Online] Available at: https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/ijecbs/v21y2014i1p7-13.html [Accessed June 3, 2015]. Chang, E. P., (2007). Entrepreneurship . Exploring the Effects of Entrepreneurship Capital on the Private economic Impact of American Counties. [Online] Available at: http://usasbe.org/knowledge/proceedings/proceedingsDocs/2011/PaperID99.pdf [Accessed June 3, 2015]. Chell, E. & Ozkan, K. M., 2010. Nascent Entrepreneurship and Learning. Edward Elgar. Cooper, M., 1998. Problem Solving. Entrepreneur. [Online] Available at: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/237668 [Accessed June 3, 2015]. Ekmekcioglu, E., 2015. Understanding Entrepreneurship and Economic Growth. The Impact of Entrepreneurship on Economic Growth. [Online] Available at: http://www.academia.edu/1600957/The_Impact_of_Entrepreneurship_on_Economic_Growth [Accessed June 3, 2015]. Iverson, J., 2008. Defining and Measuring Entrepreneurship. Now Publishers Inc. Morris, M. & et. al., 2010. Corporate Entrepreneurship & Innovation. Cengage Learning. Minniti, M., 2009. Issues in Entrepreneurship. Now Publishers Inc. Shane, S. A., 2000. A General Theory of Entrepreneurship: The Individual-opportunity Nexus. Edward Elgar Publishing. Tran, H., 2013. Building Your Entrepreneurial Team. Babson Entrepreneur.[Online] Available at: http://blogs.babson.edu/entrepreneurship/2013/12/16/building-your-entrepreneurial-team/ [Accessed June 4, 2015]. Tyszka, T. & et. al., 2011. Motivation, Self-Efficacy, and Risk Attitudes among Entrepreneurs during Transition to a Market Economy. The Journal of Socio-Economics, pp. 1-8. U.S. Department of State/Bureau of International Information Programs, 2015. What makes someone an Entrepreneur? Principle of Entrepreneurship. [Online] Available at : [Accessed June 3, 2015]. Van, S. A. & et. al., 2005. The effect of entrepreneurial activity on national economic growth. Small Business Economics, 23, 311-321. Watson, A. H. & Olander, K. W., 1996. The Entrepreneur’s Complete Sourcebook. Englewood Cliffs. Bibliography Ducker, P. F., 1985. Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Harper Business. Institute of Entrepreneurship, 2008. About Entrepreneurs. Abstract. [Online] Available at: http://iie.nic.in/ [Accessed June 3, 2015]. Read More