Women in organisational management in Zimbabwe: theory and practice

The study was premised on the truism that men have historically served in higher echelons of organizational management structures and women are under-represented. The principal objective was to explore the constraints faced by women in accessing higher leadership and senior management positions in public, private and non-governmental organisations in Zimbabwe. This study adopted the triangulation method, that is, qualitative and quantitative approaches. These mixed research methods, were upgraded by the feminist research methodologies, thereby making a contribution in the field of research. The study found out that the constraints that mostly hinder women from accessing leadership and senior management positions in public, private and NGOs were cultural practices, which represent levels of power and control that in turn hinder reforms; and women's socialisation into feminised roles. The study also found out that in most organisations, most females work under male leadership, and this traditional organisational culture, needs to be deconstructed and reversed in order to achieve gender equality. The study recommended for a human centric and integrated organizational management strategy for public, private and NGOs in Zimbabwe. The adoption of a human centric and integrated management approach should aim at gender equity and reduce women's under-representation. A human centred organizational culture has to be practiced, that would create organisational ethos that guide organizational management. An integrated organizational management approach should integrate all systems and processes into one complete framework, enabling people to work as a single unit, unified by organizational goals, shared vision and common values. The system should depend on a balanced mix of the masculine and feminine attributes. The approach should put its weight towards adoption of measures to attract, advance and empower women so as to benefit from their qualifications, experience and talent in a highly competitive environment

An evaluation of the implementation of the student teacher mentoring programme in Zimbabwe

The student teacher mentoring programme (STMP) has been an important feature of the Zimbabwean teacher education landscape since 1995. However, this programme has not been evaluated and thus the need for this article, which seeks to evaluate the implementation of the STMP in Zimbabwe. Data were collected through responses to checklists and questionnaires by ten lecturers and sixteen mentors; fifteen student teachers responded to questionnaires, and two school heads were interviewed. The main findings are that: (1) the STMP is being implemented through the key elements (mentors, student teachers and the mentoring context); (2) while the key participants are playing their part in the STMP, the latter is not being effectively implemented because of lack of funding. This has negatively impacted on the STMP, resulting in low mentor morale. In the recommendations it is urged that the status of the mentor is recognised, in a bid to boost the STMP

Can the restrictive harvest period policy conserve mopane worms in Southern Africa? A bio-economic modelling approach

Imbrasia Belina also known as the mopane worm, like other edible insects and caterpillars, is a vital source of protein to Southern African countries. The worms live and graze on mopane trees, which occupy agricultural land. With increasing commercialization of the worm, the management of the worm, which was hitherto organized as a common property resource, has degraded to a near open access. In this paper, a simple bio-economic modeling approach has been taken to show that, for some optimal land allocation, the restrictive period harvest season policy that is advocated by community leaders may not lead to sustainable harvesting of the worm.

Does education engender cultural values that matter for economic growth?

Empirical research has shown that cultural values matter for economic growth and has specifically identified the achievement motivation as an aspect of culture that engenders economic growth. If specific cultural values engender economic growth, how then can societies promote them? This paper attempts to answer this question using the 2005 wave of the World Values Survey data for 43 countries. We test the contention that education significantly impacts the relative importance an individual places on economic achievement vis-à-vis traditional social norms. Results suggest that individuals with higher education levels attach higher importance to values related to autonomy and economic achievement as compared to conformity to traditional social norms. The results have an important implication for efforts to promote economic development; institutions and specifically public policy on education could be used to encourage people to adopt values that are considered important for economic development.Cultural Values, Education, Ordered Probit, Semi-Nonparametric Estimation

Sustainable Agricultural Practices and Agricultural Productivity in Ethiopia: Does Agroecology Matter?

This paper uses data from household- and plot-level surveys conducted in the highlands of the Tigray and Amhara regions of Ethiopia to examine the contribution of sustainable land-management practices to net values of agricultural production in areas with low- and high-agricultural potential. A combination of parametric and nonparametric estimation techniques is used to check result robustness. Both techniques consistently predict that minimum tillage is superior to commercial fertilizers—as are farmers’ traditional practices without use of commercial fertilizers—in enhancing crop productivity in the low-agricultural potential areas. In the high-agricultural potential areas, by contrast, use of commercial fertilizers is superior to both minimum tillage and farmers’ traditional practices without commercial fertilizers. The results are found to be insensitive to hidden bias. Our findings imply a need for careful agroecological targeting when developing, promoting, and scaling up sustainable land-management practices.agricultural productivity, commercial fertilizer, Ethiopia, low and high agricultural potential, minimum tillage, propensity score matching, switching regression

What determines workers’ preferences for efficiency over equity wages?

What makes workers consider it fair for wages to be indexed on job performance or efficiency? In this paper we attempt to answer this question using the 2005 wave of the World Values Survey data for 43 countries to investigate what socio-economic characteristics condition employees’ preference for efficiency over equity wages. Our results suggest that employees’ preference for efficiency wages increases with education and globalization while it decreases with unemployment, income inequality and income tax rates. Given that conventional economic theory demonstrates the importance of labour efficiency, which improves when workers are remunerated according to their efficiency, for economic growth; our results suggest that institutions and specifically public policies that promote education, and globalization, along with policies that reduce unemployment, income inequality and income tax rates could be used to promote efficiency-based wages.

Does education engender cultural values that matter for economic growth?

Empirical research has shown that cultural values matter for economic growth and has specifically identified the achievement motivation as an aspect of culture that engenders economic growth. If specific cultural values engender economic growth, how then can societies promote them? This paper attempts to answer this question using the 2005 wave of the World Values Survey data for 43 countries. We test the contention that education significantly impacts the relative importance an individual places on economic achievement vis-à-vis traditional social norms. Results suggest that individuals with higher education levels attach higher importance to values related to autonomy and economic achievement as compared to conformity to traditional social norms. The results have an important implication for efforts to promote economic development; institutions and specifically public policy on education could be used to encourage people to adopt values that are considered important for economic development

What determines workers' preferences for efficiency over equity wages?

What makes workers consider it fair for wages to be indexed on job performance or efficiency? In this paper we attempt to answer this question using the 2005 wave of the World Values Survey data for 43 countries to investigate what socio-economic characteristics condition employees' preference for efficiency over equity wages. Our results suggest that employees' preference for efficiency wages increases with education and globalization while it decreases with unemployment, income inequality and income tax rates. Given that conventional economic theory demonstrates the importance of labour efficiency, which improves when workers are remunerated according to their efficiency, for economic growth; our results suggest that institutions and specifically public policies that promote education, and globalization, along with policies that reduce unemployment, income inequality and income tax rates could be used to promote efficiency-based wages