Entrepreneurship: the impact of Singapore's tertiary business/commerce course on the entrepreneurial spirit

Entrepreneurship is a current 'hot' topic of discussion in Singapore given the call to our entrepreneurs to help develop the 'second wing' of our economy. There seems to be an apparent lack of entrepreneurs in Singapore as compared with other Asian countries like Hong Kong and Taiwan. The aim of this study is therefore to investigate how well the entrepreneurial spirit has been cultivated in Singapore specifically focusing on the impact of the local tertiary business/commerce courses on the development of certain entrepreneurial characteristics. This is because formal education plays a significant role in character formation, especially in the Singapore context. Also, little research has been done so far linking tertiary education with entrepreneurial cultivation. It is felt therefore that such an investigation of our tertiary business/commerce courses will shed useful information on the current state of entrepreneurial cultivation in Singapore. This study first discusses some of the key issues involved in the concept of entrepreneurship before going on to define the entrepreneurial profile and the distinct set of characteristics that are associated with the entrepreneur. They are as follows: 1. Creativity 2. Innovativeness 3. Non-Conformity 4. Calculated Risk-Taking 5. High-Achievement Orientation 6. Independence 7. Initiative 8. Judgment 9. Analytical Logic 10. Effective Communication The next part of the study analyzes the impact of the tertiary business/commerce courses via the course contents and teaching methods. The prospectuses of the four tertiary institutions (NTU, NUS, Ngee Ann and Singapore Polytechnics) were used to obtain the detailed course curriculum and teaching methods of the business/commerce courses. With concepts obtained from a study of literature related to education psychology, this study managed to identify the entrepreneurial characteristics that can be or are cultivated through the subject contents taught and the teaching methods used in the tertiary courses. The next part of the study is a survey on the final-year students from the tertiary business/commerce courses. A total of 681 responses were received making up a sample size of approximately 20% of the target population. This survey seeks to find out from the students themselves their opinions of the impact of their courses on the entrepreneurial characteristics as stated above. The purpose of this survey is also to supplement the analysis done in the earlier part of this study. A reconciliation of the analysis of the course contents and teaching methods of the tertiary business/commerce courses with the results of the survey showed that the results were complementary. On the whole, students from the universities and polytechnics felt that the characteristics most enhanced were that of analytical logic and judgment. This is explained by the analysis of the course content and teaching methods of the courses. Other characteristics that the students thought well-cultivated include effective communication and independence. Although results of the survey showed that the entrepreneurial characteristics were generally felt to be positively cultivated, the characteristics of innovativeness, creativity and calculated risk-taking were notably ranked last. This fact suggests perhaps that the tertiary business/commerce courses have not been able to cultivate what many eminent researchers deem to be key characteristics in the entrepreneurial profile. It is hoped that this study has managed to provide useful information for all those interested in doing research in the field of entrepreneurship and its link to education.ACCOUNTANC