Wang Mengqi S11735090

MODULE TITLE: Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development MODULE CODE: BUS6011

LECTURER: Mike Cunningham

HAND IN DATE: 16/12/2011

STUDENT NAME: Wang Mengqi

STUDENT NUMBER: S1*******

WORDS COUNT: 2,647

A study of the factors that have motivated Steven Jobs into His Apple Kingdom

1.Introduction

In most cases, entrepreneurs are the businessmen who establish companies and make economical returns through taking risks and promoting their innovations. They are willing to launch a brand-new venture and at the same time taking full responsibility for the outcomes. Entrepreneurship is the spirit that is common on most of the entrepreneurs. The entrepreneurs have played great roles in accelerating economic growth both in developed and developing countries. Being a successful entrepreneur is the dream of millions of individuals and families around the world. In some sense, the entrepreneurs have lowered the unemployment rate and promoted general prosperity worldwide. Entrepreneurs are a group of people who are highly motivated to established a new venture, determined enough to take the outcomes no matter it is satisfactory or disappointing, and innovative enough to introduce their innovative ideas either through creating unique products or through novel management methods to the world. On entrepreneurs, people could identify some unique traits, such as special motivations, their charismatic leadership charm, their matchless inventions or innovations and the extraordinary changes they have brought to the world. In this article, the business course of Steven Jobs will be thoroughly described and analyzed. As a typical entrepreneur, Steven Jobs has displayed almost all the common traits of an entrepreneur. First of all, he is highly motivated by his personal aspire in establishing his business course. Secondly, he is innovative enough to bring the Apple brand to the world. Thirdly, he is a person of great personal leadership charm.

Fourthly, he has successfully brought enormous changes not only to the IT world but also to people’s daily life.

2.Literature Review

Motivations can be categorized into two major groups—intrinsic motivations and extrinsic motivations. People are motivated by intrinsic motivations could normally sense happiness and enjoyment in an endeavor. They devoted to their endeavors mostly for emotional return instead of solely for material reward. People who are motivated by extrinsic motivations are more likely to pay great attention on obtaining a favorable material outcome such as money or scores during an endeavor. For some entrepreneurs, extrinsic motivations, such as achieving certain economic return might be the first level factor that drives them into their business endeavors; however, in the end most of them would pay more attention on satisfying their intrinsic needs such as recognition, unspeakable happiness obtained in their endeavor and inner peace, and so on. This fits in well with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. People need to satisfy their basic needs before they could and would aspire for the needs on the top of the pyramid of human needs. Fundamentally speaking, the entrepreneurs are seeking and trying to achieve self-actualization through establishing their businesses. They are creating a world of their own where they could bring their moralities, creativity, spontaneity, unique problem solving methods and so on into full play. For almost all entrepreneurs, they have created their kingdoms which are running with the laws draw up by themselves.

Special inventions or innovations are common among the successful entrepreneurs. In business world, innovation and invention are sometimes the catalyst for economic growth. Through innovations, either innovation on the aspect of material products or on the management methods aspect, the entrepreneurs have obtained certain competitive edge against their competitors. Innovation is their special weapon on their path to business success. Almost every industry is founded on the basis of a certain invention or several inventions. For instance, the printing industry is based on the creating of paper and printing. Textile industry is based on the weaving and spinning methods and design. The prosperous development of telecommunication industry should be attributed to the invention of telephone. Every single entrepreneur in his specific industry is surviving on the innovations or inventions they made to improve the core invention of the industry. For instance, differentiating design and weaving or spinning methods are regarded as the key to win for entrepreneurs in the textile industry. Continuous technological updating and design improvements are the heated

competition area for most of the industries. Stagnation sometimes equals to a postponed death in the business world which is abiding by the jungle rules. Therefore, in some sense, innovation is the key to achieve success and being a successful entrepreneur in the business arena.

A successful entrepreneur seldom works single-handedly. In most cases, he would be a charismatic leader surrounded by a team of capable talents. Together they are bringing changes to the outside world. The entrepreneur would set the vision, aim and value for the enterprise he would devoted to, and lead his diverse teammates matching towards that direction. In a business, the entrepreneur is the head while his surrounding teammates are the functional organs. They are supporting each other and working together to achieve the same goal—success for the enterprise. As a charismatic leader of his kingdom, the entrepreneur is the magnet that attracts a group of talents who are working together towards the same ideal (Cringely, 1996). Together with his capable team, the entrepreneur would make changes to the outside world of his kingdom. They either provide the general consumer world another choice, or provide them with an improved experience. Through the transactions and communications going on between his kingdom and the outside world, the entrepreneurs are delivering their beliefs, their way of thinking and doing things and their values to the people outside of their kingdoms. Unconsciously, they are delivering percep tible changes into people’s life. These changes might only be ideological, or they can be material, however, people feel that their life is different

because of the existence of the entrepreneurs.

