Descriptive essay Mom Essay Example

Descriptive essay Mom Essay Mom My mother and I walk through the faded downtown streets. She looks around for a small restaurant to host my fifth birthday dinner. She points across the street to a small Italian restaurant that looks faded from the years. Her soft green eyes look down at me as we stop at the light. Her lips part as if shes going to speak, but they spread to a gentle smile. She looks up and the light catches her earring and makes it shine and shimmer. After a few seconds pass, the light turns green and my mothers hind fingers wrap around my hand as we proceeded walking across the striped lines that run across the busy street. The warmth in her hand makes me feel comfort, and security. Her feet moved softly across the pavement, each step seeming careful and precise. I look up from her feet to see what caught over my hand. Her light gray sweater blows back catching on our Joint hands which reveal the blue shirt shes wearing underneath. We reach the opposite side of the street at a slow pace. We will write a custom essay sample on Descriptive essay Mom specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Descriptive essay Mom specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Descriptive essay Mom specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We stop next to a street lamp thats bursting with light. My mother releases my hand to tend to her sweater. She buttons the two white buttons designed with a pink flower. The sweater is concealing all but the top of her blue shirt. She then brings her large hands up to her hair thats kept up by a small clip. She releases the clip and her hair falls below her shoulders in beautiful waves. She places the clip In the small purse she carries on her right shoulder. She reaches back down to grab my hand as we continue walking down the faded street to the small Italian restaurant. We reach the faded red door of the restaurant. My mother kneels In front of me releasing my hand. She strokes my cheek and tells me happy birthday. Before she starts to stand I wrap my small arms around her. She lets out a small laugh and picks me up slowly. She places me softly back on the ground before turning towards the faded door. My mothers right hand reaches for the square shaped handle. As she pulls the heavy door her knuckles turn white. She stares at the happiness on my face, and returns It with a grin. Her perfect teeth show between her lips, In her perfect smile. She unlocks our tightly bound hands and gently pushes me through the door. Descriptive essay Mom By calcimining falls below her shoulders in beautiful waves. She places the clip in the small purse faded red door of the restaurant. My mother kneels in front of me releasing my door her knuckles turn white. She stares at the happiness on my face, and returns it with a grin. Her perfect teeth show between her lips, in her perfect smile. She

Significant Inventors of the Industrial Revolution

Significant Inventors of the Industrial Revolution The inventions and innovations of the Industrial Revolution transformed the U.S. and Great Britain in the 18th and 19th centuries. Tremendous gains in science and technology helped Britain become the worlds dominant economic and political power, while in the U.S. it fueled a young nations westward expansion and built vast fortunes.   A Revolution Twice Over British innovations harnessed the power of water, steam, and coal, helping the U.K. dominate the global textile market of the mid-1770s. Other advancements made in chemistry, manufacturing, and transportation allowed the nation to expand and fund its empire around the globe. The American Industrial Revolution began after the Civil War as the U.S. rebuilt its infrastructure. New forms of transportation such as the steamboat  and the railroad helped the nation expand trade. Meanwhile, innovations such as the modern assembly line and electric light bulb revolutionized both business  and personal life. Transportation Water had long been used to power simple machines such as grain mills and textile spinners, but Scottish inventor James Watts refinements to the steam engine in 1775 launched the revolution in earnest. Up until that point, such engines were crude, inefficient, and unreliable. Watts first engines were used primarily to pump water and air into and out of mines. With the development of more powerful, efficient engines which would operate under higher pressure and increased output, came newer, better forms of transportation.  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹Robert Fulton  was an engineer  and  inventor who had become fascinated with Watts engine while living in France at the turn of the 19th century. After several years of experimenting in Paris, he returned to the U.S. and launched the Clermont in 1807 on the Hudson River in New York. It was the first commercially viable steamboat line in the nation.  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹Ã¢â‚¬â€¹ As the nations rivers began opening to navigation, commerce expanded along with the population. Another new form of transportation, the railroad, also relied on steam power to drive the locomotives. First in Britain and then in the U.S., rail lines began appearing in the 1820s. By 1869, the first transcontinental rail line linked the coasts. If the 19th century belonged to steam, the 20th century belonged to the internal combustion engine. American inventor George Brayton, working on earlier innovations, developed the first liquid-fueled internal combustion engine in 1872. During the next two decades, German engineers including Karl Benz and Rudolf Diesel would make further innovations. By the time Henry Ford unveiled his Model T car in 1908, the internal combustion engine was poised to transform not just the nations transportation system but also spur 20th-century industries like petroleum and aviation. Communication As the populations of both the U.K. and the U.S. expanded in the 1800s and Americas boundaries pushed westward, new forms of communication that could cover great distances were invented to keep pace with this growth. One of the first significant inventions was the telegraph, perfected by Samuel Morse. He developed a series of dots and dashes that could be transmitted electrically in 1836; they came to be known as Morse Code, though it wouldnt be until 1844 that the first telegraph service opened, between Baltimore and Washington, D.C. As the rail system expanded in the U.S., the telegraph followed along, literally. Rail depots doubled as telegraph stations, bringing news to the far-flung frontier. Telegraph signals began flowing between the U.S. and the U.K. in 1866 with Cyrus Fields first permanent transatlantic telegraph line. The following decade, Scottish inventor Alexander Graham Bell, working in the U.S. with Thomas Watson, patented the telephone in 1876.   