Tan Sri Teh Is The BrandLaureate Banker of the Year 2013

Founder and Chairman of Public Bank, Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Dr. Teh Hong Piow has been awarded ‘The BrandLaureate Banker of the Year Award 2013’ by The Asia Pacific Brands Foundation (APBF), a world leading branding foundation. Dr. KK Johan, President of The Asia Pacific Brands Foundation presented the award to Tan Sri Teh at the Bank’s Anniversary held at the MINES International Exhibition & Convention Centre on 6 July 2013. In his citation Dr. KK Johan said, “Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Dr. Teh Hong Piow, the Founder and Chairman of Public Bank is indeed most deserving of the title and accolade, The BrandLaureate Banker of the Year Award 2013. Recognised for his foresight, dexterity and business acumen, Tan Sri Teh stands tall as a man in control of his destiny.  He continued, “In 1966, Tan Sri Teh set his aims up high – to start his own bank.  Since its founding on that historic day, Public Bank has seen many decades of remarkable achievements which were made possible by its Founder’s strategic leadership and his ability to inspire and motivate his staff”. According to him, the success of Public Bank lies in its brand champion and brand leader, Tan Sri Teh, who lives and breathes the brand. He said, “Tan Sri Teh’s leadership has been notable, not just because he embodied the highest standards of professional expertise, but also because he never shied away from making difficult decisions and taking good cognizance of economic realities. He implemented best banking practices in Public Bank that would enable it to overcome one financial crisis after another. Even in the worst of the global financial downturn, Public Bank continues to stand tall and strong, much to the envy of many local and foreign banks”. Tan Sri Teh had received four personal awards from Asia Pacific Brands Foundation which include The BrandLaureate Brand Personality Award 2007, The BrandLaureate Premier Icon Leadership Award 2011 and The BrandLaureate Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad Man of the Year Award 2011.  Tan Sri Teh was also the recipient of many accolades from various international publications, amongst them were Asia’s Best CEO, Asia’s Banking Grandmaster, Asian Banker Par Excellence and ASEAN Most Astute Banker. At the same event, Public Bank was also awarded ‘The BrandLaureate Signature Brand Awards 2013’ by the APBF. Managing Director, Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Tay Ah Lek, in his acknowledgement speech said, “Winning these two prestigious awards is indeed an honour that doubles the joy of celebrating the Bank’s 47th Anniversary tonight.  Although Public Bank has been bestowed countless awards over the years, every award continues to fill us with a sense of achievement and pride.  In fact we are inspired to further raise the bar of excellence as each milestone is accomplished.” He added, “The BrandLaureate Signature Brand Award is a recognition and reaffirmation of Public Bank’s solid stature in Malaysia’s banking industry.” The BrandLaureate Signature Brand Awards 2012 -2013 are for selected brands that are established and have successfully stamped their mark in their field of expertise and are market leaders. It is higher than the Corporate and Product Branding Awards categories. Public Bank has been selected as the inaugural recipient of The BrandLaureate Signature Brand Awards 2012-2013 in the category of Finance - Banking. Prior to this award, Public Bank had in the past six consecutive years from 2007 to 2012, being crowned the BrandLaureate Awards for Best Brands in Financial Services – Banking Category. In addition, Public Bank was also the winner of The BrandLaureate – SME Best Brands Awards 2011.

* * * * * * * * Tan Sri Dato' Sri Dr. Teh Hong Piow, Founder and Chairman, receiving The BrandLaureate Banker of the Year Award 2013 from Dr. KK Johan

Public Mutual Anniversary 2011, and Celebrating Tan Sri Dato' Sri Dr. Te...

3 Challenges Entrepreneurs Face After Starting Their Own Business

Starting a business is a huge challenge for any entrepreneur, but maintaining it successfully can be even more demanding. All companies, big and small, face similar challenges: those to do with branding and productivity of employees, for example. However, there are some that are only applicable to smaller start-up businesses, and it is these challenges that this article will explore.

Maintaining Quality Despite Growth

It is important to find a middle ground here. On one hand, you dearly want your business to grow as much as possible, and start competing with the bigger players. On the other, however, your company’s initial successes may have been founded upon its perceived superiority – in aspects like personable customer service andattention to detail – and if you compromised that quality in favour of expansion, loyal customers might decide to look elsewhere. While you should endeavour to maintain the integrity of your company no matter how much it might expand, at times you will have to make compromises and sacrifices for the overall good of the business.

