NEILL MARSHALL IS LECTURER, NEIL Alderman senior research associate, and Alfred Thwaites deputy director, in the Centre for Urban and Regional Development Studies at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Cecillia Wong is lecturer in the department of planning and landscape at the University of Manchester, England. This paper examines the impact on firms of the management training and development provided as part of the Business Growth Training Option 3, a programme of United Kingdom government financial assistance to help small and medium-sized enterprises in Britain to employ consultants to train and develop their management staff. The study compares changes in a cohort of firms undergoing management training and development in Option 3, with a matched sample of firms not in receipt of assistance. The research demonstrates the effectiveness of management training in small and medium enterprises. It shows that Option 3 assistance led to improvements in management, organisation and business performance in participant firms.
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