Approaches On Factors Affecting Self Employment Commerce Essay

Approaches On Factors Affecting Self Employment Commerce Essay There are diverse approaches and theories to the factors affecting self-employment efforts of individuals. Lambing and Kuehl have pointed out personality traits, cultural influence, economic conditions and the combination of these factors as the major factors influencing self employment. Other authors like Saini and Rathore (2001:5-6) argue that social, religious and cultural, psychological, political, and economic policies are the main factors affecting self employment. Another approach to the factors affecting self employment is described in a more summarized way by Khanka (2004:33-37). These factors are economic aspect, noneconomic aspects and government measures. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The economic aspects comprise of capital, inputs and the market; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The non-economic factors are the social and political circumstances such as social mobility, security and psychological factors à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The Government measures and actions comprise issues such as economic and industrial policies and strategies which influence both the above factors. There are countless approaches to analyzing the factors affecting self employments, nevertheless the in one way or another, it seems they are all saying the same thing in different words. Regardless of their dissimilarity of treating the individual factors, they are harmonizing to each other. So much so that the major factors affecting self-employment schemes can be classified into various aspects such as support system factors, personal traits, government policies, and socio-cultural factors. Personality Trait Factors These are a set of aspects related to an individuals personality either inborn or learned which determine an individuals profession. The argument over learned or unlearned (inborn) character traits is endless in that a consensus has not been reached yet among scholars. When it comes to entrepreneurs, Lambing and Kuehl (2000:16) argue that entrepreneurs have an innate unique personality which cannot be taught. Schumpeter (in Deakins, 1999:11) holds the same idea Lambing and Kuehl (2000). This implies that the personality of entrepreneurs is inborn and learning has minor influence in becoming an entrepreneur. On the contrary, many authors, like Peter Drucker (in Lambing and Kuehl, 2000:15), believe that socio-cultural influences (learned traits) are sources of entrepreneurial personality. Kirzner also promotes that any one has the potential to be entrepreneur and he/she appears and operates within set production constraints (Deakins, 1999:11). Both ideas imply that, everyone having the inherited traits, environmental exposures are determinant factors of entrepreneurial qualities. However, still many others accept that both sources (nature and nurture) equally contribute to the individuals entrepreneurial personality. Thus, in this study, the researcher prefers to have the stand with the third group believing both factors have their own share of contribution to the entrepreneurial personality. According to Lambing and Kuehl (2000:16), whether entrepreneurial tendencies exist at birth or developed as the person matures, certain traits are usually evident in those who achieve success. Socio-Cultural Factors These set of factors focus on such aspects as values, norms, beliefs, family and community entrepreneurial traditions, societal attitude, etc. It is considered in terms of social behavioral approaches, which stresses the influence of the social environment. It has been identified that different cultures have varying values and believes (Lambing and Kuehl, 2000:18-19). That is, some culture encourages entrepreneurship whereas others discourage, some promotes achievement whereas others give low value to entrepreneurship. For example, the Japanese have been known to have an achievementoriented culture which helps entrepreneurs persist until they succeed. That is, they give high value to entrepreneurship and encourage entrepreneurs to succeed. With respect to this, McClelland (Deakins, 1999: 18) has identified that the historical role models influence of heroes on subsequent generation induced a high motive of achievement on the population. On the contrary, in some cultures, entrepreneur ship may be conceived as an occupation for low self-esteemed persons. For example, it is well described in Lelissa (2006:17) and UNESCO (2002:132) the negative social image held on the TVET program which discourages entrepreneurial ideas of TVET graduates (this will be discussed further in this section later). The entrepreneurial tradition of the family has the most significant impact on the early development of entrepreneurial personality. Young (in Batra, 2003:26) maintains that entrepreneurial activity is generated by a particular family background and experience as a member of certain kinds of group and as a reflection of general cultural values. In respect to this, Saini and Rathore (2001:5-6) described that entrepreneurial traditions of the family as well as the community are important factors within which the entrepreneur grows and internalizes the values and norms. In addition, Batra and Dangwal (2003:13) have stated that caste and community are the most important socio-cultural determinants of entrepreneurial supply and performance. With regard to societal attitudes, the TVET program itself is victim of negative image held by the society in Ethiopia. According to a research finding (Lelissa, 2006:17), it has been discovered that trainees of TVET institutions are considered as low achievers or failures of grade ten (national examination) students who are forced to attend TVET which discourages the potentially motivated students. This image of the society at large and the view of the graduates in particular is a barrier to have confidence and envision in their vocational career in general and starting new venture in particular. That is, the graduates feel inferior of their friends who joined the degree program and strive for higher education after a period of wage employment service which is a government requirement as a path way to higher education. This path way may force the TVET graduates to work on a paid employment for the sake of getting a two-year work experience which is levied by the government policy as a requirement. The negative images has been found to be global that a UNESCO monograph on perceived status of TVET stated as TVET is often seen as a poor alternative to university or college courses, and the career paths resulting from TVET programs are often seen as less desirable as far as the career success of young people is concerned (Hiebert and Borgen in UNESCO, 2002:132). Thus, the graduates are highly occupied by the drive to achieve higher education opportunity rather than thinking of job creation (self-employment). Demographic factors such as gender may also contribute to graduates entrepreneurial success as a result of the influence of backward social and cultural environment. Though in the relatively long past times women are confined in the four walls of houses performing household activities, currently they are emerging as successful entrepreneurs (Khanka, 2004:18). This is due to educational equity and technological advancement that helped women to come out of the four-wall confinement and enabled them currently to run their own enterprises successfully. Likewise, religion as one component of social factors, the performance of individual entrepreneurs is directly or indirectly inspired by religious ideas (Khanka, 2004: 14). That is, in some religions high profit and interests are considered as a sin deeds. Thus, the social and cultural environment at which the entrepreneur emerged is important source of entrepreneurship as well as entrepreneurial personality. Government Policies and Ations Under this category, factors that influence entrepreneurial success include governments economic and industrial policies, trade laws and legitimacy, promotion of free market, individual freedom, economic stability, introduction of new technology, etc. The economic and political environment includes various factors that either facilitate or inhibit the would-be entrepreneur the undertaking of a business venture which are necessary conditions for the success of the business. Among the economic factors lack of capital, working place, facilities and market are at the forefront. The week availability of credit services and the very limited accessibility of financial institutions is a barrier to start a new venture. A World Bank report (2005) has identified that some of the graduates are not interested to be self-employed due to lack of capital, lack of training and lack of national policy which favored self-employment. The problem of capital and inadequate provision of micro-credit services are therefore central to the TVET graduates to start new micro and/or small enterprises. Hence, government economic policies which encourage new entrepreneurs in the provision of credits, availability of facilities, presence of technical assistance (consulting personnel), establishment of entrepreneurial incubation centers, facilitation of infrastructures, arrangement of working places and market are some of them just to mention few. With respect to the policy that favors new entrepreneurs, the training areas (sectors) affect the extent to which graduates are self-employed. That is, in relation to the governments 70/30 (hard/soft skills) proportion training direction, soft skill training s such as business fields may not be benefitted from incentives and encouragements. There is a tendency to discourage soft skills (occupations) training areas and, as a result, low access to the opportunities to soft skills graduates, as experiences of entrepreneurial efforts of the soft skills graduates showed. In this regard, for example, an attempt of establishing a small firm on auditing service by accounting graduates was inhibited by a concerned governments Audit Office until related guideline is prepared but not realized and the graduates effort has been discouraged so that the group was banned. In addition, with respect to government actions and policies favoring new entrepreneurs, economic regulations and taxation benefits are also important factors. Political stability, freedom of entrepreneurs, promotion of free market, absence of corruption, guarantee of security, etc. are also influential factors connected to the political environment (Dollinger, 1999:57). Support System Services Factors related to available support services include a number of services such as the quality of training institutions, on the job training provision of companies, financial and commercial institutions, research findings, entrepreneurial personnel support, consultancy services, etc. These support services have their share to the success of TVET graduates in venture creation efforts. Some scholars generally assume that entrepreneurs are born and support services are less important. However, it is proved that with the right type of training, follow up support and assistance, one can develop oneself as an entrepreneur (Batra, 2003:35). It is clear that the latent potentials can be cultivated and developed through wellconceived and integrated type of training including entrepreneurial skills. With this respect, Batra has stated that the right type of entrepreneurial training helps to identify and develop the natural, inherent and potential virtues of the human being which are lying dorm ant. From this we understand that the type and quality of training offered in a TVET institution is vital for the TVET graduates entrepreneurial venture. Institutions (schools) with exciting courses in entrepreneurship and innovation tend to develop entrepreneurs and an entrepreneurial environment (Hisrich Peters, 2002:13). This shows that the institutions ability to equip the trainees with the necessary skills, knowledge and attitude paves the way to the idea of entrepreneurship and realization of a venture. In relation to the role of training, the quality of trainers in their entrepreneurial skills and awareness about the expected output (entrepreneurial capability of graduates) is also one pivotal input. Encouragement to self-employment is further stimulated by trainers (teachers), who can significantly influence individuals to regard entrepreneurship as a desirable and viable career path (Hisrich Peters, 2002:13). In addition to the trainers role for the entrepreneurial development of the trainees in training institutions, career guidance and counseling support is another contributing component of the quality of the TVET graduates. Hiebert and Borgen (in UNESCO, 2002:131) have well stated that guidance and counseling services are essential for the goals of TVET to be fully realized and that they should for that reason be fully integrated with all TVET programming. These services should be provided beginning at the time of enrollment in orienting their occupational choice, inculcating positive attitude through out their training and showing direction of their career path through the provision of career information including entrepreneurship. Another aspect of education and training background of the entrepreneur is experience of a previous business. This experience may be expressed in terms of any kind of exposure to a business environment be it free service ( practices in the form of apprenticeship or internship) or wage employment for a specific period of time. Some graduates choose wage employment because they acquire experiences without incurring cost such as know how to run a business, identify the way in which things operate in a business environment, learn skills of leadership and coordination, had a network of contacts, etc. In this respect, a research finding (Lambing Kuehl, 2000:90) in a survey on source of business ideas of 500 successful entrepreneurs revealed that most of them (nearly half) (43%) of the respondents said they got the idea for their business from the experience they gained while working for wage in the same industry or profession. Therefore, it is clear that work integrated training methods such as apprenticeship, internship, cooperative training and free practice programs are of paramount importance. In addition to the above factors, support services such as financial and commercial institutions, micro and small enterprise development personnel support, consultancy services, research findings, etc., have their own role for the entrepreneuri

