Entrepreneurs: Kiwi and Japanese Ingenuity

Teacher note

Worksheet

The ability of the economic world to function relies on new ideas and implementation of those ideas. For this reason the economic world depends on a labour force and, importantly, the people with the new ideas. These people are called entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurship has been a strong feature of kiwi and Japanese society. In early colonial society, Maori entrepreneurs sold local produce for the specialised technologies brought by Pakeha entrepreneurs. Modern cities such as Wellington were conceived by entrepreneurs. Just look at the Japanese cars on New Zealand roads and consumer electronics in your houses to see that Japanese society has also featured its fair share of entrepreneurs.

Key understandings that you may wish students in your class to explore are outlined below

Entrepreneurs have sought to bring new ideas to society.

There are new ideas behind many of the products that society uses.

New Zealand entrepreneurs have sought to enter the Kansai marketplace with their new ideas.

This chapter of the Kansai through Kiwi eyes DVD offers a number of illustrative examples of entrepreneurship in the New Zealand and Kansai settings, including,

· Sushi making and presentation in a New Zealand restaurant

· Exporting traditional kiwi fruit to Japan, and developing gold kiwi fruit for that market

· Developing processed blackcurrent products for the health conscious Japanese market

Worksheets can be used to explore the central concept (i.e., entrepreneurship) of this chapter.

Further lines of inquiry for the classroom

1. Examples of Horicultural entrepreneurship e.g., developing kiwifruit cultivars for the “sweet toothed Japanese young women” market

2. Do members of your class have ideas of their own? Have they identified a niche in a market that could make them millions? Or improve their environment? Advocate their personal interests? Use Edward de Bono’s six thinking hat strategy to develop thinking about interesting ideas.

3. Provide examples of failed entrepreneurship for your students. Why did the ‘great idea’ not succeed?

4. Explore some great historical examples of entrepreneurship between Japan and the rest of the world e.g container ships, vehicles, Playstation 3, robotics

5. Studies of TradeME, WETA Digital, 42 Below may offer interesting New Zealand examples.

6. In what ways might New Zealand and Japan form economic partnerships so that new ideas are a benefit to both countries?