Entrepreneurship: Case Study of Genesis International llc Oman

Introduction
Genesis International Oman was formed in 2012 by Qais Al-Khoji, who is one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the sultanate of Oman. It offers higher education services especially on information technology and medical course, automatic meter reading, solar energy and engineering products and services to the market in Oman. In its provision of higher education services, Genesis International ensures that students from Oman receive acceptance from universities in foreign countries such as India and Australia for them to pursue such courses as information technology and medicine. Genesis International is a limited liability company this in essence means that Qais Al Khonji as the owner of the company cannot in any circumstance be held liable or accountable for debts or any other liabilities incurred by the company. The company has its offices in Muscat and Sohar in the sultanate of Oman. The company has employees from diverse areas of expertise because they offer a wide variety of products and services to its customers.
As stated earlier on, Genesis International LLC is owned by Qais Al Khonji. Qais Al Khonji fits the description of who an entrepreneur is as provided by Burns (2014). Burns states that a person who is an entrepreneur is one who can take advantage of change by innovating or accepting higher risks in order to generate a profit or increase his or her profits (Burns, 2014). Qais Al Khonji decided to break away from his family owned business to start a business of his own in areas where not many peopled had ventured into. That involved him venturing in to a new market with higher risks in order to generate profit. The source of funding for Al Khonji’s business was his own contribution and a loan he got from the financial institutions.

