Organizing,leading,and social responsibility within African companies,case of Congo China Telecom

TSHIBUYI MUTINGA Papy

【Abstract】This article is an important support for organizations that encounter huge difficulties to the work management and staff. Discussion about management functions still remains relevant until today.Describing these functions through an African organization advances this discussion, and enables to discover mistakes linked to management practices.This article adopted descriptive research methodology for data analysis. Questionnaires were used as major instrument for gathering data from 93 respondents.The findings of this study show that practices of management are satisfactory in the chosen company named Congo China Telecom.

【Key words】Organizing;Leading;Social responsibility;Congo China Telecom

0.Introduction

Management functions are present in the theory of general management and organization of private firms.Several research in management have been done since the early 1960s in order to know the right balance between the different management functions and the way to organize these functions within the organization.In the approach of public organizations,functions have a capacity to identify progress in implementation of management and human expertise (Duening,T.and Ivancevich, J., 2003).

According to laaria,(2013)there are four main functions of management that remain very important in the field of organization,which are planning, organizing, leading and controlling. Each organization, no matter the field or size, has to develop a system of management based on these four functions. Thus, some companies emphasize on some functions than others according to their activities.

The current study defines functions organizing, leading and social responsibility concepts which are believed to determine the future of company, whether it grows or not. The social responsibility is relevant because the way, the environment or the public perception of the organization is important, especially in African context. Therefore, this study tries to answer the question:How is Congo Chine Telecom Company organized, managed, and what is the social responsibility in relation to the functions of management?

1.Material and Methods

This study used two methods to properly conduct research, which are the descriptive method and analytical method. Concerning descriptive method, it allows describing the organization under study namely: Congo China Telecom.This is to enable readers to have an idea of the way in which organizations are managed in Africa in general and in Congo in particular.The analytical method,in turn,enabled to analyze the strategies used by Congo China Telecom to manage the information during an emergency period.To achieve this,the study used interview techniques with employees of the organization under study and observation to describe the tools,strategies used by CCT,which are related to the practices of management functions.The review of literature was used to collect some theories of management functions.A small survey was conducted to understand the way in which management functions are performed in this company.

2.Democratic Republic of the Congo and Congo-China

Democratic Republic of Congo is one of the biggest countries in Central Africa.It extends on 2000,248,000km2 long.Its population is estimated at 60 million people,in which an half living in Kinshasa, the capital.Since its independence in 1960,the Congolese State tries to develop its economy and the living conditions of the population. It invests in the creation of state owned enterprise with private character where they brought the major part of the capital to help for the financial stability of the companies during crisis periods. It is with this logic that Congo China Telecom was created.

Indeed, Congo China Telecom (CCT)is a telecommunication company in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the result of cooperation between China and Congo.The company opened its network in December 2001. CCT's shareholders are ZTE that holds 51% shares, and the rest of shares are held by Congolese State(49%).The ZTE shareholder provides telecommunication equipments, and Congolese State ensures the financial aspect.The company has already employed hundred people.Its network operates in 900 and 1800 MH2 (CCT booklet,2012).

CCT is the third mobile operator that has emerged in the Democratic Republic of Congo.At the beginning of its operations,the company employed 50 people:10 Chinese and 40 Congolese.And from the beginning,she opted for high technology by installing 30 base stations or BTS, which provides 60% of national coverage.In addition,in November 2002,its wide range of products and services has conquered over 100,000 subscribers (Tshibuyi M.,2005).

3.Results

Target population constituted employees in the general direction of Congo China Telecom which was 200 people. Simple random sampling method was used to sample 105(52.5%) respondents for this study. Out of 105 questionnaires distributed, 93(88.6%) were properly filled and were used for data analysis.Return of 93(88.6%) was considered appropriate for analysis,as Mugenda(2003)argues that a return of 50% and above is appropriate for data analysis.

Table 1 Demographic distribution of the sample in our study

As shown in table 1,The result gives high number of agents of mastery 54,which is 58.07%,against 10.75% for execution agents, the fewer than the sample.The managerial staff in turn,is the number of 29 which is 31.18%.Sample consists of 38 men,40.86% and 55 women, which is 59.14%.The majority of respondents aged between 35 and 45 years.The fewer is those who the age group is between 45 and 55 (17.20%),followed by those who are 25 to 35 years (29.03%).

The degree of formalization of procedures regarding the verification of the level of implementation of the practice of management functions is as follows: Not at all agree:1 desagree:2 no opinion:3 agree:4 totally agree:4.

4.Discussion

Organizing can be viewed as the activities to collect and configure resources, like financial, human, physical, informational and other resources, in order to implement plans in a highly effective and efficient fashion. According to (Laaria, 2013) organizing is a broad set of activities, and often considered as one of the major functions of management. At Congo China Telecom, the organizational structure is very specialized with a clearly defined chain of command. The part of its structure is showed in table and graph section.The structure of this company is clearly described.The tasks and jobs were also clearly defined.It can be understood what employees are doing and who reports to whom.It can also understand by its organization chart that the general director delegates the jobs to his subordinates.This can help him (general director) reduces his work load so that he can work on important areas such as planning, business analysis.

Leading is a management function that mobilizes or stimulates people to achieve their objectives effectively. According to Whitehead (2004),the style of leadership determines the job involvement of the employee.Managers need to be able to motivate their employees to achieve the business group and overall organizational goals.In fact, despite the fact that CCT is fragmented into various departments,in each department,the employees work as a team,and everyone can bring his expertise to advance the company.The general manager also created an environment in which every worker can express himself fearlessly.Thus, the employees give their suggestions and the important problems linked to their activities.And then,these will be reported to the chief of each department to be discussed and solved.

In Central Africa, corporate social responsibility (CSR),it doesnt usually mean the same like in developed countries.In African countries, it is now recognized that poverty reduction and sustainable development will not be achieved through government action alone.Policy makers are paying increasing attention to the potential contribution of the private sector to such policy objectives.The concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is sometimes used as shorthand for companies contribution to sustainable development.

What are the benefits for companies?

CSR enables companies to build constructive relationships and engage in dialogue with governments and organizations.Besides,it is in the interest of business for society to develop and prosper in a stable way-it is an inseparable part of society,contributing to and benefiting from it. Companies also need the approval of society to prosper and this approval cannot be obtained without trust and trust is about proving you are trustworthy.CCT has understood that logic and as a state company, it is very engaged in the Congolese social life. Furthermore,CCT is committed to supporting the cultural,economic and social development in the same way as its competitors. It undertakes to rebuild schools in dilapidated conditions.It offers scholarships to graduate students to continue their studies abroad.

5.Conclusion

The study concluded that CCT has been organized, managed in way to obtain maximum benefits.Further,the company undertakes social responsibilities through building schools, offering scholarships. It is recommended that,the company be involved in other social affairs of people like sponsoring football matches, eradicating poverty.The findings have revealed that the level of implementation of the practice of management functions within CCT is normal with a good definition of the chain command in its structure.And its work environment allows employees to clearly express their opinion. However,CCT should stop the rigidity of procedures structuring the production or service delivery.It should also develop a coherent program of training within the company to make its employees more competitive.

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