These books provides an overall account of small and medium enterprises in selected Asia-Pacific countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, Thailand, Philippines, China, Indonesia, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom and Canada. All of these countries have given high policy agenda on the development of small and medium enterprises since SMEs contribute significantly to the respective national economic development. The books therefore provides various experiences on SMEs, issues and challenges, incentive and policies adopted by various governments and, more significantly, prospects for growth and development potential of SMEs in the new millennium.

These books provides an overall account of small and medium enterprises in selected Asia-Pacific countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, Thailand, Philippines, China, Indonesia, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom and Canada. All of these countries have given high policy agenda on the development of small and medium enterprises since SMEs contribute significantly to the respective national economic development. The books therefore provides various experiences on SMEs, issues and challenges, incentive and policies adopted by various governments and, more significantly, prospects for growth and development potential of SMEs in the new millennium.

The book discusses and reviews issues and challenges, as well as prospects, on the growth and development potential of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the 21st Century. Part one is an introduction that presents the overall scenario of SMEs in the era of globalisation. Part two examines regional perspectives, including: small and medium enterprises in regional development; globalisation and the changing role of East Asia SMEs in the electronic industry; the Asian economic crisis and lesson for SMEs; and government intervention and small industries. Part three refers to the challenges in selected countries including, print advertisements of service firms, the globalised economy and the strategic importance of SMEs in Malaysia; survival in global crisis for small businesses in Indonesia; total productivity in Malaysian SMEs; and quality approaches and human resource practices. BA (Hons-MU), MA (Essex) and Ph.D (London), is the Deputy Director and associate Professor at the Centre for Policy Research, University Science Malaysia, Penang. He teaches on small business management, however, his interest and research focus is mainly on development economics, specifically the development of small and medium enterprises. He has published 12 books and over 20 papers in renowned journals, and presented a number of papers to international conferences. His recent books include: 'Foreign Workers in Malasysia (co-author); 'Foreign Labour in Asia' (co-author); 'Small and Medium Enterprises in Malaysia'; 'Management of Small Enterprises'; 'Small and Medium Enterprises in Asian Pacific Countries' (main editor).

Presents selected papers from a September 1999 conference organized by the Center for Policy Research, University Science Malaysia, focusing on linkages and clusters in SMEs. Discusses building of business relationships and possible supply linkages through SMEs, and looks at efforts towards industrial development through linkages and reorganization of industrial clustering for SMEs with respect to the Japanese experience. Discusses policy in supporting SMEs in the UK with some lessons for Asian countries, and describes programs for financial support, policy reform, and business training. The editors are affiliated with University Science Malaysia. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Where development is concerned, our language and perhaps our way of thinking often ap pear somewhat distorted. If anything, the Asian economies with their most impressive and dynamic growth should logically be called developing countries. Instead, we call them threshold countries, newly industrializing countries (NICs) or newly industrializing eco nomies (NIEs), the latter term taking into account the Chinese argument that Hong Kong and Taiwan should not be considered countries. During the eighties, when Latin American NICs became the main victims of the debt crisis, the NIEs of East Asia (EANIEs), the little tigers or dragons, presented most impres sive examples of growth through orientation to world trade, fitting well into the Japanese 'flying-geese' concept. Naturally, questions were raised as to the reasons for this success, the lessons other countries could draw from it, and the outlook for the future. At the same time, the establis hed industrial countries wanted to know what NIE competition might mean for them. In 1988, the OECD published a study entitled "The NIEs -Challenge and Opportunity for OECD Industries". The NIBs had become a fashionable object of research and debate. In Western Europe, where countries are preparing for a period offurtherintegration and East-West cooperation, it seems worth-while to also consider the role ofthe EANIEs and the options for cooperation they represent. Moreover, the NIEs themselves are following development in Europe with some concern and are trying to adjust to the new situation as it emerges.

This book discusses issues, challenges and prospects for the development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the wake of the information age and digital era. At the dawn of the new millennium SMEs face a number of issues and challenges in their vital role in economies over the Asian-Pacific countries. Many have expressed confidence that SMEs will be dramatically transformed and their growth pace will be soundly adjusted to meet new changes. Subsequently, SMEs and their activities will be more global, highly dependent on information, knowledge-based activities, the internet, and the overall so-called 'digital era'. However, some do express a more pessimistic view. The overall content of the book is divided into three parts. Part one is an introduction that presents the overall scenario of SMEs in the information age in the Asian region, including some policy recommendations. Part two examines Asian perspectives with five outstanding chapters. These include internet development in the new economy and its implications for Asian SMEs; the Japanese model of SMEs development in an age of IT; technology exchange of Asian SMEs; IT challenges for SMEs and high technology, SMEs and global competitiveness. Part Three refers to perspectives in selected countries in the region such as IT consultants for SMEs; the application of IT in SMEs and E-commerce strategies and government support for SMEs.BA (Hons-MU), MA (Essex) and Ph.D (London), is the Deputy Director and associate Professor at the Centre for Policy Research, University Science Malaysia, Penang. He teaches on small business management, however, his interest and research focus is mainly on development economics, specifically the development of small and medium enterprises. He has published 12 books and over 20 papers in renowned journals, and presented a number of papers to international conferences. His recent books include: 'Foreign Workers in Malasysia (co-author); 'Foreign Labour in Asia' (co-author); 'Small and Medium Enterprises in Malaysia'; 'Management of Small Enterprises'; 'Small and Medium Enterprises in Asian Pacific Countries' (main editor).