Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), Feb 24, 2023
This article reviews related literature to the first author"s current study entitled "A Critical ... more This article reviews related literature to the first author"s current study entitled "A Critical Assessment of Social Media as a New Marketing Communication Media in the Financial Sector in Zimbabwe."The whole essence of this paper is to present literature review onanassessment of social media as a new marketing communication media in the financial sector in Zimbabwe. In order to gain understanding of social media as a new marketing communication media, the researchers review a range of domestic and international literature sources. The review touches on-a brief history of social media. It goes on to look at the available literature on the forms of social media, as a new marketing communication media as well as its impact and functions as a new communication media. Thereview further deals with the challenges and opportunities on usage of social media as a new marketing communication media and finally, a deeper understanding of social media"s future potential implications and future lessons about this new phenomenon. While the literature identifies the darker side of social media, overwhelming evidence in the review literature points to the need for financial institutions to embrace social media as a new marketing communication tool. The review identifies a gap in that most of the studies on social media usage base on individual views and most of these studies come from developed economies and tend to concentrate much on large financial institutions. Not many studies have examined the actual impact of social media as a new communication tool on performance of the financial sector in Zimbabwe. The review fills this gap.
Perspectives on comprehensive internationalisation of higher education, 2022
Peer review declaration The publisher (AOSIS) endorses the South African 'National Scholarly Book... more Peer review declaration The publisher (AOSIS) endorses the South African 'National Scholarly Book Publishers Forum Best Practice for Peer Review of Scholarly Books'. The manuscript underwent an evaluation to compare the level of originality with other published works and was subjected to rigorous two-step peer review before publication, with the identities of the reviewers not revealed to the editor(s) or author(s). The reviewers were independent of the publisher, editor(s) and author(s). The publisher shared feedback on the similarity report and the reviewers' inputs with the manuscript's editor(s) or author(s) to improve the manuscript. Where the reviewers recommended revision and improvements the editor(s) or author(s) responded adequately to such recommendations. The reviewers commented positively on the scholarly merits of the manuscript and recommended that the book be published. v Research justification Over the past three decades, the internationalisation of higher education (HE) has become a key point of strategy for international organisations, such as the World Bank, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), as well as the European Commission, national governments and higher education institutions (HEIs). The strategic agenda has been driven by a dynamic global education environment and knowledge-based society requiring graduates with technological and discipline-specific knowledge. This book argues that international HE has to be competitive and sustainable while contributing to educational development locally and internationally. This book shows that HEIs are seen as being driven by an economic or educational agenda. For example, internationalisation can be influenced by the university ranking system, which is based on the international reputation of universities, the competitive quality of programmes offered in a market-oriented education environment, the generation of income from the enrolment of international students and employment of highly profiled researchers. Likewise, the book contributes to the production of knowledge by positing that an international profile for HEIs is fundamental to building their international excellence, outstanding academic standards and strengthening their competitiveness and economic growth. However, political and institutional rationales can also be drivers for higher education internationalisation, such as nation-building, national security and reputation. Despite diverse agendas, internationalisation can be abroad and local, wherein students may go abroad to gain international exposure as well as come in to gain local experience. Although virtual internationalisation can be used as an effective vehicle for students to gain international exposure, the majority of students have remained in their local environment. This book provides a detail of new needs, attitudes and demands, which teaching and learning pedagogy has to consider with a view to fostering the internationalisation of higher education. In addition, this book also argues that HEIs must ethically and pedagogically respond to the needs of international students and other stakeholders across various modes of internationalisation of higher education. The book argues that any rationale to internationalise higher education must ensure that inequitable and unethical ideologies and practices are addressed. In the same vein, this book also places emphasis on the importance of institutional quality assurance mechanisms, accreditation, learning outcomes and multicultural connectivity through an inclusive curriculum. Finally, in providing thorough strategies for the comprehensive internationalisation of higher education, this book provides pertinent discussions on the sustainable funding models for the HEIs, repositioning the higher education sector as a vibrant export sector, reforms in higher education, governance in HEIs, entrepreneurship in higher education and competition in higher education. The target audience consists of academia and specialists in global education environments, such as the World Bank, IMF, African Development Bank and the OECD. We declare that this book constitutes original research; it has not been published elsewhere and is not plagiarised.
