The Person I Want to Be Essay Example for Free

The Person I Want to Be Essay According to Artistotle, the virtuous person is one who finds a suitable balance among their many desires and passions. Finding that happy medium is a goal I wish to accomplish through careful thought and consideration of my personal desires. I have set the primary goal of having a successful career, with a latter goal of having the ideal work- life balance when I begin a family. Referring back to Aristotle, I want to determine how to proportion my desires to find eudaimonia. At this stage in my life, my primary goal is to have a successful career. Having the desire to succeed can be fueled by the virtue of motivation. I believe I am currently embracing the happy medium, for I am very driven to do my best but not to the point of it interfering with my personal life and other hobbies. One main step in embracing motivation is to have your goal clear in your mind. I always imagine a concrete image of where I am trying to get and what the road that will get me there looks like. It’s important also to understand beforehand the potential roadblocks that can deter you from reaching your goal, and to predetermine the route that will be taken to avoid or overcome them. Another important virtue to foster in having a successful career is modesty. I take a lot of pride in my work but often find myself comparing scores with peers and feeling a sense of satisfaction when I score higher. I know that I’m leaning towards the vice of excess by being boastful at times, which is why modesty is one of the virtues I want to work on balancing as I continue my college career and my professional growth. In an accounting firm, the goal is to succeed as one and to grow as a team rather than an individual. Maintaining a strong sense of modesty is a goal I am aiming to achieve because I too often find myself concerned with how I compare to others, and I would rather support the success of everyone. Confidence and commitment are two virtues that are cornerstone to accomplishing the goals I have set for myself. My standards are high and my goals may seem far- fetched to some, but through perseverance and commitment I know that they are achievable. In my academic career, I have set the goal to be on the Dean’s List each semester until I graduate. In addition to excellent grades, I am determined to have a winter 2014 accounting internship with a well-respected firm. The opportunity to get an internship does not come easily; the interviews are challenging and the competition is fierce. Confidence is the virtue that can help me best achieve my goal because I know that in order for the firm to think I’m the best candidate, I have to feel as if I’m the best candidate. Confidence is a virtue that will follow me throughout my life, and is a key ingredient to the recipe for happiness. Having a solid work- life balance is an important aspect to keep in mind. Although I have a relentless drive to succeed academically and professionally, it is not my only desire. In the future, I hope to be a loving wife and mother to a wonderful family. Several characteristics that are most important to have when being a part of a family are honesty, trust, patience, and love. I know that if I make decisions with those characteristics in mind, I will be making decisions with the heart rather than the mind. In my personal life, letting my heart make the decisions is always the best course of action that leads to the utmost happiness. Keeping business and pleasure apart from one another is an integral way to keep a suitable work- life balance. The ideally concocted recipe for happiness would result in the harmony of an accomplished career and the balance of a family. The virtues I hope to strengthen and maintain culminate to create the perfect recipe for happiness. Without any one ingredient, the recipe will not turn out as planned. Adding too much or too little of one ingredient will also lead the recipe to fail. I have laid out all the ingredients I plan to use to create my ideal recipe for happiness, my next step and challenge is to decide the proportions I want to add to my mixing bowl called life.

Benefits of Training Employees in an Organization

Benefits of Training Employees in an Organization The aim of this paper is to identify all there is to know about training, the impact it has on both firms and employees and then, the reason why, although it is beneficial provision to business growth, still some organisations and individuals are not willing to accept the idea of investing in training and development. In order to come to that claim, it is necessary to mention first the cost-effectiveness of training and development, by which methods it can be reinsured, and the involvement of training in an organisations prosperity and even more, when it has to do with the integration in a international market. To begin properly, it should be noticed that training at any level and in whatever form this can take, could have only positive aspect. Considering that, training means investing in people to enable them perform better and to empower them to make the best use of their natural abilities (Armstrong, 1996; 2003). Through the practice of a range of activities, it is believed that learning is an important clue here, as a means for developing a high performance culture and achieving businesss competitive advantage (Pieper, 1990, Salaman, 1992, Tyson, 1996). This appear clearly from the below definitions of training. According to Heevy and Noon (2001), training is the process of changing the skills, attitudes, and knowledge of employees with the purpose of improving their level of competence. It is a planned process, usually involving a series of stages where incremental improvements can be identified. It takes two main focus 1) on the job training whereby an employee observing the tasks, being guided through them by experts, and then practising them. 2) Off the job training whereby an employee is instructed away from the place of work, either in a training room on the premises or at a separate location. This training is more often theory based and might even take the form of self learning packages (Heevy and Noon, 2001). Furthermore, as Manpower Services Commission defined training in 1981, it is the following: A planned process to modify attitude, knowledge or skill behavior through learning experience to achieve effective performance in an activity or range of activities. Its purpose, in the w ork situation, is to develop the abilities of the individual and to satisfy the current and future manpower needs of the organization. Seeing the definition of the training from the perspective of education as Smith put it: Development refers to the growth of realization of a persons ability, through conscious or unconscious education, where education is activities which aim at developing the knowledge, skills, moral values and understanding required in all aspects of life, rather than a knowledge and skill relating to only a limited field of activity (Smith, 1992). Besides the definition of training, the mention of the potential benefits for both employees and firms and from which methods these are derived, is essential in order to understand why training is so important for the business (Lonr, 1990, Murray, 2007). It is worthwhile to point that it cannot be any development without the training procedure. As it has already been mentioned, training aims to develop employees competences and to improve their performance but also, to reduce the learning time needed for employees starting in a new job on appointment, transfer or promotion and to ensure that they will become fully competent as quickly and economically as possible (J. Swart et al, 2005). When a training programme being used effectively, then the benefits