"Entrepreneurs are in tune with the disclosive nature of human activity in that they establish disclosive spaces held together by particular styles" (Spinosa et al., 1997:68). Critically analyse this statement: what are disclosive spaces and how do they relate to entrepreneurial activity?
"Entrepreneurs are in tune with the disclosive nature of human activity in that they establish disclosive spaces held together by particular styles" (Spinosa et al., 1997:68). The disclosive nature of humans according to Flores (1997) means capacity of a group of people to make history. Entrepreneurial activity encourages disclosive spaces by providing a great avenue or a unique opportunity for people to gather together and create history by being innovative and trail blazers in their fields of expertise.
The major focus on Charles Spinosa, Fernando Flores, and Hubert Dreyfus' book entitled Disclosing New Worlds (1997) is the need for social interaction rather than technology. This in turn serves as the starting point of the idea of world disclosure which is also espoused by Heidegger, another adherent to disclosive spaces.
A world is "disclosed" or a disclosive space is defined by Heidegger as the orientation or the view of the person puts reality in perspective and makes it comprehensible to him or her. Our ability to interpret things then is not a specific intellectual activity but provides the very basis of our existence as human beings.
This disclosive nature of humans could be inherited or based from the philosophical teachings Kant. Kant was considered the first constructivist. He espoused the view and fought for the recognition of the constitutive activity of the subject in perception. But he also admitted the finitude of the subject as a being in the middle of other or multitude of beings in the world. How can the finite subject comprise the totality of experience? The apparent irony that exists between an epistemology focusing on human power and an ontology that focuses on human weakness has created debates in philosophy since time immemorial.
Hegel came up with a solution to address this irony which influenced Heidegger. It is main idea expressed in the book Disclosing New Worlds. In this book, there is an acknowledgment that history rather than nature is essentially real and existing which paves the way for the contradicting finitude and constitutive power of human subjects to be reconciled. History is obviously a product from human acts even though humans are also part in the historical world they create. The idea of "disclosure" as both the creation and being mere observer to reality is explained.
Disclosing New Worlds discusses this essential concept within the theory of what it referred to as the history-making practices. The problem tackled in the book is how these activities which are referred to as disclosive activities transform and influences the world we live in. The book leads us to new or different perspectives and attempts to initiate change in our practices to make sense of what is real and important. The book focuses on three main types of history-making disclosive practices which are in accordance to the three main types of historical actors.
History-making disclosive practices are: articulations, cross-appropriations and reconfiguration. "Articulations" re-emphasize the need for a community to focus
on its basic values and practices. This is often manifested or carried out by political leaders. The authors cited John Kennedy's ability to generate public support on the space race by establishing themes such as the new frontier.
"Cross-appropriations" combine together values and practices from different parts of social life in new patterns that change the form of the world we live in. This is apparent in the examples of successful social movements, such as MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) which aims to change the view on responsible behavior as belonging or a pert of work into the something pleasurable or a part of leisure.
Finally, and most importantly, the third history making disclosive nature described in Disclosing New Worlds is "reconfiguration". Reconfiguration is the process in which a marginal or minor practice is modified or made into a dominant or majority practice. Entrepreneurs serve as the driving force behind reconfiguration, which they achieve or bring about by launching new products that implies or sets new ways of life.
Disclosing New Worlds focuses on this disclosive nature of the entrepreneurs or their ability to bring about change and create history. The authors greatly stressed in the book though that "it is the product or service, not the virtuous life-style of the entrepreneur, that makes the world change..." (Spinosa, et al., 1997: 45).
The need for technology studies is not really delve deeper by the book but it can be gleaned from the examples mentioned that there is a need for interpretative flexibility which could include the need for technology.
Gillette's successful introduction of the disposable razor provides one of the importance case of 'disclosive' capabilities of the entrepreneurs. The traditional straight razor came to symbolize a world in which men cared for and cherished objects of fine craftsmanship. Gillette redefined this sense of masculine relation to objects by adding control and disposability to the traditional razor. It also created an entirely new type of razor.
To put it in another way, there was no pre-existing need for Gillette's sharp razors. "The entrepreneurial question was, What did his annoyance at the dullness mean? Did it mean that he just wanted a better-crafted straight-edge razor that kept its edge longer? Or did he want a new way of dealing with things? We shall argue that genuine entrepreneurs are sensitive to the historical questions, not the pragmatic ones, and that what is interesting about their innovations is that they change the style of our practices as a whole in some domain" (Spinosa, et al., 1997: 42-43).
Style pertains to the very general characteristics of worlds important to the design of artifacts. In this case, Gillette modified style at the same time modified the view on the style which was from respectful to more controlling attitude towards the razor.
"A world, for Heidegger," the authors write, "...is a totality of interrelated pieces of equipment, each used to carry out a specific task such as hammering in a nail. These tasks are undertaken so as to achieve certain purposes, such as building a house. Finally, this activity enables those performing it to have identities, such as being a carpenter" (Spinosa, et al., 1997: 17).
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