The Importance of Entrepreneurship and Enterprise in the UK - Essay Example

Entrepreneur is the one who gives life to an organization or an enterprise. From time immemorial, the success or failure of an organization or any other human activity depends on the role, the founder or leader plays. And, it is entrepreneur (who is actually the founder cum leader) who can lead humans and his/her enterprise to ‘heaven’ or ‘hell’. And, if the entrepreneur follows a set of good leadership traits, then he/ she can ‘sprinkle’ success on many lives. And this, paper will explain the list of criteria that one would use to determine the best entrepreneur in the UK by analyzing the two well known UK entrepreneurs, Richard Branson and Alan Sugar and their leadership traits. That is, this paper will analyze how these traits are visible, and how it had aided them to achieve success and reach top positions in their country. The importance of Entrepreneurship and Enterprise in the UK Entrepreneur is the owner who can create honor for the enterprise. That is, entrepreneur, as a ‘founder’ cum ‘builder’ can launch a new Enterprise from scratch by building a team. He/she can build his/her team by associating individuals who came from the same ‘stable’ like friends, work mates, family members etc and by recruiting new individuals with the right talent, knowledge and attitude. With this ‘living’ group, and the material things like capital, machines, infrastructure etc the entrepreneur cum leader embark on an organization. So, an entrepreneur is someone, who with inbuilt and also acquired leadership traits set ups a new startup to offer a new or existing product or service. These motivated entrepreneurs are present all over the world and United Kingdom is no exception. And the table below shows the data about UK citizens and their Propensities towards Entrepreneurship. The above graph shows that in United Kingdom young people are more likely to believe that entrepreneurship represents a good career choice and that it brings status. Also, it shows that younger people are less likely to believe that there is enough media coverage of new businesses. Table 1: Propensities towards Entrepreneurship Age Range 15-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+ Total Never came to his/her mind 62.4 51.5 50.2 54.4 60.6 67.8 57.2 Is thinking about it 23.4 18.9 11.1 8.9 4.0 1.6 11.2 Gave up 4.8 11.3 11.2 9.5 8.0 5.0 8.6 Currently taking steps to start 3.0 3.9 3.5 1.6 0.6 0.2 2.2 Started/taken over business 2.3 9.3 15.4 14.8 13.0 4.5 10.3 No longer an entrepreneur 0.8 3.2 6.2 7.7 10.9 15.2 7.3 (dk/n.a.) 3.3 1.9 2.3 3.1 3.0 5.8 3.2 Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Kirby (2002) states that: The successful entrepreneur has a range of personal skills, attributes and behaviours that go beyond the purely commercial. It is these attributes, this way of thinking and behaving that needs to be developed in our students if their entrepreneurial capabilities are to be enhanced. (Pg.360). The thing, that will be common to all these entrepreneurs, even though they live and function in different corners, is the good amount of leadership traits. Speaking about good leadership traits, the trait of having a good vision is one of the foremost ones. Actually, the vision that arises in the mind of the entrepreneur only initiates the process of entrepreneurship. And that mental picture or vision will only give them the clear path of success. So, successful entrepreneurs are the ones who had vision of their successful ventures and will also have visions of their future success. And the famous British entrepreneur, Richard Branson is the one who had a great vision even in his school days, as he thought that he could run his school better than the headmaster. And one of the other Branson’s vision, which is turning into reality, is the concept of space tourism. That is, Branson launched Virgin Galactic to sent people to space as tourists using a launch vehicle named Spaceship One. And, with the computer technology booming, Sugar had his visions in that sector also. That vision also turned into reality with entry of a word processor, PC1512, a PC compatible computer etc. And one of the famous quote of Sugar is, "A good leader is not necessarily the most popular person in their business, but the best ones are liked because they are respected for their clarity and vision". SET THE TONE The initial stage imposition of entrepreneur’s ideas and assumptions will set the correct tone for the success of the enterprise. This leadership trait of setting the tone should be carried out in the beginning itself because the workers mind will be fresh in their new organizational setup, and will be willing to make a good start. Branson tend to do this in most of his public appearances as well in private board meetings. At the Association for Financial Professionals Annual Conference, Branson had an in conversation meeting with AFP President and CEO Jim Kaitz. The utterances and tone, Branson used impressed Kaitz very much. "Branson explained they have to be global in scope, enhance the brand... He set the perfect tone to kick-off three days of learning, education and networking” (Kaitz). To analyze the tone, Alan Sugar uses, the BBC’s reality show, The Apprentice can be used as an example. While dealing with the participants, Sugar uses the tone that borders authority and intimidation. But, critics say that the tone he uses, is more of intimidation. But these critics are only the minority, because many people are fans of his tone and style, and this shows in the popularity of the show. DEVELOP OTHERS Entrepreneur is not a single individual, he/she will be part of a team of skilled professionals. And it is the duty of the entrepreneur to develop them also. That is, if the restriction in the working environment is removed, the worker will feel comfortable and work in productive manner. This productive manner can quickly develop the individual worker as well as the enterprise. So, the duty of the entrepreneur is break the shackles and provide a good working environment. Richard Branson did this, by first abolishing the hierarchical structures in his enterprise. His anti-hierarchical philosophy and allowing everyone to have access to him