Detailed document on how Mr Carlos Ghosn Changed the Fortunes on Nissan 7S Framework Approach

1. 1.1 Using supporting evidence from the case, discuss how Mr. Carlos
Ghosn applied the Mckinseys’ 7 S framework to turn around the
fortunes of Nissan. (25 Marks)
Strategy
Strategy basically entails the appropriate course of action to take in order to meet
organizational goals and objectives. Mr Ghosn applied strategy and revamped Nissan in
the following ways;
 Strategic alliances.
Mr Goshen applied strategy to turn around Nissan as he accommodated and also
facilitated strategic alliances between Nissan and Renault. This strategic alliance was
vital to the success of Nissan as it helped get rid of the short term troubles that had
accumulated. This alliance also helped Nissan adopt Renault’s competencies such as
sophisticated manufacturing. These strategic alliances made them profitable in the long
run and helped them adopt the efficiencies of Renault. This can be seen by the below
quotation;
“Triggering the alliance was Nissan’s strength in product designs and sophisticated
manufacturing that blended well with the engineering quality at Renault. For Renault, the
alliance would help in international expansions in the long-term while for Nissan; it was
to get rid of its short-term troubles that had accumulated. “
 Cost Cutting and improving profits through strategies such as Divestments
(NRP Stage 1)
Mr Goshen also applied the strategy in the 7s model and implemented cost cutting
measures with inurn would cut down losses. This included divestments from subsidiaries
to reduce debts. Furthermore to cut the costs, Mr Goshen closed five plants which
included both assembly plants and power train plants. This can be seen by the quotation
below;

2. “The first major step Carlos Ghosn undertook was divestments from subsidiaries to
reduce the debt”
 Low Cost strategy.
This included new supplier acquisition by providing a platform for any supplier to supply
Nissan. This in turn reduced the bargaining power of suppliers and therefore ensured that
the supplies brought to Nissan were at a low costs. The quote below attests to this,
. “As part of the revival plan, suppliers were forced to offer discounts to the tune of 20-
30%and the number of suppliers was brought down to 600 from 1145 while the
purchasing costs were reduced by 20%”
 International Market Penetration and expansion (compettive strategy)
Mr Ghosn also brought about a strategy for market penetration and expansion as he
ensured that Nissan opened a new plant in North America where it had been receiving
intense competition from competition, primarily competition from Japanese car
manufacturers. This was a strategy to fend of competition as it would allow them to tailor
make cars in that region with the specific need of customer belonging to that region. This
also would bring about international presence and brand recognition in North America.
The quote below highlights the strategy;
“A new plant was set up in Canton, the first in North America where Nissan was facing
challenges from other Japanese automakers, Toyota and Honda”
• Cost reduction strategy in manufacturing
Mr Ghosn also crafted a strategy to counter the shortage of steel. Nissan closed its plants
for 5 days, which generated more savings than losses ($9.7 billion). This was a short term
strategy meant to address the temporary shortage of steel in China. The quote below
highlights the benefit of the strategy;
“Ghosn defended himself saying that the savings achieved during that phase
were far more [$9.7 billion] than the losses incurred due to loss of sales. “

3. • Increase in sales and improving the top line growth
This was the second stage of NRP, which involved increasing the number of cars sold
and dropping non performing products from its portfolio. This brought about the need for
innovation and differentiation, which they achieved by introducing the Nissan Z coupe,
which was new product and line which they had never ventured into but was relatively
successful. This can be supported by the quote below;
“Carlos Ghosn stressed on selling more cars, improving the top line growth as well.
Dropping non-performing products from its portfolio, the company introduced trendy
new models in SUVs and minivans category. An updated Z sports coupe was
reintroduced in the market. The phase two increased sales by one million and debt was
brought down to zero”
Structure
The structure best describes how the organization is organized. In this case it would be
how Mr Ghosn realigned and revamped the organizational structure of Nissan to help it
achieve its objectives and attain profitability.
 Cross functional integration and teamwork
Mr Ghosn revamped the structure by facilitating the integration of employees with
different expertise to work together across functions. Employees became more involved
in the revival process. This also made employees look beyond their lines of
responsibilities and allowed them to appreciate and acquire knowledge of what happens
in other departments. The quote below highlights the structure change;
“Cross-functional teams were formed and employees were involved in the revival
process....Through these cross-functional teams, employees were made to look beyond
their line of responsibilities, understanding the nitty- gritties of the other departments as
well”

