HRM in Africa: Understanding New Scenarios and Challenges in an Emerging Economy PDF
Preview HRM in Africa: Understanding New Scenarios and Challenges in an Emerging Economy
HRM in Africa Understanding New Scenarios and Challenges in an Emerging Economy HRM in Africa John E. Opute HRM in Africa Understanding New Scenarios and Challenges in an Emerging Economy John E. Opute London South Bank Business School London South Bank University London, UK ISBN 978-3-030-47127-9 ISBN 978-3-030-47128-6 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-47128-6 ©The Editor(s) (if applicable) andThe Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whetherthewholeorpartofthematerialisconcerned,specificallytherightsoftranslation,reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way,andtransmissionorinformationstorageandretrieval,electronicadaptation,computersoftware, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publicationdoesnot imply,evenintheabsenceof aspecific statement,thatsuch namesareexempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. Thepublisher,theauthorsandtheeditorsaresafetoassumethattheadviceandinformationinthis book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made.The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Cover illustration: © Melisa Hasan ThisPalgraveMacmillanimprintispublishedbytheregisteredcompanySpringerNatureSwitzerland AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland In memory of my parents—Chief John Agidigbo Opute and Mrs. Janet Odinde Opute (Nee Oyita), who suffered and laboured that I might not suffer. Foreword Africahasinthelastdecadebecomeanincreasinglysignificantcontinent in terms of its global economic and political significance, but this has not been reflected in the literature evaluating and explaining this devel- opment. Therefore, this book is a welcome addition towards providing a particular, and under-researched, focus on ‘Human Resource Manage- ment’ (HRM) issues pertinent to a selected number of African coun- tries. In particular, the book comes at a time where Africa is becoming a significant contributor towards global wealth which is increasingly, in terms of global output, shifting towards emerging economies. This is reflected by the number of countries, China being an excellent example, and economic pertinent areas, such as the European Union, establishing partnerships with African countries. Africa itself continues to be marked bychangesimpactingonthepopulation—thecontinuingboominpopu- lation growth coupled to the steady increase of urbanisation having a profound effect. However, as the author clearly demonstrates, Africa is not homoge- nous; it is a complex and diverse continent composed of dramatic differences in the socio-economic and political structures, its multiple vii viii Foreword individual countries manifest. The book boldly selects a number of these countries, illustrating not only vast geographical differences but also, and importantly, clear societal and cultural differentiations: Ghana, Nigeria, Morocco, Sudan, Zambia and Sierra Leone; in effect the coun- tries selected span West, East, North and South Africa. These countries share the overall global economic influence on their countries, as well as the major difficulties arising from the new production revolution, the creation of new markets and, of course, the search for ‘green growth’ models as a response to climate change. It is in this context, that the internalisation of management and the related HRM procedures and issues in the selected African context are analysed and explained by the author, an essential understanding required for managers from outside Africa focused on human resource (HR) functions. The book, in this respect, makes a unique contribu- tion which should inspire further research and publications on these HR (and related) functions. Given the enormous diversity and convo- lutions of African countries, the book’s selected country examples illus- trate the intricate tasks international managers are confronted with when engaged in business and management. The book has rationally focused on a number of key HRM topics—recruitment and selection, training and development, appraisal/rewards and promotion, succes- sion planning, management of disputes/exists and retirement.These key aspects of HRM are highlighted and discussed in the framework of the selected countries’ cultural prerogatives and differences—a crucial factor in understanding and managing the immense diversity of organisations. In addition, the author succeeds in linking the infrastructure of the HRM process, that is, for example, the specific pertinent legislation and regulations, to the wider national context of the African states employed in his analysis, thus the impact of culture on shaping political ideolo- gies is clearly demonstrated. There is, of course, an extensive corpus of literature which has examined culture in relation to business systems, employee relations and HRM as a consequence of the globalisation phenomenon. However, the author’s focus on specific African coun- tries, as related to a designated set of significant HRM issues, provides a new cultural perspective. It emphasises the fundamental realisation that Western managers, for example, operating in an African context need to Foreword ix include an understanding of cultural differences between the diversity of African nations. Concepts of culture in the context of international management are diverse but a predominant consideration is that it is holistic.The book clearly recognises this in the detail it provides on the deeperimpactsfromhistoricalevolution,politicalandeconomicsystems and social values and configurations shaping behavioural attitudes. It is this complex matrix that management confronts when engaging with employees and in Africa, the political spectrum ranges from political democratic structures, such as in Ghana, to the constraints imposed by internal conflicts, such as the civil war in Sudan. With the multiple and varied influences, and the dynamic nature of these components, the impact on management dealing with HRM is immense. One of the deficiencies in cross-cultural HRM literature has been a systematic approach to contextualisation and the value of this in understanding organisational behaviour. The various managerial strate- gies, placed in a contextual framework, in the selected African coun- tries in this book provide an exceptional guide. The efficacy of the advancement of democratic structures in African societies is distinctly related to the procedures and processes instituted at, for example, the company level. As an example, Nigeria provides an illustration of a country where individual companies have evolved participatory struc- tures, allowing employees to exercise a modest influence. At the same time the trade unions continue to drive towards a formal impact by employees through labour laws and regulations. The right for collec- tiverepresentationofemployees,throughtradeunions,isafundamental democratic feature and is by no means universal in African nations. By examining some of the crucial HRM topics, the book makes transparent how far the gap between the Western manager’s compre- hension of democracy and the reality of African practice and percep- tion of democracy is. The examples given are numerous: the practice of nepotism and paternalism in recruitment, the benefits of patronage and support from important people for allocating rewards and promo- tions. Above all, this is the powerful influence of the individual African country’s political structures and its ramifications—the extent to which thesecontrol,ornot,corruptionsandnegativeinfluencesonpoliciesand strategies employed in the economy. It is precisely these aspects which x Foreword give the book a valuable pragmatic dimension and the insights neces- sitated by HR managers active in multinational companies and those studyingorinneedofunderstandingAfrica’sfast-developingeconomies. It is enhanced by each chapter providing a series of questions allowing the reader to reflect and debate the concrete consequences of analysing the complexities of HR in an African context. Professor Emeritus Karl Koch Business School London South Bank University London, UK Preface This book has been made possible as a result of my continuing desire to share my over 25 years of working experience in the HR function in local and multinational organisations, with a significant working period inAfrican-basedbusinesses.ApartfromhavingledseveralHRinitiatives, mydirectinvolvementinrunningamedium-sizedmanufacturingorgan- isation with responsibility for profit and loss (with all related functional heads—with different national backgrounds reporting to me) provided yet a holistic perspective of people management with all the intricacies. Building on this, I took full advantage of my academic and industry network to interview and hold discussions with a couple of colleagues andtheirviewshavealsoenrichedeverychapterofthebook.Ampleased to provide their details as follows: Zineb El Abbassi—Morocco: Worked for 3 years as Business Analyst/Communities Lead in Morocco and holds a master’s degree in Entrepreneurship and International Development. Currently a researchstudentatUniversidaddeCastilla-LaMancha,Toledo,Spain. xi
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