Organisations In Africa Research Articles

Reexamining Knowledge Management Education in Higher Institutions of Learning in Africa: A South African Perspective

Abstract: For twenty-first-century higher education institutions to stay relevant in a rapidly evolving techno-economic environment, knowledge management (KM) education is crucial in their curriculum. KM education expands the theoretical underpinnings of the discipline, producing skilled and competent professionals to implement KM in organizations and businesses. Researchers have reported the lack of an educational career path for KM professionals and have advocated for the need to build a professional qualification that can serve to establish KM, with agreed and accepted entry requirements. KM at educational institutions is still emerging as an interdisciplinary research and teaching discipline, notwithstanding the fact that the concept emerged as an academic discipline in the 1990s. Although KM has been established at private- and public-sector organizations in Africa, it is yet to be integrated as a discipline at most of these institutions. Drawing from five different perspectives of KM, a guideline for KM education is presented comprising an integrated KM curriculum that includes every KM discipline. The article advocates for KM education at higher education institutions from an African perspective. Since the discipline is still maturing, KM researchers have advocated for an annual survey of KM education to track progress toward a mature academic discipline.

The Legal Framework for Regional Organisations in Africa and the Proactive Role in Addressing Threats to International Peace and Security

The Legal Framework for Regional Organisations in Africa and the Proactive Role in Addressing Threats to International Peace and Security

Work and Employment Practices in an Intriguing Sub-Saharan Context: Unpacking Salient Endogenous Traits

Although cultural beliefs and practices have been shown as essential drivers of organizational employment policies and practices, the role of endogenous traits in managing employees in organizations in Africa has received less attention in research. We address this gap by employing an exploratory qualitative study approach to ascertain how Sub-Saharan African cultural norms and values shape the design and implementation of human resource management (HRM) in local and foreign-owned organizations in Cameroon. Data were drawn from key stakeholders, including human resource (HR) managers, trade union officials, staff representatives, and top management performing HR and strategy duties. The evidence delineates four major endogenous (socioculturally anchored) organizational HRM phenomena and their relevance for the organizations, employees, and the local community. This paper argues that the observed endogenous work and employment practices serve as the “glue” between organizational stakeholders, beget immense reverence, enhance employees’ experience and well-being, and are appropriate caryatids of modern organizational HRM in Africa.

Patient characteristics, surgery outcomes, presumed aetiology and other characteristics of fistula surgeries and related procedures supported by Fistula Foundation from 2019 to 2021: a multicentre, retrospective observational study

ObjectivesObstetric fistula is a devastating childbirth injury primarily caused by prolonged, obstructed labour. It leaves women incontinent, severely stigmatised and isolated. Fistula repair surgery can restore a woman’s health and...

Land Transportation Infrastructure and Economic Growth: An Assessment of the SADC Regional Infrastructure Development Master Plan

This Southern African Development Community (SADC), as a regional economic integration organization in Africa, has 16 member countries with rich natural resources and tourism resources, attracting the attention of global investors. Although the region's transport infrastructure is among the leading in Africa, it still lags far behind global standards. This study provides a comprehensive assessment of the current state of transport infrastructure in SADC, with a particular focus on road transport facilities within the region. Based on SADC's official "SADC Regional Infrastructure Development Master Plan Transport Sector Plan, 2012", this paper evaluates the current situation of its road transport infrastructure and conducts an in-depth analysis of the future road development plan in the plan. This research aims to reveal the challenges faced by SADC at the infrastructure level, and provide a comprehensive and in-depth perspective for policy makers, investors and other relevant stakeholders. At the same time, this study can provide some new ideas for future research and provide new solutions to the problems of transportation infrastructure in the SADC region.