Tiredness and Overworking

No matter how passionate you are about your business, you still risk overworking yourself and burning out. Fatigue can lead to rash and irresponsible decision-making: this is something that could jeopardise your entire business, and you will need to settle quickly into a sustainable pattern of work. Many successful business owners find themselves working much longer hours than their employees, partly due to fears that the business will stall without their presence at the helm. They might also avoid taking any long holidays off from work. You should make sure you take ample time away from the stresses of the job to relax and recharge, and give yourself a well-earned break. Equally, don’t jet off to Ibiza for the whole of summer: be responsible when booking your holidays, and try to find a healthy balance between your wellbeing and the demands of your business.

Dependence on you (the founder)

It’s important to make sure that your business can still function successfully without you, if for some reason you are unable to work for a lengthy period of time. Start by delegating more influential tasks to your employees. Not only will this lessen the burden on your shoulders, it will also help to promote a feeling of mutual trust between you and your workforce. You want them to feel a sense of involvement in the running of the company. This is something that might encourage their continued loyalty towards the business, as well as greater productivity in their work. At first, it might be hard to relinquish control, given that this could lead to a lower quality of work whilst you train your employees. However, delegation is a vital step that you must take, and one which will, in the long term, prevent you from succumbing to stress and fatigue. Without the ability to train new employees efficiently, your small business will find it tough to grow. These are challenges that any new business faces, and normally there aren’t any magic solutions that completely solve a problem. The hardest part is finding a balance that works for you, your employees and your business. If you can strike that balance, then your company will continue to flourish long after you start it.

sources:http://www.bnlug.org/3-challenges-entrepreneurs-face-after-starting-their-own-business/

challenges an entrepreneur faces when starting up a business?

First challenge: Doubt
At the beginning, building a business is exciting. That's when most people tell you you're doing the right thing, and all of the forecasts you create show you becoming a millionaire in no time. It's when the first potential customer says "No way, why would I want that?" that you have to face doubt. Until you have dozens of employees and have been operating for several years, the entrepreneur IS the business. Doubt will kill your personal mental drive, and as a result, it will kill your business. Fight against self-doubt. That doesn't mean you should blindly pursue impossible goals, but don't allow irrational self-doubt to cloud your quest for success.

Second challenge: Product-market fit
It's hard to find a good market that has a problem and money to pay for a solution, and then to match that market up with your product in a way that fits perfectly. We call this "product-market fit". The thing that makes it particularly hard is that there aren't often clear signals telling you when you've got product-market fit or not. It takes a lot of experimentation with product design, pricing, distribution, etc. before you really have something that PERFECTLY fills a niche that needs to be filled. This is what entrepreneurship is all about. I don't know all the answers on this, but I'd recommend reading "The Lean Startup", which is a book that talks a lot about product-market fit.

Third challenge: Recruiting
There aren't many businesses that will operate on the back of one single student. You have classes to attend to, and one person can only do so much. You need help. That means you have to convince other people to join you in your project. But recruiting is a significant challenge. How do you motivate people to join you in achieving your vision? How do you make sure you're getting quality people? Overcoming this challenge means building your leadership skills. It's one of the hardest challenges, which is why I put it into my top four.

Fourth challenge: Capital
Capital is money. You need capital. Your business needs capital. If you don't have capital, you need to get it, and until you have it, your business is on life-support. How do you get capital? Sell something. Earn some funds and keep them in the business. Get investors to give you capital. Find someone with capital and convince them to co-invest in your business. Borrow money if you have to. Protect your relationships with the people who loan you money or invest with you - always pay them back on time. You need them (and their networks) to be there to support you with more capital for the rest of your life, so always treat them well.

by 

Jared Chung Founder at CareerVillage.org 

5 Reasons Why You Must Conduct Feasibility Study Before Starting a business

1.  A feasibility study will help you to determine the profitability of the business venture. Before starting a business, seasoned entrepreneurs and investors would want to know if the business would be worth their time, effort and resources. It is worthwhile to know that many entrepreneurs have abandoned solid business ideas because the profitability could not be ascertained on conducting a feasibility study on the business idea.

2.  A feasibility study will help prove to the entrepreneur, venture capitalists, lenders and investors the existence of the market, the liquidity of the business venture and the expected return on investment.