4.  Workers assumed responsibility and accountability
The after effect of cross-functional teams was that employees owned up responsibility
whenever something went wrong. Initially nobody wanted to take responsibility when
results where unfavorable. Accountability and responsibility brings clarity and
coordination within the organization.
“After the cross-functional teams were in place, people owned up responsibility
whenever something went wrong”
 Clear Objectives , roles and tasks
Teams were asked to submit plans on how they would achieve objectives that would
bring out the maximum output and the decision making process was cut down to just one
week for the execution of those plans. This brought about a clear clarification of roles and
tasks, goals and objectives. This also eliminates confusion within the organization and
ensured that objectives are tackled in a timely way as everyone will be aware of what
they must be doing and why they are doing it . The below quotation attests to this;
“He establishes high yet attainable goals; makes everything clear to all roles and levels of
responsibility, works with speed; checks on progress; and appraises results based on fact”
 Decentralization
Mr Ghosn revamped the structure by facilitating the participation of employees thereby
allowing them to make their own decisions. Moreover, the fact that the functional teams
where required to make their own plans and implement decisions within the week
pertaining to those plans, this highlights that tactical decisions were now decentralized
“Listening to the employees and facilitating their participation in the decision-making
process, was key aspect of Carlos Ghosn's leadership.”
Systems
This basically looks at the business and technical infrastructure that employees use on a
day to day basis to accomplish their aims and goals.
 Regular meetings put in place to overcome resistance to change.

5. This ensures that employees and design engineers would adopt the technology that was
brought about from the alliance, in this particular case, Renault. Also regular functional
team meetings would constantly keep them in line with organizational goals.
“ To overcome resistance, regular meetings were conducted among the Nissan and
Renault employees”
 Implementing a 100 key word dictionary to be used throughout the
organization.
Cultural clashes where minimized by making English the common language within the
organization. This ensured that employees understood each other and put their cultural
differences aside. Some of the words included 'commitment', 'transparency', 'objectives',
and 'targets', and this kept all employees on one page.
“To ensure that the Japanese staff understands what the French managers spoke, English
was made the common language in the company”
 Quality control team
With the declining quality and standards, complaints were now being made by customers
concerning the defects. Sales also plunged. Mr Ghosn introduced quality control teams
that analyzed each and every part of the product line and improved the production
process. The quality control team was a system put in place to ensure that products
remain high quality and with minimum defects. The quote below highlights the quality
control team;
“To counter the situation, in May 2004, he sent a quality control team of 220 engineers to
the Nissan plant in Smyrna (Tennessee) and every part of the assembly line went through
a detailed scrutiny”
 Implementation of the Nissan Revival Plan (NRP)
This was a system that addressed timing, plan schedules, commitment as well as targets.
This would make it easier to conduct progress checks and easy monitoring of activities.
Plan schedules in their own right are a system for apportionment of planned work and
activities. Targets keep employees in line with meeting organizational objectives.

6. “The outcome was the Nissan Revival Plan (NRP). After the NRP was announced, every
aspect from the timing, the plan schedules and the commitments as well as targets were
clearly stated”
Shared Values
This is entails the set of traits, behaviours and characteristics that the organization
believes in. This also includes the organizations mission and vision.
 Identify the needs of stakeholders
Mr Ghosn brought about transparency within Nissan as he invited the input of every
influential individual including suppliers, ex-employees and dealers.
• Translating an English speaking culture within the organization
Mr Ghosn managed to turn around Nissan through the implementation of one common
language that intended to address the cultural disparities of the different employee
backgrounds within the organization. This also in turn ensured that cultural conflicts were
eliminated. It placed the employees in one accord to focus on reviving Nissan with the
using of common words such as 'commitment', 'transparency', 'objectives', and 'targets'.
“A dictionary of 100 key words used by them –management- was prepared to solve the
differences in the way each work was interpreted by French as well as Japanese. The
words included 'commitment', 'transparency', 'objectives', and 'targets'
• Introducing the NRP ‘ through the whole organization
He put forward the NRP as an ‘organizations collective effort’ involving thousands of
employees at every managerial level. This ensured that all employees work with a
common vision and goal of reviving Nissan. The NRP brought about clarity of objectives
that would lead to the achievement of the vision. Each stage of the NRP had an objective
and mission to meet. This can be highlighted by the quotation below;

7. “He called the NRP, an 'organization's collective effort' involving thousands of
employees at every managerial level”
“The first phase of NRP focused on cutting the costs and improving profits”
Staff
Staff refers to the number and types of personnel within the organization and how companies
develop employees and shape basic values. It also refers to the company's people resources and
how they are developed, trained, and motivated.
• Introduction of a Performance based and merit based system
This allowed Nissan to identify the competent employees and to reward them .The motivated
employees as it as they would feel recognized and appreciate by their hard work. This would
guarantee commitment and effort from the employees. The old system that gave merit to elders
disregarded the other employees that would work hard but were not old enough. However, this
system was removed and replaced with a more contemporary one.
“The seniority-based promotion that was entrenched in the Japanese firm was replaced by
a performance based and merit-based incentive system”
• Layoff through retirements, pre-retirements and golden handshakes
Instead of sacking people which was against the Japanese way, layoff were done through
retirements and golden handshakes. Golden handshakes highlight that employees were
recognized for their services to Nissan and where given a retirement package. This also
made sure that cost cutting was achieved by staff layoffs however, retirement packages
and payments would also act as insurance to those employees left behind who were not
laid off. This would ensure their commitment to the organization. This can be supported
by the quote below;
“Instead of sacking people, which was against the culture in Japan, 21,000 jobs were cut
through retirements, pre-retirements and golden handshakes out of which 16500 were in
Japan alone”

