BOLLYWOOD SURKHIYAN

Teaching English for Communicative Performance and Business Communication

It is a challenge to us English teachers to manage with our own widely differing linguistic competence the large classes of mixed ability students. Non-availability or high cost of books and instructional material are the challenges just as tests and exams seem to have become the only goal in themselves. In addition, lack of students'(and even teachers’) motivation, administrative apathy, inaccessibility to electronic media, journals and books, balance between the use of mother tongue and English to ensure acquisition of communication skills, or perhaps, a better teaching-learning situation in the mother tongue and other languages, and dissemination of best English Language Teaching (ELT) practices internationally, with an e-culture interface are the new problems teachers have to cope with.

As teachers we need to work on our own affirmative action programmes, despite constraints of our situation. In order to do something new, we may have to give up the old. As John Swales says, “We may need to recycle not only our projects and our programmes but also ourselves.” In fact a practical teacher should be able to operate within, what may be called, “here and now” state of affairs. It is with some sort of inbuilt flexibility and utilitarian purpose that one can practice ELT in the days ahead.

NEGOTIATING DIFFERENCES

With sensitivity for the language (to me, language use is more a matter of pleasure and beauty than of rules and structure), I would like to assert that the yardsticks of the British or American native speakers, or their standards as reflected in GRE, TOEFL or IELTS etc, or their kind of tongue twisting, are simply damaging to the interests of non-native speakers. We have to develop our own standards, instead of teaching to sound like Londoners or North Americans. Pronunciation must be intelligible and not detract from the understanding of a message. But for this nobody needs to speak the so called standardized English (that makes inter- and intra-national communication difficult). David Crystal too appreciates this reality and favours ‘local taste’ of English in India and elsewhere. The problems of teaching, say spoken English, relate to lack of intercultural communicative competence.

Many of the misunderstandings that occur in multicultural or multinational workplace are traceable to inter-group differences in how language is used in interpersonal communication rather than to lack of fluency in English. In fact native speakers need as much help as non-natives when using English to interact internationally and inter-culturally. It is understanding the how of negotiation, mediation, or interaction. We need to teach with positive attitude to intercultural communication, negotiating linguistic and cultural differences. The focus has to be on developing cultural and intercultural competence, tolerance (the spread and development of various Englishes is an instance of grammatical and lexical tolerance), and mutual understanding. Rules of language use are culturally determined. I doubt all those who talk about spoken English, or communication skills, care to teach or develop intercultural communicative abilities. This presupposes a good grasp of one’s own culture or way of communication, or the language etiquette, gestures and postures, space, silence, cultural influences, verbal style etc.

Understanding and awareness of non-verbal behavior, cues and information is an integral part of interpersonal communication in many real-life situations, including business and commerce. Though research is needed to understand the role of visual support in our situations, it does seem relevant in making students aware of the context, discourse, paralinguistic features and culture. This can be advantageous in teaching soft skills which are basically life skills, or abilities for adaptive and positive behaviour, so necessary for successful living.

If one has to work abroad and use English with others there, one has to be sensitive to the culturally governed ways of speaking or talking to each other. The speech community’s (the language culture of the group of people) ways of communication cannot be taken for granted, when one seeks to learn or teach spoken English. People fail or suffer discomfort or embarrassment in negotiations in business or political affairs, or achievement of personal goals due to incompetence in persuasion, negotiation, mediation, or interaction. It is their performance, their intercultural interactional competence which matters; it lies in managing social interaction, and not just communication, in the narrow sense of the word, or use of right grammatical form, syntax, vocabulary, or even certain polite phrases. The goal is to enable one to express what one wishes to convey and make the impression that one wishes to make, using language with a sense of interaction and mutuality.

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

In the context of Business Communication, it is not without a sense of social business for creating value and better business outcome. One needs to demonstrate social insights, too, in the use of, say, (social) networking sites, smart phones, mobile, tablet PCs, voice mail, electronic mail, and other e-business instruments such as computer network, teleconferencing and video conferencing that are being integrated to enterprise design. This means one needs to be able to share information, discover expertise, capitalize on relationship, and be collaborative in creatively solving business challenges. One needs to demonstrate leadership and management traits, innovation, and decision-making; one needs to be able to identify oneself with the shared values and beliefs of the organization one is associated with; and more importantly, one needs to demonstrate intercultural and interactive abilities with sensitivity for change and adaptation, if one is working in a foreign country or in a multinational company.

In short, one’s personal communication, both oral or written, needs to be in tune with the communication philosophy — goals and values, aspirations and pledges, beliefs and policies– of the organization one is working for, just as one should be able to blend with the host culture.

When I mention intercultural interaction, I point to the need for adapting to differences in life style, language, business philosophy as well as problems with finances, government, cultural shock, housing, food, gender, family etc. Although many of the people sent on foreign assignment know their (foreign) market, they are often unable to accept another culture on that culture’s terms even for short periods. Sensitivity for intercultural business environment, or being aware of each culture’s symbols, how they are the same, and how they are different, is important.

COMMUNICATIVE PERFORMANCE

The staff development programme of this kind provides us with an opportunity to revisit the issues related to ‘communicative’ teaching, in general, and business communication, in particular. If communication is the aim of English (or any other language) teaching and ‘communicative’ syllabuses fail to develop what Dell Hymes called ‘communicative competence’ and Noam Chomsky mentioned as communicative performance, we need to reflect on our classroom practices, research and materials production from time to time. Chomsky’s focus was on the sentence-level grammatical competence of an ideal speaker-listener of a language, and Hymes, as a sociolinguist, was concerned with real speaker-listeners who interpret, express, and negotiate meaning in many different social settings; he brought into focus the view of language as a social phenomenon and reflected on its use as units of discourse. Socializing competence and performance, Dell Hymes also mentioned ‘appropriateness’, that is, “when to speak, when not, and as to what to talk about and with whom, when, where, in what manner.” This concept of “appropriate use” as ‘communicative competence’ was accepted by Chomsky and called “pragmatic competence” (i.e. rules of use). Thus, Dell Hymes ‘communicative’ is Chomsky’s ‘pragmatic’ and includes knowledge of sociolinguistic rules, or the appropriateness of an utterance, in addition to knowledge of grammar rules. The term has come to negotiate meaning, to successfully combine a knowledge of linguistic and sociolinguistic rules in communicative interaction, both oral and written.