for employees are numerous and are illustrated on firms performance. It also helps to manage changes and provide to employees the knowledge and skills they need to adjust with new situations and work demands, as well as to adopt new t echnologies and methods, to be innovative (Armstrong, 2003). In that way, employees motivation is increased and the same goes to efficiencies in processes resulting in firms financial gain while employees turnover is being reduced. Highly trained workforce provides higher levels of service to customers which enhance companys image (Mullins, 2007). The cost-effectiveness of training is a vital element because it can help the line manager to establish credibility, to reveal the value of the training by achieving both operational savings and increases in firms revenue; then, enforce the organization to look training more as an investment and less as a dispensable cost of operation. By training their employees, companies maximize the potential of this investment (Campbell, 1995). In order to improve the skills of its human resource, an organization can either train its existing employees or recruit pre-skilled labor forces that have been trained elsewhere (Booth, 1998; Jameson, 2000). The importance of investment in training and development is matter of whether a firm is treating its employees as a resource or as a cost (Tysson, 1996; Long, 1990; Jackson, 1989; Jameson, 2000). By exploiting the meaning of each word that consists Human Resource Management; human implies the workforce, resource implies investment, management implies development (Sisson, 1989). It is demonstrated that the consideration of human asset as investment for the firm through strategic development can maximize its potential, and the training is the tool that can provide it. So, companies with unwillingness to consider employees as investment, can simply be called not HRM practicing. In adverse, companies reluctant to invest in their human resources, rely on a short-term human asset, which, mainly, is low skilled training, less loyalty to its work and easy replaceable due to the lower cost of loss for the firm (Harzing, 1995; Jameson, 2000; Mullins, 2007). Most managers recognize the vital role that continuous learning plays in todays marketplace in order to maximize companys competitive advantage (Harzing, 1995; Gordon, 1991). However, some managers are reluctant to invest in their employees and train them. The reasons why is happening are variable. The market from its own, in which each company is doing business, deduct any potential training (Booth, 1994; Graven, 1998). More specific, the market is divided to the primary labour market, where jobs tend to be supplied by large, highly profitable firms with high capital to labour ratio and high productivity. Here, production is usually large scale with high investment in technology with more opportunities for training. The secondary labour market includes small firms with low capital to labour ratio, low productivity and small scale production. In these firms, wage and skill levels tend to be low, employment is unstable and training opportunities are usually limited. Significantly, small businesses experience problems in providing training for both owner-managers and workers. (Curran et al., 1996) Reasons for not providing such training are that companies do not believe in the effectiveness of training and they do not consider it as a big component for a better performance. Hence, when profits are under pressure or other developments are on stake, the most common reaction is to cut training fund. Also, recruiting skilled labor is more economical than practicing training and development policies. But they neglect that teamwork, employees initiatives, people talents are all part of the financial model and when these figures are maximized the same goes with the business economic growth (Bentley, 1991; Campell, 1995) Traditional styles of management based on authoritarian, non-participatory tenets of employees and managers who have grown up in a system like this, is unlikely to be ready to abandon familiar tried and trusted methods and be welcomed to a better trained, self reliant and questioning human force (Sisson, 1989). Some of them claim that there is limited time for the practice of training program. Indeed, a training program to be effective needs a lot of both employers and employees time and commitment, it also may take all employees job-life to be efficient. Job conditions change constantly in the business environment, so the continuous learning is required but nobody has the state or the emotional strength to be in a training position all the time. In that point, there are two categories that can be distinguished (Armstrong, 2003; Murray, 2007; Currie, 1997). Employers that do not believe in the importance of the process and employees that do not find interest to be trained, specifically if they have obtained a high image in the firm and they are known for their distinctive qualifications. Contrary to that, some employees want to develop their skills and knowledge whereby they will contribute to their companys success (Keep, 1989). They want training but their managers do not want to be confronted by this task, they are unwillingness to try, and simply they avoid it. From the perspective of the length of a training program, which could take weeks, months or even the entire career of the employees it can be a major expense especially for firms with traditionally high turnover. Besides, the common belief that is the responsibility of the school system to train people to be workers and is the workers responsibility to learn how to do a job so they can get hired is another reason why employers not practice their manpower (Collin, 2003). Government regulations, insurance coverages, and common sense dictate relevant training that should be given to every employee. Still, few employers do not find it significant to train their human force (Collin, 2003; Noon, 2001). A discouragement of not training is, also, the gap that arises when trainees are transferred from the training course to a job, to apply their knowledge and skills in practice. As long as they are in a training centre, they are sheltered from the realities of the rough and tumble workplace. For managers and team leaders, the problem of transferring from learning situation to the real conditions may be even more difficult because most of management training tends to deal with relatively abstract concepts like motivation and leadership, and the connection between what is being learned in the class room and what is really happening in work, may not always be apparent. That is why the training must always be compatible to employees needs (Armstrong, 2003, Noon, 2001). Another reason of not practicing training can be regarded the difficulty in measuring the effectiveness of a training program. Measuring cost of training needs a lot of efforts from the senior manager because apart from training results are also other interacting variables such as administrative costs, relocation, course design and material costs that have to be taken into account. Therefore are different methods that can be used from the manager in order to derive an acceptable figure for the effectiveness of training course. Those methods vary from sector and companys size. Hence manager has to have the ability to choose the one, which fit to the business needs. Any failure to the accounting of training-cost can mislead to wrong results, to an ineffective training proposal and that will discourage the company to practice training (Murley, 2007; Belcour, 1995t; Gordon, 1991). Moreover, it can be said that firms are not invested in training because of the flexible working environment. They claim that investing in people can be a boomerang for their