Pro-growth small businesses: learning 'architecture'

Internationally, a certain market failure has become apparent in terms of the effective engagement of small business owner-managers in business support programs, and in the wider concept of life long learning. There exists a cultural gap between support agencies and the small business sector's perceptions of the utility of formal support and learning interventions to the business performance of their business. Therefore, this paper extends knowledge and understanding within this context relative to what constitutes small business owner-managers' learning disposition, means, obstacles and organisation to be confronted and what form of new 'architecture' needs to be designed to support learning. A theoretical framework supports the analysis of findings from a research project based in Melbourne, Australia, which serves to illuminate pertinent issues towards informing more sensitised support interventions with respect to pro-growth small businesses. Specifically, the attribute of a learning culture was identified as a factor contributing to growth in small businesses, and may represent a distinguishing characteristic between effective and non-effective economic performers

The small business assistance dilemma: is the disparity between the offerings of support agencies and the needs of business irreconcilable?

There is a wide range of service providers who have varying motives for supplying assistance to small businesses in Australia. Despite the sizeable numbers of both suppliers and consumers of assistance it is believed that the marketplace for small business assistance operates inefficiently. This inefficiency is described as a disparity or misfit between the learning opportunities offered by service providers to small business and the learning needs of small business owner / operators. This paper provides an analysis of the learning activity that currently exists in the small enterprise sector. The role of communication in bringing supply and demand closer together is discussed and a proposition is developed to alleviate the learning disparity via a more proactive approach to communication by service providers. Two small enterprise projects are used to test the proposition. The findings provide guidance for the more effective functioning of organisations that serve and support small businesses

Performance measurement in small motels in Australia

This research explores the measurement of performance in small motels. There are many challenges facing business performance management in small firms. Most of these challenges are due to resource shortages, lack of functional expertise and environmental instability. Of major importance to firm survival is the small enterprise owner-manager’s ability to monitor the operations performance. Key components of the monitoring process include the ability to identify key performance indicators to track results as well as an understanding of the most suitable measures to use. Specifically, the study focuses on identifying the key constructs of performance for small firms which include the key components of drivers and results. The specific monitoring and measurement activities of small motel owner-operators were identified using a case research approach. The findings of the study indicate that those owner-managers who operate successful motels employ a balanced approach to performance measurement by utilising a small number of key measures to monitor results and to review management activities

Inside the Company: CIA Diary

Summary The material in Philip Agee's book on the CIA shows that the Agency's influence is too great to be ignored by social scientists of any discipline. On the other hand, this influence should not be exaggerated as there are several constraints on it. Resume La CIA et les sciences sociales Les faits contenus dans le livre de Philip Agée sur la CIA montrent que l'influence de l'Agence est trop grande pour être ignorée par les spécialistes des sciences sociales d'aucune discipline. D'autre part, il ne faut pas non plus exagérer cette influence car elle est contenue par plusieurs facteurs. Resumen La CIA y las Ciencias Sociales El contenido del libro de Philip Agee sobre la CIA demuestra que la influencia de la Agencia es demasiado grande para que los expertos en sciencias sociales de cualquier disciplina la ignoren. Por otra parte, esta influencia no debe exagerarse por que está sometida a varias restricciones

New approaches suggested by the Colombia employment programme

Reprinted from the International Labour Review, vol. 102, no. 4,October 1970