This document summarizes a study on leadership succession in indigenous African businesses. The key points are:
1) Indigenous African businesses often die with their founders due to a failure to properly plan succession. Founders tend to maximize control and avoid delegation, seeing the business as an extension of themselves.
2) Partnerships and joint ownership are uncommon due to widespread mistrust and a desire for autonomy among business owners. Forming partnerships is seen as limiting freedom and potentially damaging family relations.
3) Succession planning is made difficult by the personal nature of entrepreneurial leadership and the lack of collective entrepreneurship in African businesses. Transitioning to a more corporate structure separates the business from the owner.
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This paper aimed to analyse the role of IT in supporting entrepreneurs in Vietnam. Our findings show that youth entrepreneurship in Vietnam face a number of hurdles in accessing IT services. Although a number of them have shown an interest in integrating IT into their business operations, however, most of them do not have enough resources to fully exploit IT opportunities. Other problems mentioned to confront youth entrepreneurship in their endeavour to access and use IT in their businesses is the lack of knowledge and skills on how to use computer, language and lack of time. Dr. Le Nguyen Doan Khoi "The Role of IT in Supporting Vietnam Youth Entrepreneurship" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-4 | Issue-4 , June 2020, URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd31503.pdf Paper Url :https://www.ijtsrd.com/economics/commerce/31503/the-role-of-it-in-supporting-vietnam-youth-entrepreneurship/dr-le-nguyen-doan-khoi
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The policy of developing the economic model of a country aims to stimulate all economic sectors to advance and develop into strengths on a regional and national scale. Micro, small and medium enterprises SMEs have become one of the most effective engines in developing economic market patterns in almost all countries and regions of the world. SMEs that contribute to this economic sector are the largest contributors to the pattern of advanced economies that drive competitive economic growth. SMEs actors have become the driving force of the economy and this must be recognized by the State in terms of their participation. The significant role of SMEs in the economies of world countries is very crucial in reviving and stabilizing and nourishing the global economy where their role will be seen in the conditions that SMEs fail or succeed in their journey. Basically, SMEs have little in having the driving capital of their business to develop and generally do not have much technical capability which causes them to be low in all circumstances and lack of access to develop capital for their future investment. In addition, the development of SMEs has become an important mechanism of how to develop economic growth, create jobs, and alleviate poverty from economic types. This article specifically discusses small scale entrepreneurshiphip and increases the use of information technology in the mission of supporting performance and competitive advantage. small business actors. The main purpose of this article is how to contribute positive thoughts to entrepreneurship or entrepreneurship in the use of entrepreneurial orientation, information technology in building strategic planning to support business performance and towards competitive advantage for entrepreneurship, especially SMEs. Lena Ellitan "The Importance of Entrepreneurship and Information Technology for SMEs Strategic Planning" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-5 | Issue-4 , June 2021, URL: https://www.ijtsrd.compapers/ijtsrd42479.pdf Paper URL: https://www.ijtsrd.commanagement/new-venture-startup/42479/the-importance-of-entrepreneurship-and-information-technology-for-smes-strategic-planning/lena-ellitan
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Succession process among africa owned business africa
1. Zambezia (1999), XXVI (ii).
LEADERSHIP SUCCESSION: A RECALCITRANT
PROBLEM IN THE INDIGENISATION OF AFRICAN
ECONOMIES
FRANCE MAPHOSA
Department of Sociology, University of Zimbabwe
Abstract
The greatest challenge facing the indigenisation of African economies is the
problem of succession. A Mean businesses have always died with their
founders. This phenomenon is caused by failure by the business founders to
properly plan for the succession. Drawing from a case study of 10 small-
scale indigenous businesses in Zimbabwe and from literature on African
indigenous businesses, this article discusses some of the factors that prevent
smooth succession in indigenous African businesses.
INTRODUCTION
Every organisation must experience a leadership or managerial succession,
the process by which key officials, especially the chief executive, are
replaced by others (Grusky, 1961, 261). As leaders, like all human beings,
are mortal, it is imperative for any organisation's long-term stability,
survival and growth, to always look beyond the incumbent leader and
develop strategies and create conditions for a smooth succession.