business competitive advantage, as it is likely employees will leave the company and transfer their knowledge into competitors firm. Despite the likelihood of this event, employers have to understand that the key for organizations success is the human factor. By investing in human asset training, they invest in employees commitment to the firm and more as the firm invests in the development of their skills (Armstrong, 2003; Craven 1994; Hall, 1991). It cannot be ignored the providence of the HRDF, a levy reimbursement scheme establishing in 1992. Under HRDF, employers pay a payroll contribution of one percent and are eligible to claim a portion of allowable training expenditures up to the limit of their total levy for any given year. The reimbursement rates vary by sector and type of training. Empirical analysis showed that firms least likely to claim from HRDF are small firms and firms providing no training or only informal training. Important factors that employers cite as inhibiting their training: the limited resources available for it, the use of mature technology with low skill requirements, the adequacy of skills provided by schools, and the availability of skilled workers who can be hired from other firms (Tan and Gill, 1998). Generally, levy schemes have led to an increase in quantity of training. In some countries levy schemes have had some impact on increasing training. A common feature of schemes in which training has increased has been the fact that an effective system is in place for administering the levy both for levy collection as well as administration of grants. On the other hand, there were very complicated rules governing training requirements for the levy and the criteria for approval, dissuade employers from investing in it (Edwards, 1997). Firms which may have otherwise invested more in training, tend to reduce their effort to the level required by law in order to receive the minimum rebate or tax credit. There is also some evidence which suggests that if firms are reluctant to train, they organize training which is not relevant to their needs in order to qualify for the rebate or tax credit. Additionally, smaller firms may be less likely to train their workers as they feel that costs are significant and the training which is provided may not be relevant to their needs. Even if training is provided, the bureaucracy involved in persuing reimbursements dissuades firms from submitting claims for reimbursements. (Herschbach, 1993). Concluding, this paper attempted to define the reasons why there are organizations that are reluctant to see their manpower as an important asset in business success and so invest on them and train them. Now, the interplay between the benefits that are derived from any form of training and the cost-effectiveness of training for the firms is seemed to be more clear. In general, companies which operate in the increasingly competitive international market were forced to attach training and development as equal to the vital acknowledgement that the training needs are more like an investment rather than a cost and that, partly due the cultural diversity that the international integration occurs and partly because of the rapid economic and technological growth. All these also reflect the companies outlook on how important is the quality of those they recruit, because a companys image is as good as is its personnel and it is vital to select and train the best. (Upton, 1987) Unfortunately, i n many cases this process is considered by many managers as meaningless, too time consuming, a bureaucratic exercise only, or even as something that intervene to their departments work. For some organizations, the maintenance and the wellbeing of the equipment and machinery seems more important than to make an effort to the wellbeing and development of their own employees (Sun, 2001). But as it has been already highlighted, the key for success, even profit, for any firm at any size is its human asset and to invest in them infer to business future (Hall, 1991, Armstrong, 2003).

Entrepreneurial Action Is Creative Action Commerce Essay

Entrepreneurial Action Is Creative Action Commerce Essay Entrepreneurs are the talk of the business town at this very moment. But, who exactly is an entrepreneur and more importantly, what is it about him that makes him so famous in the world today? Let us take a closer look at an entrepreneur and his world! An entrepreneur actually is a person who makes life easier for the world community at large. Schumpeter (1965) defined entrepreneurs as individuals, who exploit market opportunity through technical and/or organizational innovation. He sees an opportunity which others do not fully recognize, in order to meet an unsatisfied demand or to radically improve the performance of an existing business. It began when an entrepreneur empathized with a problem faced by an individual which could be addressed by introducing a particular product or service. The earliest companies in the world were started by entrepreneurs who saw this need and created a vision for fulfilling that need. Next, they took the risks associated with starting a company and then finally producing and releasing a product to solve that particular problem of the individual. Eventually, in the long run, companies established by entrepreneurs add to the competitive spirit of the economy. In doing so, they force the existing firms to compete with the ideas and methods of newer firms and to come up with efficient business strategies. Thus, having stated how an entrepreneur was brought into existence, it can now be established that not only are entrepreneurs the people who possess the vision to introduce innovative products, but also the ones who ensure that the market is updated at all times, at times also creating new markets along the process. In a way they form an interlink between the masses and the business world. This makes them the core element of the business sector. This work performed by an entrepreneur is together clubbed as entrepreneurship. It can be defined in terms of value creation by identifying opportunities for new products and services and realizing them through new firm formation, then it is the process of transforming identification to realization of opportunities that forms part of the entrepreneurs learning experience. Reference Mitra (2011) The natural course of this essay takes us to an interesting point where we know that an entrepreneur introduces a product based on a need. However, there are two vital aspects of this task. Firstly, there is no empirical result which can ascertain his decision to introduce a product which has never before been released. In effect, this makes entrepreneurship an intuitive task. The decision to go ahead with a particular product is to a large extent backed by his instinct that the product will indeed be accepted in the market. The entrepreneur thus, makes an uncertain but intuitive decision of giving a product the green signal. Secondly, the probability of the product being accepted in the market is very high when the product is creativity personified, that is, it is a product which hasnt yet found a place in market. It could be a modification of an existing product or better still, a whole new product created by the entrepreneur. So it is visible now that uncertainty and creativity ar e two primary elements of entrepreneurship. Frank Knight, threw some light on the uncertainty aspect of entrepreneurship. His theory states that uncertainty is distinguishable from risk. He says that risk is measureable, whereas, uncertainty is not calculable as it relies on probability which cannot be measured. It is uncertainty that is distinguished from risk that provides a return to the entrepreneur. In other words, an entrepreneurs income (residual