Scholars, policy makers and analysts have agreed that the future development of any country rests on the shoulders of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Although SMEs play an important role in developing countries such as Zimbabwe, 85%... more
Scholars, policy makers and analysts have agreed that the future development of any country rests on the shoulders of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Although SMEs play an important role in developing countries such as Zimbabwe, 85% are expected to fail within the first three years. Many reasons have been outlined as the causes of such a high failure rate with the most notable ones being a dearth in managerial capacity and an inappropriate leadership model. Zimbabwean SMEs have failed to drive economic growth despite the implementation of Western-initiated leadership models. This is why scholars have argued against the applicability of these models and advocated for the establishment and institutionalisation of indigenous leadership models. The current study sought to develop and validate an Afrocentric Effective Leadership (AEL) model for Zimbabwean SMEs. Quantitative research was carried out employing a survey strategy where data was collected using a questionnaire from 241 p...
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The growth and success of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) is key to the sustainable development of developing countries such as Zimbabwe where deplorable unemployment rates and gigantic gaps between the rich and the poor are... more
The growth and success of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) is key to the sustainable development of developing countries such as Zimbabwe where deplorable unemployment rates and gigantic gaps between the rich and the poor are widespread. Although SMEs have the capacity to drive economic growth and act as a panacea to the challenges that have bedevilled many African countries, they suffer from high failure rates caused by lack of managerial skills and inappropriate leadership style. The study sought to identify the predominant leadership styles used by SMEs in Zimbabwe by adopting a quantitative research design where a survey was used. Primary data was collected from 241 participants from Bulawayo’s Central Business Area through the use of a closed-ended questionnaire. The study identified two leadership styles namely selective participation style and directional leadership style that were used by SMEs in Zimbabwe. The study concluded that the predominant leadership style used was...
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The purpose of this study was to establish product management strategies that can be employed by firms operating in a multi-currency economic system which is also experiencing depressed demand for consumer goods. The study was based on... more
The purpose of this study was to establish product management strategies that can be employed by firms operating in a multi-currency economic system which is also experiencing depressed demand for consumer goods. The study was based on two cases of the largest consumer goods manufacturers in Zimbabwe. The study's proposition was that the two firms had adopted aggressive product management strategies which made their products competitive. The results of the study were based on in-depth interviews with marketing executives in both cases and other field observations. The findings confirm that the firms operating in such a restrictive can survive by adopting aggressive product management strategies which include adding new product features, qualities and extending their product lines.
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Social entrepreneurship is a phenomenon that has not been fully exploited to create employment and uplift underprivileged communities in Zimbabwe. Graduate social workers are expected to champion establishment of social enterprises.... more
Social entrepreneurship is a phenomenon that has not been fully exploited to create employment and uplift underprivileged communities in Zimbabwe. Graduate social workers are expected to champion establishment of social enterprises. However they have opted to join the band wagon of people migrating into the diaspora in search of employment opportunities. This paper sought to establish why graduate social workers are not willing to venture into social enterprises despite the relevant training they possess and the vast opportunities presented by the ever shrinking Zimbabwe economy. Data was collected through interviews with social work graduates, students and a director of a social work school in Harare. The findings revealed that the curricular of social work does not have the entrepreneurial training component; there is lack of financial support and that there is a generalnon acceptance of such ventures by communities. The study recommends that the social work curricular be revised ...
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The purpose of this study was to explore the trading patterns exhibited by market participants when the central bank cannot act as a lender of last resort to the financial institutions. The study hypothesized that the absence of the... more
The purpose of this study was to explore the trading patterns exhibited by market participants when the central bank cannot act as a lender of last resort to the financial institutions. The study hypothesized that the absence of the central bank as a major participant in the market severely compromised the liquidity of the market. It was found that the money market in Zimbabwe was highly illiquid, having failed all the three tests of liquidity: tightness; immediacy and depth. The market was characterized by high costs, narrow range of securities, lack of heterogeneity in market instruments and participants. However, trading was fairly frequent, with most transactions carried out on a weekly basis.
The introduction of the multi-currency system in Zimbabwe in 2009 had two major contradictory effects on the country's economy. On one hand the system tamed the country's hyperinflation and revived the country's manufacturing... more
The introduction of the multi-currency system in Zimbabwe in 2009 had two major contradictory effects on the country's economy. On one hand the system tamed the country's hyperinflation and revived the country's manufacturing sector that had dropped its capacity utilisation from over 80% in 2000 to 5% in 2008. On the other hand the multi-currency system liberalised the economy opening it up to foreign players who brought cheaper and better quality products to compete against local products. This resulted in local consumers preferring imports over locally produced products leading to local business closures, retrenchments and a decline in local manufacturers’ capacity utilisation. Faced with stiff competition from external manufacturers, local manufacturers sought government's protection via import barriers like tariffs, import quotas, etc. to no avail. The argument given by the local manufacturers is that they are not as competitive as external manufacturers because ...
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The success of an organization is heavily dependent on its ability to retain its key staff. However, this is becoming increasingly difficult because of labour mobility brought about by globalization. Globalization has afforded employees... more
The success of an organization is heavily dependent on its ability to retain its key staff. However, this is becoming increasingly difficult because of labour mobility brought about by globalization. Globalization has afforded employees the opportunity to compare working conditions and remuneration packages across labour markets thereby triggering the migration of labour from less attractive markets to more competitive markets. Developing countries’ labour markets have borne the brunt of brain drain to the attractive markets, Zimbabwe in general, and state universities in particular were not spared. However, the University Of Zimbabwe (UZ) fared better in retaining its staff compared to other state universities. Against this backdrop, this study sought to investigate what the UZ did better than the other state universities to retain higher levels of staff. The study's proposition was that the UZ managed to retain its staff due to its effective staff motivation techniques which i...
