Enterprise Education - concepts and characteristics of enterprise
What the exam tests
This domain asks you to explain what enterprise is, distinguish enterprise from entrepreneurship, and describe the characteristics of enterprising people using evidence rather than adjectives. It appears in short-answer questions and in the portfolio Enterprise or Action Plan.
Core definitions
- Enterprise is the willingness to take initiative, spot opportunities and organise resources to bring about change. It can be commercial (profit-seeking) or social (community benefit).
- Entrepreneur: a person who sets up and runs a business, bearing the risk in return for possible reward.
- Intrapreneur: an employee who uses enterprising behaviour inside an existing organisation.
- Social entrepreneur: applies enterprise to a social or environmental problem; profit is a means, not the goal.
Characteristics with evidence
Need for achievement (McClelland), internal locus of control (Rotter), calculated risk-taking, creativity and innovation, initiative, self-confidence, persistence, flexibility, leadership and networking. In an answer, pair each trait with behaviour: not 'she is creative' but 'she redesigned the packaging after customer feedback and sales rose'.
Rewards and risks
Rewards: independence, profit, self-fulfilment, status, creating employment. Risks: financial loss, long hours, stress, uncertainty, family pressure.
Worked example
Question: 'Is the volunteer who set up a community youth café enterprising?' A weak answer says no because there is no profit. A strong answer identifies behaviours: spotted a gap, secured a premises, recruited volunteers, managed a budget, persisted after a setback. Conclude that enterprise is about behaviour and opportunity, not only profit.
Traps
Confusing enterprise with 'having a business'; listing traits without evidence; forgetting social and community enterprise; writing only advantages; ignoring the risks.