| by Dr Laura J Spence Executive
Summary As small and medium sized businesses (SMEs), defined as those
employing less than 50 people, account for 99% of all UK businesses and 45% of
all employees work for them, their economic and social impact must be considerable.
This report investigates their social and ethical concerns and in what way these
differ from those of larger corporations. Little information is available about
this aspect of SMEs.
The survey which accompanies the report shows that
the strongest motivators of leaders of SMEs are self security and personal challenge.
Owner-managers also see themselves as providers of employment and services. Non-profit
goals seem to be on an equal level with profitability. The typical small business
person also has a strong sense of partnership in the sense that there is a commitment
to the personal support of fellow partners' livelihoods which requires openness
and honesty and trust. Relations with employees are apparently much closer than
in larger firms. Close relationships enable strengths to be enhanced and weaknesses
to be identified. One result is flexibility in roles.
Relations with
customers and suppliers are more complicated. The survey shows that while the
small business wishes to have close relations with both, differences in size and
questions of timely payment do not always make this possible.
Relations
with competitors are more in the tradition of mutual support and 'sticking together'
rather than in arm's length competition. In contrast with larger businesses, 'competitor
camaraderie' characterises the small and medium business sector.
Small
businesses also play a social role as well as an economic one, i.e. with their
support of local schools, but they do not see themselves as guardians of ethical
or moral values. A few owner-managers in the survey state that they bring their
religious values to their work place and use them as moral guidelines.
Business ethics for the SMEs tend to be in the form of informal codes of practice
and verbal understanding of acceptable and unacceptable behaviour rather than
standardised procedures, which are a feature of the larger firms. Back
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