Academic literature on the topic 'Small business organisation and management'
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Journal articles on the topic "Small business organisation and management"
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Mollet, Léonie S., and Stephanie Kaudela-Baum. "Linking business agility with people management practices." Die Unternehmung 76, no. 4 (2022): 430–42. http://dx.doi.org/10.5771/0042-059x-2022-4-430.
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Organisations pursuing - agility often struggle with strategic alignment issues. In this paper, we link business agility, as a competitive strategy, and strategic Human Resources Management (HRM), and investigate how HRM can facilitate business agility by creating a suitably organised workforce. By means of an explorative case study of agile small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in New Zealand and Switzerland, we describe hypotheses about a new HRM archetype. In these knowledge-intensive organisations from the service sector, HRM grows into a distributed and collaborative people management practice across the whole organisation. Characterised by self-organisation, it emphasises individual and collective learning, encourages continuous sensemaking and connecting to a common purpose.
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Lentjušenkova, Oksana, and Inga Lapiņa. "An integrated process-based approach to intellectual capital management." Business Process Management Journal 26, no. 7 (April 23, 2020): 1833–50. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/bpmj-03-2019-0101.
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PurposeNowadays, the aspects of the intellectual capital (IC) management have become important, valuing it as an integral part of the organisation. Researchers emphasise the strategic importance of IC management, particularly in the context of satisfying the stakeholders' interests and value creation. However, the existing studies reflect individual elements of IC management, not analysing them as a system which is a part of the organisational management system, and hence it is impossible to draw valid conclusions on the impact of IC on the organisation's performance. The aim of the paper is to describe an approach to the elaboration of the IC management strategy and its integration into the organisation's management system.Design/methodology/approachThe developed approach is based on a holistic and systemic view of the organisation, where IC management is integrated into the organisation's management . This approach is based on the structure of IC developed by Lentjušenkova and Lapina (2016). In this structure, business processes are the IC component that unites the other three ones – human capital, technologies and intangible assets. The study has used induction and deduction, as well as analytical and synthetic qualitative research methods, including logical constructive and conceptual (concept) analysis.FindingsElaborating the organisational strategy by taking into account the stakeholder interests, the organisation is able to ensure sustainable development. Using the integrated management approach, IC management is integrated into the organisation's activities and joint operational strategy. In this case, IC management becomes an integral part of the organisation's activities functioning in conjunction with the other organisation's systems, and it is integrated into all ongoing business processes.Research limitations/implicationsThe approach the authors have proposed to IC management could be adapted by small and medium-sized companies. Using it, companies do not need to create special functional units or division, because IC becomes an integral part of organisation's processes.Originality/valueIn previous studies, business processes were considered as one of the components of IC. In the study’s approach, business processes imply integration of IC into the overall organisation management system. As a framework for the proposed approach, the authors have used the Deming cycle “Plan-Do-Check-Act” that envisages dividing the development and implementation of the IC management and development strategy into four phases, with a clear allocation of tasks and a defined outcome for each individual phase. To use this approach, it is enough for organisations to conduct an analysis of processes and, depending on the strategic goals of the organisation, make additions related to managing IC.
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Gohil, Udityasinh, Patricia Carrillo, Kirti Ruikar, and Chimay Anumba. "Development of a Business Process Model for a Project-Based Service Organisation." International Journal of Knowledge-Based Organizations 3, no. 1 (January 2013): 37–56. http://dx.doi.org/10.4018/ijkbo.2013010103.
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Core operations of many small service organisations involved in collaboration are largely on a project (i.e. operational) basis. However, every organisation has operational, organisational and strategic processes that are equally important. The objective of this paper is to establish a business process model for such a project-based service organisation (PBSO) where stakeholders are involved in operational as well as management (organisational and strategic) processes, to create a sustainable collaboration. The focus of the paper was a PBSO and hence a case study of a PBSO firm lead to the development of a new process model that further takes advantage of involving collaborators in all or most of the processes of an organisation. IDEF0 was the preferred process modelling technique for the development of the business process model.
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Metcalfe, Mike. "Knowledge sharing, complex environments and small-worlds." Human Systems Management 24, no. 3 (August 3, 2005): 185–95. http://dx.doi.org/10.3233/hsm-2005-24301.
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This paper is about knowledge sharing vision appropriate for a complex environment. In these environments, traditional views of knowledge sharing as informing a hierarchical, centralised leadership may be misleading. A complex environment is defined as one that emerges unpredictable changes that require organisations to reconnect, to reorganise. Organisations need to be able to rapidly reconnect relationships so as to reflect new priorities, and to do so without causing change “bottlenecks”. The empirical biologists have observed that some social species have evolved structures that enable them to do this automatically what ever the environmental change. These organisational forms have survived for millions of years without central planning; rather they use local knowledge is reconnect as required overall providing an appropriate strategic response. These organisational forms seem to result from the small-worlds phenomenon and it is self organising. Specifically, this paper will argue that this small-worlds, self organisation, phenomena is a useful vision for designing a knowledge sharing vision appropriate for a complex environment. The supportive evidence is provided in the form of identifying the empirical attributes of self organisation and small worlds to provide an explanation of how and why it works. The system thinking, biology (insect) and the social-network literature are used.
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Wyer, Peter, Jane Mason, and Nick Theodorakopoulos. "Small business development and the “learning organisation”." International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research 6, no. 4 (August 2000): 239–59. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/13552550010355136.
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Grocholski, Elena. "relevance of agile change management in a dynamic business environment." SCENTIA International Economic Review 1, no. 2 (March 29, 2022): 169–87. http://dx.doi.org/10.52514/sier.v1i2.26.
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Conventional change management approaches are increasingly reaching their limits in a business environment characterised by volatility, dynamics, and complexity. In other contexts, attempts are often made to counter these aspects with agile approaches. The extent to which this also makes sense in the field of change management has not been frequently investigated to date. The aim of this paper is therefore to examine the extent to which agile change management contributes to the successful handling of changes in a dynamic business environment. For this purpose, 30 interviews were conducted with change management and organisational development experts from various small, medium-sized, and large companies in Germany. The data obtained was primarily analysed qualitatively, using a structuring content analysis according to Mayring (2015). The results of the research show that change management can strongly benefit from agility. In particular, this is the case with respect to self-organisation, iteration, and experimentation. Agile change management makes sense even in more conventional, hierarchical organisations. However, there are indeed organisation-, project- or context-specific characteristics that speak particularly in favour of the use of agile change management approaches or make more conventional change management approaches seem more reasonable. Often, it is even advisable to use a clever mixture of both.
