Monday, October 21, 2019

Entrepreneurship and business Essay

Entrepreneurship and business Essay Entrepreneurship and business Essay Discuss the relationship between entrepreneurship, innovation and economic development. What role does creativity and problem solving play in this relationship? Refer to both theory and examples from the business world to support your discussion? Entrepreneurship is not just about ‘starting a business’. It is about seizing opportunities in the market place, making changes or improvements and creating value. Entrepreneurs look at problems at hand and take them as opportunities (1). By uncovering problems and identifying solutions, that customers would be willing to pay for, entrepreneurs create value (1). If there is any chance of profits, entrepreneurs become willing to bear the risks involved (2). Business opportunities are like buses, there’s always another one coming. – Richard Branson. On the other hand, innovation is slightly more complex. It is a dual process, which is the combination of some sort of invention and the implementation of it (3). Invention is the creation or breakthrough of new knowledge (3). However, more must be done in order to create value. As Thomas Alva Edison stated, innovation is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration (3). By ‘Inspiration’, he means ‘invention’ and by ‘perspiration’ he means ‘implementation’ (3). It is evident that the implementation plays a huge part in innovation because without it, it would be nothing but good ideas that is not transformed into economic value (3). Implementing process is also known as entrepreneurial process. Where entrepreneurs transform the invention into economic value taking into consideration the feasibility and managerial aspects (3). That is the clear relation between entrepreneurship and innovation. Entrepreneurs are innovators. The development of the post-it note will demonstrate the relationship between entrepreneurship and innovation. Spencer Silver had a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry; he worked at 3M and had developed a new adhesive that was even weaker than what 3M already developed (5). He knew he was on to something but unfortunately no one had any use for glue that did not stick properly (5). Regardless, he did not discard it (5). Arthur Fry was another scientist in 3M and also a singer in his church choir. In order to keep track of his hymns, he tore strips of papers to act as markers. However, It was troublesome, as the strips of papers would slip out of his book easily (4). It then hit him, using Spencer’s weak adhesive glue, the markers can be stuck firmly in its’ place and will not cause any damage to the paper when taken off (4). Engineers told Arthur that there was no such machine to develop this paper and the managers of 3M did not support his idea (4). Despite that, he carried on to build the machine himself and sent the ready-made product to all the managers (4). Fry believed strongly in his invention and the ability of it to make profit. He took the risks involved and was persistent in sharing the newfound discovery. If he did not work to transform the idea into economic value and go through the dual entrepreneurial process, it would have remained merely a brilliant idea. Many great ideas go unexecuted, and many great executioners are without ideas. One without the other is worthless. – Tim Blixseth This proves the importance of ‘perspiration’ after obtaining the ‘inspiration’ and vice versa. Moving on to economic development and how it relates to entrepreneurship and innovation. Economic development is basically the increase in the standard of living of nation’s population (6). This can be attained by further improvement of the existing businesses, attracting new businesses and motivating the growth of new businesses (7). These are brought about by entrepreneurship and innovation. The more entrepreneurship results into more innovation, ergo more business start-ups, expansion and retention that influence employment and economic growth (7). Economist Joseph Schumpeter (1883-1950) focused on the disturbance and change cause by

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Formal Introductions in Japanese

Formal Introductions in Japanese Japan is a country whose culture stresses ritual and formality.  Proper etiquette is expected in business, for example, and even  saying​ hello  has a set of strict rules.  Japanese culture is steeped in honorific traditions and hierarchies depending on a persons age, social status, and relation. Even husbands and wives use honorifics when speaking to each other. Learning how to make formal introductions in Japanese is vital if you plan to visit the country, do business there, or even take part in ceremonies such as weddings. Something as seemingly innocuous as  saying hello at a party  comes with a strict set of social rules. The tables below can help ease you through this process. Each table includes the transliteration of the introductory word or phrase on the left, with the word or words written in Japanese letters underneath. (Japanese letters are generally written in  hiragana, which is the more widely used portion of the Japanese kana, or syllabary, having characters that are cursive.) The English translation is on the right. Formal Introductions In Japanese, there are several levels of formality. The expression, nice to meet you, is spoken very differently depending on the social status of the recipient. Note that those of a higher social status requires a longer greeting. Greetings also become shorter as the formality decreases. The table below shows how to deliver this phrase in Japanese, depending on the level of formality and/or the status of the person you are greeting. Douzo yoroshiku onegaishimasu. Very formal expressionUsed to a higher Yoroshiku onegaishimasu. To a higher Douzo yoroshiku. To an equal Yoroshiku. To a lower Honorific O or Go As in English,  an  honorific  is a conventional word, title, or  grammatical  form that signals respect, politeness, or social deference. An honorific is also known as a  courtesy title  or an  address term. In Japanese,  the honorific o 㠁ŠÂ  or go 㠁” can be attached to the front of some nouns as a formal way of saying your. It is very polite.   o-kuni someone elses country o-namae someone elses name o-shigoto someone elses job go-senmon someone elses field of study There are some cases where o or go does not mean your. In these cases, the honorific o makes the word more polite. You might expect that tea, which is very important in Japan, would require an honorific o. But, even something as mundane as a toilet requires the honorific o as the table below illustrates. o-cha tea (Japanese tea) o-tearai toilet Addressing People The title san- meaning Mr., Mrs., or Miss- is used for both male and female names, followed by either the family name or the given name. It is a respectful title, so you cannot attach it your own name or to the name of one of your family members. For example, if a persons family name is  Yamada,  you would great him as  Yamada-san, which would be the equivalent of saying, Mr. Yamada. If a young, single womans name is Yoko, you would address her as  Yoko-san, which translates into English as Miss Yoko.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Draft Outline & body & Introduction of paragraph raisin in the sun by Essay