One of the earliest empirical studies on the effects of succession on
the organisation was carried out by Gouldner in 1954. In a case study of a
gypsum plant employing 225 people, Gouldner found that succession
disrupted the operations of the organisation, led to an increase in tensions,
the lowering of worker morale, and the general decline in productivity
culminating in a wild-cat strike. Following Gouldner, Grusky (1961) argued
that there are two reasons for the interest in the study of organisational
succession, namely, that it is a universal phenomenon and that it tends to
promote organisational instability. The universality of succession in formal
business organisations and the tendency of the process to promote
instability combines to make this phenomenon of crucial importance to
organisational theory (Grusky, 1961, 115).
One of the greatest challenges facing indigenous African businesses
today is the crisis of succession, that is, uncertainty about the future of
the organisation beyond the founder. The success of the indigenisation
of African economies will to a very large extent depend on the organisation,
management practices and leadership styles of indigenous businesses.
169
2. 170 LEADERSHIP SUCCESSION
This article is based on findings from a study of 10 indigenous Zimbabwean
small- to medium-scale businesses in Harare which were studied over a
period of two years using interviews and observation. The businesses
were selected from a register of small-scale indigenous businesses
obtained from the Indigenous Business Development Centre (IBDC). The
study also draws from literature on the problem of succession in
indigenous African businesses in general.
The businesses studied were selected through purposive sampling.
A total of ten businesses were selected. In selecting the businesses,
consideration was taken of such variables as main activity, size, and
location of business. The list comprised of two businesses in the clothing
manufacturing industry, one in business consultancy, one training institute
(dress-making, cookery, secretarial and academic courses), one combined
supermarket and bottle store, one general dealer shop, one business
involved in bookbinding and trading in paper products, one hair dressing
saloon, one spray-painting and panel-beating venture and one construction
business which was also involved in supplying building materials supplies
to other construction companies. The businesses belonged to the small-
to medium-scale sector. For the purposes of this study, "small business"
will be used to refer to an enterprise that employs less than 50 people, Is
owner-managed and controls a small share of the market. The businesses
were relatively new and first generation businesses, as all of them were
formed after independence.
ECONOMIC INDIGENISATION
The advent of political independence in Africa has given impetus to calls
for economic indigenisation. This refers to the encouragement,
development and strengthening of indigenous [Black] private enterprises
at the expense of non-indigenous owned and controlled enterprises
(Adedeji, 1981,31).
Successive colonial governments instituted laws that effectively
excluded Africans from engaging in meaningful business activity. As a
result of this legacy most indigenous economic activity is concentrated
in the informal, small and medium-scale sectors (Maphosa, 1996,4). It is
not surprising, therefore that economic indigenisation is often synonymous
with the promotion of small- and medium-scale businesses.
Economic indigenisation through the promotion of small- and medium-
scale businesses has both political and economic benefits (Apthorpe,
1970, 107). Politically, the proponents of indigenisation believe that
enabling indigenous people to share in the ownership and control of their
countries' resources creates conditions for the existence of peace and
stability (Makoni, 1994,1) and that true independence can only be realised
through economic independence (Osaze, 1984, 169).
3. F. MAPHOSA 171
The most important economic benefit for small- and medium-scale
businesses is employment creation. Employment creation is of high
priority in economic policies of most African countries (Apthorpe, 1970,
107; World Bank, 1978, 5; Osaze, 1984, 169). High rates of population
growth and the accompanying increases in the labour force have not
been matched with corresponding increases in the creation of jobs. The
civil service and the large multinational companies can only absorb a
limited fraction of the labour force. Small enterprises generally use simple
technologies and locally available raw materials. They therefore tend to
be more labour-intensive than large-scale organisations, as they can create
more jobs per unit capital invested than large businesses.
Other economic advantages of small- and medium-scale businesses
include supplying dynamism (i.e., they contribute to the growth of the
economy), contributing to economic competition, raising the level of
popular participation in the economy and promoting growth with equity
(World Bank, 1978, 6; Obi, 1991, 33).
