Monday, January 27, 2020

Key Success Factors of the Ford Motor Company

Key Success Factors of the Ford Motor Company Introduction This case analysis is made on Ford Motor Company, presented below are key success factors that a global automotive player should possess in order to remain competitive, more over a brief discussion is also presented on Fords performance for the period of 1994 to 2004, at the end of this case analysis there are few marketing strategies presented that Ford can adopt for upcoming years and that are likely to help them get competitive advantage globally. The automotive industry is big in its nature, huge numbers of people are associated with this, throughout the industrial revolution this industry has been very competitive and global big players have been striving for their share all over the world. As globalization is there and there are also rising prices for oil, now it has been difficult for major player to stay competitive and earn profits because of the high costs associated with their industry(Bordenave and Lung,2000). Now along with traditional elements of marketing mix and competitive advantage, there is a need to have more drivers that major players should have in order to remain successful for coming years, below I have presented few of global drivers that can add value in their overall performance and keep them competitive. Factors for Success A Good Brand Image Since cars are high end products, they are associated with good amount of spending and their inherent nature and use is highly related to once own safety that why the decision making process of buying car is complex, involves lots of considerations by buyer and that is why this decision is dependent upon opinions of others as well. This is where a good brand image is required by companies to stay in the market, to win the trust of users and be the car of choice, unless you dont win the trust of consumers, you can stay in the market; its critical and vital to have a good and positive brand image in this industry(Bartlett, and Ghoshal1989). Efficient Channel of Distribution Cars are sold via third party, there is not direct consumer contact of company, that is why companies rely on a good channel of distribution to help them gain confidence and help consumer to have confidence in their product, while buying a car, consumers are also dependent upon opinions of dealers, if they are not knowledgeable and unable to transfer a good image of companies product to user then they are not going to buy. Other side of distribution network is related to supply chain and assembly line, a successful automotive company requires an efficiently managed channel of their vendor who can provide them with timely and quality parts and services(Freyssenet, Shimizu Volpato ,2002). Management of Cash Flow A healthy cash flow management is also vital and one of the key success factors to stay in this industry, since these companies have to give discounts, financing options and also need to manage their plan and other operational cost, a good, effectively managed and timely available cash flow is very necessary to sustain their position in the market (Bordenave and Lung,2000). Compliance with Local and International Standards This is also an equally important factor that their product should comply with local and international standards of safety and fuel consumption, this may initially seems to increase costs, but in the longer run this factor comes to pay back in shape of increased confidence by the consumer, a positive word of mouth that is hard to achieve in these days, and it also reduces the cost of maintenance and governmental handling. It is wise to spend on standards then to spend on additional cost incurred by any maintenance recall, which has been the case with Toyota recently when they had to call back a good amount of vehicle and that resulted in huge amount in terms of cost and bad image (Bordenave and Lung,2000). Being Flexible to Changing Needs Thats difficult but important to stay in modern day business, there has been the time customer needs regarding vehicles were not dynamically changing and companies could work with same models for longer period of time, but now things are more difficult, consumer are more demanding and their need regarding cars are changing more rapidly and new need are more diverse, now in order to stay competitive in business car manufacturers have to be flexible enough to manage and incorporate increasing demand and changing needs in their products. This will increase cost but this is one of the key success factors for new age automotive industry (Freyssenet, Shimizu Volpato, 2002). Efficient Production Todays need is efficient production, this can be achieved by streamlining their production activities in way that costs are low and production standards are not compromised, TQM or JIT can be solution for that and Toyota has been successfully implementing both of management concepts in their production line. Whatever the solution is the base is to get most efficient production in order to stay competitive, yes quality is not to be compromised and standards are to be maintained. Production efficiency alone can serve as competitive advantage in todays world (The Economist, 2005). Cost Planning High profit margins not only comes from high sales but also from well planned cost structures, as commented above efficient production along with a good channel of distribution can lower costs. Without being able to control and minimizing cost, modern day auto producers cannot win the game, due to intense competition and increased customer demands, globalization challenges profit margins are squeezing, without having effective cost management system it will hard for any organization to gain profits in these turbulent times(The Economist, 2005). Organizational Size Management Above mentioned cost management cannot be achieved unless there is no organizational size management. This is vital and critical to keep an eye on the size of the organization, as mentioned in the case now companies has to lay off plants and their employees in order to control their costs, any organization that is not able better manage their size will be victim of their own size, along with size there needs to have a look on the structure, high hierarchies are not applicable in todays business world, this is the time to empower people and give them decision making power, this saves cost in terms of number of people and managements time, and also provide the competitive edge of better and timely decision