Empowering Employees for Enhanced Firm Performance in Zimbabwe’s Manufacturing Sector: The Case for Bulawayo Based Manufacturers.

Abstract

Zimbabwean firms particularly those in manufacturing have been greatly affected by the opening up of the economy which has seen the influx of cheaper foreign goods. This has created intense competition for the sector as customers opt for the more affordable foreign products. The result of this competition has been the decline of capacity utilisation by the local manufacturers which has also been accompanied by firms closing down, retrenching staff or at times refusing to award salaries that match the poverty datum line as they seek to survive. On the other hand, employees faced with possibility of losing employment or earning low salaries have accused employers/managers of being self-centered in the decision making process. It is for this reason that this study was carried out to ascertain the extent of employee empowerment in Zimbabwe’s manufacturing sector. The study is confined to large scale manufacturers who are on Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) register operating in Bulawayo,the 2nd capital city of the country. The study uses the qualitative approach and is case study of Bulawayo based manufacturers. Proportional representation is used to draw a sample 33 firms from 16 strata that make up the sub-sectors of the country’s manufacturing sector. The study findings reveal that the sampled firms are moderately high on engaging employees in empowerment programmes. However the findings also reveal that managers, to a large extent, treat employee contributions as only fairly important. Thus the study concludes that there are fa8irly low levels of employee empowerment in the sector in Bulawayo. The study recommends that as a way of raising employee levels of empowerment, the firms should adopt the Strategic Human Resources Management and the Total Quality Management Approach.