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Smith, Andrew, Eddie Oczkowski, Charles Noble, and Robert Macklin. "New management practices and enterprise training in Australia." International Journal of Manpower 24, no. 1 (February 1, 2003): 31–47. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/01437720310464954.
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The widespread implementation of new management practices (NMPs) in industrialised countries has had a significant impact on employee training. Examines five NMPs: the learning organisation; total quality management; lean production/high performance work organisations; teamworking; and business process re‐engineering. Focuses on the relationship between organisational change and training at the enterprise level. The research identified important findings in six key areas: small business; the use of the vocational education and training system; the importance of the individual; the nature of training; the importance of behavioural skills; and organisational change. The study confirmed that workplace change is a major driver of improved training provision in enterprises. It showed unambiguously that most NMPs are associated with higher levels of training. The integration of training with business strategy was found to be the most important factor in driving training across a wide range of training activities and appears to lead to an across the board boost to enterprise training in all its forms.
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Pearce, Antony, and Dirk Pons. "Implementing Lean Practices: Managing the Transformation Risks." Journal of Industrial Engineering 2013 (December 18, 2013): 1–19. http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/790291.
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Insightful implementation of lean is necessary for high-value manufacturing and is complementary to strategic decision making regarding manufacture. However lean can be difficult to implement in specific organisations. One of the difficulties is deciding which of the many lean tools to apply and when to apply them. A complicating factor is change management. Lean implementation is a transformational process and needs to support organisational development alongside process improvement. We develop a method based on risk management to identify which lean tools are most appropriate for a specific organisational setting. This permits the situational and contingency variables to be accommodated in the lean transformation. The method is demonstrated by application to a small manufacturing organisation with a high-variety low-volume business model. Thus it is possible, given contextual knowledge of the organisation, to predict which lean methods are most important in the situation. This enables the prioritisation of organisational effort towards lean methods that are relevant to the organisation at that particular time in its development.
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Grocholski, Elena. "The Relevance of Agile Change Management in a Dynamic Business Environment." European Journal of Marketing and Economics 5, no. 1 (January 1, 2022): 17. http://dx.doi.org/10.26417/230dnr26.
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Conventional change management approaches are increasingly reaching their limits in a business environment characterised by volatility, dynamics and complexity. In other contexts, attempts are often made to counter these aspects with agile approaches. The extent to which this also makes sense in the field of change management has not been frequently investigated to date. The aim of this paper is therefore to examine the extent to which agile change management contributes to the successful handling of changes in a dynamic business environment. For this purpose, 30 interviews were conducted with change management and organisational development experts from various small, medium-sized, and large companies in Germany. The data obtained was primarily analysed qualitatively, using a structuring content analysis according to Mayring (2015). The results of the research show that change management can strongly benefit from agility. In particular, this is the case with respect to self-organisation, iteration, and experimentation. Agile change management makes sense even in more conventional, hierarchical organisations. However, there are indeed organisation-, project- or context-specific characteristics that speak particularly in favour of the use of agile change management approaches or make more conventional change management approaches seem more reasonable. Often, it is even advisable to use a clever mixture of both.
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Leung, Nelson K. Y., Sim Kim Lau, and Nicole Tsang. "An Ontology-Based Collaborative Inter-Organisational Knowledge Management Network (CIK-NET)." Journal of Information & Knowledge Management 12, no. 01 (March 2013): 1350005. http://dx.doi.org/10.1142/s0219649213500056.
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Ontologies are widely used to represent knowledge explicitly but it is impractical to expect all individuals and organisations to agree on using one or a small subset of ontologies. The adoption of multiple ontologies causes ontology mismatches which make their inherent vocabularies and relationships become inconsistent, resulting in difficulty for one system to understand and reuse these ontologies. To achieve knowledge sharing and reuse, ontology mediation is required to reconcile mismatches between heterogeneous ontologies. In this paper, we investigate the application of ontology in knowledge management (KM). Many KM approaches have been developed with the purpose of managing organisational knowledge. However, these approaches only focus on managing intra-organisational knowledge, which is inadequate in current business environment because users are often required to access inter-organisational knowledge to complete their tasks. These approaches also fail to collaborate with each other as their designs are based on their own business and KM requirement in managing organisational knowledge. We argue that ontology and its mediation methods can be used to overcome limitation of non-collaborative problem in which individual organisation is unable to reuse inter-organisational knowledge. An ontology-based inter-organisational KM network is therefore proposed to allow organisations accessing and retrieving inter-organisational knowledge of common domain.
Dissertations / Theses on the topic "Small business organisation and management"
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Rabie, Jaco. "Electronic performance assessment : applying microsoft business scorecards accelerator in a small public sector serving organisation." Thesis, Link to the online version, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10019/1171.
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Armstrong, Douglas Bruce, University of Western Sydney, of Science Technology and Environment College, and School of Environment and Agriculture. "CEO characteristics, organisation characteristics, decision making and CBIS success in regional small business." THESIS_CSTE_EAG_Armstrong_D.xml, 2003. http://handle.uws.edu.au:8081/1959.7/773.
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The research conducted for this thesis had two broad aims. The first was to provide descriptive information about the use of computer-based information systems (CBIS) in regional small business. The second of the aims was to examine the relationships among key constructs identified from the literature and to explore how they contributed to predicting CBIS success in regional small business.In the second phase of the analysis, Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was used to examine the factorial constructs underlying the data. Constructs were identified that measured CEO characteristics, two measuring organisational characteristics, four measuring aspects of decision-making, and five measuring perceived CBIS success. Correlations among the constructs were examined prior to relationships among the constructs being explored using hierarchical regression analysis. The constructs were also examined in a single measurement model to determine their collective effect and relationships with the constructs measuring CBIS success based on structural equation modelling. Notwithstanding the limitations of the research, it resulted in the identification of relationships among key variables that predict CBIS success. The identification of items associated with decision-making processes, and the identification of the factorial constructs underlying the data is a major contribution to a portion of the literature that was non-existent. The final measurement model is also a significant contribution in identifying and specifying the relationships constructs measuring CEO characteristics, organisational characteristics, decision-making and CBIS success in regional small business.Doctor of Philosphy (PhD)
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Armstrong, Douglas Bruce. "CEO characteristics, organisation characteristics, decision making and CBIS success in regional small business /." View thesis, 2003. http://library.uws.edu.au/adt-NUWS/public/adt-NUWS20040618.095159/index.html.
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Ghamri, Nayef Salah. "Organisational behaviour in small business in Saudi Arabia." Thesis, Durham University, 1993. http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/989/.
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Maritz, Anna-marie. "Development of a critical success factor assessment for small organisations." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/49694.