making(Buckley, Casson, 1976). Joint Ventures and Mergers To better serve the market and to get most out of it, todays need is to win the business with joint ventures and mergers, there are many benefits of such activities, for example mergers brings many brands under one umbrella and provides the positive image about the organization as big company and enhance the confidence, it also helps in better management of brand, since local management is involved in managing local brand they can better handle them as per consumer psychology and help the parent company to get the desired image(Bartlett, and Ghoshal1989). These joint ventures and merger also serve as a chance for knowledge sharing and getting more strength from each other positive aspects, modern day automotive industry would require big companies to explore new opportunities like these. Un-served Markets New emerging economies like India and China need more attention by the global players, anyone who will be able to exploit these markets before their competitors will be able to enjoy customer loyalty and first movers advantage, there few un-served markets that are emerging and can turn out a good opportunities for global suppliers. There is another dimension of these phenomena, global players not matter how big they are need to maintain and create their own niche, their own market that is not served by any other, such small niches can generate more profits and win more loyalty by consumers, along with their main business there should also be some small niches to serve the cause (Bartlett, and Ghoshal1989). Focused Strategy Focused strategy is relevant in every industry and same is the case with automotive industry, whatever strategy in place, it should be focused and relevant. Top managements commitment with strategy is very crucial, unless there is no strategic focus no organization can compete in new global environment. Todays environment is more dynamic and demanding that is why it requires more concentration, focus and commitment from the top management. Toyota has been a very good example for their strategic focus on making hybrid car, since Honda and Toyota were unable to compete in luxury cars; they decided to have focus on hybrid cars that strategy worked for them (Buckley, Casson, 1976). Ford, 2000 Globalization Plan In 1994 ford announced its 2000 globalization plan, that was in direction of their globalization strategy, that strategy focused on having global business standards and rather than having multi domestic presence. This strategy focused on unifying every aspect of the business to standardization such as marketing, sales, production, research and development and design. This strategy paid them as shown by their financial result and improved companys performance during the period of 1994-2004. There are several reasons behind adopting this strategy; we shall discuss them one by one here. Saving Costs By the time ford announced its 2000 globalization plan, their operational costs were high and they were not making profit as their sales were not high and their cost were increasing, so the main objective in announcing that plan was to save costs, by creating synergies in different geographical locations and plants and making shift from strategy of adaptation to standardization. This plan saved them money in term of cost saving and helped increase their profits. By unifying business operations they were able to achieve economies of scale and economies of scope. This was the main reason of launching that program (Freyssenet, Shimizu Volpato ,2002). Operational Excellence Different plant operating on different locations were producing without having any synergy, at that point in time Fords different plants were acting as silos, and there was no synergy among them, another reason on launching 2000 globalization program was to achieve operational excellence by creating synergy among different production housed so that they can achieve the best and provide the competitive advantage. Since Ford was acquiring other automotive companies like Volvo, that globalization plan was a great opportunity for them to learn from others experiences and ring together best practices to achieve excellent operational management and Ford was successful in doing that. RD of Design At the time when Ford was about to announce 2000 globalization plan, there were different design and RD teams were working in different geographical regions and on different projects. Another objective of announcing that program was to create standardization in design, at that time for one Ford brand two separate cars were used to produce for USA and Europe market, both different in design and performance, on the other hand Toyota was already in standardization strategy (Freyssenet, Shimizu Volpato ,2002). By adopting the strategy of combined design they saved the cost of research and development, design and different assembly lines. Another objective related to design was, that different stake holders like design, research, development, operations, marketing and parts suppliers should work together so that whatever is designed should be workable, marketable and efficient, this strategy alone helped save the management time of reviewing different design proposal. Bargaining Power over Suppliers By unifying the designs, standardization of models, and globalization of production, Ford were able to have to have bargaining power over suppliers, and that bargaining power came with lower cost as they were in better positions to negotiate prices and terms. Since they were trying to produce the product that was standardized and there was no variation in the parts for different geographical areas, that is why were able to buy in bulk quantities and negotiate their terms with vendors, more over they were able to have access to innovation and new development by their suppliers before their competitors, that also suppose to give them competitive advantage, they in better position to incorporate developments in the industry and remain competitive. Sharing Knowledge Another rationale behind launching 2000 globalization plan was to make different SBUs/Silos to share knowledge, for example previously there were different RD departments working independently, without any coordination and sharing of knowledge, what one dept have produced and innovate the other counterpart might not be aware of. That situation was critical and causing costs, after 2000 globalization plan, every department was suppose to work together in as single entity and share knowledge, this was suppose to