Q.(a) What are the characteristics of an entrepreneur ? (any 5)

(a) An entrepreneur is characterised by innovation, risk-bearing, leadership, decision-making and hard work with a high need for achievement. (b) The macro-environment (economic, political-legal, social-cultural, technological, demographic, natural) sets uncontrollable conditions that strongly influence business decisions.

This is a 5-mark Part-IV question with an internal OR choice; both alternatives are answered.

(a) Characteristics of an entrepreneur (any five, from the Elements of Entrepreneurship chapter of the Tamil Nadu HSC Class-12 Commerce syllabus):

• Innovation and creativity: an entrepreneur introduces new products, methods, markets or ideas and finds novel solutions to problems.
• Risk-bearing: he is willing to bear the risk and uncertainty of the business, investing time and money in the hope of profit.
• Leadership: he leads, guides and motivates his team towards the goals of the enterprise.
• Decision-making: he takes timely and sound decisions on what, how and how much to produce and sell.
• Hard work and perseverance: he works hard and does not give up easily in the face of difficulties.
• Self-confidence and need for achievement: he has strong self-belief and a high drive to achieve and grow.

(b) Role of macro-environment factors of business (any five, from the Environmental Factors chapter):

• Economic environment: factors like national income, inflation, interest rates and economic policies affect the demand for goods, costs and the profitability of business.
• Political-legal environment: the stability of government, laws, taxation and regulations set the framework within which a business must operate.
• Social-cultural environment: the values, customs, lifestyle, tastes and preferences of society influence what products are demanded and how they are marketed. …