The learner is expected to be able to answer with actions in business situations

• Duration: 4 hours

The learner should be able to:

• Know the theory of Entrepreneurial action models and the role of uncertainty in the theory of Entrepreneur
• Identify the principles of Decision-making in the Entrepreneurial Process
• Manage the internal changes responding to external ones and in particular to available new ideas, technologies, models, and approaches
• Apply specific instructional criteria for dealing with complex technical and professional aspects

Workshop objectives

This Workshop relates to the definition of entrepreneurship and the principles of decision-making strategies.

The theory of entrepreneurship, namely the entrepreneurial value creation theory, explains the entrepreneurial experience in its fullest form, from the entrepreneurial intention and the discovery of an entrepreneurial opportunity to the development of entrepreneurial competence, and the appropriation of the entrepreneurial reward.

Entrepreneurship requires action. Whether conceptualized as the creation of new products or processes (Schumpeter, 1934). The Workshop aims to:

• Understand and analyze the key variables in a complex and dynamic context
• Recognize and compensate for psychological biases factors in oneself and in others that impact decision making
• Understand and evaluate the decision to be made and the potential outcomes.

Problem-solving is a skill of peculiar value. Faced with difficulty, a jamming mechanism, or a process that goes haywire, it draws on technical skills or experience from similar cases and is able to confront the situation and reason out ways to cope with it.

In reality, however, there are much more complex occasions, where technical knowledge is not enough; instead, one needs soft skills or interpersonal skills and also immediate decision-making power.

Here decision-making is the trait, incisive and profound, of the leader.

Indeed, problem-solving makes us confront problems in a calm and rational way, and this is valuable in every work context and in life itself

Formulating a budget, setting a goal, or controlling one’s own actions and those of co-workers involves the need to decide and implies the ability to devise solutions.

To decide means to determine, to fix, to choose, responsibly, among several aspects; in other words, it implies the ability to pose the problem correctly and follow rules to solve it. Deciding is a skill, but more importantly, it implies a process of taking responsibility.

Almost everyone is able to see the problem when it arises. Very few, on the other hand, perceive the problem before it occurs. This is the discriminator between the plus-value and the minus-value of those who, for example, lead and thus are called upon to make decisions, and take responsibility. Indeed, it is said that doing the best possible with what is imperfect is not the manager’s problem but his task.

This workshop involves learners and participants at working in small groups and peer learning.

A good challenge should be narrow enough to lead to concrete solutions, but broad enough to remain open to different possibilities for unlocking them, considering the goals and constraints that need to be stated while finding workable solutions.

In order to maximize workshop effectiveness and to understand the usefulness of the techniques and tools presented, the course offers several exercises and simulations on real-life situations. The ability to make decisions is closely related to the problem-solving process, but it requires additional personal aptitudes. Once a situation has been broken down, analyzed, decoded, and solutions found, deciding means having the ability to act and take responsibility for that decision. These complex skills need to be adequately trained and coached in order to be put into action.