Name- Ria

Section – B Entry No. – 2021SMF6503

Q1a

The deal between Marks and the Australian firm, RE, consisted of 50% to be acquired by Re and the
rest 50% by Marks excluding the properties on which Proof was established, but it was included as a
surety for the contribution of RE to the deal.
It was not long before the relationship between Marks and RE started deteriorating. Individual,
organizational differences started to occur between Marks and Re when Re strategized to appoint a
new general manager in place of Marks soon after the deal was made. This is a case of an Individual
organization dilemma. As seen from Marks perspective, the strategic decision by RE was a way to
gain control of the company and put Marks on the sideliner. As evident from the case, this led to
hiring an older, more experienced General Manager for the role who did not know about the
product line and the product markets. However, Marks did not disclose this with RE. Hence, we can
see that there was no transparency between Marks and RE in their relationship because of a lack of
trust against each other and in need of power. This can be related to McClelland's theory of need.
Both RE and Marks wanted to gain the power of the company, and this led to the differences
between them. The differences in their goal can also be one of the factors that led to the differences
between them, although both were aware of each other's capabilities. The Australian firm, RE, was
aware of Marks expertise in this field and his knowledge about the products and product markets.
The differences led to an end in their relationship. The inequity and no shared visioning between
them led to further decay in their relationship.
RE even failed in gaining vicarious learning, that is, gaining knowledge about the couplers produced
by Proof and replicating it in China. But, RE could not succeed in learning from Marks's experiences
and underestimated the intricacies of how to produce couplers.
Had both the parties, that been, Marks's and RE's, goals been aligned, they could have built a good
relationship and worked towards the growth of the company together. They could have utilized each
other's true potential and knowledge and set goals for the organization for its growth and profit.

Q1b

Donovan Mark, a 40-year-old entrepreneur from Johannesburg, South Africa, is the case's
protagonist, who has lately faced a challenge in making a business decision. The case shows us
Marks' life events from the time he was 16 years old to now, when he is 40 years old. These events
may be utilised to examine Marks' personality and values. Using the Big 5 OCEAN model, Marks
personality can be analysed as:

1. Openness to experience: Marks was always willing to try new things, whether in business or
in the courses he chose, as evidenced by the case. Even while in school, at the age of 16, he
started his own little company selling paintball equipment to augment his father's business.
He also continued his education after finishing high school while working in his father's
company. Furthermore, throughout his later years, Mark had a strong desire to build his firm
(PROOF). Mark's eagerness to learn may be seen in these examples reflects his openness
towards experience.
2. Conscientiousness: Marks has always strived to be the best at what he does and to do things
right. Marks's decision to pursue a part-time MBA after recognising the need for expertise in
the areas of marketing, human resources, operations, and other general management
abilities for his company demonstrates his dedication to his job in the company. As a result,
we may conclude that Mark has a high level of conscientiousness.

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 Name- Ria
Section – B Entry No. – 2021SMF6503

3. Emotional Stability: There were times in Marks's life when he found himself juggling the
responsibilities of his growing family and Proof. Mark's ability to overcome these challenges
demonstrates his emotional stability. The fact that he considered the interests of 500 other
people who relied on Proof for a livelihood while ignoring his own reinforces the case for
Marks' emotional health.

It is also evident from the case that Marks worked towards increasing Self Efficacy by
acquiring knowledge about different domains of business such as Operations, Marketing. He
gained knowledge in different field to utilize it to achieve the desired goal, that it, for the
growth of the business.
Self-concept: Mark considered himself competent of running a firm on his own. At the same
time, he was aware of his capabilities in different domains general managerial functions.
Recognizing this, he enrolled in a part-time MBA programme at a university to improve his
status in these areas.

Terminal Values: Marks respected his wife's decision about choosing a career path different from his
and excelling in that area. He supported her at each walk of her life. Marks also considered that it
was important for him to give time to his family and children. During the dilemma about making a
deal with the HUDACO, he considered the lives of 500 people associated with his business and
thought about how the deal will affect the lives of those people.

Q1c

As evident from the case, Marks belonged to an entrepreneur family. His family was indulged in
small business enterprises in South Africa for ages. Marks's interest and inclination towards small
business can be best explained by the theory of social learning. His attraction to small business can
be because of the fact that he had been seeing his family working in this field, and this led to the
gradual development of knowledge resulting in forming an interest in small business. He became
associated with business at an early age of 16 by selling paintball items and earned good revenue
from the business. Marks observed and analysed his family business and recommended several ways
through which they can improve it . For example, he used his father’s business of manufacturing
paintball guns and other items and saw this as an opportunity to ship other accessories alongside.
Right after the school, Marks joined his family business and work in improving the sales of the
business. It can be said that he gained knowledge about sales through experiential and vicarious
learning. He even joined his father as his trainee in his factory and took major part in accounting job.

