history of entrepreneurship
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Entrepreneurship
The capacity and willingness to develop, organize and manage a business venture along with any of
its risks in order to make a profit. The most obvious example of entrepreneurship is the starting of
new businesses.
In economics, entrepreneurship combined with land, labor, natural resources and capital can
produce profit. Entrepreneurial spirit is characterized by innovation and risk-taking, and is an
essential part of a nation's ability to succeed in an ever changing and increasingly competitive global
marketplace.
Entrepreneur
A person who organizes and manages any enterprise, especially a business, usually with considerabl
e initiative and risk.
Entrepreneurship is a key driver of our economy. Wealth and a high majority of jobs are created by
small businesses started by entrepreneurially minded individuals, many of whom go on to create big
businesses. People exposed to entrepreneurship frequently express that they have more
opportunity to exercise creative freedoms, higher self-esteem, and an overall greater sense of
control over their own lives. As a result, many experienced business people political leaders,
economists, and educators believe that fostering a robust entrepreneurial culture will maximize
individual and collective economic and social success on a local, national, and global scale. It is with
this in mind that the National Standards for Entrepreneurship Education were developed: to prepare
youth and adults to succeed in an entrepreneurial economy.
Entrepreneurship education is a lifelong learning process, starting as early as elementary school and
progressing through all levels of education, including adult education. The Standards and their
supporting Performance Indicators are a framework for teachers to use in building appropriate
objectives, learning activities, and assessments for their target audience. Using this framework,
students will have: progressively more challenging educational activities; experiences that will
enable them to develop the insight needed to discover and create entrepreneurial opportunities;
and the expertise to successfully start and manage their own businesses to take advantage of these
opportunities.
Entrepreneurship from the economic-history context
Looking at entrepreneurship from the economic-history context allows us to look at the flow of
events in time and space such as inventions and innovations, the context in which they occurred and
the impacts upon society these actions and events had. Looking directly at the biographies of
historical figures can assist us in seeing the historical contexts of their efforts, innovations, or
inventions. This may help us to understand how their insights occurred and opportunities were
identified and exploited, showing us the reasons behind the trajectories these historical figures took
with their inventions and innovations which impacted upon society’s future development path.1
Take for example the biography of Thomas Edison we can see the importance of systematic
development work, self-promotion, and having a workable and viable business model in mind to
exploit any subsequent invention. These were paramount elements of his success. Many of the
failing entrepreneurs of the dot.com bust of 2000 failed to see the necessity of having a workable
and viable business model to exploit their ideas and could have well learnt from the lessons Edison
gave us.
Many inventions, subsequent commercialization and acceptance by society have dramatically
changed our way of life over the centuries. Electricity and the electric light, the aircraft and jet
engine, the automobile and combustion engine, microchips, computers and mobile phones have all
in different ways drastically changed society. These changes have led to further opportunities which
entrepreneurs have been able to exploit. The transmission of electricity to homes allowed a host of
other electrical devices to be invented, air travel led to air freight, travel agents, air terminal
services, interstate, inter-regional and international business travel, and the building of hotels
around the world, the automobile has led to automobile service stations, the invention of seat beats
and other safety equipment, microchips have led to the invention of many items like digital watches,
calculators, hand held GPS devices, and a host of other products. Computers and mobile phones
have led to opportunities in software development and peripheral products and services. We owe
the progression of our social existence to the invention of new technologies and ways of doing
things, the creation of so many concepts and tangible things like alphabets, language, the wheel,
farming techniques, cooking, social institutions, and the legal system, etc.
From the historical context it can be argued that innovation is governed by the period and place an
entrepreneur resides.2 Thus innovation is a period and regional phenomenon3 and the great
inventors through history were products of their environment spotting, and exploiting opportunities,
rather than people with brilliance in isolation.4 The inventors and entrepreneurs only knew what
their time and place allowed them to know.5Innovation is thus a situational phenomenon and
therefore the time and space aspect of understanding opportunity is important.
Following on from the above argument, novelty becomes a relative concept to time and space.
Something that is new to one location may have long time been accepted product or service in
another location. McDonalds was accepted in the United States market before it was introduced into
foreign markets, were it was novel in each new market at the time of its introduction. Pizza was long
accepted in Italy and Greece before it was introduced into the United States in the early 20th
century and rest of the world after the Second World War. This has been an advantage for many
students from developing countries studying in developed countries, where they have been able to
identify novel business concepts in countries that they studied in, and went home to apply these
concepts in their home countries upon their return. For example, many new manufacturing, retailing
or service business concepts were started in South-East Asia by returning students. The Econsave
supermarket group in Malaysia was inspired and foundered by Malaysian students observing
independent Food town supermarkets in Melbourne, Australia.
The nature of opportunity is such that it is ephemeral and transitory7through time and space.