Thomas Edison, who made a number of discoveries and innovations during the 1800s, contributed to the communications revolution by inventing the phonograph in 1876. The device used paper cylinders coated with wax to record sound. Records were first made of metal and later shellac. In Italy, Enrico Marconi made his first successful radio wave transmission in 1895, paving the way for the  radio to be invented in the next century. Industry In 1794, the American industrialist Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin. This device mechanized the process of removing seeds from cotton, something that had previously been done largely by hand. But what made Whitneys invention particularly special was its use of interchangeable parts. If one part broke, it could be easily replaced by another inexpensive, mass-produced copy. This made processing cotton cheaper, in turn creating new markets and wealth. Although he did not invent the sewing machine, Elias Howes refinements and patent in 1844 perfected the device. Working with Isaac Singer, Howe marketed the device to manufacturers and later consumers. The machine allowed for the mass production of clothing, expanding the nations textile industry. It also made housework easier and allowed the growing middle class to indulge in hobbies like fashion. But factory work- and home life- still were dependent upon sunlight and lamplight. It wasnt until electricity began being harnessed for commercial purposes that industry truly was revolutionized. Thomas Edisons invention of the electric light bulb in 1879 became the means by which large factories could be illuminated, extending shifts and increasing manufacturing output. It also spurred the creation of the nations electrical grid, into which the many inventions of the 20th century from TVs to PCs would eventually plug. Person Invention Date James Watt First reliable steam engine 1775 Eli Whitney Cotton ginInterchangeable parts for muskets 17931798 Robert Fulton Regular steamboat service on the Hudson River 1807 Samuel F.B. Morse Telegraph 1836 Elias Howe Sewing machine 1844 Isaac Singer Improves and markets Howe's sewing machine 1851 Cyrus Field Transatlantic cable 1866 Alexander Graham Bell Telephone 1876 Thomas Edison PhonographIncandescent light bulb 18771879 Nikola Tesla Induction electric motor 1888 Rudolf Diesel Diesel engine 1892 Orville and Wilbur Wright First airplane 1903 Henry Ford Model T FordLarge-scale moving assembly line 19081913

Consolidation Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Consolidation - Research Paper Example Throughout the article, KWG, or the German Banking Act, which has detailed regulations on how consolidation accounting for financial institutions should be carried out is used to demonstrate these regulatory discrepancies with regard to the IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards) (Xuccess Reply, 2012). The article goes on to recommend that extensive changes in the way procedures are implemented and data processing is carried out when it comes to consolidation accounting be implemented in order to overcome some of these challenges. Getting rid of these challenges, the article proposes, will result in better conversion of consolidation accounting processes. The chief issue being discussed in the article is how discrepancies in accounting for consolidations in relation IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards) poses challenges that require considerable changes in how procedures and technical data processing takes place. German Banking Act (KWG) is used to demonstrate how these differences pose numerous challenges. KWG and IFRS differ in how they view consolidation groups. Some companies that are part of the regulatory consolidation group under KWG regulations do not qualify as consolidation groups under IFRS regulations. This presents challenges since deconsolidation as well as other changes are necessary to reconcile the regulatory provisions of one body with the other (Xuccess Reply, 2012). KWG refers to a subsidiary in the context of consolidation accounting as a company that presents the possibility of being controlled by the parent company through majority voting rights, executive control, and so forth. These conditions are also subsumed under the IFRSs definition of a subsidiary company (Xuccess Reply, 2012). However, the concept of control under IFRS regulations distinctively says that the parent company has to have

