30+mba-第65章
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one of Pinochet’s list of Fortune 500 clients。 Others include Apple； DuPont；
Cable & Wireless； Nabisco and Proctor & Gamble。
Intrapreneurs； unlike entrepreneurs； don’t have ‘doing their own thing’
at the top of their list of motivators。 They feel happier in the fort zone
afforded by a corporate structure and the resources and respectability that
provides。
Corporate venturing entrepreneur
Sinclair Beecham and Julian Metcalfe； who started with a ￡17；000 loan and a
name borrowed from a boarded…up shop and founded Prêt à Manger； were
not entrepreneurs content with doing their own thing。 They had global
ambitions and it was only by cu。。ing in McDonald’s； the burger giant； that
they could see any realistic way to dominate the world。 They sold a 33 per
cent stake for ￡25 million in 2001 to McDonald’s Ventures； LLC； a wholly
owned subsidiary of McDonald’s Corporation； the arm of McDonald’s that
looks a。。er its corporate venturing activities。 They joined forces with the
corporate venturing arm of a big firm。 They could also have considered
Cisco； Apple puters； IBM and Microso。。； who also all have corporate
venturing arms。 Other corporate venturers include Deutsche Bank； which
set up DB eVentures to get a window on the ‘Digital Revolution’； Reuters
Greenhouse； which has stakes in 85 panies； and even the late and unlamented
Enron had venture investments （totalling 110m）。 For an entrepreneur
this approach can provide a ‘friendly customer’ and help open
doors。 For the ‘parent’ it provides a privileged ringside seat as a business
grows and so be able to decide if the area is worth plunging into more
deeply； or at the least provides valuable insights into new technologies or
business processes。
Recent research into corporate venturing by Ashridge （ashridge。
org。uk 》 Research and Faculty） Business School concluded that less than
5 per cent of corporate venturing units created new businesses that were
taken up by the parent pany。 Moreover； many failed to make any
positive contribution whatsoever。 There are some success stories； however。
McDonald’s offloaded its Prêt stake to Bridgepoint； a private equity firm。
Bridgepoint bought a majority stake in 2008； including McDonald’s 33 per
cent shareholding； for ￡345m。 That would suggest that McDonald’s at least
quadrupled the value of its initial stake。 Nokia Venture Partners （NVP）；
which makes significant minority investments in start…ups in the wireless
internet space； had as its biggest success to date the initial public offering of
PayPal； in 2002。 At a conference in July 1999； they and Deutsche Bank used
Paypal’s （then called Confinnity） encryption technology to send founders
Peter Thiel and Max Levchin 3 million in venture capital as their initial
stake； via a Palm Pilot。
220 The Thirty…Day MBA
Corporate venturing entrepreneurs think big and are happy to cut others
with cash in on the deal； if it will help make them rich。 Independence for
independence’s sake is not a high priority。
ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN PRACTICE
Business schools usually teach entrepreneurship using the ‘Action Learning’
approach。 This generally takes the form of having a handful of inspiring
alumni entrepreneurs back to talk about how they got started。 At
Cranfield the stars would include a couple of big hi。。ers； Karan （now Lord）
Billimoria of Cobra Beer fame； for example。 Cass wheels out Stelios Haji…
Iannou； founder of easyJet； and London Business School has Tony Wheeler
who graduated in 1972 and together with his wife Maureen founded
Lonely Planet Publications。 Then they will invite a cross…section of those
entrepreneurs who have interesting stories to tell； say about raising money；
hiring and firing or selling up； or who are recent leavers that switched career
paths from； say； big corporate lives to small business。 At IMD； in Lausanne
on Lake Geneva in Switzerland； the emphasis is on family businesses； and
Warren Buffe。。； whose son looks set to take over at Berkshire Hathaway； is
typical of the speakers there。
The spirit of the teaching is around preparing a business plan to be presented
to a panel along the lines of Dragons’ Den； o。。en with similar outes
in that the business gets funding。 It would be incorrect to suggest that
droves of MBAs rush off to found ventures straight off； but perhaps three
or four in a hundred do。 Within a decade that will have risen to around
40 per cent according to research carried out for Top MBA （topmba。
）。
Aside from ge。。ing funding and marks towards their MBA grade； the
most successful business plans are usually entered into one of a number
of Business Plan petitions。 These offer prizes such as Nano Challenge
（nanochallenge） offering two prizes of �300；000； promoted by
Veneto Nanotech； the pany managing the Italian Cluster for Nanotechnologies
and PriceWaterhouse Coopers。 Usually more modest awards
of cash； consulting and investment are on offer。 Small Business Notes （
smallbusinessnotes/planning/petitions。html） has a business plan
directory with around 100 petitions around the world。
You don’t have to be in a business school to enter most of these petitions；
though you may find it hard to find out about them if you are not
and you will almost certainly be up against a business school team。 Oxford
Said Business School （sbs。ox。ac。uk/21challenge） will take entries from
individuals； teams； new panies； existing panies creating spin…offs；
students； scientists； academics and entrepreneurs。 Regional； national and
international participation is encouraged。
Ethics and social
responsibility
。 Owners vs directors
。 Stakeholder groupings
。 Ethical and responsible strategies
。 Whistle…blowing
。 Green pays off
Actions for which a person or group of people can be held accountable and
so mended or blamed； disciplined or rewarded； are said to lie within
their sphere of responsibility。 Anything that lies outside our control also
lies beyond the scope of our responsibilities。 Ethics； known in academic
circles as moral philosophy； is concerned with classifying； defending； and
proposing concepts of right and wrong behaviour in the way in which
we discharge our responsibilities。 While many responsibilities lie within
the scope of the law； shareholders’ protection； discrimination at work；
misleading advertising and so forth （see Chapter 6 for more on business
law）； both in those areas and in the grey area that surrounds them lies the
province of ethics and social responsibility。 Right and wrong in themselves
are o。。en not too difficult to separate out。 The problem usually stems from
peting ‘rights’ – giving shareholders a be。。er return vs saving the planet；
for example； and the inherent selfishness of humans。 Many； if not all； of our
actions are triggered by self…interest。 In fact； much of the justification for
capitalism’s a。。raction lies in the ‘invisible hand’ theory advanced by Adam
Smith in his defining book； The Wealth of Nations （1776）：
Every individual。 。 。 generally； indeed； neither intends to promote the public
interest； nor knows how much he is promoting it。 By preferring the support
9
222 The Thirty…Day MBA
of domestic to that of foreign industry he intends only his own security； and
by directing that industry in such a manner as its produce may be of the
greatest value； he intends only his own gain； and he is in this； as in many
other cases； led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of
his intention。
Unfortunately； the invisible hand suggests only that businesses and consumers；
in being selfish； may by accident do good； not that their actions are
made ethical in the process。 Many purely selfish actions； say by operating
a cartel to rip off consumers； or adopting a polluting production process
purely to boost the bo。。om line； fall firmly into the unethical bracket。 Even
overtly ethical actions； for example when a business gives to charity or
supports a ‘not for profit’ event； such as Coca…Cola’s sponsorship of the
Olympic Games over an 80…year period； can prove ethically questionable。
In the first place Coca…
