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From Understanding to Action: New strategies to reach out to, and support, small enterprises. Keynote at USE 2013. Peter Hasle, professor Centre for Industrial production Department of business and management Aalborg University Copenhagen. Why care about small enterprises. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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From Understanding to Action: New strategies to reach out to, and support,
small enterprises
KEYNOTE AT USE 2013
PETER HASLE, PROFESSOR
C E N T R E F O R I N D U S T R I A L P R O D U C T I O N
D E PA R T M E N T O F B U S I N E S S A N D M A N A G E M E N TA A L B O R G U N I V E R S I T Y C O P E N H A G E N
2
Why care about small enterprises
• Provide the dai ly bread for most o f the g lobal populat ion
• More than 150 mi l l . smal l enterpr ises
• Thei r share of jobs are growing
• Limi ted ressources (money, t ime and personnel )
• Pressured by complex markets , compet i t ion f rom b igger f i rms, government red tape, l imi ted credi t access and much more
The work ing env i ronment :
• Higher r isk of acc idents and occupat ional d iseases
• Limi ted capaci ty to cont ro l (management a t tent ion and knowledge as wel l as t ime and money)
• More se l f -employed and informal sector under s t ressfu l condi t ions
Peter Hasle, Centre for Industrial Production
The trouble with small enterprises
Sl ip between our f ingers:• Many bir th and deaths (10% year ly)• No uniform voice• Limited interest in anything but business• Di ff icul t and expensive to get in touch• Huge heterogenei ty
3
The EU definition of SME and employment
Size % of employees
Micro (1-9) 30
Small (10-49) 21
Medium (50-249) 17
Large (>249) 33
Peter Hasle, Centre for Industrial Production 4
The large enterprise• Distant ownership
• Professional management
• Several layers of management
• Formal employment re lat ions
• Professional s taff funct ions
Organization and management
Peter Hasle, Centre for Industrial Production
The smal l enterprise• Personal ownership
• Owner-manager
• Direct management
• Personal ized employment re la t ions
• No profess ionals outs ide core bus iness funct ion
• Limi ted management resources
5
Employment relations based on social relations
• Close personal re lat ions dominate
• Both part ies occupied with the maintenance of endurable re lat ions
• The owner-manager seeks to be the f i rst among equals
• Part of the employer responsib i l i ty handed over to employees
• The employees accept the extended responsib i l i ty
• A personal re lat ionship for good and for bad
Peter Hasle, Centre for Industrial Production 6
Small enterprises evade the traditional business understanding
• Prof i t and growth not decis ive mot ives
• Pr imary concern is surv ival and contro l of business
• Provide a l iv ing
• Integrate fami ly l i fe
The main priority is maintenance of an identity as owner-manager
Peter Hasle, Centre for Industrial Production 7
Creating an identity as an owner-manager
• The ident i ty is t ied to – - a des i red sel f -por t ra i t
– - d iscourses about ent repreneurship, the craf tmanship and the fami ly bus iness
• The ident i ty mirrors the expectat ions expressed through social re lat ions to employees, customers, author i t ies and other stakeholders
• The ident i ty is expressed through narrat ives and dependent on the context
– - Of ten incoherent , cont rad ic tory, and var ies over t ime
Peter Hasle, Centre for Industrial Production 8
The identity as an owner manager and the work environment
• Work environment is a per ipheral issue wi th a potent ia l for eth ical and economic t rouble
• Important to create a sel f -por t ra i t as a decent person
Learning from serious accidents:• Unpredictable events• Personal blunders• No prevention
Work environment attitudes:• Generally positive• Search for a common discourse
on an acceptable work environment
• Downgrade risk• Evade personal employer
responsibility
Peter Hasle, Centre for Industrial Production 9
Hasle et al., 2012
Downgrading risk
• Owner-manager, manufactur ing squeegees:“ I t is not r isky here. There are a few cuts but not ser ious ones, and people rarely go to the emergency room. I t happened once when a guy broke his thumb not because a problem with the safety guard, but s imply because people they make blunders.”
• Owner-manager, manufactur ing components to food industry:“We have only had one accident in f ive year, I bel ieve. Wel l , i t is not that we are rol l ing in accidents. There was one who cut h is f inger in a saw but that was just a blunder.”
