National Research Database of Zimbabwe
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An evaluation on the impact of internal marketing strategies on organizational performance
No full textThis study sought to analyze the impacts of internal marketing on organizational performance a case of SAZ for the period of 2013 to 2015. The researcher assumes that the chosen branch used for the study fairly represented all SAZ branches around Zimbabwe. The research sets to determine the contribution of employee training on service delivery, to explore the effectiveness of internal communication on employee performance and to ascertain the effect of job enrichment on employee performance. Descriptive research design was used for the study. The researcher assumes that internal marketing will improve company performance and the company is committed to continuously motivate its employees. In carrying out the research, descriptive research design was used. The population under the study was 50employees.The researcher used a sample size of 33 respondents and the sample size was determined using the de Vaas formula. Probability and non-probability sampling methods were used in carrying out the research. In data collection, the researcher used a primary data source that is questionnaires to gather the much needed information from the field. Secondary data sources were also used in carrying out the research. In analyzing the data, the researcher used Microsoft excel. Qualitative techniques were used for presenting the data gathered. To come out with clearly presented data, the researcher used pie charts and graphs to present the data. From the research, it was noted that internal marketing has a positive inverse relationship with organizational performance. It was noted that SAZ as an organization, thrives to keep its employees updated about market changes through offering various training courses to the employees. The research reviewed that there is strong internal communication networks within the organization. In addition some employees indicated that job enrichment is import for them to be satisfied with their work. The researcher used training, internal communication and job enrichment as the variables of internal marketing. In carrying out the research, the researcher came across various constraints such as limited funds and limited time among others. However besides these limitations, a summary, conclusions and recommendations were drawn from the research
Strategic leadership in a dressed economy
No full textA paper prepared and presented by Dr Stephen Nhuta (Midlands State University) at the “Update on current affairs seminar†by the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators in Zimbabwe,There was a serious economic crisis in the 20th century which witnessed the entry of governments into large areas of the economy that had been in the past exclusive to private hands. To alleviate depressions, there was need to adopt programs to do with job reeducation programs, government employment of the previously unemployed, and increased public welfare responsibilities. The economic crisis period 2000 to 2009 discredited the leadership and management practices triggering a wave of thinking and experimentation. This crisis will be a powerful catalyst for change in both the theory and practice of leadership and governance. Therefore it does highlight the rapid changes in board practices and articulates some clear direction for change both in the structure for governance and management, and in the characteristics that leaders will have to display. It goes without saying that widespread recognition of reality is the crucial step before problems can be solved. In other words Leaders can't solve problems if they don't acknowledge their existence. Leaders breed trouble by assuming that a strong market position is an insurance policy against trouble. Leadership indecision, decisions and unstable character had led economies into a depressed state for which its governments, lacking leadership capabilities, were unable to prescribe valid solution to halt the early noticed vacillating signs of failure. The consequence of the actions of the bad leadership decision is the imposing poverty, inequality and growing insecurity which it is now the present leadership is finding it difficult to remedy. The leaders we need now will have the perspective, the mentality, the confidence, and the authority to call for radical changes in direction
Enshrined labour rights under s 65(1) of the 2013 Constitution of Zimbabwe: the right to fair and safe labour practices and standards and the right to a fair and reasonable wage
No full textPluralist scholars argue strongly that common law is heavily stacked against employees, by its placing a premium on the contract of employment. According to iconic labour law jurist, Otto Kahn-Freund, in doing so, common law inappropriately presumes an equality of power between the employer and employee. Whereas the reality is that, “… the relation between an employer and an isolated employee or worker is typically a relation between a bearer of power and one who is not a bearer of power…†Common law frowns on collective bargaining and imposes strenuous duties on the employee and relatively light obligations on the employer. In real life the liberty of contract it presumes becomes merely illusory. This was aptly recognized in S v Collet, where the court rejected the employer’s defence that he had inflicted corporal punishment on his employee for misconduct in terms of the contract of employment. The court held:
In the relationship of master and servant the role of the master is, of course the dominant one and that of the servant is a subservient one. Even in the field of contract, it has long been recognized that public policy requires that he be protected from the disadvantageous consequences of agreements he may have felt obliged to enter into with his master, the reason being that as a servant he is not conducting on equal terms with his master.
Working struggles over the years have sought to place restraint on the arbitrary powers of the employers and infuse in the employment relationship, values based on notions of fairness, equity and social justice, including the right to fair labour practices and standards. For the first time in the history of labour relations in Zimbabwe, the right to fair labour standards and practices has become enshrined in the Declaration of Rights as a basic human right. Section 65 (1) of the Constitution provides:
“Every person has the right to fair and safe labour practices and standards and to be paid a fair and reasonable wage.â€
This section provides probably the most significant labour rights under the new Constitution. This is because of its all-encompassing nature covering the right to fair labour practices and standards, the right to safe labour standards and the right to a fair and reasonable wage. It has the potential for the dramatic overhaul of labour jurisprudence in the country by the incorporation of advances made by the working class regionally and internationally.
In this article we analyse the extent of the rights provided under section 65 (1) and the potential impact on labour jurisprudence in Zimbabwe
Back to the future! harnessing indigenous knowledge systems for wealth creation in Zimbabwe.
