Presents advice to young innovators from the founder of Ethernet technology. (WRM)

A study of online courses for managers in small and medium-sized enterprises in Finland, Italy, Spain, and Scotland found they are effective only if educational providers and enterprises have collaborative working relationships in which learners receive support from both. Flexibility in matching delivery to individual needs is also a key. (SK)

Surveys of 233 employees and 217 supervisors from 95 small Dutch companies identified total number of jobs held, average time in each, and the learning value of job functions. It appeared that it was not experience as such that predicted the development of expertise, but the allocation of different job assignments. (Contains 42 references.) (SK)

The British Teaching Company Scheme (TCS) stimulates university-industry partnerships in innovative projects. The growing importance of small and medium-sized enterprises has necessitated some changes to help small businesses supervise interns, support multiple internships, manage projects, and disseminate innovations. (SK)

A community restaurant begun in Montreal by 12 welfare recipients has provided jobs and inexpensive meals and served community interests. It attempts to integrate social and economic development, operating not primarily as a job training program but as a community-based, socially useful business. (SK)

Compares the professional development programs developed by the Small Business Development Centers in Michigan and Florida. Looks at the staffing, needs assessment methods, program structure, training methods and materials, competency measurement methods, and program evaluation of the two programs. Provides a checklist for creating professional…

The Graduate Apprenticeship Scheme places new college graduates in small and medium-sized enterprises and provides skill development workshops to enhance their employability. Employers thus have a low-risk means of evaluating potential employees and graduates gain experience that helps them avoid underemployment. (SK)

You probably think instant messaging (IM) as something teenagers do to chat up friends online, whether across the street or across the world. But IM has some buttoned-down business benefits, as well as some risks you may not be aware of. Unlike e-mail, in which you fire off messages to recipients who read them when they next check their in-box,…

Academic researchers are increasingly recognizing the potential of graduates to influence management decisions in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This paper focuses on a detailed qualitative study which looked at graduates who had obtained employment in SMEs in the East Anglia region of England. It examines the skills, competences and…

Purpose--The purpose of this paper is to investigate how a learning organisation can be created within the framework of the family SME in Ireland. Design/methodology/approach--No comprehensive list of independent family businesses in Ireland was available. To overcome this problem a pragmatic approach was taken in the construction of a sampling…

Using data developed for the U.S. District Court, this study compared the performance of Hispanic-owned firms and two groupings of non-Hispanic-owned firms in three South Florida markets: architecture (n= 176), structural engineering (n= 144), and civil engineering (n = 200). Within each market, firms?earnings are expressed as functions of…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present: the problem of stress employees might encounter; the individual inclination to stress; the individual methods for reducing stress; and the authors' model of training for stress prevention. Design/Methodology/Approach: The paper uses both descriptive and analytical approaches to research and…

Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to research the stress caused to small to medium-sized enterprise (SME) staff by online collaboration. It aims to investigate online team roles as possible stressors. Design/Methodology/Approach: The paper is based on research carried out on online collaborative teams by the authors in the Open University…

Higher education institutions are the places from where the societies base the information, deliver and apply it. Moreover, it is the place where the people who are required to bring innovations with required abilities, skills and attitudes are trained. Forming a network between the small and middle sized companies (SMSC) and higher education…

We assessed the levels of entrepreneurship education and training at the Further Education and Training (FET) level in a South African context. We are of the opinion that entrepreneurship education and training (of necessity) must fulfill a primary role in preparing our youth for their future. Evidence from elsewhere, in particular industrialised…