Here is an essay on ‘Entrepreneurship’ for class 9, 10, 11 and 12. Find paragraphs, long and short essays on ‘Entrepreneurship’ especially written for school and college students.
Essay on Entrepreneurship
Essay # 1. Introduction to Entrepreneurship:
Entrepreneurship is usually described as the whole process of finding opportunities, mobilising and acquiring resources, managing the production process and marketing the products. Entrepreneurs are architects of every conceivable material project and are motivated force behind development of any nation. Entrepreneurial spirit and defining characteristics of entrepreneurs have generated a lot of interest among researchers and academicians since long.
Many research studies have contributed to the literature on the characteristics of entrepreneurs. From an economist’s point of view, an entrepreneur is one who brings resources, labour, materials and other assets into combinations that make their value greater than before.
The one who brings about changes, innovations and a new order, from psychologists’ viewpoint, an entrepreneur is a person typically driven by certain wishes and forces within self to achieve certain goals to make experiments or to gain independence. A sociologist views entrepreneurship as a combination of strong achievement motivation in an individual along with certain conditions of social structure and culture strongly favouring the individual to pursue economic pursuits.
Entrepreneurship is a function of at least four sets of factors, which mainly influenced it, could be identified. In the first place, entrepreneurship is generated in a society by individuals who for some reasons, initiate, establish, maintain and expand new enterprises. It is observed that entrepreneurs grow in the traditions of their families and the society, and internalized certain values and norms from these sources.
The second factor thus constitutes the socio-cultural traditions emanating from these sources. The contribution from this socio- cultural factor in the process of transmission, however, gets filtered through the individuals get more influenced than others. The influence of these factors, on entrepreneurship is, thus, only indirect.
In addition to these two indirectly influencing factors, two other aspects directly influence entrepreneurship. The socio-political and economic policies of the government and other financial institution; and the opportunities available in a society as a result of such policies; may be considered-to play a crucial role in exerting direct influence on entrepreneurship.
This factor, in practice, operates as one of the major given constraints for the effective functioning of the support system, which work for the development of the entrepreneurs. The support system would include consultancy services as well as large industrial units interested in developing ancillary industries.
Factors like individual personality, socio-culture, support system and socio-political economic interact and influence entrepreneurship. While the individual, the environment, and the support systems directly influenced entrepreneurship, socio-cultural milieu contributes through the individual. In this sense, the individual directly contributes to entrepreneurship. Socio-cultural factors, in addition to influencing the individual, exert influence on the support systems as well. The support systems, by and large, reflect the values of the socio-cultural traditions, and take shape accordingly.
Even though entrepreneurship is viewed here as a dependent variable, with all the four sets of factors influencing and contributing to it, it also functions as an independent variable because of the influence of the individual entrepreneur is likely to exert on the socio-cultural factors like norms, values, and behaviour, the entrepreneurs tend to behave differently on several dimensions, and they help in creating new norms and values in their own families, and eventually in the society.
In the context of employment generation, the three terms, i.e., entrepreneurship, self-employment and income generation are often used interchangeably. Although there are a lot of commonalties among these concepts, yet the three terms are not the same.
Self-employment refers to full time involvement in one’s occupation or pursuits in which one may or may not have to take any risk to mobilize inputs and other resources to organize total production and services or to market the product and services.
Income generating activities on the other hand are often part time and casual and practised for the purpose of raising additional income. The functions of entrepreneurs, suggest that all entrepreneurs are self-employed and income generating persons. But all self-employed and income generating persons may not necessarily be entrepreneurs.
Accordingly, all the three may be useful means for employment generation in terms of their scope and impact with others.
The three, however, can be viewed as initial, middle and terminal stages in entrepreneurship growth process. With the conception, the plan of entrepreneurial development in late 1960’s, the initiation of the self-employment programme by the Government of India, mooted along with the concept of entrepreneurship training.
Until 1972-73, self-employment programme was equated with the implementation of the entrepreneurial development (ED) programme in most of the states. Ironically, many of the industrial change agents still consider entrepreneurship as a substitute for self-employment.
In consequence, the aforesaid two terms have been used interchangeably during the implementation of the several ED programmes. A farmer, barber, or blacksmith may not be called as an entrepreneur, though he is self-employed. Entrepreneurship generates self-employment and additional employment but all those self-employed cannot be entrepreneurs.