Women in the Black Church Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Women in the Black Church - Research Paper Example n the African American Churches men often took over the leadership positions while women held themselves responsible for all the rest of the major roles. Name it and it was there. May it be the schooling arena or any other social or domestic service; women were always there to play their part. This was primarily in line with the spiritual inspiration that these women had associated with the contemporary churches. It was however strictly observed that women did not occupy any key positions in the preaching activities in the church itself. Every time the church would gather only women would be observed paying all head to the sermons being said out by a man. Leadership was one aspect that women were never allowed to come closer to. This male empowerment has existed for years in spite of the fact that it was seemingly impossible without the critical involvement of the black women. (Green, 2003) The Civil rights movement in the US has often been traced back to the Black Church. The way the blacks were being deprived of their right to live like the whites and the racial discrimination that they were facing was all thought of to have bought out into the streets after being bought up in the black church first. This racial discrimination was also accompanied by social injustice. The crowded basements and offices were often thought to be the main areas where all the plans for the resistances were being made. The core idea behind the civil rights movement drifted the African Black away from the Divine thought and gave importance to the substantiality of this life. Every next step and every protest of the movement was often preceded by a sermon, a prayer or a religious song. It was in the wake of such circumstances that the black women realized the rights that they were being deprived off within the church itself. Women were generally denied the right to lead or preach in the Black Church. It had been a certain custom that men commanded the black church pulpits. Thus they

Exam(account) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Exam(account) - Essay Example (Abrema, 2009) There are many methods which are preferred by the Accounting Standards for the valuation of the stock, e.g. Specific Identification, FIFO, LIFO, Weighted Average etc. In order to assess the stock valuation model to be adopted by the company, following points would be considered: Specific Identification method is the most favorable and an ideal method to be used. Here, the actual cost of the Inventory can be identified but there are some limitations as it can be used in large and easily traceable good manufacturing industries such as Vehicles and Furniture. (Money Central, 2009) In FIFO (First In First Out) method, it is assumed that the goods that were bought first were also sold first. As a result, during a rising trend in prices FIFO will give a better assessment of the cost of ending Inventory. (CBA, 1998) LIFO (Last In First Out) method assumes that the goods bought in at the end are being sold first. Therefore, the ending inventory will be valued at a lower price during a rising trend in prices and vice versa. (CBA, 1998) but one of the advantages of using LIFO is that it reduces the amount of taxes during rising trend of prices. In Weighted Average, an average of the whole rate is determined and that rate is applied to the Ending Inventory. It is easy to calculate but it doesn’t show the exact effect of Inflation on prices. (CBA,

Business Essays Entrepreneur Education Natural

Business Essays Entrepreneur Education Natural Entrepreneur Education Natural Introduction The intention of this paper is to discuss whether entrepreneurs are born, that is, they have inherent, natural in-born endowments to become and succeed as entrepreneurs or they are the products of the art and the science of entrepreneurship that they have been taught in schools and colleges. This, of course, is not a new controversy; it has been debated for a long time and by different people from different backgrounds. Some aspects of this debate are discussed below in the review of the literature on the subject. It is tempting, no doubt, to follow in this matter of the debate too, Alexander Pope’s advice on the forms of government and get on with a discussion and analysis of the concept and implications of entrepreneurship without tarrying to find an answer to the query whether entrepreneurship is a god-given attribute or a man-made artefact. However, it is found prudent and even somewhat necessary in the matter of discussing the topic of this essay, to follow the sage dictum attributed to the amiable character, Sir Roger de Coverly of Addison’s Essays, that â€Å"much may be said on both sides of the question† . Much indeed can be said about the qualities of entrepreneurship being implanted in a person by Nature herself as in the case of Sir Alan Sugar in UK or Ophrah Winfry in USA. And much also can be said to counter this view with many examples of outstanding ‘entrepreneurial’ achievement by college-educated ‘entrepreneurs’. In a few paragraphs below we verify these points of view with some select appropriate examples. Entrepreneurs by natural endowments The US is a land of entrepreneurs. ‘From Benjamin Franklin to Ben Jerry, William Penn to Bill Gates, Eli Whitney to Oprah Winfrey, famous entrepreneurs, both historical and contemporary, offer insight and inspiration through their stories’. The discoverers of the American continent themselves were ‘entrepreneurs’ of a high calibre. It is not necessary to take any stand on a dispute whether it was Christopher Columbus or Amerigo Vespucci who discovered America, for both of them were in-born entrepreneurs. The hall-mark of an entrepreneur commonly accepted by ‘economist writers’ on the subject is the propensity of the person to start and manage an enterprise, with great risk and uncertainty being constant, in-built companions as it were, of the enterprise from the very moment of its commencement and later all throughout its journey towards achievement – a kind of risk incorporating within itself the possibility of losing one’s name, reputation, may be one’s entire wealth and friends, and even life itself. Cassen remarks that: â€Å"According to Cantillon the entrepreneur is a specialist in taking on risk. He insures workers by buying their products (their labor services) for resale before consumers have indicated how much they are willing to pay for them. The workers receive an assured income, while the entrepreneur bears the risk caused by price fluctuations in consumer markets. This idea was refined by the U.S. economist Frank H. Knight, who