The Effects of The Black Death on the Economic and Social Life of Europe :: European Europe History

The Effects of The Black Death on the Economic and Social Life of Europe The Black Death is the name later given to the epidemic of plague that ravaged Europe between 1347 and 1351. The disaster affected all aspects of life. Depopulation and shortage of labor hastened changes already inherent in the rural economy; the substitution of wages for labor services was accelerated, and social stratification became less rigid. Psychological morbidity affected the arts; in religion, the lack of educated personnel among the clergy gravely reduced the intellectual vigor of the church. "In less than four years the disease carved a path of death through Asia, Italy, France, North Africa, Spain and Normandy, made its way over the Alps into Switzerland, and continued eastward into Hungary" (Microsoft Bookshelf, page 1). After a brief respite, the plague resumed, crossing the channel into England, Scotland, and Ireland, and eventually made its way into the northern countries of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland and even as far north as Greenland. In other words, the plague touched almost the entire known world. So much death could not help but tear economic and social structures apart. Lack of peasants and laborers sent wages soaring, and the value of land plummeted. For the first time in history the scales tipped against wealthy landlords as peasants and serfs gained more bargaining power. Without architects, masons and artisans, great cathedrals and castles remained unfinished for hundreds of years. Governments, lacking officials, floundered in their attempts to create order out of chaos. The living lost all sense of morality and justice, and a new attitude toward the church emerged. Medieval people could find no Divine reason for the four-year nightmare, and dissatisfaction with the church gave impetus to reform movements that eventually broke apart the unity of the Catholic Church. The plague itself was disastrous enough, especially in the appearance of more than one form during the same epidemic. But coming when it did was as catastrophic as its form. The middle 14th century was not a good time for Europe. The European economy was already in difficulties. It was approaching the limits of expansion, both on its frontiers and in reclaiming land from forest and swamp. The arrival of the Mongols and the Ottomans had disrupted trade routes, and certain areas of Europe were edging into depression. "The Church was in poor shape as well. The popes resided at Avignon, not at Rome, to the scandal of many.

