Entrepreneurship and Innovation - Case Study Example

Reflective Practice The concept of entrepreneurship and innovation is not new in the present world. The two elements are interrelated and they are important for the success of any company. There are theories that govern the concept of entrepreneurship and innovation, and they have been used to enhance entrepreneurship and innovation in the business and non-business world. Entrepreneurs have distinct characteristics that isolate them from the rest of the society. These characteristics are risk-taking activity, need for achievement, self-confidence, a strong urge to be independent, and flexibility. Based on the entrepreneur traits, I think I am innovative and entrepreneur. I believe I possess the traits that have been mentioned above. As an entrepreneur, one must not shy away from taking risks and coming up with viable fresh and new ideas. The urge to become successful in the developed business is also important; the urge makes someone to come up with ideas that will assist in the success of the company or the organization. Reflective Statement and Action Plan The knowledge I have acquired from the study of entrepreneurship and innovation is not enough because the practical aspect of it has not been done. I believe that the knowledge that has been acquired can be used effectively for any type of entrepreneurship. Of particular interest is social entrepreneurship. In social entrepreneurship the main goal can be profits or the advancement of the society. It is imperative to note that social entrepreneurship and innovation requires particular skills, attitude and knowledge. The same case applies to all the other forms of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship and innovation cannot be separated because they entirely depend on each other for their success and effective use. New ideas are required to start and maintain the entrepreneurship; these new ideas come from innovation. My future aspiration is to work within the society and assist in the decrease and alleviation of majority of the social problems. The society is faced with a number of issues that when addressed properly, they can assist the community to develop in a society, one such area is poverty. The knowledge I have acquired will assist me in the development of better policies to help the society in tackling their day to day problems. It is imperative to note that society problems are quite complex and their effect varies from one society to the other. A solution in one society may not be applicable in another society although it is the same problem being tackled. Thus, the knowledge, attitudes and skills will be of great importance to me. Action Plan I would love to own my own business in the future; I have ideas that I think will be of help in coming up with a business. The business world is very open and new ideas tend to thrive well if given the right environment. An organization that supports innovation is an organization on the right track to success. Support for innovation gives the employees more room to come up with more viable ideas. Working in such an organization will be preferable due to the fact that I like coming up with new ideas and creativity. I would prefer a smaller organization since sharing and coming up with ideas is easy. A large organization will be quite difficult in the coming up and sharing of ideas if it does not have the proper mechanisms for communication. Smaller organizations are better and easy to manage than large organizations. It is imperative to note that innovation requires that an idea be made quickly and implemented within the shortest time possible. Such an effective scenario can effectively happen in a smaller organization. Certainty is the best approach to entrepreneurship and innovation; routine administrative work tends to be monotonous and sometimes innovation can take quite a while before it happens. Issues of protocol tend to hamper with the process of innovation implementation because approval is required from the administration for the innovation to be implemented. In such a case, the implementation process may take a while. Terms of Reference The paper will explore the concept of innovation and entrepreneurship in the society. Entrepreneurship takes many forms and of great interest in this paper are the issues in social entrepreneurship. The paper will briefly discuss entrepreneurship and innovation and their significance in the society, that is, the importance of social entrepreneurship. Introduction Entrepreneur Entrepreneurs are people who are capable of recognizing opportunities whereas others see confusion and chaos. They are the main catalysts and advocates for marketplace change and transformation. The entrepreneur principle objectives include growth, profitability and innovation. The business of an entrepreneur is usually characterized by sustainable growth and innovative strategic practices. Entrepreneurs and their financial supporters usually seek immediate growth and profits. Entrepreneurship is not just the creation of a business; it more than the creation of a business. As stated above, the entrepreneurs seek opportunities, take risks that are beyond the security, and they have the tendency to push an idea until it becomes a reality (Hodgetts and Kuratko 2008, p3). Entrepreneurs have the following five characteristics; risk-taking activity, need for achievement, self-confidence, a strong urge to be independent, and flexibility. Entrepreneurs are distinguished from the others because of their innovation and creativity, their networking capabilities, their determination to face difficulty, and their capability to manage risk (Lowe and Marriott 2006, p40). Entrepreneurship The entrepreneurship mind-set is developed within the individual and this mind-set can be exhibited within and outside the organization, in non-profit and profit making enterprises, in business and non-business activities with the overall aim of bringing out creative ideas. Entrepreneurship can be described as the integrated notion that enters the individual’s business through innovative ways (Hodgetts and Kuratko 2008, p3). Evangelos (2008, p3) describes entrepreneurship as the capability to change an invention to a worthwhile business. Innovation is present everywhere and there is need to incorporate it within the entrepreneurial spirit (Evangelos 2008, p3). The purpose of invention is to target the company’s growth; it is imperative to note that entrepreneurship and innovation open up opportunities which are required and specifically when the company has no other option except to reinvent its strategic plan (Evangelos 2008, p17). The Importance of Entrepreneurship and Innovation The importance and the role of entrepreneurship have been underestimated for many years in the social and economic development. However, the trend has changed and over the past years and the contribution of entrepreneurship to the economic development has been significant. History indicates that economic progress has been advanced by individuals who are innovative and entrepreneurial and are capable of exploiting opportunities