Michael Canale and Merril Swain in various papers on communicative competence have referred to “appropriacy” in terms of ‘sociolinguistic competence’. In fact, they offer another term “strategic competence”, that is, the ability to use communication strategies like approximation (or paraphrase strategy, using, for example, ‘pipe’ for waterpipe or ‘flower’ for leaf to come close to the intended meanings), word-coinage, circumlocution (i.e. describing objects or ideas using “It looks like…”, “It’s made of…” etc when one temporarily forgets an exact word), borrowing including literal translation and language mix, appeal for assistance, ie. asking for information appropriately using “Excuse me,” “Could you…?” “What’s the word for…?” “I didn’t know how to say it,” etc). mime and all that. Their strategic competence(Canale and Swain) refers to the ability to enhance or repair conversations and means the same as Chomsky’s ‘pragmatic competence’ or Fluency. Brumfit and others too have used the term ‘pragmatic’ in the sense of fluency.

Thus, communicative competence consists of LINGUISTIC competence (ACCURACY), PRAGMATIC competence (FLUENCY), and SOCIOLINGUISTIC

competence (APPROPRIACY).

The Linguistic competence or Accuracy in communication is much broader than mere grammatical competence; it includes the linguistic domains of grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation as well as the linguistic skills of speaking, listening, reading, and writing, spelling, discourse (particularly interconnections and interdependence of the sentences and paragraphs), and the ability to contrast with the mother tongue.

The pragmatic competence or Fluency in communication relates to ease and speed of expression, i.e. how to keep talking, how not to remain silent because one doesn’t know the word (the skill of paraphrasing), and other strategies of learning, including how to listen to oneself and so be able to self-correct and self-edit at once; that is, the ability to monitor immediately.

The sociolinguistic competence or Appropriacy includes varieties of text types (stories, dialogues, non-fiction passages etc) and functions of the language, different levels/degrees of formality or informality, or appropriacy and use of language in authentic situations.

I doubt if we follow such a communicative curriculum with understanding of communicative competence in terms of linguistic ability, pragmatic ability and sociolinguistic ability. But its adoption should help students become independent learners; it should equip them with linguistic forms, means, and strategies that would help them overcome communication difficulties both inside and outside the classroom. From this perspective, communicative competence should be thought of as communicative performance just as a communicative syllabus should be essentially performance-based, that is, increasing the learner’s proficiency.

To quote Brendan Carroll: “The use of a language is the objective, and the mastery of the formal patterns, or usage, of the language is a means to achieve this objective. The ultimate criterion of language mastery is therefore the learner’s effectiveness in communication for the settings he finds himself in.”

POOR COMMUNICATIVE PERFORMANCE

Work-related skills such as team work, cultural awareness, leadership, communication and I.T. skills are as vital as academic achievement for Business/Management students. It would be poor communicative performance if, for example, someone makes a multimedia presentation without knowing how to use the equipment and experiences technical difficulties, or “tries to liven up a dull topic merely by adding flashy graphics rather than by improving the content of the presentation. People who attend meetings unprepared waste others’ time. People with poor listening skills frustrate those who have to repeat information for them. Those who make inappropriate grammatical or vocabulary choices embarrass themselves and those around them. Incompetent communicators hurt the organization they represent. This has especially been the case with hastily sent emails composed in a moment of anger.”

POSITIVE ATTITUDE NEEDED

Academic or professional communication skills, both written and oral, have to be imparted in such a way that students in their contexts are able to identify their own language learning needs and to set their own language learning goals. At college and university level, teachers may act as facilitators, just as they would need to teach with positive attitude for inter- and intra-cultural communication, the skills of negotiating linguistic and cultural differences.

It is with this sensibility for English language and its teaching in various contexts that I speak to you. Yet, as I say all this, I keep in mind the ground reality: that is, poor literacy skills, fluency, and even comprehension; poor communicative ability, with limited experiences in writing, speaking and listening unless, of course, teaching of English as a Second, or additional language improves from school level and need for a supportive classroom climate and positive student attitudes towards learning at post secondary level is recognized. Also, both teachers and students need to be aware of what to do, how to do it, and when and why to do it, as part of practicing self-regulation strategies.

The English Language Teaching community as also the other stake holders in the country should, therefore, revise and reformulate appropriate strategies and policies, with tolerance and multilingualism at the core, to remain relevant in the coming decades. The objective of looking back is to move forward with a reasoned perspective for taking measures to develop communication abilities and higher discourse competence, with a broadened inter- and cross-disciplinary bases, for learning to understand (rather than memorize) and apply in one’s own contexts.

COMMUNICATION IN BUSINESS

The digression apart, let me now come back to teaching communication in business. In terms of ESP, we should be aware of the ‘specific purposes’ of what we do in the classroom, just as we should do it in terms of students’ specific needs. For example, if we teach written communication, we teach it in the specific context of Business, maybe, where applicable, in terms of ‘rhetorical functions’, with a sense of logical organization of knowledge or information, as noticed in actual use. Students need to be exposed to range of authentic report material from business, commerce, finance, administration, marketing, production, personnel etc. They need to understand the logical steps in writing a report, from ‘collecting the information’ through to ‘summarizing’ and ‘appendix’. In short, they need to be presented with task-oriented activities that are both challenging and authentic in the field of business: they need to be forced to read and think about the content of the report; they need to be made to think about the structure and organization of the report; they need to think about the language used to express the content; and they have to be made to apply this knowledge to the skill of writing a report. The variety of writing exercises may include paragraph writing, expansion of notes, completion of paragraphs, sequencing of sentences into paragraph, and using the right punctuation marks, connectives, sub-headings, presentation of non-verbal information or transfer of information from text to diagram (graph, chart, table, outline etc); linking findings, conclusions and recommendations, extracting main points for making descriptive and evaluative summaries etc. We teach all this in terms of what the students already know and what they need to know. They unlearn, learn, and re-learn, both formal and informal expressions, within the conventions of the discipline they belong to.

As I already said, their career success depends on good writing and speaking skills, along with proper etiquette and listening skills and understanding skills. Skills that need particular attention are informational and analytical report writing, proposal writing, memo writing, letter writing, oral presentation, and a sense of grammar, punctuation, word, sentence and paragraph.

The methodology should encourage students to learn from each other via activities both of a productive kind and of a receptive nature. We may exploit developments in the case study approach, use role plays and simulations that place the students in realistic and stimulating situations to create spontaneous personal interaction and creative use of the language in a business context.

A mix of the task based approach, group work, and simulations should help the future business people develop the skills for meeting and negotiating as also for the necessary mastery of English for functioning autonomously in the field. The challenge is not to teach a descriptive course on discourse, but to provide for a pragmatic and custom-tailored input, ready for processing by the learners in an authentic learning environment.

