Wow! 60 days and still steadily going with the blog! Also there is something to celebrate: finally I have sent off my brief to be discussed on a phone tutorial. Ready, steady, go!!!
Glocal Trinnovation (thesis brief)
-A comparative study of the effects of policy making on the decreasing number of Hungarian artisans versus opportunity entrepreneurship and the English sole-traders-
This thesis is set to analyse the differences between the burdens of necessity entrepreneurship in a transition economy and opportunity entrepreneurship in a first world economy by looking at artisanship based on local skills, materials and markets by using the principles of low carbon footprint considerate design.
Introduction:
The idea came from the author`s personal experience of being brought up in a Hungarian artisan family, being educated in England and gaining experience in researching sustainable development projects on a local level in Southern Africa. This unique insight how the economic development of a country affects its policy making, innovation and entrepreneurship programs with regards of sustainable economic success from a business point of view gave a strong outline of the main research questions: How policy making could have a positive effect in Hungary to increase the numbers of artisans by not having to carry the burdens of heavy necessity entrepreneurial taxes?
The research has taken shape from its tangible fluidity over a three year period and drew its conclusion from interviews with experts, extended field and desk research, case studies and the journey of practical product design and development principles.
As the thesis has taken shape form the initial ideas of trying to find a new exciting way of bringing women together to be able to generate income in Bekes county in Hungary, where the unemployment rate is extremely high, but also have a long history of traditional craftsmanship, it was understood, that even if people get up skilled, which is already happening in several colleges not only for young students but adults as well, there is no statistical evidence of how many students have taken the skills they learnt forward and try to make a living (Barcsai to Fodor, 2009). Even though, some of the students are exceptionally talented and would only need a structured apprentice program, the tools to get started and the lowering of high necessity entrepreneurial taxes most of the them progress onto studying a different skill or unrelated course to keep their social security (Kocsor to Fodor, 2009). These courses are widely popular amongst the unemployed more for the benefits of cooperating with the Public Employment Service, than gain jobs to become entrepreneurs which requires a substantial financial backup to pay the monthly compulsory tax, pension and national insurance contribution, which is almost twenty times higher than in England. Whilst according to the survey taking part locally there is not enough disposable income in the area to give an artisan a sustainable living concerns also rose that the thesis would not be able to influence the change of policy making in Hungary and was taken in another direction of looking at how it would be possible to embrace the elements of team work between artisans and design students by building trust and collaboration. That was originally a side line of interviewing case studies. But the question at the end of the theoretical analysis remained the same: even if the best products are designed and made by wonderfully talented students from MOME and LCF and other colleges, still how an artisan (like the case studies) are able to start up as self-employed freelancers having to pay extremely high entrepreneurial taxes in Hungary comparing to the English sole-traders? Later it was realised the MA proposal lost its original purpose by taking the concentration away from the challenges of starting up and concentrating straight away on the products by not considering the lack of financial stability in the case studies` life.
After standing back for a considerate amount of time and going through the research material including the proposal the original idea strongly came back and as the process of the research material progressed the thesis organically started to evolve as a comparative study. Comparing the English and Hungarian processes of becoming a freelancer/sole-trader when giving an overview of the original idea of the thesis at interviews to Hungarian interviewees, a new insight was formed: entrepreneurship (high taxes, national insurance, pension and bureaucracy burden) could operate in different ways in different countries.
The conclusion to demonstrate these differences made it possible from a fashion point of view to come up with two product range ideas one for Hungary and one for England and through that give an overview between the differences of an English Opportunity entrepreneur and a Hungarian Necessity Entrepreneur within the principles of local skills, materials and markets. And with that make a suggestion for a comparison study and data base within the EU to be able to get an understanding how craftsmanship is able to be preserved either with the current policy making in each country or is there a way to unify these policies and encourage artisans and the younger generation for local production using local, skill, materials and markets as a possible way towards low carbon footprint principality in product design and development. Further suggestion is to set up an organisation for the above mentioned task and create a website as a database for local artisans by country, by craft and by product type.
The thesis is broken down into the following main section:
1. Introduction - Inspiration
2. What is Glocal Trinnovation? Think globally, act locally and combine tradition with innovation. Low carbon footprint considerate design and its long-term advantages of local skills, materials and markets for the local community.
3. Overview of artisanship and entrepreneurship in the EU.
4. Historical overview between artisanship and entrepreneurship through a 3 generational case study in a village tailor family the 1930`s to 2010 in Hungary
5. An analysis of necessity entrepreneurship in a local context versus taxes and bureaucracy burdens.
6. Comparison case study between an English sole trader and a Hungarian start up.
7. Conclusion – recommendation.
(I only have about 24.000 words missing if we look at the bottom line of world count, not the top, which is 35.000.)
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