save time and money. Same was the case with production dept, they were also supposing to share best practiced with each other so that overall organizational performance could be enhanced (Bordenave and Lung,2000). Marketing Strategy for Ford Ford has been market leader in automotive industry for last many years, after launching their 2000 globalization plan their performance has been impressive as of today they are again market leader in US and Europe. After analyzing the information provided in the case I have presented some components of marketing strategies that ford can adopt to sustain their position in coming years. Find New Markets For should start find new markets for its operations, India and other emerging economies are good opportunities as their penetration rates are high, entering into these markets will open many opportunities for Ford, these emerging economies are booming and can be served with good profit margins. Ford can also establish their plant in these areas to handle the entire region with effective supply chain management (Buckley, Casson, 1976). Since oil prices are increasing and there is a concern about oil reserves and production capacity, general shift towards small cars is increasing, Toyota, Suzuki and Honda along with many other are already in this segment. If Ford decides to expand they can also enter into this segment more aggressive as buying power of countries which are in emerging economies are low, they are more likely to buy a small car rather luxury cars. Ford with its good brand name if enters into these markets with small car segment which are more fuel efficient, can win the market before others (Bartlett, and Ghoshal1989). Find New Technologies As fuel concerns are rising for world, Ford should come up with new technologies of making car that are more innovative and fuel efficient, making electrical or solar power cars would not be a bad idea, if Ford is able to revolutionize the automotive industry with their innovative and efficient fuel solution they will be able to win the market like never before, entering into emerging economies with something new and innovative can be the big idea for success. Adapted Standardization Ford, after their success in 2000 globalization plan, should now start moving a little forward, they should keep on their standardization strategy but should include an element of adaptation in that, may be called adapted standardization. It has been observed that consumer needs are changing rapidly and their needs are becoming more diverse in nature; therefore there is a need of a bit flexibility and adaptability in automotive products depending upon the nature of the market. This way Ford will be able to stay one step ahead of competition, but to achieve that they will have to bring the flexibility in their systems and product development which necessary to shift at adapted standardization strategy. Build Brand in Asia Asia can be very attractive market for Ford, and their small cars, if they start investing in their brand in Asia and especially sub-continent they will be able to achieve greater penetration in the region, despite the fact that their main target market is US and Europe, they should also invest in brand building in Asia. Conclusion This case has been focusing Ford over all business strategy and their 2000 globalization plan, since the plan has been a successful move there are other factors that need to be kept in mind by Ford and other automotive players. Market dynamics are changing rapidly and there are certain key success factors that will play a vital role in deciding success or failure of any player in this industry, starting from a good brand image and cost management, going till strategic focus, there are several elements that are critical and vital for any company to be successful in this new market. There certain areas where Ford needs to concentrate in order to sustain its position as market leader in automotive industry, they should find new markets, make their strategy a bit more adaptive and enter into emerging economies, this way they shall be able to handle the rapidly changing business world.

Saturday, January 18, 2020

Reflection Summary Essay

Collaborate with your Learning Team to discuss the previous week’s objectives. Discuss what you learned, what could be applicable to your workplace or personal life, and how your knowledge has increased as a result of what you experienced through the learning activities in the previous week. Submit your team summary of the discussion in a 1-2 page Microsoft  ® Word document. General Questions – General General Questions Management Theory and Practice All Weeks, Assignments, Discussion Questions + Final Exam Refrain from plagiarizing as the consequences can be extreme. During your college life, you will likely write a lot of papers. Be certain you do not plagiarize the work of others. Your professors are pros at recognizing plagiarized work, so be sure to write your papers on your own. This file MGT 230 Week 3 Reflection Summary contains review of works during the last 3 weeks Collaborate with your Learning Team to discuss the previous week’s objectives. Discuss what you learned, what could be applicable to your workplace or personal life, and how your knowledge has increased as a result of what you experienced through the learning activities in the previous week. Submit your team summary of the discussion in a 1-2 page Microsoft  ® Word  document. General Questions – General General Questions Management Theory and Practice All Weeks, Assignments, Discussion Questions + Final Exam Refrain from plagiarizing as the consequences can be extreme. During your college life, you will likely write a lot of papers. Be certain you do not plagiarize the work of others. Your professors are pros at recognizing plagiarized work, so be sure to write your papers on your o†¦ To download this material Click this link – https://bitly.com/1oJNhBq Refrain from plagiarizing as the consequences can be extreme. During your college life, you will likely write a lot of papers. Be certain you do not plagiarize the work of others. Your professors are pros at recognizing plagiarized work, so be sure to write your papers on your own. General Questions – General General Questions Management Theory and Practice All Weeks, Assignments, Discussion Questions + Final Exam

Friday, January 10, 2020

Fdi in Automobile Sector in India Essay

