Innovation and Entrepreneurship Ecosystem-Free-Samples for Students

Questions: 1.Identify a hypothetical's Business opportunity that if you had the funds, time and drive you would pursue as a business start-up. Provide a brief description of your organisation: its size, the industry and country/countries in which it will operate, the strategy and vision that it will adopt. 2.Provide an overview of the contextual factor and assess how you would utilise it to enhance the business practice of your organisation or business. Answers: Introduction The purpose of this essay is the identification of a hypothetical or an imaginary business opportunity that if I were given the funds time and drive me would pursue as a business start-up. In this case, it is important to be very creative and considerate of the existing market system(Furman, 2017). One ought to consider the current businesses in the field of venture and the geographical area of the establishment. Again, it is important to know a number of people the business is expected to serve, nature of the market as well as the existing market gap market gap. After this long process of consideration, if I were given funds, time and drive I would venture in putting up a chicken slaughter. This is one of the businesses that will win the attention of prospective customers because most of the people in Africa have been used to having goat and cattle butcheries. This is, of course, an idea that I believe has the potential to become a business for me to own and grow. About the organization When it comes to business organization, the size of the proposed business is very important. As mentioned earlier, I would want to start a business that would specialize in the sale of chicken meat. This, of course, won't be a small business because it wont be meant for trial. In this case, I would want to establish a very big business that would involve both the sale of fresh chicken as well as canned meat. This would be one of the biggest investments in Africa. It would be a business that covers both sellers from the national up to international level. Chicken selling, of course, will be a company. There are also other companies that deal with similar products as mine(Bhagavatula, 2017). These companies together with mine will form an industry. Therefore, my business will be one among several companies constituting the meat production industry. Again, I wouldnt specialize in only the local market. Since chicken and cattle slaughtering is more common in African than European countries, I would base my company in South Africa. This company will serve both local and international market. Mozambique, Swaziland, Zambia, DRC Congo, Kenya, among other countries are other countries that will be served by this company. Again, this company would also consider starting an export strategy where countries that are outside Africa with also get this meat. This, of course, would be one of the greatest ideas to venture in. Business strategy is also another crucial aspect of a business. This is because it provides the basis for implementing the formulated ideas for the purpose of reaching the long-term business objectives. Now, this business would have a well laid out business management that will make decisions, formulate and implement ideas necessary for achieving the business goals, the main goal being profit making. Again, every business usually has its own vision. This is what keeps it moving and shapes the future of the business(Weeger, 2015). The mission of my business would be to be the leading supplier of chicken meat worldwide and being committed to offering the best to my esteemed customers. Business organizational structure Every business, whether large or small operateswithin a well-defined organizational structure(Gao, 2017). This is very important because it leads to efficient and effective work process flow. There are a number of business organization structures which are defined by the board and senior leadership. These structures include the matrix organizational structure, functional organizational structure, product organizational structure, customer organizational structure, geographical organizational structure among other structures. In my business, the most suitable structure is the geographical organizational structure. This is a business structure that is organized by regions because it covers a span of geographic regions. This is a very important structure because it helps to support logistical demands and differences in geographic customer needs. This is a structure used by the business that goes beyond a city or a state limit and has customers in multiple countries. This structure isorganized in such a manner that geographical regions report up to a central oversight person. This structure best fits my business idea because it will serve customers from almost parts of the world. There will be officials in every country that is to be served and who will be reporting to a central oversight person in South Africa and this will ease the monitoring of the business. Business environment and their effects Business environment refers to those factors that will affect the business whether internally or externally. These are the micro and the macro business environment. Micro business environment refers to those factors that affect the business from within the business itself (Roma, 2017). Ownersstart the business and provide finance for the business upkeep. These factors affect the business either positively or negatively. I, being the owner would ensure that I organize the business well and provide enough finance for it to thrive well. The business structure is another key thing. This means activities that are carried out at various levels of the organization so that the business objective may be achieved. The poor business structure will affect the business performance while a perfect one with promoting its performance. Resources are yet another business environmental factor. These are the factors of production. We have physical resources, technological, human and financial resources. A business that has inadequate of these factors will definitely fail. Availability ofadequate human resource, production technology, finance and physical resources like the chicken will lead to a business success. Another factor is business culture. This is a very important factor. If the initiator of a business has a bad business culture the business he or she intends to start will fail. However, if one has a good culture the business succeeds. There are also other external factors. For instance, if there is an increased population in the country of investment, sales go high while a decrease