Small Medium Enterprise

Top-down process improvement approaches provide a high-level model of what the process of a software development organization should be. Such models are based on the consensus of a designated working group on how software should be developed or maintained. They are very useful in that they provide general guidelines on where to start improving, and in which order. However, the majority of them have only worked in scenarios within large companies. We aim to help small software development organizations to adopt an iterative approach by providing a Process Improvement Web-based Tool (SysProVal). This paper presents research into the proposal that a small organization may use this tool to define and implement a set of project management practices that can be strengthened using the CMMI-DEV 1.2 model as reference. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Data warehouses are the core of decision support systems, which nowadays are used by all kind of enterprises in the entire world. Although many studies have been conducted on the need of decision support systems (DSSs) for small businesses, most of them adopt existing solutions and approaches, which are appropriate for large-scaled enterprises, but are inadequate for small and middle-sized enterprises.

This paper shows a case study related to the implementation of the financial management process in a small enterprise whose core business is not Information Technology (IT). A brief description of ITIL v3 financial management process is presented. Then, the target enterprise and its IT infrastructure are described. Finally, it shows how it has begun to implement the financial management

Small enterprises are facing significant challenges to become suppliers of bigger customers due to the excessive costs associated with accessing a vast market of potential customers. It is essential for small businesses to adopt an ERP system to maintain control of their operations and to compete globally. An ERP implementation is expensive and risky for all businesses, but it is still more challenging for small businesses, which have particular characteristics. We identified from archived literature, key decisions necessary in selecting and implementing an ERP system. While these critical decisions are applicable to all types of businesses, the focus of this research was to recommend the best practices for each one of these key decisions for small businesses. We interviewed six small businesses to recommend best practices for the critical decisions: (1) project team structure, (2) implementation strategy, (3) database conversion strategy, (4) transition technique, (5) risk management strategy and (6) change management strategy. Our results indicate that these best practices greatly enhanced the success of an ERP implementation for small businesses. Further, we recommend studying the impact of ERP systems on the small business’ participation in supply chain management.

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is a product that enables organizations achieving their competitive advantage. However, the failures of ERP implementation are still considered quite high. This research was conducted to formulate the framework of self-assessment of open source ERP implementation readiness, which focused on the ERP pre-implementation aspects. The proposed ERP implementation readiness assessment framework was developed using the Fuzzy-based ANP (Fuzzy ANP), where the examined readiness factors are grouped into three categories, namely project management, organizational, and change management readiness. In order to see the application of the framework, we conducted a case study on an SME engaged in software development. We did focus group discussion with Chief Technology Officer, Chief Strategy Officer and Project Manager. The results showed that the company is not ready to implement open source ERP. Although the company is strong in the human resources aspect, they are still weak in other aspects so that they need some strategies to improve their level of readiness before implementing open source ERP.

Este volumen recoge los resultados del trabajo llevado a cabo por investigadores de GRADE como parte del proyecto “Micro, Pequeñas y Medianas Empresas en el Perú: Análisis de los Sectores de Confecciones, Metalmecánica y Servicios Informáticos”. Esta investigación se realizó a pedido y en colaboración con la “MESA de Coordinación PYME” en el marco del convenio de cooperación suscrito con

The number of people engaged in micro and small enterprises increases as a result of new enterprises being started and through an expansion of existing activities. As a partial offset to these increases, employment declines when existing businesses cease operations. This article draws on recent survey work to examine the magnitude and determinants of enterprise births, closures and expansions. It explores the ways in which these different sources of change are influenced by the state of the macroeconomy, and examines policy and project implications.

... Giannone, M., Bernini, C. (2002), "Tourist local systems and territorial development", Journal of Quality Assurance in Hospitality and Tourism, Vol. 3 No.1/2, pp.125-31. ... World Bank (2004), RPED Manual, available at: www1.worldbank.org/rped/index.asp, . ...

Purpose – Information and communication technologies (ICTs) open new opportunities for micro-enterprises to improve their businesses. However, challenges to using ICTs impede these businesses from growing into drivers for development. This paper seeks to investigate the adoption of ICTs in 11 micro-enterprises in an underserved community of Omaha, Nebraska. Design/methodology/approach – Following an action research study, this research provides insight into the key challenges and opportunities facing micro-enterprises in their use of ICTs to create value for their businesses. Findings – The process of “IT therapy” provides individualized technology-related assistance, with an emphasis on relationship-building, customized training, context sensitivity, and solutions that target strongly-perceived needs of the businesses studied. Originality/value – The paper's contribution is in the methodology for facilitating the adoption of ICTs in micro-enterprises.

The marketing personnel play a very important position in market economy activity which enterprises engaged in. Aiming at the status of difficult to "stay" for the small and medium-sized enterprises, the paper uses performance appraisal theory systematically, analyses performance appraisal problems of marketing personnel for small and medium-sized enterprises, and provide relevant performance appraisal advices and effective measures for the marketing personnel of small and medium-sized enterprises, so as to cultivate talents, retain staff, play the role of talent and ensure the stability of the enterprise marketing team.

The need for strategic human resource management in small enterprises is discussed. Though small enterprises might wish to keep their human resource management practices informal, they will be able to increase their productivity if there is adequate human resource planning and integration of human resource strategies with business strategies. An illustrative case study is presented of a successful small enterprise which has a mix of formal and informal human resource management functions, and which has judiciously integrated its human resource strategies with its business strategies.

"Purpose – This research aims to develop a framework for measuring readiness level of Business Intelligence (BI) implementation.
Design/methodology/approach –  We formulated our farmework by using Critical Success Factors (CSFs) of BI implementation. The weight of each dimension in the framework is determined by using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). The validation of the model is performed by involving five (5) BI experts.
Findings – The proposed framework comprises of three categories: organizational, process and technology. The number of aspects for organizational, process and technology are nine, four, and five respectively. Among other aspects, strategic alignment, committed management support and sponsorship, clear vision and well-established business case, and business-centric championship and balanced team composition are considered the most important aspects to measure BI implementation readiness.
Practical implication – In order to gain success in BI implementation, it is necessary that organizations conduct assessment on its current condition to identify their weaknesses.
Originality/value – We proposed a framework for measuring BI implementation readiness, which is currently unavailable. Current researchs in BI mainly focus in the implementation aspects, whereas our research focuses on pre-implementation aspects.We hope by considering our proposed framework, organizetions can provide better BI services in its implementation, thus BI gives more value to help organization in decision making.   
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Purpose–The primary purpose of the study was to determine the type of relationships that existed among organizational learning dimensions studied. In addition, the study sought to establish whether the correlations were statistically significant at 0.05 and 0.01 levels. Design/methodology/approach–This study adopted a correlational quantitative research design. It has been established that quantitative methods enable researchers to conduct comparisons across individuals. The correlational research design was found appropriate ...

The relationship between personal epistemological beliefs and behaviours of leaders will be undertaken as part of a doctoral research investigation. The research will also examine the changes that occur in leadership constructs and behaviour when epistemological beliefs are surfaced and explored with individuals. Leadership research and theory are briefly examined to identify a relevant leadership paradigm on which to begin the research. Similarly, epistemological beliefs and their role in leader values, decision-making and practice are discussed. Links between surfacing epistemological beliefs and leadership change are highlighted from the literature and offered as an imperative for investigation. Several postulates from the literature review are presented for consideration and as signposts for the doctoral study. Nailon, Di and Dalglish, Carol and Brownlee, Joanne and Hatcher, Caroline (2004) How do epistemological beliefs contribute to leadership styles and practices, and the cha...