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The study aims at providing the overall view of the Foreign Direct Investment into India, its classifications, trends and importance of FDI in pre and post reform era. Wherein, the post economic reform shows an increase in the growth of FDI.It emphasises on the importance of FDI in retail sector.country – wise FDI inflows into the country are carefully observed in order to arrive at appropriate conclusions in order to understand the trend of FDI inflows into Indian economy. Literature review involves the analysis of various articles and research papers which were done on the similar lines of study to get an insight of the FDI and its performance in various sectors and also to understand the research gap of the study. The articles and the research papers reviewed talks about the importance of FDI in retail sector. They also give a comparitive study of FDI in India with China which is helpful in making comparisons about the inflow of FDI from various countries indicating the financial stability of the country which is the main reason in attracting the foreign investors. In many articles, factors affecting the inflow of FDI in different countries for better understanding of the aspects which are preventing the growth of FDI. Research design gives a brief summary about the over all research carried out. It defines the problem and states the importance of FDI in India in various sectors referring to the country‟s economic growth.A brief description of research methodology talks about the type of data collected, its sources and various statistical tools used in analysis. Limitations are some of the factors affecting the study which are also discussed. Research design is then followed by the Analysis and interpretation of the data collected. Theoretical analysis of various determinants of FDI in India is made in order to understand the effects of determinants in the inflows of FDI in India. St Joseph‟s College Of Commerce A study on the foreign direct investment in India with reference to retail sector Trend analysis is used to forecast the FDI inflows from 2011 to 2016 with the data available from 2006 to 2010. The third objective being to study the recent trends in FDI in retail sector, various articles from newspaper and journal is been analyzed to understand the advantages and dis advantages of allowing FDI in multi brand retail sector. Findings mainly reveal the facts which are arrived at from the study it includes the trend analysis of retail FDI from 2006 to 2010, the forecasted retail FDI had a positive trend which shows that there will be a increase in FDI inflows in to India in coming years. Theoretical analysis of determinants of FDI help us to understand determinants of FDI in Indian context. In another theoretical study to learn the recent trends in FDI in India it was found that it had both positive as well as negative impact on the economy like unemployment, high prices monopoly of foreign retailers etc. St Joseph‟s College Of Commerce A study on the foreign direct investment in India with reference to retail sector 1.1 INTRODUCTION Foreign Direct Investment, or FDI, is a type of investment that involves the injection of foreign funds into an enterprise that operates in a different country of origin from the investor. Investors are granted management and voting rights if the level of ownership is greater than or equal to 10% of ordinary shares. Shares ownership amounting to less than the stated amount is termed portfolio investment and is not categorized as FDI. (Source: Economic watch) FDI does not include foreign investments in stock markets. Instead, FDI refers more specifically to the investment of foreign assets into domestic goods and services. Classifications of Foreign Direct Investment FDIs can be classified as; Inward FDI and Outward FDI, depending on the direction of flow of money. Inward FDI occurs when foreign capital is invested in local resources. The factors propelling the growth of inward FDI include tax breaks, low interest rates and grants. Outward FDI, also referred to as â€Å"direct investment abroad†, it means firms in the country expand their business to other countries in the form of green field investments, mergers or acquisition etc. The host country aspires to receive FDI inflows because of the potential benefits, that the FDI supplements the domestic savings of a nation. Other benefits include access to superior international technologies, exposure to better management and accounting practices, and improved corporate governance. On the other side, foreign investors are motivated by profits and access to natural resources available in the host country. Therefore, large and growing domestic markets are likely to receive more FDI. Countries with abundant natural resources such as mines, oil reserves and manpower attract the foreign investors to invest in that country. A study on the foreign direct investment in India with reference to retail sector 1.2 AN OVERALL VIEW OF FDI IN INDIA The history of FDI in India was located with the establishment of East India Company by the British in 1612. Initially the investment came in the form of loans to government, railway companies and agro based industries like cotton and jute, public utilities engaged in plantation of tea and coffee. During this period there were no efforts to provide economic and financial  infrastructure to the industries therefore the foreign investors had hardly any incentive in manufacturing in India other than creating a raw material base. After the First World War, India granted protection to the dawning industries, this profitability of these industries attracted more foreign capital. The inflow of British capital which wasUSD15 million in 1913-14, increased toUSD29 in 1921 andUSD36 million in 1922. In the middle of the two world wars, the investment flowed into a number of consumer industries like cigarettes, matches, rubber, tyres, paints, chemical industries, paper, cement, textile, sugar etc. During the Second World War government established new industries to replace imports as well as to support war efforts. It was during this period that the foreign investment had diversified into engineering industries, chemical industry and oil industry for defense purpose. By 1948 the foreign private investment in India amounted to Rs 2.5 billion. Of which 21 percent was in the manufacturing industries, 16 percent in plantation, 4percent in mining, 27 percent in trading and 14 percent in banking. India‟s foreign investment policy was first initiated in 1949. The guiding principles of the policy were: All undertakings Indian or foreign had to conform to the general