ERP Systems in Humanitarian and Private Sectors’ Supply Chains: Challenges and Success Factors

Purpose: This paper investigates and compares challenges and success factors within different supply chain ERPs used globally across humanitarian and private organizations in Africa, Asia, Canada, Australia, Europe, and the Americas. Eighteen challenges and 27 success factors were selected from literature published between 2015 and 2020 to determine whether they are equally relevant globally in the private and humanitarian sectors. Design/methodology/approach: The research utilized an anonymous online questionnaire advertised on different social media websites and completed by 50 humanitarian supply chain professionals and 53 private sector professionals worldwide. The collected data was analyzed using a descriptive statistic–crosstabulation analysis to show the differences or similarities in supply chain professionals’ opinions from humanitarian and private organizations. Additionally, the hypotheses were tested by using the Mann–Whitney Test. Findings: Findings revealed that all the examined success factors were supported except one, which was similar in both sectors. However, the challenges during the implementation of ERPs differ in these two sectors — with four success factors not supported in the humanitarian sector and nine not supported challenges in the private sector. Originality: This study’s significance is that, as per the researchers’ knowledge, such a comparative study was never done before, and it will allow both sectors’ professionals to understand all the elements mentioned above better and integrate them while implementing supply chain ERPs.

Mediating Role of Leadership Style on Organizational Citizenship Behavior in the Public Service Sector

This study examined the relationships between transformational and transactional leadership and organizational citizenship behavior in the Public Service Sector of Sierra Leone.
 While most prior studies have examined transformational leadership-organizational citizenship behavior and transactional leadership-organizational citizenship behavior relationships in developed countries from the western world, testing the mediating influence of transactional and transformational leaderships on employees’ citizenship behaviors in public sector organizations in Africa remains scarce.
 It also tries to fill a critical research gap in human resource management by focusing on a non-western context. The constructs: transformational and transactional leadership, organizational citizenship behavior are not very familiar in the human resource research domain in Sierra Leone as opposed to other styles of leadership like Autocratic, Laissez faire etc that are commonly used. Consequently, the broader objective of this research was to examine the links between transformational leadership, transactional leadership, and organizational citizenship behavior at the Public Service Sector in Sierra Leone.
 To enrich the debate further, this study explored the relationship between transformational and transactional leadership styles and employees’ organizational citizenship behavior.
 The research questions focused on the correlation between leadership styles and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB).
 To achieve the objective of the research, a case study research design was used; Quantitative research technique also used; the main variables in the study were used to design a questionnaire in collecting the data: using a sample population of 250 through simple random sampling to conduct this study. This research followed a structural equation model (SEM) approach with validity and reliability tests done to validate the data before testing the hypothesis.
 The survey planet - a virtual data analysis software was used to analyze the completed online survey items. It has an automated analysis system. The likert scale of 1 to 5 was used to gauge responses from respondents. Statistical analysis method is used for the analysis. Based on the results obtained, the study deduces implications for both theory and practice. Hence, all public service institutions must raise managers' awareness and train them properly so that they can efficiently improve and manage the affairs of the institution.
 Limitations and suggestions for upcoming studies have been discussed.

Failing women and girls during Covid-19: The limits of regional gender norms in Africa

How do we account for the ability or otherwise of regional organisations in the global South to enable equitable and inclusive responses to the COVID-19 pandemic? We answer this question with a focus on Africa and in relation to the rights of women and girls. Drawing on theoretical insights from Feminist Global Health Security and from data on the African Union, other regional organisations in Africa and from non-governmental organisations, local activists and medical centres, we show that regional organisations acted quickly to identify the gendered socio-economic and health needs of women and girls and alerted member states to their responsibility to consider gender rights in their policy responses. But weak gender norms led to a disconnect between this early recognition of the importance of policies to protect women and girls and the behaviour of regional organisations, which could not lead a gender sensitive response or engineer one in member state governments.

AU Security Council Reform Proposal: Principle of Equality and Challenges

In the 21st century, the international status of African countries has risen. The power and status mismatch has the AU seeking a boost in the UN. Africans strive for autonomous resolution of indigenous challenges. The failure of the United Nations to resolve African issues has aroused African dissatisfaction, as evidenced by historical events such as the Rwandan massacre, the Somalia famine, and the Congo civil war. Africa claims that the current power structure within the Security Council pays insufficient attention to the interests of the continent, prompting the submission of proposals for reform of the African Union Security Council. This proposal is in line with the principle of equality in the UN Charter, especially the principle of regional balance. The equal cooperation between Africa and China also reflects the AUs understanding of the principle of equality. However, the prospect of the AU Security Council reform proposal faces multiple challenges. The AUs weak intervention capability as a leading organization in Africa and the leadership struggles within Africa are all factors that need to be considered.

Detecting trends and shocks in terrorist activities.

Although there are some techniques for dealing with sparse and concentrated discrete data, standard time-series analyses appear ill-suited to understanding the temporal patterns of terrorist attacks due to the sparsity of the events. This article addresses these issues by proposing a novel technique for analysing low-frequency temporal events, such as terrorism, based on their cumulative curve and corresponding gradients. Using an iterative algorithm based on a piecewise linear function, our technique detects trends and shocks observed in the events associated with terrorist groups that would not necessarily be visible using other methods. The analysis leverages disaggregated data on political violence from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) to analyse the intensity of the two most violent terrorist organisations in Africa: Boko Haram (including its splinter group, the Islamic State West Africa Province), and Al-Shabaab. Our method detects moments when terrorist groups change their capabilities to conduct daily attacks and, by taking into account the directionality of attacks, highlights major changes in the government's strategies. Results suggest that security policies have largely failed to reduce both groups' forces and restore stability.

East African Community (eac) – Inspiring Constitutional Change by Promoting Constitutionalism?

Abstract The East African Community (eac) is considered to be one of the most successful international organizations in Africa. Due to the founding Treaty’s commitment to democracy, human rights, rule of law and to achieving of a political federation, one may think that the eac has a potential to promote the ideas of transformative African constitutionalism in the participating states. However, the history of regional integration in East Africa, the eac’s current institutional set-up and its substantive law tell a different story. The organization’s elitist legacy and an integration model depending on the goodwill of the heads of state do not fully deliver on the principles which the Treaty pronounces. It is the pro-active stance taken by the East African Court of Justice (eacj) and to some extent also by the East African Legislative Assembly (eala) that keeps the constitutionalism and the hopes of East Africans alive.

Driving organizational communication impact on social media: Understanding Information, Relational, and Action content for Effective Resource Mobilization and Awareness in Africa

The extensive utilization of social media for organizational communication across Africa underscores the undeniable importance of user interaction and perceived value. In response to this growing significance, researchers have directed their efforts towards understanding the user engagement, with a particular focus on service organizations. This study delves into the strategies employed by selected humanitarian service organizations in Africa, as they harness the power of communication content functions on LinkedIn to achieve their vital goals of raising awareness and mobilizing resources. By analyzing posts from 77 organizations operating in sub-Saharan Africa using bi-term topic modelling and a generalized linear regression model, the study's findings suggest that informational communication content functions are likely to increase awareness. However, action and relational or dialogic functions did not demonstrate significant effects on awareness creation or resource mobilization (fundraising). However, it is noteworthy that the impact of action and relational or dialogic functions on awareness creation and resource mobilization (fundraising) was not found to be statistically significant. On the other hand, the incorporation of captivating multimedia elements, most notably images, emerges as a highly influential factor in captivating the audience's attention and substantially boosting engagement for the purposes of awareness and fundraising. This study addresses a gap in the literature regarding non-profit services, specifically humanitarian services, by exploring new factors that contribute to effective organizational communication on social media. Moreover, it offers practical implications for online communicators, stakeholders, and public relations professionals.

Minor root and tuber crops in Africa: Cocoyams (Colocasia esculenta and Xanthosoma sagittifolium)