3.  A feasibility study will help you identify the flaws, business challenges, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats and unforeseen circumstances that might affect the success and sustainability of the business venture. Just like the case of my dad’s business, the business failure and loss of money would have been avoided if we had carried out a feasibility study. We simply jumped in based on someone’s recommendations because we were flushed with cash and we paid dearly for it.

4.  Before starting a business, a feasibility study will enable you estimate the financial, human and technological resources that will be needed to ensure the successful launching of the business. Feasibility study helps to reveal the number and level of skill or unskilled workers to be employed and their salary scale.

5.  Feasibility study will help you to determine the amount of capital required to start the business. It will also help you in establishing the budget plan, working capital and cash flow projections of the business.

10 Challenges of Starting a Business

1. Developing the Vision and Business Idea

“To have a great idea, have a lot of them.” – Thomas Edison

Developing a business idea is usually the first challenge faced by every entrepreneur when starting a business from scratch. Finding the right business opportunity or creatively developing an idea is certainly not an easy task. I call “Envisioning the idea” the first true task of an entrepreneur. As an entrepreneur, you must possess the ability to see what others cannot see. While others see problems, you must see opportunities.

“There is far more opportunity than there is ability.” – Thomas Edison

But seeing opportunities is just the beginning. The main business challenge is going to be your ability to forge that opportunity into a business idea. I see this as a business challenge because the process of transforming problems into business opportunities is like trying to turn lead into gold. I call it the entrepreneurial process of “Creating Value out of nothing”; a process that brings innovative products into existence. Below is an illustration of how the process goes.

• Identifying a problem > Seeing an opportunity in the problem > Coming up with a solution > Forging the opportunity into a business idea > Integrating your solution into a business plan

“A good businessman must have nose for business the same way a journalist has nose for news. Once your eyes, ears, nose, heart and brain are trained on business, you sniff business opportunities everywhere. In places where people see a lot of obstacles, I see a lot of opportunities. At times, there is something instinctive in me that tell me a business opportunity exist even at a place where others see nothing. That is what makes me different, maybe unique. A good businessman sees where others don’t see. What I see, you may not see. You cannot see because that is the secret of the business… the entire world is a big market waiting for anybody who knows the rules of the game.” – Orji Uzor Kalu

Developing a vision is definitely a business challenge because an entrepreneur must sometimes assume the role of a sorcerer. Let me explain in detail. Most individuals are comfortable with the present way of doing things but it is the duty of an entrepreneur to envision and forecast the future. An entrepreneur must always be ahead of his time or else he will lose his relevance. It is the duty of an entrepreneur to bring into present what is yet to be. It is also the duty of an entrepreneur to bring solutions to other people’s problems. Let me give you some practical illustrations:

“If you want to be rich, you need to develop your vision. You must be standing on the edge of time gazing into the future.” – Rich Dad

a)  In the late 70s and early 80s, while IBM saw increase in demand for their mainframe computers, Steve Jobs envisioned a personal computer in every home and Bill Gates envisioned the need for easy to use software for personal computers. That single vision made Bill Gates the richest man in the world and Steve Jobs the most famous business person of the 21st century.

“Business is going to change in the next ten years than it has in the last fifty years.” – Bill Gates

b)  The Wright brothers envisioned a flying machine but they were massively opposed because the thought of humans flying was perceived as impossible. Today, the Airplane is a reality.

c)  Back in those days when cars were custom made and exclusively for the rich, Henry Ford envisioned affordable cars for the masses. That single vision made Henry Ford one of the richest men in history.

“You are nuts and you should be proud of it. Stick with what you believe in.” – Trip Hawkins

I believe with these few examples, my point is clear. Developing the vision and idea is the first true task and challenge of being an entrepreneur.

2. Raising Capital for your Startup

After developing your idea, the next challenge you are going to face when starting a business from scratch is that of raising capital. As an entrepreneur, you are the only one that knows business your idea to the core. You are the only one that knows the story of your future.

“Capital can do nothing without brains to direct it.” – J. Ogden Armour

Trying to convince investors about something that doesn’t exist is definitely a challenge. Trying to make them understand that you are trustworthy and equal to the task is not child’s play especially when you are building your first business.