income) i.e. profits, is a product of uncertainty and not risk. This implies that if an entrepreneur wants to earn a profit it is a given that he needs to willingly bear uncertainty. Thus entrepreneurs are distinguished between non entrepreneurs in their willingness to bear uncertainty in order to gain profit. Milliken went ahead and gave three types of uncertainty. His three types of uncertainty can be simplified into three questions asked by a prospective actor about his or her relationship to the environment: (1) Whats happening out there? (state uncertainty), (2) How will it impact me? (effect uncertainty), and (3) What am I going to do about it? (response uncertainty). Let us consider an example of a product introduced under uncertainty. Apple introduced iPod at a time when nothing like it was ever heard of. There were some Mp3 players and portable CD players in the market at the time. But, IPod was entirely a different product. The probable success or failure of iPod could not be calculated. With thick clouds of uncertainty, Apple released iPod! Lo and behold! After the first few months of gradual acceptance, iPod hit a golden run. It revolutionised the market for audio players and electronic goods at large. However, it must be noted that the decision to introduce iPod was indeed an uncertain one which eventually garnered great profits for the company and gave it a niche status. Thus knights theory stands true that it was uncertainty that reaped profits for late Steve Jobs. The evaluation of Knights theory of uncertainty reveals that it has some loopholes as well. His theory explicitly arises out of partial knowledge. . The essence of the situation is action according to opinion, of greater or less foundation and value, neither entire ignorance nor complete and perfect information, but partial knowledge[p. 1991. This can be viewed negatively as partial knowledge backfires. Also, it appears as though Knight has paid too much attention to uncertainty and neglected other functions of the entrepreneur which are also instrumental in him earning profits. He has also not accounted for differences and asymmetries that emerge between different companies. It is not rational for an entrepreneur to release his product under strict uncertainty. Surely, he does undertake a considerable market research prior to taking a decision about introducing the product. However, the presence of uncertainty is definitely a hard hitting aspect of an entrepreneurs job. In contrast to Knights theory about the willingness to bear uncertainty, Joseph Schumpeter in his theory argues that entrepreneurs function lies in an innovative act of creating a new combination. Believing that the potential for new combination is abundant and at times obvious, Schumpeter delineates entrepreneur from non-entrepreneur not by difference in knowledge or perception but by performance of innovative act itself. The history of entrepreneurship reflects its uncertain nature. Several examples such as introduction of Nano Car by TATA Motors in India, Mc Maharaja which is a burger introduced by McDonalds in the Indian market, HD TV show that all these products began from an atmosphere of uncertainty. Nothing is certain, surely not the performance of a new product or service in todays volatile markets. In the past, uncertainty would rise from the fact that the market were rigid and unwilling to open up. Today, the same uncertainty exists, but with a different nature. The uncertainty phenomenon today arises from the ever changing tastes and preferences of the public. This puts in added pressure on the product performance. Thus, uncertainty can indeed not be separated from entrepreneurship. In fact, it is practically engrained in it. As established above, the second aspect of entrepreneurship deals with creativity. Being creative is seeing the same thing as the world, but thinking of something differently. Creativity refers to the ability or power to create or to bring something new into existence, to invest into a new form and to produce using imaginative skill. Some theoretical work on creativity gives insight into understanding the concept. According to Weisberg (1999), knowledge and creativity are two competing positions that are positively related. Creativity is in a way an application of knowledge. As opposed to this, the person theory of creativity suggests that creativity is a reflection of an individuals personality. Some traits are culturally determined while other traits are more emotionally determined. These different traits serve as an inspiration for creativity. On account of this, individual personality differences result in a heterogeneous mix of creativity. Stress also plays a very important role in creativity. A person with low arousal has high creativity and person with high arousal tends to have low creativity. The more we define our creativity by identifying with specific sets of values, meanings, beliefs and symbols, the more our creativity will be focused and limited; the more we define our creativity by focusing on how values, meanings, beliefs and symbols are formed, the greater the chance that our creativity will become less restricted. Normally highly creative people tend to be highly focused. But too much knowledge also sometimes restricts creativity. Planning improves a persons genic idea, a person with futuristic thinking, is seen to be more creative. Entrepreneurship would have been non -existent if it werent for creativity, to the extent that creativity is often used as the middle name for entrepreneurship. The main aim of an entrepreneurs job is to create new products and thereby discover new opportunities. An entrepreneur ought to have a creative product or service in order to be successful. In the early days of entrepreneurship, creativity was grossly ignored. It wasnt believed to be a requisite quality for an entrepreneur. That notion was corrected eventually. It was then accepted that creativity is an essential ingredient for an entrepreneur to make a fortune. Entrepreneurship creativity has been known as the generation and implementation of novel appropriate ideas to acquire new ventures (Amabile 1997). Intuition can also been viewed as more business competency which influences the ability of creativity.Also for an entrepreneur to understand creativity he must think of personal attributes like person , place or product. Talking of creativity, probably the most creative idea to have come up in the last decade is that of facebook! Truly, Mark Zuckerberg came with the brainwave of the century when he thought of starting The Facebook. The creative genius that he was, he thought there was a way to socially and virtually connect people across the world. The idea of facebook is not as much inspired by need as it is inspired by creativity. It is indeed a shining illustration and reinstates what creativity can do to an entrepreneur. Needless to mention, that Mark is now a millionaire. Intuition can be viewed as a core business competency which is influenced by the ability to be creative. There are also a number of other contributing internal and external factors that impact creativity: entrepreneurial creativity requires a combination of intrinsic motivation and certain kinds of extrinsic motivation a motivational synergy that results when strong levels of personal interest and involvement are combined with the promise of rewards that confirm competence, support skill development, and enable future achievement (Amabile 1997:18). Entrepreneurship has played a major role in fostering economic growth and also in generating employment. Along this process, the impact of creativity has been substantial. Entrepreneurial creativity, however, exists before, during and after the lifetime of a particular business since it is shaped in part by the social world and by the