developed the workers in a big way. And Alan Sugar does this act of developing others in a different way by conducting the show, The Apprentice. Behind all the actions, projects, strategies etc, the show is just a platform provided by Alan Sugar for talented individuals to get into his enterprise and develop himself/ herself. EXHIBIT POSITIVE ENERGY In this world each and every thing move because of energy. That is, any individual particularly entrepreneur could exhibit invisible positive energy through his/her action and communication. And this exhibition of positive energy is a leadership trait. And this trait can surely channelize the positive energy for the betterment of the enterprise. And, this type of positive energy is quite visible in Richard Branson. Being an adventure seeker with expeditions like non-stop hot air balloon voyage around the world, Branson always exhibited this positive energy, which he used on many occasions, particularly during the launch of the inaugural virgin Atlantic flights to India. At the New Delhi airport, Branson came out of the plane dressed up in local costumes, dancing the local bangra dance to the music of drums. This type of energy creates a positive image and thereby positive energy for the enterprise as a whole. The same is the case with Alan Sugar. His positive energy is clearly visible in the TV show, The Apprentice. Here, in the studio boardroom, he analysis the performance of the participants threadbare and his positive energy only comes out and makes the participants listen to his each word carefully. CREATE A SENSE OF URGENCY Another inter-related trait that a successful entrepreneur will show is the sense of urgency. That is, every individual should show activeness both physically and mentally. And, if the entrepreneur shows this activeness he/she could create a sense of urgency among his/her subordinates. For an enterprise to be successful, it has to show punctuality in the entire process from manufacturing to shipment. Because of this sense of urgency only, Richard Branson has been able to launch his initiatives at the opportune time and target. And this included all his major projects. And in the case of Alan Sugar, this sense of urgency sometimes did not work as well as he expected. For example, in 1990 Amstrad tried to enter the gaming market with the Amstrad GX4000, but it was considered a commercial failure, because apart from an outdated technology, there was little available software at the time of launch, with some games being released months late or canceled entirely. So, the sense of urgency shown by Alan Sugar and his team ended up in a failure. But this is, only an exception because most times this leadership trait worked well for Alan Sugar. SET ACHIEVEABLE GOALS Setting achievable goals should be the main function of an entrepreneur. An organization can function and succeed only if there is a predetermined goal. That goal will only spur the workers to work hard and give their best. But, if the goals were extremely difficult to achieve, it would demotivate the workers very much. So, it is always advisable to set achievable goals and the entrepreneur is the one who should take the lead. Richard Branson did exactly this with Virgin Galactic. Even though the concept of space tourism was considered a difficult proposition, Branson thought it is possible to achieve it and make a success out of it. So, this setting of achievable goal is one of the important traits, which placed Branson in the position of a top entrepreneur. “His goal was never to be the biggest... His goal was never to be the most profitable” (Morris). The same is the case with Alan Sugar who set achievable goals and indeed achieved it. Particularly, the goal of buying English football club, Tottenham Hotspurs. So, he scored his ‘goal’ in the ‘field’ of football also. BUILD CONFIDENCE During the management of an enterprise, one of the approaches the entrepreneur could try is to build the confidence of the workers by putting for discussion his/ hers thoughts among the workers, and involving them productively. Also, a successful entrepreneur could build the confidence of individuals, with whom he/she has no connection at all. That is, the entrepreneur could be at some place, while the person who gets the confidence could be somewhere else. And that what Branson did. He was able to give confidence to a group of Indian graduates, helping them to become an entrepreneur on their own “Phanindra, Sudhakar and Charan are all 25, from the BITS-Pilani class of 2002. They had always wanted to start their own business… They found their inspiration from a quote in (Sir) Richard Branson’s autobiography, “look around your life. If there is any process that can be improved, it could be the next big business idea”. Thus redBus was born.”(Chatterjee). Like wise Alan Sugar is doing the same through the program of The Apprentice, giving confidence and opportunity for the ambitious ones. MAKE TOUGH DECISIONS Leaders should also need to show decisiveness and take tough decisions in some cases. That is, when the employee becomes too lazy, self-seeking, troubling etc he/she should be fired from the organization. The organization would do well without these individuals. And if the company’s survival itself hangs on the balance, due to financial difficulties, the tough decision of downsizing will only be the viable option. Richard Branson also agrees with this view, “if a company’s got into financial difficulties or something then — then they may, in order to save, you know, thousands of jobs have to take tough decisions” (Branson). In the case of Alan Sugar, he was forced to take tough decisions sometimes in the TV show, The Apprentice. That is, with the participants showing their skills with lesser amount of mistakes, the job of Alan Sugar gets even tougher. And, he has to take that decision based on many factors, important being how the candidate suits the job. Sir Alan said it had been a "very, very tough" decision. "I think its down to the job that I have in mind” BEING TRUTHFUL AND SINCERE Even though success is an important criterion, it is not the end of all means. So, the important thing is, entrepreneur should achieve success by adopting truthfulness and sincerity in the