“If you want to know the value of money, go and try to borrow some.” – Benjamin Franklin

There is more to raising capital than just simply asking for money. Most investors want to invest in already established businesses with minimal risk and they want to be sure that they get returns for the risk they took. Most brilliant business ideas never scale through the venture capital stage because the entrepreneur is either not prepared or lacks what it takes to raise the needed capital. Just as my mentor, Robert Kiyosaki says:

“The world is filled with brilliant ideas and excellent products but the world lacks seasoned entrepreneurs.” – Robert Kiyosaki

To overcome the challenge of raising capital, you must develop the ability to sell your idea and vision to potential investors. When I say “sell your ideas“, I mean improving your communication skill and your manner of presentation. In the game of raising capital, you must have a good story to tell; backed by a strong business plan and good persuasion skills. You must know how to pitch angel investors and venture capitalists alike.

“The ability to sell is the number one skill in business. If you cannot sell, don’t bother thinking about becoming a business owner.” – Rich Dad

3. Assembling a Business Team

“Eagles don’t flock, you have to find them one at a time.” – Henry Ross Perot

The third business challenge you will face in the course of starting a small business from scratch is assembling the right business management team. When I talk about a team, I am not talking about regular employees. I am talking about a “strategic round table business team” that will meet regularly to brainstorm on ways to grow your business.

“Individuals don’t win in business, teams do.” – Sam Walton

The process of building a business team starts even before the issue of raising initial start-up capital arises. Remember I said that most brilliant ideas never scale through the phase of raising venture capital. Well; this is where most budding entrepreneurs miss it. Most brilliant ideas and products never get funded because the entrepreneur is trying to raise capital as an individual. A business team is a vital, yet often ignored key to raising venture capital successfully.

“Business and investing are team sports.” – Rich Dad

As an entrepreneur, you are bound to have strengths and weaknesses. That is the more reason you need a business team to cover up or compliment your weaknesses. A team is a necessity for building a successful business. Now finding a business team is just the second hurdle, transferring your passion and vision to your team is the next piece of cake.

“Teams should be able to act with the same unity of purpose and focus as a well motivated individual.” – Bill Gates

It’s your duty as an entrepreneur to make sure your team sees the future you see. They must believe in your possibilities and must also be passionate about making that possibility a reality. If they can’t grasp your vision, if they can’t see the future with you, then they are not worthy being your team.

“My model for business is the Beatles. They were four guys that kept each other’s negative tendencies in check; they balanced each other. And the total was greater than the sum of the parts. Great things in business are not done by one person; they are done by a team of people.” – Steve Jobs

Your strategic business team should comprise your banker, financial adviser, accountant, attorney or legal adviser and any other specialist that will be of tremendous impact to your business. A question on your mind right now might be “how am I going to pay this team” My answer is I don’t know. You will have to figure it out yourself or better still, you can consider bringing them on board as partners.

“Go to the wolf, consider its ways and be wise. A wolf will never hunt alone; it hunts in packs because it knows the power of team work.” – Ajaero Tony Martins

4. Finding the Right Business Location

Is finding a good location a business challenge? I don’t know but what I do know is that finding a good business location at the right price is definitely not easy. How do you get a location that has a rapidly growing population, good road network and other amenities at a good price? Well, you will have to figure out yourself.

5. Finding Good Employees

“If you own a butcher shop, don’t hire vegetarians. To hire the right people, you have to let the wrong people go.” – Rich Dad

Most writers and managers crank up the process of finding good employees as an easy task. They define the process of finding an employee as simply presenting the job description and the right employee will surface. But I think it’s more than that.

“The competition to hire the best will increase in the years ahead. Companies that give extra flexibility to their employees will have the edge in this area.” – Bill Gates

Business owners know how difficult it is to find a hardworking, trustworthy employee. Most employees want to work less and get paid more. Finding a good employee who will be passionate about delivering his or her services is quite difficult. Finding good employees is a minor task compared to the business challenge of forging your hired employees into a team. You may have great employees but if they can’t act as a team, they are worthless and will yield nothing but stagnation. A football team may have great skillful players but if they fail to play as a team, their possessed skill is useless.

“Bringing together the right information with the right people will dramatically improve a company’s ability to develop and act on strategic business opportunities.” – Bill Gates

Employees are your representatives to your customers and the outside world. They are a reflection of your business culture and ethics. If an employee of yours is bad or rude to your customers, it is going to portray a bad image for your company. So you must be careful when hiring employees. Remember the golden rule of business; “Hire slow and fire fast.”

