ESS 3253 - ENTREPRENEURSHIP

CHAPTER 2
Self Assessment
 Definition
• An ongoing process that changes with your growth and experiences.

• The involvement of learners in making judgments about their own learning,

particularly about their achievements and the outcomes of their learning.

• The final product is to have a clear, realistic image of where you are now and
where you want to be in the future.

• Used for formative assessment in order to foster reflection on one owns learning
processes and results.

• Creating conscientious among individuals

• a resource for personal decision making - a self-evaluation aid that can be used to
increase prospective entrepreneurs awareness of their strength and weakness.
The main focus in self assessment
ENTREPRENEURIAL
TRAITS
 Traits
• Definition of Traits
– distinguishing qualities or characteristics that are
the embodiment of an individual’s.  They are your
habitual patterns of behaviour, temperament and
emotion.
 Example of Entrepreneurial Traits
• Passion
– The most observed phenomenon in entrepreneurial studies.
– Core characteristic of creators wealth and a central trait
inherent in successful leaders.
– High in passion - confront opportunities and challenges with
zeal and experience a success and difficulties as if they were
personal events.

• Proactivity
– The propensity to take action to influence environmental
change.
– Typically scan for opportunities, show initiative, take action and
persevere until they reach closure by bringing about change
• Tenacity
– Perseverance - involve sustaining goal-directed action
and energy when faced with obstacles.

• New Resource Skill

– The ability to acquire and systematize the operating
resources needed to start and grow a new venture.
– This ability can basically make or break a start-up
venture
– One of the key predictor of an entrepreneur's
likelihood of spearheading a successful venture.
How Are Entrepreneurial Traits related
to Venture Growth?
• A number of traits do predict venture growth

• Instead of directly impacting venture growth, researchers

have found specific traits that are the driving force behind
entrepreneurial competencies, motivations and
competitive strategies that support venture success.

• The right entrepreneurial traits create a strong foundation

for a successful venture
– Example : tenacity, proactivity and passion - encourage
entrepreneurs to recognize the value of specific competitive
strategies, leading to enhancements in venture growth.
 Inventories for Traits
• The Big Five Personality Test
– 44-item inventory that measures an individual
– The factors were derived from accumulated response that
were collected over the course of a few years.
– A general taxonomy of personality traits
 Inventories for Traits (cont.)
• Myers-Briggs Type Inventory (MBTI)
– how people perceive the world and make decisions

– The Dichotomies of Traits

• Extraversion vs Introversion
– Do you prefer to focus on the outer world or on your own inner
world?

• Sensing vs Intuition
– Do you prefer to focus on the basic information you take in or do
you prefer to interpret and add meaning?
Inventories for Traits (cont.)
• Thinking vs Feeling
– When making decisions, do you prefer to first look at logic
and consistency or first look at the people and special
circumstances?

• Judging vs Perceiving
– In dealing with the outside world, do you prefer to get things
decided or do you prefer to stay open to new information and
options?
 Inventories for Traits (cont.)
• The Employability Skills Toolkit
– Developed by Conference Board of Canada (2001)

– A resource that focuses on the gap between employer's needs

and pupil skills.

– Designed to help young people begin to manage the process of

knowing themselves, recognizing strengths and weaknesses,
seeking feedback and plan further development.

– Includes personal skills and qualities which is relevant to what

academic, personal management and teamwork skills.
APTITUDES
 Aptitudes
• Definition

– Natural talent, ability or capability to learn particular sorts of

activities quickly and easily.

– Having an aptitude for something makes learning things related

to that aptitude much easier.

– we’ve heard of the “gifted” musician or athlete, the “born”

scientist or engineer, the “natural” salesman or politician.

– Example :
• Loves number, working with figures comes easily for you than
someone who doesn’t have an aptitude for math.
 Types of Aptitudes
• Specific Aptitude
– A talent that is specific to a certain field only and is not a talent
that is transferrable and usable in other sector other than that
particular field

– Example : A person that have talent in playing piano.

• General Aptitude
– A talent that is usable, flexible and able to be used in many
other fields.