Zimbabwe went through an unprecedented political and economic crisis between 1999 and 2009 which ... more Zimbabwe went through an unprecedented political and economic crisis between 1999 and 2009 which had severe effects on its tourism and other productive sectors. The main objective of this study was to identify the critical issues Zimbabwe needed to address to re-brand itself as a competitive tourist destination since the subsiding of the crisis in March 2009. Data to fulfill the study's objective was gathered through a questionnaire administered to employees of the country's national tourism organisation, the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority. Six critical issues that influence nation re-branding were extracted from the data using principal component analysis. The tentative managerial implication of the paper was that Zimbabwe needed to consider the six key issues in its tourism destination re-branding effort. The academic implication of the study was that the issues need to be further empirically tested with data from representative samples of respondents drawn from a wide range o...
This studyaimed at providing the approach to be followed by researchers when estimating cost of u... more This studyaimed at providing the approach to be followed by researchers when estimating cost of unserved utility service mostly electricity. It examined the different cost components that can be used to identify total direct cost using a typical direct assessment method. It was revealed that there are variations to direct cost assessment which involved production loss approach and systems outage customer cost approach. Direct Assessment method provides the richest source of information for tracking trends in interruption cost and had a number of weaknesses such as ignoring indirect cost, self assessment problem and nonconsideration for makeup cost. The method can also be used in assessing direct cost for interruption in services such as water supply and telephone services.
The mining sector has been the cornerstone of economic growth in Zimbabwe hence funding becomes v... more The mining sector has been the cornerstone of economic growth in Zimbabwe hence funding becomes very crucial to resuscitate the economy. The study aimed to assess the funding mechanisms for the mining sector of Zimbabwe and the effect of these on the performance of the sector. A quantitative study was carried out in the mining sector. The research findings showed that respondents pointed out that the funding mechanisms used in the mining sector of Zimbabwe are project finance, finance by private equity, public bonds and loans from banks and other financial institutions. It was also revealed that over and above available mechanisms, investment in the mining sector is being influenced by Interest rate, Business economic empowerment policies, bank lending criteria and Technical information, simultaneously. Furthermore, the study established that the mining sector needs skilled and technical staff, Technical information, banks’ lending criteria and Capital markets to get funding from in...
International journal of innovative research and development, 2016
The majority of tourists are using information communication technologies (ICTs) to search for ho... more The majority of tourists are using information communication technologies (ICTs) to search for holiday products and services. The growth in the development of websites by enterprises in the tourism industry is a response to the changing buying behaviour of tourists. The majority of tour operators in Zimbabwe have established websites that endeavour to meet the holiday information needs of potential tourists. The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of tour operators’ websites as a channel for providing holiday information to potential clients and as platforms for transacting. A random sample of 76 tour operators was chosen from the national tourist organization’s register of tour operators. The websites of the tour operators were evaluated using ten variables which included; accessibility; functionality, usability; quality of information, on-line payment capability, navigability, interactivity, design and aesthetic attractiveness, value addition links and translation cap...
This study reviews the factors that make people stay in their organization under hyperinflationar... more This study reviews the factors that make people stay in their organization under hyperinflationary environment. The research integrated the literature on hyperinflation and theoretical framework of factors that make people stay in the organizations. The study focuses on the employee in the automotive industry as is one of the sectors which were hit hard by hyperinflation. The study uses a survey method in eliciting data from the respondents. The findings revealed that employees stay due to non- financial factors and rewards but to other factors such as expectations of a better future after hyperinflation, effective communication, advancement opportunities among others factors. This study is important for management in developing policies for making people stay under difficult environments.
