Entrepreneurship: Theory, Process, And Practice Management

Overview of the organisation’s history

Discuss about the Entrepreneurship for Theory, process, and Practice Management.

The aim of the report is to conduct a detailed analysis on the concept of entrepreneurship. For the detailed analysis of the concept and its practical applicability, Uber Inc. has been selected as the organization for the case study. Uber has been undertaken as the organization for the case study because in a very short span, the organization has showed rapid growth in the market. The entrepreneurial approach can be regarded behind the success of this organization (Kelly 2016). A detailed investigation of the organizational history will be done. The study also highlights the appropriate schools of thoughts that could be used by the organization for its growth. Later, certain recommendations will also be made to increase its market share in the major areas of operation.

Entrepreneurship has been defined as the process of designing, launching and running a new business venture. The term is derived from French term ‘entreprendre’ which signifies a person as the one who enters and takes charge of the entire business (Kuratko 2016). An entrepreneur is basically in charge of starting a new business that shall offer a new product or service. Entrepreneurship has also been defined as the capacity and the willingness of a person to manage a business venture (Frederick et al. 2013). However, the business venture requires focusing on the venture and also includes financial risk that can hamper the business venture.

Formerly known as UberCab, Uber Technologies Inc., is an online transportation company. Uber is headquartered at San Francisco, California. In the present context, the company operates in more than 528 cities around the world. In 2009, Garrett Camp founded UberCab. The idea of getting a cab by letting an application in the smart phone made a flash in the world of transportation system. Travis Kalanick, the cofounder of Red Swoosh sold his start-up business for $19 million (Uber.com 2017). Kalanick joined the camp and gave full idea of calling a cab using a smart phone. Thus, it was the entrepreneurship quality and the far sightedness of his market knowledge that has resulted in the making of the company where Uber is at this moment. Kalanick spent another $800 to hire private driver (Kelly 2016). This has also reduced the cost of black car services. Another major milestone concept that was applied in the business venture was sharing the cost of taxi. Sharing the cost of transportation made it affordable for users. The mobile app was officially launched in 2011 and has managed to grab huge consumers for their service. The Company has 6,700 employees and has total revenue of $5.5 billion (Phys.org, 2016).

Entrepreneurial school(s) of thought that could for the growth of the organisation

If the entrepreneurial schools of thoughts are taken into consideration that shall increase the market share of Uber and help the company to combat against the increasing competition in the market, the environmental school of thought can be rightly applicable for the purpose. According to this school of thought, an organization’s operation depends on the environmental factors where it operates (Frederick et al. 2013). The thought values the socio-political and the environmental framework that affects the business of the organization. For Uber, the macro environmental factors that could help in the growth of the business of the Organization can be stated here.

Political	Uber has been found to operate in major developed and developing countries like India and China. The political and governmental policies in these countries are positive enough to attract foreign business investments. There is no such political pressure on carrying out business in these countries (Phys.org, 2016).
Economic	There has been an economic boom around the world that has increased the purchasing ability and the per capita income of people. This economic condition has favored businesses like Uber cab services.
Socio-cultural	The life style of people is changing and they are looking for a more comfortable and a safe ride. Uber offers both. With the increase in the GDP and per capita income, people can easily afford Uber rides (Harding et al. 2016). Moreover, different schemes like sharing a cab or seasonal discounts offered by Uber makes it more acceptable among the users.
Technological	The last decade has seen the most advancement in the technological field. The ability of booking a car through an app has opened up the scope for the people to take a ride anytime and from anywhere (Chan et al. 2016). In fact, the easier way of communicating by using social media tool has also helped in better marketing and communication process.
Legal	The legal guidelines for carrying out business operations are positive for Uber to operate in the market. The developing countries like India welcome FDI that provides employment to the country.
Environmental	Due to increasing carbon emission in the environment, strict guidelines have been drawn for the industries that cause environmental degradation. However, Uber has never been accused of degrading the environmental condition and thus, the business operations are good enough to operate (Sun eta l. 2017).

