OPPORTUNITIES PRESENTED BY ICT IN THE DISTANCE DEVELOPMENT OF SME MANAGEMENT SKILLS

摘要

The development of a strong and innovative small and medium enterprises (SMEs) sector is central to economic policy in Britain and European Union (EU). However, the SME sector generally suffers from resource constraints and management weaknesses. Policy makers have tried to correct these imbalances through fiscal measures or support for management training programmes. In general, these measures have not been a great success. However, information and communication technologies (ICT) open new possibilities for supporting learning in SMEs. Near universal use of PCs among SMEs and their increasing use of the Internet suggests that certain segments of SMEs may be more open to ICT-mediated training and development support. This paper examines the SME development experience in Britain, barriers to learning and background success factors. The Open University Business School (OUBS), the largest provider of management education in the EU and a world pioneer of distance teaching, has not had notable success with the SME sector but is now turning to ICT. This paper describes these experiences and draws on SME surveys by the independent nonprofit Small Business Research Trust (SBRT), by OUBS across Europe, and OUBS evaluation studies of SME online learning. It concludes that ICT opens new possibilities to support management learning in SMEs and can help them develop their skills in applying ICT. However, access to ICT and to good quality teaching materials is no guarantee of success, which seems more linked business strategy and individual learning motivations.