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Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2001ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Small businesses are the traditional source of local and national economic growth. Small businesses in South Africa absorb almost half the people formally employed in the private sector and contribute nearly thirty seven percent to the country's gross domestic product. Unfortunately small businesses also have the reputation of a high failure rate some literature quote figures as high as sixty six percent of all small businesses within the first six years of their existence. An Australian survey indicated that nearly sixty five percent of all business failures were caused by controllable factors, which implicates that the use of consultants, or simply better management of the small business, could have prevented the failure. This study explains why small business owners are so reluctant to make use of outside consultants and looks into the most common causes of small organisation failure. This research project is designed as an incremental development study, where an existing model is adjusted to focus on a smaller nische market. A consulting model, developed to use in large organisations, was evaluated by identifying the problem areas that most often cause small organisations to fail and then comparing them to the areas addressed in the existing model. The conclusion reached was that although this model will definitely help small business owners to improve their businesses, it doesn't address the mest common causes of small business failure and adjustments is needed to customise this product for the small organisation. Based on the available data on the most common causes of small organisational failure, a new model is developed, which addresses the specific causes of small organisation failure. The new model gives examples of what would be in place in an organisation where the relevant critical success factor is successfully implemented as well as examples of what the situation will be if the relvant factor is absent. The small business owners evaluate themselves on a scale of one to ten. The model has a dual purpose, firstly to create an awareness with the owner of the full spectrum of factors that need to receive attention in a small organisation, and secondly to give a benchmark against which progress on each of the critical success factors can be measured.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Klein besighede vorm die ruggraat van die Suid Afrikaanse ekonomie, met byna sewe-en-dertig persent van die Bruto Nasionale Produk (BNP), wat aan klein besighede toegeskryf kan word en as werkverskaffer aan bykans die helfte van alle werknemers wat formeel in diens is van die private sektor. Ongelukkig het klein besighede ook die reputasie van 'n groot mislukkingskoers met mislukkings so hoog as ses-en-sestig persent van alle klein besighede in die eerste ses jaar van die ondernemings se bestaan. 'n Australiese studie het getoon dat ongeveer vyf-en-sestig persent van die oorsake van klein besigheid mislukkings aan beheerbare faktore toegeskryf kan word. Met ander woorde hulp van konsultante, of bloot beter bestuur van die klein besigheid, kon die mislukking verhoed het. Hierdie werkstuk kyk na redes hoekom konsultante so min deur klein besighede gebruik word en na die mees algemene oorsake van klein besigheid mislukkings. Die werkstuk neem die vorm aan van 'n inkrementele ontwikkeling studie waar 'n reeds bestaande evaluasie model, aangepas word om te fokus op 'n kleiner nismark. 'n Konsultasie model, wat ontwikkel is vir gebruik in die diagnostiese fase van die konsultasieproses vir groot besighede, is ondersoek en daar is gekyk watter van die mees algemene faktore vir klein besigheid mislukking in hierdie model aangespreek is. Die gevolgtrekking was dat alhoewel die model definitief klein besigheids eienaars sal help om hul organisasies te verbeter, dit meeste van die oorsake vir mislukking in klein besighede nie direk aanspreek nie, en dat aanpassings van die model nodig is. Gebasseer op reeds bestaande navorsing oor die oorsake van klein besigheid mislukkings, is 'n nuwe model ontwikkel, wat spesifiek gerig is daarop om die mees algemene oorsake van mislukking aan te spreek. Die hersiene model gee voorbeelde van wat in plek sal wees in 'n organisasie waar die kritieke suksesfaktor suksesvol geimplementeer is asook voorbeelde van hoe die situasie daar sal uitsien indien die relevante faktor afwesig is. Klein besigheidseienaars evalueer hulself op 'n skaal van een tot tien. Die doel van die model is tweeledig, eerstens om die eienaar attent te maak op die volle omvang van faktore waaraan aandag gegee moet word, en tweedens om 'n riglyn te bied waarteen vordering op elkeen van die kritieke sukses faktore gemeet kan word.
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Buthelizi, Nozipho Charity Sindisiwe. "Development of a framework of organisational culture that characterises an innovative organisation in small, medium and micro enterprises in the South African economy : an exploratory study." Thesis, Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/8501.
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Thesis (MBA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2010.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: It has been suggested that without the ability to innovate, an organisation will not be able to survive the demands of an ever-changing operating environment. This raises the question: How can organisations ensure that they are able to innovate? Organisational culture has been identified as a critical variable in answering this question. The culture of the organisation determines to a large extent the degree of innovation in that organisation. Business leaders have made attempts to nurture a culture of creativity and innovation in their organisations through the recruitment of dynamic individuals with innovative traits. However, most of their attempts seemed insufficient in achieving their goals. The primary purpose of this research is to develop a framework for organisational culture that characterises an innovative organisation in small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs). The secondary objective is to identify the enablers and inhibitors of innovation. Research method: The research approach starts with a review of existing literature. This is followed by the development of the theory and empirical research. Data collection was also carried out in the form of semi-structured interviews with senior and middle management in innovative SMMEs. Main findings: The analysis of the findings indicates that an organisation cannot focus on any single aspect of organisational culture. Innovation is a system in the organisation that is strongly guided by the culture of the organisation. Recommendations: Future research on this subject will benefit from the selection of a larger sample of data. Given the dynamic nature of innovation and organisational culture, it is recommended to repeat this research over time in order to explore whether the same dimensions in determining innovative organisational culture still apply. The current research can also be followed up by a study on the sources of innovation in an organisation.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Inleiding: Sonder die vermoë om te kan innoveer, sal ’n organisasie nie kan oorleef in ’n bedryfsomgewing wat voortdurend verander nie. Dit laat die vraag ontstaan: Hoe kan organisasies seker maak hulle die vermoë het om te innoveer? Organisasiekultuur is geïdentifiseer as ’n kritiese veranderlike in die beantwoording van hierdie vraag. Die kultuur van ’n organisasie bepaal grootliks die mate van innovering in daardie organisasie. Sakeleiers probeer om ’n kultuur van kreatiwiteit en innovering in hul organisasies te koester deur dinamiese individue met innoverende karaktereienskappe te werf. Dit blyk egter dat die meeste van hul pogings nie daarin kan slaag om hul doelwitte te bereik nie. Die primêre doel van hierdie navorsing is om ’n raamwerk vir organisatoriese kultuur te ontwikkel wat ’n innoverende organisasie in klein, medium-grootte en mikro ondernemings (KMMO’s) kenmerk. Die sekondêre doelwit is om die moontlikmakers en inhibeerders van innovering te identifiseer. Navorsingsmetode: Die navorsingsbenadering begin met ’n oorsig van bestaande literatuur. Dit word gevolg deur die ontwikkeling van die teorie en empiriese navorsing. Data-insameling is uitgevoer in die vorm van semi-gestruktureerde onderhoude met senior en middelvlakbestuurders van innoverende KMMO’s. Vernaamste bevindinge: Die ontleding van die bevindinge dui daarop dat ’n organisasie nie op een enkele aspek van organisasiekultuur kan fokus nie. Innovering is ’n stelsel in die organisasie wat baie sterk deur die kultuur van die organisasie beïnvloed word. Aanbevelings: Toekomstige navorsing oor hierdie onderwerp sal baat vind by die seleksie van ’n groter steekproef van data. Gegewe die dinamiese aard van innovering en organisatoriese kultuur, word daar aanbeveel dat hierdie navorsing mettertyd herhaal word om uit te vind of dieselfde dimensies vir die bepaling van innoverende organisatoriese kultuur steeds van toepassing is. Die huidige navorsing kan ook opgevolg word deur ’n studie oor die bronne van innovering in ’n organisasie.
