A Case Study on Entrepreneurship: Tan Sri Lim and Genting Highlands

This case study examines the entrepreneurial journey of Tan Sri Lim, the visionary behind Genting Highlands Resort in Malaysia. It highlights his key entrepreneurial characteristics such as self-motivation, risk-taking, passion, and management skills. The study also assesses his creative leadership qualities, emphasizing his unconventional thinking and patience. Furthermore, it discusses the advantages and disadvantages of becoming an entrepreneur later in life, using Tan Sri Lim as a prime example of success achieved through experience and financial stability, despite potential challenges related to technology and formal education. The case concludes that Tan Sri Lim's ability to blend traditional values with a global business perspective contributed significantly to his success.

Running head: CASE STUDY ON ENTREPRENEURSHIP
CASE STUDY ON ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

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Response to question 1:
The Genting Highlands Resort is one of the most attractive locations in Malaysia to visit.
Tan Sri Lim, the visionary businessperson built the resort against all odds in the year 1971. Tan
Sri exhibited exceptional qualities of entrepreneurship when he completed his dream project.
An entrepreneur is referred to the one who starts a new business. However, it is not easy
to start a new business and it requires exceptional qualities to become a true entrepreneur. Tan
Sri Lim was one such entrepreneur. One of the first characteristics of an entrepreneur that Tan
Sri Lim demonstrated was self-motivation. Self-motivation is one of the greatest virtues one
could have to start a new business. Tan Sri Lim had self-motivation because no one had
motivated him to build the resort except for himself. He had the option to choose an easier life
and live with what he had but instead, he chose to pursue hi dream. He envisioned building a
resort in Gunung Ulu Kali, a place where back then, most people could not even imagine
visiting. Owing to his characteristic of self-motivation, Tan Sri did not back down despite
warning from others.
Risk-taking is another characteristic that Tan Sri exhibited while making his dream
comes true. He had the ability to take risk. He had the opportunity to spend the rest of his life in
comfort but he chose otherwise. To build a resort at Gunung Ulu Kali, many considered it to be a
wild idea and out of bounds for anyone. However, Tan Sri had the desire to take the risk. He
risked everything he had into making the resort and succeeded in his grand vision. He devoted all
his capital, resources and time to complete the project. The government was not willing provide
any services to his project neither was there any infrastructure at that time. Notwithstanding
these difficulties, Tan Sri managed to build the first Highlands Hotel in 1971.

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Passion was another quality that Tan Sri demonstrated as an entrepreneur. Passion means
to have extreme dedication to accomplish something (Gillham et al. 2001). Tan Sri’s passion was
to provide a resting place for the people away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Passion
drives motivation and motivation drives innovation and creativity. Tan Sri had extreme passion
for his work and he did not stop at any cost from pursuing his passion. Entrepreneurship is a
risky profession and there is bound to be hurdles in the path of starting a new business.
Entrepreneurs become successful when they feel intensely about their service, product or
mission.
Apart from the passion, Tan Sri demonstrated qualities of being a great manager of skills
and knowledge. it is important as an entrepreneur to have the management qualities because it
helps the entrepreneur in the future as well. An entrepreneur starts the business all on his own but
gradually employs people to look after it. With great management qualities, the entrepreneur is
able to become a great businessperson. Tan Sri did just that and years later, he became one of
the biggest names in Malaysian and Chinese business.
Response to question 2:
Yes. Tan Sri Lim is a creative leader. Creativity, as Williams (1999) states, is the
important source of all the invention and innovation. Creativity comes from imaginative thought
as opposed to the rational thoughts. Creativity leads to change. When a person is creative, he
does not engage in negative or pessimistic thoughts. Tan Sri Lim had to hear from people about
the difficulties of his project. People could not even fathom the idea that a resort could be built in
the Gunung Ulu Kali peak where once, it was difficult to even access. Tan Sri viewed the peak
from his own creativity without listening to others. Tan Sri is hence, a creative leader because he