requirements of the governments industrial policy. Foreign enterprises would be treated in par with Indian enterprises. Foreign enterprises would have freedom to remit the profits to home country, subject to foreign exchange considerations. If foreign company were compulsorily acquired, compensation would be paid on  a fair and equitable basis; and A study on the foreign direct investment in India with reference to retail sector As a rule, the major interest, ownership and effective control of an undertaking should be in hands of India. The above policy was to govern the entry of fresh foreign investments into India in future, but it was silent on regulation of existing foreign private investment in Indian industry. It was only in 1973 that legislative measures were taken to cope up with the problem posed by the existing foreign owned companies. This was done by amending the foreign exchange regulation act (FERA), in 1973 which regulated the entry and channelised the growth of existing foreign investment into the country. (Abraham, 1988) The government felt the need of FDI after independence not only to provide adequate capital but also to gain scientific, technical and industrial know how. The industrial policy of 1965 allowed MNCs to venture in India. However the country faced two main problems in the form of foreign exchange and financial resources mobilization during the second five year plan (1956 -61). Thus to overcome this problem adopted the policy of frequent equity participation to foreign enterprises and to accept equity capital in technical collaborations. The government also provided many incentives such as tax concessions, simplification of licensing procedure and de reserving some industries such as drugs, aluminum, heavy electricals, fertilizers etc. in order to improve FDI inflows into the country. This called forth investments from US, Japan, Germany and other countries  into India. This eventually led to significant outflow of foreign reserves in the form of dividends, profits etc, and the government had to adopt stringent foreign policy in 1970s to overcome this situation. During this period the government adopted a selective and highly restrictive foreign policy as far as foreign capital, type of FDI and ownerships of foreign companies was concerned. Government setup Foreign Investment Board and enacted Foreign Exchange Regulation Act in order to regulate flow of foreign capital and FDI A study on the foreign direct investment in India with reference to retail sector  flow to India. In 1980s the government had to make necessary changes in the foreign policy due to the Continuous rise in oil prices, low exports and deterioration in Balance of Payment position. The government encouraged FDI in MNCs thus resulting in partial liberalization of the Indian economy. It is during this period the government encourages FDI, allow MNCs to operate in India. Thus, results in partial liberalization of Indian economy. The government introduces reforms in the industrial sector, aimed at increasing competency, efficiency and growth in industry through a stable, pragmatic and non-discriminatory policy for FDI flow. In the early nineties, Indian economy faced severe Balance of payment crisis. Exports began to sink. There was a marked increase in petroleum prices because of the gulf war. The external debts and low foreign exchange reserves for were disabling the economic development of the country. The outflow of foreign currency which was deposited by the Indian NRI‟s gave a further jolt to Indian economy. The overall Balance of Payment reached at Rs.-4471 crores. Inflation reached at its highest level of 13%. Foreign reserves of the country stood at Rs.11416 crores. The continued political uncertainty in the country during this period adds further to worsen the situation. As a result, India‟s credit rating fell in the international  market for both short- term and long-term borrowing. All these developments put the economy at that time on the verge of default in respect of external payments liability. In this critical face of Indian economy the then finance Minister of India Dr. Manmohan Singh with the help of World Bank and IMF introduced the macro – economic stabilization and structural adjustment program. As a result of these reforms India open its door to FDI inflows and adopted a more liberal foreign policy in order to restore the confidence of foreign investors. Under this new foreign investment policy Government of India constituted FIPB (Foreign Investment Promotion Board) whose main function was to invite A study on the foreign direct investment in India with reference to retail sector and facilitate foreign investment through single window system from the Prime Minister‟s Office. The foreign equity cap was raised to 51 percent for the existing companies. Government had allowed the use of foreign brand names for domestically produced products which was restricted earlier. India also became the member of MIGA (Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency) for protection of foreign investments. Government lifted restrictions on the operations of MNCs by revising the FERA Act 1973. New sectors such as mining, banking, telecommunications, highway construction and management were open to foreign investors as well as to private sector.(Source: Sapna Hooda, 2011) 1.3 Trends in Foreign Direct Investment Inflow to India after economic reform  After the initiation of liberal foreign investment policy b y government of India in 1991, FDI inflow has shown an upward trend in stock sense but varied in size over the period of twenty years (1991-92 to 2010-11). FDI inflow in India increased fromUSD129 million in 1991-92 to 27024 million in  2005 in. The inflow of FDI to the country has witnessed fluctuations during the period under consideration. It increased fromUSD 129 million in 1991-92 toUSD3557 million in 1997-98, which declined toUSD2155 million in 1999-2000. It increased to a peak ofUSD6130 million in 2001-02 before declining in the subsequent years in 2002-03 and 2003-04. The inflow again increased to USD6051 million in 2004-05. There was tremendous growth till 2009-10 to USD37763 and a decline in 2010-11 to USD 27,024. The year wise FDI inflow to India along with Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) is shown in table 1. In terms of CAGR, growth rate of FDI inflow to India during the period 1991-2011, growth rate of FDI inflow to India was negative for six years (1998-99, 1999-2000, 2002-03, 2003-04, 2009-10 and 2010-11) as shown in the table.