Opportunity can be equated to periodically opening and closing doors along a corridor. True
opportunities may not exist because a piece of technology is missing. For example, the idea of
tourists visiting orbital hotels for holidays will remain only a concept until low cost transportation
from the Earth to orbit has been developed. Thus space holidays may be an opportunity for another
time, although it is an idea today. Many ideas have to wait for technology to catch up. An
opportunity may exist in one place but not in another. Opportunities may exist for high end cafes
and coffee shops in densely populated urban areas and high volume passenger transport terminals
like railway stations and airports but there may be no opportunity for the same concept in much less
populous rural areas where incomes may be much lower and the “urban café culture” does not exist.
This shows the importance of time and space.
The Start of the Industrial Age
The Industrial Age truly began in 1712 with the invention of Thomas Newcomen’s steam engine in
Devon, Britain. But it wasn’t until James Watt’s steam engine in 1763 that things really got moving,
enabling work to be done through the movement of pistons rather than the movement of muscle.
By the time of Adam Smith’s death in 1790, the nascent Industrial Revolution had already reared its
head. The effects of the Renaissance, the humanist movement, and the Enlightenment’s focus on
science and empiricism would translate into the launch of a movement that would impact the world
as none before it had. It was this revolution—often dirty, harsh, and cruel—that prompted thoughts
of communism and created robber barons and industrial titans. It was this same revolution,
however, that led to the development of the innovations, technology, and standards of living we
have today.
From the Industrial Revolution, the concept of mass production and economies of scale came about.
Bigness, trusts, and vertical integration became the key to riches at that time. It was Andrew
Carnegie and J. P. Morgan in steel, John D. Rockefeller and Frank Kenan in oil, and Henry Ford in
automobiles. While some of these titans had questionable ethics, no one can deny that they were
innovators. They forged alliances, developed new ways of doing business, and created efficiency
across industries.
It was the combination of energy and engine that freed man from the constraints of muscle power,
making the Atlantic world the greatest military power and laying the foundations for the locomotive,
the internal combustion engine, the automobile, and the discovery of oil. The telegraph and
telephone connected humanity around the world. With electricity, we lit up the night.
The Invention of Money
Early trade consisted of barter (one good for another). If Tom had twenty cows and Igor had eighty
hens, and Tom and Igor agreed that one cow was worth four hens, then the trade could take place.
The problem with the barter system, however, was that in order for a trade to take place, both
parties had to want what the other party had. This “co-incidence of wants” often did not happen.
Thus, the demands of growing business and trade gave rise to a money system. Silver rings or bars
are thought to have been used as money in Ancient Iraq before 2000 B.C. Early forms of money
(called specie) would be often be commodities like seashells, tobacco leaves, large round rocks, or
beads.3
While the money system still had much development to go through (credit and paper money did not
yet exist), its invention over four thousand years ago was of crucial importance to the world we live
in today. The use of money, an accepted medium to store value and enable exchange, has greatly
enhanced our world, our lives, our potential, and our future.
By the year 1100, the prevailing cultural system in the Western World was feudalism. It was a world
of kings and lords, vassals and serfs, kingdoms and manors. Long-distance trade was expanding and
new worlds of foreign spices, oriental treasures, and luxurious silks were discovered. Three hundred
and fifty years later, after weathering a Black Death and the Hundred Years War, Europe emerged by
expanding trade to new levels and building the foundation for the start of the competitive market
economy we know today.
Bethlehem Steel Corporation (1857-2001)
Bethlehem Steel Corporation was America's second-largest steel producer and largest shipbuilder.
Bethlehem Steel and a subsidiary company, Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, were two of the
most powerful symbols of American industrial manufacturing leadership. Their demise is often cited
as one of the most prominent examples of the U.S. economy's shift away from industrial
manufacturing, its inability to compete with cheap foreign labor, and management's penchant for
short-term profits.
Founding
The company's roots go back to 1857 when the Saucona Iron Company was first organized by
Augustus Wolle. The Panic of 1857, a national financial crisis, halted further organization of the
company and construction of the works. Eventually, the organization was completed, the site moved
elsewhere in South Bethlehem, and the company's name was changed to the Bethlehem Rolling Mill
and Iron Company. On June 14, 1860, the board of directors of the fledgling company elected Alfred
Hunt president.
On May 1, 1861, the company's title was changed again, this time to the Bethlehem Iron Company.
Construction of the first blast furnace began on July 1, 1861, and it went into operation on January 4,
1863. The first rolling mill was built between the spring of 1861 and the summer of 1863, with the
first railroad rails being rolled on September 26. A machine shop, in 1865, and another blast furnace,
in 1867, were completed. During its early years, the company produced rails for the rapidly
expanding railroads and armor plating for the US Navy.
In 1899, the company assumed the name Bethlehem Steel Company. In 1904, Charles M. Schwab
and Joseph Wharton formed the Bethlehem Steel Corporation with Schwab becoming its first
president and chairman of its board of directors.
The Bethlehem Steel Corporation installed the grey rolling mill and producing the first wide-flange
structural shapes to be made in America. These shapes were largely responsible for ushering in the
age of the skyscraper and establishing Bethlehem Steel as the leading supplier of steel to the
construction industry.
