Productivity is one of those current buzz words that are regularly referred to in Government circles and the media.

What does it relate to and what does it mean in practice to businesses generally and small businesses in particular?

It is here that I begin to question the statistics themselves. While it is true that our major companies have to be equal or better than their worldwide competitors, it is also true that any small business competing here at

home or in the global marketplace has to be productive in order to compete effectively and to service their chosen markets properly.

Small businesses - manufacturers, tradesmen, retailers, or one of many in the service sector - will all be highly productive.

They will already have good control of raw material usage, labour costs and particularly overheads. And they will have good labour relationships with their workforce.

So where exactly is the problem - if indeed there is one? As we have seen with major manufacturers closing or moving elsewhere, many are not committed to the region in the same way a small business is.

A small business owner has put down roots in the area where he trades and is keen to see that community thrive. After all it's his back yard, plus it makes good business sense.

When you are able to make a direct comparison else-w here, it is the small businesses that are often ahead of the game.

Those who are growing will be doing so because of their investment and commitment.

We are not good at promoting ourselves properly. Far too often, and for what-ever reason, we talk our businesses down.

We do not recognise the contribution that our small business sector makes. This applies equally across our region and in our urban and rural communities.

We often hear ministers say "the small business sector is the driving force of the economy". Yet when it comes down to it in practice, on productivity, as with so many other things, it is the small business sector that is ignored, over-burdened and unrecognised for its achievements.

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It is always the select few who have all the focus of our resources, rather than those who need it and who could benefit hugely with far less, but with more specific attention.

Perhaps the public sector and large businesses could actually learn something from all those small businesses who are thriving and who are actually producing the growth of our region's economy that people need.

Surely it is not an impossible task to put in place and deliver the necessary strategies? We shall see, but please let us no longer ignore the very real productivity of our small business sector.

* Mike Cherry is West Midlands Policy Unit Chairman for the federation of Small Businesses