8. • Empowerment and motivation
Mr Ghosn constantly endeavored to motivate and empower employees. Motivation would
bring about high employee commitment, high productivity and achievement of goals. By
maintaining a level of interest by the employee within the organization, it would translate
the fact that employees would be posed with new challenges and constantly keep them
thinking of where the business will go. Empowering them would allow them to make
their own decisions which also gave them room to stretch their mental capabilities. This
would develop the employees.
“His management style is woven around two attributes- 'value and motivation'. He
believed in motivating employees and demanding performance by empowering them.”
• Participation
Mr Ghosn facilitated the participation of Employees by allowing them to make their own
plans and to articulate their viewpoints to him if the felt to do. The employees would feel
recognized and appreciated thereby increasing their morale and motivation. Participation
also brings about an improvement of processes.
“Carlos Ghosn had to repeatedly explain to the employees that he needed their
viewpoints and would not mind if they speak out”
“Listening to the employees and facilitating their participation in the decision-making process,
was key aspect of Carlos Ghosn's leadership”
Style
This highlights the culture of the organization, consisting of two components namely
organizational Culture and management style.
Transformational leader
Mr Ghosn managed to change the old production processes of Nissan by bringing about
the engineering quality of Renault to Nissan. Furthermore, Mr Ghosn also brought about
new models in SUV and Vans. He also change the organizational culture to one culture
governed by English. He also combined team work across functions, and brought about

9. process changes through alliances with companies such as Mitsubishi. This ensured the
revival of Nissan One quotation in the text highlights that;
“Some others called him 'an ambassador of change'
Democratic Leadership Style
Mr Ghosn had a democratic leadership style that allowed employees to participate and
articulate their thoughts to him. This would improve processes as it eradicated
bureaucracy and would help the employee develop themselves in decision making and
thinking.
“Listening to the employees and facilitating their participation in the decision-making process,
was key aspect of Carlos Ghosn's leadership”
Facilitating teamwork across functions within the organization.
Cross functional teams where put in place that brought about the involvement in the process of
reviving Nissan. This brought about unity, coordination and harmony within the organization as
employees would appreciate what different functions do.
“Through these cross-functional teams, employees were made to look beyond their line
of responsibilities, understanding the nitty- gritties of the other departments as well”
Other qualities of leadership that he possessed where;
Open mindedness- As he was willing to learn from others that is, hearing the thoughts of
employees. The helped him revamp Nissan as employees would work with the feeling of
being recognized, hence they would put in more effort.
Innovative- He brought about new processes and products, such as Vans and a remake of
the Nissan Z. This would help Nissan achieve brand awareness within the market and
differentiate themselves from competition.

10. Approachable and welcoming- He allowed employees to speak to him and would
accommodate their ideas. This would help Nissan maintain a high productivity as the
employees would feel recognized and motivated, which will ensure their productiveness
Fairness and Transparency- The removal of rewards according to age and the
introduction of performance based rewards proved to be fair and transparent.
Skills
This basically highlights the capabilities and competencies that exist within the
company. What it does best.
The skills that were used in Nissan to revamp it was;
• Cross functional skills amongst engineers and financial people. The entailed that
both functions appreciated and new something about the other function.
• Use of design engineers to differentiate products “While at the same time, Carlos
Ghosn began to recruit more designers from Japan to design new models”
• A quality control team of 220 engineers. This helped them address the issue of
defects, improve the production processes and improve the quality.
• Innovation and development. This can be seen by the fact that Nissan came up
with new models and Mini vans. This helped them achieve a sales increase and
competitive advantage.
Conclusion.
The Mckinseys’ 7s frame work can be used in any type of organization to turn
inefficiencies into efficiencies. It covers all the aspects of the organization and if applied
properly can turn a struggling organization into a successful organization. This can be
seen in the case of Nissan, as it managed to revamp it.