individual decision maker (Fillis and Rentschler 2006). Uncertainty and creativity are in effect interlinked. Both together define an entrepreneur. The relationship between the two can be expressed in the following manner. An entrepreneur introduces a new product with creativity and then releases it under some uncertainty. The idea thus begins with creativity and then gets linked with uncertainty. Creativity can be used to deal with the ambiguity and uncertainty in decision-making by matching the nonlinear responses of the entrepreneur to that of the business world. Uncertainty has not tended to be modelled in investigations of creativity and social networks, although it is very much part of an entrepreneurs environment (Perry-Smith and Shalley 2003). However, within new product development processes, it does receive attention in terms of moves to reduce it in order to secure the desired commercial effects. Creativity can also contribute to dealing with ambiguity. While uncertainty refers to a lack of information, ambiguity refers to the existence of multiple and conflicting interpretations regarding an organisational situation (Kijkuit and van den Ende 2007): Creativity when practiced by the entrepreneur is called creative action. It is impossible for an entrepreneur to sustain his position in the market if his product is just like many others in the market. There is only room for the product which is different. Consumers today, are not willing to buy anything that is outdated. Thus an entrepreneur has to ensure that his product satisfies the need appropriately and also is up to date. It is this challenge that necessitates creative action. For instance, Apple had launched iPhone 2G. Then, they upgraded it to iPhone 3G, then to 3GS, then 4G , then 4GS and finally 5 as they know they need to change with time. This shows Apples persistent creative action in keeping up with the latest technology as the company is aware that if it fails to keep up with the world, it will lose its control over the market. Having entered a particular market, for an entrepreneur to maintain the position of his enterprise, he ought to keep up his creative action. It is widely said and people are made to believe that opportunities dont come knocking to your doorstep and more so if you are an entrepreneur. An entrepreneur has to seize an opportunity before some other entrepreneur finds it. Once again for this as well, he needs to put at work his creative talent. Also such kind of creativity normally comes out of a person when there is a problem being considered and due to which the entrepreneurs keep getting solutions for the problem and then idea is being generated related to the problem and finally creativity then plays a major role and it gives an opportunity to an entrepreneur. But its not always when a problem is being seen an entrepreneur finds the solution for it is not always certain as many times the entrepreneurial action leads to failure. As said by Schumpeter that innovation is a necessity as people demand different products as the time changes hence creativity and opportunity plays a major role during that time and creative becomes necessity for an entrepreneur without which he would not be successful. Creativity, problem solving and intuition interact in order to produce an appropriate strategic vision for the entrepreneurially led organisation (Markley 1988). Mainly entrepreneurial learning is the process by which an entrepreneur acquires knowledge related to the business by exploiting opportunities This learning of Entrepreneur is socially embedded and provides the entrepreneur with human and social knowledge resources. The main reason for entrepreneurial learning is constructing the ambiguous and individualised realistic ideas for an entrepreneur.it is also a way by which entrepreneur develop knowledge and skills and make a business model .Hence forth for entrepreneurship learning is very essential for all the entrepreneurs as without which uncertainty might be created instantly. Also entrepreneurial learning is a key mechanism for innovation, as through which new opportunities would be discovered. After having discussed the concepts of uncertainty, creativity and their interlink and relationship with entrepreneurship, it will also be insightful to discuss the economic theories of entrepreneurship. Economic theories overall tell us that entrepreneurship takes a birds eye view of human action. These theories explicitly tell us how an entrepreneur should allocate his resources in order to maximise his output. These all points are essential for an entrepreneur. Also there are mainly two kinds of historical theories which have been used they are the Classical and Neo Classical theories. And then later new modern economic theories were introduced regarding innovation as the key aspect. As an economic system, in his book The Wealth of Nations in 1776, Adam Smith perceived capitalists as owner-managers who combined the basic resources of land, labour, and capital into successful enterprises. The classical capitalistic economic system, based on the concept of private ownership of property, assumed the creation and distribution of wealth through the exchange of goods and services through open, uncontrolled markets open to all buyers and sellers. In the late 19th Century, Leon Walras (1874) and Alfred Marshall (1890), separately, developed similar models of capitalist economics that incorporated a logical framework capable of mathematical analysis (Kirchhoff, 1997). The key concept of the new models was that markets consist of many buyers and many sellers who interact so as to ensure that supply equals demand. This Neoclassical theory was designed to show that capitalism characterized by perfect markets and unfettered by outside interference distributes wealth among bu yers and sellers and creates wealth in the process. Joseph Schumpeter (1934), one of its early critics, saw innovation as the key for creating new demand for goods and services and entrepreneurs as owner-managers who started new, independent businesses to exploit innovation. To Schumpeter, an entrepreneur was a person who destroyed existing economic order by introducing new products and services, by creating new forms of organization, or by exploiting new raw materials. A classic example of all that is discussed above in the essay would be to consider the introduction of automatic cars by General Motors back in 1940s. It was a time when cars were not even seen world over but inspite of that, General Motors possessed the creative vision to innovate and develop the first ever automatic car of the world. As this was a new concept, it was a big risk on the part of General Motors to launch a car of such a high standard. Very obviously then, the uncertainty surrounding this newly made automatic car was enormous. However, their creative action proved fruitful and their vision was rewarded as today, the entire western world is seen zooming around in automatic cars. If this is not enough, to remain ahead of their rivals, the big car companies of BMW, Mercedes Benz are continuously introducing new features through creative action to maintain their position among the top bracket for car buyers. Entrepreneurs are evidently the most dynamic members of an economy. As we have seen, they are the ones who bring exciting new products and services to the market, create new demand which facilitates further supply and thereby further production and better returns to factors of production. All this in turn keeps the economy on its toes. Further, the less productive firms of the economy are induced to enhance their productivity and performance and thereby improve the quality of products in the market. All this, the entrepreneur does under strict uncertainty with heavy dependence on his instinct.

