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The lean concept has been identified with large companies, serial production, and the automotive industry. The approach is growing in popularity and the SME sector is increasingly using it. It is also gaining ground in the service sector. An ever-accelerating world does not always provide opportunities for understanding the principles of lean prior its introduction; consequently, the expected results rarely materialize. During my research in the service industry SME, the in-depth interviews, questionnaire queries, and on-site crawls (gemba walks) I have completed confirmed the existence of an illusory lean that originates from a misinterpretation of the principles. Lean is used as a tool and not as a philosophy. For this reason, it does not bring the expected results. Through hotel industry examples in my research, I present the development possibilities of the process and the potential dangers of misinterpreting lean use.

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Global partnerships are essential in order to maintain European competitiveness. People tend to think of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) on a global scale, however we should always consider the following questions: Is this the right way? Are we aware of the current situation of SMEs in the world? The aim of the study is to demonstrate the characteristics and the roles of SMEs on national, on European and on global scales, based on secondary data collection in 21 countries, including Arab, Latin America, Asia and the European Union. Based on the differences and identities, the definitions of the various practices regarding sizing policies of SMEs and delimitations in the European Union and Hungary have been summarized, highlighting the “Made in Germany” model as a characteristic difference. In addition, the different data for the countries in a table by regions will also be summarizes. A micro-enterprise typically has less than 10 employees, but distinguishes between self-employment, family, craft and “existential work”. The diversity of size delimitation and the intention to unify are the result of globalization. In the age of Info Communication Technology (ICT) companies have a legitimate need to connect to the global supply chain, therefore gaining know¬ledge of their potential partners. The goal is to see how SMEs can be compared on a global scale, outside the national and European Union frameworks. White looking for a global definition and size limitation of SMEs, I arrived to the global International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), more precisely to “IFRS for SMEs”, as a potentially usable benchmark for SMEs in the 21st century.