Augmenting talent management for sustainable development in Africa
World Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development
ISSN: 2042-5961
Article publication date: 12 February 2018
Abstract
Purpose
With the steady overall development of the continent, the African business landscape over the last decade has witnessed increased growth through numerous avenues. Growth has been through the emergence of formalised small and medium enterprises, the growth of business and transition from one scale to another as well as inward foreign direct investment. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how this business growth can be sustained, particularly in the area of talent management, within the framework of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper presents the findings of a narrative inquiry conducted in 2016 on an expert panel of talent managers in businesses based in South Africa.
Findings
The focus of the inquiry was the challenges in talent currently faced by South African businesses and what possible solutions, that address the question of sustainable development, may lie in talent management practices. The study finds that there may be scope for the augmentation of current practice in psychometric testing which may address a plethora of problems currently defining the talent context in African business.
Originality/value
The growth of African businesses has presented interesting challenges in managing the African business particularly in the area of human resources and talent management. A persistent notion is the question of sustaining this growth on the continent. As enterprise grows, the need for talent is ever more pressing. This paper seeks to present pathways to sustainability in this regards.
Keywords
Citation
Mwila, N.K. and Turay, M.I.S. (2018), "Augmenting talent management for sustainable development in Africa", World Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development, Vol. 14 No. 1, pp. 41-49. https://doi.org/10.1108/WJEMSD-03-2017-0012
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited