There are three economic factors which are usually recognised my economists these are: the raw materials nature offers, the physical and mental labour people provide and capital. These three things are combined together in a way that satisfies human needs. Factors have to be bought together by individuals working together and undertaking different tasks and activities.
“Innovation is simply finding new combinations of economic factors.”
In the above statement it is saying that innovation is simply finding new combinations of economic factors but I don’t think this entirely true. This is because it does not distinguish entrepreneurship sufficiently from any other form of economic activity. Everyone that is active in the economy affect the productive factors as do entrepreneurs. The statement is not clear enough to know why entrepreneurship is a special form of economic activity.
The Entrepreneur as ‘the individual’
Through literature research, identify and discuss the psychology of entrepreneurs in terms of their personalities and behaviour, characteristics and traits, and their motivations for achievement
Entrepreneurs all have different personalities, characteristics and traits, and their motivations for achievement are all different. This is because they are all individuals with their own thoughts and knowledge about entrepreneurship and what it is.
If the personality of entrepreneurs was to be compared with non-entrepreneurs then a strict specification of who is an entrepreneur is necessary. The specification must be in terms of economic function or managerial characteristics. It cannot be in psychological terms because this would make the theory self fulfilling. The claim is that certain tasks, or economic causality, attract particular personality types.
Philip A Wickham
Carver and Scheier (2000, p.5) develop a definition of personality that covers areas of general agreement across the different schools. They suggest personality is:
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Organised - it has a coherent unity and is not fragmented
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Active - personality is maintained by and revealed through dynamic processes
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Physical - personality is a psychological concept but is derived from physical processes, particularly, but not exclusively in the brain
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Casual - personality determines how an individual will act and react in particular circumstances
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Regular - the personality of an individual is consistent over periods of time and leads to consistent patterns of behaviour
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Manifest - in shows up in many different ways including physical states, affective moods, personal feelings, decisions and actions
From this core different schools develop different thoughts about the personality of entrepreneurs.
Entrepreneur Subjects
Identify the different types of entrepreneur in different areas of society discussing ‘who is an entrepreneur’
There are different types of entrepreneurs, I have chosen to look at three of them. The three that I will be looking at are Anita Roddick, Walt Disney and Michael Birch. The most common types of entrepreneurs encountered are either those planning to start up an initial venture, so called nascent entrepreneurs or those running a single business are called singular entrepreneurs. These entrepreneurs are referred to as novice entrepreneurs when they are at the early stage of development and are still actively learning. Entrepreneurs who are interested in maximising their returns from short term deals are called opportunist entrepreneurs. Craft entrepreneurs are people that like to secure a steady income and are referred to as income orientated. Entrepreneurs that took a risk of expanding their business are referred to as expansion orientated. Entrepreneurs which are based on technology are important in a modern business as they take advantage of new scientific developments especially in the information technology area. A opportunist entrepreneur is a person who has no previous experience but has seen an opportunity and has taken it.
Walt Disney
Walt Disney is a entrepreneur because he created something no one had ever created before a cartoon. He had help from his brother Roy in creating this cartoon in his uncles garage.
Walt Disney is a world famous brand. Walt Disney started out from a cartoon drawing of a rabbit and has now grown and become a worldwide brand known by all age groups of people.
Walt Disney is famous for his cartoons, he now has books, toys, clothes and many theme parks across the world. Walt joined his brother Roy in California in 1901 were they both set up a studio in their uncle’s garage. The brothers made black and white cartoons which featured a rabbit named Oswald which was a character Walt Disney had created for universal studios.
Michael Birch
Michael Birch is an entrepreneur because he left his job to do something he saw as an opportunity. He saw an opportunity and took it. He risked everything he had to make what he saw as an opportunity a success.
Michael Birch set up a photo sharing website which is now very popular with teenagers. The website was set up for people in their thirties put it appealed to teenagers and is now a website that has millions of users nationwide. The websites of Michael birch allows users to set up personalised web pages containing their own pictures and lists of favourite films, books and TV shows. It also offers its users to chat to their friends and make new friends this can be done in the chat rooms or by looking at other users hobbies and interests and then by sending them a message or a friends request the other person can accept or decline the message.
Michael Birch left his job in insurance to set up his own business in 1999. His first business idea which was a self updating address book that was not a success but that didn’t stop him from trying something new. When his first idea didn’t work he joined his brother and wife who helped him to set up the Bebo websites.
Anita Roddick
Anita Roddick is an entrepreneur not because she wanted to be one but because she didn’t have enough money to support her family and thought she had to do something. She was motivated to become an entrepreneur after reading a book about the holocaust that included photographs of those who suffered in concentration camps.
Anita is the creator of the body shop, she started off by making her own products using things she had in her garage. Anita opened her first shop with 15 products and now has over 1,980 stores and more than 77 million customers. Anita was motivated to do something that makes a difference from a very young age after reading a book about the holocaust that included photographs of those who suffered in concentration camps.
After getting married in 1971 Anita and her husband made a living running a restaurant and a eight bedroom hotel. Her husband then left and went trekking on horse from Buenos Aries to New York leaving her to support her self and two girls with the money from the restaurant and the hotel. Using some of the money from this Anita was able to open her first shop and then a second shop within 10 months.
Comparing and Contrasting your Entrepreneur Subjects
The entrepreneurs that I have chosen are all different from each other because they all became entrepreneurs for different reasons. Michael Birch is a craft entrepreneur. These types of entrepreneurs are people that like to secure a steady income and are referred to as income orientated.
Anita rodick is a
A summary statement
Bibliography and any relevant Appendices
References
Financial times mastering enterprise Sue Birley, Daniel F Muzyka
Strategic entrepreneurship Philip A Wickham third edition