distinguished between risk, which is insurable, and uncertainty, which is not. Risk relates to recurring events whose relative frequency is known from past experience, while uncertainty relates to unique events whose probability can only be subjectively estimated† (Casson). Knight is said to have postulated that while the entrepreneurs can lay off risks much like insurance companies do (with their ‘law of large numbers’), they have to bear the uncertainties themselves. They are prepared to do this because the profit of the enterprise compensates them for the psychological costs involved. Casson goes on to say that Joseph Schumpeter took a different approach, emphasizing the role of innovation. â€Å"According to Schumpeter, the entrepreneur is someone who carries out new combinations by such things as introducing new products or processes, identifying new export markets or sources of supply, or creating new types of organization. Schumpeter presented a heroic vision of the entrepreneur as someone motivated by the dream and the will to found a private kingdom; the will to conquer: the impulse to fight, to prove oneself superior to others; and the joy of creating.(Casson) This ‘dream and vision’ attribute of a Schumpeterian entrepreneur to found a ‘private kingdom’ all his own seems to be a latter day echo of Marx-Engel’s version of the entrepreneur (‘the bourgeois’), ‘who cannot exist without constantly revolutionizing the instruments of production and creating such an abundance of wealth, to get rid of which â€Å"he is in search for new markets by conquest and/or by the more thorough exploitation of the old ones†. â€Å"The need of a constantly expanding market for its products chases the bourgeoisie over the whole surface of the globe. It must nestle everywhere, settle everywhere, establish connections everywhere† (Marx Engels). The burden of the argument in this paragraph has been that an entrepreneur is a person who takes the risks of failure of an enterprise and by analogy enjoys the benefits from its success. The proclivity to take risk and accept its consequences either for good or bad is largely a natural inclination, and not come by from pouring over voluminous pages of treatises on management. That entrepreneurship is inborn is exemplified by the life history of the famous Sir Alan Sugar. As the story of his life well known, it does not merit repetition here. But what does merit mention here is the overwhelming substantiation of the proposition that entrepreneurial talents are inborn and not induced by school or college learning in a survey conducted by the Northeastern Universitys School of Technological Entrepreneurship. Leslie Taylor reports that according to the survey conducted by the School, â€Å"nearly two-thirds of entrepreneurs claim they were inspired to start their own companies by their innate desire and determination, rather than by their education or work experience. Only 1 percent of more than 200 U.S. entrepreneurs surveyed cited higher education as a significant motivator toward starting their own venture, while 61 percent cited their innate drive. Other motivators cited were work experience (21 percent) and success of entrepreneurial peers within their industry (16 percent). Thirty-three percent of respondents launched their first venture between the ages of  18 and 30; 13 percent between 30 and 40; and only 12 percent started their first business after the age of 40† (Taylor). The Survey also shed some light on the psychological trait of ‘risk’ on which a heavy weight has been laid in the context of entrepreneurship. The survey found that â€Å"that the majority of entrepreneurs were confident about the success of their first venture. Thirty-two percent said they had no fear that their venture would not succeed, while 42 percent had some fear but characterized themselves as confident. Only 14 percent said they experienced significant fear that their first venture would fail, while 12 percent said fear of failure delayed their leap into entrepreneurship† (Taylor). The survey findings are significant in so far as they indicate that the innate desire to become an entrepreneur cannot generally be taught; however, what may be called ‘the entrepreneurship skills’ can be taught, to a consideration of which I turn now. Skills required for an entrepreneur It has been mentioned above the entrepreneurship requires certain skills. In this section I propose to discuss some of the skills usually considered as being necessary for one to become a successful entrepreneur. It is a truism to say that getting a business off the ground successfully requires a combination of a sound business concept, skill, effort, and timing. Apart from the purely idiosyncratically individualistic factors that may motivate one to launch oneself as an entrepreneur, it has been noted that successful entrepreneurs normally have a number of similar skills and characteristics. Colette Henry et al citing Hisrich and Peters (1998) categorize the various skills required by entrepreneurs as follows. â€Å"Technical skills: includes written and oral communication, technical management and organizing skills. Business management skills: includes planning, decision-making, marketing and accounting skills. Personal entrepreneurial skills: includes inner control, innovation, risk taking and innovation. In addition, Hisrich and Peters (1998) stress that the development of particular skills, namely inner control, risk taking, innovativeness, being change oriented, persistence and visionary leadership, differentiates an entrepreneur from a manager† (Henry 2005). Specifically these skills include, first the â€Å"Product/expertise†, that is to say, in order to start, survive and flourish, all businesses need a product that is in demand. The would-be entrepreneur needs to have the know-how and industry-specific knowledge of product or service he or she is proposing to provide. He/she should examine what is unique about them, about their product or service, and the experience they have gained