30+mba-第46章

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question　takes　on　the　risks　and　costs　associated　with　the　‘host’　currency。　
Many　of　the　economies　opting　for　this　approach　already　informally　use　
the　foreign　currency　in　private　and　public　transactions。　
。　Floating　and　‘fully　convertible’：　These　currencies　fluctuate　as　the　
country　in　question　succeeds　or　fails。　Russia；　for　example；　li。。ed　currency　
controls　in　July　2006　as　a　sign　of　economic　confidence；　making　the　
rouble　fully　convertible。　Now　it　is　more　a。。ractive　to　invest　in　Russia；　
212　The　Thirty…Day　MBA　
while　Russian　businesses　can　freely；　without　worry；　without　any　special　
permit　or　burden；　participate　in　investments　overseas。　Barely　8　years　
earlier　the　country　defaulted　on　its　massive　domestic　debt；　devalued　
its　currency　and　wiped　out　Russians’　savings。　Russia’s　macroeconomic　
situation　had　to　bee　stable　to　allow　this　to　happen；　which　has　been　
achieved　on　the　back　of　large　gold　reserves；　a　balanced　budget　and　
foreign　investment　that　exceeded　capital　outflows　largely　on　the　basis　
of　oil　and　gas　exploration　activity。　
Balance　of　payments　
The　balance　of　payments　is　the　difference　between　all　payments　ing　
into　a　country　and　those　going　out。　A　surplus　of　payments　ing　in　over　
those　going　out　is　said　to　be　favourable　and　the　opposite　is　unfavourable。　
The　balance　of　payments　is　divided　into　two　accounts：　the　current　account；　
such　as　payments　for　imports；　exports；　services　and　transfers　of　money；　
and　capital　account　payments　for　physical　and　financial　assets。　
The　balance　of　trade；　which　is　itself　a　major　part　of　the　overall　balance　
of　payments；　is　the　difference　between　the　value　of　goods　and　services　exported　
out　of　a　country　and　those　imported　into　the　country。　When　imports　
exceed　exports　a　country’s　GDP　is　reduced　by　that　amount　（see　GDP　
earlier　in　this　chapter）。　Imports　and　exports　are　themselves　influenced　by　a　
country’s　petitive　position；　which　can　be　eroded　by　too　high　an　inflation　
rate；　for　example；　or　by　having　too　strong　a　currency；　which　encourages　
overseas　purchases　of　goods　and　services；　including　holidays。
Entrepreneurship　
。　Entrepreneur　vs　intrapreneur　
。　Social　entrepreneurs　
。　Creative　destruction；　the　spur　
。　Why　we　need　entrepreneurs　
。　Money　for　business　plans　
Entrepreneurship　is　the　newest　discipline　in　the　business　school　armoury　
and　in　many　schools　the　subject　is　still　not　taught。　In　some　it　is　a　topic　
within　economics；　which　is　considered　appropriate　as　J　B　Say；　a　French　
economist　in　circa　1800；　first　coined　the　term　entrepreneur；　using　it　to　
describe　‘Someone　who　shi。。s　resources　out　of　an　area　of　lower　and　into　an　
area　of　higher　productivity　and　greater　yield’。　The　most　mon　practice　is　
to　reduce　the　subject　to　a　basic　‘start　your　own　business’　project　culminating　
in　a　business　plan　presentation；　with　a　handful　of　MBAs　going　the　whole　
hog　and　launching　a　venture。　
There　is　rather　more　to　the　subject　than　just　starting　a　business；　though　
that　in　itself　is　a　worthy　oute。　Governments　are　fixated　with　entrepreneurship；　
secondary　schools　are　teaching　it；　1　in　15　people　in　work　
runs　a　business　and　over　half　the　world　work　for　and　report　directly　to　an　
entrepreneur。　
WHY　ENTREPRENEURSHIP　MATTERS　
You　might　be　surprised　at　the　number　of　people　and　organizations　that　
appear　keen　to　give　entrepreneurs　a　helping　hand。　Dragons’　Den　panellists；　
bankers　and　government　ministers　all　seem　eager　to　lend　a　helping　hand。　
None　of　these　would…be　helpers　is　particularly　altruistic。　The　primary　
reasons　why　entrepreneurs　are　essential　are　as　follows。　
8
214　The　Thirty…Day　MBA　
Job　creation　
Governments　needs　a　constant　injection　of　new　businesses　as　they　create　
