Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 35 to 42 MICROTRENDS: IT'S A SMALL WORLD AFTER ALL In today's world, it seems like everyone is focused on the big picture”. However, coming up with large scale solutions is not always what is needed. Sometimes it pays to think small - and that is exactly what many people are doing these days. By thinking small, lots of big minds have created some pretty amazing things. ...

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 35 to 42

MICROTRENDS: IT'S A SMALL WORLD AFTER ALL

In today's world, it seems like everyone is focused on the big picture”. However, coming up with large scale solutions is not always what is needed. Sometimes it pays to think small - and that is exactly what many people are doing these days. By thinking small, lots of big minds have created some pretty amazing things.

One example of this is microloans. Microloans are tiny loans, in some cases just a few dollars, which are available to people in developing countries. Although this may not seem like a lot of money, microloans can help workers to escape poverty and start their own businesses. The person behind the modern microloan movement is a Bangladeshi man named Muhammad Yunus. He started the project in the 1970s by offering villagers low interest loans using his own money. Yunus wanted to offer poor people access to small loans so they wouldn't be forced to turn to gangsters if they needed funds. In 1983, he founded the Grameen Bank and soon after, similar organizations started popping up around the globe. Although there are still some issues with microloans, at the very least they offer everyone the potential of becoming an entrepreneur.

For most of the 20th century, companies required large sums of money and plenty of manpower to compete at the highest levels. In the late 1990s, the Internet changed this and many microenterprises came about. Microenterprises are smaller companies that employ less than 10 people and only require small sums of money to start. Being small offers lots of flexibility to these companies as they can react more quickly than corporate giants when a business opportunity arises. Many technology companies that produce mobile apps and websites fall into this category. Keep in mind that having a small staff doesn't mean small profits, as microenterprises can earn hundreds of millions of dollars per year.

Thinking small can also lead to a tremendous improvement in quality. One example of this is microbreweries, which are smaller-sized breweries that produce far less beer than traditional breweries. Since microbreweries don't have to target large markets and make millions of sales to stay open, they can monitor the brewing process carefully to make sure everything is perfect. In addition, microbreweries can experiment with unique flavors that many traditional brewers would shy away from. So, the next time you are asked to "think big", remember that good things may also come in small packages.

What advantages do small companies have over larger corporations?