This study investigated the possible impact that trading automation of Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (Z... more This study investigated the possible impact that trading automation of Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) could have on the development of the local capital market from an ex-ante perspective. An assessment of the current level of development of the local capital market was looked at with a view of making recommendations for further improvement from the current levels. In measuring capital market development, four parameters namely, liquidity, volume and value traded, price discovery process and regulation of the market, were used as proxies for capital market development. In determining the current level of capital market development in Zimbabwe, a Capital Market Diagnostic Model was used. A survey was used to collect data from the capital market stakeholders through a structured questionnaire. The results indicated that trading automation has got statistical significant relationships with local market liquidity, volumes and value traded, price discovery process and local market regulat...
The study focuses on establishing the causes of financial distress and its impact on the performa... more The study focuses on establishing the causes of financial distress and its impact on the performance of firms in manufacturing sector in Zimbabwe. The sector plays critical roles in the economy through its linkage to agriculture, GDP, export earnings and employment creation. The study was based on 140 sampled companies in the sector. The findings revealed that there is evidence that the firms in the sector are financially distressed, which is caused by; cost and shortage of capital, cost of importing raw materials, inadequate and costly infrastructure (power and water). Financial distress resulted in deteriorating company performance, company closures, job losses and failure to service loans from banks by companies. The study concluded that the majority of firms in the manufacturing sector are financial distressed and such distress has negative effects on company performance. For the solutions to the problem, the study recommended that firms should raise cheaper capital from other s...
Virtual Banking is a new phenomenon emerging in the Zimbabwean banking sector. It has assisted in... more Virtual Banking is a new phenomenon emerging in the Zimbabwean banking sector. It has assisted in offering low cost and convenient banking solutions to the traditionally unbanked lower end of the market through the use of internet technology and Information Communication Technologies (ICTs). The rivalry among players in the financial services sector has given birth to such innovative banking solutions. Literature revealed that Virtual Banking has many benefits compared to branch banking. The research used random sampling focusing on commercial banks customers and employees across the banking sector. Primary data were collected using questionnaire for this descriptive research. The study revealed that education, age and income play an important role in Virtual banking adoption by customers. It recommended that the banking sector should fully recapitalize itself, acquire the latest Information and Communication Technology and partner with key stakeholders to form formidable business e...
Private occupational schemes have expressed reservations on the way the national scheme is design... more Private occupational schemes have expressed reservations on the way the national scheme is designed. Since the national scheme is compulsory private, schemes have complained that it is crowding them out of the pension industry. They complain that the problem is with the way the system that the national scheme uses i.e. the Defined Benefit (DB) system. They argue that this design should be reformed to the Defined Contribution (DC) system. The objective of this study is to find out whether this call to reform the national scheme has merit. It uses the concepts of time value of money and micro simulation to achieve this objective. It also made assumptions on future wage growth, inflation and returns on investment. While pensioners who die before reaching 65 years would be better off under the DC scheme, the DB scheme favours pensioners who would survive to at least 64 years. After considering the life expectancy at retirement for Zimbabwe the study showed that about eighty percent of p...
International Journals of Marketing and Technology, 2012
Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are regarded as the seedbed of entrepreneurship development. ... more Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are regarded as the seedbed of entrepreneurship development. The government and other support institutions are making efforts to support the growth of the sector. Despite all these efforts and initiatives, there has been an insignificant corresponding growth of SMEs in terms of size. This study adopted both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The research used random sampling focusing on owner/managers. Primary data was collected using questionnaires. The Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) was used to analyse the data. The results show that the main factors constraining the growth of SMEs at Glenview Furniture Complex are limited access to finance, limited access to infrastructure, competition, limited access to markets, HIV/AIDS and lack of access to appropriate technology. It was also found that SMEs at GFC grow through joint ventures, product differentiation, focus strategy and low cost strategy. The study recommended that SMEs at GFC should pull their resources together in acquiring raw materials as a group and selling their products through cooperative shops in town where they can display their products.
Banks in Zimbabwe are facing challenges in attracting deposits from customers due to several reas... more Banks in Zimbabwe are facing challenges in attracting deposits from customers due to several reasons. The banking sector has implemented a wide range of strategies in a bid to attract deposits. These strategies can be broadly classified as promotional, distribution and customer relationship management. The study used the whole population of banks in Zimbabwe. The study reveals that only a few of the strategies implemented seem to work while the rest are ineffective. The study concludes that banks are not exhaustively using distribution strategies and CRM strategies. The study recommends that banks should get into strategic-alliances with local or international partners and introduce information technology frameworks and processes in order to secure customer information and funds.
This study evaluates the effectiveness of turnaround strategies implemented by firms in the manuf... more This study evaluates the effectiveness of turnaround strategies implemented by firms in the manufacturing sector in order to turnaround their businesses in the prevailing operating environment in Zimbabwe. The environment is characterized by many challenges which make it difficult to operate. The objective was to identify the strategies that were actually implemented and how effective they were. A survey of 120 firms in the manufacturing sector was done. Results reveal that most of the firms used retrenchment and asset reduction as turnaround strategies. However, these strategies seemed not to be working effectively as there are no improvements in revenues, profitability, productivity and economic returns. The study concludes that turnaround strategies were partially effective as many companies are not performing well and may close down. The study recommends use of other strategies such as cash refinancing, redefining core business and production related strategies such as quality initiatives and change of packaging as well as robust strategies such as change of company executives, in order to bring a new style and culture to organizations.
Zimbabwe's agriculture sector has been hit hard by power outages. The country has rich fertil... more Zimbabwe's agriculture sector has been hit hard by power outages. The country has rich fertile soils and favourable climatic conditions. Agriculture is the back-borne of the Zimbabwean economy. Agriculture is the number contributor of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) 23%; major export earner and employer. It supports the industry through supply of 60% of the raw materials. The cost associated with outages is either direct or indirect. The research used two approaches, the direct assessment and indirect assessment in estimating the total outage cost. The direct cost method result in more outage cost as compared to captive generation method applied. The sample was selected using stratified sampling and the questionnaire was the main research instrument used. From the study it is clear that, power outages resulted in significant cost to the agriculture sector in Zimbabwe.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), Feb 24, 2023
This article reviews related literature to the first author"s current study entitled "A Critical ... more This article reviews related literature to the first author"s current study entitled "A Critical Assessment of Social Media as a New Marketing Communication Media in the Financial Sector in Zimbabwe."The whole essence of this paper is to present literature review onanassessment of social media as a new marketing communication media in the financial sector in Zimbabwe. In order to gain understanding of social media as a new marketing communication media, the researchers review a range of domestic and international literature sources. The review touches on-a brief history of social media. It goes on to look at the available literature on the forms of social media, as a new marketing communication media as well as its impact and functions as a new communication media. Thereview further deals with the challenges and opportunities on usage of social media as a new marketing communication media and finally, a deeper understanding of social media"s future potential implications and future lessons about this new phenomenon. While the literature identifies the darker side of social media, overwhelming evidence in the review literature points to the need for financial institutions to embrace social media as a new marketing communication tool. The review identifies a gap in that most of the studies on social media usage base on individual views and most of these studies come from developed economies and tend to concentrate much on large financial institutions. Not many studies have examined the actual impact of social media as a new communication tool on performance of the financial sector in Zimbabwe. The review fills this gap.
Perspectives on comprehensive internationalisation of higher education, 2022
Peer review declaration The publisher (AOSIS) endorses the South African 'National Scholarly Book... more Peer review declaration The publisher (AOSIS) endorses the South African 'National Scholarly Book Publishers Forum Best Practice for Peer Review of Scholarly Books'. The manuscript underwent an evaluation to compare the level of originality with other published works and was subjected to rigorous two-step peer review before publication, with the identities of the reviewers not revealed to the editor(s) or author(s). The reviewers were independent of the publisher, editor(s) and author(s). The publisher shared feedback on the similarity report and the reviewers' inputs with the manuscript's editor(s) or author(s) to improve the manuscript. Where the reviewers recommended revision and improvements the editor(s) or author(s) responded adequately to such recommendations. The reviewers commented positively on the scholarly merits of the manuscript and recommended that the book be published. v Research justification Over the past three decades, the internationalisation of higher education (HE) has become a key point of strategy for international organisations, such as the World Bank, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), as well as the European Commission, national governments and higher education institutions (HEIs). The strategic agenda has been driven by a dynamic global education environment and knowledge-based society requiring graduates with technological and discipline-specific knowledge. This book argues that international HE has to be competitive and sustainable while contributing to educational development locally and internationally. This book shows that HEIs are seen as being driven by an economic or educational agenda. For example, internationalisation can be influenced by the university ranking system, which is based on the international reputation of universities, the competitive quality of programmes offered in a market-oriented education environment, the generation of income from the enrolment of international students and employment of highly profiled researchers. Likewise, the book contributes to the production of knowledge by positing that an international profile for HEIs is fundamental to building their international excellence, outstanding academic standards and strengthening their competitiveness and economic growth. However, political and institutional rationales can also be drivers for higher education internationalisation, such as nation-building, national security and reputation. Despite diverse agendas, internationalisation can be abroad and local, wherein students may go abroad to gain international exposure as well as come in to gain local experience. Although virtual internationalisation can be used as an effective vehicle for students to gain international exposure, the majority of students have remained in their local environment. This book provides a detail of new needs, attitudes and demands, which teaching and learning pedagogy has to consider with a view to fostering the internationalisation of higher education. In addition, this book also argues that HEIs must ethically and pedagogically respond to the needs of international students and other stakeholders across various modes of internationalisation of higher education. The book argues that any rationale to internationalise higher education must ensure that inequitable and unethical ideologies and practices are addressed. In the same vein, this book also places emphasis on the importance of institutional quality assurance mechanisms, accreditation, learning outcomes and multicultural connectivity through an inclusive curriculum. Finally, in providing thorough strategies for the comprehensive internationalisation of higher education, this book provides pertinent discussions on the sustainable funding models for the HEIs, repositioning the higher education sector as a vibrant export sector, reforms in higher education, governance in HEIs, entrepreneurship in higher education and competition in higher education. The target audience consists of academia and specialists in global education environments, such as the World Bank, IMF, African Development Bank and the OECD. We declare that this book constitutes original research; it has not been published elsewhere and is not plagiarised.
Zimbabwe went through an unprecedented political and economic crisis between 1999 and 2009 which ... more Zimbabwe went through an unprecedented political and economic crisis between 1999 and 2009 which had severe effects on its tourism and other productive sectors. The main objective of this study was to identify the critical issues Zimbabwe needed to address to re-brand itself as a competitive tourist destination since the subsiding of the crisis in March 2009. Data to fulfill the study's objective was gathered through a questionnaire administered to employees of the country's national tourism organisation, the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority. Six critical issues that influence nation re-branding were extracted from the data using principal component analysis. The tentative managerial implication of the paper was that Zimbabwe needed to consider the six key issues in its tourism destination re-branding effort. The academic implication of the study was that the issues need to be further empirically tested with data from representative samples of respondents drawn from a wide range o...
This studyaimed at providing the approach to be followed by researchers when estimating cost of u... more This studyaimed at providing the approach to be followed by researchers when estimating cost of unserved utility service mostly electricity. It examined the different cost components that can be used to identify total direct cost using a typical direct assessment method. It was revealed that there are variations to direct cost assessment which involved production loss approach and systems outage customer cost approach. Direct Assessment method provides the richest source of information for tracking trends in interruption cost and had a number of weaknesses such as ignoring indirect cost, self assessment problem and nonconsideration for makeup cost. The method can also be used in assessing direct cost for interruption in services such as water supply and telephone services.