Thursday, January 2, 2020

Some people born with quality of acting as an entrepreneur - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 9 Words: 2775 Downloads: 10 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Career Essay Type Research paper Did you like this example? Few days ago, we came across one article from INSEAD (2008) named as The Internet Entrepreneur: Made, not Born. In the past there has been discussion over subject Are Entrepreneurs are born or made In fact no one has been really able to answer the question in a perfect way. But as we can realised , in todays world there are many universities taking up classes in Entrepreneurship. Now it has been a question, whether entrepreneurship is an natural ability or there are some people born with quality of acting as an entrepreneur. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Some people born with quality of acting as an entrepreneur" essay for you Create order There have been diversified views about this question amongst all thinkers. There are some people with the thinking that now days this question is out of date. An entrepreneur is a person who has possession of a new enterprise, venture or idea and assumes significant accountability for the inherent risks and the outcome. First thing we will have a look at what is Entrepreneurship, is it just innovation or something more than that. Entrepreneurship is not only about modernisation, but it starts with bringing up new ideas. Entrepreneurs had to take efforts to make their innovation transformed into economic good and in the same time taking care of finances and business understanding required to carry on the process. It can be either a totally new company or organisation. It also can be a new product development in an existing company. Actually it has to be about starting a new venture with an innovative product which has good economic value. An entrepreneur is the one who has innovation, ability to take financial and organisational risk and being responsible for the same and to face the market competition of its products. According to Schumpeter, Entrepreneurship innovation is not just about a new product but the innovation can also be found in new production methods, new markets, or new form of organisations. Schumpeter further suggested that entrepreneurship can be taken as a function of putting together different inputs in an innovative way that creates greater value for product and has an economical sustainability. This discussion suggests us that there are different point of views regarding our topic. And even it can be seen that there are gaps between new thinkers and old thinkers regarding perception about Entrepreneurship. Earlier the definition was about innovativeness of the product now even developing a new process is also an entrepreneurial skill. That gives us the idea of changed perceptive of entrepreneurship over the years. As we discussed, there is a changed perceptive about Entrepreneurship over the years. Nowadays it can be seen that there are many universities which have undertaken the teaching of Entrepreneurship classes. Actually speaking Entrepreneurship is one of the fastest growing subjects at UK colleges and universities. In todays circumstance, there are more than 1000 courses at various colleges and universities for entrepreneurship and the number of these courses is increasing every year. Over the years besides the general entrepreneurship, these universities and college are offering courses such as Social Entrepreneurship, Family Business Entrepreneurship, Technical Entrepreneurship, Agricultural Entrepreneurship and Performing Arts Entrepreneurship. There has been a lot of increase in number of school and colleges offering such courses. Objective Research Aim: This project is aimed at finding out the facts about can universities in Europe are able to train young students to become Entrepreneurship through various courses offered by them and find out the how do they do this. Key Research Objectives: To find out the outcome of courses available for entrepreneurship offered from different universities and also do student got inspired from such education. To find out if any entrepreneurs success stories are associated with such courses. To establish the relationship between entrepreneurship courses and their effect on students in Europe. The role played by Universities and Business school in bringing up entrepreneurial skills. Significance of the Research To improve general understanding of role played by Europe Universities and enhance entrepreneurial skills. Enrichment on available literature about entrepreneurial education. Literature Review Entrepreneur, manager and owner are many a time taken for one other, but they have a very different understanding in business context. But out of all these, Entrepreneur stands apart, because he is a 100% leader. OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) employment outlook report (2009) shown that there will be a high unemployment rate in the future. Youth unemployment rate tends to be half of adult rate. This suggests that there is a vital need of new businesses and Entrepreneurs are really what indu stry and economy wants in this particular situation. Knowing that, new business proposals will help innovativeness and it will definitely increase employment opportunities. These innovations will guide to new economic formations and trends in industry. Here arises the question, with all these possible benefits from Entrepreneurs, is the todays young generation so much interested in being self-employed and that also with innovativeness in their approach? There is a discussion on the topic about how much does university contribute to motivate young entrepreneurs. Most of the Universities are affirming that their entrepreneurship courses have been successful and they are providing the economy with new entrepreneurs. However, there is another wave of thinkers who are certain that going to business school doesnt create Entrepreneurs. In