Entrepreneurial competency results in superior performance of a job.

Competency has a direct

bearing on human behaviour and performance. Therefore, entrepreneurial competencies are
need to be developed and cultivated in a very systematic manner. The various methods or
procedures suggested to develop and sharpen the entrepreneurial competencies are discussed
below:
(i) Gaining Knowledge and understanding:
The first step towards acquiring a new behaviour is to gain knowledge and understanding what a
particular competence means. Competencies cannot be cultivated without having a proper
knowledge and understanding of their meaning, importance and relevance. Therefore, it is
essential to understand the various competencies required for the efficient performance of a
given task.
ii. Recognising competency:
The next step in developing entrepreneurial competencies refers to competency recognition.
Under this step an effort is made to recognise the competency. Recognising the competency
helps an entrepreneur to know as to what are the competencies required to perform a given task
in a particular manner when someone exhibits the same.
iii. Self-assessment:
Once a particular competency is understood and recognized, the next step is to find out where
one stands with respect to a given competency. In other words, does one possess the given
competence and if so how frequently one exhibits the same in one's day-to-day activities for
achieving his desired goal. This step needs self introspection as regards the level of a particular
competence.
iv. Application in real life situation:
Any new behaviour that one acquires would become a part of one's personality only when one
applies the same on a continuous basis in various activities. Regular practice of an activity
brings perfection in the field. Therefore, there is a need to make an effort towards exhibiting all
the competencies deliberately and consciously all the time even in the simplest activities that
one performs.
v. Comparison of competencies:
The next step is to compare the individual competencies developed through regular practice
with the competencies required for the desired performance. If any deficiency is observed

between the two, then an earnest attempt is to be made to find out the reasons thereof, so that
necessary corrective measures can be taken for the same.
vi. Feedback:
Having understood a competence and practiced the same in a given situation one needs to
introspect to find out how one's new behaviour or act of exhibiting a competence has been
rewarding. This is called 'Feedback'. This means, to find out the strengths and weaknesses of
one's new competence. It helps in knowing the rewards of new competency. If greater is the
benefit, then more will be one's determination to continue exhibiting the competence in a
number of situations. It is through continuous application that one can ensure that the desired
competency becomes part of his habit or personality.
ENTREPRENEURIAL MOBILITY

Movement and mobility have been an integral part of march of human history all
over the world. In fact, human life swings between two poles - movement and
settlement. History is witness that human movement is caused by social, economic,
political and cultural factors. In present time, the flow of the skilled personnel from
under-developed and developing countries to developed countries baptized as
"brain drain" has been a common feature of human movement caused by economic
reasons. Entrepreneurs, being human beings, do also move from one location to
another and also from one occupation to another. Influx of multinational companies
(MNC s) in India and increasing intrapreneurship are the examples of locational
mobility and occupational mobility of entrepreneurs respectively.
Movement of entrepreneurs from and into each location and occupation has certain
distinct features of its own kind which affect the pace and pattern of
entrepreneurship development. It is towards this aspect of entrepreneurship
development, we now try to answer some pertinent questions: What factors
influence the entrepreneurial mobility? What are the characteristics of the
entrepreneurial mobility across the locations and occupations? These issues are
dealt with in seriatim.

FACTORS INFLUENCING MOBILITY

What makes the entrepreneurs mobile? There cannot be a common factor
influencing all the entrepreneurs to move from one location to another and similarly
from one occupation to another. In fact, different factors influence the
entrepreneurial mobility differently. These factors may serve as 'pull' and 'push'

factors. Following are some important factors which generally influence the
entrepreneurial mobility in a given situation and time:
1. Education: Education enlarges one's thinking and understanding
horizons. It enables one to comprehend conditions more easily and clearly
and in a better manner. An educated person can also easily adjust with
the changed environment, hold better discussion and communicate in a
more convincing manner. That an educated entrepreneur tends to be
more mobile than an uneducated one is supported by empirical evidences
also.
2. Experience: An entrepreneur's past experience in business and industry
also increases his/her propensity to move. The reason is not difficult to
seek. An experienced entrepreneur better perceives the available
opportunities, better analyses his/her strengths and weaknesses and also
better understands the complexities involved in running an enterprise.
That the technical experience influences the entrepreneurial mobility is
indicated by an increasing number of persons with technical knowledge
and experience assuming to the entrepreneurial roles at distant places
away from their native ones.