In other words, in stead of mere ‘business communication’, the emphasis has to be on, what I already mentioned, ‘interaction in business context’. It is not merely the language of business, but also the cultural conventions of meetings and negotiations in an intercultural setting that one has to be aware of, and learn. As far as teaching is concerned, it is rather helping students with learning how to learn, how to create the learning opportunities for themselves, and understanding the ways in which language and business strategies interact. If we follow a learner-centred approach, a three-step procedure could be: first, to illustrate (=a good model), then, to induce (=induction for effective learning by the learner), and finally, to interact (=the outcome).

I would like to quote Christopher Brumfit from his opening speech to SPEAQ Convention in Quebec City (in June 1982): “…Being communicative is as much or more a matter of methodology as of syllabus or materials, and methodology is something that teachers are uniquely qualified to contribute to. We should therefore be willing to use our expertise, to innovate, to improve, to inform each other, and to criticize.” What we are doing here, friends, is just to make a beginning, the beginning of a process of communicating, of understanding, that we can start but cannot finish.

ECLECTIC APPROACH

I am aware that there is no universal teaching method or ideal teaching material suited to many contexts of language teaching. Whatever didactic techniques one knows without excluding the behaviouristic drills, and practice and use of mother tongue, where appropriate, are all valid at different points in the teaching process. I stand for an eclectic approach as different methods for different students have always worked and there has not been one best method any time. With our freedom to choose and adopt any notion that serves our teaching ends, with a reasonable degree of historical sense, flexibility and adaptability that allows us to select among a variety of approaches, methods and techniques, we can meet the challenges of today and tomorrow. I see teaching communicatively essentially consisting of an eclectic methodology which incorporates what is valuable in any system or method of teaching and refuses to recognize bad teaching or defective learning. In any educational setting, sensitive and sensible application and continuing evaluation of the chosen practices should be inbuilt.

English has been practised in a social, economic, political, educational and philosophical “hot-house”, to use Peter Strevens’ expression, and the hot-house in India differs in quality from state to state. It is necessary to create an enabling environment – managerial, administrative, institutional, academic, and curricular-to promote not only quality education and effective learning with exposure to lots of natural, meaningful and understandable language, but also genuine communication. This means learners should read and listen to live language; they should speak and write it in ways that can be understood by educated speakers everywhere. Moreover, they should eventually be able to produce and comprehend culturally appropriate natural discourse.

SUMMING UP

To sum up, we as teachers need to recognize the changes that have shaken all human conditions with new technology, new social structures, new values, new human relations, new functions. As Young Yun Kim notes: “The complexity, diversity, and rapid pace of change makes us ‘strangers’ in our own society.” The challenge is, to understand the “sameness in differences” for international/intercultural exchanges, or learning business negotiations and written communication. Language teaching alone may not develop communicative abilities in business English unless we realize that learning the language implies learning the culture also-one’s own culture and other’s culture. It is language and culture teaching together and sharing the “us” and “them” differences to reflect on one’s own culture from the viewpoint of an outsider, and thus, become less ethnocentric and more tolerant of the values of the foreign people and their ways.

The ESP of business communication seems highly culturally biased and value based, even as Western ethno-centricism, including the North American, may not be the answer to our communicative difficulties. But we have to be OPEN to all local peculiarities to communication and interaction. If we view English as the lingua franca for business negotiations, we should also not forget that it is NOT the mother tongue of any or most of the negotiators. To that extent, the English used is commonly a variety in which the mother tongue interferes not only phonetically and phonologically, but also in the cultural norms and attitudes expressed by the speakers. To quote Susanne Neimeir, “Their non-verbal behavior, for example, does not automatically switch to an ‘Englishized’ non-verbal behavior but normally stays rooted in their home culture. Thus, even when they think the negotiation partner should have understood (verbal and non-verbal) signs they are using, misunderstandings still occur because signs may be differently encoded-and decoded-on the other’s cultures or may not be noticed to be signs at all.”

Therefore, we need to sensitize students to cultural richness and cultural diversity for developing mutual understanding and using individual and group knowledge constructively, and not stereotypically, in learning skills of business communication, both oral and written. It also seems imperative to integrate discourse analysis, decision-making and generic patterns of meetings and effective conversation and the role of cultural influences for success in actual business situations. In fact, it is significant to provide professional students with opportunities to experience what it means to communicate and to do business with different people who obviously are alike in several basic ways.

In today’s globalized business context, while teachers of business English have to be aware of various analytical and practical approaches to business communication, especially as intercultural understanding and strategies of flexibility, adaptability and tolerance are some of the keys to make the best of economic opportunities, students of Business communication have to learn to find their own strategies, or use of structural and stylistic devices for successful business interaction. Their verbal communication in the ‘ESL’ context, to my mind, would be largely ‘EIL’ to be able to work together, using English as the common language.

I hope at the end of the programme, having shared with each other what some of you have done and how, we will emerge more enlightened and aware about what more we need to do to succeed in the days ahead. Mutual interaction should help us envision a possible policy framework required to support teaching for economically valuable language skills at tertiary and/or professional level.

(Text of the author’s Special lecture delivered at the AICTE SPONSORED STAFF DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME ON ‘EMERGING TRENDS IN BUSINESS ENGLISH AND THE METHODS OF TEACHING’ at National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST), Berhampur, Odisha on 23 March 2012.)

–PROFESSOR (DR) R.K.SINGH

Dept of Humanities & Social Sciences

Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad 826004 India

The Value of an International Degree in Business Management

“If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door” – This quote by Milton Berle, one of the most prominent faces in the celebrity world who stunned the Golden age of television, holds an in-depth significance when it comes to building a successful career in the present-day corporate world.The modern-day trading bodies hold structures that are growing wide and expansive with time, embracing new ideas, concepts, and strategies. The increasingly changing business trends are the greatest evidence of the fact. Organizations nowadays aim to operate on a comprehensive platform by reaching out to international businesses, exchanging necessary know-how’s, and implementing them in their own ventures. It is hence crucial to understand that just earning an undergraduate degree in business management is not at all going to help you to make your mark in the professional arena.

Today, anyone aspiring for a career in the management domain needs to have a global mindset to get a career break in the current business industry, which comes through zestful learning, exploration, industry exposure, and training. ‘International’ is an earnest tag in today’s business world that is highly valued by the corporates and recruiters. An international degree helps you create a robust bridge between you and your future career, through which you can achieve a greater exposure to attain the opportunities in the first place. If you see, in the current times, getting the chance to attend an interview is a more significant challenge than cracking one. This is mainly because of the increasing percentage of business management students graduating every year, imposing tough competition to each other. Demonstrated below are some of the rationalizations that will help you understand the value of an international bachelor’s degree in management and how it is one of the best decisions you can take for a robust management career ahead.

