Research Question

SMEs (small and medium enterprises) contribute significantly to the general growth of a country’s economy. Every country must be actively involved in monitoring the factors affecting its SMEs in order to achieve economic growth. Some of the advantages of SMEs are, provision of employment, contribution to the country’s GDP through payment of taxes, aiding in proper flow of money in the country among others (Almuharrami, 2015).There are many challenges that face SMEs such as access to finance, high taxes, high pension rates and skill shortage which must be addressed by the government and other relevant authorities. SMEs face a risk of failing in a volatile economy thus they need a flourishing economy to flourish so that their importance is realized (Oman, 2011). Many businesses in the globe have resulted to laying off workers or freezing employment due to the increased cost of operations resulting from high taxes, increased minimum wage, increase in pension rates and an upsurge of other operational costs (Pauceanu, 2016).

The economy of Oman also enjoys the benefits of SMEs as much as other global economies. Over the years they have contributed significant percentage of money to the country’s treasuries in terms of taxes and offered employment to thousands of citizens. Thus the government of Oman has taken various steps to protect its SMEs by creating a conducive business environment. In Oman a pension rate has been set on SMEs by the Public Authority for Social Insurances’ (PASI) , this pension rate has various effects on them (Muscat, 2013).

This project focusses on finding out the effects of Public Authority for Social Insurances’ (PASI) Pension Rate due to an increase in pension rate contribution percentage by the government and other factors on the overall Success and Growth of SMEs in the Sultanate of Oman. In Oman the PASI has set up pension rules and regulations. The pension given at old age has to be paid on a monthly basis by the employer and the employee to the insured employee’s pension scheme. The insured employees are covered under the social insurance law (Muscat, 2013). When the employees reach the legal age and have completed the contribution period they are given this pension. With a service period of 10 years the legal age is 55 years and with a service period of 15 years the legal period is 15 years. The pension rules have employed a pension rate calculation formula which has to be adhered to by every enterprise (Al-Farsi, 2011).

This project is aimed at answering the following research questions:

• What is the role of Social Insurance law on the SMEs growth?
• What is the pension rate set by PASI, its characteristics and effects on SMEs?
• What is the pension rate set by the government, its characteristics and effects on SMEs?
• What are the challenges faced by SMEs during the fulfillment of the pension rate set by PASI?
• What are the other factors affecting the growth of SMEs in Oman?

The project will seek to get answers from employers and employees on the following questions:

Employer Questionnaire

• If they support the PASI set pension rates?
• If they think the increased pension rates have affected employment?
• If they think there is a shortage of skills in Oman?
• If they think the government set taxes on goods and services are highand affect the growth of SMEs?
• If it is difficult for SMEs to access credit in Oman?
• If they think the set minimum wage is high?

• If they think you are receiving enough contribution from your employer to your pension scheme?
• Their take on the PASI set pension rates?
• If they think the increased pension rates have affected employmentin SMEs?
• If they think there is skill shortage in Oman?
• If they think the minimum wage is Oman is a strain on SMEs?
• If they think government taxes in Oman have a notable effect on the success of SMEs?

The project has various objectives which it is addressing such as:

• To determine the role of the Social Insurance law on the SMEs growth
• To evaluate the pension rate set by PASI
• To evaluate how the set pension rate affects SMEs
• To highlight the challengesfaced by SMEs to fulfill this rate
• The other factors influencing the growth of SMEs in Oman
• How the government influences the growth of SMEs in Oman (Gonzalez, 2008)

Many scholars have done research on the effects of pension rate on the growth and success of SMEs (Falls, 2013) indicates that SMEs face many challenges in their operation. For instance when it comes to the rate of pension schemes they require government intervention to cope with an upsurge in pension contributions for their employees in order to avoid financial difficulties. Employers are hard hit by increased pension rates thus high labor cost since they have to contribute more to their employees’ pension schemes thus an increase in operational costs which reduce profits and make it hard for the SMEs to grow. The government and relevant authorities have to monitor the pension rates and ensure they are fair to both the employer and the employees. In order to boost the growth of SMEs the pension rate percentage contribution of the employer should be reasonably low thus ensuring low operating expenditure (Falls, 2013).

