The Background and Challenges Faced by the Small Medium Enterprises. A Human Resource Development Perspective

Abstract

In the recent years, a number of emerging issues are posing serious challenges to the small and medium sized enterprises (SME's) in Malaysia. Hence, these enterprises enter the new era, dramatic challenges begun such as establishing new enterprises, globalization, financial constraints, high turnover, low motivation among employees, lack of human capital building, and more challenges ahead. Thus understanding the problems and challenges are fundamental solutions to expand and strategize SME's to future progress and grows. Therefore this article examines the background and challenges face by SME's which play a vital role in the nation growth. The uniqueness of this paper is the emphasis on the human resource development perspective which is important for SME's to progress and be competitive. Finally, this article maps out how future research can be more sensitive to how SME's actually develop their own human resource development for future development.

An Overview of Small and Medium Enterprises in Malaysia and Pakistan: Past, Present and Future Scenario

“…For the unemployment issue and the development of Malaysia's economy, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are very important (Rose et al, 2006). In Malaysian economy, SMEs are very important and play an important role in its development (Omar et al, 2009). Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) play a vital role in the Malaysian economy and are considered to be the backbone of industrial development in the country (Saleh & Ndubisi, 2006).…”

“…For economies of most nations of the world, the demand of the SMEs is increasing and has become their recognized feature (Omar et al, 2009). For example, in the United States, SMEs represent an overwhelming majority of all businesses and account for almost one-half of the gross national product.…”

Relationship between 5S Implementation and Green Performance of Malaysian Manufacturing SMEs: A Conceptual Model

“…Jenis Produk -Pemprosesan, pemasangan dan pengeluaran melibatkan penggunaan beberapa sumber dan bahan merupakan antara aktiviti utama syarikat pembuatan untuk menghasilkan pelbagai jenis produk (Omar et al 2009). Menurut Bayo-Moriones et al (2010), jenis produk industri mempunyai hubungan yang signifikan dengan tahap pemahaman dan kejayaan pelaksanaan 5S.…”

The Lebanese Perception of the Impact of Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) on the National Economy

“…Without SMEs, big companies may not be able to meet the demand for goods and services in an expanding customer base, because it can be time consuming and at times not worth their time and attention. Nowadays, there is no consensus regarding a worldwide definition of SMEs (Omar, Arokiasamy, & Ismail, 2009;Hooi, 2006). Governments and banks define SMEs the way they see it fit.…”

“…SMEs dominate the world economies in terms of employment and number of companies, yet their full potential remains remarkably untapped (Schlogl, 2004;Omar, Arokiasamy, & Ismail, 2009). This is due to many factors amongst them legal, cultural and societal factors.…”