Obi (1991, 33) argues that there is a wide consensus among
development economists that small- and medium-scale, labour-intensive
industries can enhance employment creation as well as advance a wide
variety of other development goals like improved income distribution.
The promotion of small- and medium-scale enterprises as a way of
generating employment and stimulating general economic development
is not unique to Africa. It has been tried with success in developed
countries such as Britain and the United States of America. Burns (1989,
1) observes that the Western world is "in the middle of a love affair" with
small businesses. It is now widely accepted that the only way to achieve
a rapid creation of employment opportunities and a competitive economic
environment is through the promotion of small- to medium-scale
businesses. Asian countries like Singapore, Taiwan, and Hong-Kong have
had success in stimulating economic development through the
development of small- and medium-scale enterprises.
INDIGENOUS BUSINESSES BEYOND THEIR FOUNDERS
Indigenous African enterprises have very often died with their founders
(Forrest, 1994, 237; Wild, 1997, 122). This problem is not peculiar to
indigenous African enterprises as Tootelian and Gaedeke (1978, 223)
argue that history is replete with business failures that result from poor
succession policies. Forrest observes that although this situation is
changing in Nigeria, it is doing so very slowly. In a recent study in Nigeria,
Wilier (1996) found that although many of the founders of the businesses
she studied had reached an age where the question of succession arises,
many of them still did not have clear succession plans. A study of ten
4. 172 LEADERSHIP SUCCESSION
Zimbabwean indigenous small-scale businesses (Maphosa, 1996) indicated
that succession had not yet become a serious issue for the business
owners. Six out of the 10 businesses studied did not have a clear succession
plan. While all the business-people knew the. individuals whom they
wanted to take over their businesses, only three of the business-people
had actually appointed those people to positions that would enable them
to exercise a substantial amount of authority and responsibility to prepare
them to take over in the event of a sudden death or incapacitation of the
founder.
The problem of the continuity of the business after the founder is not
unique to Africa (Wilier, 1996, 3). The various explanations that have
been given to account for this phenomenon are characterised by a
dichotomy between a focus on the successor on the one hand, and a
focus on the founder on the other (Wilier, 1996, 3). Those who focus on
the successor have argued that businesses fail after the founder because
the successor usually lacks the personality characteristics of the founder.
Those who focus on the founder have argued that it is the founder's
Inability to plan for the succession plan that is responsible for many
business failures after the founder. The following sections will deal with
some of the explanations for the crisis of succession in small-scale
businesses.
THE PROBLEM WITH ENTREPRENEURIAL LEADERSHIP
Economic dynamism has long been attributed to the activities of an
entrepreneur (Mill, 1848; Schumpeter, 1934,1947; MacLelland, 1961; Hagen,
1962). Scholars have over the years tried to identify the distinguishing
characteristics of this agent of change. Mill (1848) defines an entrepreneur
as an individual with a propensity to take risks. For Schumpeter (1947,
151) the defining characteristic of an entrepreneur is " . . . simply the
doing of new things or the doing of things that are being done in a new
way'.
MacLelland (1961) considers an entrepreneur as one with the following
characteristics: a liking for moderate risk taking; confidence in one's
ability to succeed; energetic action directed towards one's self-
advancement; the desire for freedom and individual responsibility; and
individual success usually measured by the acquisition of wealth. The
distinguishing characteristic of an entrepreneur is autonomy, the freedom
to take decisions according to the individual's preferences.
Many organisations owe their existence to the individual efforts o f
entrepreneurs. New organisations are formed as entrepreneurs devote
time and effort and assume personal financial, psychological, and social
nsks to introduce innovations. The formation and the survival of an
5. F. MAPHOSA 173
organisation during its formative stages might depend on the individual
efforts and personality of its founder. The problem with entrepreneurial
leadership, however, is that it is personalised. Entrepreneurs are
visionaries who value the autonomy to make decisions as they see fit and
to take personal responsibility for those decisions in order to realise
their visions. As a result entrepreneurial leaders tend to maximise control
and eschew delegation of authority and responsibility, preferring instead
to directly carry out or to supervise most of the day-to-day operations of
their organisations themselves (Gorb et. al., 1981, 209; Perrigo, 1980,
215). This type of management, however, allows entrepreneurs to offer
personalised service or attention to their clients thus giving them a
competitive advantage over large enterprises.