In the early 1900s, the corporation branched out from steel, with iron mines in Cuba and shipyards
around the country. In 1913, it acquired the Fore River Shipbuilding Company of Quincy,
Massachusetts, thereby assuming the role of one of the world's major shipbuilders. In 1917 it
incorporated its shipbuilding division as Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, Limited. In 1922, it
purchased the Lackawanna Steel Company, which included the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western
Railroad as well as extensive coal holdings.
The Coca-Cola Company (1887- Present)
As one of the most highly recognized soft drink brands in the world today, many people love Coca
Cola because of its sweet fine taste and refreshingly nice flavor. Introduced since 1886, this product
is manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Today, it comes in different enticing varieties including
Coca-Cola Vanilla, Coca-Cola Zero and Diet Coke. In order to know more about this great product, it
is good to learn its history including information on the person who invented Coca Cola.
The Invention of Coca Cola
Who invented Coca Cola? Released in 1886, the recipe for this highly popular soft drink was invented
by John Pemberton some time in 1885. Its original name was Pemberton’s French Wine Coca, which
was basically an alcoholic beverage made up of cocaine and wine. At first, the intended purpose for
developing such product was to treat different kinds of illnesses including impotence, headache as
well as neurasthenia. Likewise, it was also used to cure other diseases such as dyspepsia and
morphine addiction.
Additional Facts and Other Important Information
The invention of Coca-Cola started out when Pemberton was working as a chemist and druggist in
Columbus, Georgia. In his quest to produce a coca wine, he combined damiana, kola nut and coca,
and later on called the mixture Pemberton’s French Wine Coca. Because of the temperance
legislation that was implemented in Fulton County and Atlanta some time in 1885, he decided to
create a non-alcoholic variant of the original mixture. Frank Mason Robinson, who was then a
significant marketer of the product during those times, coined the name Coca-Cola.
Pemberton advertised his product as invigorating, exhilarating, refreshing and delicious.
Furthermore, he claimed that it brought different health benefits to drinkers. He said that this
formula could calm nerves, relieve exhaustion and cure headaches. The business was later on sold to
Asa Candler. Coke was served in bottles for the first time in 1894. When World War II arrived, the
company decided to set up bottling plants in different areas including the Pacific, Africa and Europe.
This was probably the start of its introduction internationally.
As the years went by, numerous variations of the product emerged. In 1983, the Caffeine-Free Coca-
Cola was launched. Two years after, specifically in 2005, Coca-Cola Cherry was released. In North
America, this product was referred to as Cherry Coke. From 1985 to 2002, New Coke became
available to the public. Coca-Cola Lemon was launched in 2001, which is still available in countries
like the United States, the United Kingdom and Finland among numerous other countries. Some of
the latest variants of this delicious soft drink include the Coca-Cola Citra in 2006, the Coca-Cola
Orange in 2007 and the Coca-Cola Classic in 2008.
Harley-Davidson (1907- Present)
In 1901, William S. Harley, age 20, drew up plans for a small engine with a displacement of 7.07 cubic
inches (116 cc) and four-inch (102 mm) flywheels. The engine was designed for use in a regular
pedal-bicycle frame. Over the next two years, Harley and his childhood friend Arthur Davidson
worked on their motor-bicycle using the Northside Milwaukee machine shop at the home of their
friend, Henry Melk. It was finished in 1903 with the help of Arthur's brother, Walter Davidson. Upon
testing their power-cycle, Harley and the Davidson brothers found it unable to climb the hills around
Milwaukee without pedal assistance. They quickly wrote off their first motor-bicycle as a valuable
learning experiment.
Work immediately began on a new and improved second-generation machine. This first "real"
Harley- Davidson motorcycle had a bigger engine of 24.74 cubic inches (405 cc) with 9.75 inches (25
cm)
Flywheels weighing 28 lb. (13 kg). The machine's advanced loop-frame pattern was similar to the
1903 Milwaukee Merkel motorcycle (designed by Joseph Merkel, later of Flying Merkel fame). The
bigger engine and loop-frame design took it out of the motorized bicycle category and marked the
path to future motorcycle designs. The boys also received help with their bigger engine from
outboard motor pioneer Ole Evinrude, who was then building gas engines of his own design for
automotive use on Milwaukee's Lake Street.
Conclusion
Entrepreneurial activities differ substantially depending on the type of organization and creativity
involved. Entrepreneurship ranges in scale from solo projects, and even just part-time projects, to
major undertakings that create many job opportunities. Many "high value" entrepreneurial ventures
seek venture capital or angel funding (seed money) in order to raise capital for building the business.
Angel investors generally seek annualized returns of 20–30% and more, as well as extensive
involvement in the business. Many organizations exist to support would-be entrepreneurs including
specialized government agencies, business incubators, science parks, and some NGOs. More
recently, the term entrepreneurship has been extended to include conceptualizations of
entrepreneurship as a specific mindset (see also entrepreneurial mindset) resulting in
entrepreneurial initiatives e.g. in the form of social entrepreneurship, political entrepreneurship, or
knowledge entrepreneurship
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