Interacting, connecting, and learning directly from top international executives

Learning under the mentorship of international executives and professionals possessing rich global experience can significantly increase your worth in the industry. When you step towards attaining an international degree in business management, you not only get to gain from the expert vision of international experts who are the real examples of successful business figures. Moreover, an international degree provides you with the opportunity to tap into the crucial standards, tactics, and maneuvers that the current business industry follows.

Zealously expanding industrial knowledge and network

The contemporary business platform is far from being confined to academic knowledge and rote proficiencies. It uprightly demands professionals who are inventive, have out-of-the-box thinking ability and are skilled enough to add value to business above everything. This is where the sheer need for an international business degree gains prominence. It will help you experience the taste of diverse cultures, languages, attitudes, and altered approaches to learning across business disciplines. Besides, you get to connect with a lot of like-minded individuals and peers expanding your professional network which will be vital for you in your long-term career.

The priceless advantages of the contemporary learning environment

Candidates attaining an international degree in management get to be a part of the modern-day and dynamic learning environment. The teaching pedagogy, training aids, and the overall methodology used abroad are different from how they are in India. Furthermore, international professors have a different style of mentoring students and emphasize more on the practical aspects. Along with that, they also clasp the concept of the open-classroom environment to help students to maintain their interest and learn in a more motivating and advanced manner.

Serves as a launch pad for your career abroad

One of the most significant advantages of gaining an international degree in business management is that it opens huge prospects for you to launch your career abroad. A foreign degree program makes you familiar with the global business standards, customs, etiquettes, and business tactics that automatically boosts your marketability on an international level. Besides, you, as an international management degree holder, will be able to perform with comparatively more conviction on a global platform than a non-international degree holder.

As you can see above, these are some of the key pluses of attaining an international degree in management. An international degree bestows you with incomparable benefits that help you achieve personal excellence apart from robust professional know-how. The skills, proficiencies, and knowledge you gain will only unleash gradually when you begin your journey. We, at IILM Undergraduate Business School, with our BBA Program, can provide you with a strong international platform to give your aims and aspirations a whole new recognition. The internationally-benchmarked curriculum, strong market research and connections, contemporary teaching pedagogy, and international faculty are some of the robust pillars that have helped us produce the finest professionals for years. As one of the foremost institutes to begin the International Degree system in India, we, at IILM UBS, recognized among the best BBA colleges in Delhi NCR, offer ambitious management aspirants the opportunity to learn and view the nitty-gritty of the business world from a global perspective.

How A School In The Kingdom of Bahrain May Hold Keys To The Future

As mentioned in a previous article, the world’s education systems are challenged to transform themselves to meet the needs of the knowledge economy. For world economic growth their graduates need to be able to get jobs or start their own businesses. There may be validity in the idea that education needs to remain somewhat separate from the needs of business, otherwise we have schools becoming little more than factories that turn out that people required by industry. At the same time the products that education graduate are people, and people want to have jobs and employment as well as to enjoy not mere survival but also the luxuries that they see others enjoying.

This is the second in a series of articles on the challenges and potential changes that face education in the 21st century. The obvious direct approach to preparing people of all ages for new work, is to teach them that work. This has led educators to see education in two tracks: one the academic that teaches students to think, process ideas, problem solve and to be scientific. The other, alternate track was vocationally driven. This often implied a somehow “less than” status to vocational work. Students were slotted to go one way or the other. The modern world is less compartmentalized than that, and seeing vocation or academics as two separate ways of being will no longer function. The modern employee or entrepreneur is required to maintain many of the same skills as the academic. Everyone needs to research information, organize it to meet the needs of their particular context, publish it in digital and non-digital formats, and be prepared to engage in active debate on the ideas they are working with. This is as true for a group of tradespeople as it is for professors, managers, business owners. The disconnect is that while some of these skills may develop during group work or project-based learning, most of the world still learns in classrooms with rows of desks, a teacher at the front, and students madly scribbling notes preparing themselves to regurgitate the content being handed to them when it comes time to take a test. What would a school look like if we started over? The answer to that question is being addressed in the Kingdom of Bahrain by their new Polytechnic University.

This article briefly discusses those ideas in the hopes that they are interesting to others and that they start a debate about new possibilities that are can be employed to transform education.

Bahrain Polytechnic University

All good action research starts with delving into current circumstances and understanding what is needed, perhaps that is the reason I like Bahrain Polytechnic so much. They started to design a program by conducting a series of interviews with human relations department to find out what they expected from the graduates they hired. Their findings demonstrated that the current perception of employers was that 49% of college graduates did not have the soft skills they needed (i.e. teamwork communication and problem-solving), 44% did not have the requisite language, math, or vocational skills that were needed, and 42% did not have an understanding of professional conduct or were not properly motivated to do good work. This puts a heavy burden on employers because their recruiting and training process is expensive and if almost 50% of the people they hire do not have the basics, they are inclined to go out of country for their recruiting. Using the interview process the design team for Bahrain Polytechnic then decided that they needed a curriculum that embedded these skills in the curriculum not just as an add-on or byproduct of the educational process. They concluded that traditional context and knowledge-based education must change and rapidly. This is not easy, it has a lot of things pushing against it. For instance, when you’re starting something new people don’t have confidence that you know what you’re doing, especially if what you’re doing implies that what they are doing is not good enough. Also there is a difficulty in finding staff through who will carry through on your vision, because, after all, your vision is new and likely to be misinterpreted. Finally, the facilities that you inherit from other models are, by definition, outmoded and get in the way of what you were trying to accomplish.

In spite of these challenges Bahrain Polytechnic has come up with three sets of skills, or types of growth, that will be overlaid and worked on concurrently throughout the students tenure at the University. There will of course be the academic studies, but alongside direct instruction will be employ-ability skills, and a continuously developing self-knowledge profile. In other words, these students will be continuously evaluated on their attitude, their delivery, and the coherency between those and how they see themselves. Marvelous! Educators will say things like, “that all sounds great but how are you can measure it?” Although this is still a work in progress, Bahrain Polytechnic has made great strides in answering that question. Still two years away from their first graduating class, they see their graduates having three transcripts that they will bring to future employers. The first provides an overview of the range of achievement levels on academic content, the same as provided by universities worldwide.

