...Introduction An entrepreneur is defined as “person who seeks a profitable opportunity and takes the necessary risks to set up and operate a business” (Boone & Kurtz, 2011). There are several different types of entrepreneurs however profit oriented and socially responsible entrepreneurs will be analyzed. Oprah Winfrey, a profit oriented entrepreneur, in my opinion has transformed the culture with her media empire to become one the world’s most wealthy individuals to date. At the other end of the spectrum, Shazi Visram is a socially responsible entrepreneur that has transcended to the forefront of organic premium baby food. Both of these entrepreneurs have taken risks in order to reach and engage their audiences through their selective approaches to business. Profit Oriented Entrepreneur Oprah Winfrey is an entrepreneur, visionary, pioneer, television producer and philanthropist. She is the founder and CEO of Harpo Productions, Inc., which is a media outlet for her daytime talk show, movies, radio station, magazine and website. Her nationally acclaimed company provides a source of entertainment for millions of viewers in several different countries. “Oprah was the richest African American of the 20th century and the world’s only Black billionaire for three years running (Oprah Winfrey, 2011).” Oprah’s leadership is relayed through her charismatic personality, her commitment to education, her visionary ability to inspire, influence and persuade culture through her various media...
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...which is that leadership is nothing more than a romantic myth – people hope that their problems will be solved by someone’s sheer force of will. One of the popular definitions is “Leadership is an influence relationship among leaders and followers who intend real changes and outcomes that reflect their shared purposes” (Daft, p. 5). Some people cannot distinguish the difference between a manager and a leader. It is well-known that you can be a leader without being a manager. Bennis and Nanus propose that “managers are people who do things right and leaders are people who do the right thing” (Are Managers Leaders, 2011). In order for everyone to be an effective leader they have to be able to find the right balance between moral, social and business characteristics of leadership. According to Yukl (1989, p. 6) an effective leader is generally someone that leads by example and other people just tend to follow because they believe what they do is the right thing. A commonly used measure of leader effectiveness is how well the leader’s group fulfills its tasks and attains its goals. Another indicator is the attitude of followers toward the leader. A very important measurement of the leader’s effectiveness is his contribution to the quality of the group processes. The key characteristics which have to be taken in to consideration in order to be an effective leader are as follows: they are credible; that gives them greater pride in the organization and better cooperation and teamwork;...
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...By any definition of the word, Oprah Winfrey is a leader, someone who has the influence and power to guide others. And when you look at the definition of charismatic – possessing an extraordinary ability to attract - there is no denying that Winfrey would transcend normal leadership to be categorized as a charismatic leader. Although she does lead groups of employees in her media empire, her leadership influence is primarily seen in her ability to influence viewers of The Oprah Winfrey Show and readers of ‘O’ magazine. In what is often called “The Oprah Effect”, when Oprah endorses an idea or product, everyone wants a piece of it. For example, when Oprah began her book club in 1996 whereby she selected a book for discussion on her show and encouraged her audience to read the book, she single-handedly bolstered the publishing industry and book sales (Hussain, 2007). We’re talking about the type of spike in sales that have never before been seen in history. She has been called the most influential person in the world. According to Wong (2006), you won’t see Oprah doing traditional endorsements such as getting paid to have her name associated with any certain brand of clothing or shoes, but rather Winfrey aims to share what she is passionate about with others. And if you happen to be in the business of selling something Oprah is passionate about, then you are in for a windfall. Her influence, however, goes beyond spiking retail sales. That is simply a fortunate by-product...
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...truly honest. Next, he founded each new business relationship with “I am 100% in charge.” This represented his commanding leadership. Ultimately, the entire process of his entrepreneurship style is cemented in his “3 Ps” – People, Process, and Product. This formulaic approach translates his passion for helping struggling businesses succeed by helping the entrepreneurs cultivate their people, fine-tune their process, and bring their excellent product/service to market. Marcus has a keen eye for analyzing P&L numbers, minimizing costs, maximizing margins, and offering viable solutions to broken processes. Through his charismatic leadership style, he inspires the owners and employees to rally behind the collaborative process to succeed, which benefits everyone involved – owner, employee, customer, and consequently society. II. Brief Business History Marcus graduated from Marquette University in 1995, but decided not return to his family’s very successful car dealerships in the Miami area. Instead, he blazed his way through the ranks of AutoNation during his late twenties to regional manager of 65 stores in 11 states. At the advice from Lee Iacocca, a close family friend, he chose to pioneer a path into the RV industry that did not have a nationally organized structure. He founded Freedom Roads LLC in 2003 and started buying up mom-n-pop dealerships across the nation using the AutoNation blueprint as a guide. By 2005, Crain’s Chicago Business recognized him in their “40 under 40”...