throughout their career; and how they can present all these to potential clients so that they see the value of what the entrepreneurs have to offer. Strong motivation to achieve is an essential â€Å"skill† for an entrepreneur. Working for oneself requires a great amount of dedication, discipline and drive. One must be able to get to work every morning without the support frame-work of a demanding boss or hustling co-workers to keep one going. Another skill requirement is that of marketing and sales. However much one is competent technically, one will have to market and sell oneself. This requires a large measure of self-confidence not just in one’s technical skills but in one’s ability to find and land assignments as well. It will be necessary to get potential clients to believe that one is the best person for this task even before one will get a chance to show off one’s technical competence. It is essential for one to have the confidence that he or she is the person who can deliver the special product that meets their customers needs. ‘Integrity and follow-through’ is another skill that is indispensable for an entrepreneur to succeed. The commitments and promises made to the consumers should be fulfilled honestly and promptly at or before the time when they have been promised to be done and according to the promised quality specifications. Any deviation from such promises should be made known to the client well in advance, in any case before the deadline arrives. This skill is an important key in building a successful business practice because a happy and satisfied class of customers help to build and enlarge the domain of one’s business. Another skill required is communication skills. Oral and written communication skills are required for networking, marketing, sales presentations, project proposals, project/client management and documentation of the finished product. If one is unable to convey thoughts clearly and concisely in conversation and in writing, it is apt to reduce one’s effectiveness as a professional. Associated with the communication skills that a would-be-entrepreneur is expected to have, are the interpersonal skills that he/she should posses. The ability to work with people at all levels of authority and status and all types of persons within one’s company is considered a critical requirement for success in getting projects and doing them in a timely manner. Another required skill is professionalism. The dictum that first impressions are important is to be taken as a statement of fact, because first impressions do really count. It will do a lot of good to the company if the entrepreneur’s appearance and behaviour make a terrific statement about the high quality of work they can expect from the company. An entrepreneur’s appearance is part of his or her marketing package. They should avoid giving people reasons to complain or think less of them. That an entrepreneur should have a healthy relationship with money sounds like ‘carrying coal to Newcastle’ because the popular perception is that he or she is out there to make money. It need not be so, because the ‘attitude to money’ is a ‘skill’ that has to be inculcated. Money is one of the means for living well; it should not be the â€Å"be-all-and-end-all† of business. ‘If youve started your business just for the money, you may at some point find yourself hating what you do and feeling trapped’ is a verifiable statement. Prudence would dictate that a business person should treat the money that flows through his or her business with respect or hire someone reliable who will do this for them. Planning skills is yet another skill expected of an entrepreneur. Apart from planning out how to tackle the technical problems of the project, the entrepreneur will need to provide time-estimates for pricing quotes to get business and plan his or her days and weeks effectively to meet the delivery schedule they have committed to. A skill that is important for an entrepreneur is the ‘problem solving skill’. An entrepreneur has to tackle many problems in different shapes and sizes. Right from the classical days of Cantillon, the capacity for judgement has been reckoned as a necessary skill for an entrepreneur. If one furrows the business area as a ‘lone wolf’, one may not have a colleague around to bounce ideas off or a buddy in the next cubicle for quick answers. One has to handle the challenges on one’s own with the resources available, and with the skills that one has been naturally endowed with and also with the skills acquired from one’s years of learning of the art and science of entrepreneurship from schools and colleges (4D Consulting Center). The presumption here is that the skills of an entrepreneur listed in this paragraph can be taught in schools and imbibed by discerning students. This aspect of the matter, that is, whether these skills and qualities can really be taught is examined in the section immediately following this. In the subsequent sections detailed analysis and discussion of the different programmes and content of entrepreneurial education and training are proposed to be made. In the course of discussion of these aspects of education and training, it is also proposed to incorporate a review of the literature pertaining to the specific topic of discussion in that section. Can entrepreneurship really be taught? Can entrepreneurship really be taught is a question that is still debated among some academicians and also practitioners of the ‘profession’. But disregarding the debate, entrepreneurship education has been offered by educational institutions and been a sought-after course of study by many people over the last couple of decades (Sexton et al., 1997). Some countries have developed courses in â€Å"what can be broadly termed the field of enterprise and entrepreneurship education in schools and colleges† (Gibb 1993b). In the UK, for instance, specific kinds of programmes regarding the â€Å"concept of enterprise† sponsored by both the public and private sectors were developed in the 