The second is what they call an employ-ability profile in which the student has had to demonstrate and been continually assessed by staff on what are considered the soft skills of communication, teamwork, problem solving, initiative and enterprise, planning and organization, self-management, learning and technology. Those same skills are evaluated by the students themselves in their self-knowledge profile. Then all three are graphically laid over one another in order to give the employer a visual representation of the whole person who is applying for the job. How is this done? Through a curriculum that builds on the foundation program of strong English skills, the ability to research, use of information technology and math. The degrees offered are bachelors or diplomas in: visual design, international logistics management, information and communications technology, business, office management, web media, and engineering technology. They are just starting the process of design for the new campus, where the architecture of the buildings they inhabit will help rather than hinder their mission through wide-open spaces, easy places to meet, an atmosphere that promotes project work 24/7 etc. It was my pleasure to be able to sit in on their discussion with the architect, and that alone should dramatically increase the ability to think creatively, as the students will no longer be contained in rows of boxes. Their campus fits with the lifestyle engendered by digital natives, who jump easily between social, organizational, and project design work.

This article looked into an innovative solution to the problems addressed in previous writing about the apparent disconnect between education graduates and the needs of the employers who will hire them. Even as a start-up, this university has good management and solid backing from the Kingdom of Bahrain. At this points it looks as thought there is every likelihood that it will fulfill its mission. I said elsewhere, it is easier to start fresh in some instances such as when you are making dramatic change, then to refit existing structures. Future articles in this series will look into the ways and means in which action research can help when education and policy are faced with a “refit” rather than start over is good process.

Problems Encountered by Nigerian Entrepreneur and Possible Solutions

The success enjoyed by most industrialized countries can be attributed to the role played by technological innovation and entrepreneurship, both of which continue to drive their economies today. These two factors are seen as key components for the industrialization and development of African countries. The Nigerian government has recognized this fact and has taken measures aimed at promoting and cultivating the entrepreneurial culture in our country. Through the Nigerian Investing Commission (NIC), our government has in the past introduced a policy that required university students regardless of their area of study to take courses in entrepreneurship. While our government is putting extra effort in promoting entrepreneurship in Nigeria, there are still a number of problems that a Nigerian Entrepreneur faces. Below are some of the problems encountered and possible solutions.

* Diversifying the Economy

Though our country’s economy has over the last couple of decades relied heavily on its oil production, we must find ways to diversify our economy and avoid the over reliance on oil. Like other developing countries, Nigeria is facing an increase in its unemployment rate that is now at 6 % and is on the increase, with many graduates finding it hard to get jobs while most of those who get jobs are underemployed. This coupled with the global financial crisis in which massive numbers of employees are being laid off; entrepreneurship is seen as an essential key if we want our country to achieve its ambition of being an industrialized nation by the year 2020.

* Unfriendly Business Climate

Being an entrepreneur in Nigeria requires great determination as practicing and potential business owners are faced with countless challenges. Nigerian’s business climate should be made welcoming to those in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). The role played by these MSMEs should not be underestimated since majority of the thriving businesses fall in this category and for us to achieve our goals, adequate attention and support must be directed towards these institutions. To be able to help and protect entrepreneurs, we must first have a clear idea of the challenges facing our entrepreneurs in their pursuit of making Nigeria a prosperous country.

* Lack of Credit Facilities

Potential Nigeria entrepreneurs go through many hardships when trying to access credit for their businesses. Though there is a wide range of financial institutions that offer business loans, they usually charge high interest rates deterring aspiring entrepreneurs. For instance, major banks have pegged their lending rates to as much a 28% deterring potential entrepreneurs who are mostly low income earners. Other obstacles faced by our entrepreneurs include severe collateral conditions set by banks and other lending institutions. Though our government through the Central Bank and the Banker’s Committee came up with guidelines requiring banks to set aside 10% of their profits for funding MSMEs, majority of these banks have been reluctant to do so. This has led to the emergence of micro-finance institutions which though helpful are not sufficient for meeting the financial requirements.

* Multiple Taxation

One other sensitive challenge that is encountered by majority of Nigerian entrepreneurs is multiple taxation. Although we have a responsibility of funding the government through paying taxes, most of the taxes charged on entrepreneurs are not lawful and have the effect of increasing the cost of doing business. Although Nigeria’s Companies Income Tax Act (CITA) has approved only 39 taxes and levies, there are over 500 various levies and taxes that are imposed by state and local government agents. These taxes are questionable and in the case where they are genuine, they are mostly duplicated and this has the effect of increasing the cost of doing business.

* Poor State of the Country’s Infrastructure

The state of our infrastructure can be deemed to be a nightmare to both entrepreneurs and the rest of the country’s population. With the existing infrastructure deteriorating and in some places it is non-existent; the cost of doing business has tremendously gone up. The state of the country’s road network makes it hard for entrepreneurs in the agricultural sector to transport harvested produce from farms to processing factories. According to a report released by the World Bank, Nigeria’s pace of socioeconomic development and growth is way below what we can achieve. This is mostly because of the erratic supply of electricity which has negatively affected many businesses. The outcome of power problems has prompted entrepreneurs to generate power through expensive ways that have in turn increased their production costs and made their products uncompetitive due to high prices. Our government should put policies in place to perk up Nigeria’s infrastructure so as to promote successful entrepreneurship.

* Failure to Adapt to the Changing Business Environment

Majority of those who venture into MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) do so because of their need to make money and in almost all cases, such entrepreneurs lack relevant and adequate information about the businesses they engage in. In the event where problems arise, most of these business owners lack sufficient problem solving skills and in the end they find it hard to survive. With the telecommunications sector having grown by about 206.5 % between 2002 and 2004 and is continually expanding, Nigeria has become one of the fastest growing ICT market not only in Africa but also worldwide. This presents a challenge to entrepreneurs who have not embraced technology, and who are now finding it hard to remain relevant in the competitive business environment. For existing and potential MSMEs to survive and be relevant, we must adapt to the changing business environment and embrace technology.

* Addressing the Challenges

Solving the problems encountered requires a combined effort by both the entrepreneur and all concerned stakeholders. As Small and medium business owners, we need to increase our knowledge and skills of the market by acquiring relevant and up to date education particularly in your area of business. Our entrepreneurs need to collect information about their target market by seeking help from consultants and professionals who have experience in the particular market.

One strategy that can be used by our small and medium entrepreneurs to remain relevant and competitive in today’s market is to come up with fresh and creative ideas of doing business. Due to the increase in technology, business is fast changing, thus our MSMEs need to constantly re-invent the way they do business.

There is a great need of creating a strong link between MSMEs and supporting institutions if Nigeria is to fully benefit from such businesses. Though some financial institutions are still reluctant to provide financial assistance to MSMEs, there are some that give out loans at reasonable rates provided the business sounds viable. The key challenge is for our entrepreneurs to prepare sound business proposals. For our country to achieve its goals and stop relying on oil alone, we need to focus much attention needs on the private sector and our government must create a conducive atmosphere for such businesses to thrive and drive the country towards economic prosperity.