Cocoyams [taro: Colocasia esculentum (L.) Schott and tannia: Xanthosoma sagittifolium (L.) Schott] are staple tuber crops in many countries in Africa, Asia and the Pacific. This review aims to present the value of cocoyam as a minor tuber crop and the extent and challenges of its production in Africa. Cocoyams are primarily grown for their edible corms or cormels, although other parts, such as stalks, leaves and inflorescence, are used for human consumption. Cocoyams are categorized as neglected food crops mainly grown for subsistence use. Taro is more widely grown than tannia globally. Taro is cultivated all over Africa, although West and Central Africa are the main producing regions. Tannia is mainly grown in West Africa where it is still less common than taro. Production of tannia is generally minimal and rarely appears in cocoyam output statistics for the continent. Africa is the main producer of cocoyam, accounting for over 70% of the global output; the bulk of production occurs in the West and Central African region. Despite the high production, food value and economic opportunities, African cocoyam is rarely sold in the international markets. The crop is cultivated to meet food security at small-scale and family farms. It is mostly consumed and marketed locally in fresh state. Cocoyams are commonly produced by resource-limited smallholder farmers who are mostly women. The crop is cultivated on marginal lands where primitive technologies with little inputs are employed. The crop receives little attention from mainstream research organizations in Africa. Other constraints limiting cocoyam production in Africa include a shortage of planting materials, lack of improved high-yielding cultivars, and paucity of information on the proper agronomic practices, and insect pests and diseases, among others. Industrial use and new product developments of cocoyam in Africa should be explored to enhance the crop's economic value, and by extension attract research attention

Regional Collaboration for Aircraft Accident Investigation as Impetus for Aviation Safety in Africa

Aircraft accident investigation is a feedback mechanism which enhances aviation safety by identifying inadequacies and also taking steps to prevent future accidents. Investigation in this regard is to be carried out by International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) states through national accident investigation authorities and should there be a lack of human or economic resources, regional accident investigation organisations can be formed by states to benefit from a balance on economies of scale. This article examines regional collaboration for aircraft accident investigation in Africa. It finds that the performance of African States in the area of aircraft accident investigation is below average and also notes that a major cause of this inadequacy is a lack of both human and economic resources. It thereby posits that regional collaborations on aircraft accident investigation among African states will advance aviation safety in Africa, and it is thus necessary for African states to collaborate on this. While acknowledging the contributions of the Banjul Accord Group Accident Investigation Agency, a case is made for the establishment of regional aircraft accident investigation organisations in Africa on a wider scale through the existing regional economic communities recognised by the African Union.

European foreign aid to regional organisations in Africa: bullies, overseers, micromanagers and samaritans

How do external actors promote regional international organisations (RIOs) through their regional foreign aid? Whereas most leading theories of regionalism stipulate that RIOs are designed and shaped by intra-­r­egional actors from ‘within’, this study develops a novel framework for exploring donor involvement in RIOs during various stages of the foreign aid policy cycle. The research design is based on a comparison of the four largest European donors of regional foreign aid (EU, Germany, Sweden and the UK) towards the largest recipient in Africa (African Union). The comparative analysis reveals considerable variation and each donor employ their own distinct approach, which we conceptualise as Bully (EU), Overseer (UK), Micromanager (Germany) and Samaritan (Sweden). This comparative design enables us not only to escape the EU-centrism that currently distorts the research field but also to analyse the different ways by which European donors try to influence and even control RIOs in Africa through their foreign aid. The deep donor involvement in RIOs in Africa challenges us to rethink external intrusion, the meaning of ownership as well as conventional boundaries of ‘inside’/’outside’ in the study of regionalism.

Effect of team coaching on collaborative value within ashoka fellows' organizations in Africa

The striking of the Covid-19 pandemic, defined by an economic slump, has created an emergency asthe capacity of government and nonprofit services to support communities have been stretched close tobreaking point. Team coaching enables teams to collaboratively co-create structures and processesthat support the needs of organizations. Team coaching has accentuated team productivity, improvedengagement levels, and helped reach commonly accepted team goals as a collective strategic practice.Explanatory sequential mixed-method research design consisting of two distinct phases, namelyquantitative and qualitative approaches, was adopted. The target population constituted 154 AshokaFellows organizations working in 19 countries in Africa. Quantitative data was collected usingstructured questionnaires via an online survey, while qualitative data was collected using interviewguides via Zoom. The collected data were analyzed using SmartPLS software for Structural EquationModeling (SEM) as well as Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). The study findingsindicated a significant P-value of 0.012. It was further observed that team coaching accounted for29.2% of the variation in collaborative value. Coaching teams should be encouraged to unleash teams'potential to solve problems and form alignment between how they work, deliver, and their continueddevelopment over time as it creates new insights and awareness and translates the latest insights intomeaningful actions.

