Introduction
Policy-makers and managerial scientists argue that people, who are working in various organizations, should have the qualities that are typical of entrepreneurs. This paper is aimed at discussing why they emphasize these attributes of an individual. Furthermore, it is vital to show how educational institutions such as universities can prepare students for the role of entrepreneurial managers.
These are the issues that should be examined more closely. On the whole, one can say that entrepreneurship is essential for independent initiative of a person, and his/her ability to offer innovative solutions to existing problems. In turn, students should be encouraged to work on the tasks that can encourage them to focus on innovation and creativity. These are the main arguments that can be put forward.
The importance of entrepreneurial qualities for individuals and organizations
There are several reasons why entrepreneurial skills are valued by various organizations. First of all, an entrepreneur is able to identify the opportunity and exploit it (Minniti, 2006, p. 4).
This quality of a person is of great importance to various institutions that can be public and private. Admittedly, one can speak mostly about companies that have to develop or improve their products and services in order to remain sustainable (Minniti, 2006, p. 4).
Furthermore, this skill is essential for every individual who intends to open a start-up business (Minniti, 2006, p. 4). However, this issue is also essential for governmental organizations that should identify new methods of solving social problems such as crime, homelessness, inequality, and so forth.
For example, contemporary school leadership is based on the idea that local authorities or school administrators should have an opportunity to change the policies of school in order to overcome various challenges (Reynolds, 2012, p. 150).
Therefore, one should remember that the concept of entrepreneurship can be applied to various human activities. It can be relevant to commercial and non-commercial activities. This is one of the points that should be made.
There are other aspects that should be considered. For instance, an entrepreneurial individual is more likely to take initiatives and accept responsibilities for his/her actions (Bygrave & Zacharakis, 2011, p. 225). One should take into account that start-up businesses managed by entrepreneurs fail, and these people are keenly aware about possible risks (Bygrave & Zacharakis, 2011, p. 225).
This attribute of an individual is also of great value to organizations. The problem is that in many cases, managers or executives are not willing to take decisions that require them to face risks and take responsibility for their actions. Very often organizations become too averse to risks, but this attitude often leads to detrimental consequences.
In particular, such organizations become less able to adjust to the changes in external environment or crises. This argument is relevant to various organizations that can be private or public. For instance, public administrators have to take decisive steps in order to respond to some urgent problems such as natural disasters, economic crises, or threats to national security. This is another aspect that should be considered.
Apart from that, entrepreneurs have such a quality as internal locus of control. In other words, these people believe the results or outcomes should be attributed to their actions, rather than some external circumstances (Davidson, 2005, p. 61). For example, they believe that their failures can be explained by their own mistakes, rather than some overwhelming forces (Davidson, 2005, p. 61).
In contrast, many people, who work in public or private organizations, tend to blame others for their failures. This is why many public and private institutions cannot function effectively. One can say that entrepreneurial mindset is much more productive.
These examples suggest that entrepreneurial skills are vital for various institutions. This is why politicians and scientists can attach importance to these qualities of an individual. These professionals understand that they are vital for the sustainability of businesses, governmental organizations, and community in general.
Entrepreneurship in universities
There are several ways in which educational organizations such as universities can prepare students for the role of entrepreneurial managers. First of all, the students should work on the assignments which prompt them to seek new solutions to existing problems. For instance, those people, who study engineering, are encouraged to work on the development of new technologies that can be commercially successful.
As a rule, such assignments are closely related to project management because entrepreneurs should be able to manage the work of other people (Lowry, 2007, p. 106). This is one of the approaches that can be taken. Secondly, learners can be encouraged to work on various case studies which present a situation which enables learners to display their creativity.
Apart from that, educators should attach importance to unconventional or counter-intuitive solutions offered by learners (Walzer 2007, p. 169). Finally, teachers should change the way in which learners look at the results of their actions. In particular, students should be prompted to be more initiative and responsible.
These are some of strategies that colleges can take. On the whole, this question has attracted the attention of many educators. One of their arguments is that there is no single approach which can contribute to the development of entrepreneurial skills (Walzer 2007, p. 169). This is one of the issues that can be singled out.
Discussion
Nevertheless, there are certain barriers to the development of entrepreneurial skills in students. It is important to remember the efforts of educators can be successful in those cases when the culture of organizations supports entrepreneurship. For instance, various corporations lay stress on the empowerment of employees who should take initiatives (Bailey, 2009, p. 1).
Normally, they achieve this goal by compensating those workers who can offer innovative solutions to problems. However, very often employees are closely supervised the managers. Furthermore, these people are extremely afraid of making even mistakes.
This situation is widespread in those organizations where workers can be easily dismissed for any deviation from the established rules. Under such circumstances, they are not likely to display entrepreneurial skills. Additionally, the development of these qualities should start at school while universities can facilitate this process. These are the main limitations that should not be overlooked.
Conclusion
On the whole, entrepreneurial management is essential for organizations. Much attention should be paid to the following aspects:
- ability to identify opportunities;
- taking initiatives;
- accepting the responsibilities for one’s action.
University educators can contribute to the development of these qualities by giving learners assignments that enable them to develop or display their creativity or administrative skills. Nevertheless, this goal can be attained if entrepreneurship is supported in schools. Moreover, the senior executives of organizations should support the initiatives of employees and managers.
Reference List
Bailey, T. (2009). Organizational Culture, Macro and Micro Empowerment Dimensions, and Job Satisfaction: An Application of Concurrent Mixed and Multi-Level Methods in the Federal Sector. New York, NY: Universal-Publishers.
Bygrave, W., & Zacharakis, A. (2011). Entrepreneurship. Boston, MA: John Wiley and Sons.
Davidson, P. (2005). Researching Entrepreneurship. New York, NY: Springer.
Lowry, G. (2007). Information Systems and Technology Education: From the University to the Workplace. Boston, MA: Idea Group Inc.
Minniti, M. (2006). Entrepreneurship: The Engine of Growth. New York, NY: Greenwood Publishing Group.
Reynolds, C. (2012). Women and School Leadership: International Perspectives. New York, NY: SUNY Press.
Walzer, N. (2007). Entrepreneurship and Local Economic Development. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.