Delegation is related to the expansion of the business. As the business
expands, there is more division of labour and the entrepreneur has to be
aware of the extent of the growth of the business so that division of
labour and delegation can be properly planned.
The archetypal entrepreneur is the embodiment of the business
with his or her own personal welfare being closely intertwined with that
oi the enterprise. This close identification of the business with its owner
prevents the development of businesses into corporate identities with
interests which are distinct from those of their owners. The lack of
separation between the individual owner's and organisational interests
prevents the formation of partnerships with both relatives and non-
relatives.
7 ^ " e c o n o m i c hero" has often overlooked what
/, 81) refers to as collective entrepreneurshlp. This is a kind of
eU hiP W h i C h i n V o l v e s
f Participative decision-making and
eXr n . a u t h o r i t y a n d responsibilities. The focus on collective
a n d 3 ? 7 ! P iS b a S 6 d ° " t h e v i e w t h a t entrepreneurship is a capability
l iS d l f f U 5 e d thr
novpf, Af °ughout the company. Collectivism is not
economic
howpv T involvement (Maphosa, 1998,150). The problem,
much ,nn1Sn
J b ydeaSe a b e mt V a liu e s b uhsiicnhe s s lorif Africa have been very
L W St0u do n§ w 1"
TL 7 n
of collectivism.
S y individualism at the
LACK OF JOINT OWNERSHIP
l a r t r ^ l h - 8 among African business-people to form
P o o Z f ° r t 0 e s t a b l i s h corporate forms of business involving the
1988 WnHiQQT 6 ! 6 l t hU g hb S t wme ee nb uksi n n e n s e snon-relatives (Kennedy,
er e
i
a d
s ma
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African businesses do not involve core-ownership.
y b e registered as
6. 174 LEADERSHIP SUCCESSION
A partnership necessarily implies joint control and shared
responsibilities and authority. It is easy for such an organisation to
routinise its succession since the sharing of authority and responsibility
starts with the inception of the organisation. The disinclination towards
partnerships is embedded in a widespread feeling of mistrust of both
relatives and non-relatives.
Mr C who owns a construction company reported that the business
started as a partnership but he had to part ways with his partner because
of "irreconcilable" differences. These differences resulted from, among
other things, a suspicion that the other was involved in secret "deals"
with his relatives at the expense of the company. The matter was taken to
court but no money was recovered although the respondent still alleges
that the company lost a lot of money as a result of these secret "deals".
Since that time he has resolved to go it alone.
Mr. E. stated that he was still a sole owner because choosing a
business partner was a complicated and delicate issue.
I am still looking for a reliable person with whom I can work. When
choosing a business partner you have to be extra careful. You have to
take your time because this is a complicated and delicate issue. It is
very difficult to get reliable people to partner with in business.
Although Mrs D. thought that there were some benefits in forming a
partnership, she would rather go it alone because joint ownership would
limit her freedom to make decisions. She stated:
I want to do my own thing, but as soon as I go into partnership I have to
accommodate the views of my partner. That limits my freedom to take
decisions as and when I feel like.
Similar sentiments were expressed by a businessman who asserted:
I decided to go into business because I wanted to be my own boss. I,
and only I, know what 1 want to do. It is difficult to get someone who will
share your vision.
The reasons for the unwillingness to form genuine family businesses
or to go into joint ventures with relatives are similar to those for the
reluctance to go into partnerships with non-relatives. These include failure
to get relatives with requisite skills, requisite personalities, and requisite
resources and the reluctance to share power and decision-making.
Kennedy (1988) observes that in Africa genuine family business, in which
members of the family P° o 1 capital and managerial skills, is a rare
phenomenon. Where such enterprises occur, they tend to be confined to
commerce market trade, shop-keeping and wholesale activity. Marris
and Somerset (1971 145) observed, however, that even in businesses
which do not need any specialised skills and large amounts of capital to
start or run, like rural stores, there is a tendency to avoid joint ownership.
7. F. MAPHOSA 175
Mr I. feared that disagreement in business may negatively affect
family relations possibly resulting in prolonged family feuds.