No full textThrough imperial logic, scientific knowledge has since been perceived along racial lines. The penultimate
hierarchy of knowledge has created and continues to nourish natural imperialism where it has become the
white men’s burden to civilize the Africans. This research attempted to sterilize the celebrated falsehood that
the Europeans have the ‘scientific spirit’ while the Africans have a ‘magic conception’ of nature. A historical
appreciation of African innovative and inventive ingenuity was traced from the pre-colonial times to the
present. The study drew insights from a broad evidentiary base that includes oral traditions, archival sources
and secondary material. The research established that aloes were and continue to be administered for a
variety of complaints like constipation and venereal diseases and other non-human disorders like the cure of
disease in chickens. The calendar function of the stars and constellations is ascribed to early African
agriculturalists who also exhibited an astounding knowledge of techniques of weather forecasting. The
research confirmed that African indigenous knowledge systems, although rarely acknowledged, have provided the solid foundation upon which Europe has claimed dominance over the environment by cataloging and classifying plants, insects, animals and many other creations according to ‘modern’ criteria. The Africans’ knowledge of the medicinal and nutritional properties of plants has been a source of commercial gain for multinational companies through bio-piracy which imperial logic seems to have justified. The challenge is the recognition of the diverse African knowledge system’s capacity to create wealth by formal institutions like schools, universities and work places. From a historical perspective, the study confirmed that indigenous knowledge has been and remains an integral part of the local ecosystem, a key element of the ‘social capital’ of the underprivileged and the main asset to invest in Zimbabwe’s struggle for survival
The impact of urban expansion into peri-urban communal areas on rural women’s land Rights: A case study of Seke Communal Area, Zimbabwe
No full textThe author of this dissertation is a lawyer with a background of a rural upbringing and is very alive to the embeddedness of rural women’s lives in land for livelihoods and fosters a desire to improve their land rights. This has been her drive in exploring the impact of urban expansion into peri-urban communal areas on rural women’s land rights, which has occurred through multifaceted processes that have built upon the colonial legacy of discrimination against women in the administration and allocation of communal land through a customary law which favours men and land acquisitions that to date thrive on insecurity of land tenure in communal areas. These processes have ignored the Constitutional provisions which guide acquisition of land for developmental purposes, including compensation, participation and provisions which advance gender equality and non-discrimination and render void customary laws that discriminate against women thereby impacting on their rights including the right to food security and livelihood. Taking rural women’s lived realities in the wake of urban expansion processes as the guiding perspective and using complementary methodologies
including the human rights, legal pluralism, grounded theory, sex and gender analysis, actors and structures and methods including interviews, observation and focus groups grounded in the same perspective, she effectively collects data which captures the impact of urban expansion from gendered lenses, to give special attention to the violations on rural women’s land rights which have occurred due to urban expansion. She excavates that while processes involved in urban expansion affects different categories of occupants in communal areas, rural women as a category tend to suffer disproportionately. This is due to their gendered position in the administration and allocation of communal land which has historically marginalised them from accessing land in their own right. Urban expansion comes into this already skewed access to land for rural women to introduce processes which further exacerbate rural women’s land rights. In order to improve rural women’s land rights, the author concludes by suggesting recommendations including the alignment of communal land laws with the constitution so as to modify the customary law allocation of communal land which discriminates against rural women, the favourable position of titling communal land to mitigate threats of expropriation of communal land by third parties including the State and agencies of the government and the need to jointly register women so that they are co-owners
of land and property on equal footing with men.,NORA
Adaptation to climate change and promotion of environmental sustainability in Zimbabwe’s semi-arid areas: the case of Ngundu ward in Chivi: paper presented at a conference held on the 14th-16th July 2015, Elephant Hills Resort, Victoria Fallls, Zimbabwe
No full textTheme: 1st International Research Conference On Driving Socio-Economic Development Through Value Addition And Sustainable Use Of Resources,Promotion of environmental sustainability is a vital way in safeguarding resources across the globe .All human survival and well-being depend upon natural resources which are a source of livelihood for everyone. Yet in recent decades the resource base in many countries has diminished due to such issues as deforestation, desertification and climate change. The loss of resources is a global challenge, especially for the world’s poor, who largely depend on resources for food, clean water and shelter. While this paper acknowledges that promotion of environmental sustainability is a prerequisite if development is to be realized, it argues that, climate chnage can be a major hindrance to the achievement of such development. In this regard, this paper examined ways of promoting environmental sustainability given the challenges posed by climate change in Ngundu ward of Chivi District within Masvingo Province. The study discovered that adaptation can play a significant role in promoting environmental sustainability. The study in many respects promotes adaptation measures at community level so as to achieve environmental sustainability. Adaptation involves adjustments to enhance the viability of social and economic activities by reducing vulnerability to climate change. It involves changing agricultural practices to suit current climate and weather patterns. Questionnaires, key informant interviews and focus group discussions were the data sources implemented in this study. The study discovered that people in Ngundu ward have implemented adaptation measures like the practice of conservation agriculture, crop selection among others. These adaptation measures can ensure environmental sustainability and reduction of poverty and hunger
The contribution of Zvishavane community share ownership trust on youth empowerment in Zvishavane district
No full textThe aim of this research is to assess how ZCSOT has contributed to youth empowerment within Zvishavane District using Dayataya ward as reference. In particular youth empowerment was looked at from the perspective of five different capitals which are social, physical, human, financial and natural capital as provided for in the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework. The general objective was to look at how ZCSOT has promoted youth empowerment and assess failures in cases where they have not been influential as well as giving possible recommendations on how youth empowerment can be improved as one of the developmental aspects.