Peter Hasle, Centre for Industrial Production 1 0
Avoiding personal employer responsibility
• Partner, spr ing factory:
“Real ly, they have the possib i l i ty, haven’ t they? And I do know as an employer you ought to be a bogeyman…….. but people damned wel l have to think by themselves, don’ t they?”
• Owner-manager, carpenter- jo iner:
“ I am fond of the people who work her, we are a family and i f one of them is in jured, i t would make me feel very bad about myself . So they have to know that they should take care of themselves.”
Peter Hasle, Centre for Industrial Production 1 1
1 2
Micro Small Medium
Owner-manager Both owner-managers and professionals
Often professional management
One management level, Owner often work in operation
Two managements levels, owner don’t work in operation
Several full time management levels
Rarely growth and profit oriented
Sometimes growth and profit oriented
Stronger growth and profit orientation
Very low division of work Division of work with a few different professions
Division of work with several professions and expert support functions
Low formalization – nothing in writing
Some formalization – systematic bookkeeping
Formalization in terms of bookkeeping, contracts, certification
The need to differentiate
Peter Hasle, Centre for Industrial Production
A conclusion on the understanding of small enterprises
• Dominated by owner-managers• The owner-managers takes personal ident i ty f rom the
business • Employer-employee relat ions personal ized• The owner-managers protect the sel f f rom personal
gui l t for accidents and diseases• Risk is downgraded and responsib i l i ty at t r ibuted to
employees• Work environment is a per ipheral issue• Scarce management resources is the most important
l imit ing factor
Peter Hasle, Centre for Industrial Production 1 3
Challenges for preventive strategies
• Necessary to relate to business strategy
• Negat ive react ions to requirements which distract the attent ion f rom the core business
• Cri t ic ism of business is taken personal ly
• Information is only used i f i t arr ives exact ly as i t is needed
• Owner-managers want to know what to do – not how to f ind out
• And to do th ings without paperwork and meet ings
Peter Hasle, Centre for Industrial Production 1 4
1 5
How do preventive actions work?
Peter Hasle, Centre for Industrial Production
Context
OutcomeProgrammetheory
Mechanism
Pawson, 1997 & 2006
Assumption about how the action will work
The causal relations which create changes
Changes in the working environment
External: Market, stakeholdersInternally: Management and organisation
A typology of policy instruments
Vedung, 1998Peter Hasle, Centre for Industrial Production 16
Sermon
StickCarrot
Sausages
1 7
Regulat ion (s t ick) :
• Government laws, enformcement and punishment
Incent ives (carrot ) :
• Reduced insurrance fees, cer t i f icat ion re leases f rom inspect ions, branding
In formation (Sermon) :
• Train ing, d isseminat ion of in format ion
Most programmes inc ludes elements of a l l ins t ruments
Policy instruments
Peter Hasle, Centre for Industrial Production
An acceptable work environment standard as a cornerstone
• Owner-managers need to maintain an ident i ty as social ly legi t imate persons
• They search for a standard of the working envíronment which stakeholders f ind acceptable
• The standard const i tute the l icence to operate
• They search for s ignals from employees, col leagues, customers, and author i t ies in order to ident i fy the acceptable standard
• Increasing the level of the standard accepted by smal l enterpr ises a key strategy
Peter Hasle, Centre for Industrial Production 1 8
1 9
Leg is la t i ve s tandard
How to increase the acceptable working environment standard
Peter Hasle, Centre for Industrial Production
Inspec t i on
Recogn i t i on by soc ia l pa r tners
In fo rmat ion d i ssemina t ion
Express soc ie ta l
l eg i t imacy
S igna ls soc ia l accep t
Knowlegde abou t
consequence
The s tandard pursued by sma l l f i rms
Instruments Mechanism
Context
2 0
Developing a new standard for bricklaying
Peter Hasle, Centre for Industrial Production
2 1
The road to a new standard for bricklaying
Peter Hasle, Centre for Industrial Production
Akward and straineouswork in bricklaying
Enforcement by labour inspectors
Technical solutionsmissing
Social partners in sector OHS-councilaccept the need for
improvement
Enforcementmoratorium
Development of solutionssupported by government fund
Involvement of suppliers
New solution recommended
by social partners
Enforcement bylabour inspectors
New standardwidely accepted
The policy instruments and mechanisms in the bricklaying case
A combination of policy instrumentsRegulation (stick): • Improvement notices from labour
inspectors• Enforcement moratorium• Improvement notices based on the
new solutionsIncentive (carrot):• Government fund support develop-
ment of new technical solutionKnowledge (sermon): • A code of practice with info on
technical aids and work methods• Disseminated through several
platforms by all involved stakeholders
MechanismsCoercion: • Initial improvement notices• Revnewed enforcement after
solution developedNorms: • Joint message from employers
and unions signals that the new solution is both ethical responsible and economically viabel
Imitation:• Owner-managers and bricklayers
observe still more cases with the new solutions being applied and get convinced that it is the way to do bricklaying in the sector
Strategies for action
A high standard for an
acceptable work environment
Effective support systems
ToolsOutreach activitiesRegulation The social
partners
Peter Hasle, Centre for Industrial Production
Inspection:• Concrete• Advisory• Dialogue
• Involvement • Integration in
legislation• Responsibility
• Intermediaries • Personal • Context
• Concrete • Solutions• Integration • Not Ri. Ass.
