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Tourism Attractiveness of Meghalaya:
An Exploration of Entrepreneurial Opportunities
--Benjamin F Lyngdoh
Globally, tourism has become one of the largest and high growth economic sectors. The same is the case for India, particularly in recent years. However, the North East Region (NER) of India has a smaller share, and Meghalaya in particular has lagged behind despite the possibilities. In this study, tourism attractiveness is studied through a two-phase assessment procedure termed as situational analysis and diagnosis, which feature an interaction of tourism supply (tourism destinations and tourism infrastructure development) and tourism demand (Domestic Tourist Arrivals, DTA, Foreign Tourist Arrivals, FTA, and tourism revenue) variables. Statistically, the study applies descriptive tools, correlation and regression analysis. The study reveals that tourism attractiveness in Meghalaya depends heavily on tourism supply. However, this supply is not able to establish a stable and sustainable tourism demand. The results of the study indicate presence of entrepreneurial opportunities in Meghalaya’s tourism industry, but they are not prominent or absolute.
© 2013 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
The Role of Gujarat Venture Finance Limited in the Development
of Enterprises in Gujarat: A Study
--Bindiya Soni and P K Priyan
Venture capitalists provide capital as well as counseling to the startups at the early and expansion stages, and that is how this funding alternative differs from the others. The study attempts to examine the role of Gujarat Venture Finance Limited (GVFL) in the development of the ventures supported by it till June 2009. It covers the various aspects of support extended by GVFL such as its role as a board member in the investee companies, frequency of interaction with the investee companies, the role in the pre-investment development activities, and the satisfaction level of the entrepreneurs. It specifically compares the differences between the expected contribution before the investment and the perceived actual contribution after investment by the investee companies. The findings reveal that in a majority of the cases, GVFL has played a very active role as a board member and further most of the entrepreneurs are quite satisfied with the overall contribution made by it in the development of the venture.
© 2013 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
Implementation of Total Quality Management in Small
and Medium Enterprises: An Analysis of the Problems
Based on Demographic Variables
--Raj Kumar
In a developing country like India, the entrepreneurs in small and medium enterprises face a large number of problems related to managerial skills and adequate resources for further expansion of their business. Presently, implementation of Total Quality Management (TQM) practices is another significant obstacle faced by the Indian entrepreneurs due to tough competition in the national and international markets on account of globalization. Good quality management is the need of the hour as it improves the competitiveness, effectiveness and flexibility of the organization. In this paper, an attempt has been made to explore the problems faced by the entrepreneurs of small and medium enterprises in the implementation of TQM practices. One-way ANOVA has been used to find the significant difference between the demographical variables of the entrepreneurs and impeding factors in the implementation of TQM in small and medium enterprises on a sample of 150 entrepreneurs collected from four states of North India. The findings reveal that the entrepreneurs in lower age group face these problems relatively more than the entrepreneurs in higher age group. Further, entrepreneurs having education up to technical level face these problems relatively less as compared to entrepreneurs who have education up to a lower level.
© 2013 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
Case Study:
Induben Khakhrawala: The Journey of a Woman Entrepreneur
--Vaibhav Kadia and Krutesh Patel
This study focuses on the journey of a Gujarati middle-class housewifeturned- entrepreneur, Induben Jhaveri. Belonging to a traditional Jain family, where women are generally perceived to be homemakers, Induben started her own Khakhra1 venture, which has become a trademark for women entrepreneurship. Induben, not only changed the perception of her community towards business, but also successfully rebranded Khakhra, a roasted chapati, in Gujarati culture. Changing its status of ‘the diet of the miser’, khakhra has positioned itself in the diet products market. If today we particularly talk about Amdavad, then this niche was created by Induben Khakhrawala on whom this case study is based. The study comments on the efforts of a housewife to overcome the mediocrity, invent a business model and change the way people think of women folk. It also talks about how a lot of factors, including personal such as family as well as community, helped her small business grow by gradual leaps and bounds.
© 2013 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
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