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How expats try to cope at work
No full textKenya sends a sizeable number of professionals overseas to work as expatriate labour. We call them the “Kenyan diaspora” and the Foreign Affairs ministry estimates they send back home over Sh113bn annually. The Kenyan Task Force on Foreign Labour estimates that the government loses out on Sh3bn in tax revenue every year due to Kenyans living abroad who do not fill their income tax returns back here.
Kenya stands as a net exporter of labour but we host a smaller number of expatriate professionals. Hosting foreign labour helps Kenya to diversify skill sets, extend learning of new skills and technologies, enhance local exposure, and build linkages to those workers’ home countries that then attract donor and investor funds to Kenya. Sensible immigration of skilled foreign workers greatly benefits host countries.
Therefore, many major national firms get nervous about sustainable corporate growth when overly nationalistic governments try to shortsightedly reduce inflows of skilled talent. In America, the public tussle between the high-tech firms in Silicon Valley fearful of curtailed growth due to more immigration restrictions from President Donald Trump highlights such a struggle. Brexit in the UK, xenophobic attacks in South Africa, and the upcoming French national election all evoke mixed feelings about expatriate labour.
Researchers Nicole Gulleksona and Aidan Dumaisnil examine the role of emotional expression in determining the success of expatriate workers integrating with host country cultures and office environments. Every culture holds what social scientists label emotional display rules
How peaceful polls unlock investment
No full textA Newspaper article by Scott Bellows, an Assistant Professor in the Chandaria School of Business at USIU-AfricaAs Kenya celebrated the 2017 presidential debates this week where four candidates came together in two different sessions to deliberate on the future of our great nation, many also pondered the immediate aftermath of the polls.
Low to moderate levels of hesitation and fear of the unknown hangs in the air across the country.
Dutch researcher Geert Hofstede popularised the term uncertainty avoidance in his landmark culture studies.
Countries in northern Europe, as an example, fear uncertainty and actively take steps to avoid any improbability
What every capable manager must do to create an army of honest workers
No full textA Newspaper article by Scott Bellows, associate Professor in the Chandaria School of Business at USIU-AAbasi worked as a branch manager at an upscale clothing retailer in Westlands. He prided himself in strong relationships with his staff and the commensurate trust that he bestowed upon them. Unfortunately, during an internal audit conducted by the firm’s Upper Hill headquarters, a Sh754,000 stock deficiency was uncovered spanning the past three years.
Horrified, Abasi called all employees in to an urgent staff meeting. Knowing that the regional manager would demand an explanation by the next morning, he asked his staff one by one if they knew anything about the uncovered fraud. Not surprisingly, every worker stated that they knew nothing about it. Abasi felt hopelessly unable to provide any answers before the confrontation with his boss.
Corporate fraud often cripples businesses and on average represents seven per cent of sales revenue. Estimated annual commercial fraud in the United States alone represents almost $1 trillion. Here in Kenya, firms such as Safaricom and KCB publicly release their fraud statistics. Forensic auditors investigate such fraud incidence. But if no specific trail of evidence exists underpinning the fraud, managers are left with rooting out the honesty of their staff through psychological means.
Hollywood makes special use of lie detector tests from movies to talk shows. However, sociopaths who do not elicit physical responses such as elevated heart rates and increased perspiration can game such devices, thus making polygraph tests not admissible in court cases in most countries.
Fortunately, you can learn as a manager to uncover lies without expensive polygraphs or MRI brain scanners. First, recognise that lying is complex. We both hate it all the while using it ourselves. Pamela Meyer, author of Lie Spotting, delineates that in animals, the larger the neocortex, then the higher the probability of being deceptive.
There exist documented cases in the animal kingdom of gorillas fooling others. In humans, babies cry then stop and look to see who else is listening or coming, then continue crying based on who is around them. By five years old, a child lies to other people through flattery. By nine years old, children can even cover-up actions. Every parent knows the humour and frustration of dealing with lying in our children. Many people also overly suspect lying in their romantic partners.
Susan Carnicero in her book Spy the Lie points out that people on average lie 10 times per day, ranging from detrimental lies all the way down to someone asking how you are doing and telling them a simple lie just to avoid going into detail. Fortunately, both Ms Carnicero and Ms Meyer go into great detail about how to judge on a one-on-one basis whether someone is lying.
Examples include liars freeze their upper bodies when they lie, but culturally we expect a liar to fidget. Western culture thinks that liars will avoid eye contact. However, a liar makes eye contact a bit too much as compared to an honest person. Western society thinks that honest people smile more often.
However, in Sub Saharan African culture, a smile culturally means the opposite. There exists a difference between a genuine smile and a fake one. A real smile can be seen in the skin on the sides of the eyes that cannot be consciously contracted
Which management style suits
No full textA Newspaper article by Scott Bellows, an Assistant Professor in the Chandaria School of Business at USIU-AfricaA debate often rages within workplaces across Kenya about whether task-oriented or people-oriented leadership yields the best results. In the literature too, researchers jostle between the two different leadership behaviour types.
Leaders strong in transactional skills hold three specific capabilities prevalent in social science research.