1980s (Gibb 1993b). At the university level, under the Enterprise in Higher Education Initiative, courses were hammered out for training in â€Å"interpersonal† and â€Å"enterprising† skills. It was realised that general skills, on their own, were probably not sufficient for developing entrepreneurial traits. Gibb has pointed out that, in order to avoid confusion, it is particularly important â€Å"to clarify notions of the relationship between enterprise, entrepreneurship, business skills and personal transferable skills in developing an approach to entrepreneurship education† (Gibb, 2000). In one of his previous works Gibb has differentiated between entrepreneurship, enterprising behaviour and small business management (Gibb 1987a). He defined the entrepreneur in terms of attributes, and the small business manager in terms of tasks. In the US, entrepreneurship education is provided not only by the universities, but also by private consultants and trade associations (Sexton et al 1997); and their contribution in the area of entrepreneurship education has been on the increase in recent times. In addition, research in the area is growing (Gibb 2000). Research has been particularly on the increase at empirical levels in the areas of educational process and structure (Gorman et al 1997). Gorman and colleagues also report that their findings indicate that entrepreneurship can be taught, or if not taught, at least developed by entrepreneurship education. This is in conformity with the findings of a survey in which US University professors were of an overwhelmingly consensus view that entrepreneurship can be taught (Vespers 1982). The same view was found to prevail among a group of 408 entrepreneurship students in Ontario, Canada, who believed that the majority of entrepreneurial traits and abilities can be taught, with abilities seen as being more teachable than traits (Kantor 1988). An important opinion that has been expressed is that entrepreneurship being both a ‘science and an art’, it is possible to teach the ‘science’ part of it because it involves skills of the business management job amenable to be taught through the conventional pedagogical approach, while the ‘art’ part, which relates to the inherent and innovative attributes of entrepreneurship, does not appear to be teachable in the same way (Jack and Anderson 1998). A similar view is expressed by others, Saee (1996) for instance, who suggest that some individuals are naturally talented, whilst others must work hard to achieve the same kind of objectives. Saee is of the view that a curriculum cannot create an entrepreneur, rather it can only demonstrate the process necessary for being successful. The individual will always be responsible for their own success (Saee (1996). This distinction between the ‘science’ and ‘art’ of entrepreneurship seems to have stood in the way of developing a holistic programme of entrepreneurship education. Collette Henry et al say that these critics see â€Å"science as something that is selective, analytical, sequential and fixed while they describe art as generative, provocative, jumping and without constraint. While they do not suggest that the essence or art of entrepreneurship is completely unteachable, they propose that this area has been largely neglected by those involved in delivering entrepreneurship and business courses† (Henry, Colette et al). It is incumbent on schools and colleges to develop ‘teachable modules’ of entrepreneurial attributes, incorporating in them the ‘science’ and the teachable part of the ‘art’ of the profession. â€Å"The challenge for entrepreneurship teachers and trainers†, say Henry et al, â€Å"is to find innovative learning methods that coincide with the requirements of potential entrepreneurs† (Henry et al). Training and instruction in entrepreneurship, either in its ‘science’ component or its ‘arts’ component, or in both need not be confined to schools and colleges. They can be done through ‘on-the-job methods’ as has been demonstrated by the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company (3M). The 3M Company is 106 years old as of 2008, but is still leading the list of world’s top-ranking ‘innovative’ companies. Innovation, as explained above is a distinguishing mark of entrepreneurship. If a metaphor can be used here: ‘innovation is in the blood of the 3M company’. The first tenet of the company is that from the chief executive on down, the company must be committed to innovation. It is acknowledged that in the present age innovation is impossible without a broad base of technology. 3M claims to have leading know-how in 42 diverse technologies. That allows researchers to take an idea from one realm and apply it to another (Arndt). In earlier times 3M’s innovation success relied on long-term, individually directed exploratory research projects. Now it is usually the result of team work. One such team work project is called the Lead User System, which has reliably produced profitable new products, services and strategies for 3M. â€Å"It does this at a rate that beats the natural odds. Lead User Teams are made up of four to six individuals with a diverse set of skills from both technical and marketing areas. Depending on its focus, a team may have members from procurement, manufacturing or any other functional area. All team members are taught techniques for creating profitable solutions to unarticulated customer needs, well in advance of the competition. Lead User Teams are told to welcome ambiguity and uncertainty. They are taught to set their sights on exploring the areas where the possibilities for discovery are greatest because the pre-existing knowledge is most slim. The teams must learn to recognize these gaps in understanding as prime locations for generating new products and concepts. The teams are shown how to seek, value and protect ideas that don’t reflect business as usual, be it new technologies, applications, strategic relationships, channel partnerships, or service offerings. Team members start by getting acquainted with what we don’t know; they then work to increase their knowledge base at a greatly accelerated pace, primarily through their contacts with ‘Lead Users’ and ‘Lead User Experts.’ The Lead User System achieves success by approaching innovation in a disciplined way. The teams go through a set of phases, retrieving information from specific sources and then collaborating with these sources to create new products, services and strategies† (Shor, Rita). From the discussion in this section, it is clear that that it is possible to teach the skills, the ‘scientific’ nuances and even aspects of the ‘art’ of entrepreneurship, and that it can be done in schools and colleges and also outside them. Teaching Entrepreneurial Skills Colette Henry and colleagues specify at least four circumstances that have compelled, so to say, entrepreneurs and even others who have something to do with business and the economy to familiarise themselves with the tenets of ‘entrepreneurial/business’ theory. They say: â€Å"At the global level, the reduction of trade barriers and the reality of the Euro currency, together with the advancements in telecommunications, technology and transportation, all combine to provide more opportunities, as well as more uncertainty in the world. At the societal level, privatisation, deregulation, new forms of governance, mounting environmental concerns and the growing recognition of the rights of minority groups are all presenting society with greater complexity and uncertainty. At the organisational level, decentralisation, downsizing, re-engineering, strategic alliances, mergers and the growing demand for flexibility in the workforce, all contribute to an uncertain climate. Finally, at the individual level, the individual is now faced with a wider variety of employment options, the probability of ending up with a portfolio of jobs, more responsibility at work and more stress. Given the above, it is apparent that, at all levels, there will be a greater need for people to have entrepreneurial skills and abilities to enable them to deal with lifes current challenges and an uncertain future. Furthermore, whatever their career choice or personal situation, individuals, will be able to benefit from learning an innovative approach to problem solving; adapting more readily to change; becoming more self-reliant and developing their creativity through the study of entrepreneurship. There is no doubt that in any economic climate such learning could have far reaching benefits for society. It could be argued, therefore, that the need for entrepreneurship education and training has never been greater than now† (Henry, Colette et al). The consensus arrived at on â€Å"the need for entrepreneurship education and training has never been greater† has not percolated to the particulars of organising this kind of education and training. For instance, for Gorman et al (1997) the ‘educational objectives, subject matter and pedagogical approach might be expected to vary depending on the nature of the target audience’, while for others such as McMullan and Long (1987), Monroy (1995), OGorman and Cunningham (1997) and others the training needs of an individual will vary according to the particular stage of development of the enterprise such as awareness, pre- start-up, start-up, growth and maturity. A three-category framework for organising entrepreneurship education has been put forward by Jamieson (1984). His categorisation is in terms of â€Å"education about enterprise, education for enterprise and education in enterprise†. The role that education has to play in threes three categories is different. In the first category, education about enterprise, education has to deal mostly with awareness creation, provide information on the various aspects of setting up and running a business mostly from a theoretical perspective. The business and related modules in this category at all levels of collegiate education seek â€Å"to foster skills, attitudes and values appropriate to starting, owning, managing or working in a successful business enterprise† (Jamieson, 1984). Jamieson’s second category, education for enterprise, is concerned with providing the would-be entrepreneurs for a self-employment career, with the intellectual tools specific to setting up and run their own business. ‘Participants are taught the practical skills required for small business set-up and management, and the courses are often geared towards the preparation of a business plan.’ The third category, education in enterprise, is designed for imparting management training to established entrepreneurs and focuses on ensuring the growth and future development of the business. Management development and growth training programmes, and also specific product development and marketing courses, are in this category. Training in this category also provides skills and knowledge for people to create their own futures and solve their own problems (Jamieson, 1984,). Garavan and OCinneide (1994) emphasise more on the education and training for small business entrepreneurs, classifying the type of training that they might receive into three categories, which relate specifically to the particular stage of development. The first of these is termed small ‘business awareness education’ and is normally found in secondary school syllabi. The objective of this type of training is to encourage people to consider small business as a career option. The second category describes education and training for owners of small business, its aim being to provide practical help to those seeking to change over to self-employment. The content of training here would include instruction on raising finance, marketing the product and matters of legal issues. The third kind of education and training in respect of small business is meant to enable people to enhance and update their skills. The content of entrepreneurship programmes Entrepreneurship educators have identified that there are two objectives of entrepreneurship education programmes, which