11. Question 1.2
Discuss the behavioral attributes that enable a leader to become effective in a work
organization (15 Marks)
The performance of any organization is intertwined to the type of leadership it has. In the
case study, Carlos Ghosn is a typical revolutionary leader who managed to turn around
Nissan’s sinking ship when all other prospective partners abandoned the alliance given its
high debts and losses. Following is the analysis of the behavioral attributes that research
has universally discovered to be essential for organization’s based on the success story of
Carlos Ghosn leadership. Usually there is a thin line between skill and behavior where
the former can be developed and learnt, whilst the latter encompasses the virtues and
values that form part of the person’s character.
Willpower and Determination
This is willingness to accept responsibility of leadership (Tozer J. etal, 1997) and every
successful leader must have the determination to “take the bull by its horns”. Carlos was
very determined to take the Nissan challenge from the initial stage, where he consciously
decided not to learn about Japan prior but to discover by himself when he got there.
Indeed, he gave himself time to discover Japanese culture at Nissan and language and he
was coined a polyglot (multi-linguist) and a cosmopolitan (multi-culturist) by analysts.
Carlos was determined to restore Nissan viability through his unpopular non-Japanese
unconventional regimes. He worked against initial resistance for the employees and
transformed them into a hub of solutions, he went to an extent of connecting with Nissan
ex-employees and influential suppliers in a bid to gather knowledge. He worked 24/7
because of his determination to work and solved problems that he was not even
responsible for.
Inspirational and Motivational
These attributes require high levels of energy and enthusiasm of the leader which is
passed onto employees and unlocks additional effort and performance of employees
towards target achievement (Folkman et al, 2010). Mr. Carlos was a charismatic leader
who was committed to employee motivation as he encouraged employee participation in

12. decision making, a difficult task since the Japanese are generally unforthcoming with
their ideas. As he constantly explained the value of their view-points, they became
initiators of great ideologies. He even became a model to leaders of other companies in
Japan who began to implement his leadership style, the “Foreigner’s.
Driving for results and walking-the-talk
Leaders who do not stick to their word lose the employee trust and integrity and this
impacts negatively on the performance of the employees towards the organization. They
must do what they expect their subordinates to do (Folkman et al, 2010). If there is clarity
of direction, then it makes employees see the results of their extra efforts leading to a
ripple effect of organizational citizen behavior (OCB). Colleagues were impressed by
Carlos’ hard work with himself going round the clock to achieve the objectives, this
became infectious throughout his team and they had a collective mind in achieving the
targets. Someone noted that he can be ruthless to those that are not results-oriented. He
formed the Nissan Revival Program (NRP) which was a vehicle of implementing his
strategies through setting clear high but attainable, times lines, responsibilities and
followed up religiously on outcomes. He would personally make a follow-up on issues
for checking progress, also he set short-term goals so that speedy results would be
realized.
Strategic perspective
Successful leaders set effective strategic plans through intellect and “clarity of thought”
attributes which is the ability to reduce challenging tasks into simple formats and focuses
on that till results are achieved (Folkman Z, 2010). Carlos was able to stratify the main
challenges of restoring profitability and debt management into workable tasks through
the formation of NRP at all managerial levels involving thousands of employees which
he coined a “organization collective effort”. The main strategies revolved around cost
cutting measures which alone led to huge inrods to bottom-line restoration. The policies
for purchasing and investment were all changed as a measure of cutting down costs. He
also strategically shut down five subsidiaries which were making losses and embarked on
an extensive job cut. This brought about an impressive turn-around of Nissan. The
alliance with Renault took advantage of exististing infrastructure which gave them
economies of scale,

13. Collaboration
Research has discovered that leadership that promotes collaboration or cohesion among
work groups inculcate unity of purpose in the organization which is the very essence of
success. This is creates an enjoyable experience and positive work environment for
employees which makes them highly productive (Folkman et al, 2010). Carlos formed
cross functional groups among the Nissan management team, which received serious
resistance since their culture was sectionalism. However, through persistence Carlos
managed to win then over by explaining the benefits these groups have. This was the
inception of NRP groups which became key to strategy plan execution that bore excellent
results of reduced costs, thereby improving the bottom line. The benefits lie in that the
fact that employees get to understand other departments better and develop concern and
eventually assist in cross function problem solving. The groups also worked in Carlos
favour as they became an ingredient of his acceptance by the employees.
Trust
Mutual trust in any organisation gives positive results since it allows autonomy in the
group, this has a naturally effective impact for execution of tasks. Carlos listened
carefully to his employees and respected their individuality whilst promoting
participative involvement, this led to employees trusting leadership and by delivering
because Japanese are usually not forth-coming with their ideologies. On the other hand,
Carlos showed trust for the team as be always said that solutions to Nissan problems lie
within and can only be solved by the employees. He also managed to re-gain trust from
the community when made sure that he attended their special events after being
considered disrespectful the first time he failed to attend.
Moral courage
This is boldness to take challenging decisons because it is right, correct and necessary
despite being unpopular (Tozer etal, 1997). Satisfied leaders take problems head on and
not shy away from conflicts but solve them as soon as they arise (Folkman et al, 2010).
The very first step of accepting the job from a sinking company was very courageous
since his counterparts from other companies could not stand the challenge. Again Carlos