6. Finding Good Customers

The sixth challenge you will face in the process of starting a small business from scratch is finding good customers. Note the keyword “good customers.” In the process of building a business, you will come to find out that there are good customers as well as bad customers. You must be on guard for bad customers. Good customers are really hard to find. A good customer will be loyal to your company and will be willing to forgive you if you make a mistake and apologize. A good customer will try to do the right thing that will benefit both himself and your company mutually.

“Thank God for my customers. They buy my products before they are perfected.” – Henry Ford

Bad customers will always look for loopholes in the company’s policy to exploit and make a few gains. Bad customers will always try to exploit the company’s goodwill and look for ways to rip off the company. Bad customers are responsible for bad debts. Good customers build your business and bad customers will always try to liquidate your business. Just as you fire employees, you must also be prepared to fire bad customers without hesitation. Remember the story of the customer that sued McDonald’s claiming the coffee was too hot.

“You must fire bad customers just as you would fire a bad employee. If you do not get rid of your bad employees, the good employees will leave. If I do not fire bad customers, not only will my good customers leave but many of my good employees will leave as well.” – Rich Dad

7. Dealing with Competition

“In business, the competition will bite you if you keep running. If you stand still, they will swallow you.” – Victor Kiam

Competition is the next challenge you will face when starting a business. Most individuals see competition as a plague but I see competition as a good challenge. I see competition as a benchmark for creativity, the main engine that stimulates innovation and production of quality products at great prices. Without competition, there will be no innovation and without innovation, the world will be stagnant.

“If you don’t have a competitive advantage, don’t compete.” – Jack Welch

I see competition as a welcomed challenge and I want you to do the same. Competition keeps us on our toes and drives us to constantly improve our products and services. But you must be warned. Competition can make your business lose its relevance in the eye of your customers so you must always be on guard.

“The competitor to be feared is one who never bothers about you at all but goes on making his own business better all the time.” – Henry Ford

8. Unforeseen Business Challenges and Expenses

“Smooth seas seldom make good sailors.” – Anonymous

Just as a sailor prepares for unexpected storm, just as a pilot is always on the watch for unpredictable bad weather and thunderstorms, so must an entrepreneur prepared for whatever comes. Unexpected challenges can come in the form of:

• Unexpected law suits
• Inconsistent government policy
• Not being able to make payroll
• Unpaid bills and taxes
• Unexpected resignation of staff from sensitive office
• Bad debts from customers
• Loss of market share
• Dwindling working capital
• Inadequate stock or inventory

“A company’s ability to respond to an unplanned event, good or bad is a prime indicator of its ability to compete.” – Bill Gates

These business challenges, if not handled properly can ruin your plan to build a successful business. Another challenge you must expect is an unforeseen increase in business expenses. If not handled properly, it might result in constant negative cash flow and eventually; business failure.

9. Keeping Up With Industrial Changes and Trends

“In three years, every product my company makes will be obsolete. The only question is whether we will make them obsolete or somebody else will.” – Bill Gates

Change in trends is a challenge you must be prepared for when starting a small business. Trends have made and broken lot of businesses. I know a lot of profitable businesses that have been wiped out by slight industrial changes and trends. A typical example is the Dot com trend, where many established industrial based businesses were wiped out by new web based dot com companies.

“How fast a company can respond in an emergency is a measure of its corporate reflexes.” – Bill Gates

When the Dot com era began, business owners were left with only two options. Either they join the dot com train or they get crushed by the dot com train. Seasoned entrepreneurs know that trend is a friend and are always willing to swiftly adjust their business to the current trend. Keeping your eyes open to spot trends is really a challenge but the big task will be your ability to quickly use the trend to your advantage.

10. Exiting the Business

“In the world of business and investing, your exit is more important than your entry. A good thumb of rule is this; exit before you enter.” – Robert Kiyosaki

When building a business from scratch, you are going to face the challenge of determining your exit strategy. Just as the quote above states, you have to plan your exit strategy before you even start the business. Most entrepreneurs run their business without any plans to exit and even if they have an exit strategy, they find it difficult to implement it.