People always disagree in business. Sometimes these disagreements
cannot be resolved amicably. It is possible for people who have once
cooperated and worked together to die enemies. This happens all the
time . . . Some people even resort to'witchcraft in trying to get even
with those whom they think have wronged them. It is better if such
people are not related. I hate to see such things happening between
relatives.
Comparing African businessmen with Indian businessmen in East
Africa, Marris and Somerset argue that the explanation for this lies in the
history of the two communities. They argue that the Indian immigrants
who pioneered business in East Africa came from a commercial class in
Gujerat where capital and skills necessary to start and operate a business
could be obtained from within the family. In this community boys: '. . .
grew up in the shop: serving behind the counter as natural a part of their
childhood as herding goats to an African boy'.
When the Asians immigrated into Africa, they were largely excluded
from agriculture by the colonial administrations. This, as Marris and
Somerset argue, meant that business was their only source of livelihood.
This in turn made it possible for strict sanctions to be applied to business
relations. The prospects of expulsion of an individual from the family
business was enough to deter anyone from any behaviour that was not in
the interests of the family such as cheating or stealing from the business.
In contrast, Marris and Somerset argue that business has historically
been a peripheral activity in African communities:
So unlike an Indian community, an African community does not identify
its own welfare with the welfare of commerce, because commerce is
marginal to landholding to which the family concentrates its concern
(Marris and Somerset, 1971, 145).
AGE OF THE FOUNDER
The lack of attention to succession in indigenous businesses has in some
cases been attributed to the age of the founders (Kennedy, 1988; Maphosa,
1996). Young, first generation business-people, are still too preoccupied
with establishing and consolidating their businesses to think about
succession. In the 10 Zimbabwean businesses studied, six of them did
not have succession plans. Wilier (1996)'s study of indigenous firms in
Nigeria found that in some instances, children were given the title of
director at an early stage, even while still at school, but in 10 out of 13
cases, the potential successor did not act even as a mere assistant to the
director. While all the business-people knew the individual whom they
8. 176 LEADERSHIP SUCCESSION
wanted to take over their businesses, only three of the business-people
had actually appointed those people to positions that would enable them
to exercise a substantial amount of authority and responsibility to prepare
them to take over in the event of a sudden death or incapacitation of the
chief executive. Mrs J. stated:
... I am still young and my children are also still very young. It would be
better for me to concentrate my efforts into making sure that this
business is well established. 1 will do that when I am sure that 1 have
achieved my purpose.
This does not mean that business-people were not aware of their
mortality and the possibility of them being incapacitated. On the contrary,
all the business-people interviewed indicated that they were aware of the
ever present possibility of death and accidents that might permanently
disable them. Mrs D. stated:
Well if God decides to take me early then that would be unfortunate.
But you cannot always be thinking about death and accidents, otherwise
you cannot do anything.
THE CHOICE OF SUCCESSOR
In six out of the ten businesses studied, the owners indicated that they
preferred their spouses or children to take over their businesses. There
is nothing wrong with the transference of wealth from a parent to an
offspring through handing over ownership of a business as the cumulative
effect of such a practice is the development of a capitalist class which
might be a nucleus for economic development in the country. Tootelian
and Gaedeke (1978) assert that there are many successful businesses,
both large and small, where a parent has been succeeded by an offspring.
Wild (1997) argues that in many capitalist countries, the family formed
and still forms the structural nucleus of some businesses. Such businesses
include Krupp, Thyssen and Siemens in Germany whose ' . . . expansion
and continuity... were and still are organised via the social networks of
the family' (Wild, 1997,120).
Forrest (1994) argues that successful transitions in family businesses
can be achieved through bringing children early into the business and
gradually giving them responsibilities and authority during the lifetime of
the founder. Children who would have assumed authority in this manner
would be likely to have sufficient authority at the death of the founder to
deter and resist extended family pressures to subdivide the business's
assets.
The problem with the choice of spouses and children as successors
is most of these would-be successors often come too late into the business.