would mean fewer sales. Legal-political is still another factor. If my business is allowed by the government of the countries I intend to operate in it will succeed. If it is not allowed then it will be a business failure. Another factor is the economy. If customers are able to purchase my meat my business will succeed(Quarati, 2016). If they are not able my business will fail. Another one is competition. If I am able to compete favorably with the other companies my business will be a success and if I will not be in a position to do that then my business will fail. Another important factor is culture. Of course, I won't intend to sell my chicken in countries or societies that dont eat chicken because of culture. Culture will dictate the places that I will be able to operate in. Risks that will confront the business Every business that is set usually has risks or threats that might affect it. I would specialize in the field of supplying chicken meat to the customers and of course, this business has several risks.These risks include strategic risks. For example, the previous well-laid structure or plan may seem out-dated or proof non-functional. Another risk would be compliance risk. Even though I might at first comply with the legal requirements as at that particular time, sometimes these requirements change with time. It might now be difficult to comply with them. The operational risk would be another peril. These are the unexpected failures in the company in the day to day running which might be caused by a number of things like power outage that really cause big losses(Costa, 2016). Reputational risk is another threat. If by any change my business loses reputation at one point, my sales volume would go low. Another risk would be a financial risk. If for example my biggest percentage of revenu e came from a particular customer and I extend credit period to him my solid cash would go too low. Business practices that will enhance organizational performance There are a number of business practices that I would perform to enhance the organizational performance of any business. For example, I would ensure that I get the best team. Getting the best team ranging from the least to the highest rank in the organizational structure will enhance its performance. I would also ensure that there is good communication and understanding among all the people. Communication is one very important thing. If there is the understanding among all the people involved in the business then it will run well. Engaging all people is another practice. This is another important practice. Engaging people will make them feel as being part and parcel of the company and this improves performance. Identification and removal of internal roadblocks will be another practice. This would involve looking for indicators of misalignment e.g. whether policies and work procedures help the people get the right things are done quickly(Lu, 2016). The motivation of the workers will also help improve performance. When they are motivated they feel acknowledged and appreciated and hence perform better. Functions within my business organization and how they relate to the business performance Any business organization will have different functions or department. These serve different functions towards achieving the business objective. In my business, the most important functions will be the production, research and development, purchasing, marketing, human resource management and the accounting and finance department. The production function will deal with matters concerning the slaughtering of the chicken and the canning. The research and management function will conduct research about the market and the performance of the business. The purchasing department will deal with purchases. The marketing function will be responsible for advertising and selling of the products. The human resource function, on the other hand, deals with the acquisition and management of employees. Finally, the accounting and finance department will deal with matters concerning cash inflow and outflow. These functions actually rate to the business performance(Carayannis, 2016). If every function i s responsible enough to perform its duty as expected, then the business performance will be high. In a case where there is a failure of a certain department or several of them, the business will perform poorly. 2.Contextual factor and how I would utilize it to enhance the business practice of my business Contextual factors are factors which reflect a particular context, characteristics unique to a particular group, society, community or even region. The factors affect business operations in many ways and also affect how and when the business objective will be achieved. They would too influence the business practice of any business. In cases where they are poorly utilized, the business practice will be influenced negatively(Saebi, 2016). However, if these factors are used well in their context, they will enhance the business practice. Innovation and how it can be used to enhance the business practice Innovation, on its own, refers to metamorphosis. This means the introduction of a new idea, method or device. It also means the application of better solutions or ideas that are in a position to meet unarticulated needs, new requirements or existing market needs. In the business context, however, innovation means the introduction of a new business idea that is able to close a market gap that is already existing or even better the business market by the provision of new or better commodities to the market.Innovation in business makes one produce or provide the best in the market. A producer who is innovative enough will be in a position to come up with the best business opportunity that will thrive well in the market and also be in a position to compete favorably in the competitive market. There are a number of ways that a business can use innovation to enhance business performance. Providing a conducive business environment is one of these ways that innovation will enhance business practice. Every business is aimed at operating smoothly without unnecessary interruption(Brown, 2015). In cases where there is innovation, the business owner can be creative enough to come up with ways of managing the business without problems. One of the business practices is getting the best team. In this case, the owner should be innovative enough to be in a position to acquire the best team that that will manage all the business activities well. Another business practice is the observation of business acumen. It is very important to ensure that high moral standards and virtues are observed in a business. Different