Create Your Own MBA Program

Many small business owners are typically self-taught in the ways that make them successful. Most small business owners do not have an MBA, which actually is a good thing. Formal business education, specifically the typical MBA program, is geared more toward the large corporate environment and not the small business environment that agency owners operate in.

So, how would one design a two year MBA program for the small business agency owner? The program is based on a trimester system and the students are required to read a book a month for two years. There will be six areas of study, with a bonus session to allow a concentration for the insurance industry. By the end of these two years, students will have the right information to operate a small business and be successful.

The key purpose of this program is to accelerate through the learning curve. Much of the information the students will learn has been around for a while and it works. Successful business owners do not re-invent the wheel. They take a proven idea and adapt it. This cuts out the time and expense of having to learn it on their own.

1. The first trimester focuses on understanding one self and others. What skills and knowledge are needed to be successful? All of these books are classics and three of them have been around for over 75 years. In order to be a great business owner, one needs to understand themself, as well as understand how best to relate to other people.

· 7 Habits of Highly Successful People by Steve Covey

· How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

· Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

· The Richest Man In Babylon by George S. Classen

2. The second trimester is an introduction to business and the philosophy of business. Most small business owners got into their business because they were good at what they did. Michael Gerber created the mantra of “Work on the business and not in the business,” so his book is a must read. The other books will round out one’s understanding of what it means to be an entrepreneur and small business owner.

· The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber

· Scaling Up: How a Few Companies Make It… and Why the Rest Don’t by Verne Harnish

· Rework by Jason Fried

· The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business By Josh Kaufman

3. Sales and marketing is covered in the third trimester. The books in this session will go from the big picture of sales and marketing to the nitty-gritty details of how to do it. Sales people will like the books by Schley and Holmes and the marketing folks will hone in on the books by Heath and Gladwell.

· Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Don’t by Chip Heath and Dan Heath

· The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell

· The Micro-Script Rules: It’s not what people hear. It’s what they repeat… by Bill Schley

· The Ultimate Sales Machine by Chet Holmes

4. Welcome to year two! The fourth trimester is all about management and leadership. Satisfied employees are critical to the success of a business. Some people are natural leaders while others can be great leaders with some training. The material and ideas in these books are practical and easy to learn.

· The One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard and Spenser Johnson

· The Dilbert Principle by Scott Adams

· The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John C. Maxwell

· Drive by Daniel Pink

5. The fifth trimester focuses on an area that business owners easily get or perpetually struggle with – economics and business financials. Even if it is a turn off for some small business owners, it is still important that the basics are understood. Accounting is a subject that does not translate well to books, so that subject will be covered using online videos. There are many free videos that will cover both the basics and the details of accounting.

· Basic Economics: A Common Sense Guide to the Economy and Economic Facts and Fallacies by Thomas Sowell

· Financial Intelligence A Manager’s Guide to Knowing What the Numbers Really Mean by Karen Berman and Joe Knight

· Various online videos on accounting

6. Now that the business is running, what is next? A successful business is not static; it undergoes constant change and improvement. The sixth trimester introduces philosophy of change and techniques on how to re-think the business operations.

· Built to Last by Jim Collins and Jerry Porras

· Who Moved My Cheese by Spenser Johnson

· What Got You Here Won’t Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith

· First, Break All the Rules by Marcus Buckingham and Curt W. Coffman

Congratulations! Reading these 23 books will provide information more valuable to the small business owner than taught in most MBA programs! Graduates of this program now have the skills and knowledge to be even better business owners. Some graduates might want to continue on to a concentration within their industry.

Formal education can be valuable. However, the stereotypical small business owner has neither the time nor patience to attend an MBA program. There is so much good information that all business owners can easily have a customized “MBA Program.” So, crack open a book, turn on a kindle or plug in some ear buds, school is in session!

Information Marketing: The Hidden Secrets That Earns People Millions of Dollars

Would you believe it that people are earning millions of dollars daily selling information products online and offline? You too can tap into this business and create a job for yourself and others.

People like Ewen Chia, Jimmy D. Brown, Akin Alabi, Dr sunny Obazu O. Yinka Silver and many others are earning millions selling information products. Well, I don’t want to talk about my mentors but about their secrets that you too can tape into.

What is Information Marketing?

Information marketing is writing and packaging of information inform of book, E-books, DVD, Reports that solves a particular problem of human need. It also simply means selling of information. Since people are always in need of information, information marketers finds out the solution to the need and then present it to them at a price.

Let me give you an example, a friend of mine knows how to write articles for cash online on part-time, he wrote a short report went to various high schools and sold it to the students for $10 and within two Day he sold 200 copies. You can do the calculation yourself to know what his profit was.

Now

The first secret of launching an information marketing business is to find a need.
The second secret of launching an information marketing business is to find a solution to the need
The third is to inform people of that particular need, that you have a solution to their problem

How do you find a Market to sell to?

This question cannot be fully treated here. The easiest way to find a market is start with what you know. Package what you know inform of E-book, Short Reports, DVD and sell it at a price

Do you know how to design a website in less than 90minutes? Write a report package it and sell it.
Do you have special secrets about football betting? Package it and sell it
Do you know how to make money from writing skill? Package it and sell it
Do you know how to make any girl love you? Package the tricks and sell it

What do you know that you think will be of help to a group of people package it and sell it.

If you think you don’t know anything, don’t get discourage we all have something to give though you can start by learning something maybe a business, trade, skill or service

What Is Wealthy Affiliate?

Wealthy Affiliate is an online community membership site founded in 2005 by two online marketers Carson and Kyle. It has become the number one community for creating and growing a successful online business.

Wealthy Affiliate is a training website with a massive online community who engage with one another and offer help and support.

Who Can Profit From Wealthy Affiliate University?

Wealthy Affiliate (WA) makes the program available for everyone, including those who don’t have enough money to pay high prices for training or have a limited budget. WA offers instruction for people with different skill levels, from newbie’s up to experienced marketers.

People Who Can Benefit From WA:

Internet Marketers

Local businesses and companies

Online merchants

Local marketers

People that want to build their own website(s)

People that want to sell their products online

Retired people, looking for an extra income

Individuals looking for a trusted hosting platform

Students

People who want to turn their hobby into an additional income

Bloggers and website owners that want to improve their web sites

Artist/Bands/Musicians Churches and Non-Profits.

What Wealthy Affiliate Is Not?

WA is not a “get rich quick” scheme. WA IS NOT AN MLM program and you do not need to build a massive down line to make money from the program. There isn’t a prerequisite to sell WA itself. You will not get rich overnight, unless you are a skilled marketer. The platform will teach you how to make money online.