14. was younger than most of his management team, this did not intimidate him or impede
him from giving instructions.
When Carlos discovered that some subsidiaries were unprofitable, he shut them down
and this created hatred towards him by stakeholders in the five companies to an extent
that he had to use a body guard when going around. He was very decisive and tactful in
handling the issue to prevent premature abortion of the plan as some board members were
strongly resistant. Again he instigated for job cuts through prime and prior retirements
plus golden handshakes, all in the aim of cutting down expenses which was very
necessary. Again, the merging of the platforms from Renault and Nissan brought in
cultural conflicts between the French and Japanese in the aim of reducing the overall
platform levels to sustainable levels. He went out of his way to make the arrangement
work and introduced a “most commonly used” 100 English words to ease the
communication barrier between the two national groups, it worked quite well.
Highly confident and positive
Employees prefer to follow a positive and confident leader as they would be certain of
achievement to results. Carlos was so sure of the effectiveness of his unconventional and
non- Japanese methods until he even vowed that it they fail he is ready to leave together
with his team. When he was faced with quality challenges and performance dropped
dismally, he confidently assured people that he will fix it and he did!
Develops and supports others
Employees who develop new skills become highly productive and promotable (Folkman
et al, 2010). Carlos did a great deal of developing the Japanese at Nissan through
transformation from their poor problem solving to a very effective team of problem
solvers. They did not accept responsibility and would rather live with the problems, this
is toxic to any organisation. To promote competence amongst employees, he changed the
culture of promotion by seniority to promotion by performance, this would motivate
employees to strive for excellence. Carlos promoted individualism as a strategy for
Japanese as he noted that they are not easily come forth with their ideas compared to the
French at Renault where team work was prominent. He also was able to harness the two
team’s strength i.e. Japanese’s love for manufacturing and the skillful designs that the
French could make.

15. List of references
Folkman S, Kupst MJ, Butt Z, Stoney CM, Griffith JW, Salsman JM, , Cella D. Assessment of
stress and self-efficacy for the NIH Toolbox for Neurological and Behavioral Function. Anxiety
Stress Coping. 2010; 28(5):531-44. PMID: 25577948; PMCID

16. Citing relevant examples, critically examine the organizational behavior
issues confronting Zimbabwean business managers.
Introduction
Managers are a key resource within the organization. They facilitate the success of the
organization by planning, leading, organizing, controlling and staffing the human and non
human resources within the organization. According to Golembiewski (2001) highlighted
that the success of managers is greatly determined by their ability to manage
organizational behavior issues using their functions. Golembiewski (2001) further
highlights that organizational behavior runs across groups, individuals, structure and the
environment. To add on, managers have to use their functions to manage organizational
behavior effectively in order to help the organization achieve its goals and objectives.
However, these organizational behavior components encapsulate the platform in which
the organizations operate. They are the skeleton that helps define the organization. With
this in mind, this essay will critically examine how these organizational behavior issues
are confronting Zimbabwean business managers using relevant examples.
Definition of key terms
Robbins and Judge (2007) defines organizational behavior as a field of study that
analysis the impact of how individuals, groups and structure affect the behavior within
the organization for the purpose of using this knowledge towards improving the
organization’s effectiveness. However, to refine the definition, organizational behavior
can be defined as the detailed examination of how the environment , groups, individuals,
and structure affects the performance of the organization, with the systematic view that
the environment is divided into both the internal and external environment.
Body
The main organizational behavior issues confronting Zimbabwean business managers are
groups, individuals, structure and the environment.

17. Individuals
Attitudes, attitudes, personality traits and values
The individual forms a substantial part of organisational behavior. It is the individual that
goes on to form groups and structures within the organization. Within Zimbabwe, issues
such as job attitudes, personality traits and values as well as stress and motivation
always confront business managers in Zimbabwe. Masara (2016) highlighted that
workers at Hwange fainted at work due to hunger and stress as they had a 10 month
salary back log. The workers committee chairperson of Hwange went to highlight that
stress related to being a bread winner who does not bring anything home coupled with
hunger had caused fainting and death of workers. With stress being prevalent within the
organization, job dissatisfaction becomes very high and there were medical
consequences such as death.
Moreover, the fact that workers are not being paid translates that basic needs such as the
need for shelter and basic needs such as food, clothing and health are not being met. The
motivation of employees will most likely be low. Business managers in Zimbabwe will
end up having to deal with absenteeism, poor productivity by employees and resignations
by employees. With this in mind, Zimbabwean managers are faced with the need to
motivate their subordinates. They can apply job enrichment and job enlargement
among other job design processes indoor to increase the motivation of their employees.
Mswazie (2015) highlighted that sixteen thousand Tongaat Huelet workers in Chiredzi
went on strike with the intention of amassing a salary increase. According to Hertzberg
two factor theory, hygiene factors such as remuneration do not give positive satisfaction
or motivation but their absence causes dissatisfaction. In this case the individual
“Tongaat Huelet worker” felt that he/she was not getting paid enough and the absence of
the desired remuneration caused dissatisfaction thereby causing strikes, which in turn
lower productivity as they where no longer going to work. This can be underlined as one
of the organizational behavioral issues affecting Zimbabwean managers. In this case
managers have to ensure the motivation and satisfaction of their employees.