3. Availability of Facilities: A tendency is noticed among the entrepreneurs to

move from the areas with no or less facilities to the areas with more and better
facilities. Heavy concentration of industries in Okhla, Ghaziabad and Faridabad near
Delhi represent such examples. The reason lies in the fact that these areas have
proximity to various agencies, facilities like transport, communication, power,
market, etc.
3. Political Conditions: Evidences are available to cite that the
entrepreneurial mobility is influenced by the political factors also.

For examples, the well-known enterprising Punjabi community, lost almost

everything during the partition and were compelled to move to every nook and
corner of the country in the pursuit of profit opportunities and shaped their lucks.
Similarly, the Marwaris known as the most 'footloose' community in India also left
their home and hearth long ago compelled by the historical circumstances.

5. Size of Enterprise: Larger business houses are found more mobile than smaller
ones. Initially, the entrepreneurs try to consolidate their business position at a
place, scale the commanding heights in the area, attain the dominating position and

thereafter try to successfully seize the business opportunities elsewhere. The Indian
business giants /houses like Tata, Birla, Dalmia etc. represent such examples.
Although one may add more factors to this list, yet the said factors seem to
be the common ones influencing the entrepreneurial mobility.
Having known the factors influencing the entrepreneurial mobility, it seems in the
fitness of the context to look at the dimensions of the entrepreneurial mobility.
Hence, in what follows is the occupational and locational mobility of the
entrepreneurs.

OCCUPATIONAL MOBILITY
This section tries to address an interesting aspect of entrepreneurship. Was that
occupation the same of occupation of the entrepreneurs families, i.e., the
occupational mobility? In simple words, the occupational mobility denotes
movement or changes in occupation. This may take place in two forms. It may be a
movement of a son/daughter from the principal occupation of his/her father or it
may be a drift in ones own occupation during his/her occupational career. The first
type of movement is called as 'inter-generation movement' and the latter type of
change as intra-generation occupational movement. The mobility is called
horizontal when it takes place between the occupational classes of the equal rank
or vertical when it occurs between classes of unequal rank.

Several factors like ones freedom of choice, motivation, efforts of an individual and
opportunities available in the society determine one's occupational mobility. Till the
nineteenth century, the occupational structure in India was mainly influenced and
determined by ones birth in a particular family or caste. But in the present times,
the multifarious activities created by the application of modem technology require
specific skills to man them.
It is now widely realized that particularly in the case of urban occupations, the
required skills cannot be acquired by giving mere traditional training defined by
castes, traditions and customs. In consequence, the occupational structure has
tended to drift from the caste structure to the technology structure.
Keeping this fact in view, an attempt has been made to trace the empirical
evidences on the occupational mobility from grandfathers to the fathers of the
entrepreneurs in a study of 50 entrepreneurs conducted by the author in the
Kumaun Division of Uttar Pradesh.

Table below bears data on inter-generation occupational mobility.

TABLE: Inter-Generation Occupational Mobility

Occupation of
the

Paternal Grandfathers Occupation

Total

Entrepreneurs
Fathers
Farming

Farming

Profession

Profession

Business &
Industry

Not Known

Total

15(30)

Business
and
Industry

Not
known

9 (18)

16(32)

16
*

11(22)

2
*

21(42)

3(6)

25(50)
*

50(100)

N.B. : Figures in parentheses denote percentage to total.