Comparing Defoes Moll Flanders and Aphra Behns Oroonoko :: Comparison Compare Contrast Essays

Credibility and Realism in Daniel Defoe's Moll Flanders and Aphra Behn's Oroonoko  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚   In the Dictionary of Literary Terms, Harry Shaw states, "In effective narrative literature, fictional persons, through characterization, become so credible that they exist for the reader as real people." (1) Looking at Daniel Defoe's Moll Flanders (2) and Aphra Behn's Oroonoko (3) the reader will find it difficult to make this definition conform to Moll and Behn's narrator. This doesn't mean that Defoe's and Behn's work is 'ineffective', but there is indeed a difficulty: it is the claim of truth. Defoe in his preface states, "The Author is here suppos'd to be writing her own History." (Moll Flanders, p. 1) and Behn claims, "I was myself an eye-witness to a great part, of what you will find here set down, and what I could not be witness of, I received from the mouth of the chief actor in this history, the hero himself, (...)" (Oroonoko, 75) Although both authors claim their stories are true, and thereby that their characters are realistic, there seems to be a gap between the authors' claims and the "reality" of the characterization. This question is closely connected to the fact that both novels belong to the earliest English novels. There was no fixed tradition that the authors worked in; instead the novel was in the process of being established. The question arises whether the two works lack a certain roundness in their narrators. The main characteristic of the new literary form of the novel according to Ian Watt is "truth to individual experience" (4) and its new shape is created by a focus on the individual character. He is presented in a specific definition of time and space. The second section of this paper will show how far this is realized in both of the novels. In the third section I want to analyze the characters' individualism in connection with the claim to truth and their complexity in description. 2 Realism Watt argues that the characters in a novel owe their individuality to the realistic presentation. "Realism" is expressed by a rejection of traditional plots, by particularity, emphasis on the personality of the character, a consciousness of duration of time and space and its expression in style. 2.1 Rejection of traditional plots Watt states that, "Previous literary forms had reflected the general tendency of their cultures to make conformity to traditional practice the major test of truth: .

Surfing :: Informative, Expository

Surfing The intent of this paper is to introduce the reader to surfing. There are many things to learn about surfing such as its history, surf gear, and safety hints.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Surfing is a water sport that involves planing, â€Å"in a controlled way,† on the sloping portion of a wave as it moves toward shore. The most basic form of the sport is body surfing. It is done without a board. A person first swims toward shore â€Å"to equal the wave speed.† Then the person stiffens the body in order to â€Å"plane† on the front of the wave. Surfing is basically the same as body surfing. The only difference is, instead of stiffening the body, the surfer must stand on a surfboard.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the middle 1950's, surfboards were made of heavy wood. They were handmade and required alot of sanding and filing to make the boards smooth. Today's surfboards are manufactured in a factory using light balsa wood or fiberglass and polyurethane. An added benefit of using these materials is a great reduction in the weight of the boards.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Surfing is becoming more popular each year. For safety, new surfers must be good swimmers. Boards should be checked for cracks and slivers before each use. All surfers should check the water conditions posted at the life guard station before entering the water. Surfing should only be done during the daylight hours and when other people are present. A new beginning surfboard costs $50.00 to $70.00. A helpful device is a leash which attaches around the wrist with velcro to the board. In this way, the board will not drift away from the surfer. A good leash costs $7.00 to $11.00. Surfers might also want to

Leadership and Follower †ship Essay

According to Bass and Avolio (1994) in Parry’s â€Å"The Thing about Metaphors and Leadership† (2008), leadership is a transformation. It is a transformation in the hearts and minds of followers so that they move higher level of understanding, commitment, and performance. The two authors asserted that followers perform beyond expectations when that transformation takes place. Hearts and minds imply that the transformation is in the emotional response and the cognitive response that follower’s experience. They feel better about things and they think more constructively as a result of the leadership that they have experienced. Not only is influence being achieved, but the emotions are positive. (p. 8) On a similar note, Smircich and Morgan (1982) in Parry’s â€Å"The Thing about Metaphors and Leadership† (2008) asserted that the essence of leadership is management of meaning. The bottom line of what people do in their leadership roles is to manage the meaning that they make of events. When leaders and followers make sense of events, and of their role within those events, then they are better able to play their part in events. Leaders are able to influence followers in the ways that the leaders intended. (p. 8) Parry’s (1999) in Parry’s â€Å"The Thing about Metaphors and Leadership† (2008) gave an example of leadership that was demonstrated within local government mergers, he found that the essence of leadership was enhancing the adaptability of leaders and followers to the uncertainty and turbulence of change. When leaders are more adaptable, they can lead better. When followers can adapt to change, they can follow better. Once again, influence is achieved. Moreover, the emotions are positive because followers can see some personal benefit from the positive changes that are achieved, rather than feeling apprehension or remorse as a result of personal risk. (p. 9) On a different note, Weick (1995) and Pye (2005) in Parry’s â€Å"The Thing about Metaphors and Leadership† (2008) argue that the essence of leadership lies in sense-making. People in leadership roles make sense of the situation they are faced with. In turn, they help convey that sense to followers. A leader makes sense of the confusion and ambiguity and conveys that sense to followers. In turn followers make sense of their challenges and expectations, which enables them to achieve the outcomes that are desired. Parry contends that this idea of â€Å"sense-making† is perhaps the best metaphor