most　of　the　new　jobs　in　any　economy；　a　fact　uncovered　by　David　Birch；　a　
researcher　at　MIT　（Massachuse。。s　Institute　of　Technology）　back　in　1979　（The　
Job　Generation　Process；　MIT）；　and　corroborated　by　dozens　of　other　studies　
since　then。　Also；　of　course；　you　will　pay　tax　on　your　profits　and　bee　
an　unpaid　tax　collector　for　VAT　or　Sales　Tax　on　behalf　of　government　
agencies。　
Creative　destruction　and　the　innovative　spur　
Creative　destruction　is　a　term　a。。ributed　to　Joseph　Schumpeter。　Born　in　
1883；　he　became　the　youngest　professor　in　the　Austrian　empire　at　26　and　
finance　minister　at　36；　only　to　be　dismissed　a。。er　presiding　over　a　period　
of　hyperinflation。　A　brief　spell　as　president　of　a　small　Viennese　bank　was　
followed；　a。。er　its　failure；　by　a　return　to　academia；　first　in　Bonn　and　then　
in　1932　at　Harvard。　He　is　remembered　for　two　books　in　particular：　Theory　
of　Economic　Development　（1911）；　where　he　first　outlined　his　thoughts　on　
entrepreneurship；　and　Capitalism；　Socialism；　and　Democracy　（1942）；　where　he　
detailed　how　the　entrepreneurial　process　worked　and　why　it　ma。。ered。　His　
view　was　that　the　fundamental　impulse　that　sets　and　keeps　the　capitalist　
engine　in　motion　es　from　‘the　new　consumers；　goods；　the　new　methods　
of　production　or　transportation；　the　new　markets；　the　new　forms　of　
industrial　organization　that　capitalist　enterprise　creates’。　He　pointed　out　
that　entrepreneurs　innovate　and　develop　new　products；　services　or　ways　
of　doing　business；　and　in　the　process　destroy　those　organizations　that　can’t　
adapt　or　have　been　effectively　made　redundant。　Schumpeter　believed　that　
capitalism　has　to　create　short…term　losers　alongside　its　short…　and　longterm　
winners　in　order　for　the　economy　to　grow　and　prosper：　‘Without　
innovations；　no　entrepreneurs；　without　entrepreneurial　achievement；　no　
capitalist。　。　。　propulsion。　The　atmosphere　of　industrial　revolutions。　。　。　is　the　
only　one　in　which　capitalism　can　survive。’　He　went　rather　further　than　
this　by　arguing　that　the　more　countries　tried　to　mitigate　the　possibilities　
of　business　failing；　the　worse　their　economic　performance　would　be。　
Picking　up　the　pieces　through　social　insurance　is　fine；　propping　up　failing　
businesses　or　declining　business　sectors　is　not。　
WHO　MAKE　GOOD　ENTREPRENEURS？　
There　are　absolutely　no　reliable　characteristics　that　predispose　people　to　
bee　entrepreneurs。　Despite　diligent　research；　Durham　University’s　
General　Enterprise　Tendency　（GET）　Test；　with　12　questions　measuring　
Entrepreneurship　215　
need　for　achievement；　12　to　assess　internal　locus　of　control；　12　to　determine　
creativity；　12　to　gauge　calculated　risk　taking　and　6　to　measure　need　for　
autonomy；　has　failed　to　gain　recognition。　Peter　Drucker；　the　international　
business　guru；　probably　got　it　right　with　this　description：　‘Some　are　
eccentrics；　others　painfully　correct　conformists；　some　are　fat　and　some　are　
lean；　some　are　worriers；　some　relaxed；　some　drink　quite　heavily；　others　
are　total　abstainers；　some　are　men　of　great　charm　and　warmth；　some　have　
no　more　personality　than　a　frozen　mackerel。’　Entrepreneurs　do　have　one　
distinguishing　characteristic　in　mon；　however。　They　put　independence　
and　doing　their　own　thing　above　everything；　including　ge。。ing　rich。　That　
doesn’t　mean　they　don’t　want　to　succeed；　it’s　just　that　success　is　not　all　about　
money。　Research　carried　out　by　Simfonec；　a　science　research　centre　based　
at　Cass　Business　School　（cass。city。ac。uk）；　found　that　20　per　cent　of　
entrepreneurs　in　their　sample　（250　entrepreneurs　and　250　managers）　were　
dyslexic；　whereas　managers　reflected　the　UK　national　dyslexia　incidence　
level　of　4　per　cent。　While　it　is　perhaps　forting　to　know　that　dyslexia；　
or　even　not　pleting　schooling　or　university　because　of　it；　is　no　bar　to　