are 1) to increase the awareness and understanding of the process involved in starting and, 2) managing a new business, as well as to increase students awareness of small business ownership as a serious career option. At the initial stage of entrepreneurial development the need is to inculcate, as far as it is feasible, a sense of readiness and capability to venture into the realm of entrepreneurship. Instruction at this stage, therefore, should provide opportunities to act in an ‘entrepreneurial’ manner, as well as an exposure to several real-life entrepreneurs (Cox 1996). Life-history of truly successful entrepreneurs might serve as a ‘guiding-star’ in the students’ journey towards reaping the benefits of entrepreneurship. The song of the poet that â€Å"Lives of great men remind us/ We can make our lives sublime/.And, departing, leave behind us Footprints on the sands of time† (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1807-1882) should be made to resound in their mind frequently. The main focus of training at the start-up stage should be to intensify students resolve to become entrepreneurs. Accordingly instructional emphasis should be on the development of a viable business plan which should be supported by individualised assistance in the form of financing, networking, or counselling. It is advisable to assist the students in developing their personal characteristics of leadership; promoting and strengthening their willingness to invest a significant portion of their savings or net worth to get their business started; inculcating and hardening their confidence in themselves and their abilities to sustain themselves in business, if or when things get tough; prodding them to make their own decisions; advising them to adjust their standard of living at a lower level, if necessary, until their business is firmly established; to acquire the traits of a team-player and be willing to commit themselves to long hours of work to make their business work. Hisrich and Peters (1998) examined entrepreneurship programmes from the students perspective. The students were found to be keen to have in the course content the essentials of marketing, finance, operations planning, organisation planning and venture launch planning. They also wished to include as an essential part of the Course all information concerned with obtaining resources. To find out topics considered to be most important by prospective students, Le Roux and Nieuwenhuizen (1996) conducted a survey of 220 aspiring entrepreneurs. Their survey revealed that the main areas of interest were practically the same as those mentioned by Hisrich and Peters (1998) and included marketing, entrepreneurship, business planning, management and financial management. From the discussion in this section, it is apparent that the content of the a course on entrepreneurship need to include topics considered as being relevant to the ‘science’ part of the discipline as also those that would serve to enhance the ‘art’ component of the discipline. In the following section, I propose to discuss the methods of teaching entrepreneurship. Methods of teaching entrepreneurship The literature on the learning methods employed in entrepreneurship education and training programmes mentions a variety of methods, including lectures, video presentations and handouts, case study-based learning, seminars, group discussion and role-plays. Additionally, mention is also made about both traditional and non-traditional approaches to learning. Traditional methods are said to focus mainly on theory and a didactic approach and some writers are critical of their adoption as a teaching method, because in their view they are ‘inappropriate’ in the teaching of entrepreneurship (Davies and Gibb 1991). This view is endorsed by others, Young (1997) for example, who say that a theoretical approach is not relevant to teach a subject which deals almost exclusively with activity, implying that the experience and practical skills for entrepreneurs are not something that can be acquired through conventional teaching methods. Against the contention of these writers, others like Shepherd and Douglas (1996) criticise the use of the less traditional methods like ‘role play, simulation and problem solving’, arguing that, in the classroom guidelines are to be provided to promote creative entrepreneurial thinking, but the ‘modern’ methods of teaching encourage only logical thinking which is inappropria

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It was a cold winter's day that > > >> > >>> > > Sunday. The parking lot to the > > >> > >>> > > church was filling up quickly. > > >> > >>> > > I noticed as I got out of my > > >> > >>> > > car that fellow church members > > >> > >>> > > were whispering among themselves > > >> > >>> > > as they walked to the church. > > >> > >>> > > > > >> > >>> > > As I got closer I saw a man > > >> > >>> > > leaned up against the wall > > >> > >>> > > outside the church. He was > > >> > >>> > > almost laying down as if he > > >> > >>> > > was asleep. He had on a long > > >> > >>> > > trench coat that was almost > > >> > >>> > > in shreds and a hat topped > > >> > >>> > > his head, pulled down so you > > >> > >>> > > could not see his face. > > >> > >>> > > > > >> > >>> > > He wore shoes that looked 30 > > >> > >>> > > years old, too small for his > > >> > >>> > > feet with holes all over them, > > >> > >>> > > his toes stuck out. I assumed > > >> > >>> > > this man was homeless, and > > >> > >>> > > asleep, so I walked on by > > >> > >>> > > through the doors of the > > >> > >>> > > church. > > >> > >>> > > > > >> > >>> > > We all fellowship for a few > > >> > >>> > > minutes, and someone brought > > >> > >>> > > up the man laying outside. > > >> > >>> > > People snickered and gossiped > > >> > >>> > > but no one bothered to ask him > > >> > >>> > > to come in, including me. > > >> > >>> > > > > >> > >>> > > A few moments later church > > >> > >>> > > began. We all waited for > > >> > >>> > > the Preacher to take his