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...Donelle Kates Professor English ENGL 1101 - 930 11 Feb 2016 Summary and Response Essay ( create own title) Oprah Winfrey impact can not be measured in words, She has influenced millions across the globe through the power of words. Touching the hearts and souls of her admirers through her; T.V. show ( The Oprah Winfrey Show), book clubs, movies, broad way, charity work, and her own magazine ( O magazine). Carmen Wong Ulrich wrote “On a seismic scale of impact, Ms. Winfrey is a 10, with aftershocks felt at both poles. This is how her influence stacks up.” According to CNNMoney.com in January of 2006, Oprah ranked second only to Google as the biggest brand newsmaker of 2006. Behind her was Amazon, ebay, and iPod. Oprah Winfrey is our modern day Moses, chosen by an higher power bless with a gift to influence an entire culture with charisma, charm, and elegance. Oprah Winfrey life is bigger than herself, she extends her hand and opened doors for her own protégés. Dr. Phil success has taken on a life of it’s own, his talk show became the second highest rated talk show along with eight best-selling books. Others gained enormous notoriety being associated with Ms. Winfrey, interior designer Nate Berkus, with his own home line at Linens ‘N Things; Bob Greene, Oprah’s personal trainer and fitness guru; Suze Orman money diva; Mehmet Oz, M.D., health guru; and her two newest additions, Robin Smith, love and relationship psychologist, and Rachael Ray, TV chef and magazine powerhouse in her...
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...Michael Dell is the founder and CEO of Dell computer corporation that is the world’s largest direct computer company. He is also the youngest person ever to head a Fortune 500 firm. He is the longest-serving CEO in the computer industry. For his 15th birthday, Dell received a brand new Apple II computer, which he took up to his bedroom and promptly dismantled. With the bowels of the machine spread around the room, he began to understand for the first time the gap between what a computer user might want and what was actually available. That knowledge grew as he began to investigate the more powerful IBM PC. These machines were the future, he thought. "I didn't know how big the computer industry would become," Dell recalls, "I just thought it was an unbelievable opportunity. It was irresistible to me." PC's Ltd was born with $1,000 in capital and a simple question: how could Dell make the process of buying computers more efficient, more profitable? The prevailing wisdom back in the early 1980s was that in order for this new technology to penetrate the market quickly and effectively, computers should be sold through the existing retail network. For such a new and complicated product, this wasn't an ideal distribution system. Retailers weren't all that effective at explaining what all the bells and whistles actually did. And then there was the price. Dell knew from his bedroom tinkering that the parts which made up a $3,000 IBM machine were available individually for a fifth of...
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...Oprah Winfrey: An Inspiring Leader Of Today Rhonda Whiteman Central Methodist University Abstract A black female born in the Deep South to poor unwed parents, during the mid 1950’s, Oprah Gail Winfrey had very little chance of becoming one of importance, much less becoming the first black female billionaire in the world. This paper will explain Oprah’s difficult childhood and continue on into her adult life explaining how she succeeds not by chance, but through perseverance, generosity, and inner strength, she wears her heart on her sleeve and has the ability to listen to her public in a way that no other has achieved. She inspires hope and inspiration to millions by sharing her imperfections of just being Oprah, overcoming diversity, proving to her faithful audience that anyone’s dream of success can truly become a reality. Biography Life for Oprah Gail Winfrey started out January 29, 1954 in a small poor town deep in the south of Kosciusko, Mississippi. An unwed mother named Vernita, informed Oprah’s father about the conception after she was born. Vernita realized that she could not make a living for her and her young daughter, so the decision was made to leave Oprah with her paternal grandmother, while Vernita moved to Milwaukee. Oprah was a very bright child learning to read by the age of three, and appeared in front of her first audience for her church Easter program. Oprah at a young age, moved...