An entrepreneurial spirit implies a commitment to certain ends, adherence to self-fulfillment and vision towards progress and means of realizing certain ends. The Schumpeterian model suggests that notwithstanding the infrastructural or community conditions, the entrepreneur dares to take risk to realize these goals and individual’s emergence as entrepreneur in any set up is a complex process.
Though the process is a blend of environmental variants and their socio-personal matrices, the person ‘entrepreneur’ becomes the product of overall management of the entrepreneurial development programme (EDP), mentioned or geared by the various local institutions in the state.
The various concepts and theories propounded by the past researchers seem to indicate that the emergence of entrepreneurs in a society depends upon closely interlinked economic, social, religious, cultural and psychological variables. Studies in India and abroad have strongly supported that achievement motivation has been a strong manifestation in one form or the other to the entrepreneurial pursuits. Some sociologists have found that the niter-group relationship cluster of ethical communities, occupational groups for the economic activities get charged through entrepreneurs alone.
Economists have been suggesting incentives for entrepreneurial development such as appropriate monetary systems, balance of payment policy, removal of market uncertainty, stimulation of demand, local import tariffs or government subsidies programme, etc. A question arises; therefore, can we integrate the approach while envisaging the EDP for a particular client system? How, the best management development strategy can be employed during implementation of the above programmes to enable the local institutions, generate, mobilize and sustain the human resources.
Essay # 2. Development Process of Entrepreneurship:
Experiences have shown that two major factors have played significant role in developing entrepreneurship. One of them is the development of human factor—the entrepreneurship himself, another major factor is the development of environment where entrepreneurial activities can flourish and grow.
The human factors refer to the attitude, desire and motivation of an individual, his capability to perceive the environment changes and opportunities as well as his ability to solve the problems which he is likely to face. The training is effective in developing all these aspects of human factor provided it is planned well with balanced emphasis on all the aspects. Training has played crucial role for all such strategies in initiating and accelerating the process of entrepreneurship development. The training targets, however, have been both entrepreneurs and promoters of self-employment/entrepreneurship.
An analysis of the entrepreneurship development process (that helps in the emergence of people opting for entrepreneurial career) reveals that it follows a sequence of development of individual personality, capabilities and abilities.
The first generation of entrepreneurs requires developing:
a. Entrepreneurial quality/motivation;
b. Capability for enterprise launching/resourcing;
c. Ability for enterprise management; and
d. Sense of responsibility to the society that promotes/supports them.
a. Entrepreneurial Quality/Motivation:
Generally, we find people opt for wage- earning career, society, by and large, spreads and popularizes such orientation. Social institutions, such as, the family as well as school, more or less support and development of qualities like conformity and compliance which are not conducive to the growth of entrepreneurial values.
As a result of this, creativity, risk taking, perseverance, innovativeness and problem-solving orientation which are some of the accepted entrepreneurial qualities, are not encouraged. Whenever efforts are made to induct people to entrepreneurial career, such entrepreneurial qualities are generally found lacking or dormant.
These are required to be aroused to an extent that people may start opting for entrepreneurial career. This is a basic requirement and much needed force, which drives people to their new ventures. Left to them, such qualities and motivation will be developed in only very few.
Accordingly, as part of the planned programme of entrepreneurship development, the inputs have to be thought out and administered effectively to ensure development of the minimum entrepreneurial qualities/motivation adequate enough to drive them to entrepreneurial pursuits.
b. Capability for Enterprise Launching/Resourcing:
This opportunity exists in the society but not all of us are sensitive to it. Most of us in the society can perceive only the apparent and traditional openings for earnings. Similarly, resources are also available but very few make the efforts to make use of these. Together with economic insight for sensing opportunities in the area, prospective entrepreneurs may have to develop capability for selecting suitable project, formulating project report, arranging plant machinery, etc. and availing facilities and resources relevant to the launching of their enterprises. These are to be developed through training interventions.
c. Ability for Enterprise Management:
The enterprise may be small or big, but it demands good management abilities in its owner/manager. Various factors of management such as production, marketing, financial management, etc., are crucial for enterprises. These have direct influence on the results and, are therefore, necessary determinants for sustenance of an enterprise. The management inputs to the potential entrepreneurs also raise their expectancy for success. However, the intensity of these inputs may vary depending upon the size of enterprise that is selected by an entrepreneur/self-employed person.
d. Social Responsibility and Entrepreneurial Discipline:
The entrepreneurs who are developed and promoted at the social cost have certain responsibility to the society that promotes, and supports them. The Government and other public institutions that invest on them also expect something in return. In order to sustain the efforts of developing entrepreneurship, it is necessary that a sense of responsibility towards the society in general and towards the entrepreneurial movement in particular needs to be developed among the potential entrepreneurs, especially those belonging to the younger generation.