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thinks in the contrary of what others think. Others saw it impossible to build a resort at such a
height; Tan Sri saw the opposite of it. Creative leaders are ready to take the challenge to make
their creativity come to reality (Williams, 1999). They are willing take the risk and are insightful.
Creative leaders carry out activities that are unconventional and unexpected.
Tan Sri undertook a challenge that was quite impossible to achieve but he held his
patience. Patience is another characteristic of a creative leader. To have one’s creativity become
reality, one has to be patient and wait for the time when it turns into a reality. Tan Sri had to wait
for almost six years before his project became a reality. He started to work on his creativity in
1965, obTanned approval for the land and waited for four years before the access road was
completed from Genting Sempah to the Gunung Ulu Kali peak. In 1969, the then Prime Minister
of Malaysia, late YTM Tnuku Abdul Rahman laid the foundation for the Highlands Hotel, the
first hotel in the Genting Highlands Resort in 1971.
Tan Sri further demonstrated that he is a creative leader when he expanded his business
to include four more hotels under the Genting Highlands Resort, two apartment blocks, a country
resort and a golf club as well. he also went on to establish the Genting Group under which, he
look after businesses such as plantations, power generation, paper manufacturing, oil and gas
amongst others. In addition to this, the group also started the Star Cruises, world’s fourth largest
as a tourist attraction. These activities demonstrate that Tan Sri is a creative leader who had the
vision to transform a nothing place into one of the best attractions in Malaysia.
Tan Sri was rooted to his traditions of being a Chinese. He was humble and polite and
respected others. He did not have to overcome his traditional thinking in terms of behaving with

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others. He overcame the traditional thinking by taking his business global without having fluency
in English.
Response to question 3:
Tan Sri became an entrepreneur in the later years of his life. He was a man who had a
humble beginning starting his business with just two dollars and becoming an established
businessperson. His entrepreneurial activities started later in his life but he made the most of it.
Becoming an entrepreneur later in life has both benefits and disadvantages.
Several people are there who view entrepreneurship as the game of the younger people.
This is an assumption that is driven by the thoughts of entrepreneurs that first come to mind such
as Mark Zuckerberg and Bill gates amongst other. However, when it comes to becoming
entrepreneurs, studies have found that people in their mid or later life are more likely to become
successful entrepreneurs. One of the reasons for this is the management skills that they receive at
the later stage of their life (Forbes.com, 2019). Another benefit or advantage of becoming an
entrepreneur later in life is that one has strong financial stability. The case of Tan Sri is a great
example to prove this. When he started his entrepreneurial venture, he was already an established
businessperson. Hence, it is a benefit to become an entrepreneur later in life.
Furthermore, an entrepreneur later in life has more opportunities learn from the mistakes
of self and others. The entrepreneur has a good understanding about what he likes and does not
like to do in his business later in life. The later life entrepreneurs are aware about the negative
and positive aspects of starting a business and this provides them the opportunity to launch their
business successfully. They have a great understanding about their strengths and weaknesses.

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When it comes to disadvantages, there are very few. One disadvantage of becoming an
entrepreneur later in life is that one might not be able to keep pace with the modern technology
and trends of business. In order to become up to date with the modern trends, an older
entrepreneur will have to make extra efforts both financially and physically. In Tan Sri’s case, he
did not have to make many adjustments, as he was able to expand his business with his
traditional roots.
Another disadvantage of starting a business or becoming an entrepreneur later in life is
that the senior entrepreneur might less likely to have a higher education benefits as the young
entrepreneurs might have. The later entrepreneurs might have the disadvantage to miss the new
trends of education and hence, fall behind others. Apart from that, the later entrepreneurs do not
have the advantage of studying in business schools and understanding the nuances of doing
business especially in this globalized world. For Tan Sri, the case is very different. He has been
able to make his business global without having a degree from any business school.

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References:
Forbes.com. (2019). Why It's Never Too Late To Become An Entrepreneur. Retrieved from
https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolinecastrillon/2019/01/20/why-its-never-too-late-to-
become-an-entrepreneur/#71173612150b
Gillham, J. E., Shatté, A. J., Reivich, K. J., & Seligman, M. E. (2001). Optimism, pessimism, and
explanatory style. Optimism and pessimism: Implications for theory, research, and
practice, 53-75.
Williams, A. (1999). Creativity, invention and innovation. Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 15(10), 10.