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Denner, Lize. "Information organisation in small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) in South Africa." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/53465.
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Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2003.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The study was conducted to determine the need of SMMEs with regard to the availability and organisation of information. Literature on the subjects of information that is available in SMMEs and how this information should be organised was studied to determine whether it provides SMMEs with enough knowledge to find external information and extract internal information. The literature regarding information management and organisation was also studied to determine whether it can be used by a owner/manager of an SMME to organise its information in such a way that it can be retrieved and used. The study also included an empirical part with the purpose of discovering the current practices regarding the collection, organisation and use of information in SMMEs. Twenty-four structured interviews were conducted in four towns, namely Kuilsriver, Stellenbosch, Upington and Makhado (Louis Trichardt). During the interviews a questionnaire was used to investigate the uses of computers, the availability and need for information from the external and internal environment, and lastly electronic and manual systems used to organise information. When the interviews were concluded the systems were, especially the electronic folder systems, further investigated through observation. This provided an excellent opportunity to discover the usefulness of a system and even what type of information is really available and needed. It was found that SMME owner/managers are mostly aware of internal information, but do not know how to extract it or what other application possibilities it has. External information is not widely available or used. The only external information available is that which the SMMEs are required to have by law. Information organisation, although critically important to all SMMEs, was mostly not done effectively. Electronic folder structures and manual filing systems are mostly used for information organisation, but they are not effectively used because of lack of skill and no other literature or association to turn to. To assist SMMEs in the development of a folder structure system a number of guidelines are provided that will help to design a natural or structured language system tailored to the specific needs of the business.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die studie is gedoen om vas te stel wat klein, medium en mikro ondernemings se behoeftes rakende die beskikbaarheid en die organisering van inligting, is. Literatuur wat hierdie twee onderwerpsareas dek, is bestudeer om vas te stel of dit genoeg kennis aan die ondernemings oordra om eksterne inligting op te spoor, en interne inligting te onttrek. Literatuur wat handel oor inligtingsbestuur en inligtingsorganisering is bestudeer om uit te vind of dit deur 'n eienaar/bestuurder van 'n klein onderneming gebruik sou kon word om inligting te organiseer, sodat dit weer opgespoor kan word. 'n Empiriese studie het ook deeI uitgemaak van die algehele studie en het daarop gefokus om vas te stel wat die huidige praktyke rakende versameling, organisering en gebruik van inligting in klein ondernemings is. Vier en twintig gestruktureerde onderhoude is in vier dorpe, naamlik Kuilsrivier, Stellenbosch, Upington en Makhado (Louis Trichardt), gevoer. Gedurende die onderhoude is 'n vraelys gebruik om ondersoek in te stel na die gebruike van rekenaars, die beskikbaarheid en gebruik van interne en eksterne inligting en, laastens, die elektroniese en handstelsels wat gebruik word in klein ondernemings. Na afloop van die onderhoude is stelsels verder ondersoek deur middel van observasie van veral elektroniese leergidsstelsels. Die observasie het 'n guldige geleentheid gebied om die bruikbaarheid van die stelsel en selfs die inligtingsbehoeftes van die onderneming te toets. Daar is bevind dat die eienaars/bestuurders van klein ondernemings wel bewus is van die interne inligting, maar nie die kennis het om dit te herwin of om inligting in ander prosesse toe te pas nie. Eksterne inligting word nie algemeen gebruik nie. Die enigste wat meestal voorkom is eksterne inligting wat volgens wet in die besit van die onderneming moet wees. Inligtingsorganisering is wel as van kritieke belang aangedui deur alle klein besighede, maar in die meeste word dit glad nie effektief toegepas nie. Elektroniese leerqidsstelsels en liasseerkabinette word algemeen gebruik, maar 'n tekort aan vaardighede en literatuur om leiding te gee veroorsaak dat hulle nie effektief gebruik kan word nie. Om klein besighede behulpsaam te wees met die ontwikkeling van leerstelsels is 'n aantal riglyne verskaf. Hierdie riglyne sal die klein besighede van hulp kan wees in die ontwikkeling van 'n natuurlike- of gestruktuurde taal stelsel wat by die behoeftes van die besigheid aangepas kan word.
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Alcocer, Carlos Flores. "Bringing about strategic thinking into small Mexican organisations : a systematic approach." Thesis, Lancaster University, 1991. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.317400.
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Costello, Neil. "Economic institutions and routine practices : the case of high-technology small and medium-sized enterprises." Thesis, n.p, 1998. http://ethos.bl.uk/.
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Brytting, Tomas. "Organizing in the small growing firm : a grounded theory approach." Doctoral thesis, Stockholm : Economic Research Institute, Stockholm School of Economics [Ekonomiska forskningsinstitutet vid Handelshögsk.] (EFI), 1991. http://www.hhs.se/efi/summary/319.htm.
Full textBooks on the topic "Small business organisation and management"
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Häfele, Walter. Systemische Organisationsentwicklung: Eine evolutionäre Strategie für kleine und mittlere Organisationen. 2nd ed. Frankfurt am Main: P. Lang, 1993.
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Systemische Organisationsentwicklung: Eine evolutionäre Strategie für kleine und mittlere Organisationen. 3rd ed. Frankfurt am Main: P. Lang, 1996.
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1952-, Stewart Jim, and Beaver Graham, eds. HRD in small organisations: Research and practice. London: Routledge, 2004.
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Formation, organisation du travail et maintenance dans les entreprises en Afrique subsaharienne: Anthropologie des techniques dans les PMI-PME du Niger. Paris: L'Harmattan, 2001.
