عنوان

First line management in small and medium sized enterprises in the UK and China

Number

TLets323845

Title Proper

First line management in small and medium sized enterprises in the UK and China

General Material Designation

[Thesis]

First Statement of Responsibility

Cheng, Yan

Name of Publisher, Distributor, etc.

University of Derby

Date of Publication, Distribution, etc.

2000

Dissertation or thesis details and type of degree

Ph.D.

Body granting the degree

University of Derby

Text preceding or following the note

2000

Text of Note

The research question was offered by the sponsor of this Ph.D., The NationalExamining Board of Supervision and Management (NEBS Management). Thisresearch is a study of the First Line Management (FLM) role in Small and MediumSized Enterprises (SMEs) in the UK and China. Different culture background,management styles, and communication systems, can be expected to affect the roles ofmanagers. The Chinese style of managing the organisation has long been a subject ofinterest to researchers and practitioners. Research studies on managerial work andmanagerial roles have been well established in Western countries. Until recently, thecultural and political climate in China was less conducive to research into areas thatmight have caused too much debate. As a result, those researching management inChina tended, until relevantly recently, to be isolated from main stream academicdebate. It is believed that this study is unique in focusing on the FLM in China as wellas in the UK. In both countries research on the FLM in SMEs is limited. This researchattempts to bridge this gap by trying to define, for the first time, the roles, functionsand skills required of FLMs in SMEs in the UK and China.The study argues that it is crucial to understand the FLM's role and place it within theorganisation. The FLM is a critical link in any organisation because it is at this levelthat managerial and non managerial employees meet face to face and work in a closerelationship with each other. The evidence from the research suggests that the FLM'srole in the SME is broader than that of equivalent FLM role in the large organisation.It was found that FLMs in SMEs were seen as 'non-specialist', expected to cope withwhatever aspect of work came their way. The implication of this broad 'nonspecialist'role was that they were expected to be a 'master of many trades'. The skillsrequired to perform the FLM role were not perceived, despite their breadth asspecialist skills such as finance, quality, purchasing and so on. Rather they wereperceived as underpinning generic key skills which could, and should, be furthersupported by improved training and development. The research revealed that FLMs inSMEs perform a unique and a valuable role.There has been some concern about the extent to which models and practices ofsupervisory management are capable of being transferred from one country to another.The UK and China have evolved supervisory management styles and systems whichare rooted in their respective social, economic and political circumstances but whichare now being shaped increasingly by external, international and global patterns,trends and models.The study revealed there was a surprising degree of consistency in certain aspect ofthe FLM role in both countries. In particular, responsibility for 'organising andmanaging' was perceived as the core element ·of the FLM role. Differences werereviewed in how this core role was delivered in the two countries. For example, FLMsin the UK favoured a team working approach which was not adopted to the samedegree by their Chinese counterparts. Other examples of differences included greaterinvolvement and responsibility for financial matters in China than in the UK. Theseand other examples arise from different social, cultural and political circumstancesand help illuminate the detail differences in both countries. In conclusion, theinfluence of international and global trends is likely to reduce the level of difference inthe future. Summarising the FLM role in the SME, the research suggests that theFLMs are both co-ordinators and human relations engineers.

SMEs; FLM; Theories; Cross cultural; Styles

Cheng, Yan

University of Derby

Electronic name

p

[Thesis]

276903

a

Y