18. Personality, emotions and moods
The individual is also governed by personality which is also encompassed by emotions
and moods. This also is an organizational behavioral issue confronting Zimbabwean
managers. Nguwi (2014) articulated that most managers lack the emotional intelligence
to handle people at an emotional level. The lack of such skills has led to so much
disillusionment in many organizations. The article further goes on to say “In Zimbabwe
you rarely come across employees who say their managers look at the emotional side of
the business”. Nguwi (2014:1). This leads to low employee engagement which in turn
affects the level of employee productivity.
Groups
Zimbabwean business managers are also confronted by groups as part of organizational
behavior issues. According to Golembiewski (2001) groups can either be formal or
informal and if managed well, groups can help the organization meet its objectives and
goals. If high group coerciveness is achieved, performing becomes inevitable within the
organization. An example is how a few doctors at the Borrowdale Medical centre formed
a group to fundraise money for the daily running of the medical center when it extended
its hands to the public. According to the Suburban (2016, 3) the doctors had once
common cause, which was to fundraise for the running costs if Borrowdale Medical
Center. Their amalgamation helped them use one of the Doctors yard ‘ Dave Sheehan’ to
beam a movie called Blind sight which saw hundreds of people come and support the
BMC fundraising. With this in mind, they managed to achieve a goal which was to
establish daily operations of Borrowdale Medical Center to serve the public. It should be
noted that groups are formed within the organizations and Zimbabwean business
managers must lead groups and steer groups efficiently in order to achieve organizational
goals.
Leadership
In addition to groups and individuals being organizational behavioral issues in
Zimbabwe, the type of leadership exerted to both the groups and individuals daily

19. confronts business managers within Zimbabwe. An example is how Air Zimbabwe, CSC,
and national railways were run down due to poor leadership. Gutu (2016) alluded to the
fact that Air Rhodesia had at least 14 aircrafts, but 36 years later the now called Air
Zimbabwe now has less than 4 functional aircrafts and is in a debt of three hundred
million United States Dollars. Poor leadership can be seen here as it reflects lack of
integrity, lack of vision and an absence of accountability. However, good leadership is
also confronting business managers in Zimbabwe. New Zimbabwe (2015) articulated that
Dr Lance Mambodiani (Steward Bank Chief Executive Officer) has been a key player in
the implementation of the banks tech based strategy and the development of several new
products and services which has transformed Steward bank into one of the country’s most
innovative banks where other banks appear to be struggling’’. This highlights a leader
who is visionary, innovative and creative and as well as transformational.
Power and organizational politics.
Moreover, issues such as power and organizational politics regularly confront managers
in Zimbabwe. An example is how the NRZ CEO was appointed by the president, giving
him legitimate power to steer the organization, however, the CEO being of a military
background had no expert power in railway matters. This is a dominant issue in
Zimbabwean business environment, whereby individuals are placed to head parastatals in
areas that they do not have expert power in. This confronts managers as they are led by
people who have no background or knowledge of the business that they are heading.
Structure
Organizational Structure also poses as one of the organizational behavioral issues
confronting managers in Zimbabwe. In the Zimbabwean business environment, they are
circumstances in which the organizational structure is poor due to inefficiencies such as a
wide span of control, an ambiguous and not so clear chain of command, misuse of
authority and misallocation and abuse of resources among other inefficiencies.

20. Authority and allocation of resources.
An example can be seen in the Herald newspaper within an article written by Razemba
(2016) on how senior CMED officials where implicated in a scenario whereby they
where accused of collecting fuel from the national oil infrastructure company reportedly
for government business, only to divert it to private service stations for resale,
prejudicing the state of millions of dollars in revenue. This highlights the abuse of
functional authority by management, and intentionally misallocating resources for their
personal benefit. However, in some circumstances, Zimbabwean business managers use
authority properly and allocate resources well. An example is how Econet implemented
its cost cutting mechanism by selling the bulk of their fleet to staff and also moving
employees from buildings where they where renting to buildings which they own. This
allowed them to cut down rental costs and move the money that could have been used to
pay rentals to other business ventures. The Financial Gazette (2015)
Conflicts
Organizational behavioral issues such as conflicts also confront Zimbabwean business
managers. Conflicts can be a result of poor organizational structure or change in
organizational culture. Conflicts are inevitable, however, its how they are resolved that is
important and whether or not they are actually resolved. According to Robbins (2012)
there are 3 types of conflicts within organizations, namely conflict with the boss, conflict
with a workmate and conflicts among team mates. The article goes on to articulate that
conflict is inevitable in organizations as individuals are molded from different
backgrounds and have different values, cultures and perceptions. With this in mind
Zimbabwean managers are confronted by conflicts and it is their duty to address them.
They can take either a traditional or contemporary approach. The latter being the most
favorable.
Organizational Culture
Culture is one of the fundamental instruments of organizational behavior that always
confronts Zimbabwean business managers. It basically stipulates the way things are

21. done in organizations. This eventually becomes a blue print within the organization. An
example of Culture is how Econet has a culture of pioneering. This has also translated to
their subsidiary Steward bank who now has a culture of being pioneers in the banking
sector of Zimbabwe. According to Chulu (2012), Econet’s corporate social responsibility
culture is well-known. The company recently launched the green kiosks, a venture that
ties business with corporate social responsibility. Econet’s innovation and pioneering
culture is also consistent.
Managers in Zimbabwe have to help establish a culture that compliments the
organizations values and mission.
Environment
The environment poses as a confronting issue to Zimbabwean managers. The
environment is divided into two, namely, the market environment and the general
environment. The market environment includes competitors, suppliers, customers and
financiers.
Competitors
An example that brings out the effect of the market environment entails how the local
companies were being affected by imports. According to Kachembere (2014), local
industries were crying foul over the influx of cheap imported commodities into the
Zimbabwean market. This affected the performance of organizations as they could not
compete with imported goods as they where relatively cheaper than locally produced
goods. To curb this, the government implemented an import ban with the rationale of
protecting local industries. The Daily news further goes on to say the import ban has
created opportunities for the local manufacturing industries to boost their production
capacity.

22. Customers and Suppliers
The customers largely affect the business environment and confront Zimbabwean
business managers. Customers can choose to buy or not to buy the organizations
products. Manatsa (2015) perpetuates that customers had been boycotting Alpha Omega
products for political reasons. Moreover customers can also determine the price of
products.
The suppliers as part of the environment confront Zimbabwean businesses on a daily
basis. They determine the availability of products and services within organizations. If
the suppliers are not happy with the price, they can withhold their products/inputs.
Financiers
This entails supporting arms to business such as banks and financial institutions.
Business managers are daily confronted by the financiers as they affect the availability
of funds and capital to organizations. According to the financial Gazette (2016)
businesses have slowed down for local companies as they are not able to access liquid
cash from banks. The banks have put daily limits to as little as two hundred dollars for
cooperates. This will in turn affect the organizations performance as the cash crisis can
limit their activities,
General Environment
The general environment also forms part of the organizational behavioral issues that
confront Zimbabwean managers daily. The general environment is characterized by the
political, economic, social and technological environment.
Political environment
The political environment directly affects the performance of the organization and its
behavior. Political instability in Zimbabwe has made the business environment to be

23. unstable. Polices such as Indigenization policy has demeaned probability of businesses to
receive funding via investors from abroad. Chigada (2016) articulates that if Zimbabwe
wishes its banks to have access to adequate international lines of credit for, and loans to,
its banks, it has to ensure complete investor and lender confidence, and hence the
mandatory indigenization threshold in the financial sector should not be greater than
25%.
Economic environment
The Economic environment as an organizational behavior issue also confronts business
managers in Zimbabwe. The state of the economy determines the success of businesses.
If the economy is progressing, businesses are most likely to thrive and the opposite is
true.
An example is the Liquidity issues being experienced in Zimbabwe. According
Karombo (2016), cash shortages in Zimbabwe have also forced Delta to delay the
commissioning of two new plants in Kwekwe and Masvingo as outbound remittances
from Zimbabwe take longer to effect. The lager beer volumes declined by 7 percent for
the quarter period and were also down 11 percent on the half yearly basis on the back of
depressed consumer spending patterns as the consumers cannot access their solid funds at
free will in the amounts that they choose. This is one of the issues confronting
Zimbabwean business managers in relation to organizational behavior.
The Economic environment is characterized by inflation rate, interest rates, liquidity
issues, fiscal or monetary policies induced by the government .These will affect the
performance of organizations and will confront business managers in Zimbabwe.
Social environment
The social environment is characterized by issues such as demography, social media,
sex, literacy level etc.

