Monday, May 11, 2009

ONE DAY SEMINAR ON MANAGEMENT SKILLS TO SOURCE FINANCING AND MANAGEMENT OF TECHNOLOGIES BY SMEs

The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in association with the All India Management Association and the Calcutta Management Association, had organized a Seminar on “Management Skills to Source Financing and Management Technologies by SMEs” & ‘Workshop on Management of Change” and Orientation for “BCCI Awards for Best Manufacturing Practices in Small and Medium Enterprises in Eastern India” on Friday, 8th May 2009 in the Chamber premises.

Dr. J. S. Juneja, former Chairman, National Small Industries Corporation and Past President of All India Management Association, was the Programme Director.  

This seminar was followed by a Workshop on Management of Change and the Orientation for ‘BCCI Awards for Best Manufacturing Practices in Small and Medium Enterprises in Eastern India’ 

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone to the country’s economy and a key element in the nation’s industrial framework. Yet, SMEs are the first to bear the brunt of any economic slowdown. The world is in the throes of an economic crisis, which has already flattened large economies, bankrupted gigantic corporations and even taken lives. A crisis of this magnitude was bound to affect our economy and it has. For organizations belonging to the small and medium sector, the challenge is even greater. International credit has shrunk with adverse effects on our corporates and banks. Global uncertainty is also tending to dampen investor sentiment. These are difficult times and a sustained focus on the working of the economy and economic fundamentals is necessary. Companies are feeling the heat of dwindling orders, and large-scale job cuts look likely.  

In such a scenario, the endeavour of the Bengal Chamber was to initiate a dialogue and devise common strategies that SMEs could follow in their businesses during recession. The objective was to explore the newer and emerging areas of growth following the recession. The focus was on managing finance and technology management. Speakers from SMEs, experts from banks and thought leaders from the manufacturing sector made presentations on accessing finance and related methodology, credit rating issues, various avenues of funding and success stories. Emphasis was also on technology upgradation and related funding and expansion issues.

  The objectives of the workshop were-:

· To impart business skills to participating SMEs to enable them to source financing for their companies and provide a live forum & platform for linkages with banks to access funds. 

· To focus on management of technology and upgradation for business growth. 

· To provide value of Credit Rating for sourcing finances by SMEs and exposure to Credit Rating Systems. 

· To present tools and strategies for competitive advantages of SMEs. 

 The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry plans to organize in the later part of this year “BCCI Awards for Best Manufacturing Practices in Small and Medium Enterprises in the Eastern Region”. This programme, which was initiated, recently, received excellent response from the SME sector. The objective of this Competition is to provide the participating companies in SME sector the platform to showcase some of the best processes and practices followed by them in the area of manufacturing, technology and related areas. The programme will also provide the delegates exposure to some “Good Manufacturing Practices’ followed by the SME sector in Eastern India. The Manufacturing Sub Committee would conduct an orientation session to provide background information on the structure, the method of presentation and the evaluation process.


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