The mining sector has been the cornerstone of economic growth in Zimbabwe hence funding becomes v... more The mining sector has been the cornerstone of economic growth in Zimbabwe hence funding becomes very crucial to resuscitate the economy. The study aimed to assess the funding mechanisms for the mining sector of Zimbabwe and the effect of these on the performance of the sector. A quantitative study was carried out in the mining sector. The research findings showed that respondents pointed out that the funding mechanisms used in the mining sector of Zimbabwe are project finance, finance by private equity, public bonds and loans from banks and other financial institutions. It was also revealed that over and above available mechanisms, investment in the mining sector is being influenced by Interest rate, Business economic empowerment policies, bank lending criteria and Technical information, simultaneously. Furthermore, the study established that the mining sector needs skilled and technical staff, Technical information, banks’ lending criteria and Capital markets to get funding from in...
International journal of innovative research and development, 2016
The majority of tourists are using information communication technologies (ICTs) to search for ho... more The majority of tourists are using information communication technologies (ICTs) to search for holiday products and services. The growth in the development of websites by enterprises in the tourism industry is a response to the changing buying behaviour of tourists. The majority of tour operators in Zimbabwe have established websites that endeavour to meet the holiday information needs of potential tourists. The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of tour operators’ websites as a channel for providing holiday information to potential clients and as platforms for transacting. A random sample of 76 tour operators was chosen from the national tourist organization’s register of tour operators. The websites of the tour operators were evaluated using ten variables which included; accessibility; functionality, usability; quality of information, on-line payment capability, navigability, interactivity, design and aesthetic attractiveness, value addition links and translation cap...
This study reviews the factors that make people stay in their organization under hyperinflationar... more This study reviews the factors that make people stay in their organization under hyperinflationary environment. The research integrated the literature on hyperinflation and theoretical framework of factors that make people stay in the organizations. The study focuses on the employee in the automotive industry as is one of the sectors which were hit hard by hyperinflation. The study uses a survey method in eliciting data from the respondents. The findings revealed that employees stay due to non- financial factors and rewards but to other factors such as expectations of a better future after hyperinflation, effective communication, advancement opportunities among others factors. This study is important for management in developing policies for making people stay under difficult environments.
This study investigated the possible impact that trading automation of Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (Z... more This study investigated the possible impact that trading automation of Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) could have on the development of the local capital market from an ex-ante perspective. An assessment of the current level of development of the local capital market was looked at with a view of making recommendations for further improvement from the current levels. In measuring capital market development, four parameters namely, liquidity, volume and value traded, price discovery process and regulation of the market, were used as proxies for capital market development. In determining the current level of capital market development in Zimbabwe, a Capital Market Diagnostic Model was used. A survey was used to collect data from the capital market stakeholders through a structured questionnaire. The results indicated that trading automation has got statistical significant relationships with local market liquidity, volumes and value traded, price discovery process and local market regulat...
The study focuses on establishing the causes of financial distress and its impact on the performa... more The study focuses on establishing the causes of financial distress and its impact on the performance of firms in manufacturing sector in Zimbabwe. The sector plays critical roles in the economy through its linkage to agriculture, GDP, export earnings and employment creation. The study was based on 140 sampled companies in the sector. The findings revealed that there is evidence that the firms in the sector are financially distressed, which is caused by; cost and shortage of capital, cost of importing raw materials, inadequate and costly infrastructure (power and water). Financial distress resulted in deteriorating company performance, company closures, job losses and failure to service loans from banks by companies. The study concluded that the majority of firms in the manufacturing sector are financial distressed and such distress has negative effects on company performance. For the solutions to the problem, the study recommended that firms should raise cheaper capital from other s...
Virtual Banking is a new phenomenon emerging in the Zimbabwean banking sector. It has assisted in... more Virtual Banking is a new phenomenon emerging in the Zimbabwean banking sector. It has assisted in offering low cost and convenient banking solutions to the traditionally unbanked lower end of the market through the use of internet technology and Information Communication Technologies (ICTs). The rivalry among players in the financial services sector has given birth to such innovative banking solutions. Literature revealed that Virtual Banking has many benefits compared to branch banking. The research used random sampling focusing on commercial banks customers and employees across the banking sector. Primary data were collected using questionnaire for this descriptive research. The study revealed that education, age and income play an important role in Virtual banking adoption by customers. It recommended that the banking sector should fully recapitalize itself, acquire the latest Information and Communication Technology and partner with key stakeholders to form formidable business e...
