Small-scale
enterprises play important or significant roles in the economic development of
any nation especially the developing ones. (Enudu,1999:p.22). The
growth of the country depends to a extent, on the standard and development of
small-scale business. In revolutionary economy, small-scale enterprises are a
legitimate and viable component in any strategy for reconstructing the economy.
The roles played by small-scale enterprises n economic growth and development
are highlighted below.
1.
EMPLOYMENT
GENERATION: Small-scale
business has come to be known as a major source of employment. They employ the
majority of all non-government workers in the country and this trend seem to be
the increase. In 1970, of the estimated wage employment of 1.38 million,
622,000 persons (forty five percent) were employed in small non-agricultural
enterprises. Nigeria is currently facing problems of unemployment and rural
urban migration. This has been compounded by frightening turnover of
post-primary school leavers, polytechnic university graduates every year. In
this case small-scale enterprises can create jobs opportunities for this group
of people and reduce the rate of rural urban drift. Enudu (1999:p222) stated
that in Nigeria today, small-scale business have offered employment to
thousands of young school leavers and retired civil servants. Noted that in
study carried out in 1962 in Eastern Nigeria by the United State Agency for
Inter-National Development, the number of small-scale enterprises was 10, 722
with total employment figure of 28, 721. Okafor (1996: p.114) posits that
documented evidence suggests that about 30% of the entire working population
are employed by small-scale enterprise. This shows that small-scale plays an
important role in reducing the rate of unemployment in our country.
2.
PROMOTION OF COMPETITION:
Small-scale
enterprises act as a check against monopoly and encourage competition, through
improved prices and services to customers. The small entrepreneur is in
intimate contact with market needs. Possessing practical technical competence
is very necessary in competition. A small firm cannot, of course compete with
large firm across the board. But a number of small businesses, each competing
in its own particular area, and its own particular way, together have the
desired competitive effect.
3.
WASTE
UTILIZATION:
small-scale enterprises make use of waste material from big enterprises for
further production. Eze (2009:p.224) observed that the artisans at the Ogbete
industrial area popularly called “Tinker shade” for instance, produce lost of
spare parts for industrial machinery and often provide lots of maintenance
services. The graft bodies of obsolete imported vehicles and buses into wide
variety of buses and vehicles of different shapes, some toilet roll companies
use waste paper from printing presses for the production of toilet rolls.
4.
INTRODUCTION TO
BIG BUSINESS:
Every business has it starting points, small business serves as a nursery for
entrepreneurial talent and they grow, in some cases, into large enterprises.
Many large organizations all over the world today started as small business,
some individuals may have a fear for entrepreneurship in large enterprises but
owning to the shortage of capital and other resources they are able to realize
this only through the establishment of small firms.
5.
CATERING FOR
SMALL DEMAND:
Small manufacturing establishments have advantage in meeting highly specialized
or individualized demand or in catering to a small volume of market or one
requiring frequent readjustments because of style changes or for other reasons.
Here the flexibility of the small firm stands it in good stead. Their
bureaucratic procedures and relatively large overhead expenses may handicap
large enterprises. It does not play for them to produce short “runs” of
non-standard terms, but the small factory can often do so, for profit motives.
There
operating are as highlighted below: sales personnel’s attend to the customers
or patients, they give drugs to the patients as recommended by the doctors or
medical practitioners while the secretary takes care of purchasing of drugs, it
is the duty of the secretary to know which drugs that is available and that
which is out of stock and thus communicate the management. The cashier takes
care of what ever cash that comes into the company, all payment for drugs
bought are made through the cashier and also gives account of all the daily
sales, expense, deposit money at the end day in the bank and also days the
workers at the end of the month as instructed by the director.
The nurses gives
medical attention to the patients, that they gives drugs and injections as
directed by the doctor. The doctor is the one that gives medical attention and
prescribe drugs for the patients and then direct them to the nurse who gives
the drugs to them. The secretary meets with the manager every month to let him
know what drugs that are not available at the store, and then purchases such
drugs that are needed. But before the drugs are purchase the director will be
informed, and that will enable him to
acquire from the cashier if profit are made or not before purchase are made, if
profits are made, more of such drugs will be purchased and vice versa.