Entrepreneurship

WOMAN ENTREPRENEURS : 

THE LIGHT AT THE END OF TUNNEL

Definition - Entrepreneurship
Based on the Business Dictionary, Entrepreneurship can be defined as the capacity and willingness to develop, organize and manage a business venture along with any of it's 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.

Obviously, in the past, women have been seemed to be in a dark tunnel with no hope, dreams or sense of fulfillment.

Now, women have been given their natural bright rights and able to attack with intelligence, perseverance and being able to bring up common sense.

However, the most importantly, they are now able to do everything that men can do including entrepreneurship.

Women Entrepreneurs : Concept and Functions

Concept
There has been a change in role of women due to growth in education, urbanization, industrialization and awareness of democratic values.

Women entrepreneur may be defined as a woman or group of women who initiate, organize and run a business enterprise.

Joseph Alois Schumpeter, an Austrian-born American economist and political scientist is the first scholar to theorize about entrepreneurship.

In terms of Schumpeterian concept of innovative entrepreneurs, women who innovate, imitate or adopt a business activity are called "women entrepreneurs".

His theory of Economic Development consist of 4 main features -

1. Circular Flow 
2. Role of Entrepreneur 
3. Cyclical Process or Business Cycle 
4. End of Capitalism 

In a nutshell, women entrepreneurs are those women who think of a business enterprise, initiate it, organize and combine the factors of production, operate the enterprise and undertake risks and handle economic uncertainty involved in running a business enterprise.

Functions
As an entrepreneur, a woman entrepreneur has also to perform all the functions involved in establishing an enterprise.

These include idea generation and screening, determination of objectives, project preparation, product analysis and determination of forms of business organization, completion of promotional formalities, raising funds, procuring men, machines and materials and operation of business.

Frederick Harris Harbison, an American labor economist and Professor of Labor Economics at Princeton University - has enumerated the following 5 functions of a woman entrepreneur -

1. Exploration of the prospects of starting a new business enterprise. 
2. Undertaking of risks and the handling of economics uncertainties involved in business. 
3. Introduction of innovations or imitation of innovations. 
4. Coordination, administration and control. 
5. Supervision and leadership. 

Clearly, the fact remains that, like the definition of the term 'entrepreneur', different scholars have identified different sets of functions performed by an entrepreneur, be it man or woman.

To conclude, all these entrepreneurial functions can be classified broadly into 3 categories ;

1. Risk-bearing 
2. Organization 
3. Innovations