Notes- Knowledge and Skills Requirement

Knowledge and skills requirement:

Entrepreneurship is a young or immature science. In order to build the body of knowledge that underlies the art of entrepreneurship we must create academic models that can successfully be applied in industry. The art and science of entrepreneurship are complementary to each other and, therefore, require simultaneous advances in both theory as well as practice.

1.             Knowledge Requirement: In simple terms, knowledge means collection and retention of information in one’s mind. Knowledge is necessary for performing a task but not sufficient. For example, a person having the knowledge of cricket playing could be in a position to describe how to play. But, mere description wil1 not enable the listener to play cricket unless something more than knowledge is there. We see in real life that people possessing mere knowledge have miserably failed while actually performing the task. What this implies is that one also needs to have skills to translate the knowledge into action/practice.

One should have a certain command of knowledge in business, law, finance, as an entrepreneur, accounting, tax, etc. as an entrepreneur. It is not necessarily to experts in each area, but it is required to understand and grasp knowledge of his program and relevant programs, and comprehend by analogy.

·         Knowledge of Academic Technical- The characteristic of modern economy requires an entrepreneur to have a deep command of the academic knowledge in the career he is embarking on, or he will not be able to analyze the situation correctly, which is the most prominent in high-tech walks. The entrepreneurs who holding a deep command of academic technical knowledge always can grasp the developing trend of the things with their sharp eyes, raising unique opinions and strategies, and work out the corresponding strategies to achieve the success of the enterprises.

·         Knowledge of Financial Management- The main content of financial management knowledge is the running and operating of the capital. Simply speaking, financial management is how to manage your money, that is, how to reasonably and effectively run and distribute your capital to gain more profit. In the modern enterprises, financial management goes through the whole process of economic activities. It not only reflects the achievements of the economic activities, playing the role of predicating and deciding, but also exerts the function of controlling and examining.

·         Knowledge of Operation Management- Against the market economy situation, the success and lose of the companies lies in operation. In the gradually complicated and fierce marketing competition, entrepreneurs can not just run the enterprise with experience and intuition, but to arm them with effective operation management knowledge and direct the operation activities.

·         Knowledge of Law- We are living in a society under the rule of law, marketing economy itself is economy under law. An entrepreneur without any knowledge of law is like a driver who does not know the rule of traffic. Should luckily there was no accident, the driver will at last be fined or confiscated of the driving license. Meanwhile, as a legal entrepreneur, when his rights are infringed, he should be good at safeguarding his right with the arm of law.

·         Knowledge of Finance- Finance is the allocating of the capital, involving the problems about how to gain the fund needed in development. No matter how capable the entrepreneur is in running, if there is no capital, nothing will be achieved. So no matter when it is at the beginning or during the process of the business establishment, collecting funds that is needed is of great importance.

2.             Skills Requirement: Skill is the ability to demonstrate a system and sequence of behavior which results in something observable, something that one can see. A person with playing ability, i.e., skill can properly identify the sequence of action to be performed to win the cricket match. Remember, while knowledge of playing cricket could be acquired by reading, talking or so on, skill to actually play cricket can be acquired by practice i.e., playing on a number of occasions. This means both knowledge and skill are required to perform a task.

 The skills required by entrepreneurs can be classified in to three main areas:

1. Technical skills involve such things as writing, listening, oral presentations, coaching, and technical know-how.

2. Business management skills include those areas involved in starting, developing and managing any enterprise.

3. Personal entrepreneurial skills differentiate an entrepreneur from a manager and include inner control (discipline), risk taking, innovativeness, persistence, visionary leadership, and being change oriented.

These skills and objectives form the basis of the modular approach to an entrepreneurship curriculum. Today entrepreneurs are recognizing the need to learn some of the science of management in an MBA program in order to grow their businesses effectively in the global environment.

Entrepreneurial Competencies

(i)         Initiative- acting out of choice rather than compulsion, taking the lead rather than waiting   for others to start.

(ii)        Sees and Acts on Opportunities- A mindset where one is trained to look for business          opportunities from everyday experiences. Recall ‘oranges’ example.

(iii)       Persistence- A ‘never say die’ attitude, not giving up easily, striving Information seeking      continuously until success is achieved.

(iv)       Knowing- Knowing who knows, consulting experts, reading relevant material and an             overall openness to ideas and information.

(v)        Concern for High Quality of Work- Attention to details and observance of    established      standards and norms.

(vi)       Commitment to Work Contract- Taking personal pains to complete a task as scheduled.

(vii)      Efficiency Orientation- Concern for conservation of time, money and effort.

(viii)     Systematic Planning- Breaking up the complex whole into parts, close examination of the     parts and inferring about the whole; e.g. simultaneously attending to production,         marketing and financial aspects (parts) of the overall   business strategy (the whole).

(ix)       Problem solving-Observing the symptoms, diagnosing and curing.

(x)        Self-confidence- Not being afraid of the risks associated with business and relying on         one’s capabilities to successfully manage these.

(xi)       Assertiveness- Conveying emphatically one’s vision and convincing others of its value.

(xii)      Persuasion- Eliciting support of others in the venture.

(xiii)     Use of Influence Strategies- Providing leadership.

(xiv)      Monitoring- Ensuring the progress of the venture as planned.

(xv)       Concern for Employee Welfare- Believing in employee well being as the key to          competitiveness and success and initiating programmes of employee welfare.