Last week Thursday, the British Council held a reception for visiting Leeds Business School Chair of African Business, Professor Steve Carter in Harare. Leeds Business School has partnered with Mananga Centre of Regional Integration and Management Development of Swaziland and Mandel Training Centre to offer a one year master’s degree in leadership and change management. An induction programme for the degree programme was also held at the weekend at Mandel and it is hoped that the first group of students under the degree programme will begin lessons early February. I had the opportunity to chat with Professor Carter on the sidelines of the reception and the following are excerpts from that discussion
Shereni Jongwe (SJ): Welcome to Zimbabwe Steve. I understand that this is not your first visit to the country. What are your impressions of Zimbabwe from your previous visit and this one?
Prof Steve Carter (SC): Thank you Shereni. I haven’t been in Zimbabwe since 2005. Prior to that, I was resident here working with the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and the Zimbabwe Institute of Management. I have a number of impressions of this beautiful country. One thing that has always struck me is the indomitable spirit of Zimbabweans which continues to drive them notwithstanding the evident challenges that they have to contend with. The people of this country are naturally friendly and it is something that struck me on my recent visit last X-mas. I was met by friendly staff at the Airport and this seems true everywhere else that I have been to during this visit. My interactions with various local partners have also shown me a genuine desire for co-operation across the board. Looking at what needs to be done within the short and medium term, there is no denying the fact that the country is need of significant infrastructural development. Also, over the past decade, Zimbabwe has suffered significant ‘brain drain’ and there is need to address this issue urgently. All in all, it is quite evident that Zimbabwe is on the up and it will hold an attraction to those who have left but this will have serious implications for the host neighbouring countries.
SJ: What is the exact purpose of your visit to Zimbabwe?
SC: I am here to work with our partners, Mananga and Mandel, to bring the Leeds Metropolitan University’s MSc degree in Leadership and Change Management to Zimbabwe. In the fullness of time, it is our intention to bring other programmes in conjunction with different local partners. I must hasten to add that we view these initiatives as long-term in nature underpinning our commitment to their success.
SJ: Could you please shed some light on the degree programme.
SC: Firstly, the master’s degree in leadership and change management was not born in the UK context but is a product of contextual research into the leadership needs of Africa’s businesses. The degree is vocationally oriented in the sense that students will learn the latest concepts and techniques but these will have to be applied to the real work situation. The programme appeals to both middle and senior managers in the non-governmental, public and private sectors and is delivered in Assisted Distance Learning format. It is based on progressive problem solving and this is reflected in each module. A major attraction of this one-year programme is that it is truly international with students being able to transfer any credits obtained in the programme to any university globally offering a similar programme.
SJ: In what ways do you see your programme assisting Zimbabwe to deal with the deleterious effects of the ‘brain drain’ and contribute to national workforce development?
SC: There are three ways in which an economy can grow. Economies can grow on the basis of the stages of the development cycle or through strengthening primary and secondary education. Another way, which essentially informs our approach, is to develop masters’ degree programmes where you develop key skills in people with first degrees who will then deploy these skills to national development. Our programme develops the analytical, synthesis and problem-solving skills which are all vital in entrepreneurial development. There is potential for entrepreneurship in Zimbabwe as a route to achieving economic and social development
SJ: In May last year, I had the opportunity to interview your colleague Professor Lonnie Strickland on his views on the quality of strategic management in Zimbabwe and he had positive things to say about local managers. What are your perceptions on the quality of Zimbabwean managers?
SC: To answer this evidence-based question, I would like to draw your attention to the first law of management which states that effective managers are those that are able to steer their organizations during turbulent times. A lot of Zimbabwean companies have survived the tumultuous times of the past decade. That alone is sufficient evidence of the high pedigree of local managers. There are other sources of such evidence. A lot of Zimbabwean managers are serving and flourishing as top-notch managers in the Diasporas, including the UK. I have also noticed in interactions with local managers that they always tend to ask the right questions. This shows that they have a solid strategic orientation to management which is very critical in these highly fluid times of globalisation.
SJ: What are the key issues facing African managers in the new decade?
SC: Let me point out that the dominant African business leadership approach is one of collectivism and this tends to work extremely well across the continent. Now with specific reference to your question, I think the first challenge for African managers is on how to live in a global society. Africa needs to play its role in that society beyond being a source of cheap raw materials. A second challenge is how to create an enabling environment for investors, both foreign and local. There is need to create a stable environment underpinned by sound infrastructure, good governance, strong and stable supporting institutions and property rights. At organizational level, managers need to create the right conditions which nurture high levels of employee engagement. This will entail providing training opportunities to staff and generally showing a caring attitude to workforce needs by management.
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Shereni is Principal Consultant at Global Workforce Solutions (Pvt) Ltd- a human resources and training company. For feedback, sms 0913 002 275 or e-mail: consultgws@gmail.com
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