The Mediating Effect of Intra-Organizational Social Capital on the Relationship between Team Leadership and Collaborative Value among Ashoka Fellows’ Organizations in Africa

Purpose: The study sought to determine the mediating effect of intra-organizational social capital on the relationship between team leadership and collaborative value among Ashoka fellows’ organizations in Africa
 Methodology: The study applied pragmatism philosophy to offer several ways to bridge dichotomies in mixed methods approaches to social science. Explanatory sequential mixed-method research design consisting of two distinct phases, namely quantitative and qualitative, was adopted. Both qualitative and quantitative study methods were adopted. In the quantitative study, the target population constituted all the 154 Ashoka Fellows' Organizations working in 19 countries in Africa. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire administered online to the founders (Ashoka Fellows) or the Ashoka Fellows' Organizations' CEOs. One hundred responded by filling out the questionnaire, which translated to a 64.9% response rate. Additionally, qualitative data applied purposive sampling and selected six Ashoka regional team leaders in Africa for in-depth interviews. They all were available for the interviews translating to a 100% response rate. Data analysis techniques combined descriptive and inferential statistics. Statistical Package for Social Sciences and SmartPLS 3 software were used to analyze the collected data.
 Findings: Results revealed that Intra-organizational Social Capital (IOSC) mediates the relationship between team leadership and collaborative value. Before IOSC mediation, team leadership accounted for 34.1% of collaborative value, with an R2 = 0.341, chi-square X2 (10, N=100) = 99.274, p<.05, SRMR=0.096, Rms-theta = 0.227, and NFI=0.745. After IOSC mediation team leadership accounted for 37.1% of collaborative value, with an R2 = 0.371, chi-square X2 (10, N=100) = 152.934, p<.05, SRMR=0.100. Rms-theta = 0.207 and NFI= 0.707. The null hypothesis was rejected.
 Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: Based on this finding, further research could be a study investigating how teams build their social capital and how intra-organizational social capital can be enhanced to improve teams’ performance. Another recommended study should empirically examine the link between team leadership and collaborative value in other sectors such as private sector organizations and public organizations as well as other regions like Europe or Asia.

Regional international organizations in Africa as recipients of foreign aid: Why are some more attractive to donors than others?

Foreign aid to regional international organizations (RIOs) has increased tremendously in recent decades. The vast differences between RIOs give rise to the question of why some RIOs attract considerable amounts of aid while others attract much less, or even nothing at all. To address that question, this article sets out and examines a set of hypotheses that focus on various characteristics of RIOs that allow donors to reduce transaction costs. Empirically, the analysis proceeds via two steps: the hypotheses are first subjected to an empirical plausibility probe based on quantitative methods and then illustrated based on case study of the Southern African Development Community. The findings reveal that RIOs are most attractive when they operate in a range of policy fields, involve many member-states and are engaged in long-lasting collaborations with donors. By contrast, there is little support for conventional explanations as to why RIOs attract funding – for instance, claims that being democratic, being most in need or providing donors with market access will lead to greater funding. The rather disturbing policy implication is that a small number of RIOs are likely to continue to attract the bulk of funding, whereas poorly funded RIOs are unlikely to attract significant amounts of aid.

The Routledge Handbook of African Theology

The Routledge Handbook of African Theology

Africa and Industry 5.0: Challenges and Opportunities in the Future of Manufacturing

Cloud manufacturing (CM) is a service-oriented business model which is being adopted for industry 4.0 (i4.0). African-based small-to-medium manufacturing enterprises (SMMEs) are yet to adopt the collaborative business manufacturing model, due to challenges associated with vagueness to new manufacturing technologies adoption. However, technological advancements have led to industry 5.0 (i5.0), which present multiple favorable opportunities for manufacturing organizations in Africa. Technology adoption was identified as a key accelerator towards sustainable manufacturing and successful implementation of sustainable development goals (SDGs). This paper aims to conscientise on the future of the manufacturing industry for an African digital economy. Adoption of new manufacturing technologies is disrupting traditional business models and creating new business models which are collaborative, and technology centered. A system of systems methodology was used to address multiple challenges affecting advancing technologies in the transport manufacturing industry in Africa. The result is a strategic system mapping for developing a cognitive manufacturing system for the transport manufacturing system.