Objectives

Bradac (2013) talks about the pension rate in the United Kingdom. The government has doubled the pension rate contribution by employers from 1% to 2%. Besides the minimum wage which can be given to employees over the age of 25 years increased by almost 5% from 1^st April 2018. The minimum wages of workers under the age of 25 years are also on the rise. Evidently this exercise will be costly in both the money used to make the contributions and payments and filling out the paper work involved. Further increase in the pension rate is expected in the United Kingdom where it will increase to 3%. This will have a huge impact on small and medium enterprises. Some small businesses feel like some employees are unaffordable due to these increased contributions. A survey done by Forbes shows that many SMEs in the UK are expecting 2018 to be weaker than the previous year in terms of business due to the higher operational costs. The United Kingdom government has employed an automatic enrolment system whereby employers have to automatically enroll their employees who meet certain criteria into a workplace pension. This system makes it simple for people to save for their retirement. Thousands of SMEs are working towards the implementation or have already implemented this system, however majority of businesses have not yet implemented it. Many small businesses say that this system will impact bonuses and pay rise with some indicating that it may put them out of business. Employees also are concerned that the automatic enrollment system puts their pay rise at risk with the unemployed expressing their worry that the system will make many businesses not able to take more staff thus render them unemployed for long period (Bradac, 2013).

Ghazanfar (2007) indicates that SMEs have become important in Oman and the world because of their high capacity to promote entrepreneurial skills and entrepreneurship. They are highly flexible and quick to adapt to the changing market demands. SMEs are responsible for generating many jobs in both Oman and other parts of the globe. Due to these contributions by SMEs it is essential to identify the factors affecting them with the aim of taking the necessary actions to remove or reduce any difficulties and build up new opportunities for these SMEs.  The problems facing these enterprises range from access to finance, competition from other established businesses, corruption especially in the government and policies made by the government. Ghanzanfar (2007) points out the Sultanate of Oman’s policies such as the increase in the minimum wage and the pension rates. An increase in the minimum wage strains the finances of the SMEs since it increases the cost of labor. On the other hand an increase in the enterprise’s pension contribution to the accounts of its employees leads to an increase in the company’s operational expenses this as well limits the development of the SMEs. Ghanzanfar recommends that in order for the development of SMEs to be achieved in the globe given their contribution to economic growth and employment the following remedies must be embrace, the government in the world economies should control corruption in order to support SMEs efficiently, credit access should be made easier to these enterprises in order for them to develop easily and have the capacity to take in more labor, government policies on sensitive issues such as the minimum wage should be made in consultation with the SMEs organizations so that the most fair percentage payments and contributions are arrived at. The world economies should take a step in supporting SMEs so that they can be able to thrive in stiff competition (Ghazanfar, 2007).

Literature Review

Al-Lamki (2009) States that customers in Oman have become sophisticated over the years leading to an intensified competition in business. Thus SMEs require a lot of intangible and tangible resources to compete in this ever changing environment in order to realize profitability. SMEs face substantial resource constraints in their day to day operation but exhibit excellent entrepreneurial characteristics which lead them to success. The interaction between various resources types in these SMEs ensure they gain competitive advantage. According to Al-Lamki the main challenges facing SMEs in Oman are insufficiency of operational funds to cater for costs such as remuneration and pension contributions, insufficient resources and technology, poor market research and selling techniques among others. Laws and regulations have a significant effect on the small and medium enterprises in the sense that there are some set rules that make operation difficult for these businesses. Al-Lamki gives an example of the remuneration and pension rate laws by the Oman government. The percentage of remuneration and required pension contribution is high for some companies to afford thus they result in laying off workers, employment freezing and in extreme situations they may get out of business (Al-Lamki, 2009).

A recent study conducted in Muscat on the skills in the market entitled ‘The Middle East Skills Report’ found that majority of the people in Oman believe that the country has skills shortage. These respondents include employers, employees and job seekers. Most job seekers cited the reason for not securing jobs as lack of knowledge on the skills that are in high demand. Lack of enough skills in the market affects the implementation of ideas by SMEs and makes work difficult thus reducing profitability (Rao & Syed, 2007).  

This project is essential since it highlights the benefits of SMEs to an economy’s growth in this case the Oman economy. The project focusses on the effects of the PASI pension rate and other factors on the general growth and success of SMEs. The findings from the project can be used in decision making with the aim of boosting the growth of SMEs in the Sultanate of Oman (Thompson & Toledo, 2010). The project will enhance the existing research on the factors affecting the growth of SMEs in Oman and the globe with a particular focus on the effects on increase in pension rate on them. Most of the prior studies do not give focus on pension rate and its effects.