These entrepreneurs need to follow certain discipline, which is useful for entrepreneurial career. Such discipline may cover subjects like repayment behaviour, response to tax and statutory requirements, progressive outlook towards labour and above all care for ecology and environment.
These aspects related to individual behaviour, abilities and capabilities follow a logical sequence of development, which ultimately drives prospective youth to actual self-employment/entrepreneurial career.
Essay # 3. Creating Entrepreneurial Awareness in a Society:
A society or community can be said to possess entrepreneurial awareness when most of its members are conscious of the importance that the entrepreneurs play in accelerating the growth of the economy and in enriching the quality of life in the society. When it is generally realized that man is not necessarily the creature of his environment, he is potentially to be the creator; that change not by what people desire but by what they endeavour to do and are concerned with.
The entrepreneurial awareness of the community must lead to detect and appreciate the personality characteristic of entrepreneurs it must help by action the rise of entrepreneurial spirit and in leaders and community institutions to participate in the process of prolific emergence and healthy growth of genuine entrepreneurs.
Essay # 4. Integrated Strategy for Entrepreneurship Development:
Entrepreneurship development strategy follows a cycle consisting of stimulatory, support and sustaining activities. The stimulatory activities ensure the supply of entrepreneurs ready to take initiative and organize their enterprises even if it involves risking their career. The support activities provide infrastructure facilities, resources, ability and skill to entrepreneurs for enterprise launching and management.
Sustaining activities refer to all such efforts that facilitate growth and continuity through expansion, modernization, diversification and technology up-gradation of on-going healthy enterprises and opportunity for rehabilitation of sick units. Each group of activities is highly interacting, supplementary and crucial to each other. The absence/negligence/overemphasis of anyone may render the whole effort infructuous.
The entrepreneurship growth process can be further accelerated. The experimentations have amply demonstrated that entrepreneurship can be developed through planned efforts. Such planned efforts may require integration of stimulatory, supportive and sustaining activities. Training has been accepted and found very effective intervention in motivating and developing entrepreneurial qualities; capabilities and abilities for enterprise launching and management.
Entrepreneurship development is a process comprising essentially three phases, stimulatory, support and sustenance, explained below:
i. Stimulatory:
Entrepreneurship refers to enterprising or achieving attitude. The question arises how this is enterprising or “need for achievement” attitude to be developed and fostered. Motivation through stimulation and training psychologically prepares an individual to take the entrepreneurship. The stimulatory phases require a well-designed training programme based on experiential learning. On the part of trainer also it is very important that he/she should have deep knowledge about psychology and interested genuinely in the people.
Entrepreneurship development centres have sprung all over country in recent years since initial effort during 1971. Universities have also started introducing entrepreneurship development as a subject in their syllabi at the graduate and postgraduate level assuming that it is possible to stimulate the entrepreneurial attitude and competencies in the persons who have potential through specific training and teaching programmes.
ii. Support:
An entrepreneur does need, no doubt a sport of enterprise in him to be handled but to actually start an industry, he equally needs the timely help from various corners and concerns such as skill training, financial assistance, technical know-how and locating institutions to get training and facilities which involve huge costs, such as physical infrastructure, (power transport, communication at a cheaper rate).
iii. Sustenance:
Small is beautiful but sensitive also, small business is such a sensitive thing. In India and many developing countries, development agencies pay too much attention to the “startup phase” but too little to the operational stage of an industry during the course of its operation; it is essential to follow-up and to, helps sustain their on endeavour. Examples of sustaining activities undertaken by the promotional agencies may include ― Promotion, Diversification, Expansion, Competition, Modernization, Consultancy, Marketing, Policy measures, Reservation of items, etc.