3. A Review of Relevant Material about Steven Jobs

Steven Jobs started his career as an employee of the IT industry in 1974.At that time he was a technician at Atari, which located in California. However, to search for spiritual enlightenment, he took a long vacation to India in the summer of 1974. He spent more than half a year in India and immersed in Buddhism belief. He went back to his American home in traditional Indian clothes. After back in America, he began taking participation in the meetings of the Homebrew Computer Club with Steve Wozniak, who has invented the Apple I Computer in 1976 (Andrews, 2009). Jobs greatly admired Edwin H. Land who has invented the instant photography and founded Polaroid Corporation, and treated Edwin as his career model. Together with Jobs and Ronald Wayne, Wozniak invented the Apple computer company in the garage of Jobs’ parents. At the initial stage of their enterprise endeavor, they were financed by A. C. Maekkula, Jr., then the semi-retired Intel product-marketing manager and engineer. The three continued to seek technical innovations. Soon they invented the Apple II and began to search for experience personnel to help to manage the expansion of Apple Company (Andrews, 2009).

In order to find helpful and capable teammates, the Apple Company has experienced several turbulent years. In 1978, Mike Scott who was previously working for National semiconductor was invited as the CEO of apple. However, the outcome did not turn out good for the company. Therefore in 1983, John Sculley, who was then serving

Pepsi-Cola, was lured by Jobs by challenge him ―Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life, or do you want to come with me and change the world?‖ Jobs was insightful in the IT industry. He was among the first to predict the commercial potential of Xerox PARC’s m ouse drive graphical user interface in the early 1980s. Therefore, based on it, Apple invented the Apple Lisa and Apple engineer Jef Raskin invented the Macintosh one year later. Though Jobs was described as a persuasive and charismatic director in Apple, some of the employees described him as an erratic and temperamental manager. Jobs resigned from Apple in 1985 because of a managerial dispute between him and Sculley(Levy, 2000). However, according to a speech Jobs given at Stanford University, being fired by Apple in 1985 was the best thing ever happened to him because it freed him again as a beginner. In 1985, Jobs started his own company NeXT which was bought by Apple in 1996(Markoff, 1997). Jobs served as the interim chief executive for Apple in September 1997.

Jobs was an insightful manager who has great executing power. To integrate Apple’s profiting powers, Jobs closed several ongoing projects in 1998, such as Newton, Cyberdog and OpenDoc. In addition, Jobs changed the licensing program for Macintosh Clones. The sales increased significantly after Apple has introduced the iMac and other new products. Soon, under Jobs’ guidance, Apple products have adopted appealing designs and powerful branding charm. Under the lead of Jobs, Apple Company began to branch out. It expanded its product line into consumer electronics and the cellular phone business. It iPod, iPad and especially iPhone have been received with exclamation by the consumers. He has been recognized as a

charismatic pioneer of the personal computer revolution. He aspired and devoted himself to position his businesses and his products at the frontier of the information technology industry under the guidance of his extraordinary foreseeing and trends setting talents. His managing style was aggressive and demanding. According to Fortune that Jobs was one of Silicon Valley’s leading egomaniacs and in 1993, Jobs was listed as one of America’s toughest Bosses while he was still leading NeXT (Dumaine, 1993). However, it is undeniable that the designs of apple products are appealing enough to cause a consumer mania among consumers and envy among Apple’s competitors. It is said that Jobs design sense was trenched with Buddhism which he has searched for months in India in 1974. In October 2011, Jobs was listed as either a primary inventor or co-inventor in 342 United States patents of a series of technologies ranging from actual computer and portable devices to user interfaces, speakers keyboards and so on. It is should noted that most of these patent are design patents (Stross, 1993, p.117-246).

4.Entrepreneurship on Jobs

In the course of establishing and developing the Apple Kingdom, Steven Jobs is mainly motivated by his personal aspire in the IT industry. As his adoptive parents are both company employees with relatively high salaries, Jobs never needs to worry too much about material comforts. Ever since junior high, Jobs has frequented the after-school lectures given by Hewlett-Packard Company in Palo Alto. He even sought opportunities working there as summer employee. Though he dropped out his

university Reed College just one semester after enrollment, he continues to attend the calligraphy course there. It is not exaggerating by commenting that had he dropped out that calligraphy course, the Mac would never have multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fronts. Jobs greatly admired Edwin H. Land who has invented the instant photography and founded Polaroid Corporation, and treated Edwin as his career model. As Jobs is modeling his own career path on that of Edwin H. Land, he aspires that he would also become inventive and being noted in the business world. Motivated by this intrinsic drive, Jobs successfully established himself as a widely acknowledged pioneer in the personal computer revolution.

