MG 309 STRATEGIC

MANAGEMENT
ASSIGNMENT
ONE
CRITIQUE

Shivani Prasad
S11186723
 An empirical study of small business organizations in Fiji using a Competency based
framework.
The article, “An empirical study of small business organizations in Fiji using a Competency
based framework” published in April-June 2007 by “Tara Singh, R D Pathak, Azhar Kazmi,
Bishu Sharma and Mile Terziovski. This article presents a survey of a competency framework in
small businesses in Fiji. The survey included interviews with the owners or managers of the
organizations. It is said small business organizations have a strong sector which encourages
economic growth, and it increases employment. According to Welsh and White (1981) states that
whether it is a small or big business organization, both should use the same management
principles.
To begin with, Business plan is defining to explain how a business will operate in a current work
environment. As stated by Hormozi et al, (2002) say that business plan is like operating a
company on paper. Some of the issues which were stated in the article as the Pacific Island
countries faced issues on economic growth and sustainability. The issues were geographical
isolation, small domestic markets, lack of capital, technical skills, the islanders had no
knowledge as how machines and electronic devices are operated. Some of the ways in which
these issues can be solved are to set clear and positive business goals, government support and
assistance where governments should provide subsidies to businesses so that the business can
improve on the performance.
Therefore, small business firms operate less than 50 workers. Small business strategies have
developed the economies. As stated in the article it says that the managerial role of a small
business is different than big organizations (Paolillo, 1984). Ways in which small businesses
have high level of satisfaction because owners get time to go things the way they like, and the
owners give their best in providing the service rather than big businesses. The success of small
business is only achieved by the characteristic of entrepreneurs.
Furthermore, some of the challenges faced by small business in Fiji are skill and talent shortages.
Small business owners have to employ unskilled workers because those people who are skilled
and are talented, they do not want to work in small firms but in big and organized firms, instead
the workers have no idea that big organizations look good from outside but the day you step in
the real struggles begins. Thus, no job is small and big it is classified as one.
To conclude, the issues which most of the small business face are due to financial management
and it need to be addressed. The owners of the business have idea of how things to be done and
the owners do not see any problems which will arise in the business but instead the owners have
made plans as if any issues will arise, the business already have solutions to overcome the issue.
By the end of the survey which was carried out it concluded that small businesses in Fiji need to
improve more on business management and manage risks.
 Issues faced by SMEs in the internationalization process: Results from Fiji and Samoa
The term "internationalization" has been used frequently in the literature, and different authors
have given it varied definitions. This includes trading, cross-border clustering, cross-border
collaboration, alliances/subsidiaries, branches, and joint ventures that go beyond the confines of
the home country environment in addition to exporting. The purpose of this article is to examine
the issues, challenges and barriers to internationalization of small and medium-sized enterprises
(SMEs) in small developing countries in the South Pacific such as Fiji and Samoa.
Although there are many benefits to SMEs going through the internationalization process, the
obstacles prevent them from entering foreign markets. Due to the multiple obstacles SMEs face,
they have caught the attention of policymakers and a number of governments who have realized
that these obstacles prevent these potentially high-growth enterprises from taking advantage of
global markets to the fullest extent possible.
It was decided to conduct this study because, according to OECD (2004), there hasn't been much
research done on the types and extent of issues that SMEs face during the internationalization
process. According to OECD (2004), the constraints that SMEs confront are caused by the
competition policy, legal and regulatory frameworks, telecommunications infrastructure, and
research and education policy, all of which either help or hinder SMEs' ability to adapt to the
global economy. Its analysis also included difficulties with intellectual property rights, political
risk, corruption, and the rule of law. Moreover, stating that "SMEs are less well-equipped than
larger enterprises to meet these difficulties," OECD (2004)
Although the number of professionals in Fiji is reportedly growing, the rate of economic
development and social change has not been sufficient to establish an environment where every
citizen can earn a living wage. An increasing number of families are living in crowded urbanized
settlements around towns (Hailey,1987). Low investment, ambiguous landownership rights, and
the government's lack of a defined development strategy are only a few of the long-term issues.
For the people of Fiji, this mismatch has presented both opportunities and difficulties (Central
Intelligence Agency, 2007; International Labor Office (ILO), 1990-2005). The proportion of the
economically active population among people of working age (15–54 years) has not significantly
increased over the past 20 years, from 1980 to 2000. According to the Bureau of Statistics, the
proportion of working women climbed from 70.6 percent in 1980 to 74 percent in 2004, whereas
the proportion of economically active men barely changed (86.5 percent in 1980 and 85 percent
in 2004). (1998-2003). Over 50% of the men worked in jobs connected to agriculture, compared
to only roughly 28% of women in the same field. For both men and women, agriculture remained
a significant source of revenue. Although not being unduly enthusiastic, Fiji's economic future is
positive due to increased international investment, foreign aid, and infrastructural development.
Samoa's economy has historically been reliant on agricultural exports, private family remittances
from abroad, and foreign aid for development. The nation is susceptible to catastrophic storms.
Two-thirds of the labor force work in agriculture, which also provides 90% of exports, including
copra, coconut oil, and coconut cream. Agricultural products are primarily processed in the
manufacturing sector, except for a sizable automotive wire harness factory. More than 700,000
tourists visited the islands in 1996; tourism is a growing industry. The Samoan government has
advocated for continued fiscal restraint, financial sector deregulation, and investment promotion.
Observers point to the flexibility of the labor market as a basic strength for future economic
advances. SME internationalization in the South Pacific is challenging for a variety of reasons.
Most SMEs' problems in the Pacific are reported to be related to environmental factors. The
following barriers are listed by Fairbairn (1988): a lack of capital, transportation, a lackluster
domestic market, and traditional obligations. Singh (1992) and Briscoet al. (1990) recognized the
issue of inadequate government support.
To conclude, the primary goal was to examine the barriers in the South Pacific region,
particularly in Fiji and Samoa. The main research issue focused on the fact that area of concern
Ranking SD daily sales revenue Estimating future sales. There is a conundrum in determining
the nature of the factors influencing the internationalization of SMEs in these two nations,
according to Table VIII. Problems of Most Concern in Samoa. There is a greater chance that
political challenges, particularly in Fiji where they have been prominent for several years, have
created significant political risks that have severely impacted SME businesses and resulted in
brain drain (labor shortages). Entrepreneurs who wanted to go global faced a costing issue,
which was made worse by the fact that they lacked marketing expertise and were unprepared for
pricing strategies, leading to intense competition.
REFERNCES
 Singh, G., Pathak, R.D. & Naz, R. 2010, "Issues faced by SMEs in the
internationalization process: results from Fiji and Samoa", International Journal of
Emerging Markets, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 153-182.
 The A, B and three Cs guide to the insurance issues faced by SMEs: INSURANCE
2019, , Belfast.
 Singh, T., Pathak, R.D., Kazmi, A., Sharma, B. & Terziovski, M. 2007, "An Empirical
Study of Small Business Organizations in Fiji Using a Competency-based Framework",
South Asian Journal of Management, vol. 14, no. 2, pp. 7-35.
 Tabah, K. 2021, An Exploration of Small Business Profit Strategies: A Qualitative Case
Study of a Small Training Business in the UAE, The University of Liverpool (United
Kingdom).