MNG91002 – Entrepreneurship Assignment Help

Part A

Entrepreneurship

Question 1: Whilst Nick Goodman was confident that his business idea for a cinema-grade mini camera could ultimately lead to success, he did initially question his ability to bring his product to market ie. ‘He gave himself four years to make it work before he would drop his idea and enter the workforce'. Therefore, it is clear that there is a ‘dark side' of entrepreneurship. Discuss three major traits that are associated with the dark side of entrepreneurship. Justify your response with reference to academic sources (e.g. academic journal articles, textbooks, etc.). 

Question 2: Peter Drucker, a leading scholar in the fields of entrepreneurship and marketing, is cited in your unit material numerous times. When speaking of entrepreneurship, Drucker once stated: ‘Most of what you hear about entrepreneurship is all wrong. It's not magic; it's not mysterious; and it has nothing to do with genes. It's a discipline and like any discipline it can be learnt'.
What evidence exists in the GoPro case study that supports and/or refutes this statement? Ensure your argument(s) are developed through direct reference to concepts, tools and techniques evident in the unit material.

Part B

Marketing and Strategic Planning

Question 1: Since the publication of the case in 2014, how has GoPro gained a competitive advantage from their marketing processes? Provide a theoretical analysis of the reasons for the achievement of this advantage. Draw on other recent resources when justifying your analysis

Question 2: The GoPro case study specifically identifies future threats to the company's strategy in 2014. What threats do you feel GoPro faces in 2019 and beyond? Provide a theoretical analysis of this threat scenario and give recommendations on how GoPro should respond to this.

Enrol with MNG91002 – Entrepreneurship assignment help and homework writing services of Expertsminds.com and get better results in assignments!

Introduction
Entrepreneurship is defined as the act of generating business by organizing resources, understanding market traits and implementing adequate operational measures to raise profit and gain competitive advantage. An entrepreneur is someone who sets such a business with the intention to create profit, with a preference for optimal level of risk, determination, and confidence to overcome existing barriers (Guercini, & Cova 2018, p. 20). In the present report, the discussion will be based on the identification of traits and characteristics as well as marketing strategic planning.

Part A

Entrepreneurship - Traits and Characteristics

Most of the dark side personality traits are associated with a personality disorder(Guercini, & Cova 2018, p. 20). The entrepreneurial profile is supposed to have influenced with destructive lateral(Hambrick 2019, p. 55). In some cases, the dark side personality is also considered as strategies and strengths, which will be beneficial in future and are discussed below.

The first trait associated with the dark side of entrepreneurship is the ‘lonesome job'. Entrepreneurs are required to manage a wide range of tasks for long hours with little or no support(Bouncken, Aslam, and Reuschl 2018, pp. 137-147). Despite of having the external business success, the entrepreneur has to deal with internal conflicts and the business obstacles that keep them under constant pressure(Bouncken, Aslam, and Reuschl 2018, pp. 137-147). They get minimum or no time for socialization and go out on vacations(Lee, Kim, and Lee 2017, p.275-280). For example, the report by Gallup Welbeing Index reported that 45% of entrepreneurs suffer from stress due to loneliness (Paro, Nazareli, and Gurjala 2015, p.S71-S74). The second trait that is linked with the dark side of entrepreneurship is the ‘distrust'. Entrepreneurs always wants to have control over their employees that lead to have strong distrust in those people, who work for them(Castelluccio 2012, p.172-173). They believe that being too paranoid will lead to become an easy prey for investors and business partners(Bouncken, Aslam, and Reuschl 2018, pp. 137-147). This eventually restrict them to spend on their employees, as they feel employees will take their advantage(Paro, Nazareli, and Gurjala 2015, p.S71-S7). For example, most of entrepreneur in Singapore hold the dark side of distrust and they rarely think of worker's welfare (Hambrick 2019, p. 55). Hence, it reveals about the fatal flaw in entrepreneurship.

The final trait associated with the dark side of entrepreneurship is ‘failure'. It is most Lee, Kim, and Lee 2017, p.275-280to adopt fantasy approaches in their implemented operational measures and receive failure(Lee, Kim, and Lee 2017, p.275-280).However, failure is believed as the only key to success and a successful entrepreneur learns from the past mistakes(Castelluccio 2012, p.172-173). One of the best examples of failure in entrepreneurship is KFC. As an entrepreneur, Colonel Harland had failed 1009 times before getting success in KFC(Hambrick 2019, p. 55).