“Always start at the end before you begin. Professional investors always have an exit strategy before they invest. Knowing your exit strategy is an important investment fundamental.” – Rich Dad

Before starting a business, it is advisable to plan an exit. Lack of an exit plan is the primary reason why most businesses crumble after the death of the founder. An exit strategy is very important to the long term survival of a business. now how do you plan an exit strategy? There are benchmarks you can use to determine your exit from any business. Most smart entrepreneurs will use a certain benchmark as a target and once this specific target is reached, they exit the business. Examples of such benchmarks are:

• Annual sales
• Annual Turnover
• Asset Base
• Market Saturation
• Customer base, subscribers or number of users

Now when it comes to exiting a business, there are three strategies you can apply. You can choose to exit a business in any of the following ways:

a) Turning over the business to professional managers

When your business reaches a certain stage of maturity, you can exit by turning it over to professional managers. In this case, the business still belongs to you but you are not involved with its day to day affairs. You will have to give up administrative role to assume the role of a watchdog. When you exit in this manner, you will have more free time to look at other projects or retire.

b) Selling the business privately

In this case, you are exiting the business by selling it to a private investor. In the business world, it is called M&A (Mergers and Acquisitions). Exiting your business this way means that after the sale and transfer of assets is complete, you have nothing to do with the business again.

c) Taking the company public

The unique thing about this type of exit strategy is that while you are selling your business (in form of shares) to public investors, you still maintain control over the business. Please before you apply any of these exit strategy, I will advise you consult with your attorney or legal adviser. But ultimately, it’s up to you to decide the exit strategy you want to apply; but always remember “your exit is more important than your entry.”

As a final note, I want to state clearly that challenges come only to make you stronger; so don’t faint in the face of challenges. Stand tall; keep moving your business forward and I will see you at the top.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND ENTREPRENEURIAL CULTURE

Entrepreneurial culture can be made to enable democratisation of the capacity to create and manage (business) towards wealth creation, thereby eradicating poverty.

When people are empowered to create and manage their own businesses,

wealth creation is possible;

jobs are created;

individual and collective well being becomes a reality; and

it becomes easier for the State to better redistribute wealth to those who cannot work (disabilities for instance) when all those who can work are empowered to do so.

Earlier definitions of entrepreneurship have referred to creation and running of innovative businesses by people sharing a number of characteristics. Broadly speaking, entrepreneurship also includes innovative positive social interventions (to be dealt with under Social Entrepreneurship in a later Unit).

Culture refers to attitudes and values which in the case of entrepreneurship may be linked with autonomy, creativity and sense of responsibility (soft skills) and so on. It also refers to entrepreneurial knowledge and skills and management competencies which have to be acquired (hard skills).

The hard aspects of culture apply to entrepreneurship because without them, an entrepreneurial culture would not develop into a tangible act.

According to David Mc Clelland (1961), an entrepreneur is a dynamic person who takes calculated risks. This definition has a behaviourist orientation.

Fillion (1990) defines the entrepreneur as someone who imagines, develops and realises a vision. In economic terms, one may define an entrepreneur as someone who combines resources in such a way as to add value.

A psychologist’s point of view may be that: an entrepreneur is someone who feels the need to accomplish something, to realise his/her potential or to become his own boss.

Across all above definitions, there is a recurrence of underlying notions like: vision, value creation, innovation, risk-taking and self-accomplishment.

Having reviewed the characteristics of entrepreneurs, one is tempted to conclude that an entrepreneur is a product of his/her particular environment. Several authors have shown that entrepreneurs reflect the characteristics of the time and place where they have evolved (Toulouse, 1990). The cultures, the needs and the habits of a particular country or region shape the behaviour of entrepreneurs. Obviously enough, with the falling of frontiers (both geographical and psychological) entrepreneurs exert an influence that goes far beyond their own countries and/or regions.

Entrepreneurial Culture

Culture can be defined as the mix of norms, values and beliefs that are shared by a particular community [be it a business community, a cultural (or ethnic) community, a country, or a geographical region].

Cultural Values

Linton (1975) describes values as a predisposition to act in a certain way.

Values of entrepreneurs:

According to Sexton & Bowman (1986), entrepreneurship is a value in itself for Americans. Different authors suggest different values for entrepreneurs:

Kets de Vries (1984): reputation, power, status and recognition

Gordon Survey of values (1976): independence, efficacy and a negative reaction to affiliation.

There is a general presumption that a society may have potential entrepreneurs, but only becomes entrepreneurial if it has a culture that supports innovation and initiative.

Cultural Attitudes

According to J. M. Toulouse (1990), entrepreneurial culture is favoured by the following set of attitudes:

1. Business activities are valued.

2. Individual and collective initiatives are highly rated.

3. Determination and perseverance are desirable qualities.

4. An equilibrium between security and risk is accepted.

5. The tension between stability and change is resolved.

Therefore, in a society favouring entrepreneurship, entrepreneurs are role models who are not only acceptable, but desirable.