Qualitative methodology was used during the study with two types of data gathering instruments employed, these are questionnaires and interviews. A total of thirteen questionnaires were made use of together with twenty interviews being carried out, making the target population thirty three in total. Purposive type of sampling was used and respondents were chosen from youths within Dayataya ward, ZCSOT employees, and MYIEE district head and youth officers within the ward.
Results from the study shows that ZCSOT has made considerable efforts to improve the lives of youths through various development indicators like improved infrastructure, employment creation, increased ground for youth participation, and provision of safe drinking water as well as improved healthcare facilities or clinics and educational development. However, it has been noted that there are various challenges facing youths in accessing help from ZCSOT which are lack of transparency and accountability, empty promises from the Trust, complicated governance issues, lack of implementation of youth centred and sustainable as well as failure of ZCSOT to meet their obligations on youth empowermen
“Precarious nature of employment in Zimbabweâ€: an assessment of the psychological dynamics of downsizing on survivors, case of Zimasco Kwekwe division.
No full textThe research aimed at assessing the psychological dynamics of downsizing on survivor employees at Zimasco Kwekwe Division. The major reason behind is that downsizing disregards the human side and affects the psychological wellbeing of the same. It remains crucial to implore the psychological facets that affect employee productivity after downsizing operations and endeavor to change employee behaviors and attitudes for better attainment of organizational objectives. The study employed a qualitative research approach which adopts capturing the experiences of the participants in their natural setting. The study made use of the case study research design which draws information from multiple sources to complement each other. Data was gathered through the use of primary and secondary information sources. The study used semi-structured interviews and documentary sources to gather research data. The use of interviews abetted the study by providing raw data on the experiences of the participants and the use of documentary sources yielded truth about the organization’s operational status and the consequences of such. The total population for the study was 1056 employees from which a sample of 53 participantswasdrawn based on the fullness and recurrence of research data. The study initially used random stratified sampling where the participants were partitioned into two stratas namely managerial and non-managerial. Data was analyzed through thematic approach which is mostly commended when dealing with emotional experiences of the research subjects. The research findings chronicled the perilous psychological impacts associated with downsizing in organization on survivor employees and coping strategies employed by the same in dealing with such challenges. The study concluded that organizations should consider the human side of the organization when instigating measures that embrace emotional wellness of employees
Participation of Zimbabwean youths in electoral processes: a case of Harare Central Constituency 2008 to 2013
No full textContemporary global trends show a growing international anxiety for youth empowerment. Since independence Zimbabwe has incessantly experienced a decline in youth electoral participation. In Zimbabwe, youths represent 67 % of the country’s population; according to the new constitution youth fall in between the ages of 16 and 35 years. Compared to older citizens, youth especially females have increasingly preferred to stay away from participating in electoral processes and their participation from legal framework crafting to the pre electoral period, the actual electoral period and the post electoral period has been considerably low. The period between the years 2008 to 2013 brought its own challenges ranging from economic, social and political factors which have negative impact on youth participation in electoral processes. The participation of youth in electoral processes has become a major concern in the political development of many countries in the developing world. Participation of youth is declining fast and much needs to be done to ensure youth participation in the electoral processes. Be that as it may, this study seeks to examine the participation of youth in electoral processes in a bid help come up with solutions to this problem
An assessment on the degree of local government discretion on decision making in urban local authorities: a case study of Kadoma city council
No full textThis study sought to assess the degree of local government discretion in decision making in urban local authorities using Kadoma City Council as a case study. The study analysed the powers of urban local authorities and the constraints being faced in fostering quality services. A qualitative research design was used in this assessment. A sample of 40 respondents was chosen. The sample included the mayor, town clerk, councillors, directors, H.O.Ds and employees. Both secondary and primary data were used in the collection of data. Data was collected from interviews, questionnaires and reports from other researchers to come up with conclusions. The study acknowledged that urban local authorities have no autonomous voice regarding decision making and planning issues because of the powers vested upon the Minister and the President. Urban local authorities derives their duties and powers from different acts of parliament that makes local authorities being subordinated to other Ministries for example the Water Act, Road Act , Health Act to mention but a few. Through a survey that the researcher conducted, it indicated that poor revenue base, political interference, undemocratic legislative amendments, poor governance and making of by-laws are some of the constraints that are being faced by KCC. Borrowing powers and laws reforms are suggested mechanisms that the government of Zimbabwe must adopt. Sustainable financing, transparency, integrated planning of sustainable infrastructure and valuing of local skills can enable urban local authorities to steer socio-economic growth