Adoption Challenges of Cost Control Measures and the Performance of Manufacturing SMEs in Western Cape South Africa

The paper investigates the challenges of the adoption of cost control measures towards enhancement
of organizational performance faced by manufacturing SMEs in Western Cape, South Africa. As lack
of control measures in any firms could negatively affect business performance. The objective was
achieved through the identification of the cost control measures adopted and the challenges posed by
the cost control measures and how it affects SMEs performance. Structured closed-ended
questionnaires purposively administered to manufacturing Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises
operating in Cape Town was utilised. The results of the survey were analysed using a Statistical
Package for social sciences (SPSS version 25). Frequency tables and pie charts were used to
present the findings. The results of the study show that most of the respondents agreed that absence
or lack of employee’s training, negligence by employees, poor work scheduling of task, poor
supervision and inadequate monitoring of overhead costs among others greatly impacted cost control
efforts in their organization. It was recommended that cost control should be implemented by SMEs,
most especially the production section in order to make sure that units of finished goods are properly
accounted for. In order for cost control to be achieved there should be proper monitoring and training
of staff to ensure efficient data collection, analysis and administration at all level of the business.