Marks also gained knowledge through his journey while being associated with his family business. In
this case, the idea of latent learning is pretty evident. Mark seems to have learnt a lot about
entrepreneurs and business by seeing his family members every day as he grew up. He actively
learns new talents from his father during his apprenticeship. Following the merger with RE, he
gained an understanding of how huge corporations function, and he has great hopes for the
HUDACO pact. He says in the complaint that the HUDACO deal taught him a lesson. He gained
insights about how to proceed in business through his experience with the Australian firm, RE, when
they tried to sideline him from the business after making the deal. He became cautious about his
decision with a firm in future and analysed all the aspects related to it.

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 Name- Ria
Section – B Entry No. – 2021SMF6503

Q1d
Henry was the father of Marks. Henry and Marks had both grown up in an enterprising household
and had followed in the footsteps of their forefathers in starting modest enterprises. While they had
certain commonalities in their backgrounds, their business practises differed majorly. The
differences between Marks and Henry can be analysed as follows:

1. Marks was a firm believer in formal education, such as completing classes in finance and
accounting or enrolling in a part-time MBA programme to learn more about various aspects
of business operations. While Henry was not interested in academic degrees and instead
believed in learning via experience, he immersed Marks in company operations from an
early age.
2. Mark was a business admirer who enjoyed looking for new ways to expand his company. He
was a proactive business owner who was always looking for ways to improve the company.
Henry, on the other hand, was not excited about PROOF or decision-making. This
demonstrates the two people's deep level personality differences as well as variances in
their intrinsic drive.
3. Henry was talented, aspirational, and accountable. He was well-versed in his field and never
made a trade-off in terms of expertise. He had watched Marks do well since he was a child,
but he persuaded him to finish his part-time degree and accounting course so that Marks
would have the skills he needed to help the family firm thrive even more. As he moved
through his degree, he employed Marks in a financial management role, demonstrating that
Henry was a visionary who understood exactly how to put his son's abilities to good use.
Marks had a high level of self-efficacy. He was a driven man who was always striving to go
large and operate his firm in the most efficient way possible. He went from being a member
of a business family to becoming an entrepreneur. He was a visionary leader who kept
competitive in the industry to guarantee his companies grew bigger and better.
4. Henry was also incredibly adaptable and could adapt to a variety of scenarios. He was there
to respond to the circumstances during the currency crisis in South Africa and ran the
business efficiently. He was also a quick and sharp entrepreneur who started and grew new
businesses in South Africa, such as manufacturing roof racks and petrol canisters for Land
Rover. He was also willing to seek advice from an electrical engineer in the creation of their
product, which addressed a variety of concerns related to electrical flashes.
If we talk about Marks, he was dissatisfied with his father's lack of enthusiasm for Proof, and
as a result, he demanded complete autonomy in the company, indicating that his goals were
far greater than his father's. He was a person who valued independence, something his
father did not do much of. We can see from the case study that he requests his father to
stand down for the sake of the organization's improvement and increased focus. He had to
make difficult decisions and do what was best for his company.
5. While Henry was open to launching new items and product lines, Marks was always willing
to work with other market players to help his company succeed. Marks was significantly
more active and effective in terms of corporate growth, whereas Henry preferred to increase
product lines over mergers and acquisitions.

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 Name- Ria
Section – B Entry No. – 2021SMF6503

Q1e
Entrepreneurial motivation is a process that encourages a budding or early-stage entrepreneur to
put in more effort to reach a certain objective. Entrepreneurial motivation may stem from both
internal and external variables that influence a person's decision-making and behaviours.
1. According to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, one of the most important characteristics contributing
to entrepreneurial motivation is autonomy. People who can achieve their social needs frequently
want to meet their Esteem needs as well. Marks wants to be an entrepreneur because he wants to
control his own decisions, career, and personal life. He is adamant about not reporting to anyone in
the firm higher up. He also encouraged and supported his wife's decision to start her own business.

2. The desire for power, according to McClelland's Theory, is a major motivator. Control over the
company's destiny and the ability to make choices independently of others. You have total control
over your decisions as a business owner. Marks was in desperate need of this power. He appointed
the general manager while working with RE, without taking RE's opinion into account. Marks' desire
to succeed is also a strong motivation. Marks has always aspired to take his company to a greater
level than before. He anticipated that the approach of HUDACO would result in an inflow of finance
into his company that he could not have afforded as a smaller company.

3. Knowledge of different domains: Marks' decision to get an MBA was motivated by his desire to
have a better grasp of numerous product lines and diversify his business: he realised that growing
Proof would require more than just finance and execution. He enrolled in an MBA programme to
better grasp diverse disciplines such as operations, marketing, and human resources to make his firm
more profitable. This aids him in comprehending the scope of his business.