Entrepreneurship Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Entrepreneurship - Assignment Example The literature reviewed includes the common myths regarding entrepreneurship, common characteristics associated with entrepreneurs, how entrepreneurial behaviour affects business, and Anita Roddick's (of The Body Shop) view on entrepreneurial qualities. Next, a guideline for the research process for candidate selection is presented. The findings from published literature and questionnaire are then used to analyse the entrepreneur's business and background. There is much literature and beliefs about what makes a successful entrepreneur. In order to deconstruct this process, this essay will examine the common myths regarding entrepreneurship and the common characteristics associated with entrepreneurs. In addition, a study done in Central London examining how entrepreneurial behaviour affects business cements the earlier two literature reviews. Lastly, the essay will look into the beliefs of an established entrepreneur, Anita Roddick of The Body Shop and understand what she thinks are important entrepreneurial qualities. (1) It is about starting and running a small... (3) It is an "either/or" thing: Entrepreneurship is not a fixed concept and the key is to recognize that it is a variable phenomenon. (4) It is about taking wild risks: Risks are assumed and taken, but they are calculated risks where the underlying risk factors are identified. (5) Entrepreneurs are born: Environment plays a big part in the development and realization of potential where the accumulation of activities, skills, and knowledge over time is crucial. (6) It is about greed: The real motivator behind entrepreneurial behaviour is not money, power or position but the desire to achieve and make a difference. (7) It is about individuals: The existence and quality of a team is critical as no one individual has the ability, time or talent to bring a concept to reality. (8) There is only one type of entrepreneur: Entrepreneurs come from all walks of life and represent a diverse mix of age groups, races, religions, cultures, genders, and occupational backgrounds. (9) It requires a lo t of money: Entrepreneurial individuals are opportunity, not resource driven and do not limit the scope of their vision by their resources owned but by leveraging their resources. (10) It is about luck: It is about hard work, creative insight, in-depth analysis, adaptability, and openness to an opportunity. (11) It starts with a new product or service: It is about determining whether a need exists, how extensive that need is, how satisfied customers are with their current products, what the switching costs will be, and whether there is meaningful advantages in the product or service. (12) It is unstructured and chaotic: When dealing with the unknown, it is important

Managing IT outsourcing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Managing IT outsourcing - Essay Example The following is an overview of managing the IT outsourcing relationship, which includes the business process of outsourcing, the tools and resources, understanding the cost and return on investment. Furthermore, there will be some examples of risk management and data security, as well as a look at the dimensions of relationship management and its importance.Business Process Outsourcing is best explained by Medas Company, an outsourcing management consultant. Their document, A Practical Guide to Business Process Outsourcing (2006) gives straightforward information on the actual process of Managing IT Outsourcing. The following matrix (Medas 2006) shows the services and steps in functional IT management outsourcing:Medas (2006) states that first, it is important for the manager to identify the organisation's needs as the scope of activities, the reasons for outsourcing, and how this will impact or change the business model. This includes understanding the current organisational struct ure, the IT system infrastructure including the team members functional roles and the systems that support them. Medas notes that the current volume of transactions being internally processes must be examined. Once the current functionality and organisation's objectives for outsourcing have been established, Medas states that the next step is to choose an outsourcing partner:"the Outsourcing partner's people need to fully understand the organisation's needs. ... They need to understand the systems that support the back office processes as well as having experience in managing complex systems environments, running and supporting hardware and developing systems, including web enabling. At this stage, it is also important to consider whether the Outsourcing partner can ensure network connectivity in a secure environment that permits data integration" (Medas pp 10 2006). The next step in the process of managing IT outsourcing is to agree on a commercial framework. This allows the involved parties to agree on the provisions of service, and should compromise "Details such as fixed costs, unit pricing and the level of investment could all be defined in the commercial framework" (Medas p 11 2006). Lastly, the IT manager wants to develop a transitional plan that establishes the business process and features. This includes: A review of the current systems, processes and organisational structure -identifying which systems are to be transferred (Medas p 11 2006). Definition of services to be provided (Medas p 11 2006). Agree the definition of service levels in terms of Service Level Measures (SLM) and Service Level Agreements (SLA) (Medas p 11 2006). How employees will be affected by the transition e.g. how many staff and what types of jobs will be transferred, where they will be located, how they will be dealt with in terms of motivation and ongoing training and development (Medas p 11 2006). How the process of staff transferral will be managed (TUPE) and what changes, if any, are to be made to the retained organisation - and how this will be communicated to all those involved (Medas p 11 2006). The stages of the transition - and the timeframe involved (Medas p 11 2006). Agree and finalise the contractual terms of the arrangement