Draft Outline & body & Introduction of paragraph raisin in the sun by lorraine hansberry - Essay Example Lee complaining about the violation of their right to purchase home anywhere including in all-white neighborhoods. Although the court ruled to the author’s favor, the Hansberry family underwent physical attacks from their white neighbors. Hansberry wrote the play at a time when there were several social changes taking place in America. In the plot, the Youngers, an African-American family lives in poverty. The play begins by the family receiving $10,000 from the life insurance policy of the deceased Mr. Younger (Hansberry 2). Due to their myriad problems and needs, the family is divided on how best to use the money. Mama wants to use the money to buy a new home while Walter wants to invest the money in a liquor business with his friend while Beneatha hopes to use the money for her tuition fee. Ruth, Walters’s wife, agrees with Mama arguing that a better home will benefit the entire family. In the end, Walter’s friend misuses the money and the family encounters a decision by a white neighbor to move out of the given neighborhood and receive money for the same. The play indicates that equal opportunities for improvement of social and economic class as highlighted in the American dream are not fairly accessible to every citizen, but are dependent on race and social

Strategic Management and Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Strategic Management and Leadership - Essay Example The major European countries where General Motors has strong sales network are Britain, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Turkey, France, Spain and Ukraine. Chevrolet, Cadillac, GM Daewoo, Buick, â€Å"Opel, Vauxhall and Saab (Europe), Saturn, Hummer, Pontiac, Wuling and Holden are among the major brands that Company is offering to its clients. In Europe, GM has been offering Saab in Sweden, whereas it offers Opel and Vauxhall brands in France, Germany, Italy, Great Britain and others. It must be highlighted that GM planned to sell its European Operations because of huge losses it incurred due to uncertain business conditions but then rejected the offers of some buyers or corporations which were interested in purchasing General Motors majority stake. (Company’s report, 2009) I will first discuss this issue in detail in this paper using relevant frameworks such as PEST, Porter’s five forces, Core Competences and Financial Analysis for external and internal analysis respectively. I will then present SWOT analysis, Product-market expansion grid or Ansoff matrix and finally an analysis of key stakeholders of General Motors. The paper will be supported with relevant references, tables and charts. As I mentioned in the above section that General Motors offers Opel and Vauxhall as the major brands in Europe. Although the GM constantly developed, assembled and marketed new vehicles yet it was unable to earn respectable profits from its European operations due to uncertain economic climate that I will elaborate later. The end result was that GM announced its bankruptcy because of unbearable costs and also decided to either close or sell off its Opel/Vauxhall units to avoid further losses. It must not be forgotten that Gm Europe remain involved in restructuring in past to control mounting losses. The decision to sell off European Operations was

Friday, October 18, 2019

Training Module Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Training Module - Essay Example It will be part of their work duties. The training will teach the workers how to maintain a healthy lifestyle outside of the workplace to foster a better performance inside the workplace. The purpose of conducting this training is partially to reduce drama in the workplace. Many people come into the workplace with lots of drama issues surrounding their personal lives, which is not acceptable in the workplace. Relationships are important, but details about private relationships should be kept just that—private. People who are working with other workers do not want to hear their co-workers talk about how much someone had to drink the night before, their problems with their significant other or others, and who is sleeping with whom. It’s quite unprofessional and does not reflect the kind of worker that the company wishes to employ. Workers who do not abide by the work/life balance training will be considered for termination or face some kind of penalties. This work/life balance training module has several objectives. One of the objectives is getting employees to â€Å"prioritize† tasks in their lives so that their lives will be more efficient, and thus make them better workers.1 People who prioritize their tasks appropriately are more able to complete their work tasks with more efficiency. Another objective will be to make sure that employees complete their tasks by the stated deadlines. Two other objectives (which now total four) include having employees develop respect for themselves as well as others by being polite and extending various social courtesies and graces. While many people believe this could be a sort of morality training, it is basically training to help balance life at work and at home. The main issue that will be dealt with in meeting the goals or objectives is to try to stop workers from bringing home life drama into the workplace and to realize that there is a difference between

