Assignment 2 (Individual Assignment)

Choose an entrepreneur to undertake research about. This entrepreneur may be a family member, a friend, a contact, or a well-known entrepreneur. You will be expected to undertake in-depth research about this entrepreneur making use of primary and / or secondary research. Primary research may include conducting an interview with the entrepreneur if possible. Secondary research could include drawing information from their company website, press coverage, company reports, financial data, academic studies of the entrepreneur etc.

Use this research to answer the following: –

1. Critically evaluate the enterprising skills and activities demonstrated by the entrepreneur.
2. How does your evaluation of the enterprising skills of the entrepreneur make you reflect on your own enterprising skills?
3. What effects have the entrepreneurs’ enterprising skills and activities had on business, the economy, society and the environment? How does this influence your views about enterprise and entrepreneurship in general?

When researching and writing this assignment you may find it helpful to consider the following in order to guide your reflections: –

Enterprising Activities and Skills of the Entrepreneur

• Based on their previous actions and experiences, would you consider this person to be an enterprising person? If so, why? If not, why not and why do you still consider them to be an entrepreneur?
• Would you have done anything differently if you were this person? If so, what would you have done differently and why? If not, why not?

Self-Reflection on Enterprising Skills

• How do the entrepreneurs’ enterprising skills (or their lack of enterprising skills) compare to your own enterprising skills (for example, risk taking skills, leadership skills, decision making skills, problem solving skills)? How does this make you feel about your enterprising skills? (When thinking about your own enterprising skills you may find it helpful to reflect on your experiences of undertaking the business plan assignment in this module and undertaking the live project in BIO0222)

Effects of Enterprise

• If you consider the entrepreneur to be enterprising, what have been the implications of their enterprising skills and activities (for example, on their business, on the economy, on society, on the environment)? How does this
  affect your views about the value and impact of entrepreneurship?
• Do you think it would be better if the entrepreneur you researched was more enterprising? If so, who would it be better for? If not, why not?
• Based on your research about this entrepreneur and your experiences of undertaking this module, would you want to be an entrepreneur in the future? If so, why? If not, why not?

All claims you make should be supported by strong argumentation and your discussions should draw on academic literature and theory.

This is an individual 3,000 word written assignment. There is no set format for the structure of the assignment although you may wish to structure it using the sub-headings below: –

• Introduction to the entrepreneur
• Research undertaken
• Enterprising activities and skills of the entrepreneur
• Self-reflection on enterprising skills
• Effects of enterprise

You are encouraged to be creative with the presentation of the assignment.