1st Edition

Empowering SME Managers in Palestine

By Farhad Analoui, Mohammed Al-Madhoun Copyright 2006
    216 Pages
    by Routledge

    216 Pages
    by Routledge

    SMEs create employment, wealth and a potential for future growth. In Palestine they can also mean survival and freedom. In Palestine they are not a choice but a necessity for sustainable development. But by their nature SMEs are vulnerable in a business environment characterized by uncertainty. To give the managers of SMEs in Palestine a realistic chance of success they need training to enable them to meet the challenge of running their enterprises effectively. Drawing on original research undertaken within Palestine this book explores how the challenge is being met (and considers how it might be even more successfully met) by enabling and empowering the owners and managers of these pioneering businesses.

    Contents: Preface; Acknowledgements; Small and medium sized enterprises; Managerial issues: an overview; Management training and development in the Middle East; SMEs in Palestine; Categories of skills for the development of SME managers; Obstacles and weaknesses facing training and development; Summary and conclusions; Bibliography; Index.

    Biography

    Farhad Analoui is Professor at the Bradford Centre for International Development, University of Bradford, UK. Mohammed Al-Madhoun is Deputy of Dean of the Faculty of Commerce, and Head of the Strategic Planning Committee at the Islamic University of Gaza, Palestine.

    'A useful contribution on management development requirement specifically in relation to the Middle East context and in relation to SMEs.' Professor Mohamed Zairi, University of Bradford, UK 'This is a unique study of SMEs in a specific context. It is a significant contribution to management development in the Middle East in general and Palestine in particular. It provides the reader with a holistic view of managerial needs and requirements, circumstances in which managers operate and the economic, social and political constraints and misfortune they face. The result is aimed at empowering entrepreneurs by developing them to manage their small and micro yet independent business concerns, thus making a substantial contribution to the economy and well being of the people of Palestine.' Professor Mohamed Branine, University of Abertay Dundee, UK 'The book is the first of its kind to draw on a field survey of SME managers who have successfully completed training courses...this book can be considered a first step in defining the analytical parameters for assessing the impact of MTD programmes on the performance of Palestinian SMEs.' Journal of Palestine Studies