First, boundary spanning behaviours include external activities that encompass managing external transactions with staff. Such transactions involve negotiating resource usage and goal setting with workers and other stakeholders, as well as scanning the workplace and industry environment for new information and interesting creative ideas to induce more resource access to the firm.
Second, transactional leaders excel in setting disciplinary standards followed consistently, setting rewards for staff actions, and clarifying expectations when employees ask
Employee feedback drives growth strategy
No full textA Newspaper article by Scott Bellows, an Assistant Professor in the Chandaria School of Business at USIU-AfricaOver the past four decades, social science research firmly established that internal workplace communication stands as a pillar of corporate success. Unfortunately, a disconnect exists between what science knows and what businesses actually do.
Multitudes of managers push their supervisory style of withholding information from employees and instead focusing communication outwards towards customers only. Informing employees about strategy, decisions, organisational chances, techniques, and advice all often fall as secondary or tertiary priorities for the modern busy executive.
However, information sharing by managers to their subordinates helps prevent workplace issues before they begin and substantially increase employee job satisfaction.
Employees work better when they understand what goes on within the firm and the organisation’s goals. Strategy involves “where” the entity desires to go then organisational development-enduced operating plans delineate “how” the strategy will get done. Employees should be involved in, contribute towards, and be informed about both strategy and organisational development
Uncertainty on global stage fuels urgency for deeper East Africa ties
No full textA Newspaper article by Scott Bellows, an Assistant Professor in the Chandaria School of Business at USIU-AfricaUSAid states that the US Government donates roughly Sh100 billion every year to Kenya.
US Government funding goes to the health sector particularly the Kenyan Ministry of Health for anti-retroviral drugs for people living with HIV and Aids.
Americans hold over Sh38.3 billion in stock equities on the Nairobi Securities Exchange.
Kenya and our neighbours in East Africa might want to seriously consider deeper economic and political integration similar to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
Kenyans watched in horror this week as newly installed American President Trump wreaked havoc on global travel and upending norms of American values and civility. Many pundits and business leaders ponder what impact the perceived policy insanity in America’s executive branch of government might hold on us here in Kenya. So let us review Kenya’s economic relationship with America to ascertain any vulnerabilities
Challenges Facing Internet Banking: A Case Study Of Family Bank Limited In Nairobi
No full textA Research Project Report Submitted to the School of Business in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of Masters in Business Administration (MBA)The study looked at Internet banking as a relatively new product that has been developed by commercial banks in Kenya. Businesses keep changing every day as a result of the internet influences. In the banking world, the development in information technology has a lot of effect on development of banking services that are more users’ friendly giving rise to a more efficient banking system. The objectives of this research was; To establish Infrastructural challenges of internet banking, To find out the Legal and security challenges associated with Internet banking and To establish how customers’ exposure and literacy to computers and information technology pose a challenge to internet banking.
In this study the researcher used primary data due to the nature of the variable to be generated and the type of population characteristics. Primary data was both quantitative and qualitative. The target population contributed to the collection of primary data. There were questionnaires to be answered by the respondents themselves. The questionnaires had questions based on the research objectives and is focused to investigate the challenges facing internet banking. In this research, Stratified sample method was engaged. The data collected was edited, coded, classified and analyzed using Statistics Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and later presented in frequency tables and figures. Both qualitative techniques and quantitative techniques procedures were applied by the researcher.
The findings of this study reveals that infrastructural barriers are not key challenges facing internet banking as shown by the aggregate mean of 2.2778 and standard deviation of .8308. In objective two Legal and security issues are exceptionally good thus there’s compliance to the set rules, regulations and controls by the bank as shown by their rating with the aggregate mean of 2.065 and standard deviation of 0.7147 majority of the respondents. The last objective was on Customers’ exposure and literacy to computers and information technology challenge to internet banking. Respondents rate them as good thus customers are well exposed and are literate on the use of computers and information technology as shown by their rating with the aggregate mean of 2.3407 and standard deviation of 0.8247.
The study concludes that challenges faced in offering internet banking services include lack customer awareness, poor internet speed, lack of internet banking alerts, poor market penetration and reception of internet banking services, illiteracy among the customers, were the challenges they encounter. Internet banking increases convenience, but as it also opens a bank to security issues. Competition and transformation in technological advancements in the banking industry necessitating huge investment on internet banking infrastructure. Internet banking increases convenience, but as it also opens a bank to security issues.
Recommendations for the bank have been generated from the results and findings. Banks to continually train their employees who will in turn pass the knowledge to their customers therefore the issue of illiteracy negative reception and lack customer awareness is dealt with and collaborate with internet service providers so as to gain high quality internet infrastructure to enable the banks offer better quality services and at the same time enhance internet accessibility. More-so banks to put in place extensive customer awareness programs on internet banking toenhance market penetration and reception of internet banking services, and reduce illiteracy among the customers. They should collaborate with internet providers to ensure a faster internet speed provision and internet banking alerts to customers.