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...How the World Economic Forum aims to approach education The world economic Forum is a global organization that has a target of improving the welfare of all citizens of the world. According to this organization, entrepreneurship is a very important vehicle for achieving a better well-being of all people of the world. There are several ways in which the World Economic Forum wishes to achieve such a noble goal. One way it strives to achieve that is through some educational programs on the importance of entrepreneurship to the future generations of the world. Entrepreneurship is important for the well being of us all. So, the World economic Forum is initiating education on the importance of entrepreneurship and how to become successful business people. It wishes to be part of an international effort of encouraging entrepreneurship at all levels, from local, national, regional and global ones. World Economic Forum believes that through entrepreneurship the Millennium development goals will be achieved. The World Economic Forum aims to come up with ways to consolidate the existing education on entrepreneurship around the world. It wishes to uplift the practices that lead to better enterprising as well as assisting in the development of tools and methods of achieving better entrepreneurial skills, expertise and practices. This forum also aims at making sound and practical recommendations to governments, educational institutes and private companies on how to improve entrepreneurial...
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...Oprah, Obama, and the 2008 Democratic Primary Craig Garthwaite Department of Economics University of Maryland College Park, MD 20742 Vmail: 202-746-0990 Email: cgarthwaite@gmail.com Tim Moore Department of Economics University of Maryland College Park, MD 20742 Vmail: 301-442-1785 Email: moore@econ.umd.edu August 2008 Abstract Candidates in major political contests are commonly endorsed by other politicians, interest groups and celebrities. Prior to the 2008 Democratic Presidential Primary, Barack Obama was endorsed by Oprah Winfrey, a celebrity with a proven track record of influencing her fans’ commercial decisions. In this paper, we use geographic differences in subscriptions to O! – The Oprah Magazine and the sale of books Winfrey recommended as part of Oprah's Book Club to assess whether her endorsement affected the Primary outcomes. We find her endorsement had a positive effect on the votes Obama received, increased the overall voter participation rate, and increased the number of contributions received by Obama. No connection is found between the measures of Oprah's influence and Obama's success in previous elections, nor with underlying local political preferences. Our results suggest that Winfrey’s endorsement was responsible for approximately 1,000,000 additional votes for Obama. JEL Classification Numbers: D7; D72 We are grateful to Bill Evans for his comments and guidance. We also would like to thank Kerwin Charles, Allan Drazen...
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...Question – Chapter 2: Research Problem 2 When Oprah gave away Pontiac G6 sedans to her TV audience, was the value of the cars taxable? On Labor Day weekend in 2006, World Furniture Mall in Plano, Illinois, gave away $275,000 of furniture because the Chicago Bears shut out the Green Bay Packers in the team’s football season opener at Lambeau Field in Green Bay (26-0). Was the free furniture in the form of a discount or rebate taxable, or should the furniture company have handed the customers a Form 1099-MISC? Response After thoroughly researching taxable and nontaxable income, the Pontiac G6 sedans awarded to Oprah’s television audience would have been subject to federal taxation and included in their gross income. The Code of Federal Regulations states the taxable and nontaxable income to be included in one’s federal taxes, the code reads that “if you win a prize in a lucky number drawing, television or radio quiz program, beauty contest, or other event, you must include it in your income” (Prizes and Awards, 2003). The fair market value of all prizes and awards, other than certain scholarships, must be included in gross income (Hoffman p. 4-33). In further research, CNN Money reported that the cars Oprah gave away were indeed subject to federal taxation. Pontiac agreed to pay most of the local charges, including state sales tax and licensing fees, but the fair market value of the car, $28,500, was still subject to be added to the taxpayer’s gross income. The audience members...
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...ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROJECT ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROJECT Submitted TO – Ms. Neha BY – Mahima Sharma 50081 Priansha Periwal 50116 BBS 3 HR Submitted TO – Ms. Neha BY – Mahima Sharma 50081 Priansha Periwal 50116 BBS 3 HR CULTURAL DIVERSITY AMONG ENTREPRENEURS CULTURAL DIVERSITY AMONG ENTREPRENEURS Regardless of who you are or what you have been, you can be what you want to be. – W. Clement Stone Regardless of who you are or what you have been, you can be what you want to be. – W. Clement Stone Regardless of who you are or what you have been, you can be what you want to be. – W. Clement Stone ACKNOWLEDGEMENT We owe a great many thanks to a great many people who helped and supported us during the project. The project “CULTURAL DIVERSITY AMONG ENTREPRENEURS” focuses on understanding the diversity that exists among the newly emerged breed of entrepreneurs.We made an effort to understand how people from completely different backgrounds and ways of life, but with a common drive to prove their mettle, end up being their own masters. Our deepest thanks to our college professor, Ms. Neha , who acted as a constant guide and mentor in the process of drafting of this project...
