characteristics and competencies chapter 2

standard business practice

a business action that has been widely adopted within an industry or occupation.

family business

a firm in which family owns a majority stake and is involved in the daily management of the business.

cognition

a person's way of perceiving and thinking about his or her experience.

expert business professionalization

a situation that occurs when all the major functions of a firm are conducted according to the standard business practices of its industry.

specialized business professionalization

a situation that occurs when businesses have founders or owners who are passionate about one or two of the key business functions, such as sales, operations, accounting, finance, or human resources.

key business function

activities common to all businesses such as sales ,operations (also called production), accounting, finance, and human resources.

industry- specific knowledge

activities, knowledge, and skills specific to businesses in a particular industry.

promotion focus

an entrepreneur's attention to maximizing gains and pursuing opportunities likely to lead to gains.

comprehensive planners

entrepreneurs who develop long range plans for all aspect of the business first.

critical-point planners

entrepreneurs who develop plans focused on the most important aspect of the business first.

habit-driven planners

entrepreneurs who do not plan, preferring to let all actions be dictated by their routines.

opportunistic planners

entrepreneurs who start with a goal instead of a plan and look for opportunities to achieve it.

reactive planners

entrepreneurs with a passive approach, who wait for cues from the environment to determine what actions to take.

determination competencies

skills identified with the energy and focus needed to bring a business into existence.

opportunity competencies

skills necessary to identify and exploit elements of the business environment that can lead to a profitable and sustainable business.

resources competencies

the ability or skill of the entrepreneur at finding expandable components necessary to the operation of the business such as time, information, location, financing, raw materials, and expertise.

perseverance

the ability to stick with some activity even when it take a long time and its outcome is not immediately known.

professionalization

the extent to which a firm meets or exceeds the standard business practices for its industry.

role conflict

the kind of problem the arises when people have multiple responsibilities, such as parent and boss, and the different responsibilities make different demands on them.

succession

the process of intergenerational transfer of a business.

late career entrepreneur

(also known as a second career entrepreneur) people who begin their businesses after having retired or resigned from work in corporations at age 50 or more.

minimalized business professionalization

a situation that occurs when the entrepreneur does nearly everything in the simplest way possible.

prevention focus

an entrepreneur's attention to minimizing losses, with bias toward inaction or protective action to prevent loss.

certification

an examination based acknowledgment that the firm is owned and operated as specified.

passion

an intense positive feeling an entrepreneur has toward the business or the idea behind the business.

set- asides

government contracting funds which are earmarked for particular kinds of firms, such as small businesses, minority-owned firm, women-owned firms, and the like.

time management

the organization process to help make the most efficient use of the day.