2 3
Developing effective support systems
We know the requirements for effect ive tools:
• Pract ical or iented - What to do –
• Not focus on ident i f icat ion of r isk
• Low cost
• Posit ive forward looking
• Linking to management goals and business strategy
We lack suff ic ient knowledge about:
• Cost-effect ive and sustainable outreach act iv i t ies
• Embedment af ter the f i rs t pi lot project
• Integrat ion in business strategyPeter Hasle, Centre for Industrial Production 2 4
Developing effective support systems
The intermediaryorganisation
Dissemination to the enterprise
Interpretation= sensemaking
Change process Effects
The small enterprise
Embedment of the support
system
Embedment
Tools for implementation of work environment improvements
Organization of Support activities
Peter Hasle, Centre for Industrial Production 25
2 6
• An external suggest ion for improvements needs to make sense for the owner-manager
Does is :
• Solve a problem exper ienced as rea l and urgent?
• Make employees happier?
• Increase legi t imacy among s takeholders (customers , loca l communi ty, author i t ies , peers)?
• Cont r ibute to bus iness surv iva l?
The process of sensemaking
Peter Hasle, Centre for Industrial Production
Social relations in support systems
27
Initiator Intermediary Small enterprise
Someone wants somebody else to do somethin
It is a social exchange with a two-sided relation building on trust and mutual benefits
Peter Hasle, Centre for Industrial Production
Thanks to inspiration from colleagues from NIOSH, USA
2 8
• Employers associat ions
• Chambers of commerce
• Accountants
• Banks
• Large f i rms
• Occupat ional heal th serv ices
• Educat ional ins t i tu t ions (un ivers i t ies , col leges, vocat ional t ra in ing cent res)
• Smal l bus iness adv isory serv ices
• Local communi ty groups:
- Environmenta l groups, safety net (Canada) , farmers ’ wi fes (Denmark)
Intermediaries
Peter Hasle, Centre for Industrial Production
2 9
• The work ing env i ronment a s idecar as long as in tegrat ion in bus iness s t ra tegy is low
• Solv ing a heal th and safety problem should a lso so lve a bus iness problem
• Work ing across sectors and in termediar ies necessary
Example:
• Bet ter OHS p lanning in const ruct ion can improve the genera l p lanning proces – but the methods should be s imple and wi th few requirements for formal izaton
• In Denmark such a method have been developed and are now appl ied in pract ice
Integration in business strategy – the weak link
Peter Hasle, Centre for Industrial Production
3 0
• The wor ld needs more jobs so secure the economy and combat pover ty
• Smal l enterpr ises const i tu te the backbone of job creat ion
• But new jobs need to be susta inable:
- Economical ly- Socia l ly- Heal thy- Envi ronmenta l ly
• We need to develop methods, too ls and suppor t systems which in tergrate bus iness goals wi th heal th and safety and env i ronmental concerns
• In c lose contact to non-OHS in termediar ies
Conclusion
Peter Hasle, Centre for Industrial Production