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Introduction

This report is based on the approach to entrepreneurship in a corporate organizational environment. The study is based on the behaviour of the employees in the organization that affects the management and orientation of entrepreneurship. The issues related to the development of the organization are analyzed based on certain examples from case studies. The barriers towards the creation and development of an innovative business are taken into consideration (Kelley, Singer and Herrington 2012).

The organization that is taken into consideration in this case is Marks and Spencer UK. Michael Marks founded Marks and Spencer in the year 1884, since then, this organization has shown a lot of growth from single stall in the market to a multi-channel international retailer. They have a huge customer base of over 32 million customers and they sell their products in a large number of stores in UK (Marksandspencer.com, 2017).

Discussion related to the various aspects of entrepreneurship

Approach to entrepreneurship related to Marks & Spencer

The different approaches of entrepreneurship include,

• The personality and traits approach – This approach helps in deciding the traits and personalities of a person to test whether he can be an entrepreneur or not.
• The process approach – This is mainly focussed on the actions taken by the entrepreneurs to start the business.
• The method approach – This deals with the techniques or skills used by the entrepreneur that are relevant to the business (Galindo and Méndez 2014).

The organization that is taken into consideration in this discussion is Marks and Spencer. Marks & Spencer is the largest retailer in UK, which has around 400 stores in UK itself. The company has its operations in 40 other countries. This organization mainly concentrates on food retailing and clothing. The quality of the food products sold by the company is quite high. The company also sells high quality, stylish clothing in low prices. The environment of the organization is innovative and the entrepreneurial activities are on rise (Kelley, Singer and Herrington 2012).

The innovative environment of the organization facilitates the growth of the business. The organization is a leader in food technology and creates new products according to the needs of the consumers. The organization holds its unique position as specialists of food, which differentiates their position from the rivals in the market. Marks and Spencer is the innovator of a variety of food products including ready meals and many more. The organization is evolving its range of products constantly and also improving the quality of the products (Lee, Hwang and Choi 2012).

Entrepreneurship activities in Marks & Spencer

Marks & Spencer is 120 years old retail organization in UK. As a part of their entrepreneurial activities, they have recently relaunched their website and ended their partnership with another online giant company, Amazon. This activity of the organization involved the recruitment of 50 software engineers who can ensure that the online proposition of the company will improve in a continuous basis. The team of the developers will ensure the innovation in the products in a fast pace (Marksandspencer.com 2017).

The organization provided incentives to the new team in a different manner as compared to the other office staff. The group of engineers were taken as a talent base,which was changeable over time. The company aimed at hiring new talent in specified time-periods so that they can capture the spirit of entrepreneurship. The investment made by the company in the digital area was increased. The E-commerce business now became the flagship of the company. The content that can be supplies through the website of the organization provides an excellent opportunity to the organization to connect with the consumers. Marks & Spencer has huge credibility among the citizens of UK as a brand (Marksandspencer.com 2017).

This is a huge asset for the organization. The promotion of the website plays an important role in increasing the sales of the organization. The promotional activities include distribution of brochures among the potential consumers. The advertising content is created in the website of the organization, which attracts consumers more than just an advertisement in the television. The organization has created more different types of delivery options for the users who have registered in the website. These are the entrepreneurial activities undertaken by Marks & Spencer (Onetti et al. 2012).

Issues related to entrepreneurial development

Entrepreneurship develops a sense of opportunity and independence among the people who choose to pursue their dream of a new enterprise. The avenues and opportunities available for new entrepreneurs is a lot more in today’s environment as compared to the early times (Sahut and Peris-Ortiz 2014). However, there are some problems that can be faced by new entrepreneurs, which include,

• Insufficient capital – The lack of sufficient business capital is a major issue for start-up firms. Marks & Spencer also faced this problem in the beginning of their business. The company first started its operations as a single stall in the Kirkgate Market.
• Weak Management – The skills and knowledge of the management of the organization plays an important role in the success of the new business (Schaper et al. 2014).
• Ineffective marketing – The uniqueness of the promotion of the product developed by the company is important. The promotion has to be done in such a way so that it is cost-effective for the organization.
• The problems of the consumers related to the products of the organization need to be addressed properly. This helps in the progress of the organization. The promotional methods of Marks & Spencer are effective for the organization (Trimi and Berbegal-Mirabent 2012).

Barriers related to the development and creation of an innovative business

The barriers related to the development of an innovative business are,

• The closed-mindedness of the consumers or the people related to the business.
• The past results related to the products or business acts as a barrier in the innovation.
• The rivalry of the business with its competitors is a barrier to innovation.
• The expense related to the innovative measures taken by the company is another barrier in the development of an innovative business (Lee, Hwang and Choi 2012).

Conclusion

The analysis can be concluded by stating that entrepreneurship comes forward as an independent and profitable avenue for any new person in the industry. However, there are many risks associated to this step. The problems related to sufficient funds and opportunities act as barriers for entrepreneurship.

References

Galindo, M.Á. and Méndez, M.T., 2014. Entrepreneurship, economic growth, and innovation: Are feedback effects at work?. Journal of Business Research, 67(5), pp.825-829.

Kelley, D.J., Singer, S. and Herrington, M., 2012. The global entrepreneurship monitor. 2011 Global Report, GEM 2011, 7.

Lee, S.M., Hwang, T. and Choi, D., 2012. Open innovation in the public sector of leading countries. Management Decision, 50(1), pp.147-162.

Marksandspencer.com (2017). The M&S Archive. [online] Marksandspencer.com. Available at: http://www.marksandspencer.com/c/style-and-living/the-mands-archive [Accessed 28 Oct. 2017].

Onetti, A., Zucchella, A., Jones, M.V. and McDougall-Covin, P.P., 2012. Internationalization, innovation and entrepreneurship: business models for new technology-based firms. Journal of Management & Governance, 16(3), pp.337-368.

Sahut, J.M. and Peris-Ortiz, M., 2014. Small business, innovation, and entrepreneurship. Small Business Economics, 42(4), pp.663-668.

Schaper, M.T., Volery, T., Weber, P.C. and Gibson, B., 2014. Entrepreneurship and small business.

Trimi, S. and Berbegal-Mirabent, J., 2012. Business model innovation in entrepreneurship. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 8(4), pp.449-465.