This project is based on finding out the effects of PASI  pension Rate and other factors on the overall Success and Growth of SMEs in the Sultanate of Oman. The project focusses on the SMEs based in the Sultanate of Oman and seeks to research on the factors affecting their growth with the main focus on the pension rates set by the PASI. The project deals with aspects affecting SME growth comprising high government taxes, limited skills in the market, high set minimum wage, high pension rates and difficulties in credit access (Bohle & Greskovits, 2016). The research consults a large amount of materials by using both secondary and primary data. It gathers data from the employers and employees in the SMEs as well as gathering data from the Riyada Public Authority of Small and Medium Enterprise Development and PACI funds records.

The Data used in this project has been gathered from both primary and secondary sources. Six SMEs have been involved in this study and a thorough analysis done on the data gathered from them. The SMEs were selected by a selection criteria of non-probability sampling. The information gathered from these SMEs has been analyzed using Microsoft excel in order to discover trends and make conclusions. Charts have been developed to show the percentages from the responses given by the employers and employees from the SMEs. Besides, secondary data from these SMEs has been consulted in order to paint a clearer picture on the factors affecting SMEs growth (Wasmer, 2016). Besides there is data gathered from the Riyada Public Authority of Small and Medium Enterprise Development and PACI funds records which is used alongside the primary data to determine the factors affecting the growth of SMEs in the Sultanate of Oman.

The project results based on the reactions from employers, employees and existing records have proofed that the pension rates set by the PASI are quite high and affect the operation of the small and medium enterprises. Due to the high contributions made by the SMEs to the pension schemes of their employees the labor cost is increased thus leading to high operational costs. This leads to low profits which result to problems such as low employment rates with some SMEs freezing employment since they cannot be able to afford the labor cost. Increase in operational costs in Oman has made it difficult for many SMEs to thrive forcing others out of business. There are also other factors affecting the operation of SMEs such as high government taxes, limited skills in the market, high set minimum wage and difficulties in credit access (Al-Yahyae, 2016).

There are many factors affecting the growth of SMEs in the Sultanate of Oman amongst which are the pension rates set by the PASI, government taxes, minimum wage, and shortage of skills among others. This project analyses these factors with the main focus on the pension effects of the set pension rates on the SMEs. Most of these factors affecting the growth of SMEs are influenced by the government policies, rules and regulations (Al Yahyae & Walter, 2010).

Increased taxes over the years on goods has made the cost of operation for SMEs in Oman high. The graph below shows that the government has been increasing taxes on goods and services over the years.

Graph showing the tax on goods and services in Oman over the Years

The graphs shows a steep tax increase thus increased SMEs operational costs. An increase in operational costs affects factors such as increase in wages, pension, allowances, employment and other factors due to reduced profits (Schwarz, Karolyl & Salem, 2008).

Increased operational costs due to increase in the price of commodities such as electricity is a major factor affecting SMEs in Oman. For example the new introduced taxes and fees for businesses and individuals based in the Oman. The Municipality introduced a 2% increase in electricity prices based on the business and individual usage. This study will also seek to proof if there is an increase in the operational costs of SMEs in Oman (Al-Balushi, 2011).

There is a skill shortage in the local market which makes implementation of many ideas by SMEs difficult. Majority of the job seekers in the country have not been educated well on the skills that they require to secure jobs thus they do not find jobs easily. Many SMEs find it difficult to operate due to this fact of limited skills. The skills comprise communication skills, negotiation skills, leadership skills, ability to work under pressure creativity, technical skills, and efficiency among others. In most cases you find workers possess just some of them thus they are not skilled enough for the potential jobs. This study will furthermore seek to proof if indeed there is skill shortage in Oman (Schamidt, 2008).

There is increased market competition in Oman leaving SMEs at a disadvantage. Large organizations compete with the same market with small and medium sized enterprises, since the large organizations have the financial advantage it becomes difficult for the SMEs to thrive thus most of them get out of business (Ghazanfar, 2007).

The Sultanate of Oman under the PASI which is the body mandated with setting up the pension rate has set up a formula for the calculation of pension rate contributions.

This formula is used by all businesses in the pension rate calculation. Many SMEs find the contributions made to the employee’s pension scheme to be quite high thus increasing the general operational costs. On the contrary many employees feel that the contributions made by their employers are less and should be even more. The PASI on its side feels that the set pension rate is fair to both the employers and the employees. This study is pursuing to gather primary information and secondary information proof on the pension rate effects on the SMEs. The study will also gather information from SMEs to from factual conclusions.