In such societies, challenges are regarded as opportunities (and not threats). In societies where entrepreneurship is absent, business challenges are left to be taken care of by foreign investors. On the other hand, within entrepreneurial cultures, people will find inspiration in challenges. These will enable them to act and find ways to exploit existing opportunities. An example of lack of entrepreneurial culture in a given country is where the business community believes that government is going to take charge of all their problems.

An entrepreneurial culture is supported by people who have a strong belief in their projects, who will invest their physical, psychological and other resources (also including those of others) in their venture with a view to succeed.

Decision is taken out of reasonable certainty and out of a positive balance of probabilities based on available information. A community favouring experimentation, R & D and innovation, has a culture associated with risk taking. Entrepreneurship reconciles risk and security.

Starting a small business entails risks, but is also a source of gratification for the successful entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurship has the potential to bring positive changes, both to the individual or collective entrepreneur and to society as a whole. Entrepreneurs are change agents who can alter a given situation and give society a product or service that can transform their behaviours and ways of living.

Hence, a society that favours status-quo and offers resistance to change does not display a culture conducive to entrepreneurship.

Similarly, a business organisation that resists change will ultimately have to face its own obsolescence.

According to Fortin (2003), entrepreneurial culture can be rooted in a society through four main avenues:

- the family;

- education;

- existing business organisations; and

- local and national authorities and leaders.

Promoting an Entrepreneurial Culture within the Community

The conditions required for establishing an Entrepreneurial Culture are:

Identification and promotion of Role Models: Women entrepreneurs, for example the ladies who lost their jobs in the textile sector and created ‘Charmin Sud’, a rural women entrepreneur partnership. They came on television to explain how being laid off from an ailing textile industry was for them a blessing in disguise. It allowed them to unveil their entrepreneurial potential and leadership abilities.

Role of media: For instance, in the promotion of Entrepreneurship as a business model. Until recently, the local TV ran a weekly documentary: ‘Portrait d’Elle’, in which a local women entrepreneur was portrayed as to her new place in society as an economic (and social) agent. Similarly, a few newspapers reserve a page regularly to promote entrepreneurial initiatives.

The Education system: Entrepreneurship modules in the curriculum at different levels. Entrepreneurship education is now beginning to be anchored in tertiary education curricula. We have now moved past the old paradigm whereby entrepreneurship was to be taught only in Business faculties. The present Super GEM is a living example of the new paradigm whereby the subject is available to all undergraduates from all fields. An IT student, a Fashion & Design student and all the others in fact, need to know the basic business and entrepreneurship skills that are required to start a business or to act entrepreneurially, to lead and innovate in their employer organisations.

Period of Incubation: Entrepreneurship development programmes spread over a period of time (and not one off initiatives). Initiatives like “La semaine de l’Entrepreneuriat” are beneficial for general awareness, but the enthusiasm soon dies away after the caravan has left. What is truly beneficial for culture change is a planned process that uses all the avenues mentioned in this section over a longer period with set objectives and performance targets. In Finland, entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial culture developed as a result of a planned ‘Entrepreneurship decade’, that is, ten years of cultural change. This can take the form of entrepreneurship education starting at primary or secondary education level, targeting rural women with a Microcredit scheme and so on.

Participation of leaders (political, business, opinion): Political and religious leaders to promote entrepreneurship as a solution to current economic problems. As mentioned earlier under ‘leadership’, a strong, charismatic leadership is required to transform a community. To change the mentality from ‘qualifying to get a government job’ to ‘taking charge of oneself by being self employed’ requires psychological ‘push’ that can be facilitated by people who can influence the community. The first people to come to our mind are the political, social and religious leaders.

Role of State: in supporting entrepreneurial ventures financially and non-financially. The State can facilitate the above mentioned initiatives by providing the legal and institutional frameworks required to establish the entrepreneurial culture. In Mauritius, legislation pertaining to Business Facilitation has been passed to ease registration and other procedures.

Difficulties Faced in Establishing an Entrepreneurial Culture

Ignorance: Where people fail to capture the important role of entrepreneurship, for instance, in poverty alleviation.

Laziness: For example in communities who have got used to being assisted.

Fear: Risk aversion

Religious/Cultural constraints: Communities/societies where business and profit making are perceived as being against cultural/religious values.