Dexit †A Marketing Opportunity

The case study discusses the marketing opportunity of Toronto-based Dexit Inc. for the new electronic payment system for retail transactions. The CEO of the company, Renah Persofsky, faced two traditional questions of marketing strategy: the preferable target group and the choice of optimal strategy, â€Å"push† or â€Å"pull†. Marketing opportunity The advantages of for the new electronic payment system for retail transactions were obvious. First, its implementation could make the transactions faster and safer for the end user.Second, the using of similar payment systems gained the wide popularity. Third, the popularity of digital payments without dealing with the cashiers is growing nowadays, and this trend existed in 2002 when Dexit made a decision to launch its new payment system. At least, the competition on this sector was rather low. Thus, the implementation of new payment system was reasonable solution. However, even in this favorable market opportunity the comp any faced two dilemmas.First was the choice between consumers (the users of the Dexit tag) and merchants (the users of the Dexit POS terminals). It was necessary to define which segment would be most profitable to serve. Besides, the issue of different customers approach was topical. The new payment system could gain fast popularity among that group of the customers, which was known as â€Å"early gainers†, but as usual this group couldn’t transform to the group of the most â€Å"heavy customers†.At last, the implementation of new system demanded the new wave of marketing, and it was needed to make a solution about the preferable marketing strategy. â€Å"push† or â€Å"pull†. The choice also depended from the target customer group. Conclusion It can hardly be decided what marketing strategy could be optimal for Dexit; however, the study of the latest trends allowed recommendation to aim the strategy on the â€Å"heavy customers† and make th e system merchant-oriented. References DEXIT — A MARKETING OPPORTUNITY. 905A02. Copyright  © 2005, Ivey Management Services

3333750-247650 Essays - 20th Century In The United States, Politics

3333750-247650 Essays - 20th Century In The United States, Politics 3333750-247650 "I Have a Dream" is a public speech delivered by American civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963, in which he calls for an end to racism in the United States and called for civil and economic rights. Delivered to over 250,000 civil rights supporters from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. , the speech was a defining moment of the American Civil Rights Movement . He was assassinated in 1968. 00 "I Have a Dream" is a public speech delivered by American civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963, in which he calls for an end to racism in the United States and called for civil and economic rights. Delivered to over 250,000 civil rights supporters from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. , the speech was a defining moment of the American Civil Rights Movement . He was assassinated in 1968. 1 I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation. Five score years ago, a great American , in whose 5 symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation . This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity. 10 But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition. 15 In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence , they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. 20 Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. 25 Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children. It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a 30 beginning. And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be

The River Why, David James Duncan Essays

The River Why, David James Duncan Essays The River Why, David James Duncan Paper The River Why, David James Duncan Paper As any reader of The River Why knows, David James Duncan is a master of the art of writing about fishing–which is also to say life, since the two for him are indelibly linked. In his famous book The River Why, Duncan uses fishing as one kind of bait, along with wonderful humor, beautiful writing and memorable characterization, to make a much larger, much more important set of points. The plot of The River Why, isnt about fishing, or living in harmony with nature; its about a young mans discovering what life really is. The Perfect Schedule young Guss plan for getting in the absolute maximum number of hours a day fishing turns out to be a horrible failure. It takes a long time for Gus to realize something is wrong, including a harrowing adventure with a drowned man and some pretty serous sickness. Now it may be ahem that fisherpersons are more stubborn or more stupid, but Duncan has Gus discover that there are things more important than fishing, and that those things can lead to still greater things. And that all of that can make the fishing better. Third, while Duncan and Gus poke immense amounts of fun at it, this really is a re-casting of Izaak Waltons _The Compleat Fisherman_, although Walton is nearly unreadable and Duncan writes extraordinarily well. This book is also about more or less the same thing as those witlesses that Ma brings to grief, although both Gus and the Witlesses would likely deny it. One of Duncans subtle messages is there, too. Fourth and last, like a fish taking a fly, when you read this book you will be so dazzled by the gorgeous fly of Duncans humor, writing and characterization that you will miss the hook and line of his real message until, like Gus, the line of light has you and you feel that gentle tug in your heart.

