Definition of entrepreneurship and discussion of its relevance in the context of start-ups and established firms.

Introduction.

            Throughout human history, an entrepreneur has been a most active player in areas of technological, economic, and social development. After Richard Cantillon’s work, Essay on the Nature of Commerce in General (Essai sur la Nature du Commerce en general) was published in 1755, the words, “entrepreneur” and “entrepreneurship” have been increasingly used in the business and economics literature (Eisenmann and Eisenmann, 2013). Today, entrepreneurship research involves many disciplines such as economics, management, cognitive science and sociology.  Acknowledging that there are different approaches to defining the entrepreneurship and many opinions of its importance in modern business environment, this assay research mainly addresses the relevance of entrepreneurship in the context of start-ups and established firms from the perspective of economics and management.

            What is entrepreneurship?

            According to Professor Howard Stevenson, the godfather of entrepreneurship studies at Harvard Business School, entrepreneurship is the pursuit of opportunity beyond resources controlled(Bgi.edu, 2014). However, the most common definition of entrepreneurship is the next: "entrepreneurship is the willingness to take risks and develop, organize and manage a business venture in a competitive global marketplace that is constantly evolving" (BusinessDictionary.com, 2014). Entrepreneurs are inventors, innovators, pioneers and leaders. They are at the front line of social and technological movements – in their fields, in their forward thinking, in their desire to push the frontiers. They are dreamers and most importantly – doers. The most obvious example of entrepreneurship is the starting of new businesses.

Body.

            In the body of the essay the researcher is going to discuss positive and negative aspects why start-ups and established firms might choose the way of entrepreneurship and  the well-established notion that large and mature organizations stifle an employee’s ability and motivation to become an entrepreneur (Kacperczyk and J, 2012, pp. 484--521). The essay will consist of four paragraphs minimum.

            First paragraph will cover why many start-ups choose to be entrepreneurships. One of the reasons is that "“Pursuit” implies a singular, relentless focus"(Bgi.edu, 2014). In other words entrepreneurs often perceive a short window of opportunity. They need to show tangible progress to attract resources and "the mere passage of time consumes limited cash balances" (Morris and Paul, 1987, pp. 247--259). Consequently, entrepreneurs have a sense of urgency that is seldomly seen in established companies, where any opportunity is part of a portfolio and resources are more readily available. Opportunity  implies an offering that is novel in one or more of four ways and may entail:  pioneering a truly innovative product; devising a new business model; creating a better or cheaper version of an existing product; or  targeting an existing product to new sets of customers (Boonchoo and Wadeson et al., 2013, pp. 61--78). These opportunity types are not mutually exclusive. For example, a new venture might employ a new business model for an innovative product. Likewise, the list above is not the collectively exhaustive set of opportunities available to organizations. Many profit improvement opportunities are not novel, hence not entrepreneurial, for example, raising a product’s price or once a firm has a scalable sales strategy, hiring more reps.

            Second paragraph will discuss why many new firms prefer to copy already existed businesses in terms of market, product and service. Many entrepreneurs keep expenditures to a bare minimum while investing only their own time and, as necessary, their personal funds. In some cases, this is adequate to bring a new venture to the point where it becomes self-sustaining from internally generated cash flow (Tanan and Isti et al., ). With most high-potential ventures, however, founders must mobilize more resources than they control personally: the venture eventually will require production facilities, distribution channels, working capital, and so forth. Another point is risk. It is well-known that most of entrepreneurs are risky. However, a lot of people are not risk takers, as such they are far from entering entrepreneurship as a business way.

            Third paragraph will talk about  the factors that push established organizations fully or partially to transform into an entrepreneurship. As entrepreneurship is "a distinctive approach to managing" rather than a specific stage in an organization’s life cycle such as a start-up or a specific role for an individual (i.e., founder), or a constellation of personality attributes (e.g., predisposition to risk taking; preference of independence), so in this view, entrepreneurs can be found in many different types of organizations, including large corporations(Writework.com, 2005). Especially ones that have intention and spare funds to expand their businesses.

            The last paragraph will explain decisions that were made by established organisations to leave current type of employment in order to operate and assume risks for well-organised businesses. Large and mature firms "generate bureaucratic processes that hinder development of the kinds of employee skills", motivations, and aspirations favourable for new venture formation (Abeuk.com, 2014). This view implies that, as firms grow and mature, they become increasingly able to absorb the entrepreneurial drive of their employees.

Another way is that many firms, by exposing employees to highly specialized and closely monitored tasks, inhibit the ability to "challenge the existing order and to engage in creative problem solving"(Mospace.umsystem.edu, 2014).

Conclusion.

            An entrepreneur is some­one who searches for change, responds to it, and exploits change as an opportunity. For these people starting up their own business offers a greater possibility of  achieving significant financial rewards than work­ing for someone else.

It provides the ability to be involved in the whole  operation of the business, from concept to design and creation, from sales to business operations and customer response. Because entrepreneurs are pursuing a novel opportunity while lacking access to required resources, they always face considerable risk. Another question is funds needed, which are much easier to forecast when calculating for already existing business. That is why, many new businesses continue to follow well-approved business paths. Nevertheless, not only start-ups are famous as source of entrepreneurship, but many well-established companies go by this way in order to improve their positions in market or expand its influence even further. On the other hand, such issues as bureaucracy and close monitoring of employees become obstacles on the way of entrepreneurship.              

Business Communications skills are essential for success in the modern business environment.

Introduction.

“When a relationship is working, the act of communicating seems to flow relatively effortlessly. When a relationship is deteriorating, the act of communicating can be as frustrating as climbing a hill of sand."