Data 

The study has gathered data from six different SMEs (small and medium enterprises) with the aim of determining the effect of PASI and government pension rates on these businesses. The data has been gathered through questionnaires given to the employers and the employees and the secondary data available in these SMEs. The data has been analyzed and a comparison made on the findings from the various SMEs (Eme, Uche & Uche, 2014)

The Data used in this project is given below:

Employer ID	a. Do you support the PASI set pension rates?	b. Do you think the increased pension rates have affected employment?	c. Do you think there is a shortage of skills in Oman?	d. Do you think the government set taxes on goods and services are high?	e. Is it difficult for SMEs to access credit in Oman?	f. Do you think the set minimum wage is high?
1st	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
2nd	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
3rd	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No
4th	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
5th	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
6th	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	yes	No
Yes	2	5	6	6	4	3
No	4	1	0	0	2	3

Employee’s ID	a. Do you think you are receiving enough contribution from your employer to your pension scheme?	b. What is your take on the PASI set pension rates?	c. Do you think the increased pension rates have affected employment?	d. Do you think there is skill shortage in Oman?	e. Do you think the minimum wage is Oman is a strain on SMEs?	f. Do you think government taxes in Oman have a notable effect on the success of SMEs?
1st	Yes	Increase	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
2nd	No	Increase	No	No	No	Yes
3rd	Yes	Contented	No	Yes	No	Yes
4th	Yes	Increase	No	No	Yes	No
5th	Yes	Decrease	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
6th	No	Contented	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
7th	Yes	Increase	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
8th	No	Contented	No	No	Yes	Yes
9th	No	Increase	No	No	No	Yes
10th	Yes	Increase	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
11th	Yes	Increase	No	No	Yes	Yes
12th	Yes	Increase	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Yes	8		4	5	7	11
No	4		8	7	5	1
Increase		8
Contented		3
Decrease		1

For the success of the study  various methods were employed from the data collection step to the data analysis and result presentation stage. The data used in this project has been collected from both secondary and primary sources using a structured approach (Albadi, 2009). A semi structured questionnaire and in depth interviews have been used on the SMEs personnel. Data has been collected from the six SMEs financial reports with focus on annual pension amount and pension contribution. Data has been gathered from The Public Authority for Small & Medium Enterprises Development (Riyada) and PACI funds as well (Ghanzanfar, 2007).  

There are ten SMEs which have been involved in this project. The process of non-probability sampling was used to select these SMEs in order to ensure a more practical and accurate representation of the study objectives.

Non- probability sampling

Since the research involved SMEs the researchers had to select the types of businesses which fall under the description of SMEs thus the method of judgement non-probability sampling was employed. In this method the researchers used their judgement to select the businesses to participate. The project required that the samples must include both small and medium sized enterprises thus this had to be put into consideration. The businesses with the project sample characteristics were approached and consent sought from them to participate in the research.

Advantages of judgement non-probability sampling

• The sampling method was cost effective
• The sampling method was time effective
• The method resulted in a range of responses

Disadvantages of judgement non-probability sampling

• There was a likelihood of volunteer bias
• There was probability of errors of judgement from researchers
• There was a likelihood of the method not being representative

Curbing the sampling method problems

The problems faced during the use of the judgement non-probability sampling method were curbed by ensuring that the researcher worked during the process of choosing the SMEs to participate in the research. The researcher has to make decisions based on the characteristic requirements of the SMEs to participate. The SMEs were chosen from a wide range of areas in Oman to ensure large representation thus more accurate results.

The researcher has to put various factors into consideration when choosing the enterprises to participate in the research as follows:

• The enterprises had to be small or medium
• The enterprises had to have less than 250 employees
• The management of the enterprises must be willing to take part in the research

Every study which involves research has to uphold certain set ethics and codes of conduct. This study considered all the required ethics and put them into action. The SMEs and individuals from these SMEs who participated in the research process were all consulted and consent sought from them. They were only involved in the process if they expressed willingness. A consent form with all the research details was given to all participants to sign before the process commenced. All participants were assured of the privacy of the information they were giving and that it could be used for educational purposes. They were further assured that the final report will not contain the names of the enterprises or all the individuals who participated (Muscat, 2015).