Factors that Motivated Qais Al Khonji to start the business
There are various factors that can motivate an entrepreneur to start a business. These factors can be necessity based, lifestyle based, comfort-zone based, opportunity or growth-based. Other factors could be linked to a person’s trait as stated by the trait theory .In other instances genes play a role in influencing a person to have an entrepreneurial personality (Nicolaou and Shane, 2010). For Al-Khonji’s case it is his genes that have greatly influenced his entrepreneurial personality. He comes from a family where everyone is an entrepreneur. His family owns the Al Khonji Group and Abdulrahman Group, which fall into the list of the most successful companies in Oman. He has learnt to grab business opportunities whenever they arise.
The main reason why Al Khonji decided to pull out of the family business and start his own business is is desire for autonomy. He wanted to run his business independently; he also wanted to be the main controller of how is business was undertaken. He is driven by an internal locus of control. Rotter (1966) defined locus of control as the perception a person has as to whether his or her success is controlled by himself or herself or by external factors. In addition to that, he wanted to venture in to new business environments and take up more risks. He felt that this will give him a sense of achievement that he would not have gained while running his family business.
Business Development
McClelland (1961) in his theory of high achievement, states that one of the factors that facilitates the growth of an entrepreneur’s business is his or her need for success or achievement. This emanates from an entrepreneur striving to realize various goals and objectives that he has set as his or her targets. Such entrepreneurs that are driven by the need for achievement possesses such traits as: controlled risk tasking, preparedness for future business opportunities and prior knowledge of the consequences of their decisions. They are not driven by a need to money or by any other external factor but by an internal need to make high achievements. The driving forces of Al Khonji can be summarized as him having a desire for achievement, a desire for power so as to dominate his competitors in the market and a desire for affiliation with others through maintaining good relations with all stakeholders in the market. He promotes good affiliation in the market by amongst other things, mobilizing the government and the private sector to empower young entrepreneurs and to generally promote entrepreneurship in Oman. Al Khonji holds McClellands theory that in order to change a country that is lacking behind in terms of economic growth, the number of entrepreneurs has to be increased.
In essence Al Khonji as an entrepreneur performs his business activities in a better way than had been done before hence increasing not only his sales and profits but also customer satisfaction which then gives his business a competitive advantage in the market against its competitors. His company Genesis International has increased its production level due to the increase in the number of customers demanding for its goods and services. This has led it to open another branch; it therefore has two branches one in Muscat and the other in Sohar.
Cromie (2000) on the other hand states that an entrepreneur achieves his or her goals because they have autonomy over the way the business’s operations are undertaken hence can make such decisions that will ensure there need for achievement is satisfied. One of the factors that has enabled Al Khonji’s Genesis International company to grow is the fact that Al Khonji enjoys autonomy in running the business. Autonomy ensures flexibility and expeditiousness in making decisions on how the company is to be run so as to realize its full potential in the market.
Market Growth
The type of strategies adopted by the company
A good market growth is where there is a steady and continuous demand by customers of the goods and services offered by the company. Genesis International has adopted various types of strategies so as to ensure the continued growth of its market over time. These strategies include: marketing, product and service development, increased market research and development, innovation, sustainable plans for human resource and financial management. According to Al Khonji, one of the best marketing strategies that has ensured its market growth is his proper market positioning of his company and its products and services. In venturing in to a field that not so many had ventured before, Al Khonji got the support of various stakeholders in the market in terms of finances and marketing. Innovation has also been a tool that has been used by Al Khonji in making sure that his company produces goods and services that enhances customer satisfaction hence ensuring its growth in the market. Genesis International also sets aside growth capital so that it continuously growing in the market. The company has in place mechanisms through which its workforce is motivated so as to ensure that they are highly productive.
Market development growth model
Zott et al.(2015) stated that a business model gives a description of interrelated activities that are carried out by an organization and its stakeholders that are partner to it, and the relevant mechanisms that act as a link between these stakeholders and the organization. For a business to continue growing it has to come up with a suitable business growth model. Al Khonji’s company uses the growth strategy business growth model which is also known as Ansoff’s Model. This model provides a matrix through which an organization can become flexible to apply alternative growth strategies by assessing both the present and future potential markets. These growth strategies are increased market penetration, increased product development, increased market development and increased product development. Since its inception up to now, Genesis International has gradually diversified its products and services in a bid to grow its market. It offers not only higher education services but also solar energy and engineering services at the same time. This also increased its market penetration and market development. In using this type of growth model, the business has been able to acquire financial assistance from various financial institutions and investors to foster its market growth activities which also includes product development.
Current summary of the company’s success and failure
The goal of every business is to succeed in the market, however no business can boasts of having only success but no failure. From Al Khonji’s interview it is evident that his company not only has successes but also failures. There is no uniform definition of success amongst all the stakeholders in the market. Entrepreneurs, investors, employees, and other participants in the market each have their own definition of success which is distinct from that of the other. For an entrepreneur success has many definitions, it could be an increase of either of the following: marketshare, sales, output or productivity, assets or shareholder returns in the company.
Genesis International has been successful in increasing its marketshare in the Sultanate of Oman. This is evidenced by the fact that it has grown up to the point of expansion in that it has opened two officers one in Muscat and the other in Sohar so as to better serve its customers. The company has also succeeded in increasing its sales and output after it diversified its products and services in the market. There has however been no recorded failure of the company at the moment or in the recent past.
Recommendations
1. Marketing mix
Genesis International should intensify the marketing of its products and services so as to further increase its marketshare. The should also ensure that their products and services will create customer satisfaction.
2. Financial plan
Genesis International should allocate funds that will be used for the growth of the business in the market. For instance funds for market search and development should be set aside by the company.
3. Human resources plan
The company should ensure that its employees are motivated. Motivated employees are highly productive. This will ensure that the company grows in the market.
4. Strategic and operation plan
For Genesis International to ensure that it constantly grows in the market it should ensure that its strategic and operation plans are in line with its corporate goals and objects.
5. Management style
It should adopt a management style which is not autocratic in nature. There should be effective channels of communication between the management and the employees. The management should be trained to provide a working environment which supports creativity and innovation to its employees so as to reap good benefits from the creativity of the employees. Creative and innovative employees ensure that through their productivity the company gains a competitive advantage in the market.
References
Burns, B., Barney, B., Angus. R. and Herrick, H. (2014). Opportunity identification and stakeholder enrolment under conditions of risk and uncertainty. http://proceedings.aom.org/content/2014/1/17416. Retrieved on 28 March 2017.
Cromie, S. (2000), “Assessing entrepreneurial inclination: Some approaches and
empirical evidence”, European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, Vol. 9
No. 1, pp. 7-30.
Demil, B., Lecocq, X., Ricart, J. and Zott, C. (2015) Introduction to the SEJ Special Issue on Business
Models: Business Models within the Domain of Strategic Entrepreneurship. Strategic
Entrepreneurship Journal 9 (1), 1-11.
Genesis International LLC. (2017). Genesis International LLC - About Us http://www.genesisoman.com/ Retrieved on 28 March 2017.
McClelland, C. (1961), The Achieving Society, Princeton: D. Van Nostrand.
Middle East Business Magazines and News (2014). “What makes an entrepreneur? Interview with Qais Al Khonji from Oman”. Middle East Business Magazines and News. http://middleeast-business.com/what-makes-an-entrepreneur-interview-with-qais-al-khonji-from-oman/ Retrieved 28 March 2017.
Nicolaou, Nicos and Shane, Scott. (2010) Entrepreneurship and occupational choice : genetic and environmental influences. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Vol 76 No.1 pp. 3-14.
Rotter, J. (1966), “Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of
reinforcement”, Psychological Monographs: General and Applied, 80(1), pp. 609.
The Prospect Group. (2012). "Qais Al-Khonji, Co-Owner, Genesis International".The Prospectus Group. http://www.theprospectgroup.com/qais-al-khonji-co-owner-genesis-international-81057/ Retrieved 28 March 2017.

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