for leadership. (p. 9) How Jesus Christ is the Perfect Model of Servant Leadership In the world today there are many types of leaders, from military to the business world to community organizations to government institutions. Whereas, some leaders assume leadership positions without undergoing training, others, like is the case in the military undergoes a rigorous training procedure that equips them with the necessary knowledge and skills to lead. However, no matter the training one has to undergo in order to qualify to be a leader, s/he may not exemplify the true servant leadership that Jesus Christ exemplified and preached about. One of the greatest leaders in human history learned this when he was given the task of leading God’s chosen people out of the wilderness and into the Promised Land. According to Dr. John J. Javis, a professor of Old Testament and Hebrew at the Grace Theological Seminary, â€Å"when Joshua and the children of Israel were faithful to God’s Word and His will, there was victory. When they abandoned His will in favor of their own genius, there was failure and frustration. † [Davis, 1969] Failure and frustration is a direct result of the inability to learn to follow before you can learn to lead. Under Moses’ leadership, Joshua learned this very well. Leadership is influence, so the accepted definition goes. Influence is the ability to move another person in a direction you believe is important. By any definition, Jesus Christ was a leader like any other. He influenced many and his follower-ship continues to influence many including the author of this paper whose follower-ship has resulted into many professional victories in his military career, a phenomenon that has led to his leadership. It is awesome how He prepares our hearts in one season to equip us for future roles and responsibilities. It is unbelievable how the follower-ship of His leadership continue to propagate His teachings that in turn continue to enhance his leadership many years after his physical departure from the earth, indeed his was and continue to be a true servant leadership that we should emulate. Greenwood et al (2008) in their research findings asserts that â€Å"Leaders’ must understand the different needs of each generation and the needs of the different generations in countries in which they are conducting business if they are to lead successfully. Managers in their leadership capacity should also create human resources policies to ensure that work teams include the perspectives of these different generational value systems. Yet, leaders must meet the challenge of managing each generation differently in order to achieve high performance outcomes. By examining each generation’s value structure, one can develop a profile of each group which can guide how each is managed. † (p. 69) Looking back at Jesus’ Ministry one is inclined to conclude that He (Jesus Christ) was the greatest leader of all times, the world has and will ever know because he combined the leadership and follower-ship virtues to the successfully weave His Ministry among all the generations. He clearly demonstrated perfect leadership while fully submitted to His father’s will – what a blessing to have a Savior who took on flesh and walked this earth, a great High Priest who is familiar with our sufferings†¦ an effective leader. Dr. Ken Collier, a Christian Camp Counselor says it this way, â€Å"Jesus Christ had a sharply focused view of exactly what His Father desired of him. No trial no deprivation, no conflict, no misunderstanding, and no death threat made Him swerve from following the will of his father. What a leader, what a follower! †[Collier, 2004] Dr. John McArthur appropriately asks a few questions in, The Book of Leadership: â€Å"First, what makes a good leader? Is it rank, status, celebrity, clout, or even style? Is leadership automatically bestowed by a box on the organizational chart? Where do position and power figure into the formula for leadership? And what is the ideal model for leaders? Is it the corporate chief executive officer? Or the military commander? Or even the head of state? † [MacArthur, 2004] Jesus Christ answers all these questions in a few words. His views on leadership are conspicuously out of step with the conventional wisdom of our age. Jesus Christ said, â€Å"You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great, exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great (the leader) among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be among you, let him be your slave (Matthew 20:25-28 NKJV). † Going by this principle, one will not fail to truly be convinced, that the truest form of leadership demands service, sacrifice, and selflessness. A proud a self-promoting person is not a good leader by Jesus’ standards, regardless of how much clout s/he might wield. Leaders who look to Jesus Christ as their leader and their supreme model of leadership will have servants’ hearts. They will exemplify sacrifice and follower-ship. Burns (1978) summed up what is expected of a leader, that; â€Å"it is beyond just accomplishment of shared objectives to include followers values and motivations: as leaders inducing followers to act for certain goals that represent the values and the motivation – the wants and the needs, the aspirations and expectations – of both leaders and followers. And the genius of leadership lies in the manner in which leaders see and act on their own and their followers’ values and motivations. † (p. 19) A leader must learn, practice, and master follower-ship in order to ever gain a position of leadership – Joshua learned, practiced, and mastered Moses’ concepts of leadership and as a result he successfully led the Canaanites. Dr. James Montgomery Boice, senior pastor of Tenth Presbyterian Church, president and cofounder of â€Å"The Bible Study Hour†, comments this way: â€Å"Nearly everyone wants to be prosperous as a result of their leadership, yet most fail. What is the problem? The problem is that we do not follow the divine formula for success. † [Boice, 1969] Depree (1989) defines a true servant leadership this way; â€Å"The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between the two, the leader must become a servant and a debtor. That sums up the progress of the artful leader. † (p. 11) That is what we so badly need today in a leader: not increasingly clever methods, still less increasingly clever people, but obedience informed and motivated by living and abiding example of Jesus Christ. To be a leader does not necessarily require an appointment or election. God chooses leaders; He equips them with the true leadership skills and knowledge so that they may help others become good leaders and followers. If one is endowed with the true leaderships skills, then it is his/ her responsibility to help others, an example of such situation is exemplified by Mr. Alber