Abstract
Sub-standard infrastructure is one of the most significant challenges for economic development in East Africa. Specifically, the availability of affordable, locally produced cement is critical to infrastructural and economic development and job creation in the region. Thus, it is critical for cement companies to achieve better operational and financial results so they can satisfy the need for higher-quality cement for infrastructure projects and to deal with increasing environmental issues. In this article we evaluate, using de Waal’s high performance organisations (HPO) framework, the quality of three cement companies in Kenya and Tanzania to identify improvements these companies can make to their internal organisation and operations so they can achieve better financial and operational results. The research results indicate that whilst all three companies were yet to achieve HPO status, the best performing company with the highest HPO score also had the best financial performance over the past 10 years. The research also resulted in a series of recommendations on the basis of the weaknesses identified in the cement companies.
Highlights
Sub-standard infrastructure in East Africa has been a major impediment to regional economic development and negatively impacts the quality of life of the residents in the region (Gregory and Sovacool, 2019)
As the evaluation mechanism for the study the de Waal high performance organisations (HPO) Framework was chosen because, as Do and Mai (2020, p. 305) stated, “across the HPO literature, we found only the HPO framework developed by de Waal (2012) as an example of scientifically validated conceptualization of HPO.”
This section first provides the results of the HPO Questionnaire and the financial results of the companies, and discusses these results in-depth using information collected during the interviews
Summary
Sub-standard infrastructure in East Africa has been a major impediment to regional economic development and negatively impacts the quality of life of the residents in the region (Gregory and Sovacool, 2019). A number of studies, notably Kenya Association of Manufacturers (2006), Ministry of Trade and Industry (2007), World Bank (2016) and UNIDO (2001), identified inadequate infrastructure as the most significant challenge for economic development and creating better livelihoods in Kenya and Tanzania. The availability of affordable locally produced cement is critical to cheaper housing, and more infrastructural and economic development and job creation. Cement is a key ingredient in the construction sector, for infrastructure development. It is critical for cement companies to achieve better operational and financial results so they can satisfy the increasing demand for higher-quality cement for infrastructure projects. Cement production consumes large quantities of raw materials and energy and is a significant contributor to climate change, accounting for approximately eight percent of global man-made carbon dioxide (Miller et al, 2018)
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