– Example : The ability to learn mathematical equations in a fast

manner.
 Aptitude Tests
– Definition : Designed to assess what a person is
capable of doing; to predict what a person is able
to learn or do given the right education and
instruction. It represents a person's level of
competency to perform a certain type of task.

– A widely used assessment that is being used by

many agencies and employers.
Samples of Aptitude Tests
 Importance of Aptitude Tests
• to be fairly assessed in a competitive situation

• to find out more about your strengths and

weaknesses

• to be comprehensively assessed for development

purposes

• to identify areas of weakness for development

SKILLS
 Skills
• An aptitude that you have put into practice and improved.

• Types of Skills :

– Transferable Skills
• A skill that can be used in many different work settings.
• Example : Keyboarding. Can be used for fast typing, can be used in
many field

– Technical Skills
• A specialized skills needed for specific setting.
• Example : The ability to read blueprints. Needed only by an architect
or engineer.
 Key Business Skills Needed by
Entrepreneurs
• Evaluating information.
• Business owners must be able to determine whether the information received from other people
and sources is true or false, useful or unimportant.

• Decision making.
• It is important to have a plan for deciding what action to take in important situations.

• Business communication.
• Effective communication results from writing and speaking in ways that are understandable and
persuasive.

• Good listening skills.

• Hearing and listening are not necessarily the same. When we hear, we use our ears. When we
listen we use our ears and our minds. Good listeners will learn things that will help them improve
their business.

• Problem solving.
• The business world is full of big and small problems. The ability to solve problems has great value.
• Leadership.
• When you own or run a business, the employees look to you for leadership.

• Teamwork.
• Employees enjoy working together, but it is not always easy. Teamwork skills are very important to
any company.

• Ethical behaviour.
• The character and integrity projected in the workplace are what customers see. These can make or
break a business.

• Mathematics.
• Business includes a lot of numbers. A good understanding of math is essential; for example,
figuring wages and discounts.

• A will to learn.
• Learning continues on a daily basis in the business world. There should be a desire to learn more.
 Other Related Self Assessment
Instrument
• Opening Minds
– Developed in 1999 and focuses on the 10 core competencies

– The competences are relevant to all grades within the organisation -

but also gives indication of the desired qualities of potential
employees.

– Categories of competence :
• People - Direction setting, developing self an others, communication and
working with others
• Personal - Achievement orientation, customer orientation and change
orientation
• Process - Forward thinking, judgment and quality process.

– The system is designed to help participants set goals for the future,
thereby increasing motivation.
• Attitude Toward Enterprise (ATE) test
– developed by Athayde (2003)

– measures the expression of enterprising attitudes,

skills and behaviours in teaching and learning

– focuses on the aspect of a young person's life with

considerable focus on the school experience.
– Can be used in various ways:
• One to one coaching for disaffected pupils in school

• A personal development tool for careers guidance

• In a process of work based learning

• One of the key strengths of the toolkit is that it helps

pupils to see the connections between competences,
skills and behaviours as they apply in different
situations.
How can your assessment of traits, aptitudes
and skills give an advantage to your career as
an entrepreneur?
ENTREPRENEURIAL
COMPETENCIES
 Entrepreneurial Competencies
• Entrepreneurial Competencies
– A constellation, or a group, of characteristics associated
with the successful development of new businesses.

– Underlying characteristics of a person, which result in

effective action and / or superior performance in job.
• Example - innovation is defined as a type of competency. a skill,
not a gift which can be improved overtime with increased
knowledge and the development of core skill sets.

– Can range from personality traits and individual

motivations to specific knowledge and skills.
– Traits and motivation can spur the development
of entrepreneurial competencies.

– Researcher have identified specific competencies

that play key roles in supporting successful
business growth.
 Layers of Competencies
– Consist of more than just a single characteristic.

– Consists of a group of attributes, some which are

applicable to all entrepreneurs, while others are
occupation / industry specific.