fact, entrepreneurial spirit cannot be taught at any graduation schools. It is said that either you have that potential in you or you just not of that type. There are people who suggest that entrepreneurship cannot be taught but the skills of entrepreneurship can be enhanced. This enhancement is possible through the framework needed for the business plan, how to start the business, possible opportunities and hurdles that may have to face, and motivation for being more creative and opportunistic. Definitions Peter Drucker says, Entrepreneurial management is not natural, creative, or spontaneous but instead is based on a systematic, thoughtful approach of supportive policies practices. Richard Goosen, a lawyer, businessman, professor and academic writer, CEO of MA Capital Corp says, Many times people wonder how can I teach entrepreneurship. In my opinion too its hard to teah in a classroom but you can always from what other people have done and where they have made mistake. According to Jeffry Timmons, Entrepreneurial management is not natural, creative, or spontaneous but instead s based on a systematic, thoughtful approach of supportive policies and practices. Karl Vesper emphasized, An individual embarking on an entrepreneurial venture must realise that the experience involves the emotional implications of differing levels of failure, survival, and success throughout the growth process. It is expressed by many students that their business education in Entrepreneur Skil ls have developed and helped them to build a step of success in their innovation. Entrepreneurial education helps mainly with finding the economic value of their creativity or innovative products. Still there are so many people, who have a strong and different opinion on this topic. These people express their feelings in a very hard ways. And they blame the amount of money involved in the whole process. There are an extreme views about this, one view thinks that entrepreneurship is an innate drive where as there are others who believe educational reforms can change the thinking patterns of youngster to shape them to become an Entrepreneur. Even the EU policy is giving thumbs up to introduce teaching entrepreneurial skills at Universities and colleges or business schools. It is remarkable to note that, in EYCI (European Year of Creativity and Innovation) 2009 the major part of the discussion was can entrepreneurship be taught and it was debated how that innovativeness can be studi ed. Along with this, though universities and business schools are introducing entrepreneurship as a part time or full time course, it becomes necessary to check teachers involvement in the subject which to be taught. Teachers who have chosen a simple path of employment over any risk in life, how can they motivate students. But this problem can be taken care by having special sessions by role models who can advise them on actual life experiences and burn up feelings and finding out the economic value. Over this, even teachers can induce students with experimentation with education of entrepreneurship. Despite of all these favourable responses to universities initiative to start up with entrepreneurship courses, there are people who think other than innate abilities it is just money related issue that has motivated universities and business schools to come up with Entrepreneurship courses. In 1970, less than 20 courses were offered in entrepreneurship. Whereas the scenario was chan ged in 1997 when it was found that more than 400 schools were offering same courses and more than 50 schools had come up with four or more major courses in entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship course was first introduced by Harvard University in 1947. In the decade of the 80s, these programs popped up with many opportunities from undergraduate to postgraduate students. Today, it can be seen that there are many opportunities in entrepreneurial education at various levels and with range of options. The discussion has been for many years now, it was thought necessary to find out what the facts associated with this in the 21st century. There have been some research on this topic earlier but the relevance of the same in current context is questionable. Researches were undertaken in the 90s and after all these years, no one can rely on those reports as they are part of history now. Since, there have been a lot of changes happened over the business context, economy, employment opportuniti es and so on. There are many factors which affects this particular topic. According to our understanding, one needs to find out what this means for todays generation to become an entrepreneur and what all opportunities they get to become an entrepreneur. It can be studied that what are the facilities universities are offering to students. Now these facilities include what all courses they provide part time or full time, minor or major, and so on. It will also be interesting to know how much addition value these universities are doing to students on this subject. Also how do they enhance their entrepreneurial skill and how do they teach this subject and at which level. Even it will be interesting to know what all activities and programs or competitions they have to let students understand this topic thorough. Research Design The aim of this project report is to find out role european universities play in shaping young entrepreneurs. So the focus of this research is going to be on UK Universities along with the students from at those universities. The key to any proper research is to identify appropriate research and data collection techniques which will help to collect all relevant information. In this research, one needs to undertake combination of in-depth research along with other literature available from time to time in the prescribed area of research. The research will involve the evaluation on the role of European Universities in developing entrepreneurial skills. The focus of the study will remain about the perception of what