A shortcut can be created to two place on Ubuntu OS; the first to the desktop, and the second to the launcher. If you want to create a shortcut to your desktop, create the following file under the ~/Desktop directory. If you want to create a shortcut to the launcher, create the following file under /usr/share/applications/.

[Desktop Entry]
Type=Application
Icon=<path to icon>
Name=<name to appear in menu>
Comment=<tooltip>
Categories=<menu categories>
Exec=<path to executable>
Path=<set working directory if necessary>
StartupNotify=true
Terminal=false