It is noticed from the above Table that there is some evidence of occupational
inheritance or stability, i.e. the tendency to follow one's own father's principal
occupation.
To quote, out of 47 grandfathers, 30 fathers of the entrepreneurs followed their
father's occupation. Yet, their inheritance is very much evident in the traditional
occupations. For example, of the 21 business and industry owner grandfathers, 16
sons (76 per cent) stayed in their father's occupations. Likewise, the occupational
inheritance is also well observed in other occupations like profession and farming.
In spite of the above-observed occupational stability, there is definitely some
degree of occupational mobility as well. For instance, of the 15 farmer grandfathers,
two-thirds (9) have drifted from their father's main occupation. A comparison of the
21 business and industry grandfathers with their 25 business and industry owner
sons dearly reveals that seven sons of 5 farmer and 2 professional grandfathers

have changed their occupations towards business and industry. The change in
occupation is, thus, from the primary to the secondary occupations. This suggests
that drifting from the traditional occupations like farming seems an essential first
step towards industrial entrepreneurship.
As regards intra-generation occupational mobility, i.e., the change in the occupation
of entrepreneur himself/herself, the next Table reveals that out of the 50
entrepreneurs, more than nine-tenth entrepreneurs (46) have had changed their
occupation from non-industry to industry. Nonetheless, what is particularly
noticeable is that the professionals were the maximum (34 per cent) who changed
their occupational career towards industry followed by those who entered directly
(26 per cent). Thus, what reveals from the above occupational mobility can be put
as such that the occupational mobility takes place from farming (primary
occupation) to profession and then to industry in the case of intergeneration
occupational mobility and from profession to industry (secondary occupation) in the
case of' intrageneration occupational mobility.

Family Occupation vis--vis the Last Occupation of the Entrepreneurs

Last
occupation of
the

Family Occupation of the

Entrep. before Entrepreneurs
entering
manufacturing
Landlor
d

Profession

Business

Total

Industry

Landlord

* *

1(2)

Unpaid Family
worker

* *

5(10)

Profession

4 1

17(34)

Business

* 1

10(32)

Industry

* *

4(8)

1 2

13(8)

Entered
Directly
Total

5(10)

4(8)

14(28)

27(54)

50(100)

N.B.: Figures in parentheses denote percentages to the total.

Other studies have also revealed that though business community still constitutes
the dominant source of entrepreneurship, people from technicians, lawyers,
business executives and Government servants are also swelling the ranks of
entrepreneurs. This new class of entrepreneurs is characterised by better education
and technical knowledge.
Medhora reported that the caste system and its obligations reduced occupational
mobility, technical change and innovation in India. However, the political, social and
economic changes taking place during the post-Independence period have eased
such rigidity and, in turn, helped occupational mobility.

LOCATIONAL MOBILITY
The early theories of industrial location carried out the analysis on a simple
framework where the locational and spatial diversifications were simply determined
by an adjustment between location and weight distance characteristics of inputs
and outputs. The reason is that the then industrial structure was heavily dominated
by the natural resource base and consumer-oriented industries.
But, over the period, the very consideration for locating industries in a particular
region has undergone a considerable change. So, the early theories of industrial
location have become improper to explain industrial location. Consideration of the
availability of natural resources in the choice of industrial location has declined and
the industries are likely to be established even in those areas with poor natural
endowment. This holds especially true in the case of industries that are not heavily
biased in favour of raw material source for their location. It is seen that such
industries are gaining increasingly greater importance in the industrial map of India
during the recent decades. It is not always possible to explain the entrepreneurial
mobility to a particular location independently with the help of anyone factor. In
fact, several considerations influence an entrepreneur to move to a particular
area/location to establish his industry. And in this lies the significance of studying
the entrepreneurial mobility from one place to another. As stated earlier, movement
and settlement have been an integral part of human history all over the world.
However, it is observed that some communities are more mobile than others. For
example, Marwaris, Punjabis and Sindhis have been found the most mobile moving
to each and every comer of India to carryon business activities. Movement of
entrepreneurs to different regions helps reduce regional imbalances in economic
development. And in this lies the need for probing into the factors influencing
entrepreneurial mobility between the regions.
As a matter of fact, all entrepreneurs are not mobile. Only a handful of
entrepreneurs are mobile. The degree of the entrepreneurial mobility depends upon
factors like availability of raw material, infrastructure and labour, nearness to
market, their own resources, experience, knowledge and information, socio-political
situation, etc. A survey of the entrepreneurial mobility in India reveals a definite
pattern of mobility. During the initial stages of Industrialisation due to limited capital
resources, poor information network and lack of supporting conditions,
entrepreneurs tended to set up their industries either at or near their places.
The entrepreneurs from Bombay, Calcutta and Ahmedabad who set up their
industrial units at these places are examples of such locational mobility with narrow
spatial horizon. This explains the reasons for heavy concentration of industries in
these areas. With expansion in their size and increase in their resources,
experience, information flows, etc., the entrepreneurs are more mobile from local to
metropolitan places. This trend goes on. When the entrepreneurs become, in due
course of time, highly resourceful, greater degree of mobility occurs even cutting

