Working With Africans

Is it effective to transfer corporate values into African operations?

Most companies have explicit and often espoused corporate values. These are often formalized into mission statements, tag lines, branding and marketing promotions.  The idea of establishing and communicating corporate values was popularized by management gurus Tom Peters and Bob Waterman, and thousands of management consultants have created a healthy business working with leaders developing corporate values. Corporate [...]

Managing Diversity in Africa

Most African societies feature a large number of indigenous ethnic groups as well as minorities of Africans from foreign descent. Such diversity brings about numerous challenges not only at the level of the society but also at the level of the organizations and of the businesses. The situation varies from place to place:  in some [...]

Ethics varies across cultures

During the time I have been living and working in different African countries, I have always sought to understand how foreigners were adjusting to the local cultural context. I have therefore not missed an opportunity to ask questions especially to the foreigners who had a long and diversified career in different African countries. While these [...]

Brainstorming… an Universal Tool?

Recently a suggestion was made on a forum on Africa to adopt a ‘fun way to do brainstorming’  I immediately recognized the American flavor of this message and this struck me as the sender was not from the USA. In a US environment it is hype to call ‘fun’ any work-related activity. It helps in motivating people to [...]

What is the meaning of being service-minded in Africa?

African countries transition towards market economics as well as the creation of common markets between the regions and sub regions of the continent, suggest that more and more African businesses are developing a service-minded approach to their customers both on their domestic market and beyond. But what does it mean to be serviced minded? Is [...]

Project management in Africa

Projects offer opportunities for organizations to derive comparative advantage. Subsequently an increasing number of organizations recognize that their value added work is carried out through projects. They invest a significant effort to improve projects performance, which has resulted in project management becoming its own specialized branch of management. Project managers play a critical role during [...]

New opportunities with the East African Common Market

With the recent creation of an East African Common Market, many firms in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi are excited about the new business opportunities that lie ahead… They would be wise to enrich their perspective by the experience gained by other countries, which were or are in a similar situation in other parts [...]

The Challenge of bringing rationality into African organizations

Recently BBC pointed out some interesting findings from The Pew Research Center,, a nonpartisan fact tank, who surveyed attitudes to religion and to morality in 19 African countries. Out of 25,000 people surveyed, 40 % indicated that they believe in witchcraft. Results are not even: Tanzania scored the highest with 93% of the surveyed people [...]

Consulting in Africa

Looking at lucrative prospective markets, some consultants are considering assignments in African countries where large businesses and multinationals are moving. Transition towards liberalized economies, steady growth rates, massive infrastructure development, African governments’ international support and monitoring, and an emerging African middle class are some of the factors that make direct foreign investments attractive on the [...]

The challenge of respecting African Cultures

For past few decades, businesses venturing beyond the borders of their domestic markets have faced challenges in dealing with their foreign partners. Cultural training has helped many in adjusting to a foreign communication styles or social etiquette. In the same line, adjustments have been suggested in the field of marketing and management. Today, segments of [...]