All in the Family

Globalization and SMEs challenges and opportunities

Internationalization through outward investment by developing country firms 5

Indian firms, including SMEs, also faced competition from abroad as a result of globalization.

3. At the core of this vision of the globalized economy is the enterprise whether micro, small, medium or large in scale.

Half of the businesses have only one worker, and 98 have fewer than ten.

The main concern of the EDB was and still is to attract foreign (preferably global) firms to invest in Singapore.

I. GLOBALIZATION AND THE CHANGING NATURE OF ENTERPRISES AND COMPETITION

Six of the worlds' top 10 grocery retailers are from the United States, and four of these do not operate outside home territory.

First among these challenges is that, as major global firms speed up the process of innovation in processes and products so as to maintain, and eventually expand, their technological lead vis à vis newcomers, the latter, particularly those in developing countries, are under pressure to keep up and accelerate the process of technological absorption and innovation, whether through in house capabilities or through the establishment of appropriate inter firm linkages.

I. Globalization and the changing nature of enterprises and competition 3 7

Almost 75 of the enterprises employed less than 20 persons only 22 enterprises had more than 100 employees.

(d) Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative an initiative aimed to increase transparency in payments by companies to Governments and Government linked agencies

And there we worked with leading CEOs on African issues, and African companies on turnarounds, making the companies not just the best in Africa but the best globally.

a Wages in enterprises with more than five employees.

a In enterprises with more than 50 employees.

Enterprise partnerships involving both local and foreign firms can help African enterprises achieve competitiveness in regional and global markets.

The Business of Business is More Than Business

With respect to the types of enterprises, one may distinguish between informal sector enterprises, essentially microenterprises, and enterprises in the formal sector, which include some microenterprises, SMEs and large firms.

As described above, according to the GEM model, policies need to evolve in accordance with an economy or region's stage of development.

Regional and global players What drives companies to invest abroad?

Globalization may reinforce traditional relations of dominance between firms.

(iii) Employees in government owned business undertakings under the Business Acquisition Act. Force of law

Trade facilitation reduced barriers to the participation of SMEs in trade, increased employment and allowed entrepreneurs to become partners in the globalization and liberalization of trade.

44. Collective agreements, at both above establishment and establishment level, are concluded for all employees of establishments covered by the agreement (unless the parties decide otherwise).

In businesses owned by men, only 15 of the employees are women, whereas, in those owned by women, women represent 64.5 of the employees.

It is, therefore, relevant to see what kind of strategies are followed by enterprises that contribute to the diversification of the economy, the factors that affect their decisions, and the importance of inter firm relations, including the place of such firms in the global commodity chains and industrial clusters.

Special attention will be paid to assessing the synergy between cluster development, business linkages and access by SMEs in developing countries to global value chains.

The process of globalization had largely affected the business environment for SMEs, and it was becoming increasingly important for firms to become internationally competitive, if they were to survive.

And it was a speaking event in front of groups of entrepreneurs from around the world.

The company went public two years later and is today one of the best known companies in the world.

Tthe web site www.shopmicro.org, which is selling products made by microfinance clients, and the Additionally, more than 30 countries are participating in the Global Micro entrepreneurship Awards programme, which organizes contests to identify and honour low income entrepreneurs.

This programme is aimed at more advanced medium sized and small enterprises seeking to achieve international competitiveness, and is therefore concentrated on linking SMEs to larger enterprises and integrating them into broader global value chains.

SMEs from Singapore remain interested in regional markets rather than global markets but the larger enterprises are investing as farafield as in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Generally, developing country SMEs are not well prepared, and few of them today are in a position to benefit from globalization.

Expert Meeting on Enhancing the Productive Capacity of

Expert Meeting on Enhancing Productive Capacity of

Commission on Enterprise, Business Facilitation and Development

Business Facilitation and Development

The following is the view of an employer on the placement of female trainees in his company

If there are several unions based on an enterprise, on an industry, or both, competing in the same enterprise, the collective agreement shall be concluded with the union with the greatest number of members in the enterprise

Mr. Toru Ueno, Principal Administrator, OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs and Local Development (CFE), Small and Medium sized Enterprise (SME) and Entrepreneurship Division, OECD

Also during the year, the Global Compact stepped up its efforts with respect to engaging the financial markets.

Section II Telecommunications and the globalization of international trade A vital role for SMEs

An alternative is the membership of SMEs in an umbrella body representing business as a whole, with the creation of an SME Committee to articulate SME interest.