overall management of his/her enterprise. But, if the entrepreneur avoids these good qualities and goes in a wrong way for success, it will surely lead to the downfall of the enterprise. So, if he/she follows the unwritten rule of truthfulness and sincerity theirs’ enterprise success will be appreciated even more. Even though Branson exhibited this good traits most times, in 1971, Branson was charged and put behind bars for selling records that had been declared as export stock in his Virgin stores. And, he was made to go for an out-of-court settlement with UK Customs and Excise, with an agreement to repay the unpaid tax and fines. In the case of Alan Sugar, the same The Apprentice TV show could be accused of being stage-managed. That is, even though it is considered a reality show, some parts are created, edited and directed to give a product that is far from truthful and sincere. SUPPORT THE STAFF DURING FAILURE Failure will be part of every one’s life and the staffs in the enterprise will be no exception to it. But, one of the most important traits, the entrepreneur should practice is to support the staff during failures. In that situation avoiding any harsh actions, he/ she should be available for support, based on the premise that the failures from the same staff would not occur in the future. This same thing happened in the Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. Joe Ferry, Virgins head of design was entrusted with the task to create a new sleeper seats that reclined at an angle. But after the trials, they found out that the seat did not work successfully, with passengers complaining about sliding and discomfort. At the same time, Virgin’s chief competitor, British airways came up with the hugely successful flat bed. And ferry acknowledged this fact that his design is inferior. But Ferry didnt get the ax from Branson. In fact, Virgin entrusted him to take on another extraordinary risk, committing a huge $127 and in that task, Ferry showed success. This, shows how the successful entrepreneur, Richard Branson followed the important trait of supporting the staff during the failures. But, Alan Sugar on the other hand, in spite of owning a football club, Tottenham Hotspur FC compared the football players to thugs. This is not the correct way to support his staff. But most times, he has given the needed support to all his staff in various companies in times of failures. LEARNING FROM FAILURE Normally in any organization or an enterprise, the incidence of failure will there. When the entrepreneur himself/herself is found guilty of a failure, it should be advisable for the entrepreneur to learn from the failure and take the corrective measures. The measures, which will bear, fruit in the long run. Kirby (2003, p. 132) defines innovation as ‘the application of creativity to solve problems and to exploit opportunities. Branson is no stranger to failures; his new initiatives and ideas have most times faced failures and the secret to his success has been his ability to make a strong recovery. “He understood that an integral part of being an entrepreneur meant being willing to not only accept failure but to also be able to rise up and start again” (Evan carmichael.com). Because of which only even after the failure of Virgin Cola, Virgin Vodka, Virgin Cosmetics etc, Branson continued on with his life wishing to achieve even more success. In the case of Alan Sugar, different strategy was followed. That is, before buying the computer hardware manufacturer, Sinclair, Alan studied and learned why the company, Sinclair failed. After learning from the failure, he took over the company making it one of his important successes. LEADING BY EXAMPLE A good leadership trait, that, should be exhibited in the initial stages is, the leader should live and work as an example for others to follow. This trait, one of the important for the leader to imbibe, will motivate the workers to give cent percent and make the organization score hundred percent. Also, setting personal examples only can allow the leader to point out the faults in his workers and correct them. “A leader leads by example not by Force.” (Sun Tzu, 6 B.C.). Both, Richard Branson and Alan Sugar are leaders, in every sense of the word because there are large group of employees willing to work under them. And both have the trait of leading by example, which would give added impetus to an organization. After analyzing all the criteria one can conclude that each trait is important in their own right and one cannot be considered more important than others. So, the entrepreneur should be judged using all the traits, but one recommendation is, it should be viewed from the contemporary context and from the context of the competition. And, if the entrepreneur shows all the good leadership traits mentioned here and many others, then he/she can be judged and declared the best entrepreneur of UK. References Chatterjee, Saugata. BITSian Entrepreneur Showcase. BITSian Entrepreneur Showcase.http://sandpaper.bitsaa.org/13_entrepreneurs/showcase.html Evan carmichael.Com. Lesson #3: Keep Flying. Retrieved on February 23, 2007 from http://www.evancarmichael.com/Famous-Entrepreneurs/592/Keep- Flying-High.html Ferry, Jim. How Failure Breeds Success. Retrieved on February 23, 2007 www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_28/b3992001.htm Greene, F. (2005). Youth Entrepreneurship: Latent Entrepreneurship, Market Failure and Enterprise Support. National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship Policy Paper #002. Kirby D (2002) Entrepreneurship. McGraw-Hill, Maidenhead Berkshire UK. Kaitz, Jim. (2006). Association for Financial Professionals Annual Conference. On February 23, 2007 http://www.afponline.org/pub/pr/pr_20061016_Branson.html Morris, Betsy. (2003). Richard Branson: What a Life Betsy. http://www.mutualofamerica.com/articles/Fortune/September03/fortune.asp Sugar, Alan. Leadervalues: quotes. Retrieved on February 23, 2007 from http://www.leader-values.com/Content/quotes.asp?Letter=A Tzu, Sun. (6th century BC). The Art of War. Wikipedia.com. (2007). Entrepreneur From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved on February 23, 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entrepreneur Read More