Interactive information consulting system for South African small businesses - Part 2

Abstract

The small business (SB) sector plays an extremely important role in the South African economy. Unfortunately, many small firms experience failure within the first three years of existence and face intensification of competition that requires increased productivity and flexibility. Information technology (IT) can be implemented into the SB environment to provide critical information, increase productivity, overcome failure and gain a competitive edge. Small firms have implemented IT to a relatively large degree, but it is not being utilized optimally within this environment. The design of an intervention that will enable the escalation of performance levels of the SB through the combination of effective management principles and a well-planned optimal use of IT is considered in this article. The intervention is a computerized system, which is based on a Microsoft Windows application development system that provides pre-formatted worksheets, to collect input from the users of the system and then facilitate the formulation of recommendations.