Entrepreneurship - key tools and concepts

According to my perspectives, entrepreneurship is a discipline, which can be taught through effective training. As suggested by one of the top scholars in entrepreneurship and marketing - Peter Drucker, entrepreneurship is neither related to magic nor any mystery nor linked with genes (Kidd et al 2015, p.776-787). It is an art that can be learned through strong determination and practice(Hlady-Rispal, and Servantie, 2018, p.62-80). The word entrepreneurship has been derived from the French language, which describes a person who is beginning a new task(Kidd et al 2015, p.776-787). In the given scenario, Nicholas Woodman has been presented as a person who has pursued his interests towards reality and created in business of camera, which resulted as a remarked global success(Kidd et al 2015, p.776-787). The GoPro journey is a perfect example of successful entrepreneurship, where Nicholas being a surfing fan has turned into a leading business entrepreneur due to his passion (Guercini, & Cova 2018, p. 20). This entrepreneur was able to list his name among the top billionaire entrepreneurs in the world by virtue of this strong commitment and dedication(McKenzie 2015, p.776-787). It is evident that his business has the possibility of failure, however, he was determined to introduce innovation in the market with such product that is not easily available in the market(Espíritu-Olmos,. and Sastre-Castillo 2015, p.1595-1598). He holds a great idea for taking photos through the wrist tether band. Hence(Kidd et al 2015, p.776-787), the given case study revealed the ability to believe in something and having the potential to turn it into reality, which should be learned by new (arising) entrepreneurs(Hlady-Rispal, and Servantie, 2018, p.62-80). Before starting GoPro, Nicholas has faced failure twice in his life course, which made him further stronger and passionate about his will(Bouncken, Aslam, and Reuschl 2018, pp. 137-147). He believes that GoPro is the outcome of his hard effort and an extreme level of dedication, in which the success is a result of his learning and understanding of market factors(Kidd et al 2015, p.776-787). Nicholas Woodman has used different types of tools and techniques which helped in becoming a billion-dollar entrepreneur at Silicon Valley(Bouncken, Aslam, and Reuschl 2018, pp. 137-147). These tools are further discussed in the preceding section.

- Market research - Nicholas conducted rigorous market research to understand different types of cameras available in the market(Hambrick 2019, p. 55). This research made him conclude the decision to introduce GoPro in the market that is an exceptional and unique product and falls within the scope of targeted customer's demand(Kidd et al 2015, p.776-787). Apart from identifying the need, he has also been built the skill to sell the product in the new market by introducing attractive strategies(Hambrick 2019, p. 55).

- Considering alternatives - Prior to the introduction of the final product, Nicholas has researched numerous existing cameras from other manufacturers(Paro, Nazareli, and Gurjala 2015, p.S71-S74). However, he did not get the perfect camera that can fit all the requirement of customers including cost-effective, light weight, easy maintenance, handy, and user-friendly(Hambrick 2019, p. 55). He started to sell beads and shell belts and got the idea to attach a strap to the camera, that would be helpful for photographers for outdoor shooting(Castelluccio 2012, p.172-173). In this research, he started to improve the existing cameras of different suppliers and finally got the outfit as GoPro(Paro, Nazareli, and Gurjala 2015, p.S71-S74).

- Developing a strategic management process - In this process, the entrepreneur had to develop a vision as well as the mission statement(Castelluccio 2012, p.172-173). Furthermore, a SWOT analysis approach is an important part of strategic planning and decision making (Hlady-Rispal, and Servantie, 2018, p.62-80). In the case of GoPro, the related strength, weakness, opportunity, and threats have been evaluated, keenly in accordance to customer' requirement as well as market condition(Lee, Kim, and Lee 2017, p.275-280). It is an important tool for entrepreneur for analysing the company from all possible angles prior to the decision making(McKenzie 2015, p.776-787).

- Feasibility study - Using this tool, the entrepreneur Nicholas has accessed the possibility of creating the specified project of camera business and the potential profit generation from it(Paro, Nazareli, and Gurjala 2015, p.S71-S74). He has used this tool at the beginning of launching the product, to remain safe in the industry(Hambrick 2019, p. 55). Moreover, it also helped in analysing the proposed strategy to be feasible or not(Castelluccio 2012, p.172-173).

- Cost-benefit analysis - With the help of cost-benefit analysis, Nicholas was able to analyse the time required to access the total cost as well as the benefit of the business(Lee, Kim, and Lee 2017, p.275-280). As a matter of fact, it was decided to delay the venture capital, so as to have better control on the business and revenue created(McKenzie 2015, p.776-787).

Part B

Marketing and Strategic Planning

Analysis of competitive advantage and marketing processes

For analysing competitive advantage and marketing processes of GoPro, the Porter's five force strategy has been outlined in this report.

- The threat of new entrants - In the photographic industry, new entrants bring innovative product and marketing strategies(Lee, Kim, and Lee 2017, p.275-280). These competitors create pressure on GoPro by reduced pricing strategy, providing value propositions to customers, and minimizing costs(Son et al 2018, p.229). GoPro has to tackle all these external threats and build effective barriers to protect it's a competitive edge(Cevenini, et al 2018, p.1237-1246). Furthermore, Nicholas is able to introduce a unique product as GoPro which is able to drive new customers as well as attract competitor's customers to buy the product (Howes 2015, p.7).