The research is of immense help to the policy formulators in family bank, in matters relating to internet banking. It equip staff and more so the senior policy-makers to make the right decisions in the area internet banking going forward
Challenges Faced By the United Nations in Implementing Service Delivery: A Case of World Food Programme Kenya
No full textA Research Project Report Submitted to the Chandaria School of Business in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of Master of Business Administration (MBA)The general objective of the study was to investigate the challenges faced by the United Nations in implementing service delivery. The study was guided by the following objectives: To examine how funding was a challenge in implementing service delivery at WFP, to examine how the leadership at WFP was a challenge in implementing service delivery and to analyze how lack of stakeholder participation was in implementing service delivery at WFP.
The total population for this study comprised of all 2300 United Nation employees working in Kenya. The target population comprised of 128 local and international staff at WFP Nairobi office. The study adopted a descriptive research design. This design was appropriate for this study because it necessitated collection, organization and summarizing data from a sample for conclusions. The sampling frame that was made comprised of a list of WFP employees in the Nairobi office. Study adopted a stratified sampling design. A sample size of 50 respondents was used in this study. The data collection process was done using structure questionnaires containing both open and closed ended questions. The collected data was coded before being analyzed using the SPSS version 21 software. The data analysis involved measures of central tendency and frequencies. The data was presented by bar graphs, pie charts and frequency tables.
Major finding from the study was that majority of the respondents agreed that the amount of funds available to the organization was adequate, majority of the respondents agreed that effective leadership was an essential component to service delivery and finally majority of the respondents agreed that effective leadership was an essential component to service delivery.
The study concluded that the amount of funds available to the organization was adequate, majority of the respondents agreed that effective leadership was an essential component to service delivery, lack of effective communication to employees, employee discrimination, lack of proper remuneration and lack of employee morale was a challenge to service deliver.
The study recommends that non-governmental organizations should ensure that they maintain a good relationship with the donors mainly by information management, ensuring there is accountability and meaningful communications, WFP heads of department and project managers should be equipped with the necessary project management skills through continuous training to ensure they effectively supervise the project team and activities and ensure that the performance of the project is not compromised and ensure that stakeholder are identified before takeoff of any projects and that stakeholders are actively involved in the project activities from the very beginning to ensure that the project runs in accordance to the objectives, to harmonize the project goals and objectives with the aspirations of stakeholders which reduce dissonance levels and resistance
Savings among the Youth in the Banking Sector: A Case Study of Standard Chartered Bank Kenya Limited
No full textA Project Report Submitted to the Chandaria School of Business in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of Masters in Business Administration (MBA)The purpose of the study was to investigate savings among the youth in the banking sector in Kenya. The study sought to determine the savings options available to the youth, challenges they face in savings and the measures that can be implemented to solve these challenges.
A descriptive research design was adopted on a sample of 60 employees of Standard Charted bank that included 6 from middle level management and 54 from junior entry level employees. The descriptive statistics used included frequencies, means, standard deviations and cross tabulation. These measures were used to assess, youth saving habits as concerning frequencies, consistency, and amounts. Comparisons on frequency of savings and amounts in savings was evaluated using cross-tabulation. Conclusions were also drawn from the results obtained using inferential statistics particularly T-tests.
To answer the first research question of the study, it was established that the most popularly used saving product is the savings accounts followed by the Chama’s. Bancassurance and Mutual funds were the least popular savings products among the youth. To answer the second research question of the study, it was established that the youth experienced savings challenges and majority agreed that poor spending habits was the most prevalent challenge faced. This was followed by lack of financial discipline then poor savings culture was ranked third. Limited income was ranked last but also emerged as a challenge faced by the youth when it came to saving. To answer the last research question on the methods to mitigate the challenges, the study established that there was need for the youth to be educated on budgeting and this topped the list of the things that are needed to enable the youth and enable them to save better .Provision of financial literacy skills also greatly affected the youth’s ability to save. The main conclusion drawn by the study was that there are many savings options available to the youth in both the formal and informal sector. The study realized relatively poor savings habits among the youth with many of them accepting responsibility for indiscipline in inculcating consistent savings habits. Solutions to the challenged of savings among the youth are sighted satisfying the objective of the study. Young people need to be educated to see a bigger picture of life beyond the consumerism culture. They need education on the impact of failing to save for their future. There is also a need to create employment opportunities for the youth and offer better income packages that can guarantee them the freedom to be in charge of their future live.
The study recommended that Banks and other saving facilities like mutual funds and SACCOS need to continually be structured to favor and encompass the efforts of the youth. The challenges surrounding youth savings including income, poor training in savings and cultural implications can be worked around through training of youths to be able to go beyond these challenges and create a bigger picture for their success in establishing a liberating saving culture. The challenges faced by the youth like low income levels and heavy tax burdens ought to be looked into by the Kenyan government. The government needs to create incentives on financial transactions in taxes and loans such that the progress of the youth is guarantee. Efforts in enhancing financial literacy among the youth need to be accomplished through favorable curriculums. Further studies need to be done on this topic of savings encompassing more savings options available other than the ones mentioned in the study. More studies also need to be done to investigate youth savings on a larger group of youths beyond the banking sector