Exam 5: Managing Entrepreneurially

Being a change agent and supporting innovation together represent the single most important function of an entrepreneur in the early years of the venture.

Growing a Web-Development Company (Scenario) Vincent and Alice are partners in a one-year-old web development business called Spy-der Web Execution. Vincent comes from a graphic design background and specializes in the look and feel of web projects. Alice comes from the computer gaming industry and is a highly experienced programmer and web developer—with a particular leaning toward Wordpress as a website backbone. So far they have brought in less business than they had anticipated—about 25 percent less. As a result, they are operating at just a little below break even, and it is costing them about $500 a month to cover expenses (including rent on a small office space where they meet clients). The situation is disappointing and was not anticipated by either Vincent or Alice. As with many businesses like this that are easy to get into with little investment, they did not do a full feasibility study or business plan. They are unsure about how to divide up their responsibilities (who is responsible for what), and therefore neither person is proactively going after new business, managing each project's budget, and determining even if they are making money on the work. You are now in the role of advising the partners about a number of issues. -Although a seemingly backwards step,doing a thorough evaluation of their business idea might be a wise exercise because Vincent and Alice could discover answers to some important questions such as ________.

In a short essay,describe the nature of opportunities and role of entrepreneurial managers linking these to the importance of entrepreneurship in today's business world.Give specific examples where possible to illustrate your answers.

In a fear-of-failure culture managers are hesitant to try new things in case they might fail leading to a stagnant organization.Alternatively,start-ups need ________ culture that will enable the adaptive capacity of an organization.

Creators of innovation that disrupt the status quo can be defined as ________.

The execution stage of starting an entrepreneurial venture consists of ________.

Typically,entrepreneurs are looking to hire individuals who are both high-potential people who can perform multiple roles during the different stages of business growth,as well as those who connect well with the venture's culture.

Growing a Web-Development Company (Scenario) Vincent and Alice are partners in a one-year-old web development business called Spy-der Web Execution. Vincent comes from a graphic design background and specializes in the look and feel of web projects. Alice comes from the computer gaming industry and is a highly experienced programmer and web developer—with a particular leaning toward Wordpress as a website backbone. So far they have brought in less business than they had anticipated—about 25 percent less. As a result, they are operating at just a little below break even, and it is costing them about $500 a month to cover expenses (including rent on a small office space where they meet clients). The situation is disappointing and was not anticipated by either Vincent or Alice. As with many businesses like this that are easy to get into with little investment, they did not do a full feasibility study or business plan. They are unsure about how to divide up their responsibilities (who is responsible for what), and therefore neither person is proactively going after new business, managing each project's budget, and determining even if they are making money on the work. You are now in the role of advising the partners about a number of issues. -Of all the key elements of organizing their venture,the two-person partnership would likely have been least concerned about ________.

Along with organization design and structure,human resource management becomes more important as employees are brought in.The two key elements that go hand in hand and that are particularly important are ________ and ________ of employees.

Growing a Web-Development Company (Scenario) Vincent and Alice are partners in a one-year-old web development business called Spy-der Web Execution. Vincent comes from a graphic design background and specializes in the look and feel of web projects. Alice comes from the computer gaming industry and is a highly experienced programmer and web developer—with a particular leaning toward Wordpress as a website backbone. So far they have brought in less business than they had anticipated—about 25 percent less. As a result, they are operating at just a little below break even, and it is costing them about $500 a month to cover expenses (including rent on a small office space where they meet clients). The situation is disappointing and was not anticipated by either Vincent or Alice. As with many businesses like this that are easy to get into with little investment, they did not do a full feasibility study or business plan. They are unsure about how to divide up their responsibilities (who is responsible for what), and therefore neither person is proactively going after new business, managing each project's budget, and determining even if they are making money on the work. You are now in the role of advising the partners about a number of issues. -One of the activities the two partners have engaged in effectively is keeping abreast of what is happening in the marketing world as well as what web developers around the world are creating and the related technological innovations along the way.This is a great example of ________.

The International Standards Organization has developed standards ________ to highlight importance of ethics for entrepreneurs.

A Mature Café (Scenario) Sarah has been operating and growing her café in an upscale neighbourhood for almost five years. She is happy with how the business has continued to increase in revenues as her customer base has become loyal over the years. She has just over 30 employees, two of whom are managers. The lease on the space is coming up for renewal and this has brought up the notion of leaving the business and exploring other interests she has in travelling through Africa and Southeast Asia. Sarah has worked hard and she wants to be sure she gets as much out of the business as she put into it. Another factor is the increasing competition in the area and the sinking feeling she has that it will be next to impossible to differentiate her business from the big chains opening on several street corners. Her fear is that her sales may have plateaued and there in fact will be a decrease in sales in the near future. -She is at the point of seriously considering ________ in hopes to capitalize financially on the investment in her cafe.

In face of change,an entrepreneur must take into consideration how the change impacts the company and ________.

In a short essay,describe the three main types of research that could be conducted by an entrepreneurial venture,with the knowledge that a venture could be involved in any one of the three and not necessarily all of them at any one time.Please provide a clear example (or scenario)that illustrates each of the three types.

An analysis of the benefits,costs,and value that an organization can deliver to its customers is commonly known as a value proposition.

Research is a key contributor to the vital process of innovation.The type of research that is generating new knowledge in its purest form rather than focusing on a specific,practical objective is known as ________.

Lisa has discovered an opportunity in her own industry: landscaping.She wants to get the business started right away.It would be wise for her to skip the detailed planning process and dive in so that opportunity does not pass her by.

The three key control issues facing entrepreneurs are managing growth effectively,navigating downturns,and ensuring they maintain a fixed down time to sustain them through the stresses of the business.

Innovative organizations use divergent thinking and brainstorming to ________.

The most important thing an entrepreneur does before launching a venture is to complete a ________.This is a written document that summarizes a business opportunity and articulates how the identified opportunity is to be exploited.