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The mission statement of the University of Zimbabwe(UZ) makes a provision for the institution to make meaningful contributions to sustainable development in Zimbabwe through the provision of high quality education, training and advisory... more
The mission statement of the University of Zimbabwe(UZ) makes a provision for the institution to make meaningful contributions to sustainable development in Zimbabwe through the provision of high quality education, training and advisory services. Guided by such principles, the study was motivated by the desire to establish the perceptions of students as regards the Student Industrial Attachment(SIA) Programme which was introduced in 2002 to augment the theoretical backgrounds of students with the realities and demands of the practical work environment. High quality education can only be attained after taking cognisance of the views of the key stakeholders of UZ programmes, which is students and industry in the development of curricula. After two years of continuous study, students undergo a one year SIA Programme as an integral component of their undergraduate studies in the Faculty of Commerce. While it was established by more than half of the respondents that the SIA Programme is ...
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Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in a majority of cases depend on donors for funding. However the global economic crisis has left many traditional donors with very limited financial resources to fund NGOs. As a way of ensuring that... more
Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in a majority of cases depend on donors for funding. However the global economic crisis has left many traditional donors with very limited financial resources to fund NGOs. As a way of ensuring that the little resources that are at their disposal are efficiently utilised, donors are now targeting NGOs that have sound corporate governance structures and are engaged in sustainable programmes that have the greatest impact on the communities that they serve. This has created intense competition among NGOs, including those operating in Zimbabwe, as they jockey for donor support. However the allocation that Zimbabwe’s NGOs are receiving compared to other countries is relatively small. This paper proposes that the reason why Zimbabwe’s NGOs are not receiving a large share of donor funding is that they are poorly implementing programmes. This poor implementation has resulted in programmes lacking sustainability and having little impact on communities. T...
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Zimbabwean firms particularly those in manufacturing have been greatly affected by the opening up of the economy which has seen the influx of cheaper foreign goods. This has created intense competition for the sector as customers opt for... more
Zimbabwean firms particularly those in manufacturing have been greatly affected by the opening up of the economy which has seen the influx of cheaper foreign goods. This has created intense competition for the sector as customers opt for the more affordable foreign products. The result of this competition has been the decline of capacity utilisation by the local manufacturers which has also been accompanied by firms closing down, retrenching staff or at times refusing to award salaries that match the poverty datum line as they seek to survive. On the other hand, employees faced with possibility of losing employment or earning low salaries have accused employers/managers of being self-centered in the decision making process. It is for this reason that this study was carried out to ascertain the extent of employee empowerment in Zimbabwe’s manufacturing sector. The study is confined to large scale manufacturers who are on Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) register operating i...
Research Interests: Business and Empowerment
The purpose of the study was to investigate factors that have an explanatory or predictive power on the intentions of students to start their own business. Studies show that the propensity of a person to start a new venture is moderated... more
The purpose of the study was to investigate factors that have an explanatory or predictive power on the intentions of students to start their own business. Studies show that the propensity of a person to start a new venture is moderated by a number of factors within the individual and also external to the individual hence the purpose of the study to identify those factors and how much predictive power they have. A population of 250 from a population of 540 final year students at Botho University participated in the study. Simple random sampling technique was used to select the students. A questionnaire that used a 4-point Likert scale was used for data collection. Data was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20. A criterion mean was used as part of descriptive statics for analysing the data. Results of the study showed that personality traits, family background, return on investment, entrepreneurship education, environmental factors and competit...
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The manufacturing sector in Zimbabwe plays a critical role in the economic development of the country like employment creation, contributing to the country's GDP and saving and generating foreign exchange. It is for this reason the... more
The manufacturing sector in Zimbabwe plays a critical role in the economic development of the country like employment creation, contributing to the country's GDP and saving and generating foreign exchange. It is for this reason the Government of Zimbabwe (GoZ) has crafted a number of programmes aimed at rejuvenating it since it started to decline in the late 1980s. However the programmes seem to have benefitted foreign competitors as the sector experienced further decline resulting in the country becoming a net importer, capacity utilisation in the sector declining and unemployment rising as firms closed shop. This study sought to establish why the sector is failing to identify opportunities that are presented in the government initiated programmes thereby allowing foreign competition to benefit at their expense. The study sought responses from top managers of the sampled 68 manufactures from Bulawayo. The sample was drawn from the 16 sub-sectors that constitute the Zimbabwe's manufacturing sector. Study findings reveal that the sampled firms have weaknesses in the way the scan the environment. The study is concluded by proffering relevant recommendations.
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Scholars, policy makers and analysts agree that the future development of any country rests on the shoulders of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). However, despite the enormity of benefits that can be realised from SMEs, research shows... more
Scholars, policy makers and analysts agree that the future development of any country rests on the shoulders of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). However, despite the enormity of benefits that can be realised from SMEs, research shows that the majority are plagued by a high failure rate blamed largely on a dearth in managerial skills and ineffective leadership. This calls for continuous assessment of leadership effectiveness so that remedial action can be taken where leadership is found to be ineffective. The purpose of the study was to assess the effectiveness of leadership in Zimbabwean SMEs. Quantitative research was conducted using a survey strategy. Primary data was collected using a closed-ended questionnaire from 241 participants from Bulawayo's Central Business Area. The study concluded that leadership was not effective in Zimbabwean SMEs. In order to engender effective leadership, SMEs leaders are encouraged to reward employees when they do what is expected of them. They should come up with novel ways of keeping employees motivated, engaged and committed over and above rewarding them. SMEs leaders should devise mechanisms to help employees move ahead in their careers.