24. A recent example is how the pressure from social groups such as Tajamuka, Pastor Evan
via social media (Hash tag# shutdown Zimbabwe) affected businesses a few months ago.
Zhangazha (2016), articulates that the shutdown called on July 6 2016 by the pressure
groups was the largest strike experienced since the year 2007. Businesses where shut
down including banks and retail shops. Managers could not go against the call to stay
away, as it was considered to be a national vendetta.
Technology
Technology as part of organizational behavior issues regularly confronts Zimbabwean
managers on a day to day basis. Technology entails innovation, internet, inventions
and shifts in the production processes. In Zimbabwe, the installation of fiber optic
cables nationwide has brought about fast, reliable and efficient internet nationwide.
Companies such as Telone, Steward bank and TM-PicknPay have harnessed benefits
from this. Managers such as Dr lance Mambondiani (Steward Bank CEO), have caressed
technology advantages and have used this to transform both their organization and
employees through innovation.
Conclusion
Zimbabwean business Managers are constantly confronted by organizational behavioral
issues such as the individual, groups, organizational structure and the environment on a
daily basis. They should use their functions, skills and knowledge to manipulate these
issues to bring out favorable results within the businesses that they operate.

25. List of references
Chulu B, ‘Strategic HR vs current share prices’ Zimbabwe Independent, 12
October 2012, Accessed 23 October
2016:https://www.theindependent.co.zw/2012/10/12/strategic-hr-vs-current-
share-prices/
‘Econet cost cutting measures lead to US $ 70 million savings’ The Financial
Gazette, 24 August 2015, Accessed 22 October
2016:http://www.financialgazette.co.zw/econet-cost-cutting-measures-lead-to-
us70-million-savings/
Golembiewski R, ed. 2
nd
. Ed. (2001). Handbook of Organizational Behavior,
(KSL Core Ref. HD 58.7.H355)
Gutu O,’Corruption, greed drive Zim to the cleaners’ NewsDay, 7 October 2016,
Accessed 22 October 2016:https://www.newsday.co.zw/2016/10/07/corruption-
greed-drive-zim-cleaners/
‘HUNGRY HWANGE WORKERS FAINT AT WORK ‘NewsdzeZimbabwe, 14 May
2016, Accessed 21 October
2016:http://www.newsdzezimbabwe.co.uk/2016/05/hungry-hwange-workers-
faint-at-work.html
Kachembere C, ‘Cheap imports choke local industry’ Daily News, 19 May 2014,
Accessed 23 October
2016:https://www.dailynews.co.zw/articles/2014/05/19/cheap-imports-choke-
local-industry
Karombo T, ‘Zimbabwe’s flat economy hits beer sales’ IOL, 18 October 2016,
Accessed 23 October 2016:http://www.iol.co.za/business/news/zimbabwes-flat-
economy-hits-beer-sales-2080820

26. Mswazie W, ’16,000 Tongaat Hulett workers strike’ Chronicle. 1 December 2015,
Accessed 21 October: http://www.chronicle.co.zw/16000-tongaat-hulett-workers-
strike/
Nguwi M, ‘Lack of soft skills: Biggest challenge to Zimbabwe’s economic
recovery’ The Financial Gazette, 15 May 2014, Accessed 21
October:http://www.financialgazette.co.zw/lack-of-soft-skills-biggest-challenge-to-
zimbabwes-economic-recovery/
‘Steward Bank appoints Mambondiani as substantive CEO ‘New Zimbabwe, 6
August 2015, Accessed 22 October
2016:http://www.newzimbabwe.com/business-24141-
Mambondiani+confirmed+Steward+Bank+CEO/business.aspx
Razemba F, ‘Fresh fuel scam rocks CMED’ The Herald, 22 August 2016.
Accessed 22 October 2016:http://www.herald.co.zw/fresh-fuel-scam-rocks-cmed/
ROBBINS, S. P., & JUDGE, T. (2007). Organizational behavior. Upper Saddle
River, N.J., Pearson/Prentice Hall.
Zhangazha T, ‘July 6 Stay away: Enter WhatsApp+ Mediating Zimbabwe’s New
Consciousness’, Nehanda Radio.18 July 2016. Accessed 23 October
2016 :http://nehandaradio.com/2016/07/18/july-6-stay-away-enter-whatsapp-
mediating-zimbabwes-new-consciousness/

27. Great Zimbabwe University
MHUMUMUTAPA SCHOOL OF COMMERCE
DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES.
GROUP ASSIGNMENT
Student Name: Ngonidzashe Kurumba M168406
Student Name: Virimayi Chinyama M168417
Student Name: Godfrey Mugabe M165130
Student Name: Consolata Nkobi M168396
Student Name Samson Chibaya M168396
Degree: MCom Strategic Management.
2016 / Part 1 Semester 1
Course : Management of Organizational Behaviour
Course Code: MSM505
Lecturer: Mr Makumbe