Questionnaires were presented to both the employers and the employees of the SMEs with the aim of sourcing information from them on the factors affecting the growth of SMEs in Oman. The questions in the questionnaires were as follows:

Employer Questionnaire

1. Do you support the PASI set pension rates?
2. Do you think the increased pension rates have affected employment?
3. Do you think there is a shortage of skills in Oman?
4. Do you think the government set taxes on goods and services are high?
5. Is it difficult for SMEs to access credit in Oman?
6. Do you think the set minimum wage is high?

Employee Questionnaire

1. Do you think you are receiving enough contribution from your employer to your pension scheme?
2. What is your take on the PASI set pension rates?
3. Do you think the increased pension rates have affected employment?
4. Do you think there is skill shortage in Oman?
5. Do you think the minimum wage is Oman is a strain on SMEs?
6. Do you think government taxes in Oman have a notable effect on the success of SMEs?

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Project Proposal

Obtaining Data From Secondary Sources

Data Analysis to Discover Trends

Forecasting

Preparing Power Point Slides

Presentation

Many employers do not support the PASI set pension rate because they feel that the contributions they make towards their employees’ pension schemes are high compared to other countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Yemen and Yemen thus making the general operation cost high. Besides, the level of taxes are high on goods and services this can be shown by the perspective of both the employers and employees towards taxes thus the development of SMEs is affected due to the high taxes which reduces profitability and employment. The data gathered from The Public Authority for Small & Medium Enterprises Development (Riyada) and PACI funds shows that businesses contribute a large amount of money to the pension schemes of their employees this is further emphasized by the results of the questionnaire showing the perspective of the employees towards the pension rates (Gonzalez, 2008).

Many employers and employees in Oman feel that there is a shortage of skills in Oman. Employers think that there is no enough training given to potential employees for them to fit well in the ever changing job market while employees feel that people are not knowledgeable with the requirement of the job market. In both cases the blame is on the government for not providing enough information and skills. There is a skill shortage in the market which makes implementation of many ideas by small business enterprises difficult. According to the employers many of the job seekers in the Sultanate of Oman have not been educated well on the skills that they require to secure jobs thus they do not find jobs easily. Majority of SMEs find it hard to operate due to this fact of shortage of skills (Schamidt, 2008).

Majority of the employers and employees feel that an increase in the pension rate affects employment. This is so in the sense that the cost of labor increases since the employer has to make pension contributions to each employee. This becomes a problem in that many citizens become unemployed due to the high labor cost resulting from the government and PASI rules and regulations (Gonzalez, 2008).

Majority of employees especially those from small enterprises state that it is extremely difficult for SMEs to access credit in Oman. They cite that the credit institutions require many assurances and security thus end up denying most of the SMEs credit. This makes it difficult for the SMEs to operate at optimum capacity thus reduced profits and forcing some of them to go out of business due to insufficient funds.

From the results of the research it is evident that the set minimum wage by the Oman government is high thus straining SMEs most of which have a limited source of funds. Employers and quite a substantial percentage of employees’ state that the set minimum wage is quite high thus the SMEs are not able to afford labor leading to high levels of unemployment in the Sultanate of Oman.

These challenges ranging from the high level of PASI set pension rate, high taxes, limited skills and difficulty in credit access make the operation of SMEs in Oman difficult thus slowing their growth. This can be evidenced by the responses given by the employers and the employees of the six SMEs which were selected.

Ø Contributing to the pension scheme of employees 

Ø Empowering employees

• Large amount of money contributed by employers to the pension scheme of their employees lead to less financial strength of SMEs

• Helps the government to protect its workers in both the government and private sectors

• Due to strain on the finances of SMEs it may lead to the closure of some of the SMEs

Conclusion 

Most of the problems facing SMEs revolve around the government set policies thus the solution to these problems can be found by the revision of these policies. The government should reduce taxes on goods and services and the PASI set pension rates in order to reduce the operational cost of the SMEs. A reduction in operational cost will ensure that there is more profit thus more capacity to grow and employ more people in the SMEs. The government and PASI should ensure that they set a fair remuneration rate that does not hinder the operation of small and medium enterprises. These can be ensured by an in depth discussion involving all stakeholders with the aim of coming up with the most fair rates.

The government must look into its skill training programs to ensure that they are made relevant with the ever changing and complex market requirements. The learners and potential employees should be educated on what the market required and equipped with all the necessary skills to work effectively in the SMEs. This will ensure that there is growth in the SMEs thus general economic growth since SMEs contribute a lot to the GDP of the Sultanate of Oman. Future research should concentrate on how pension rate can be regulated in order to be fair to both employers and employees, besides the research should focus on what the government can do to boost the development in SMEs.   

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