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Full-Text Articles in Business
The Reality Of Management Development In Smes, Alan Coetzer, Martina Battisti, Tanya Jurado, Claire Massey
The Reality Of Management Development In Smes, Alan Coetzer, Martina Battisti, Tanya Jurado, Claire Massey
Alan Coetzer
The literature suggests that improving the management skills of owner-managers of SMEs contributes to their survival and growth and that there is considerable scope for further improvement in skills. However, evidence suggests that current support for management development (MD) does not meet the needs of SMEs. Nevertheless, there have been few changes on the supply side with policy makers continuously being concerned about low take-up of training.This study contributes to an understanding of how existing MD activities in SMEs can be better supported. Using Mumford's (1987) typology of MD activities to classify our interview data, findings from interviews with 25 …
Employee Learning Processes In New Zealand Small Manufacturing Firms, Alan Coetzer, Raja Peter, Vasanthi Peter
Employee Learning Processes In New Zealand Small Manufacturing Firms, Alan Coetzer, Raja Peter, Vasanthi Peter
Alan Coetzer
We investigate differences between the ways novices and experienced specialists perceive their workplaces as learning environments and also examine differences between the learning processes of these two groups of employees. The study’s research questions are explored by applying discriminant analysis to survey data collected from 218 employees in 31 New Zealand small manufacturing firms. We found that novices and experienced specialists do differ significantly in their perceptions of (1) work-environment conditions that either help or hinder learning, (2) supervisors’ proximate support for learning, and (3) satisfaction with workplace learning. We also found that novices and experienced specialists do differ significantly …