Private occupational schemes have expressed reservations on the way the national scheme is design... more Private occupational schemes have expressed reservations on the way the national scheme is designed. Since the national scheme is compulsory private, schemes have complained that it is crowding them out of the pension industry. They complain that the problem is with the way the system that the national scheme uses i.e. the Defined Benefit (DB) system. They argue that this design should be reformed to the Defined Contribution (DC) system. The objective of this study is to find out whether this call to reform the national scheme has merit. It uses the concepts of time value of money and micro simulation to achieve this objective. It also made assumptions on future wage growth, inflation and returns on investment. While pensioners who die before reaching 65 years would be better off under the DC scheme, the DB scheme favours pensioners who would survive to at least 64 years. After considering the life expectancy at retirement for Zimbabwe the study showed that about eighty percent of p...
International Journals of Marketing and Technology, 2012
Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are regarded as the seedbed of entrepreneurship development. ... more Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are regarded as the seedbed of entrepreneurship development. The government and other support institutions are making efforts to support the growth of the sector. Despite all these efforts and initiatives, there has been an insignificant corresponding growth of SMEs in terms of size. This study adopted both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The research used random sampling focusing on owner/managers. Primary data was collected using questionnaires. The Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) was used to analyse the data. The results show that the main factors constraining the growth of SMEs at Glenview Furniture Complex are limited access to finance, limited access to infrastructure, competition, limited access to markets, HIV/AIDS and lack of access to appropriate technology. It was also found that SMEs at GFC grow through joint ventures, product differentiation, focus strategy and low cost strategy. The study recommended that SMEs at GFC should pull their resources together in acquiring raw materials as a group and selling their products through cooperative shops in town where they can display their products.
Banks in Zimbabwe are facing challenges in attracting deposits from customers due to several reas... more Banks in Zimbabwe are facing challenges in attracting deposits from customers due to several reasons. The banking sector has implemented a wide range of strategies in a bid to attract deposits. These strategies can be broadly classified as promotional, distribution and customer relationship management. The study used the whole population of banks in Zimbabwe. The study reveals that only a few of the strategies implemented seem to work while the rest are ineffective. The study concludes that banks are not exhaustively using distribution strategies and CRM strategies. The study recommends that banks should get into strategic-alliances with local or international partners and introduce information technology frameworks and processes in order to secure customer information and funds.
This study evaluates the effectiveness of turnaround strategies implemented by firms in the manuf... more This study evaluates the effectiveness of turnaround strategies implemented by firms in the manufacturing sector in order to turnaround their businesses in the prevailing operating environment in Zimbabwe. The environment is characterized by many challenges which make it difficult to operate. The objective was to identify the strategies that were actually implemented and how effective they were. A survey of 120 firms in the manufacturing sector was done. Results reveal that most of the firms used retrenchment and asset reduction as turnaround strategies. However, these strategies seemed not to be working effectively as there are no improvements in revenues, profitability, productivity and economic returns. The study concludes that turnaround strategies were partially effective as many companies are not performing well and may close down. The study recommends use of other strategies such as cash refinancing, redefining core business and production related strategies such as quality initiatives and change of packaging as well as robust strategies such as change of company executives, in order to bring a new style and culture to organizations.
Zimbabwe's agriculture sector has been hit hard by power outages. The country has rich fertil... more Zimbabwe's agriculture sector has been hit hard by power outages. The country has rich fertile soils and favourable climatic conditions. Agriculture is the back-borne of the Zimbabwean economy. Agriculture is the number contributor of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) 23%; major export earner and employer. It supports the industry through supply of 60% of the raw materials. The cost associated with outages is either direct or indirect. The research used two approaches, the direct assessment and indirect assessment in estimating the total outage cost. The direct cost method result in more outage cost as compared to captive generation method applied. The sample was selected using stratified sampling and the questionnaire was the main research instrument used. From the study it is clear that, power outages resulted in significant cost to the agriculture sector in Zimbabwe.
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