Perceptions of small business owners on managerial skills: problems in business development in South Africa
by Louise Van Scheers, Simon Radipere
World Review of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development (WRSTSD), Vol. 2, No. 3/4, 2005

Abstract: This paper analyses the perceptions of small business owners on managerial skills, whether gaps exist between managerial skills that owners should have and those that they actually possess. The demographics show that 52% of small business owners in South Africa form part of the African population group, a male between the ages 20 to 39 years; the business has survived more than two years, operates a retail shops and has prior business experience. Managerial skills and business knowledge are an indication of how well a manager can perform important tasks and activities to ensure the success of the business. The study confirms that lack of managerial skills in small business owners was considered by the respondents as the main reason why small businesses fail in South Africa. Small business owners lack managerial skills such as financial, marketing and human managerial skills to operate their businesses successfully. The perceptions of the small business owners are that the managerial skills they possess, and those that they preferably should have, do not correlate. The challenge is to improve the managerial skills of small business owners as small business is considered to be the panacea for South Africa's unemployment problems.

Online publication date: Fri, 02-Sep-2005

The full text of this article is only available to individual subscribers or to users at subscribing institutions.

 
Existing subscribers:
Go to Inderscience Online Journals to access the Full Text of this article.

Pay per view:
If you are not a subscriber and you just want to read the full contents of this article, buy online access here.

Complimentary Subscribers, Editors or Members of the Editorial Board of the World Review of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development (WRSTSD):
Login with your Inderscience username and password:

Username:        Password:          Forgotten your password?

Want to subscribe?
A subscription gives you complete access to all articles in the current issue, as well as to all articles in the previous three years (where applicable). See our Orders page to subscribe.

If you still need assistance, please email subs@inderscience.com