Though sometimes regarded as overly aggressive and considered one of Silicon Valley's leading egomaniacs, it is an undeniable fact that Jobs is a charismatic and capable leader of Apple Company. He was widely regarded as the ―godfather‖ of Apple by the fans of Apple products all over the world. He was among the first to predict the commercial potential of Xerox PARC’s mouse drive graphical user interface in the early 1980s. Therefore, based on it, Apple invented the Apple Lisa and Apple engineer Jef Raskin invented the Macintosh one year later. The sales increased significantly after Apple has introduced the iMac and other new products. Soon, under Jobs’ guidance, Apple products have adopted appealing designs and powerful branding charm. Under the lead of Jobs, Apple Company began to branch out. It expanded its product line into consumer electronics and the cellular phone business (Appleyard, 2009). It iPod, iPad and especially iPhone have been received with exclamation by the consumers. He has been recognized as a charismatic pioneer of the

personal computer revolution. He aspired and devoted himself to position his businesses and his products at the frontier of the information technology industry under the guidance of his extraordinary foreseeing and trends setting talents. During Jobs’ reign of Apple Company, the brand of Apple has been spread wide and far and the Apple products have become the fashion icon for the young generations. He has contributed much to the development of the Apple Company by inviting and identifying capable teammates. He has successfully invited John Sculley from Pepsi-Cola and identified the potential value of the Macintosh invented by Apple engineer Jef Raskin. With strong technical support and his own powerful management strategy, Job has delivered great products as well as changes to the outside world. Jobs’ innovation has caused a great storm in the personal computer business and in the consumer electronic business as well as the cellular phone business as Apple expanded its product lines. Apple products have differentiated themselves with their intuitive designs and unique features. However, Jobs’ innovative talent does not only confined to exterior or feature designs, but also manifested on his management of the Apple brand. Ever since he has become the interim CEO of Apple, he has successfully spread the Apple brand over the world and made it one of the favorite icons among the young generation. Certain enough, Jobs was an influential person among common consumers. After he has died of cancer in October 5, 2011, numerous condolence emails were sent to the email address which was posted for the public to share their memories (Dominic, 2011). In a survey initiated by Junior Achievement, Steven Jobs was selected as the most admired entrepreneur among teenagers in August 2009 and

on November 5th, Jobs was also regarded as the CEO of the decade by Fortune Magazine. He was regarded as a man who has greatly changed the face of the modern world. With the help of the technical team and management team of Apple, Jobs has successfully created, developed and reinforced his Apple kingdom. Because of him, the Apple logo has become widely recognized and the brand has been greatly valued by the consumers worldwide.

5.Conclusion

Modeled his career path on Edwin H. Land, Jobs has been greatly motivated by his intrinsic desire to obtain success and recognition as well as the happiness he sensed in delivering his intuitive design onto material products. Motivated by this intrinsic drive, Jobs has successfully established himself as a widely acknowledged pioneer in the personal computer revolution. The Apple products have attracted and amazed consumers as well as IT engineers alike all over the globe. Jobs’ innovation has caused a great storm in the personal computer business and in the consumer electronic business as well as the cellular phone business as Apple expanded its product lines. Apple products have differentiated themselves with their intuitive designs and unique features. Though sometimes regarded as overly aggressive and considered one of Silicon Valley's leading egomaniacs, it is an undeniable fact that Jobs is a charismatic and capable leader of Apple Company. He was widely regarded as the ―godfather‖ of Apple by the fans of Apple products all over the world. After he has died of cancer in October 5 2011, numerous condolence emails were sent to the email address which

was posted for the public to share their memories. However, Jobs’ innovative talent does not only confined to exterior or feature designs, but also manifested on his management of the Apple brand (Noer, 2009). Ever since he has become the interim CEO of Apple, he has successfully spread the Apple brand over the world and made it one of the favorite icons among the young generation.

6.REFERENCE

1.Andrews A 2009, "Steve Jobs, Apple's iGod: Profile". The Daily Telegraph (UK).

2.Appleyard, B 2009. "Steve Jobs: The man who polished Apple". The Sunday

Times (UK): pp. 2.

3.Cringely, Robert X 1996. Accidental Empires. HarperBusiness.

4.Dominic R 2011. "Steve Jobs, Apple co-founder, dies at 56". The Guardian (UK).

5.Dumaine, B 1993. "America's Toughest Bosses". Fortune (CNN).

6.Levy S 2000. Insanely Great – The Life and Times of Macintosh, the Computer

That Changed Everything, New York:Penguin Books: pp. 204.

7.Markoff, J 1997. "An 'Unknown' Co-Founder Leaves After 20 Years of Glory and

Turmoil". The New York Times.

8.Noer, M 2009. "The World's Most Powerful People". Forbes.

9.Roeper, R 2011. "Steve Jobs' impact goes far beyond phones, computers".

Chicago Sun-Times.

10.Stross, R. E 1993. Steve Jobs and the NeXT Big Thing. Atheneum. pp. 117-246.