across the national boundaries. Inflow (MNC s) and outflow (NRI s) of entrepreneurs
in and from India respectively are examples of such mobility with expanding spatial
horizons.
Let us also study the locational mobility of entrepreneurs with empirical evidences.
Table below bears data on entrepreneurs major considerations for selecting location
of their enterprises.

TABLE: Entrepreneurs' Most Important Consideration for Selecting the Location of

Industries

Considerations

Entrepreneurs
(in %)

Home Land

52

Government Incentives

Availability of Raw Material

Availability of Labour

Availability of Market

10

Availability of Infrastructure Facilities

20

Others
Total

4
100

It is revealed from the above Table that home land factor, i.e., to start the industry
at one's native place, has been considered as the most important factor for locating
industries in the area. Availability of infra structural facilities ranked the second
important consideration in determining the industrial location. Market has been
considered to be another important consideration for selecting the location of
industry.
However, the government incentives could not influence significantly the
entrepreneurial mobility. This can be explicated on two grounds. One, the heavy
preference accorded to the homeland factor in the location of industries suggests
that enterprise is not a freely mobile factor, willing to move to any place for only
marginal advantage. Second, possibly more important, the accumulation of capital
may be a necessary but not sufficient condition for establishing an enterprise.
Because, fiscal concessions and financial assistance on soft terms cannot possibly
compensate for the lack of infrastructure facilities like transport, communication,

power, etc. Likewise, the availability of raw material, labour, development of an

area and the cheaper land have not been comprehended as important influencing
factors to make entrepreneurs move to such areas. The marginal influence of
availability of cheap labour in influencing entrepreneurial mobility can be explicated
on two grounds. The first reason may be the dearth of skilled labour particularly in
backward areas due to lack of vocational training institutes. The second reason may
be the availability of cheap labour not appealing to the small entrepreneurs
requiring the minimum quantum of labour force to man their small-scale
enterprises.
The Indian economic development is characterised as imbalanced regional
development. While a few areas (urban) are developed, the remaining vast (rural)
area remains under-developed even after more than 50 years of our political
freedom. The Government of India has endeavoured to reduce imbalances in
regional development or promote balanced regional development by decentralizing
her economic activities to these underdeveloped areas. One way to initiate and
promote economic development of backward and under-developed areas is to
establish industries in these areas. The entrepreneurs are considered the agents of
change. Given the lack of local entrepreneurship in backward and under- developed
areas, only the outside entrepreneurs are expected to establish industries in these
areas. Thus, these outside mobile entrepreneurs can serve as initiators and pace
setters for starting industries in backward and under-developed areas. The same
justifies the significance of entrepreneurial mobility.
Human life swings between two poles - movement and settlement. Various factors
like one's education and experience, availability of facilities, political conditions, etc.
influence the entrepreneurs to move from one occupation to another and from one
location to another. Occupational mobility takes place in the forms of intergeneration occupational mobility and intra-generation occupational mobility.
Given the limited resources and information, the entrepreneurs tend to establish
their units at their own places. i.e., homelands. With increase in their resources and
information flows, the spatial horizons of the entrepreneurial mobility tend to
expand from local to regional, national and international arena.
Culture is a hot buzzword among corporate and entrepreneurial companies alike. It's
what everyone is striving for, what brings on the loyalty, what attracts and keeps
the really awesome employees.
If done right, it seems so simple. Good corporate culture, in its purest sense, and at
its most successful, has the look and feel of something organic and uncontrived,
something that just exists. But alas, there's the rub, and at once the wonderful
twist: Corporate culture cannot, does not and never will exist "just because." Culture
is a balancing act between many elements of a company and requires careful
execution at each level.