people understands in entrepreneurial education throughout European Universities, a closer coordination will be required with all the universities for data collection. This Data collection will include the details about the courses offered, level at which they are offered, what are students thoughts about these courses. Then we can also find out what was the role played by European Universities over the years and hoe entrepreneurship education has come lime light over the years and its emergence and what was the reason behind such a emergence in education sector. This can be analysed through available secondary data and other literature. Even the students who are currently undergoing such education can be examined through questionnaire as well students who are passed out of such educational courses and have succeeded in their endeavours. The detailed process of data collection will be as follows: A thorough literature review is to be undertaken about on available data which will help us to determine the general idea of subject over the years and this will help us to understand if there are any changes in mindset of the people over the years. Finding out the information about the courses offered by various universities and business schools at undergraduate and postgraduate educational levels. This will be important to find out this information, which will give us the information such as how many universities are offering such courses and for how long. what is the development over the years and what is the percentage increase over the years for these courses. Those universities can also help us with what other programs do they have to enhance the skills of their students and have interactions with real life role models in the industry. Universities will be proud to share their success stories if any with us, which will describe how the course helped students to become a ro le model. Then interviewing the students, faculties and industry experts will help us to know better context of entrepreneurial education. Students will be able to share with us their experiences about why they have chosen this education and how do they think this education will help them in their life. Faculties will be able to address issues they face while teaching these subject and how do they think the pattern of students go over the years when it comes to entrepreneurial education. Industry experts or the successful entrepreneurs will be able to advise if they were really guided by such educational courses if any they have attended in the past or whether they think how much an educational course can help to build this career and enhance the skills in this industry. The information collection can be done through telephone and internet. As we can send a document to the sample (chosen university and business school) asking them details in a prescribe format where they have to give information about the courses they are offering and their history. Industry experts can be contacted through any organisation formed by entrepreneurs where details of these people will be easily available. After all this data collection, a research report will be written down that will combine our understanding of the subject based the available data. This can be then compared with earlier literature available to study and what are the implications, does the past years have given to the industry in respect to entrepreneurial education. This will help me to find out the role played by European Universities in shaping young entrepreneurs. It will be helpful to discover what is the contribution of the universities and business school over the years in developing entrepreneurial skills in the youth and overall society. Planning: Recourses: Staff to accumulate data and coordinate with universities and interviewers, Laptops or computers to gather data and organise it in disciplined way, access to academic libraries and other required publications, telephone or mobile phone for communication facilities. Quality of data and Sample: Data requirement and interview questions to be used should be approved by head office. European universities are divided according to their countries, namely UK and Northern Ireland, France, Germany, Holland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy and Norway. Now universities from all these countries are to be contacted that will consuming, instead the study will be restricted only for UK, France and Germany. This will help us to collect usable data in reasonable time and this will be easier to contact maximum sources. Risk Analysis: Risk Impact (I) Prob (P) I x P Contingency Data collection not completed on time 3 1 3 Ensure that at least 90% of sample respond Data lost 3 1 3 Ensure regular backups to secure source No Feedback from Students or Industry Experts 3 2 6 Prepare Convenient and modest Questionnaire Technology fails 2 1 2 Ensure backup solutions are available Time Table: September 2010: Literature Review October, November 2010: Data collection from Universities and Others as explained. December 2010: Compile, Pilot and review collected data January 2011: Data Analysis February 2011: Final writing of the Project Report. Limitations This study is meant to be for entire Europe but since geographical constraint may arise, we have limiting our research to a limited region: UK, France, Germany. We will be focusing on. We will not be able to reach all the students, so we will restrict our research up to 1000 students who are currently studying at such universities. Conclusion We would like to conclude our proposal by reiterating our objective of undertaking this research, which is to understand the role of European Universities in influencing the careers of young entrepreneurs and their contribution towards entrepreneurial educational courses. It is a serious note in the benefit of society to understand such a key point which may l ead to an enhanced industrial approach. This can be understood by undertaking this study in various ways as explained in this report.