people have different approaches to how this can be achieved. To be able to successfully adhere to this acumen, one ought to be innovative enough to devise new and favorable methods of achieving it. In this case, innovation will have helped in the enhancement of business practices. It is not obvious that people within the organization automatically adhere to the set moral values. It is therefore important to ensure that good method are devisedto ensure that these values are adhered to. Good customer relation is still another business practice. This means having good social cohesion and cooperation between the business and the clients. This relationship offers the best environment for the business to take place. When customers feel acknowledged and appreciated, enabling environment is created. Innovation can be used to enhance this structure. Good innovative methods can be introduced to ensure that there is a healthy relationship between the business and the market. This is one factor that will actually improve sales hence increasing profits. Another useful business practice is teamwork. This takes care of all the activities that run among the business officials from the highest to the lowest rank. A business that works together is likely to achieve its objectives easier and earlier than a business that works without harmony.Once the officials fight amongst themselves, there is obviously no progress that will take place. It is therefore important to be innovative enough to come up with ways that that will make all the business staff work together. The owner should be in a position to generate new and fresher ideas that will see the business operating as one family and one person. This is because all the officials of having a role to play in the smooth running of the business. An overview of entrepreneurship and how it will be utilized to enhance business structure This is actually a broad term. It means the process of identifying a business opportunity and acquisition of the necessary resources to start and run a business smoothly. This involves the process from the identification of the business opportunity to the point starting the business and continues to the point of business operations. The owner is the business entrepreneur and the overall boss of the business. This means that he is responsible for all activities that take place in the business ventured in. There are several ways that entrepreneurship can be utilized to enhance business practice. For instance, the entrepreneur is the owner of the business. This means that he is responsible for developing academic and business plans. The art of the entrepreneur developing good plans is one way of utilizing entrepreneurship to enhance business practices. Good planning will obviously lead to better business performance. The entrepreneur is responsible for starting the business. He therefore clearly defines areas of responsibility. This means that he assigns responsibilities and gives authority to deal with organizations goals, operating functions, objectives and regulatory requirements. To enhance this practice, the role of entrepreneurship would be the proper allocation of powers to ensure that the organization runs smoothly. Through entrepreneurship also, performance objectives are established. This involves specification of the required level of competence for qualification to a particular job. This is a major function of the entrepreneur. The initiator of the business should come up with regulations and minimum requirements to acquire a particular job. Another function of the entrepreneur is to manage the business. This means that he or she has the capacity of establishing open communication channels which facilitate the flow of information across all the activities and those who need the information. This makes the business manageable. Communication is one key factor that unites people and brings about social cohesion. In order to enhance this business practice, the owner has to establish proper communication channels that facilitate the running of the business(McLuskie, 2017). Another business practice is the provision of training. In this practice, the entrepreneur has to be responsible for acquiring all the resources that are needed to facilitate the this training The business entrepreneur is also responsible for the provision of resources necessary to run the business. These include water, electricity, and security among others. Another business practice is the provision of security and protecting the premises assets. It is the role of the entrepreneur therefore to provide this protection(Mueller, 2017). This is a very critical practice. In cases where there is low or, no security businesses will not do well. This is because customers will not delight in shopping in areas where their life is on the threat. It is possible that the customers will escape from these insecure areas and opt for areas where there is adequate security. This is how the entrepreneur will enhance business practices improving the business performance. Proper record keeping is yet another business practice. This depends on the strategies formulated in entrepreneurship. The entrepreneur is responsible for making sure that there is proper record keeping of all the activities that take place in the business. Again, the cash inflow and outflow should be well recorded in the appropriate ledgers for easy auditing and accountability. To enhance this business practice and promote transparency in the business, the owner of the business should ensure that the financial function is working properly and is provided with all the resources to ensure that there is a smooth flow of the business. Conclusion Conclusively, in the event of identifying the business opportunity to venture in one must carry out adequate research and consider the current market systems. Again, one has to be aware that there are both internal and external factors that affect the business. One has, therefore, the responsibility of ensuring that he or she meets what ought to be met and innovatively derives mechanisms of dealing with these factors. It is also important to know that some contextual factors such as innovation and entrepreneurship can be utilized to enhance business practices.Businesses that have good business practices and support from the entrepreneur run well and easier than those with poor structures and poor management. References Bhagavatula, S. M. (2017, May). Management and Organization Review Special Issue The Innovation and Entrepreneurship Ecosystem in India. Management and Organization Review, pp. 208-213. Brown, A. A. (2015). 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