and the will to take risks (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development 2002, p1). The importance of entrepreneurship and innovation is very significant and dramatic than most of the fields in engineering, information technology, and computing. Most of the high technology businesses have been relying on innovation as the key factor for their survival. This means that companies that do not venture into innovation fail to survive. The spirit of entrepreneurship is responsible for the development of a number of technology and science companies. This can be traced back to the 1990s when many technology businesses were created by entrepreneurs in the so-called Internet Revolution. The success and failure of the businesses was eminent and it was very clear that a company that embraces innovation, and has talented workforce succeeded. Innovation and a talented workforce were significant for the creative success and rapid growth of the businesses (Vetter 2011, p1). Social Entrepreneurship A social entrepreneur is an individual who has innovative solutions to the society’s major and minor social problems. These individuals are persistent and ambitious and they tackle the main social issues and offer new ideas for the wide-scale change. Social entrepreneurs do not leave the societal needs to the government; instead, they find the problem and offer solutions to the problem by making changes to the system, distributing the solution, and persuading the whole society to take new steps (Ashoka n.d., p1). Social innovation refers to the original solutions given to the social problems that are more efficient, sustainable, and effective. It also entails creating value and offering solutions to the society as a whole rather than to a private individual. Social innovation notion is much bigger than the social enterprise and it is not limited to the enterprise based approaches when addressing critical issues. In other words, social enterprise drives social innovation (Horsnell n.d., p1). The social enterprise is said to hybridize the three different sections of the economy in serving the social needs. The three sectors in the economy that are driven by social enterprise are: The market economy – the circulation of services and good take place in the market place; The non-market economy – the circulation of services and goods take place under the jurisdiction and auspices of the state welfare, and where redistribution exists; The non-monetary economy – where services and goods exchanged are based on reciprocity. It is imperative to note that the benefits that come from social enterprises benefit the whole community in which the social enterprise operates and it is not just for the benefit of ownership. Motivation to set up and implement social enterprises comes from the search for collective benefits (Gunn 2010, p25). The characteristics of social enterprise are based on the following propositions: (a) proposition 1 – the social enterprise is capable of nurturing stakeholders and the whole community, (b) proposition 2 – the social enterprise creates activities on relationships that are based on networks such as mutualities and social capital, (c) proposition 3 – the social enterprise takes care of the stakeholder’s developmental aspects and the process becomes significant than the products, and (d) proposition 4 – the social enterprise uses the mechanism of no-profit distribution and asset lock to keep the community together as indicated by the community interest corporations in the UK (Gunn 2010, p26). The Importance of Social Entrepreneurship Research done indicates the social entrepreneur is becoming increasingly important for the social and economic development because due to the values it develops. The values created by social entrepreneurship include the following: Employment development – social entrepreneurship creates jobs and employment. It is estimated that nearly 1 to 7 percent of the people are employed within the social entrepreneurship sector. Other than creation of employment and jobs, the social enterprise offers job training and employment opportunities to certain segments of the society like those disadvantaged in employment. New goods and services/innovation – social enterprises apply and develop innovations that are important to the economic and social development and the development of new services and goods. The issues tackled include the biggest society problems such as mental illnesses, HIV, drug abuse, crime, and illiteracy and they are confronted in an innovative way. Social capital – social entrepreneurship creates social capital. A good example is the success of the Japanese and German economies and they have their foundation from the ethics of cooperation and long-term relationships that are both significant in industrial development and innovation. Equity promotion – social entrepreneurship assists in the fostering of a more equitable society through the address of social issues and the attempt to achieve the ongoing sustainable effect through the social mission rather than making profits (George 2011, p1). Conclusion Individuals and groups have come up with businesses and organizations with a variety of purposes. Entrepreneurship is divided into a number of categories and each of the categories has its own function in the business and non-business world. Social entrepreneurship has its importance in the society and it has been attributed for employment development, innovation, social capital, and equity promotion. The knowledge, skills and attitudes are important assessment factors that determine success of an individual and the organization or a company. Innovation and entrepreneurship cannot be separated and each plays are critical role in the success and failure of an organization or a business. Recommendations The tackling of social problems to be based on social entrepreneurship and innovation. Any organization or company should embrace innovation because it is the core of success for the company or organization. References/Bibliography Ashoka. (n.d.) What is a social entrepreneur? [online], Ashoka. Available from [Accessed 14 May 2011]. Evangelos, E. (2008) Entrepreneurship and innovation, (Masters), The University of Sheffield. George. (2011) The importance of social entrepreneurship [online], Life Community. Available from [Accessed 14 May 2011]. Gunn, R. (2010) Social entrepreneurship: A skills approach. Bristol, UK: The Policy Press. Hodgetts, R. M. & Kuratko, D. F. (2008) Entrepreneurship: Theory, process, and practice. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning. Horsnell, A. (n.d.) Social enterprise [online], Free Management Library. Available from [Accessed 14 May 2011]. Lowe, R. & Marriott, S. (2006) Enterprise: Entrepreneurship and innovation: Concepts, contexts and commercialization. Oxford, UK: Butterworth-Heinemann. United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. (2002) The importance of entrepreneurship [online] UNCTAD. Available from [Accessed 14 May 2011]. Vetter, R. (2011) Entrepreneurship and innovation [online], computing now. Available from [Accessed 14 May 2011]. Read More