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IIMS Journal of Management Science
Vol.1, No.1, Jan-June 2010, pp.46-59

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Entrepreneurship Development: Programme or Process
Nimit Chowdhary and Monika Prakash

ABSTRACT This paper investigates the less than acceptable performance of rural entrepreneurship development programmes in the state of Rajasthan (India). A case study method of research was deployed seeking feedback of participants of three entrepreneurship development programmes. Feedback was obtained from two audiences- those who completed the programme and those who either did not attend the programme or dropped out at some stage. Investigation resulted into identification of several areas of inadequate performance- choice and deployment of faculty, course material, expectations of the participants, timing, delivery and focus of the programme. Authors recommend a major shift in delivery of these programmes. In place of a fixed duration one-off programme, authors suggest institutionalizing an entrepreneurship development process. The study departs from earlier studies those suggest some disparate improvements against the immediate problems identified. The paper strongly argues a radical rethink in delivery of the contents as part of continuous ongoing hierarchical process. KEYWORDS: Entrepreneurship development, rural entrepreneurship, EDP, entrepreneurship development process, Rajasthan JEL CLASSIFICATION: M31 BIOGRAPGICAL NOTE : Dr. Nimit Chowdhary is currently Professor at Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management,
Gwalior. His research interest is on Management of Services, Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management, Destination Marketing, etc. He can be reached at [e-mail] Dr. Monika Prakash is Reader with Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management, Gwalior. Her research interest is on Strategy, Behavioural issues and General Management.

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References: Awasthi, D.. (1989), The Missionaries- A Study of Entrepreneurs-Trainers- Motivators in India, Ahmedabad. New Delhi: Sage Publication. Awasthi, D. and Sebastian, J. (1996), Evaluation of Entrepreneurship Development Programmes. New Delhi: Sage Publications. Gaikwad, V.R., et al. (1974), "Entrepreneurship Development Programmes: An Evaluation," Unpublished research report, Ahmedabad: Indian Institute of Management. Gupta, S.K. (1990), "Entrepreneurship Development Training Programme in India," Small Enterprise Management, Vol.1, No. 4: pp.34-46. Khanka, S.S. (2005), Entrepreneurial Development. New Delhi: S. Chand & Co. Pvt. Ltd. McClelland, D.C. (1961), The Achieving Society. New York: D. Van Nostrand & Co. McClelland, D.C. and Winter, D.G. (1969), Motivating Economic Achievement. New York: Free Press. Patel, V.G., Trivedi, A. and Rawal, H.C. (1984), "How to Successfully Fail in EDPs," Occasional paper, Ahmedabad: Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India. Sah, B.G., et al. (1974), "An Interview Schedule to Measure Entrepreneurial Behaviours," Unpublished thesis. Ahmedabad: Indian Institute of Management. Saini, J.S. (1996), Entrepreneurship Development Programmes and Practices. New Delhi: Deep & Deep Publications Pvt. Ltd. Sethurajan, S. (2006), Entrepreneurship Development Programmes in India. In Mohan, S. and Elangovan R. (Ed.), Current Trends in Entrepreneurship (pp. 127-138). New Delhi: Deep & Deep Publications Pvt. Ltd. IIMS Journal of Management Science Downloaded From IP - 115.248.73.67 on dated 22-Nov-2010 Members Copy, Not for Commercial Sale www.IndianJournals.com In some cases the recipient community may not have demand for such an enterprise. There are many skill based entrepreneurship development programmes. Twenty five to thirty youth from the same community are recruited to be trained for a particular skill like pottery, or black smithy, or handicrafts, etc. The result being that twenty odd potential entrepreneurs are trained to serve a limited community. The entrepreneurial supply is more than demand and the enterprise and efforts are killed even before the start up. Given the proposed model the skill based entrepreneurs from different geographically disbursed communities are to be trained for the skill and expected to return to their respective communities and establish enterprise with adequate demands for their offers. A comprehensive evaluation of community’s needs is a precursor to these programmes. A thorough assessment of need gaps of a community must be made and a fairly realistic assessment of number of entrepreneurs required carrying out a variety of jobs and products must be made. This should be done involving all stake holders in the community. Accordingly, an entrepreneurship training programme for the whole region including a number of villages and communities should be designed. While the development effort receives adequate number of learners to justify the costs, the community gets the right numbers of entrepreneurs taking care of various needs. Of course creative and innovative entrepreneurs will add to this spectrum to meet an unseen demand or create an unforeseen demand. Opportunity identification has to be consistent with the overall growth strategy of the community. This is addressed through Module 0- the pre seminar which is a stake holder’s seminar before the Module 1 and Module 2 are planned for the community. Entrepreneurship development must be treated as a processes leading to creation of an entrepreneurial mind set and a general climate rather than a product targeted at individual. It should not be a one-off product, rather it should be a continuous process delivered though an institutionalised mechanism involving all stake holders. 59