Why is Food Exchanged with Hindu Gods Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Why is Food Exchanged with Hindu Gods - Essay Example This is known as Prasad, which means mercy or the divine grace from god. The food offered to the deities is said to bestow religious merit, purifying body, mind and spirit. One of the rituals performed in Hinduism is known as puja. It is an offering done to various deities or special guests. It is done in variety of occasions and settings, but it is mainly performed at home or in public temples. However, Puja has different ritual performances, which basically, exhibit the same structure. Pitar pak, a family rite consisting of simple rituals andinvolves a few participants (Babb 34). The matar festival in whichtheparticipants’ number are in hundreds unlike the pitar Pak. Singing Bhajan and a domestic puja called saptashati path. These ceremonies are performed to persuade deities to grant favors that the worshipper is seeking. Food offering is the central feature of the rituals Hindus perform. Otherwise, without food offering, the ritual would simply not be Puja in the convention al sense of the term. Food is offered to the deity and in turn, the deity in some way partakes of the offering. Sometimes, the consumption of the food is symbolized physically, like in homa where the food is consumed by the fire. Other times the food is set before the god often behind a concealing cloth. In both cases, it is assumed that the deity actually partakes of the food. If the deity does eat the food placed on the altar, the leftover is then taken back for distribution. Upon eating this food, the participants are giving the most profound honor to the god. Therefore, the exchange of food in puja is in consonance with general principles that order Hindu life. More so, it shows that the food exchange that takes place in puja is a necessary pattern of human interaction with the gods. In presenting the food, the deities are paid for the past of future favors. Apart from the food, offering of clothing, money, and precious metals are used to pay the deities. The deities are suppose d to be given expensive type of foods, and if simple, they are usually prepared under stringent conditions of purity, which is the universal rule of Hindu ceremonialism (Babb 47). Rituals should be performed to honor god and at the same time to pay the god for all the favors. Several rituals in Hinduism are associated with food. For example, when a child feeds for the first time, it is celebrated as Samskara known as annaprasana. The funeral rite involves offering food to the departed soul. Devout Hindus observe some rituals before eating it. They sprinkle water around the food to purify it and make it worthy to the gods. In addition, they clean the place first because Hindu law books proscribe eating food in dirty places. They offer food to their personal gods before eating. In doing so, one’s body becomes a sacrificial alter. It is also believed that offering the gods food is a mark of self-devotion. As stipulated in the Hindu scriptures, anyone who offers food to gods befo re eating it come to no harm as the qualities in the food are neutralized by their positive energies. Therefore, it is important that the food is presented to â€Å"temple† where the gods are waiting on their altars (Yalman 293) The Hinduism community in honor of the gods holds different festivals, for example, the Annakuta festival. Annakuta literally means, â€Å"A hill of food†. On this day, worshippers offer Krishna great varieties and large quantities of vegetarian food. It is a celebration of an event in Krishna’s life. He lifted the mountain of Govardhan for seven days to protect people against the deluge of rain sent by the god of heavens and rains, and that is why Hindus celebrate this day (Toomey 123). They prepare hundreds of different food and take them to the

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Ase study of topshop-finding its success factors Essay

Ase study of topshop-finding its success factors - Essay Example The past decade, however, has witnessed the transformation of `topflop’ into an authentic Top-Shop; a shop which is not only â€Å"one of the world’s hottest retailers† (Esfahani, 2006, para. 1) but one which is popularly and consistently regarded as the â€Å"bastion of cool† (Esfahani, 2006, para. 8) by teens and adults. Indeed, in a market where success is an ephemeral goal, Topshop is the epitome of success and, through its electronic storefront, seems posed for greater success. With the aforementioned in mind, the identification of Topshop’s success factors, alongside a determination of whether or not these CSFs have been carried over to its online storefront, will prove integral to the better understanding of the determinants of e-retail success. Over the past decade, Topshop’s success has been predicated on supplier quality, flexible responsiveness to market trends and consumer demands/tastes, employee satisfaction and, ultimately, consumer satisfaction. Analysis of Topshop’s success and, more importantly, its maintenance of that success, indicates that one of the leading CSFs is supplier quality. As Esfahani (2006) maintains, Topshop is extremely selective as regards the clothing lines it will carry in its store, especially its flagship one, and insists that all goods adhere to quality standards while, at the same time, remain affordable. A second, probably as important CSF, is the evident satisfaction displayed by its employees. As both Burney (2004) and Wilson (2005) notes, in immediate comparison to other fashion retailers and High Street shops where attendees and assistance are quite evidently performing a chore when assisting customers and, while unfailingly polite are quite obviously acting and behaving in accordance with management’s instructions, Topshop employees are genuinely interested, helpful and friendly to customers. They appear committed to their