– Competency models are usually depicted as

pyramids - universal competencies occupying the
bottom portion of the pyramid and specific
competencies located near to the top.
 1st Layer – Personal Effectiveness
Competencies
• Interpersonal Skills
– Entrepreneur with strong interpersonal skills has a knack for working well with people from
diverse background.
– Very insightful with regards to the behaviours of others - understanding motives and actions,
quickly aware of strained relationships and well attuned to both verbal and nonverbal
behaviours.

• Strong Initiative
– Often driven to work hard.
– Frequently work independently and are often driven to achieved task mastery, regardless of
the extra effort necessary.
– Often very confident in their capabilities to perform well and enjoy seeking out novel
opportunities.

• Ambition
– Motivated, persistent and persevere even in the face of difficult challenges.
– Embrace new challenges while striving to exceed set expectations and standard.
• Adaptability and Flexibility
– Often deal very well with ambiguity and have a unique ability to choose actions even
without all necessary information.
– Innovative and creative, often developing novel solutions to complex problems.
– Handle change well, often generating new goals and action to deal with unforeseen
events.

• Willingness to take Risks

– Capable of identifying and calculating risk assessments.
– Skilled at developing alternative plans and articulating worst-case scenarios.
– Learn from past mistakes.

• Willingness to Learn
– Often pursues opportunities that allow him or her to acquire new skills and expertise.
– Initiate personal career development and often employ the feedback of others to help
them make shrewd career decisions.
 3rd Layer – Workplace Competencies
• Creative Thinking
– Able to both generate innovative solutions and use relevant information to understand the
"big picture".
– Can reframe problems and create innovative solutions.
– Can easily identify what is missing from current product streams and typically have
imagination, creativity and empathy.

• Networking
– The ability to build professional relationships, assists with leveraging contracts, initiating
collaborations and partnering with business contacts.
– Are usually perceived as trustworthy.

• Planning and Organizing

– Successful entrepreneurs plan and prioritize work to unsure time is managed effectively.
– Work methodically and effectively allocate time and resources.
– Making sure the projects are on track.
• Problem Solving & Decision Making
– Critical thinkers.
– Can generate, evaluate and implement solutions to difficult problems.
– Locate and utilize relevant information and generate alternative solutions.

• Checking, Examining and Recording

– Maintain impeccable records, easily locate and complete appropriate forms
and paperwork, detect errors and make the necessary corrections.

• Business Fundamentals
– Understand the basic principles of business
– Well versed in market knowledge, economic principles and ethical practices

• Computer applications
– Competent in the use of basic computer hardware and software.
 4th Layer – Industry Wide
Competencies
• Principles of Entrepreneurship
– Successful entrepreneurs must be knowledgeable about the fundamental processes and
charactheristics of entrepreneurship.
– Example - should be cognizant of the entrepreneurial emplementation process, be an
effective elader and team builder, and have the skills necessary to manage growth.

• Innovation and Invention

– Apply their creativity to the formulation of inventive processes and products.
– Have an "opportunity orientation" - evaluating changes in trends, identifying small niche
markets and seeking out opportunities to improve and services and produces.

• Planning
– Be specific about the direction of their venture and the strategy they will adopt to achieve
their goals.
– Assess risks, estimate costs and determine the potential forprofit and loss before beginning a
new venture.
• Marketing
– Competent in both executing strategies that promote their
products and establishing client/customer relationships.
– Conduct market analyses, set pricing objects and are skilled at
converting customer and client objections into selling points.

• Financial Management
– Capital and assets is an entrepreneurial necessity.
– Knowledgeable in assessing financial needs, determining risks
and identifying sources of capital.
– Competent at accounting and money management, managing
cash flows and preparing estimated and projected balance
sheets.
• Business Operations
– Capable of handling growth success - knowledgeable of business
operations.
– Able to both carry out daily operations, such as scheduling staff and
maintaining inventories and management human resources.
– Example : determining hiring needs and selecting new employees.

• Assessment and Management

– Well versed in risk management and can take into account legal
considerations.
– Manage uncertainty by mitigating rates, protecting intellectual
property and determining liabilities.
– Stay apprised of business laws and regulations and determine ways to
protect themselves against loss.
The Impact of Competencies on
Entrepreneurial Performance
THE END