Chapter 3: Promoting enterprise and small businesses in the UK

Aims of the exercise

• To use resources available on government websites


• To understand and appreciate government perspectives on promoting entrepreneurial activities in the UK


• To critically examine the government’s assessment of enterprise issues and their recommendations for promoting entrepreneurial activity

Getting started
Each government department has its own website, providing an overview, access to relevant documents and updated information on what the department is doing. In the UK, business affairs are now handled by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR), which was formerly the Department of Trade and Industry. Go to the BERR homepage at www.berr.gov.uk and then click the following links:

• Under ‘What we do’, you will find a list of topics. Click on ‘Enterprise and business support’


• Select the topic ‘Enterprise and small business’


• Under ‘related links’, click on ‘Enterprise: Unlocking the UK’s talent’, which is the page for the UK government’s enterprise strategy.

The new strategy document, released on 12 March 2008 as a supplement to the Budget, is available on this site. Note that the document is published by HM Treasury, indicating its roots in economic policy. Various pdf downloads are available. The main document is long, and for our purposes, the summary is sufficient (it is 37 pages long). Click on ‘Summary’, to download the document.

Tasks
Read the Summary of Enterprise: Unlocking the UK’s talent. The questions which follow are based on this summary.

A. Questions

1. Chapter 1 (the introduction) speaks of progress and challenges in improving the UK’s level of entrepreneurial activity. What are the main weaknesses that emerge, which the government is trying to address?


2. What are the five ‘enablers’ highlighted by the document, which will underpin the enterprise strategy? Look at the policy initiatives proposed for each one. In which of these areas do you feel the government is best placed to make a positive impact, and in which do you feel there is little the government can do?
3. Look at Chapter 6, on Business Innovation. In what ways has the UK been weak in innovation? Do these proposals sufficiently address the weaknesses? Note that, although the rise in innovation among SMEs is cited as a substantial improvement under ‘Progress’ (p. 29), it was pointed out on p. 6 that the percentage of SME employers who have undertaken product or service innovations had risen from 32% in 2005 to 48% in 2006 – still quite low.


4. What issues are highlighted in Chapter 7, on the ‘wider benefits’ of enterprise? To what extent are these issues part of a wider picture of UK society?

B. Reflection

1. Recall that the UK country focus feature in this chapter highlighted instances where well-intended government initiatives with eye-catching titles seemed not to lead to the long term, substantial changes which were needed. To what extent does this document, in your view, represent a similar approach? If you ran a small business in the UK, which of these proposals would you consider the most welcome, and why?

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