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ENHANCE SMALL ENTERPRISES TRAINING
AS PERSPECTIVE TQM
M.R. Ramadan
Industrial Engineering Department,
Alexandria Higher Institute for Engineering & Technology, Alexandria, (Egypt)
ABSTRACT
Small enterprises play an important role in economic development in the industrial world countries and also the
third world countries as the same level. In general, small enterprises in the third world face a shortage in the
productivity. Besides, the human factor represents about 60% of the essential properties for small enterprises
that represent the ownership, leadership, management, and workforces. From manpower analysis, it had been
found variable problems such as the shortage of international standard, cumulative experience for labours
without advanced training, extreme lack of current and fast accesses to information and lack of marketing
personnel. The paper aims to support the training process stages for small enterprises, especially in the
planning stage to focus on the selection of the managers, and owners of small enterprises to develop their skills
as perspective technical assessment. Furthermore, the paper puts forth a scheme for the training process such
as fishbone (cause, and effect), flowchart to assess the actual needs, plan, implement, follow up, and evaluate
the value added for the training programs as perspective total quality management (TQM). Moreover the paper
studies sample of small enterprises which had been funded from social fund for development (SFD) which is
managed by the Egyptian Government, and UNDP by cooperation with variable corporations such as NGO’s,
universities, syndicates, banks and unions to support the services of small enterprises in Egypt. Main findings
end up with a major responsibility of human resources factor behind most small enterprises problems. In
addition, the mechanism of training services for small enterprises must apply the scientific approaches to
realize continuous improvement. Thus, small enterprises training are considered the backbone to improve the
managerial performance and in turn the all items of productivity.
Keywords: Fishbone (cause and effect), flow chart, need assessment, technical assistance, total
quality management (TQM).
I. INTRODUCTION
Small enterprises represent a main concern of researchers where most enterprises feed and complete the large
projects. However, it faces some basic problems such as management, marketing, financial, and production
problems, which it influences directly on productivity [3, 4]. Moreover, human factor often represents high
percentage of heart these problems [5, 8]. These problems had been concentrated at untrained labours,
unqualified marketing personnel, inexperienced personnel for enterprises management, poor safety and
vocational health for workforces [1], and the false policy for employment. Besides, the researchers had studied
a variable solution to solve these problems and they had found the education and training are the essential base

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to improve the human performance [2]. Furthermore, TQM structure depends on both training and education to
find the integral knowledge for the organization operations [7, 9]. On the other hand, the training is considered
the developed approach for education. Furthermore, researcherrs overlook of both financial and production
problems based on a wrong assumption of inert behaviour of such problems over the planned service life of
enterprise components [6]. In the present study, all problems have taken into consideration where it was
generating sources since the early stages for small enterprise establishment. Surrounding circumstances activate
one or two of the enterprise problems towards enterprise failure. Data collection is suggest for 100 industrial
enterprises and problems analysis is then undertaken according to some TQM tools by using cause-and-effect
diagram (fishbone). The features of fishbone are suitable to determine the relation between a problem and its
potential causes. Besides, the paper uses another TQM tool such as flow chart to manage the training process.
Flow chart diagram can represent the steps of training activity to analyse it and show the relationships of
training process steps for small enterprises' beneficiaries. In other words, flow chart is an important tool for
training improvement to indicate where the process can be simplified or, where trouble might arise.
II. THE DEPOT MODEL OF ACCUMMULATED PROBLEMS
Small enterprise is similar to a basket (hierarchy) where problems are continuously accumulated since the early
financial stage, the funder’s draft may include a series of such defect constrains (unsuitable capital, shortage of
risk insurance, and misuse for available fund). In subsequent production stage, the production capabilities are
efficiently implemented to comply with the fund and marketing constrains towards achieving the product or
service as designed. Unintentionally however, production also adds a number of problems, namely, raw material
properties, old methods and technology, old m/cs, unskilled labours, and poor quality control. The third problem
category is the marketing defects, such as false pricing policy for product or service, false advertising, and poor
promotion, weak competitive, poor quality, no exhibitions, unqualified salesman and marketing personnil, and
lack of market places. The forth problem category is the management defects which is the common for all small
enterprises problems such as lack of experience for project management,weak follow up for business
performance, distorted organization, false employment policy, poor safety and vocational health and no training
programs. "Fig. 1" illustrates a scheme of this proposal model. In the depot model, a fixed-thickness layer of the
financial mistake rests in the bottom. Another fixed-thickness layer of production errors stacks up. Finally there
are two variable layers of both marketing and management defects.

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III. THE FISH-BONE REPRESENTATION
"Fig. 2" Shows a fishbone scheme of problems, which may have to failure. The main Spain has four branches,
two of which have a fixed structure, and constant data. The two another branches, marketing and management
have a varying structure and continuously update data. From data (100) industrial enterprises, the problems are
collected such as the financial, production, marketing, and management problems. The data of the collection can
be summarized that manpower problem as the following:
No training for labours -------------------------------------- 85%
Undeveloped methods -------------------------------------- 85%
Shortage of performance control ---------------------------75%
Lack of Safety and vocational health precautions--------93%
Lack of essential knowledge for accountancy ------------90%
Unqualified personnel at sale and marketing -------------87%
Misuse of available capital---------------------------------62%
Lack of experience------------------------------------------87%
Distorted organization (Excess and low labors) --------42%
Figure 2 Fishbone representatives of accumulated problems

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IV. TECHANICAL ASSISTANCE MECHANISM IN THE PLANNING STAGE
"Fig. 3" shows the technical assistance mechanism in the planning stage for small enterprise to identify
entrepreneur style and his initial actual training needs. Moreover, the manpower factor will improve, and in turn
the productivity of small enterprises will increase.
Figure 3 Technical assistance mechanisms in the planning stage
V. THE FLOW CHART REPRESEENTATION
From small enterprises analysis, the technical assistance mechanism in planning stage is considered the
backbone to assess the initial actual training needs to implement the variable training programs. However, the
need assessment is implemented during and after the implementing of training process to identify other training
programs as perspective continuous improvement. In other words, small enterprise's beneficiaries training
mechanism is implemented by flow chart that shows the relationships of training process steps. Furthermore,
the flow chart diagram is a basic tool for small enterprises training process to be suggested, for example, in
SFD, and also in all training organizations to improve the training process or cost cut, as shown in "Fig. 4".

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Figure 4 Beneficiaries training mechanism

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Cont. Figure 4 Beneficiaries training mechanism

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Cont. Figure 4 Beneficiaries training mechanism
VI. CONCLUSIONS
1- From "Figs. 1, and 2", the findings end up that fishbonee (Cause-and-Effect) diagram shows that, it is a
powerful tool to analyse and assess small enterprise problems.
2- From "Fig. 3" technical assistance mechanism in the planning stage shows the selection approach for the
entrepreneur to achieve identification, and formulation until financing stage for small enterprise.

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3- From "Fig. 4", the beneficiaries training mechanism showed that flow chart diagram is the easier and quicker
tool used to manage and improve the training process. Besides, need assessment is the backbone of training
process and must be continued to improve and develop the training service.
VII. ACKNOWLEDGE
Thanks to "my colleagues in the regional offices as teamwork through my work in SFD, Egypt".
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