• Research & development leads to new inventions and improvement of existing ones through innovation.
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• An entrepreneur transfers ideas into new businesses by assuming risks through innovation and creativity.
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• Entrepreneurs are the heart of our economic system.Personal qualities, motivation, experience and entrepreneurship are the primary influences on an individual’s decision to establish a business.
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• An entrepreneur is someone who starts, operates and assumes the risk of a business venture in the hope of making a profit.
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• An entrepreneur must have a range of skills and characteristics to own and operate a business successfully.
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• A business opportunity is something an entrepreneur can see as an avenue to success.
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• Opportunities may arise due to either a ‘gap’ in the market, or an interest or hobby.
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• Competition is rivalry among businesses that seek to satisfy a market.
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• SME owners must decide how to make a business competitive. This can be done by either reducing the costs of production or providing something not already available.
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• Managers need a range of skills to manage their businesses:
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- interpersonal skills;
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- communication skills;
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- strategic thinking;
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-,Problem solving skills;
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- flexibility and adapting to change;
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- negotiating skills;
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- leadership skills – visions.
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• Managers must be able to provide a vision as to where the business is headed and what it is trying to achieve.
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• To share their vision with others and inspire them, managers will have to display effective leadership qualities.
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• Leadership is the ability to influence people to set and achieve specific goals.
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• Managers must be able to solve problems — finding and then implementing a
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course of action to correct an unworkable situation.
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• Managers must be able to make decisions — identifying the options available
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and then choosing a specific course of action to solve the specific problem.
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• Managers must be flexible, adaptable and proactive rather than reactive.•
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• Interpersonal (people) skills are those skills needed to work and communicate with other people and to understand their needs.
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• Interpersonal skills include the ability to communicate, motivate, lead and
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• inspire.
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• Effective communication of business goals and the strategies to achieve them are crucial to achieving business success.
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• Managers who are effective communicators and who are able to share their thoughts and plans will find it easy to influence others.
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• Miscommunication is to be avoided because it can lead to serious harm to the business.
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• It is important for managers to be aware of the power of nonverbal communication, especially body language.
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• Strategic management allows the manager to see the business as a whole and to take a broad, long-term view.
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• Strategic thinking involves thinking about a business’s future direction and what future goals the business wants to achieve.
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