By Jules Nartey-Tokoli
The kind of management practice that we have in Africa that we are known to practice is what was handed down to us by the West.
Of course, this is not to bedevil the western style of management or anything like that because there are so many principles in there that we can draw from and make them our own by customizing them to fit our specific exigences in Africa.
So, today we’re going to look at some management practices that need to change if we really want to see economic emancipation through the development and growth of our businesses.
The critical role of the private sector
Indeed, the private sector is called the engine of growth of the economy, and for good reasons; it is the private sector that creates jobs and motivates economic activity which, in turn, makes it possible for the government to get their taxes so they can take care of human developmental projects and other forms of development. Thus the private sector is very, very critical, which makes it imperative that these management practices that we are going to be talking about are what we should be seeing.
It is true that change is hard; change is very hard! But it is imperative because as the saying goes the only thing that remains constant in this world is change. And as change happens, we need to adapt in order to take advantage of the new circumstances so that we are prepared adequately to face the future.
But if we decide to just go by the status quo then we’re going to remain stagnant, and you know what stagnant water does; it breeds all sorts of unwanted materials and creatures which makes it stink very badly! That is what would happen to the private sector, symbolically speaking, if we don’t take these steps.
While it is granted that change is hard, for larger organizations and it would be even harder for them to really implement some of what I’m going to talk about, we will also see how that can be done. But our focus here is especially on the SME’s (small businesses and one-man businesses who employ from 5 to 200 employees).
Some of these management practices include those that you may have learned from, maybe, where you used to work and would have thought that it is the right management style or practice. Hence, as you start your small business, you may think it’s alright to do things that way, but we’re going to see today that a lot of things need to change.
Legacy of the industrial revolution
The management practices that we know today were mainly developed in the first industrial revolution and hundreds of years ago (3-4 hundred years ago). A lot of things have changed in society since then, that have changed people’s outlook on life. Formal education has also changed people’s worldview. Technology a lot of other things have also changed. Thus it only make sense that those management practices need to be looked at them again.
Human resource management
I want to start first by looking at human resource management. We all appreciate that the most important resource of an organization is I’s human resources. And so, an organization that takes good care of its employees sets themselves on the right path to success. As they say, “the mind is a terrible thing to waste” and the human resources are the “mind” of the organization. That is why it is very imperative that if we do not want to waste the “mind”, then definitely we have to take a very good look at the human resources–how you relate to your employees and how you pick the kind of systems to put in place to motivate them or to encourage them. Those are very crucial!
In his Communist Manifesto, Karl Marx talked about Alienation and mentioned four types of alienation:
The first one is alienation from self; the second one is alienation from others; third, alienation from product; and forth, alienation from production. We want to examine how you can, as much as possible, eschew alienation in your setup in order to boost the morale of your human resources and make good use of your organization’s “mind”.
Alienation from others: One word that runs in business is competition. Thus strategies are written or carved in order to “beat” the competition. However, on this note, we are concentrating on competition within the workplace.
In an environment where employees are fighting against one another to be the first up the corporate ladder, what kind of environment do you think that creates for your organization; peace and unity? Do you think that a familial spirit of co-operation, as is required in a football team, is possible? Does it encourage the spirit of innovation and creativity?
Alienation from product
The next form of alienation to avoid in your organization or in your SME is alienation from product. Here, alienation from product means that your employees are not involved in the decision making process of what to produce, what to manufacture or in a service industry what’s what gamut of services to provide. Yes, all of this is done by Top Management and handed down to the employee to implement.
In this case also, the employee doesn’t own the product. They just come to do their job and go back home. And that is one thing that you want to shun, because if you do not want to waste their mind, which is a terrible thing to waste, you would not want to look down on any one of your employees. Each one of them, from the cleaner to top management, is endowed with intelligence. And it is the course of wisdom to consult them and get their views in the process of crafting your product or service that you want to deliver to the market. And in that way, the employees also come to own the product; and so are involved in it every step of the way, and they make sure that the product or service goes out to the market and succeeds. So, by all means, you want to avoid alienation from alienation from product.
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The author is a dynamic entrepreneur and the Founder and Group CEO of Groupe Soleil Vision, made up of Soleil Consults (US), LLC, NubianBiz.com and Soleil Publications. He has an extensive background In Strategy, Management, Entrepreneurship, Premium Audit Advisory, And Web Consulting. With professional experiences spanning both Ghana and the United States, Jules has developed a reputation as a thought leader in fields such as corporate governance, leadership, e-commerce, and customer service. His publications explore a variety of topics, including economics, information technology, marketing and branding, making him a prominent voice in discussions on development and business innovation across Africa. Through NubianBiz.com, he actively champions intra-African trade and technology-driven growth to empower SMEs across the continent.
