Journal of Enterprising Culture

The research demonstrates that owner/managers who undertake planning are distinguishable from those who do not plan in terms of personal values and performance levels. Data was obtained from a mail survey of small business furniture manufacturers in New South Wales, Australia. The analysis was based on 224 responses, a response rate of 34%.

A typology of owner/managers was constructed, based on personal value factors, using cluster analysis. Differences among personal value types with respect to planning and enterprise performance were examined by multivariate analyses of variance using deviation contrasts.

The results suggest that, in general, owner/managers place little emphasis on planning. However, some owner/managers undertake more planning than others. Owner/managers who placed greater emphasis on planning were identified with entrepreneurial personal values and with higher performance levels than those with lesser emphasis on planning.

A survey was conducted in 1993 on the Chief Executive Officers of large Australian companies such as finance companies, advertising agencies and suppliers of software that provide a service to businesses.

The aim of the study was to survey the nature and extent of quality management practices with special reference to inhouse care in these organisations. Questionnaires were sent to 428 companies and 219 (51 per cent) responded.

CEOs considered an ability to bring out the best in, motivate and communicate with internal customers (the staff) to be important principles of good management.

More than two thirds of the responding companies had quality management practices, usually Total Quality Management, in place. However, only 54% had a mechanism in their companies for formally recording complaints made by external customers. Despite the fact that nearly all the CEOs agreed that they should be concerned with providing a good service to external and internal customers, only about half said they conduct formal customer and/or staff satisfaction surveys.

Most important, a statistically significant relationship was found between profitability and the conducting of external customer satisfaction surveys. There was also a relationship between profitability and whether or not firms formally registered customers' complaints.

This paper discusses the findings of a survey of female entrepreneurs in Australia and provides a profile of the female entrepreneur and their business activity. The characteristics of the entrepreneur are described, including their motivation for going into business, their attitudes toward training and joining networks. The issues of access to finance and family/business conflict are further investigated in the light of current literature. The results indicate that female entrepreneurs in Australia are well educated and tend to commence their businesses with low start-up capital obtained from personal savings or from family and friends. Their businesses are concentrated in the services sector, with a significant number starting out as home-based businesses. Despite evidence that female entrepreneurs have difficulty in obtaining loan funds, the survey results indicated that a high proportion of female entrepreneurs applying for loans were successful. Further analysis of the survey data indicated that the reason for the loan success had little to do with the strength of the business. This was evidenced by the respondents advising that the main type of information requested at the loan interview was personal financial details, that a high proportion of loans were secured by the family home, and that financial institutions required little in the way of ongoing reporting.

It is generally agreed that small businesses tangibly contribute to both the stability and health of the national economy. They employ more than 25% of the workforce, produce on an on-going basis a tidy revenue for the state and create more than 50% of the new jobs. The pioneers behind these businesses are the entrepreneurs who understand the organizations' purpose and can best devise methods to exploit the windows of opportunities.

This paper reviews several pieces of literature on small businesses in Guyana in order to provide an understanding of the entrepreneurial survival strategies employed to keep the businesses open. Studies show that entrepreneurial behaviour, management skills and competence were key ingredients in the successful operation of small businesses in Guyana. The results indicate that twenty four entrepreneurial routes were successfully followed to float small businesses prior to the Guyanese 1992 general election. The paper concludes by making some pronouncements on the future of small businesses in Guyana and supports the drive for the state to empower the entrepreneurs and the people for development.

The ability to change is vital for corporate survival and growth and knowledge is the engine of change. While consultancy is generally associated with the West, we believe that the Asian heritage, particularly the Confucian reverence for knowledge and teachers, make Asian intellectuals best suited for performing the consultancy role effectively. But what exactly is the role of consultancy? What are the objectives and functions? And in what areas will Asian consultants stand out? Prospective Asian consultants must be able to marry Western and Eastern business cultures and practices. The critical factors for success as Asian international consultants will be examined.

Various governments have intervened in their respective economies, such as to modify the environment for entrepreneurship. In contrast, the policy of British Hong Kong has been one of laissez-faire. As 1997 approaches, many entrepreneurs in Hong Kong have begun to prepare for changes. This paper will examine the current state of affairs in Hong Kong.