Survovik, a Christian business man, Caldwell ISD School Board Trustee, Burleson County, and Texas Appraisal District Board Director. His is a case of true leadership endowed by God, he assets that, â€Å"Professionally I am an Automation Systems Analysis at APC, a LocalAdLink representative and a rancher. My family loves getting away to our West Texas Hill Country Hunting and Camping Ranch. I enjoy meeting new people and helping others. One might say that I have a servant’s heart. † [Surovik, 2009] It should be noted that leadership is essential. Without leadership in any organization, it flounders and staggers on a haphazard course. Without leadership, an organization is unable to fulfill its core purposes. Simply, the idea of someone leading others is rooted in the Scriptures. For someone to assume the role of the leader and to expect others to follow his or her example is not egotistical, authoritarian, condescending, or sinful. We are assured of this because the Scriptures lay down the basis and guidelines for leadership. [MacArthur, 2005] The author of this paper is a United States Navy Flag Writer, who as expected swore to protect the constitution of the United States, and to follow the orders of those appointed over him. As a Navy flag Writer, the person appointed over him are always admirals. Admirals are men and women who make serious decisions in support of national security, thereby defined as leaders. The choice of this particular career was fundamental as it directly enables him to serve Jesus Christ by serving â€Å"those appointed over him†, as well as those who serve under him. By following the orders of the Admiral, he then can lead those who serve him. He does this by applying the principles discussed in this paper. He constantly remind himself whenever he is faced with making a tough leadership decision, that first, he is a follower – not just of a Navy Admiral, but of Jesus Christ. He reminds himself that although Jesus is the Christ, and that He epitomizes leadership, He did remove his outer garments and wash the feet of those he led. This does not imply that the author cordons washing someone’s feet per se, but the application and example still stands – for one to be a leader, s/he must be a follower. This is what is defined as servant leadership, and it has its place throughout the military, the business world, and our society as a whole. In conclusion, it is vital to a servant reader that he or she be endowed by a meek and quiet spirit. Meekness and quietness are like a precarious gem to a leader. The 17th century puritan, and personal hero to the author of this paper, Mathew Henry describes this so eloquently: [Henry, 1996] â€Å"Quietness is the evenness, the composure, and the rest of the soul, which speaks both the nature and the excellence of the grace of meekness. The greatest comfort and happiness of man is sometimes set forth by quietness. That peace of conscience which Christ has left for a legacy to His followers, that present sabbatism of the soul, which is an earnest of the rest that remains for the people of god, is called ‘quietness and assurance forever,’ and is promised as ‘the effect of righteousness’ (Isaiah 32: 17), and it follows, ‘My peace shall dwell in quiet resting places. ’ So graciously has God been pleased to entwine interest with us, as to enjoin the same thing under the notion of a duty which He proposes and promises under the notion of a privilege. Justly may we say we serve a good master, whose ‘yoke is easy’ (Mathew 11: 30). † References: Parry, K. (2008). The Thing About Metaphors and Leadership. International Journal of leadership, Volume 1, Issue 1, 2008, pp. 8 -9, accessed on March 6, 2009 Greenwood, R. A. Gibson, J. W. & Murphy, E. F. (2008). An Investigation of Generational Values in the Workplace: Divergence, Convergence and Implications for Leadership, Journal of leadership, Volume 1, Issue 1, 2008, p. 69, accessed on March 6, 2009 Burns, J. M. (1978). Leadership. New York: Harper & Row Publishers, p. 19, accessed on March 6, 2009 Depree, M. (1989). Leadership is an art. New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell, P. 11, accessed on March 6, 2009 Matthew 20:25-28 NKJV; Isaiah 32: 17; and, Mathew 11: 30; New King James Version (NKJV) Bible, accessed on March 6, 2009 Boice, James M. â€Å"Joshua. † An Expositional Commentary. 1989. Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, MI, accessed on March 6, 2009 Collier, Ken & Williams, Matthew. â€Å"Biblical Leadership. † Becoming A Different Kind Of Leader. 2004. Ambassador Emerald International. Greenville, SC, accessed on March 6, 2009 Davis, John J. â€Å"Conquest and Crisis. † Studies in Joshua, Judges, and Ruth. 1969. Wipf and Stock Publishers. Eugene, OR, accessed on March 6, 2009 Henry, Matthew. â€Å"The Quest for Meekness and Quietness of Spirit. † 1996. Soli Deo Gloria Publications. Morgan, PA, accessed on March 6, 2009 MacArthur, John. â€Å"The Book on Leadership. † 2004. Thomas Nelson Publishers. Nashville, TN, accessed on March 6, 2009 MacArthur, John. â€Å"Pastoral Ministry. † How to Shepherd Biblically. 2005. Thomas Nelson Publishers. Nashville TN, accessed on March 6, 2009 Surovik, Albert. A Personal Testimony. 2009, available at; http://albertsurovik. blogspot. com/2007/03/testimony-of-mike- napoli. html, TN.

What You Eat Is Your Business Radley Balko Summary

In his article â€Å"What You Eat Is Your Business,† Radley Balko argues that the way the government is spending a lot of money for anti obesity measure is the wrong way to prevent obesity. Balko suggests that the people need to responsibility on their own health matter. He thinks the best way to slow down the public health is to include obesity in our private matter, which means having people pay for their own medical needs because he believes that it would force people to face the consequences and to make them more responsible.I agree with Balko’s position because people tend to be less responsible for them when they are not the one paying for their prices, but what they don’t know, is soon they will be paying the price no one can offer to help. Balko stated at the end of his article,† We’ll all make better choices about diet, exercise, and personal health when someone else isn’t paying for the consequences of those choices. I strongly agree with Balko because I do also believe that the only way to make to make people make better choices about their health is when someone isn’t paying for their consequences. My experience with this, people I know who are not under their parents insurance, they tend to watch what they eat and exercise daily to stay healthy. They know if something was to go wrong, they will have to pay their medical bills out of their own pocket. Those who I know that do have insurances, tend to careless of what they do and eat, because they someone else is paying for your consequences.