Visits to Career Centers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Visits to Career Centers - Essay Example The authors have undertaken a few different techniques of research for this paper. A total of 277 postal questionnaires were sent out to the post participants of the health career workshops. In the questionnaires, 15 out of the 68 questions related to the impact of the workshop on the career decision and the decision made by the respondents. These questionnaires were sent out in 2002. Following this, another set of similar questionnaires were sent out in 2005, to a total of 208 participants. Of the 2002 questionnaires, a total of 94 people responded and they were then invited to participate in a telephonic interview, to enable the authors gain as much information as possible about the career, course and the choice. The telephonic survey questionnaire was developed and designed to seek as much information about the course and the career decisions made by the participants. It also aimed at gaining the opinions of the participants about the effects of the attendance at the health career workshops. The researches were all conducted by the same person between November 2004 and December 2004. The findings of the research highlighted that almost 63 of the 70 people who attended the workshops were impacted to a great extent by the workshop. Their decision making was based on the workshop and helped them choose the right path for their career. A few of the respondents replied, The research also brought out different answers where the workshop had acted as a means for people to correct their career pathway and move into something which interested the respondents most. One of the responses reads: ‘I realised that health was not a career pathway for me. It made me realise that my interest lay in animal and not human health’. Another one of the responses read, ‘ Even though I have not chosen a health career, the workshop made me aware of a career in general and discussed many options about tertiary education, which

Business Plan Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Business Plan - Case Study Example The owner of the park with (state no of years) years of experience in buying and selling mobile homes has absolute knowledge of the local market conditions. The park in the best of its condition will serve the housing needs for many citizens. Market analysis: The Park situated half a mile from the lake is a prime occupancy place. The lead time for occupancy is a maximum of two months. The place is mostly rented by couples 80% of whom are young and 20% retired. Tenkiller has 70.8 % of the population over 15 years that are under the now married category according to Onboard Informatics 2008. In addition the park is situated in geography with extremely high floating population. The North Eastern state university has 6500 students in its campus and about 400,000 annually visit the Illinois River and 2,000,000 annually visit Lake Tenkiller.The current rent rates for mobile homes range from $325 to $475 this includes single and double wides. Placement: The Park is situated within half a mile from the lake making proximity to the lake and water sports viable and this will be a unique selling point for the park. In addition to this Lake Tenkiller being a major tourist attraction and place for camping will keep the homes at a 90% occupancy. The promotional act Product: The Park after renovation and new homes with a children's play area and storage units will definitely prove money's worth for tenants and prospects. Promotion: The promotional activity for the mobile park will take place in all the leading camping sites and water sport areas where tourist flood in addition to electronic and mailing channels. The park will also be advertised in the North eastern State University and in the neighbouring towns. Below is a business plan for a Mobile Home Park in the state of Oklahoma. The proposal states the viability of the business in alliance with the financials which includes the start up accounts and the projected Profit and loss statements for the first 3 years. Start up expenses Legal $300 Stationery Brochures Consultants Insurance $200 Rent Research and Development Expensed Equipment Other Total Start up expenses $500 Start up assets Cash Required $6,000 Other current assets $0 long term assets $91,000 Total assets $97,000 Total requirements $97,500 Start up Funding Start up expenses to fund $500 Start up assets to fund $97,000 Total Funding required $97,500 Assets Non cash assets from start up $91,000 Cash requirements from start up $6,000 Additional cash raised 0 Cash balance on starting date $6,000 Total assets $97,000 Liabilities and capital Liablities Current borrowing 0 Long term liabilities $87,000 Accounts payable 0 Other current liabilities 0 Total liabilities $87,000 Capital Planned investment $10,000 Other 0 Additional Investment required $87,000 Total planned investment $97,000 loss at start up $6,500 Total capital $90,500 Total capital and liabilities $97,000 Total funding $97,500 Proforma Profit and Loss Pro Forma Profit and Loss FY 2009 FY 2010 FY 2011 Sales $28,080 $32,160 $36,240 Direct Cost