Although spouses, especially wives of businessmen, may be registered as
9. F. MAPHOSA 177
partners, they often assume little or no authority or responsibility to
meaningfully prepare them for succession. In cases were children are
selected as successors, some of them would still be very young. This
makes the future of the business very precarious in the event of the
sudden death of the founder of the business. Most of the would-be
successors in the study of Zimbabwean businesses were still at school or
college. They had had little contact with their family businesses and
therefore were not familiar with the operations of the businesses, making
it uncertain if they would face up to the demands of the business if called
upon to take over in the event of the owner's departure from the business.
Mrs J. who owns a bottle store, a superrette and a general dealer shop
has three children, two daughters and a son, all of whom are currently
studying in England. The would-be successor, who is a daughter, is
studying educational psychology at post-graduate level. Her mother says
of her:
I hope she will come back, but not now because I still want to run my
business. I hate to just sit without doing anything. I like working. I hope
she will come back when the time comes because she is business
minded.
In another case the eldest daughter, who was the heir to the business,
was only ten years and in Grade Five at the time of the research. In the
meantime no plans were in place about who would take over the business
in the event of the sudden death or any form of incapacitation of the
founder.
Bringing in children into the business during the lifetime of the
founder is not in itself a guarantee for the business's future long term
survival and success. There is also the problem of uncertainty with
whether or not the heir to the business would be interested in going into
that type of business or any business at all. The heir should also have the
willingness to run a business and be interested in that line of business if
the continuity and expansion of the business is to be assured. Mrs H. was
not certain whether or not her daughter, who wants to study law at the
local university, would be interested in business at all let alone this type
of business.
. . . But if she does not want to take over the business it's alright. I will
look for someone else.
In the event that the heir does not have the interest to run a business
and that the founder dies before the successor is mature enough to take
over the business, contingency measures ought to be put in place. That
no such contingency measures were in place in some of the businesses
studied renders their long term survival uncertain.
10. 178 LEADERSHIP SUCCESSION
SELF-EMPLOYMENT AND PRESTIGE
Another reason for unsuccessful successions in indigenous African
businesses identified by Wild (1997) is the low prestige accorded a career
in business by second generations compared to professions like medicine
and law. As a most important status symbol, the acquisition of formal
education has always been the pursuit of many children of business-
people as well as their parents. For instance out of the 10 Zimbabwean
business people studied, two of them had children who were undertaking
studies that had a direct relevance to business.
TRADITIONAL PRACTICES
Traditional practices that interfere with smooth succession in small-
scale indigenous firms include those associated with polygamy and
inheritance. At the death of a polygamous businessman the tendency Is
towards the subdivision of the business's assets among the many wives
and children as well as other relatives. Even in monogamous families the
subdivision of the business's assets among numerous relatives has often
been inevitable. In many instances, at the death of a businessman:'... the
relatives fell on the legacy and divided it against themselves and left the
widow penniless' (Wild, 1997,122).
Tradition may influence the selection of the heir even if he or she is
unsuitable for the position. The strength of the relations between the
founder of a business and his or her relatives determines the latter's
influence on the selection of the successor to the founder. This is especially
true in cases where the founder has received assistance from relatives
especially initial capital to help set up the business.
Except for two, all the business-people interviewed were in Harare
where, due to effects of urbanisation and other modernising influences,
their relations with the extended family were weakening. All but one,
however, reported that they still helped their relatives by either employing
them or contributing to their various financial needs. Only one
businessman received financial assistance from an uncle to start his
business. The uncle still assisted the business-man financially when there
was need. The other business-people preferred to seek financial assistance
from their spouses or lending institutions. This made them less obligated
to their relatives.
The receipt of financial assistance from relatives is likely to complicate
the succession process This results from the numerous demands on the
organisations by relatives who might feel that they have a stake in the
business because of the assistance they gave. These demands might
include the appointment of a relative a successor even though he or she
might not be the best quali« ed f o r t h e ) o b -
11. F MAPHOSA 179
Evidence from this study did not find extended family demands a
threat to organisational succession of the indigenous businesses studied
as all but one of the business-people started their businesses from scratch
either on their own personal savings plus bank loans or assistance from
their spouses. This financial independence from the extended family
gave them independence to make decisions, including the decision to
appoint a successor.
