3.2 Entrepreneurial Competencies

3.2 ENTREPRENEURIAL COMPETENCIES As noted in the introduction, every career draws on the competencies of an individual. Some of these competencies may be general and some peculiar to the chosen career. You may understand competencies to mean abilities and skills. However, we would desist from calling these as personality traits as such a conceptualization only reinforces the mistaken belief that entrepreneurs are born rather than made. We believe that recognition of these competencies as abilities and skills makes entrepreneurship as a teachable and learnable behaviour. In this section we orient you towards a set of entrepreneurial competencies developed by the Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDI) Ahemdabad. These competencies were identified by a thorough research procedure based on critical analysis of the case studies of the successful entrepreneurs. We also annex a questionnaire that you can use to evaluate your score on each of these competencies. We would also suggest how you might improve on your scores. _____________________________________________

3.2.1 ENTREPRENEURIAL COMPETENCIES IDENTIFIED BY THE EDI (i) Initiative- acting out of choice rather than compulsion, taking the lead rather than waiting for others to start. 3 (ii) Sees and Acts on Opportunities- A mindset where one is trained to look for business opportunities from everyday experiences. Recall ‘oranges’ example. (iii) Persistence- A ‘never say die’ attitude, not giving up easily, striving Information seeking continuously until success is achieved. (iv) Knowing- Knowing who knows, consulting experts, reading relevant material and an overall openness to ideas and information. (v) Concern for High Quality of Work- Attention to details and observance of established standards and norms. (vi) Commitment to Work Contract- Taking personal pains to complete a task as scheduled. (vii) Efficiency Orientation- Concern for conservation of time, money and effort. (viii) Systematic Planning- Breaking up the complex whole into parts, close examination of the parts and inferring about the whole; e.g. simultaneously attending to production, marketing and financial aspects (parts) of the overall business strategy (the whole). (ix) Problem solving-Observing the symptoms, diagnosing and curing. (x) Self-confidence- Not being afraid of the risks associated with business and relying on one’s capabilities to successfully manage these. (xi) Assertiveness- Conveying emphatically one’s vision and convincing others of its value. (xii) Persuasion- Eliciting support of others in the venture. (xiii) Use of Influence Strategies- Providing leadership. (xiv) Monitoring- Ensuring the progress of the venture as planned.

(xv) Concern for Employee Welfare- Believing in employee well being as the key to competitiveness and success and initiating programmes of employee welfare.

PROJECT

IN T.L.E

Submitted by: jean Pauline Morcoso

Vengeance is not ours it's God's Alms, alms, alms. Spare me a piece of bread. Spare me your mercy. I am a child so young, so thin, and so ragged. Why are you staring at me? With my eyes I cannot see but I know that you are all

staring at me. Why are you whispering to one another? Why? Do you know my mother? Do you know my father? Did you know me five years ago? Yes, five years of bitterness have passed. I can still remember the vast happiness mother and I shared with each other. We were very happy indeed. Suddenly, five loud knocks were heard on the door and a deep silence ensued. Did the cruel Nippon’s discover our peaceful home? Mother ran to Father’s side pleading. “Please, Luis, hide in the cellar, there in the cellar where they cannot find you,” I pulled my father’s arm but he did not move. It seemed as though his feet were glued to the floor. The door went “bang” and before us five ugly beasts came barging in. “Are you Captain Luis Santos?” roared the ugliest of them all. “Yes,” said my father. “You are under arrest,” said one of the beasts. They pulled father roughly away from us. Father was not given a chance to bid us goodbye. We followed them mile after mile. We were hungry and thirsty. We saw group of Japanese eating. Oh, how our mouths watered seeing the delicious fruits they were eating, Then suddenly, we heard a voice call, “Consuelo. . . . Oscar. . . . Consuelo. . . . Oscar. . . . Consuelo. . . . Oscar. . . .” we ran towards the direction of the voice, but it was too late. We saw father hanging on a tree. . . . dead. Oh, it was terrible. He had been badly beaten before he died. . . . and I cried vengeance, vengeance, vengeance! Everything went black. The next thing I knew I was nursing my poor invalid mother. One day, we heard the church bell ringing “ding-dong, ding-dong!” It was a sign for us to find a shelter in our hide-out, but I could not leave my invalid mother, I tried to show her the way to the hide-out. Suddenly, bombs started falling; airplanes were roaring overhead, canyons were firing from everywhere. “Boom, boom, boom, boom!” Mother was hit. Her legs were shattered into pieces. I took her gently in my arms and cried, “I’ll have vengeance, vengeance!” “No, Oscar. Vengeance, it’s God’s,” said mother. But I cried out vengeance. I was like a pent-up volcano. “Vengeance is mine not the Lord’s”. “No, Oscar. Vengeance is not ours, it’s God’s” these were the words from my mother before she died. Mother was dead and I was blind. Vengeance is not ours? To forgive is divine but vengeance is sweeter. That was five years ago, five years. . . . Alms, alms, alms. Spare me a piece of bread. Spare me your