entrepreneurship；　it　is　not　something　you　can　do　much　about。　
What　can　be　said　with　certainty　is　that　there　are　an　awful　lot　of　entrepreneurs　
everywhere　and　from　every　walk　of　life。　Also；　it　seems　likely　that　
entrepreneurs　are　as　likely　to　be　made　as　born。　There　are　over　4。4　million　
people　running　their　own　business　in　the　UK　alone。　That　is　double　the　
number　of　just　two　decades　or　so　ago。　GEM　（gemconsortium）；　
through　their　Global　Entrepreneurship　Monitor　research　programme　
headed　up　by　Babson　College　in　the　United　States；　collects　statistics　from　
41　countries　on　business　starters　and；　equally　importantly；　would…be　
starters。　They　rank　the　UK　as　being　fairly　average　in　terms　of　numbers。　
GEM’s　research　indicates　that　in　Europe　there　are　around　30　million　
owner…managed　businesses　and　five　times　that　figure　across　the　developed　
world。　
Research　from　various　organizations；　including　Lloyds　Bank；　NatWest　
and　the　Institute　for　Small　Business　Enterprise；　sheds　further　light　on　the　
small　business　population　and　demographics。　No　section　of　the　public　
appears　to　be　excluded　from　the　small　business　world。　One　in　seven　
businesses　are　started　by　people　over　50；　just　over　a　third　of　business　
proprietors　are　women；　1　in　10　le。。　school　early　and　barely　a　quarter　have　
a　degree；　immigrants　are　as　likely　to　work　for　themselves　as　others；　and　
interestingly　enough；　those　who　start　their　business　in　their　teens　or　early　
20s　are　no　more　likely　to　fail　than　those　in　the　40s　and　50s　with　a　career　in　
big　business　under　their　belt。　You　can　search　out　these　and　other　related　
data　on　the　Small　Enterprise　Research　Team　website　（serteam。　
co。uk）。　Based　at　the　Open　University；　SERTeam；　as　they　are　known；　run　
both　NatWest　and　Lloyds　Bank’s　long…standing　small　business　research　
programmes；　among　others。
216　The　Thirty…Day　MBA　
Would　you　make　a　good　entrepreneur？　
All　too　o。。en；　everyone　believes　themselves　to　be　the　right　sort　of　person　
to　set　up　a　business。　Unfortunately；　the　capacity　for　self…deception　is　
enormous。　When　a　random　sample　of　male　adults　were　asked　recently　to　
rank　themselves　on　leadership　ability；　70　per　cent　rated　themselves　in　the　
top　25　per　cent；　only　2　per　cent　felt　they　were　below　average　as　leaders。　In　
an　area　in　which　self…deception　ought　to　be　difficult；　60　per　cent　said　they　
were　well　above　average　in　athletic　ability　and　only　6　per　cent　said　they　
were　below。　
A　mon　mistake　made　in　assessing　entrepreneurial　talent　is　to　assume　
that　success　in　big　business　management　will　automatically　guarantee　
success　in　a　small　business。　
Rate　yourself　against　the　characteristics　shown　in　Table　8。1　and　see　how　
you　stack　up　as　a　potential　business　starter。　A　score　of　over　30　suggests　you　
have　what　it　takes　and　less　than　20　should　be　treated　as　a　warning　signal。　
Get　a　couple　of　people　who　know　you　well　to　rate　you　too；　so　you　get　an　
unbiased　opinion。　
Table　8。1　Business　starter　a。。ribute　check　
A。。ribute　Score　（0–5；　where　0　indicates　having　none　of　the　
a。。ribute　and　5　rating　highly）　
Self…confident　all　rounder　
Ability　to　bounce　back　
Innovative　skills　
Results　orientated　
Professional　risk　taker　
Total　mitment　
Self…sufficient　
Self…disciplined　
You　can　find　out　more　about　whether　or　not　entrepreneurship　would　be　
right　for　you　by　taking　one　or　more　of　the　many　online　entrepreneurial　IQtype　
tests。　For　example：　
。　Tickle　Tests　（web。tickle/tests/entrepreneurialiq/？test=　
entrepreneurialiqogt）；　
。　BusMove　（busmove/other/quiz。htm）；　
。　munity　Futures；　a　Canadian　small　business　help　website；　has　a　50…　
question　online　test　to　help　you　rate　your　entrepreneurial　abilities　as　
well　as　a　checklist　of　desirable　traits。　See　wwwmunityfutures/　
c