Noting that providing child care is a business as well as a service to families, this videotape from the Indiana Child Care Collection details the basics in starting and maintaining a family child care program. The 28-minute video begins with a series of questions to help in the decision to become a child caregiver and features childcare providers…

This directory provides an easy-to-use listing of development resources for Idaho community leaders, business owners, and rural development practitioners. The main section lists agencies and associations relevant to small business and community development, and includes contact information. Some entries also include a brief description. Similar…

This report discusses the results of a case study of Working Order, a Pennsylvania program designed to develop entrepreneurs with and without disabilities by sharing the expertise, resources, and skills of small business owners. The strategy of the program is to invite competitive entrepreneurs, those who could likely produce and sell their…

These four bulletins describe how a group of limited-resource small farmers in northern Florida's Jackson County, the USDA, the West Florida Resource Conservation and Development Council, Florida A&M University, and the Federation of Southern Cooperatives organized the New North Florida Cooperative to increase farm income by introducing…

Describes Kentucky Highlands Investment Corporation (KHIC), a nonprofit community development organization that creates jobs and helps small manufacturing businesses succeed in nine "perpetually poor" rural Kentucky counties. Outlines KHIC services: loans for both expansion and working capital; equity and real estate investments;…

In 1981, Jackson County, North Carolina, appeared on the first list of "distressed counties" in Appalachia. Since then, the rural county has made significant improvements by investing in its physical infrastructure (which also promotes tourism); fostering economic-development partnerships among governments, small businesses, and local…

Describes five demonstration projects intended to stimulate innovative community approaches to developing entrepreneurial activities for Native American youth. Each of the projects is charged with meeting the community's need to train young persons with relevant entrepreneurial orientations and management skills to improve economic development.…

A partnership of nongovernmental organizations developed a model of integrated community development centers (CDICs) to address the lack of services and affordable basic necessities in poor barrios surrounding many Latin American cities. A CDIC in a Guayaquil (Ecuador) barrio provides wholesale goods and credit to barrio shopkeepers and…

Purpose: This paper seeks to explore undergraduate placement experiences in tourism and hospitality SMEs, focusing on the notions of surprise and sense making. It aims to argue that surprises and sense making are important elements not only of the adjustment process when entering new work environments, but also of the learning experience that…

In surveys conducted in different countries over four years, the authors investigated why entrepreneurs in the same sector and during the same period were not equally successful. From the findings of this research they developed a new three-day training programme to address primarily skills and techniques relating to personal initiative, planning,…

Using the UK Labour Force Survey, this paper considers whether graduate employment is more important in the small and medium-size enterprise (SME) sector in Northern Ireland than in other regions of the UK. The authors disaggregate their analysis by gender, occupation and industry to provide a detailed breakdown. The issue of whether graduates are…

This paper is on the growing importance of strategic human resource management (SHRM) for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Many small firms encounter serious human resource problems, while at the same time these human resources play a vital role in developing and sustaining their competitive advantages. In (S)HRM literature specific…

This paper draws on a telephone survey of 116 independent SMEs to explore the impact of a variety of training interventions on human resource (HR) practices and business performance in Great Britain. The paper investigates the extent to which targeting such interventions on the managers of SMEs affects the impact and the likelihood of changes in…

This study looks at SME spending on training in Northern Ireland. We include a range of human resource management functions, as well as workforce characteristics, the external environment, size, and the impact of changes in ownership status as important determinants of training expenditure in SMEs. Particular attention is also paid to the…

Purpose: In this paper empirical research is presented that investigates managers' perceptions of a variety of component management skills and techniques. The aim is to identify which management development needs manufacturing SME managers perceive as most important for their continued development, and to consider contextual factors that might…