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...Business proposal Economics - ECO/561 Business proposal This assignment will center around introducing a new product in an existing line of business and focus on how to develop the good to increase the revenue. I would be also touching upon the concepts of the elasticity of demand, market structure as well as profit maximization techniques which would be useful to further this good and also the barriers to entry. Pricing strategies and product differentiation will be the other important topics which will be discussed as well. I am choosing the shampoo company Pantene, founded in 1947, who was inspired by the ingredient panthenol, Pantene and was originally owned by Swiss drug company Hoffman-LaRoche.It made its debut as a premium hair care line across Europe, replete with glass bottles and prestige scents and then crossed over to the US. Pantene has just come up with the latest Custom Hair solutions which I will be focusing on. Elasticity of Demand Simply put, the demand for Pantene shampoo is highly elastic for the main reason that today there are so many substitutes available and so many other companies launching their shampoo products on a daily basis. Market Structure The market structure for the shampoo market is that of Monopolistic Competition. This is when a large number of sellers produce a product or service that is perceived by consumers as being different from that of a competitor but is actually quite similar. This perception of...
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...but at least it does not aggravate the problem. 2. (LO 2) Economic, social, equity, and political factors play a significant role in the formulation of tax laws. Furthermore, the IRS and the courts have had impacts on the evolution of tax laws. For example, control of the economy has been an important economic consideration in passing a number of laws (e.g., rapid depreciation, changes in tax rates). 3. (LO 2) The tax law encourages technological progress by allowing immediate (or accelerated) deductions and tax credits for research and development expenditures. 4. (LO 2) Saving leads to capital formation and thus makes funds available to finance home construction and industrial expansion. For example, the tax laws provide incentives to encourage savings by giving private retirement plans preferential treatment. 5. (LO 2) a. Section 1244 allows ordinary loss treatment on the worthlessness of small business corporation stock. Since such stock normally would be a capital asset, the operation of § 1244 converts a less desirable capital loss into a more attractive ordinary loss. Such tax treatment was designed to aid small businesses in raising needed capital through the issuance of stock. b. c. 6. The corporate income tax rates favor...
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...displayed many characteristics associated with entrepreneurs such as, self-confidence, tolerance for ambiguity, high energy levels, and share a desire for independence. Candace and Charles displayed confidence by believing in them and in their cupcake business and made the decision to quit their lucrative careers to pursue the uncertainty of the cupcake only bakery. Their confidence could be tied in with their tolerance for ambiguity. Entrepreneurs are risk takers; they tolerate situations with high degree of uncertainty. This is the case for the Nelson’s. To bring the cupcake concept to L.A. during a time that the United States was deeply influenced by the “South Beach Diet” a diet that inspired low-carb eating was a major risk to take. Success in the beginning was uncertain yet they quit their jobs and made a go of it. Having a high energy level is critical in any small business. Hard work was something the Nelson’s were used to. They both were obviously college educated and I am sure it takes a great deal of hard work and energy to be an investment banker. The Nelson’s brought their high energy level to Sprinkles. This is observed through Candace’s actions to get 300 cupcakes ready and flying on a red eye flight to be on the Oprah Winfrey show. Her hard work here gave Sprinkles the publicity it needed to gain a steady customer base. The Nelson’s ignored the negatives surrounding them and pursued their dream. One could argue that they desired independence. This could be the reason...
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...Helping Women Climb the Ladder: How Corporations can Profit from Gender Diversity The need to make a commitment to encouraging diversity is paramount in today's business world. Executive women leadership can help corporations at the board level with success, find creative ways for face challenges, and spot talent within and outside the corporation while making the boardroom more innovative. Unfortunately, business women do not possess equal access to leadership. They face complexities not encountered by business men because of continuing uncertainties about their ability to lead. Requiring a diverse boardroom is a smart and practical way of bringing a different perspective and most assuredly value to the workplace. If every corporate board had at least one female board director, imagine the creativity and respect that would transpire. Women are working longer hours and the days of the "typical" stay at home mom are now becoming the stay at home dad. Business women have their sights on achieving an executive leadership position at the top of any corporation. Businesses must realize that there is something missing with boards being presided, managed and directed by all white males. In today's society, the word is inclusion, not exclusion, and it is robbing companies and society of talent and perspective that would benefit any firm by having the other half of the working population in the room. An integrated and diverse network of employees is a smart and practical way...
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