For inter-generational transfer of wealth to be successful, the
appointment of the successor should not be based merely on sentimental
reasons. It is important to ascertain that the successor should have hot h
the ability and the inclination to go into business and the type of business
he or she is called upon to take over. There is evidence, however, to
suggest that the selection of some successors was influenced by t radit ional
and sentimental factors. Older male children were the most preferred
would-be successors. This is in line with traditional Shona custom where,
for instance,'... the oldest son — provided he was of age — would, as t he
future head of the family, inherit the father's fortune" (Wild. 1997. 123)
DELEGATION AND SUCCESSION
Effective delegation is a necessary condition for a smooth succession
This is because delegating some of the chief executive's powers and
responsibilities to the possible successor prepares the latter and the
subordinates for the eventual takeover. In large bureaucrat it-
organisations, the succession process is generally routinised through the
use of rules regulating retirement, rotation, and promotion of chief officials
especially the chief executive (Grusky, 1961, 261).
In such organisations the succession event is less likely to be
disruptive. This is because usually, well before the chief executive dies.
retires or is incapacitated in any manner, a successor would have been
chosen and prepared for the eventual takeover. Delegation of some of the
chief executive's powers and responsibilities becomes an indispensable
condition for a smooth succession. Even in the event of a sudden death
or incapacitation of the chief executive, an organisation which has been
encouraging delegation of power and responsibilities to the chief
executive's subordinates is less likely to experience serious Instability
during succession than one which does not.
Indigenous businesses are generally small and unbureauci at it. Tht-s«>
characteristics, coupled with the autocratic leadership characteristic of
entrepreneurs, are likely to render the succession process In th<s<
organisations unpredictable and more likely to be disruptive
12. 180 LEADERSHIP SUCCESSION
CONCLUSION
A lot of existing literature on entrepreneurship and small business
f o r m a t t (SchuLpeter, 1934; 1947; 1954; Mill, 1848; MacLelland, 1961)
has often concentrated on the individual entrepreneurs. Such literature
has often highlighted the requisite personal characteristics for the creation
of a successful enterprise. This often over-romanticised role of the
individual entrepreneur usually overlooks the collective nature of any
organ^sa ion^^^ ^ ^ o w e n e r g e t i c a n d knowledgeable an individual
entrepreneur can be, he or she needs the efforts and ideas of others in
order for the vision to be fulfilled and to continue to" exist. While in
conditions of general stagnation (economic, political etc.) or incremental
chanee the focus on individuals who introduce or have the potential to
introduce innovation is justified, there is need to emphasise that the
successful running and the continued survival of the organisation, once
established are issues that transcend the efforts of an individual. This
calls for entrepreneurship training programmes that emphasise on
collective entrepreneurship.
Developing a succession plan is much easier in an organisation which
values participative decision-making and delegation of authority and
responsibilities. Whether the founder wants to leave the business to his
offsprings or to professional managers, it is important to bring the potential
successor into the organisation as soon as possible. The tendency,
however is to leave the potential successor out of the business until it is
too late Small-scale businesses may not have resources to pay professional
managers Furthermore, if the firm's turnover has historically been poor,
necessitating constant bail-outs from relatives, this would be a sufficient
disincentive for any potential successor.
The future of Africa's economic development lies in the promotion of
indigenous small and medium businesses alongside the multinational
corporations. To encourage the setting up of small-scale indigenous
businesses calls for the encouragement and promotion of
entrepreneurship. The first step towards this goal is to realise that
entrepreneurship is not a mystical and rare gift bestowed to only a few
individuals by God's grace. Once we realise that entrepreneurship can be
learned we can proceed to make it an integral part of our entrepreneurial
development efforts.
The continuity of our business enterprises beyond the founder is
possible if there is a well prepared succession plan before the founder
goes. Leadership in many small-scale enterprises is personalised. This
kind of leadership does not easily lend itself to delegation and makes
Planning for the succession very difficult. African entrepreneurial
13. F. MAPHOSA 181
development efforts have a challenge to develop entrepreneurshlp
approaches that give primacy to the collectivity rather than the individual.
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