- Chip Rose, attorney and mediator.

“Good communication skills are imperative for outstanding performance and career management”(Abacusbusinesscoaching.com, 2014). Effective communications skills are the key to a modern business executive’s success. Many of these skills are timeless such as leadership, strategic thinking, driving results, relationship building, clearly communicating direction and motivating others. Business executives have to possess these skills; however, they also need to update the required skills and competencies of the future. Executives,who improve and expand their existing skills to include global experience, will be “better suited to conquer new business challenges”(Talentmgt.com, 2014).

Companies which invest in the development of their executives are in a much better position to turn drivers and challenges of change into business opportunities for innovation and growth. By adopting opportunities to develop world experiences and “emphasize a balance between people and business skills”, organizations can significantly improve their own competitive positions.

According to Katz R. (2009), the modern business executives have to possess the next skills and capabilities:

ü  presentation skills;

ü  negotiation skills;

ü  influencing skills;

ü  compromise;

ü  cooperation;

ü  writing skills and report writing;

ü  listening skills.

However, Bennett J. (1971) in his article “The Communication Needs of Business Executives” discussed several others skills: 

ü  strategic thinking;

ü  business skills;

ü  people skills such as stress control,conflict and problem solving.

In his work Bennett also insisted that executives who are “best-equipped to handle the new business imperatives do not only possess the skills and competencies that traditionally have been required” but also have ample strategic thinking skills, global experiences, exceptional communication and interpersonal skills and the ability to manage remote teams(Bennett, 1971).

Business executives’ communications skills.

Strategic thinking has acquired a broader definition. To understand clients, business executives are expected to lead, think and operate from a global perspective.

Mark Karel, president of Philips Medical Systems, said leaders of the future have to be able to integrate different functional areas of their companies into solutions that add more value for their customers (Skills, 2014). Thus, executives have to spend more time with customers in an effort to understand their social, demographic elements, cultures and to build an “awareness of both the competitive and political landscapes” (Skills, 2014). Executives who are able to improve their strategic thinking skills will get a competitive advantage for their businesses. The Institute of Executive Development and RHR Internationalconfirmed from its survey thatstrategic thinking “will continue to be at the top of the list of required skills” for future executives (Warren, 2014).

Many companies are establishing global competency models to adapt to this changing business environment, which require executives to obtain international experience in addition to their traditional business skills. Moreover, they want their executives to have a mix of skills, competencies and experiences. For example, Philips Medical Systems managers in order to be promoted to senior managers must have experience in two different countries and work in two different product divisions (Warren, 2014).

Another great advantage for executives is to balance between business skills and people skills. Before, executives mainly paid attention to the “business” skill set. Taking into account significant growth in numbers of teams operating remotely, the challenge to managethese teams effectively across borders has emphasised excellent communication and interpersonal skills at the executive level. For example, Ernst & Young has a “people-first environment,” which starts at the executive level and infiltrates the whole organization. The attitude has become “an expectation in the company’s culture” (Helpguide.org, 2014). This attitude made people feel more valued, hence an increase in retention.

Innovation is yet another “timeless skill that will continue to be a top priority” (Leadership-development-tips.com, 2014). To stay for business competitive, it is important for executives to focus on product development, speeding up research and getting products to market in short terms. They have to be innovative and entrepreneurial, despite a size of their organization.

Presenting information effectively and clearly is a key skill to get one’s message or idea across. And today successful presentation skills are required in almost every field and business executive have to feel persuasive and confident while presenting; utilise a systematic approach to preparing presentations; develop and improve techniques to overcome obstacles in delivering successful presentations.

Successful negotiation skills include everything from pre-negotiation planning to the use of seemingly unimportant details like seating, meeting and arrangements site selection one can influence the results of negotiations. These skills help to communicate more effectively with partners, rivals, stakeholders and employees at all levels of the organisation. However that requires a complex mix of skills and abilities to adapt to different personality types. In order to consistently achieve successful results, it is vital to have “an in-depth understanding of the processes of communication and negotiation” (Bennett and Olney, 1986).

The next important skill is assertiveness. It is a way of behaving and thinking that helps an individual to advocate persons rights while respecting the rights of others. Assertiveness means expressing opinions, while it can “lead to confrontation and takes courage” (Stotesbury, 2009). Some people find it hard to be assertive because of their natural easy-going temper and hence require some practice. Executives have to know how their behaviour style influences their overall performance as a manager.

The final skill concerns stress control. Everyone experiences conflicts at some points of lives. Although, conflicts could result in loss of time, resources, and efficiency in any business team, when managed well, conflict can lead to new ideas, more efficient decision-making and better performance. This skill helps executive to handle modern issues such as team dysfunction, mediation between difficult employees, coping and working through difficult situations. Several key surveys have motivated organisations to search for ways to “give their members a greater sense of control, reduce stress, and improve productivity and morale” (Leadership-development-tips.com, 2014).

Conclusion.

Communication is very important in an organization as it connects members within a specific department as well as links them to members from other departments, from other offices and from all over the world. Moreover, successful executive’s communication can make the difference between success and failure for a company.

Successful communication helps to provide the efficient operation at all levels of a business, from lowest to highest, while a poor communication often leads to inefficiency. And it is well known that “inefficiency equals a loss of productivity” and as a result loss of profits (Katz, 2009).

Increased efficiency is not the only result of successful communication, but it also establishes a sense of unity among members, leading to their feeling of self-appreciation, working together toward a common goal as the success of the organization.

The main conclusion that may be drawn from this research of communication skills necessary for business executives is that they are more vital than ever before for business success and that they will continue to be a crucial component of the business communication.