Module 1 Personal Entrepreneurial Competencies Entrepreneurs • are those with the skills and capabilities to see and evaluate business opportunities. • They are individuals who can strategically identify products or services needed by the community and have the capacity to deliver them at the right time and at the right place. • they organize, manage and assume risks of a business. Entrepreneurship -is not just a simple business activity but a strategic process of innovation and new product creation. Basically, entrepreneurship is both an art and science of converting business ideas into marketable products or services to improve the quality of living. Entrepreneurial competencies refer to the collective set of abilities and/ or skills, sufficient enough to organize, manage & assume the risk of a business ur enterprise profitably . 1. Achievement refers to the set of competencies that support the motive for being successful in the entrepreneurial Undertaking. A. Opportunity Seeking A successful entrepreneur is observant or always on the lookout for any opportunity to create a profitable business venture at a given situation or for a given product or service. This includes the ability to be innovative and sometimes to be Inventive in order to capitalize on such an opportunity. B. Persistence It refers to the characteristic of an entrepreneur of being steadfast in his decision and cannot be easily dissuaded when faced with difficulties. He uses a goal alternative or plan of action to overcome challenges and difficulties. C. Commitment to Work Contract It is the ability to perform assigned tasks whatever it takes, even to the point of making certain personal sacrifices, to make sure that he delivers the product/service on time or on the agreed period with his clients. D. Risk-Taking Though it is expected that an entrepreneur must take certain risks at times in order to capitalize on a given opportunity, he does not do this blindly but rather on a more intelligent or calculated basis. D. Demand for Efficiency and Quality A successful entrepreneur always demands better, if not good quality of products or services, and yet keeps on improving from there. 2. Planning refers to the set of competencies that allows the’ entrepreneur to organize and prepare procedures to ensure that the business venture will keep moving forward. This also allow the entrepreneur to be prepared and react well enough on any eventuality or setback he might encounter along the way. A. Goal Setting The first step that an entrepreneur must do is to set a goal for his venture. This could be one simple goal or a greater one that could be divided into different sub-goals. This goal will serve as the guide and the direction on where and how far you want to take your venture. In setting a goal, a good rule of thumb is to do it SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time bound) B. Information Seeking A successful entrepreneur is always keen about information. He has an open mind an d always hungry or always strives to seek for more information about the market, competition and more importantly about his customers. A well informed entrepreneur can create better Ideas about how to improve the product or service-information to innovation. C. Systematic Planning & Monitoring Refers to the entrepreneur’s ability to create a well organized & efficient plan that is logically sound yet simple & practical This plan must lead him to achieve his goal and should keep him moving forward. He must also have the ability to track monitor If the plan la work and be ready to take alternative strategies when necessary. 3. Power perhaps is one of the most rewarding aspects of being your own boss. But this does not come until after you have worked hard enough to setup your business efficiently and get it running smooth enough to be profitable and to endure. After all, as they say, “with great power comes great responsibility.” A. Persuasion and Networking One of the most challenging task & maybe exciting to others is making people believe in you (or your products & services). By persuading people to spread word for you and to make them believe in you (networking) and that your better than others, could be a daunting task that will test your persistence among others. Succeeding in this task will ensure you to gain patrons or client base. B. Self-Confidence This perhaps is one of the most observable traits of a person ‘it refers to a strong belief upon one’s self that he can complete a task no matter how difficult it might become. Having a strong belief in your own capabilities & hanging on to it might spell the difference between success & failure Programming is the process of writing logical set of computer instructions for the purpose of creating executable computer programs that aid in solving a problem or enhance a process or task with the use of computers. Competencies of a Programmer Behavioral competencies – is a set of general competencies or characteristics that an individual should have in order to establish a well-balanced professional attitude. Analytical thinker Client focused Good communicator Continuous learner Results oriented Technical competencies – is a set of competencies that refer to the standard skills ? programmer should possess in order to perform & deliver his services effectively and efficiently. Fundamental skills: Programming Refers to the knowledge & application of fundamental component of programming i.e. program logic formulation, algorithms, data structures & system architecture. Software development Refers to the knowledge & application of the techniques & management off the whole devalopment cycle starting from The identification and statement of the problem to analysis and validation, to programming and testing, up to documentation Business analysis Pertains about the knowledge & skill in Identifying business heads & providing solutions to address such needs. For example, handling & managing order and delivery system of a merchandising business or providing a more efficient scanning & POS system for a supermarket that could integrate the inventory & replenishment system. Database design & management Significant bulk of programming nowadays is related to handling and managing databases. Almost everywhere you can find opportunities to develop database systems from the simplest contact information management system to the most sophisticated customer relationship management system (CRM). Data/Information security Closely related to database management & integrates all aspects of the business from sales to marketing to support team, a programmer must always consider data security, first & foremost. His top priority in dealing with data & its management must be its security. He must be adept in the different techniques like encryption & other technology available to ensure that any data his system is handling & managing kept private for all stakeholders of the system. F. Identifying platform & emerging technology Platform refers to the different medium, whether hardware or software, on which the system will run. One of the most recent developments in the computing industry is the use of mobile devices that is totally different to computing device. They are neither a desktop nor a laptop, but more like a smart phone. By today's standards, most systems that run on computers are expected to run or at least can be accessed through mobile devices too. As a programmer, knowledge & application how to make programs run in cross platforms is a great advantage.
