Are you looking for quality JC H1 General Paper model essays on Economy? Here are several complete answers of your Paper 1 questions. Model them, so that you can start using the following examples to prep for your upcoming Promos exams, or your eventual Cambridge – UCLES – SEAB GCE ‘A” level examinations (Syllabus: 8807), as to serve the GP theme of Economic issues, Work or even International Affairs question types.
Fortunately, we have prepared a few full length model essay samples for this Economy topic for JC General Paper, for your reference. Bookmark us, so that you can return to Ace Specialist Hub easily when you aim to write an essay about entrepreneurship, consumerism, advertising, government intervention, environmental issues, etc. (For more model essay answers, visit here.)
Q1: Discuss what makes a good entrepreneur.
Tang’s Shopping Centre, located strategically in the busy Orchard Road area, is one of the most successful enterprises of Mr C K Tang, who came all the way from. China during his youth with nothing more than a casket full of embroidery for sale and an overwhelming ambition to make a name for himself in the business world. He succeeded, and to me, he is one of the most enterprising entrepreneurs I have ever read about.
What, then, makes a good entrepreneur? I think, in the world of business full of setbacks, pitfalls and risks, the first quality a good entrepreneur must possess is a strong desire to succeed and a steely determination to go along with it. The good entrepreneur must be equipped with an indomitable spirit such that in the face of hard ship or temporary failure, he is able to keep going, even though success may seem remote.
Also, a good entrepreneur should be humble and willing to learn from senior entrepreneurs who have more experience. Young, inexperienced and idealistic entrepreneurs, are prone to making rash judgements and coming up with impractical ideas and they often turn a deaf ear to warnings from more experienced entrepreneurs. Such an approach is wrong because a solid foundation should always be built, a stable pool of clients be established, incomes stabilised before moving to fresh challenges. A good entrepreneur should recognise these points as they provide the bedrock for entrepreneurial success.
For an entrepreneur to set up a business is hard; it is even harder to make it a success. The process of running a business is complicated and requires much patience and diligence from the entrepreneur. Without patience, hard work, and a certain tenacity to hang on to his business, an entrepreneur cannot label himself a good one. A good entrepreneur must realise that his business is like a deli cate plant that demands much care, attention and patience from him before it can blossom into success.
The commercial world can be likened to weather which is unpredictable. It may be bright and sunny one moment but a dark, imminent thunderstorm may loom the next. Thus, a good entrepreneur must be not only willing to take risks, he must also trust himself to make the right judgement; that is, belief in his own actions must be firmly rooted in his heart. This is because in the business world, events move very quickly and an entrepreneur cannot spend time debating whether his past decision was the right one. That will only lead to pessimism and undue hesitation which are not qualities of a good entrepreneur.
Being a good entrepreneur, he must have foresight and his decisions must reflect a kind of helicopter vision. One of the persons I admire, Mr C K Tang, showed just that kind of farsighted approach when he decided to build the existing Tang’s Shopping Centre. He was not at all disturbed by the existence of a cemetery directly in front of it. He was not at all swayed by opinions that reflected the superstition of common people and even confidently predicted that the area where Tang’s Shopping Centre was to be built would in future, become a busy and crowded place full of shoppers, and it did. It was this helicopter vision and faith in his choice that led Mr CK Tang to be one of the most successful entrepreneurs in Singapore. Good entrepreneurs should emulate this striking example.
I also think that shrewdness must be an inherent quality in a good entrepreneur. This is because in business there will be certain subtle advantages and traps which must be discerned by a shrewd entrepreneur and used to his best advantage. If an entrepreneur cannot detect these subtleties, it is unlikely that he will be able to succeed because he is handicapped in the ability to grasp golden opportunities.
A good entrepreneur must be shrewd enough to anticipate beneficial changes and grasp them. He must be prepared for certain danger and treachery and avoid falling into business traps that may ruin him. With shrewd ness, and an opportunistic nature, a good entrepreneur is always one step ahead of others in the competitive business world and thus is on his way up the ladder of success.
Interpersonal skills are also important for a good entrepreneur. There is lot of interaction in the commercial arena and whether a businessman can successfully clinch a business deal depends a lot on his communication skills. A good entrepreneur must be well-skilled to detect nuances in body language, and speech patterns so as to manipulate them to his benefit. He must also know how to present himself and his proposals favourably because physical impressions do count in the business world. A good entrepreneur should understand the importance of public relations skills and work hard to acquire them.
Although the above points will undoubtedly make an entrepreneur both successful, efficient and to a certain extent “good”, I think a last vital point to turn the entrepreneur into a really “good” one is a good heart. By this, I mean that the entrepreneur must be compassionate and contribute frequently to charity when he is successful. He must be honest and not try to cheat others, which might bring about his own downfall. Moral values should be rooted in him such that he will not resort to illegal or immoral activities to lead him up the ladder of success. He must show his gratitude to people who helped to make him successful and also to society as a whole for giving him a chance to prove himself.
A good entrepreneur is not too obsessed with profits to be neglectful of his social responsibilities. Indeed, he tries not only to look after his own welfare but also that of society. Such an entrepreneur is not only “good”, he is excellent.
GP teacher’s remarks:
Fresher examples are Sim Wong Hoo, Ron Sim, Tan Min Liang, etc.
Need to have more discussion, esp on corporate social responsibility (CSR), environmental concern, nurture next generation of entrepreneurs, uphold branding of S’pore, etc.
Q2: Beside making money, what are the purposes of work?
Apart from making money’ – besides getting a pay ‘why’ – provide reasons;
‘work’ physical or mental effort or activity directed toward the production or accomplishment of something for which remuneration is usually given.
Possible Approaches
Student should consider the given factor (making money) and provide other reasons as to why people work. • Although it is a listing question, success in this question will depend on the student’s ability to provide compelling arguments which consider the different facets of work done by different groups of people and these reasons should be compared with the monetary incentive to show the relative importance of other reasons.
Arguments/Reasons for working
1) We need to work to earn an income to satisfy basic needs and needs of family. E.g. People (domestic helpers/construction workers) leave their homeland to work as they are motivated by economic gains. We need to work if we want to maintain a lavish lifestyle. E.g. Singapore: expensive cars and luxury goods.
2) Work enhances self-esteem by making us productive. (psychological benefit) E.g. UK government recognises how work can help disabled individuals gain respect in society. They have support like skills upgrading and advice to employers.
3) Work gives us the opportunity to acquire new skills and gain greater knowledge. We can gather useful experiences and learning points from the various skills upgrading programmes at work or through our interactions with colleagues. E.g. Challenges at work will demand workers to acquire new skills to perform their jobs better. Canadian government in 2007 announced that it will focus on improving citizens’ literacy skills to help them be gainfully employed.
4) Work is purposeful and makes life meaningful. E.g. Occupations in the medical service and education fields entail service to the society and people find fulfilment in such jobs. Social workers are underpaid and yet there are many mid-career switches to the profession in Singapore. 5) Employment fuels the economy of a nation and reflects the capability of the government of a nation. E.g. The International Labour Organisation has stressed that creation of decent and productive jobs-not just any jobs-is a prerequisite for reducing unemployment.