This is especially true for entrepreneurial companies, where what's going on is the
building of a business as well as a culture. Corporate culture must be led, nurtured,
constantly monitored and adjusted. Much like a "culture" in a petri dish, it requires
that you combine the right ingredients, in the right way, to ensure that what you
grow is not an aberration of your intentions.
Laying the Groundwork
When I founded Net Daemons, my computer consulting company, I had very
definite ideas of what I wanted to provide for our future employees, a safe and
comfortable environment, which enabled people to learn, grow and, at the same
time, focus on their day-to-day work.
From early on, I felt it was important to treat every employee with trust and respect.
That meant assuming automatically that each was an honest, hard-working, reliable
and dependable individual. Rather than requiring all employees show up at nine and
leave at five, for example, I expected each person to do the job assigned, and to
apply the right amount of time and quality of skills toward the accomplishment of
each task.
While I wasn't aware, back then, that I was creating what is now considered
"corporate culture," I knew I was looking to create a place of employment where
employees were at once valued for who they were and what they brought to the
table. This was critical for our business, which sold knowledge and a system of
collaboration between some 45 engineers providing network-administration and
internet-development solutions. If a team isn't in sync, you can't sell a team
approach, and you're no better than the single consultant.
What Makes a Culture Entrepreneurial?
As one of our engineers once put it, in an entrepreneurial culture, work is more than
a job, it's a lifestyle. Employees are more like a team than in most companies, and
in some cases, we're even like a family.
What also evolved was a set of rules for creating and maintaining NDA's petri dish.
In creating your own, consider these rules:

Treat people with respect. This is a very simple premise, which threads
through each and every complicated issue that can arise within a company.
Respect and trust provide the necessary base for a vibrant and sustainable
corporate culture.

Help employees stay healthy. When employees get sick, they miss work, so it
makes sense to offer health insurance as a benefit. We covered 100% of
employee health plans. I never want an employee to experience a
catastrophic illness and not be covered by insurance. We also offered
unlimited sick time. While I had seen this type of policy backfire elsewhere, it

nonetheless allowed people to be sick when they really were sick, and not
feel obligated to gobble up each "allotted" sick day. You may also want to add
a wellness allowance for health-club membership.

Open doors to communication. Create an environment where people can

interact with each other, support each other and recognize each other's
efforts and achievements. Provide positive rewards for positive behavior.
Share information, so that employees are aware of the direction of the
company and are involved in it. Use all-hands meetings for financial and
operational information, team-building and social events. Offer incentive
programs to reward effort and improve quality of life.

Build camaraderie. Make time for people to get to know each other and the
company. We held an annual off-site meeting to build team spirit and discuss
where the company was going. At such events you can also distribute and
share your business plan and discuss issues and ideas raised by your
strategies.

Maintaining Entrepreneurial Culture

Once you have healthy, trusted and informed employees, don't let the culture that's
evolving just be. It needs to be watched so that it grows as you intended. The trick
is standing back, but not too far back. In maintaining your culture, consider these
rules.

Let the team build itself. Within that safe, comfortable, open environment, let
employees grow together without being made to.

Participate without controlling. Let the culture thrive, without your either
meddling with it or ignoring it.

Don't forget the little things. Culture is made up of many small actions that,
when put together, create something larger than the sum of the parts. There
are many things a CEO can do to make employees feel a part of the company.
Some are just common courtesies: hallway conversations, saying "hello" in
the morning, opening doors, asking after people's families and partners.
Others are little extras, such as flowers to say thank you and happy-birthday
e-mail messages. Eating lunch with employees, helping spouses find jobs and
participating in team events show that you, the CEO, are involved with your
employees.

Treating employees with respect helps enable them to do their jobs to the best of
their abilities. If you challenge people to raise their bars, provide fun activities, keep
people informed and humanize your management, you get culture. From these
basics, you will grow in your petri dish a strong, healthy culture that will allow you,
your company and your employees to flourish.