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Small Business Organisations Networking Seminar (1991 London, England). Small Business Organisations Networking Seminar, 31 October 1991: Report. [London, Eng.]: Ethnic Minority Business Initiative, 1991.
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Chapman, Doris. Good personnel practice in small and medium-sized organisations. London: FT Pitman Publishing, 1997.
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Verweij, Maurits. Redesigning the production organisation of SMEs: Development and test of a participative method. Delft: Eburon, 1997.
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Goffee, Robert. Corporate realities: Dynamics of large and small organisations. London: Routledge, 1995.
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Orsino, Philip S. Successful business expansion: Practical strategies for planning profitable growth. New York: J. Wiley & Sons, 1994.
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Goffee, Robert. Corporate realities: The dynamics of large and small organisations. London: Routledge, 1995.
Find full textBook chapters on the topic "Small business organisation and management"
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Griffith, Alan. "Organisation and Management." In Small Building Works Management, 126–62. London: Macmillan Education UK, 1992. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-22584-2_6.
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Dewhurst, Jim, and Paul Burns. "Business Taxation." In Small Business Management, 40–64. London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, 1993. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-23109-6_4.
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Dewhurst, Jim, and Paul Burns. "Inventory Management." In Small Business Management, 320–28. London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, 1993. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-23109-6_18.
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Chaston, Ian. "Information management." In Small Business Marketing, 208–27. London: Macmillan Education UK, 2014. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-32601-0_11.
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Hill, Terry. "Production/Operations Management in a Small Business." In Small Business, 3–18. London: Macmillan Education UK, 1987. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-18691-4_1.
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Dewhurst, Jim, and Paul Burns. "The Business Plan." In Small Business Management, 129–67. London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, 1993. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-23109-6_8.
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Dewhurst, Jim, and Paul Burns. "The Management of Working Capital: Inventory and Cash." In Small Business, 365–76. London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, 1989. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-19657-9_19.
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Dewhurst, Jim, and Paul Burns. "Introduction." In Small Business Management, 1–7. London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, 1993. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-23109-6_1.
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Dewhurst, Jim, and Paul Burns. "Bank Finance." In Small Business Management, 187–200. London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, 1993. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-23109-6_10.
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Dewhurst, Jim, and Paul Burns. "Financial and Other Services for SMEs." In Small Business Management, 201–12. London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, 1993. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-23109-6_11.
Full textConference papers on the topic "Small business organisation and management"
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Kolačko, Valentina, Ivan Malbašić Ivan Malbašić, and Lorena Pikl. "The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Team Management." In Challenges in Economics and Business in the Post-COVID Times. University of Maribor Press, 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.18690/um.epf.5.2022.13.
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The COVID-19 pandemic caused organisational changes and forced greater flexibility in terms of jobs and the digitalisation of business processes, which has also affected team management in a business environment. The aim of this paper is to investigate and systematically show what changes in team management have occurred due to the COVID-19 pandemic in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) engaged in computer programming. For this purpose, the authors conducted in-depth interviews with team leaders in a sample of companies from Varaždin County in Croatia. The research results reveal how SMEs responded to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. These include, among others, reorganising team roles and responsibilities, ensuring timely and transparent communication, adapting employees to new ways of working, and strengthening organisational culture to preserve fundamental corporate values. The research also showed what the observed companies have done to put in place measures to resolve future crises and the fundamental positive changes in team management caused by the pandemic. Therefore, in addition to the scientific contribution, this paper can be of practical help to those facing the challenge of leading teams during challenging times, such as that of COVID-19.
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Bulińska-Stangrecka, Helena, and Anna Bagieńska. "The mediating effect of team cooperation on tacit knowledge transfer and interpersonal trust." In Contemporary Issues in Business, Management and Economics Engineering. Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, 2019. http://dx.doi.org/10.3846/cibmee.2019.049.
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Purpose – this article aims to examine how teamwork cooperation mediates the relationship between interpersonal trust and tacit knowledge transfer. Research methodology – the paper uses data obtained from a survey conducted on 175 employees from the telecommunications sector. The multiplied regression method was applied to analyse the data according to the mediation analysis. Findings – the findings show that interpersonal trust predicts tacit knowledge transfer and team cooperation mediates this relationship. The results indicate the importance of nurturing positive, trusting relations among employees in organisations and the necessity of working interactions. Research limitations – the limitation of this research is related to the relatively small research sample. Further research could be conducted on a higher number of respondents and could cover different sectors. Additional development of presented research might include cross-cultural analysis. Originality/Value – this paper contributes to the literature of management by providing the empirical confirmation of the SET-based model that concerns the mechanism of tacit knowledge transfer. The practical implications highlight the importance of common collaborative experience and interpersonal trust that facilitates trust among co-workers and consequently influences tacit knowledge transfer. Keywords: trust, tacit knowledge, knowledge transfer, knowledge management
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Pavia, Nadia, Tamara Floričić, and Edna Mrnjavac. "FLEXIBLE WORKSPACES AND REMOTE WORK IN HOTEL ACCOMMODATION OFFER – COMPETITIVENESS CONTEXT." In Tourism and hospitality industry. University of Rijeka, Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management, 2023. http://dx.doi.org/10.20867/thi.26.10.
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Purpose - The dynamic globalisation processes and the processes of tourism and hospitality business development put ever increasing challenges before hoteliers. The COVID-19 pandemic has called for hotel guests’ new routines and expectations. The combination of work and holiday is taking hold, especially since the pandemic changed work methods which have become more f lexible. Remote work has enabled people to travel and conduct their business activities; therefore, a new word explaining this new concept is forged; workspitality (abbreviation of words work + hospitality). The purpose of this paper is to show in what measure hotel companies, given the guests’ new routines and expectations, have adapted their offer to their guests’ new requirements. By consideration of the tourists’ requirements, a new specific trend has been identified, which presumes stays in hotels away from home, with pursuit of business activities. The aim of this paper is to research the hotels’ preparedness to offer workspaces as an element of their offer during tourists’ stays in the hotels, combining work and leisure activities. Methodology – includes qualitative and quantitative analyses of the potential of affirmation of the new accommodation concept in hotels. The paper analyses aspects which affect the positioning of remote workplaces as a part of hotel offer, given the tourists’ new routines and expectations. The research was conducted using a survey questionnaire on a sample of hotel managers of small hotels, medium-sized and large sized hotels. The questionnaire contained Likert scale 1-5 research and open-ended questions which explored in depth the attitudes by combining them coded by statistical methods with qualitative research where the results were obtained via open ended questions. The methodology, supported by creative thinking techniques, included desktop meta research and impacted the formation of conclusions which point to new scientific knowledge. Findings – The research results point towards scientific and practical comprehension of hotel offer organisation and innovativeness. The research results influence the formation of scientific knowledge in the area of hotel offer organisation, as well as on the identification of its key elements. Space organisation and Internet communication technologies – ICT services in hotels, by which remote work with simultaneous use of accommodation services and leisure activities would be enabled for tourists, present a prerequisite for new offers. The findings indicate that this new concept produces higher price levels, affirm new market niches and prolong the tourism season. Contribution – The paper represents a valuable contribution to the comprehension of the organisation and innovation of a competitive hotel offer. The possibility of remote work enables tourists to stay in a hotel on holiday and take advantage of a wide choice of recreational facilities. Remote work has become commonplace for many employees, and it is predicted that it will become more than a passing trend. The goal was to understand changes in the guest hotel accommodation affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and to examine the attitudes and the resulting hotel managers’ answers in the segment of organisation of services for remote work. The research results, as well as the acquired knowledge, could influence the perception of the hotel management about the importance of adaptation of the hotel offer to new expectations of hotel guests, and to its organisation. Namely, it could influence the new strategic decisions related to the investments and innovations in accommodation structure design. The contribution is reflected in raising awareness and bridging the gap between theory and practice of innovative accommodation organisation which impacts competitiveness.