Higher utilization with passenger mobility services: Uber provides cab service to passengers irrespective of their destination location and time. There has also been increase in the mobility of passengers. The need for increased need of a safer environment for people has become a necessity for all. These are the reasons that the need of personalized taxis and cabs has been increasing (Chan et al. 2016). Uber is already accepted among public base and thus, the acceptability of the service is likely to increase in recent future as well. In addition to this, the referral system and the discount and the offers that are provided by these cab service organizations makes it more welcome and acceptable among the users because these rides happen to be pocket friendly.

Independent contract and unemployment benefits: One of the most influential features of owning a Uber cab is the freedom of using it. Any individual can become an independent owner of an Uber cab and can provide service to the passengers. In addition to this, the owner can provide service as per his will. The activation of the mobile network is the method of showing availability or non-availability of cabs (Sun eta l. 2017). This trend is also useful and beneficial because it also provides employment opportunity to many. This trend has opened up the scope for these transportation systems to operate with better opportunities.

Better infrastructure and technological advancement: Another important and valid point that has helped this industry to grow its profitability in the market it the better situation of the environment and better infrastructure of roads. There has been great progress in building bridges and roads in major metropolitan cities where Uber operates. t has to be understood that when the roads are well built and have better infrastructure, a car can give better mileage (Staley 2017). The condition of the car remains stable and thus, the owner do not have to make greater expenditure on the business. Thus, car rides have become more comfortable for both the passengers and the drivers. In addition to this, the technological advancement has also given the opportunity to communicate easily with the passengers who need a ride. These factors have increased the chances of using Uber by the consumers rather than waiting for any local cab services (Frederick et al. 2013).

To be relevant through innovation: Uber has been able to dominate the market by its innovative means and the same process should be continued. If the organization keeps bringing innovative and new ideas in the app, the acceptability and the relevance of the organization will increase (Staley 2017).

Rapid response to customers: In the competitive era, customer servicing is the best possible way that can create loyalty among them and can bind them to the organization. Therefore, keeping a good relationship with the customers in indeed required. Uber can use the major communicating platforms like Facebook and Twitter to communicate with customers (Frederick et al. 2013).

Better transparency in the operation: Uber has been accused for not keeping transparency in its fare charges. Often riders have complained about the inappropriate charges that Uber made on customers (Sun eta l. 2017). Thus, the Organization needs to be more transparent and open towards their consumers.

Cost-effectiveness: In order to beat the competitors like Ola Cabs and the Local Taxis, Uber also needs to check its surcharge that happens to be one of their business strategies to increase their profit margin. Sometimes, the charges become excessively high for customers to pay and thus, Uber loss their customers (Kelly 2016).

Conclusion:

The report has highlighted the concept of entrepreneurship. The environmental factors that affect the business of this industry has been highlighted and certain recommendations have been made that could possibly help the organization to increase its market share.

References:

Chan, J.W., Chang, V.L., Lau, W.K., Law, L.K. and Lei, C.J., 2016. Taxi App Market Analysis in Hong Kong. Journal of Economics, Business and Management, 4(3).

Frederick, H.H., O’Connor A. and Kuratko, D.F., 2013 Entrepreneurship: Theory, process, practice. Nelson Australia.

Harding, S., Kandlikar, M. and Gulati, S., 2016. Taxi apps, regulation, and the market for taxi journeys. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 88, pp.15-25.

Kelly, R.W., 2016. The Uber Effect.

Kuratko, D.F., 2016. Entrepreneurship: Theory, process, and practice. Cengage Learning.

Phys.org, 2016 Study asks if Uber drivers are entrepreneurs Available at:  https://phys.org/news/2016-12-uber-drivers-entrepreneurs.html [Accessed on: 17-3-2017]

Staley, S.R., 2017 Staley: Antiquated laws limit entrepreneurship, growth Available at: https://www.tallahassee.com/story/opinion/2017/02/27/staley-antiquated-laws-limit-entrepreneurship-growth/98481378/ [Accessed on: 17-3-2017]

Sun, Z., Yu, M., Zeng, J., Wang, H. and Tian, Y., 2017. Assessment of the Impacts of App-based Ride Service on Taxi Industry: Evidence from Yiwu City in China (No. 17-06426).

Uber.com, 2017 Uber Available at: https://www.uber.com/en-GB/our-story/ [Accessed on: 17-3-2017]