Moses Acquaah, David B. Zoogah and Eileen N. Kwesiga
The purpose of this paper is to review and summarizes the articles that were accepted for the special issue focusing on “Advancing Africa through management knowledge and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review and summarizes the articles that were accepted for the special issue focusing on “Advancing Africa through management knowledge and practice”. The paper also provides suggestions for future research focus for researchers on management issues in and about Africa.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper presents a conceptual review the distinctiveness of the five articles in the special issue which focus a personal reflection about management research and education in Africa, effective leadership development in Africa and the African diaspora, performance management implementation in the public sector; internationalization process of African businesses with special reference to banks; and strategic factors that could be emphasized by African firms to improve their performance. These papers are synthesized to present a coherent management research framework for Africa.
Findings
African management research requires a strategic choice approach, which asks interesting questions focusing on issues relevant to the growth of African businesses and the development of African national economies. African management research needs an identity that is uniquely African such as the intersection of private and public (including governments) interests; and the blurred nature of the formal and informal sectors.
Originality/value
The paper presents some opportunities and value of conducting management research in and about Africa in the areas of leadership and also followership.
Details
Keywords
The author was invited to give the 2011 Inaugural Conference address of the Africa Academy of Management (AFAM). The purpose of this paper is to summarize the remarks of the…
Abstract
Purpose
The author was invited to give the 2011 Inaugural Conference address of the Africa Academy of Management (AFAM). The purpose of this paper is to summarize the remarks of the author's keynote address, so as to make them more widely available to varied audiences and to stimulate research and discussion about the future of African management.
Design/methodology/approach
It is a personal story of an African pioneer in African management education, research and practice. The author also shares personal thoughts for building business schools in Africa.
Findings
AFAM and its members have a role to play to advance Africa's management, leadership and overall development.
Originality/value
The idea is not for others to replicate the author's journey but to learn from it as they forge their own.
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The management development specialist, local or international, mustunderstand Africa′s historical background in order to contributeeffectively to the continent′s current…
Abstract
The management development specialist, local or international, must understand Africa′s historical background in order to contribute effectively to the continent′s current management development needs. Important elements of management development in pre‐colonial Africa, from which lessons can be learned for present and future management development programmes, are outlined. The impact of the colonial period on institutional and management development, and the need to draw on local resources and indigenous knowledge systems for designing and implementing these programmes, is discussed. The institutional infrastructure commonly used for management development in Africa is outlined and the objectives, challenges and opportunities of national and regional institutes are discussed. Finally, practical guidelines for solicitation, design, implementation, and evaluation of management development programmes in Africa are provided.
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Moses N. Kiggundu and Aareni Uruthirapathy
Exploration of the policy reforms necessary to strengthen Canada's competitiveness among world trading economies. The paper aims to compare Canada's competitiveness with two…
Abstract
Purpose
Exploration of the policy reforms necessary to strengthen Canada's competitiveness among world trading economies. The paper aims to compare Canada's competitiveness with two economic partners, the USA and the UK, and two emerging economies, China and India.
Design/methodology/approach
Data from the annual Global Competitiveness Reports (GCRs) were used to compare Canada with the other countries.
Findings
Canada requires a national strategy to create a generation of Canadian innovators, entrepreneurs and executives with a global mindset.
Research limitations/implications
Although Canada has many global trading partners, the paper compares Canadian competitiveness with only two economic partners and two emerging economics. Also, only data from the GCRs are used. Other measures of competitiveness need to be taken into consideration to better understand Canada's global and business competitiveness.
Originality/value
This paper provides new insights into Canada's lack of global competitiveness. The main reasons for this lack of competitiveness are analysed and recommendations are provided for Canadian policy makers to enhance competitiveness.
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Helen LaVan and Patrick J. Murphy
Competition and entrepreneurship are driving forces in the development of economic systems. They create jobs, new opportunities to generate value, and lead to the fulfillment of…
Abstract
Competition and entrepreneurship are driving forces in the development of economic systems. They create jobs, new opportunities to generate value, and lead to the fulfillment of personal career and life goals. As such, it is important to understand the basic economic and cultural factors that influence these activities in developing economies. We undertook a series of analyses in an examination of a heterogeneous sample of economic zones in Southeast Asia. Results illustrate relations between national culture, human development, and business and growth competitiveness. Implications hold that human development and power distance are enablers of entrepreneurial activities in these cultural and national settings. Our contribution is instrumental to development of public policy and regulatory guidelines for facilitating entrepreneurial activity in the developing economies of Southeast Asia.
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Robert C. Moussetis, Ali Abu Rahma and George Nakos
This paper examined the relationships between national culture and strategic behavior in the banking industry in Jordan and U.S. The study first developed a strategic posture and…
Abstract
This paper examined the relationships between national culture and strategic behavior in the banking industry in Jordan and U.S. The study first developed a strategic posture and secondly a cultural profile for the top management of the research domain. The strategic posture suggested the readiness for strategic response from managers. The degree of readiness was correlated with the constructed cultural profile of the managers and financial performance of the banks. The study found significant relationships between certain national cultural strategic characteristics, (risk propensity, time orientation, and openness to change, uncertainty avoidance and managerial perception of control over the environment) strategic behavior and financial performance.
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Kenneth R. Gray and Robert E. Karp
The traditional role of business as essentially fulfilling a limited economic role has its articulate proponents (Milton Friedman, 1962; Theodore Levitt, 1958; Frederick Hayek…
Abstract
The traditional role of business as essentially fulfilling a limited economic role has its articulate proponents (Milton Friedman, 1962; Theodore Levitt, 1958; Frederick Hayek, 1944). Friedman and others who see business as having a very central but limited role in society contend that the business of business is business — not social issues or politics.
Monty van Wart and Joseph N. Cayer
The 1950s and 1960s were times of haphazard and yet vigorous growth in many academic and policy disciplines. The end of the World War II left the United States at the economic…
Abstract
The 1950s and 1960s were times of haphazard and yet vigorous growth in many academic and policy disciplines. The end of the World War II left the United States at the economic center of the world with commensurate technological, political, and cultural might. For many products, much of the higher technology, free-market leadership, and new social and administrative models, the world looked inordinately ‘to the United States.’ American leadership as a countervailing force to communism was particularly evident. However, foreign aid during the time, impressive though the Four Point and the Marshall Plan might have been, was as much an answer to an emergency as a strategic plan. Precursors ‘to the U.S. Agency for International Development’ (USAID) were little more than continuing resolutions. During this time comparative and development administration were coming into importance as academic domains of discourse with an inchoate sense of identity.10
The purpose of this paper is to provide a systematic review of the literature on school leadership and management in South Africa, linked to the 20th anniversary of democratic…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide a systematic review of the literature on school leadership and management in South Africa, linked to the 20th anniversary of democratic government and integrated education.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted a systematic review of all published work since 2007 with a more selective review of sources before 2007.
Findings
The findings show emerging evidence about the development of school leadership and management in South Africa but they also highlight on-going challenges, including poor learner outcomes, conflict with teacher unions, uneasy relationships between principals and school governing bodies, and leadership which remains focused on administration rather than teaching and learning.
Research limitations/implications
The findings show that research on school leadership and management is developing but remains limited in terms of its scope and a reliance on small-scale unfunded projects.
Practical/implications
The findings confirm the need for specialist leadership training for current and aspiring principals and for other senior and middle leaders.
Social/implications
The findings show that South Africa remains a divided society with great differences in the quality of education available to learners, based on social class rather than race.
Originality/value
The paper’s value lies in the comprehensive and systematic review of research on school leadership.