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Išoraitė, Margarita, and Gediminas Dubauskas. "STUDY OF COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES OF RETAIL COMPANY IN LITHUANIA." In 12th International Scientific Conference „Business and Management 2022“. Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.3846/bm.2022.779.
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Competitive advantages of retail companies in Lithuania becoming popular in XXI age. Competitive advan-tages of retail companies are becoming popular not only in small organisations with a small budget, but also big retail companies. This article was devoted to examining the literature related to competitive advantage and conducting an empirical study in a retail company. The literature reviewed shows that a competitive advantage is one that is difficult to copy for competitors. The problematic question is what are the competitive advantages of retail companies that are important in retail. Thus, the current situation causes a problem because the concept of competitive advantages of retail companies is not established in the scientific literature. Purpose is to investigate competitive advantage in retail mar-ket companies. Objectives of the study: to analyse the theoretical aspects of the concept of competitive advantages, to examine competitive advantages indicators, to survey competitive advantages in retail market company Lithuania. The paper relies on scientific literature analysis and survey research. The study encompasses theoretical literature analysis, survey as well as comparative analysis. Competitive advantage – this is called a strategic advantage, which must be such that it can be used for as long as possible. This advantage allows for higher-than-average revenues and strong market positions. It is important to mention that it is not acquired once and for all. It is almost always lost after a certain pe-riod of time. The Pearson chi-square test helps to assess the presence or absence of a statistical relationship between the indications studied. H1: Is there a relationship between a significant and meaningful link between the customer’s reputation and the company’s reputation? α – significance level chosen in this case 0.05. After calculating the Pearson’s correlation coefficient, it was found that the level of significance of the observation (p-level) = 0.047, where 0.047 < 0.05. It can be argued that there is a significant and meaningful link between the favourite customer feedback about the company and the company’s reputation. For a deeper analysis, Hypothesis H2 was tested by calculating the Pearson correlation coefficient, where α = 0.05. H2: there is a significant and meaningful connection between service – help, advice, fast and accurate information and level of security, guarantees. Calculations showed that the significance level of the observation (p-level) = 0.028, where 0.028 < 0.05.
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Markopoulos, Evangelos, Denis Ukperaj, and Hannu Vanharanta. "Democratic Management Succession in Balkan Family Businesses: Appointment of Family and nonfamily Members in Leadership Roles." In 13th International Conference on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics (AHFE 2022). AHFE International, 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.54941/ahfe1001521.
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Family businesses are considered to be the backbone of the free-enterprise system in the Balkans. They account for the overwhelming majority of small and medium-sized enterprises and contribute significantly to the economic welfare of the region. However, the lack of succession planning, among other factors, has put the future prospects of local family businesses at risk. Accordingly, family-owned enterprises that do not have a succession plan in place could not only endanger the ongoing prosperity of their future generations but also the company’s very existence. Given that the nomination of family and nonfamily members to top senior positions may set personal interests against corporate ones, this may lead to serious problems in the firm’s strategic direction when the two are not compatible. Consequently, potential successors should be assessed across different domains to determine who is the best fit for a leadership role. Accordingly, this paper introduces the Democratic Employee Connect Model (DECM), a step-gated framework which can provide a potential solution for family businesses when planning for management succession. It is composed of six steps, which will guide family-owned enterprises during this crucial process. The six steps of the model are aligned with the six levels of the Company democracy Model to democratically identify the most suitable candidate in this succession process which is often driven by personal and family interests. Two essential components of the DECM are its scoring system and change management model applied in a democratic context. The former would help family-owned enterprises decide whether a family or nonfamily member should be the next leader of the company, whereas the latter would increase the organisational commitment and level of cohesion between family and nonfamily members. Although this framework is specific only for the Balkan region, it may also be applicable in other regions and economies of similar size with some minor adjustments. The research conducted is based on secondary data that integrates selected elements from the main family business theories in the proposed model such as the family business system theory, agency and stewardship theories, social exchange and social identity theories, and others. In addition, primary research has been collected from survey responses of 63 family businesses, interviews with five industry experts and observations of two family-owned enterprises to better understand the factors that Balkan family businesses take into account for the appointment of family and nonfamily successors.In this context, the primary and secondary research findings suggested that relational and contextual factors are more important than individual factors for the nomination of a nonfamily successor in these organisations and the opposite is true for a family successor. This provides evidence that most family-owned enterprises in the region have a strong desire to appoint family members in leadership roles as opposed to nonfamily members, whose contributions are presumably secondary to the founding family. These insights are incorporated in the Democratic Employee Connect Model (DECM) for a more accurate representation of family businesses in the region. The paper also presents research limitations that can be considered for future research.
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Adamus-Matuszyńska, Anna, and Grzegorz Polok. "Decoupling in the perspective of responsibility." In 11th International Scientific Conference „Business and Management 2020“. VGTU Technika, 2020. http://dx.doi.org/10.3846/bm.2020.588.
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The principal objective of the article is to examine responsibility as a value helping to enhance the ability of organisation to deal with highly institutionalised environment in which it operates, and which has an impact on the decoupling process. The authors put forward a hypothesis that the development of the sphere of responsibility may support to deal with the complexity of organisation and its environment. To verify the hypothesis the review of literature was undertaken as the research method. Decoupling process is neither good nor bad although it bears ethical dilemmas. The results of the literature examination let to make the conclusion that responsibility is a value that allows organization to solve dilemmas resulting from the complexity and controversy of the decoupling phenomenon. The authors propose to concentrate on the individuals managing and co-forming the organisation in the light of responsibility.