- Bargaining power of suppliers - Most of the companies in the photographic tools and supplies industry holds numerous suppliers to buy the raw materials(Cevenini, et al 2018, p.1237-1246). Suppress in a commanding position can minimize the margin earned by GoPro in the market, through their negotiating power(Bouncken, Aslam, and Reuschl 2018, p.135-147). Thus, the overall impact of increased bargaining power who uses the oral profitability of the photographic company(Cevenini, et al 2018,p.1237-1246). Thus, GoPro needs to build an effective supply chain having multiple and dedicated suppliers(Trotter et al 2019, p. 30). Moreover, experimentation with different product designs can lead to the shift from one supplier to the other, if the raw material prices change(Espíritu-Olmos, and Sastre-Castillo, 2015,p.1595-1598).

- Bargaining power of buyers - It is a matter of fact that, buyers are demanding a lot(Howes 2015, p.7). The preferred to buy the best product available in the market by paying the minimum possible price for it(Kinsley, Schoonover, and Spitler, 2016, pp.7-23). This increases pressure on the profitability of GoPro for the long run (Son et al 2018, p.229). It is noteworthy that, a smaller customer base holds a higher bargaining power(Cevenini, et al 2018, p.1237-1246). This, in turn, increases customer's ability to seek more discounts and offers from the product(Trotter et al 2019, p. 30). Since GoPro has a small customer base, it has to provide offers and discount on the product sale to maintain a competitive edge(Howes 2015, p.7). Hence, introducing new products in the market will help in limiting the defection and bargaining power of buyers(Fenwick, and Vermeulen, 2015, p.595-623).

- The threat of substitute products - The introduction of a new and innovative product in the photographic industry, is a major threat for GoPro(Trotter et al 2019, p. 30). However, the level of threat increases when the substitute product offers service higher than the existing GoPro(Cevenini, et al 2018, p.1237-1246). This trait can be minimized by converting into service-oriented along with product oriented(Cevenini, et al 2018, p.1237-1246). Being one of the innovative camera manufacturers, it has to keep on understanding the changing requirements of the customer and enhance the switching cost for customers(Howes 2015, p.7).

- Rivalry among existing competitors - The rivalry within the existing competitors in the photographic industry, can lead to a minimized profitability GoPro(Cevenini, et al 2018, p.1237-1246). Some of the common competitors of GoPro include Contour, Camsports, Sony, and Drift Innovation (Howes 2015, p.7). Consequently, it can be concluded that the competition will take a toll on the entire profitability of the firm for the long term(Son et al 2018, p.229). Hence, in this context, GoPro can build a sustainable differentiation and collaborate with competitors to increase the existing market size(Trotter et al 2019, p. 30).

Identifying future possible threats and recommendations

The company strategy of GoPro that is designed in 2014 is expected to face a potential threat in 2019 and beyond(Kinsley, Schoonover, and Spitler, 2016, pp.7-23). It is predicted that the situation of GoPro will further be weakened by the existence of the niche market(Bouncken, Aslam, and Reuschl 2018, p.135-147). In this market section, the action camera companies operate under the potential industry-wide threat of the industry saturation(Lee, Kim, and Lee 2017, p.275-280). According to the research by Tjemkes, et al (2017) the global demand for photographic equipment has been reducing for the last 5 years and it is expected to continue the trend in the coming years(Howes 2015, p.7). The same trend is also expected to have an impact on the action camera in the long run(Son et al 2018, p.229). This situation is expected to rise in combination with the pressure from both seasonal fluctuation and price competitors(Howes 2015, p.7). Thus, it will ultimately affect GoPro revenue by making it uncertain in the future(Bouncken, Aslam, and Reuschl 2018, p.135-147). Furthermore, the product life cycle of the GoPro action camera is also coming near to a stage of maturity(Cevenini, et al 2018, p.1237-1246). According to the recent interview of GoPro CEO with Bloomberg, it is stated that the growth of the product has been slowed down for a few years (Lee, Kim, and Lee 2017, p.275-280). In addition to this, the company targets mostly high and middle-class customer service especially sports players interested in sharing their personal experience(Espíritu-Olmos, and Sastre-Castillo, 2015,p.1595-1598). Thus, these customers are available on a seasonal basis and keep on fluctuating(Bouncken, Aslam, and Reuschl 2018, p.135-147). Moreover, people prefer Chinese brands that can be purchased online at a minimum price(Son et al 2018, p.229). Hence, the competing brands can outplay GoPro during its period of economic downwards(Howes 2015, p.7).

It is recommended for GoPro to innovate new products to attract more customers in future and give a reason for old customers to buy the product(Fenwick, and Vermeulen, 2015, p.595-623). Furthermore, introduction of new products in market will help to reduce the bargaining power of customers (Cevenini, et al 2018, p.1237-1246). Finally, to attract all type of customers (including seasonal), it has to provide significant offerings and discount on product, along with considering the profit aspect(Son et al 2018, p.229).

Get readymade MNG91002 – Entrepreneursh assignment solutions – 100% plagiarism free work document at nominal charges!