It will help you to build a solid online business that will endure for a long time, along with live support that you will need to soften the notion of doing it alone.

How much does it cost to join Wealthy Affiliate?

Wealthy Affiliate Starter Membership – Free.

Premium Membership – $47 month or $359 yearly.

If you upgrade to the premium membership within 7 days your first month access will only be $19.00

Wealthy Affiliate General Overview

There are several types of training that are available to members and it has everything from email marketing, list building, SEO, PPC marketing, article marketing, website development and technical training. The database has more than 300 teaching lessons and each month more resources are added.

The training is attuned to suit every ones needs and includes:

Video training

Tutorial Training

Classrooms on specific topics

Question and Answers

Live weekly training classes

Task based Courses

Participate in interactive discussions

Why Do You Need WA?

Affordability – Usually when people see all the upgrades or up-sells for different products or services, they automatically enter a negative mindset because they know that if they do not earn quickly, they will lose a huge sum of money. Most people start on a small budget and simply cannot afford to pay for expensive advertising or constant upgrades.

Wealthy Affiliate has a free option and members can experiment with the program without any obligations, especially if they are not sure about the direction they want to take in the online marketplace. The premium membership is at a fixed rate and that gives members the freedom to work on a budget without having to be concerned about working harder just to upgrade to another level.

All in one platform – To become successful online, we all need more services like hosting, a blog or website, content and various tools to run our businesses successfully. These services and tools can add up to a costly amount when you put it all together, and new as well as existing online entrepreneurs struggle immeasurably to keep up when they don’t earn from the internet quickly. Wealthy Affiliate has done a great job at adding the essential tools and services into one platform to get new marketers to get that critical head start.

Website Builder and Hosting – WA allows you to use WordPress (WP) Express to build your own WP optimized blog and SiteRubix powers it. WordPress had become the most popular blogging platform with dozens of templates to choose from. You can choose to run the blog on a free siterubix.com domain or link it to your own. SiteRubix has a remarkable reputation and websites that are hosted on the service tend to do exceptionally well compared to other hosting companies.

Coaching and Support – New online entrepreneurs are not able to get successful by themselves. If you have questions, they will get answered! The customer support is quick to respond and aids members with any issues that they might run into. Carson and Kyle are actively partaking along with members to answer questions personally. That alone shows the great amount of dedication they have when it comes to helping members.

People who have absolutely no clue about earning an income online enter this marketplace on a daily basis and the World Wide Web has tons of “money-making” programs, products and tutorials that confuse new marketers badly enough and even cause a massive amount of people to fall into scams or empty promises.

It has been proven that most successful online marketers had a mentor or support program that guided them into becoming successful. This is the best active community online and many methods to communicate are available like; a live chat box, questionnaire option, forum, active dashboard and micro blog communication.

There is no negativity or judgmental behavior like we see in the public forums, only quality conversations. You will be able to network with like-minded marketers and meet countless people who will share ideas or support one another.

Inspiration – Without motivation, it is hard to complete anything in life, not to mention starting up an online business. Wealthy Affiliate keep their learners motivated by setting up goals and then reward those who had met the goals by giving away something of value. For most people it is much easier to reach success when they have something to work towards that is worth the effort.

Wealthy Affiliate will most certainly not make you rich and it will not make you successful. In the end the decision to take action will all be in your hands and no amount of training or support can replace free will. The law of sowing and reaping is how you will receive your harvest.

What Is Wealthy Affiliate?

Wealthy Affiliate is someone who unites with others of like-mindedness, on the terms of having and obtaining legitimate unlimited wealth.

WA gives you all the building materials, but the rest will be up to you. Getting started is always the hardest part, but with the right motivation and positive attitude there is absolutely no reason to fail.

The Entrepreneurial Ability – One of Society’s Scarce Resources

Have you ever wondered what the 4 most important resources in any given economy are?

They go as follows:

1. Land – which includes all the natural resources that go along with it.

2. Labor- people have to work to get anything done, right?

3. Capital- probably not what you’re thinking; this category isn’t money! It includes tools and machinery, and any other productive item.

4. Entrepreneurial Ability- something unique and specific to people! Not everybody has this! Do you?

Isn’t interesting that any given economy must have entrepreneurs! All the resources in the world, including land, lumber, minerals, food, labor, and tools will create nothing without the entrepreneur. Those innovative minds create many of the luxuries that we enjoy today; without them, we’d be without everything!

So what exactly does an entrepreneur do?

An entrepreneur, by simple definition, takes the initiative in combining resources like land, labor, tools, and other items to produce some sort of service or product. They are the ones that start everything! If you don’t have an entrepreneur, no advances in society take place; thus, making it difficult for an economy to grow and improve.

An entrepreneur is also an innovator; or, in other words, somebody who creates from given resources. They collect what is available, and put it together to form something useful for all. If you have no creativity, you may not be fit for entrepreneurial tasks.

Also, one of the reasons why the entrepreneurial ability is such a scare resource is because the entrepreneur assumes ALL of the risk. What happens if the idea flops? What then? Does his or her family end up without means to survive? The greater the risk, the greater the reward! Look at people like Bill Gates, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, and Henry Ford- these are some of the greatest entrepreneurs and in order to bring us so many great things, these men had to risk everything!

It’s clear that society could not have an effective economy unless the entrepreneurial ability existed within its people.

If you have those qualities and have some ideas, don’t hesitate to create! Your contributions will promote change and improvement in an ever growing economy!

How To Create A Business Card

A properly prepared business card is one of the business tools many people overlook. For a small investment usually less than $30 for 500 cards you can tell the world that you are and what services you can provide. Your business card is a silent salesperson, so what will it say about you?

When planning a card it’s important to consider your message. Your card will be what people reference or use to remember you. It needs to be professional, legible and contain the necessary information. Some exceptions would be a humorous card if you were a clown or a comedian and a juvenile card if you were involved with children’s services. In any case it would still need to cover the essential points in its creation.

Spend some advance thought to layout and how to capture all the necessary information in such a small space. Draw out a template and try different versions and placement of information. You can also use some of the online websites that have sample business cards templates readily available. (You will probably need to order from them to use it.)

Tip: Fax your card to yourself. This is a good way to see how legible you have made the important details.

In some cases a folded card might be acceptable. It is important to recognize that many people don’t like cards that are a different shapes and size (especially ones that won’t store conventionally in a rolodex or a business card organizer.)

Some questions to consider when preparing your business card

1) Who will receive your card? Hopefully everyone you meet. You should always be prepared to give out your cards. I am amazed at the number of people who attend business functions and come without their cards. Students are notorious for not having a business card. It is an essential part of job hunting.