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Slavinskaitė, Neringa, and Romualdas Ginevičius. "REVENUE AUTONOMY OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT: FISCAL DECENTRALIZATION ASPECT." In Business and Management 2016. VGTU Technika, 2016. http://dx.doi.org/10.3846/bm.2016.64.
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The empriral studies of fiscal decentralization depend critically on the correct measurement of fiscal decentralization. Fiscal decentralization is an important aspect of fiscal institutions in both developing and developed countries. One of the most important aspect of fiscal decentralization is revenue autonomy of local government. In this paper we calculated an index of revenue autonomy for selected Europe countries. The most important indicator is tax autonomy in revenue autonomy of local govenment, which based on the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) methodology. The empirical results show that, in general, the degree of local government revenue autonomy is higher in developed Europe countries than in most developing Europe countries.
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Palmer, Paul, Lesley Mason, and Mike Dunn. "A Case Study in Healthcare Quality Management: A Practical Methodology for Auditing Total Patient X-Ray Dose During a Diagnostic Procedure." In ASME 7th Biennial Conference on Engineering Systems Design and Analysis. ASMEDC, 2004. http://dx.doi.org/10.1115/esda2004-58349.
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The healthcare industry is adopting many of the best practices familiar to the manufacturing sector. For example the need for ISO 9000 registration is now seen as an important business driver, indeed, BSI offers specific advice for Healthcare organisations seeking to gain ISO 9001:2000 approval. Accompanying the integration of quality systems into the healthcare business is the need to find practical measures of quality that may be used as part of an overall process to deliver improved performance. The manufacturing industry has a rich array of techniques such as JIT (Just In Time), 6 Sigma, SPC (Statistical Process Control), TQM (Total Quality Management) which may all now be found cited in conjunction with the healthcare industry. This paper focuses on the legislatively driven need to locally audit and minimise the diagnostic X-ray dose received by patients during a Barium Enema procedure. This procedure was selected as it has been shown by other authors to have a reasonably narrow spread of total patient dose levels and therefore might be relatively easy to draw statistically significant inferences for management purposes. The Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations 2000 (IRMER) and Health Service Circular on Clinical Governance (HSC1999/065) state that Clinical Audit should be performed to identify and monitor the issues leading to quality improvement and best practice. This is a statement of requirement, which delegates the responsibility of implementation to the local level. The IRMER Regulation also require the setting of local Diagnostic Reference Levels (DRLs). These are levels of radiation dose for individual examinations which under normal circumstances should not be exceeded. Producing a meaningful audit and DRLs in small departments raises many issues: data availability and capture may be time consuming especially if records are kept on paper-based systems; analysis of the data may present a steep learning curve in statistical techniques; a high degree of statistical confidence in the results is required along with sensitivity in their presentation and dissemination to ensure that they become part of a process of continuous improvement (rather than part of a blame culture). This paper presents a practical approach to delivering a meaningful audit of locally collected data using readily available software tools (Excel Spreadsheet), in conjunction with a relatively simple numerical statistical analysis technique called ‘bootstrapping’. Bootstrapping enabled us to set the local DRL for this procedure with an estimate of statistical confidence. An analysis was performed on the data to determine factors contributing to total patient dose.
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Mastor, Saiful Hadi, and Norhati Ibrahim. "Quality management (QM) practices in Facilities Management (FM) organisation: A case study in Malaysia." In 2012 IEEE Symposium on Business, Engineering and Industrial Applications (ISBEIA). IEEE, 2012. http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/isbeia.2012.6422967.
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SKAČKAUSKIENĖ, Ilona, and Juliana SMIRNOVA. "OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A GREEN ORGANISATION IN THE CONTEXT OF NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL STRATEGIC DOCUMENTS AND INICIATIVES." In International Scientific Conference „Contemporary Issues in Business, Management and Economics Engineering". Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.3846/cibmee.2021.628.
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The article emphasizes the aspects of organisational development in the context of green organisation, de- scribing the importance of changes in an external environment for the development of the organisation. Purpose – the purpose of the article is to analyse the relevance of green organisation development at the national and international levels by examining it through the prism of strategic documents and initiatives. In order to determine the development directions of the green organisation on the basis of strategic documents and initiatives. Research methodology – the methods of critical analysis of scientific literature, strategic documents, initiatives and synthesis as well as abstrahation have been applied. Findings – main findings of the research proved that development of green organisation is relevant in the context of key international and national strategic documents. Also the definition of the development of green organisations is proposed by authors. The analysis of strategic documents and initiatives at the national and international levels has shown that their impact on the development of a green organisation can be both direct and indirect. Research limitations – the limitation of this reseach is that mainly key international and national strategic documents were analyzed. Analysis of other strategic documents can be stated as a direction for future research. Practical implications – the results of the research could be used as a basis for the promotion of the development of green organisations at the national and international level both directly and indirectly. Originality/Value – the originality of this research can be defined by complex approach to analysis related to the impact of actual legal regulation to the development of green organisations.
Reports on the topic "Small business organisation and management"
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Christman, Marissa. Risk Management Overview for Small Business. Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI), April 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.2172/1862802.
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Wang, Xinxin, and Linda S. Niehm. The embedment of social media in small business supply network management. Ames: Iowa State University, Digital Repository, 2013. http://dx.doi.org/10.31274/itaa_proceedings-180814-642.
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Burr, Casey Eugene, Casey Eugene Burr, Casey Eugene Burr, Casey Eugene Burr, Casey Eugene Burr, Casey Eugene Burr, Casey Eugene Burr, and Casey Eugene Burr. New Mexico Small Business Assistance Program: Management Sciences Inc. Final Report. Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI), December 2019. http://dx.doi.org/10.2172/1592919.
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DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY ALEXANDRIA VA. Total Quality Management Implementing Plan: Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization. Fort Belvoir, VA: Defense Technical Information Center, July 1989. http://dx.doi.org/10.21236/ada212865.
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Hurst, Jessica L., Jihyeong Son, Linda S. Niehm, Ann Marie Fiore, and Amrut Sadachar. The Impact of Entrepreneurial Management on Business Success of Small Retail Firms. Ames: Iowa State University, Digital Repository, 2013. http://dx.doi.org/10.31274/itaa_proceedings-180814-878.
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Gebrezgabher, S., M. Leh, D. J. Merrey, T. T. Kodua, and P. Schmitter. Solar photovoltaic technology for small-scale irrigation in Ghana: suitability mapping and business models. Agricultural Water Management – Making a Business Case for Smallholders. International Water Management Institute (IWMI), 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.5337/2021.209.