Background of the founder of Rimbuhan Hijau Group --- Tan Sri Datuk Sir Tiong Hiew King

Earlier life

Tan Sri Datuk Sir Tiong was a Sarawakian born to a poor family in Sibu Sarawak, Malaysia in 1935. When he was young, he had to help his family to tap rubber early in the morning every day. Although he family was poor, but he still had a strong thirst for knowledge. . He graduated from Chung Cheng Primary School in Sibu, and later Methodist High School and Sacred Heart High School. After that, he took up a correspondence course with a Chinese university.

Working life

He began his working life at his uncle’s timber company, which laid a solid foundation for his future development. He was enlisted to help in the early stages of his uncle’s business.

Entrepreneur life

In 1976, Tan Sri Datuk Sir Tiong set up Rimbunan Hijau. He showed the kind of perseverance that Fuzhou people are known for. Together with some of his brothers, Rimbunan Hijau established a solid reputation and has emerged as a revered multinational corporation. Nowadays, Tan Sri Datuk Sir Tiong business has been diversified and goes globally to include Japan, Hong Kong, Australia, Canada, the United States, New Zealand, Singapore, Russia, Papua New Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Brazil and British Guyana. He also has investments in Shanghai, Dalian, Harbin, Datong and Guangzhou in China. Besides timber business, Tan Sri Datuk Sir Tiong business also covers finance, media, IT, mining, aquaculture, agriculture (oil palm plantation), reforestations, hospitality, trading and property development.

Awards

In June 2009, Tan Sri Datuk Sir Tiong was conferred with “Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (K.B.E.)”, which carries the title “SIR”, by Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom. In year 2010, he was awarded “Malaysia Business Leadership Award 2010 - The Lifetime Achievement Award” by the Kuala Lumpur Malay Chamber of Commerce, in recognition of his entrepreneurship and his contribution to the country. Tan Sri Datuk Sir Tiong was also the Chairman of the Board of Trustee of Yayasan Sin Chew.

Succeed

In Malaysia, there are three public listed companies under the Rimbunan Hijau Group lead by Tan Sri Datuk Sir Tiong, which are Subur Tiasa, Jaya Tiasa and Sin Chew Media Corporation Berhad. In Hong Kong, the Ming Pao Group has also listed successfully. Besides that, Tan Sri Datuk Sir Tiong also as the Executive Chairman of RH Petrogas Limited, a listed company in Singapore.

Background of Public Bank founder --- Tan Sri Dato' Seri Teh Hong Piow

Earlier life

Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Dr. Teh Hong Piow was born in Singapore in 1930 and he studied at the Anglo-Chinese School together with his wife, Puan Sri Tay Sock Noy, they are blessed with 3 daughters and a son.

Working life

Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Dr. The started involved in banking industries when he was work as a Bank Clerk with Overseas-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC). His talent and hard work earned him promotions where in 5 years he became the officer of the bank. After that, he quit his job at OCBC because his gets offers as a manager with Malayan Banking Berhad. When he was 34 years old, he was promoted to become the General Manager making him one of the youngest managers at Malayan Banking.

Becomes entrepreneur and succeed

In 1965, Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Dr. Teh leave Malayan Banking and start his own company which was Public Bank. Within 5 months, it was making money and a year later it when public. Nowadays, he has been Chairman of Lonpac Insurance Bhd, a wholly owned subsidiary of LPI Capital Bhd. He also was Non-Executive Chairman of Cambodian Public Bank Plc. Besides that he also serves as the Chairman of Public Financial Holdings Limited, JCG Holdings Limited , Tong Meng Industries Limited, Winton Holdings Bermuda Ltd and Public Islamic Bank Berhad.  He serves as Executive Director of Public Bank (Hong Kong) Limited, Director of Public Finance Berhad, Public Merchant Bank Berhad, Public Bank (L) Ltd., JCG Finance Company, Ltd.,and VID Public Bank.

Awards

He received recognitions and awards, include Asia's Commercial Banker of the Year Award 1991, the ASEAN Businessman of the Year Award 1994, Malaysia's Business Achiever of the Year Award 1997, and Malaysia's Chief Executive Officer of the Year Award 1998. He was awarded the Medal 'For the Course of Vietnamese Banking' by the State Bank of Vietnam in 2002. In recognition of his contribution to society and the economy, he conferred the Doctor of Laws (Honorary) from University of Malaya in 1989.