Tip: When attending a function that the exchange of cards is expected, wear something with pockets. Keep you own cards in your right pocket and the cards of the people you meet in your left.

2) What will they do with the card once they receive it? Store it in a Rolodex, add it to the database, and put it in a stack with a rubber band around it? My personal favorite for services I use around the house, vet, pharmacy, cleaners, etc., is the refrigerator magnet business card. They are all readily accessible. They are a little more expensive, but those are the cards I use most.

3) Under what conditions will your card be used? In an emergency (if you need a plumber) you would want your card to jump out of the stack.

Exotic or unusual cards are clever but not exactly suited to the business environment. Exceptions being if you can identify on your card some service you perform like embossing, hot foil stamping or product you sell, specialty papers or if you happen to be an exotic dancer. Bright colors are not a good idea unless you are involved with color in your business paint, flowers, decorating, etc. Specialty effects such as vignettes and shadowing get lost in such a small space. Keep it simple and not distracting. I recently got a card on an opaque material and I simple could not read what was printed on it.

Many people now include their photos, this is especially touchy feely. But if you are involved in the photographic business like Eastman Kodak or are a photographer this is a great idea.

A couple of things to consider about photos:

o Some people judge services by the person’s appearance.

o There may be security reasons why you might not want your photo on your card.

o Photos can “date” you or your product.

o Photos can personalize you and make you more accessible.

It is perfectly acceptable to have multiple cards. You should consider having both a professional and personal business card. My husband, a retired Marine, has a somewhat risqué but funny business card he gives out to Marines he might meet. Another example would be if you were looking for a job you would want to differentiate your work, address and contact information from your home information. You may also have a sideline business that you would want identified separately.

Business card essentials:

On the front:

o Name, Title, Company name & logo, mailing address, phone and fax numbers, E mail address, website & cell phone number.

On the back:

o Who you are what you do, your mission statement, your vision, services you perform, skill sets you have, awards you have won, associations/memberships.

TIP: Make sure one side of your card is always in English. If you plan to travel or do business in a foreign country, it’s a good idea to invest in a translation of your essential details for the other side of the card. If you do a lot of international travel especially countries that have security risk it might be worth downplaying your title. Do NOT have a card that shows that you are someone of great importance.

General writing tips:

o Stay away from unusual fonts and different fonts on the same card;

o Make sure your card is legible and credible;

o Make sure the information is well organized and makes sense in the layout;

o Make sure your name is large enough that people can read without glasses;

Don’t rely on one card to do it all.

Plan your cards as carefully as you would a resume. Be proud of your card. It’s a reflection of you. Business cards are an inexpensive yet essential selling tool. Be prepared to give out your card in any circumstance and for heaven’s sake “Don’t Leave Home Without It.”

Teaching Our Next Generation Of Entrepreneurs

The perception of entrepreneurial opportunities and the capacity to exploit them are strongly associated with social norms that encourage venturing, such as the availability of risk capital, access to developing technologies, a quality diverse entrepreneurship education system and a sound professional infrastructure. This has considerable implications for the UK entrepreneurial economy.

Entrepreneurship education, at all levels, could very effectively prepare and train students to start and manage new businesses. This type of education is strong and getting stronger in business schools across the country, but it needs to proliferate outside of the business domain. Very few students undertake business subjects, and not every business school student is required to or chooses to take up an entrepreneurship course. Thus the number of people exposed to higher-level entrepreneurship education is relatively small in the UK. It is critical therefore that entrepreneurship education is expanded.

Engineering and other technology graduates have the capability to generate innovations that may be the basis for high-growth companies. They need to learn techniques for discerning whether or not such innovations have commercial potential. As such, universities need to encourage the integration of their degree requirements between entrepreneurship/management and engineering/technology.

There are often many hurdles to such collaboration, however, including issues of funding; credit allocations; faculty teaching loads; scheduling conflicts, and the lack of available facilities. While a handful of schools are facing and overcoming these issues, there is a real need to see more active collaboration on university campuses.

There also needs to be a more concentrated effort to introduce entrepreneurship and basic economic principles at the primary and secondary levels. At the primary level, these concepts could be integrated throughout the curriculum. At the secondary level, entrepreneurship skills and basic economic principles could be offered as stand-alone courses. Many people enter the workforce without a college education and have no responsibility for exposure to entrepreneurship training.

While not every school graduate has the capacity or desire for higher education, almost everybody has the potential to start a new business. The average high school graduate may not start a fast-growth, high-technology company, but he or she can start a landscaping business, a retail business or some other venture that will employ other people and contribute to economic adaptation. As such, it is critical to provide at least the basic instruction to ensure that these future entrepreneurs have the understanding of and a certain level of proficiency in the skills necessary to implement and manage a business.

To avoid problems of duplication, various national experts recommend the establishment of a ‘clearinghouse’ for government programmes. A clearinghouse, perhaps web-based, could provide an efficient means for entrepreneurs to gain knowledge of specific programmes and to access those programmes.

In addition, there is also the need to simplify compliance pressures on entrepreneurial firms. Simplifying compliance requirements would improve entrepreneurial efficiency at the most critical times in the venture’s life. Many new ventures report having a difficult time staying on top of all the reporting requirements. Furthermore, reducing the required paperwork would reduce manpower constraints on new ventures, thereby increasing their chances of surviving the early years.

There is also a reported ‘Gap’ in Seed Stage Financing. If the gap exists, it may be more pronounced in different industries, different geographic regions, or for distinct groups of entrepreneurs. The substantial amount of funding provided through informal channels, orders of magnitude greater than that provided by formal venture capital investments and hitherto unknown and unappreciated, suggests some mechanisms for filling the gap may have developed without recognition.

There may not be a gap in the availability of such capital but, rather, in the entrepreneur’s knowledge of where it resides and how to tap it. Experts may be split over whether a gap exists in seed capital because of the fact that many entrepreneurs choose not to endure the time, cost and bureaucracy involved in the search and seizure of such capital.

Increasing the visibility of entrepreneurs by highlighting their story could prove to be an attractive method of encouraging others to pursue their own entrepreneurial opportunities. It reflects widespread acceptance of entrepreneurship as a career option in the UK.

In the absence of a more comprehensive, long-term research programme on the entrepreneurial process, government policies in the UK regarding new and growth companies will continue to fluctuate in reaction to political whims and pressures from special interest groups. It is essential, therefore, that an increased understanding of the principles underlying entrepreneurship is secured in order to ensure that a sustained growth in the entrepreneurial sector is secured.