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Price, Roz. Taxation and Public Financial Management of Mining Revenue in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Institute of Development Studies (IDS), October 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.19088/k4d.2021.144.
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This rapid review provides a summary of the evidence on the taxation and public financial management of mining revenues in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This is a very complex topic, with a large and growing literature base, a huge interest by donors, non-governmental organisations and businesses, with some conflicting information at times. In particular, specific data on provincial budgets and spending was not identified during this review. No specific information on public financial management in either of these provinces was identified during the course of this review. Given the burgeoning size of the literature base and the complexity of the mining sector in the DRC, this rapid review only provides a snapshot of the literature. It draws on academic, grey and donor literature sources. Some papers for further reading are highlighted. The report first provides a brief background discussion of general taxation in the DRC, the decentralisation process, and provincial public revenue management. The next section provides general information on the mining sector in the DRC, including the regulatory system and official duties, royalties and tax provisions. Section 4 goes into more detail about taxation and rent-seeking in the mining sector, touching on both large-scale mining (LSM) and artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM). The next section looks at smuggling of minerals in the DRC, with a focus on gold. Finally, some specific lessons learned were drawn from two World Bank projects and highlighted in the final section. Lessons and experiences from other mining-related projects are also highlighted throughout the report. Literature in French was not included in this rapid review, which may mean that some key documents were omitted.
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Seginer, Ido, Louis D. Albright, and Robert W. Langhans. On-line Fault Detection and Diagnosis for Greenhouse Environmental Control. United States Department of Agriculture, February 2001. http://dx.doi.org/10.32747/2001.7575271.bard.
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Background Early detection and identification of faulty greenhouse operation is essential, if losses are to be minimized by taking immediate corrective actions. Automatic detection and identification would also free the greenhouse manager to tend to his other business. Original objectives The general objective was to develop a method, or methods, for the detection, identification and accommodation of faults in the greenhouse. More specific objectives were as follows: 1. Develop accurate systems models, which will enable the detection of small deviations from normal behavior (of sensors, control, structure and crop). 2. Using these models, develop algorithms for an early detection of deviations from the normal. 3. Develop identifying procedures for the most important faults. 4. Develop accommodation procedures while awaiting a repair. The Technion team focused on the shoot environment and the Cornell University team focused on the root environment. Achievements Models: Accurate models were developed for both shoot and root environment in the greenhouse, utilizing neural networks, sometimes combined with robust physical models (hybrid models). Suitable adaptation methods were also successfully developed. The accuracy was sufficient to allow detection of frequently occurring sensor and equipment faults from common measurements. A large data base, covering a wide range of weather conditions, is required for best results. This data base can be created from in-situ routine measurements. Detection and isolation: A robust detection and isolation (formerly referred to as 'identification') method has been developed, which is capable of separating the effect of faults from model inaccuracies and disturbance effects. Sensor and equipment faults: Good detection capabilities have been demonstrated for sensor and equipment failures in both the shoot and root environment. Water stress detection: An excitation method of the shoot environment has been developed, which successfully detected water stress, as soon as the transpiration rate dropped from its normal level. Due to unavailability of suitable monitoring equipment for the root environment, crop faults could not be detected from measurements in the root zone. Dust: The effect of screen clogging by dust has been quantified. Implications Sensor and equipment fault detection and isolation is at a stage where it could be introduced into well equipped and maintained commercial greenhouses on a trial basis. Detection of crop problems requires further work. Dr. Peleg was primarily responsible for developing and implementing the innovative data analysis tools. The cooperation was particularly enhanced by Dr. Peleg's three summer sabbaticals at the ARS, Northem Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory, in Sidney, Montana. Switching from multi-band to hyperspectral remote sensing technology during the last 2 years of the project was advantageous by expanding the scope of detected plant growth attributes e.g. Yield, Leaf Nitrate, Biomass and Sugar Content of sugar beets. However, it disrupted the continuity of the project which was originally planned on a 2 year crop rotation cycle of sugar beets and multiple crops (com and wheat), as commonly planted in eastern Montana. Consequently, at the end of the second year we submitted a continuation BARD proposal which was turned down for funding. This severely hampered our ability to validate our findings as originally planned in a 4-year crop rotation cycle. Thankfully, BARD consented to our request for a one year extension of the project without additional funding. This enabled us to develop most of the methodology for implementing and running the hyperspectral remote sensing system and develop the new analytical tools for solving the non-repeatability problem and analyzing the huge hyperspectral image cube datasets. However, without validation of these tools over a ful14-year crop rotation cycle this project shall remain essentially unfinished. Should the findings of this report prompt the BARD management to encourage us to resubmit our continuation research proposal, we shall be happy to do so.
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Supporting Women Entrepreneurs in Tunisia. Oxfam IBIS, August 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.21201/2021.7871.
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Mabrouka Hdaya is a craftswoman who has been producing bags and baskets for 20 years. Support from the Youth Participation and Employment (YPE) project helped her overcome the technical and financial obstacles that she has faced since 2018 when she started her entrepreneurial journey. YPE, in partnership with the Local Initiative and Development Forum (FIDEL), selected Mabrouka for training to improve her weaving and business management skills. As a result, she has become more confident and developed working relationships with other people in her trade. Her business was doing well until the COVID-19 pandemic affected markets. She is hopeful she will recover as soon as the markets re-open and national fairs re-start. In the meantime, she sells small quantities of her products through social media platforms and the FIDEL shop. This is the story of an entrepreneur who knows her way forward and is ready to fight uncertainties.
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Microfinance and households coping with HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe: An exploratory study. Population Council, 2002. http://dx.doi.org/10.31899/hiv2002.1004.
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The widespread prevalence of HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa adversely affects millions of households. In recent years, microfinance has been proposed as a strategy to help the households of microentrepreneurs respond to the negative economic impacts of HIV/AIDS. This attention to the potential role of microfinance builds upon earlier research that shows that microfinance institutions (MFIs) that charge commercial rates of interest and use sound business practices can become operationally self-sustainable and help improve the lives of the poor and vulnerable nonpoor. This type of MFI generally offers small loans, often combined with savings services. An MFI may also offer business management training, health and nutrition education, and other types of services. This brief presents findings from a study conducted in Zimbabwe that sought to better understand the relationship between a microfinance program, Zambuko Trust, and how microentrepreneurs’ households cope with the impact of HIV/AIDS. The study also examined how HIV/AIDS is affecting Zambuko’s operations and what MFIs can do to lessen the impact of HIV/AIDS on their clients and operations.