Small – but perfectly formed?

Citation

(2004), "Small – but perfectly formed?", International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, Vol. 53 No. 7. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijppm.2004.07953gaa.004

Small – but perfectly formed?

Most quality and productivity improvement programmes are undertaken in (relatively) large organisations. Yet, most businesses are small. Only 2 per cent of UK businesses employ more than 250 people. Are these smaller businesses naturally lean and efficient – or could they benefit from a structured improvement programme? If the latter, how do we encourage or motivate them to do something about it? Evidence from the UK suggests that most of them even ignore opportunities to be “helped” even when the cost is zero or heavily subsidised.