Infopreneurial Behaviour among University Graduates in the Information Science Faculty of a University in Zimbabwe

Infopreneurial behaviour amongst University graduates has the potential to guarantee employment and bridge the gap between job-security and the perceived insecurity of an information business. At present, the National University of Science and Technology in Zimbabwe offers infopreneurship and entrepreneurship courses to students in the faculty of Communication and Information Science. The course content and presentation are similar in nature as they all relate to the selling, marketing and promotion of information products and services. However, little research has been done to find out the impact of this course in creating an infopreneurial behaviour among graduating students. The researchers conducted a questionnaire-based survey to find out the infopreneurial behaviour among students who graduated from 2008 to 2012 in the faculty. The exploratory investigation reported by this paper presents the status of these graduates in utilizing their acquired knowledge in infopreneurship and entrepreneurship with regards to the selling and marketing of information products and services, especially through small physical or online/internet-based businesses. The major finding of this study was that the students between 2011 and 2012 have been making initiatives to establish internet-based information businesses but lack further business and technical skills necessary to translate these initiatives into ‘real’ businesses. These business and technical skills are lacking in the course content. The researchers conclude by making recommendations on possible adaptations that can be introduced to the courses to improve infopreneurial behaviour among graduating students in information science

Marketing Commercial Records Centres in Zimbabwe: The Success Story Of Archive-It Services ?.

Available at http://www.academia.edu/3823727/MARKETING_COMMERCIAL_RECORDS_CENTRES_IN_ZIMBABWE_THE_SUCCESS_STORY_OF_ARCHIVE-IT_SERVICES_,This research project presents an assessment that was carried out to investigate the marketing activities of Commercial Records Centres (CRCs). The major aim of the project was to find out how CRCs, Archive-It Services as a typical case, managed to penetrate the Zimbabwean market especially during the economic meltdown period. Of major interest to the study were the marketing strategies that are employed by Archive-It Services in its endeavour to gain ground and recognition. The case study research method was adopted. Questionnaires and interviews were employed as primary data collection tools. Secondary data was collected through content analysis of the company?s records such as director?s annual reports, company?s profile, brochures and registers. For data presentation, tables, pie-charts and graphs were used. The research study found out that, although there are some financial and technical challenges that are being faced, marketing is actually one of the top priority functions at Archive-It Services as manifested by the number of marketing activities that the company carries out. This eventually explains the company?s success in introducing such an uncommon idea especially in the Zimbabwean market where the current economic conditions are not so favourable for ventures of such nature. Recommendations include familiarisation with the marketing concept, introduction of advertising as part of its promotion toolkit, aggressive campaigns and continued prioritisation of marketing on resource allocatio

A cost-benefit analysis of document management strategies used at a financial institution in Zimbabwe: A case study

Background: Choosing a cost-effective document management approach has become a priority to many organisations, especially in view of the rapidly changing technological environment in which information is being created and managed. A literature survey indicated that document management strategies have the potential to provide some substantial cost-saving benefits if they are used judiciously.Objectives: This study investigated a commercial bank’s document management approaches in a bid to ascertain the costs and benefits of each strategy and related issues.Method: A quantitative research approach was employed through a case study which was used to gather data from a sampled population in the bank.Results: The document management approaches used were not coordinated to improve operational efficiency. There were regulations governing documents management. The skills and competences of staff on both document management and cost analysis are limited. That is partly due to limited training opportunities availed to them. That means that economies are not achieved in the management of records. That has a negative impact on the overall efficiency, effectiveness and legal compliance of the banking institution.Conclusion: The financial institutions should create regulations enabling periodical cost-benefit analysis of document management regimes used by the bank at least at quarterly intervals as recommended by the National Archives of Australia. A hybrid approach in managing records is recommended for adoption by the financial institution. There should be on-the-job staff training complimented by attendance at relevant workshops and seminars to improve the staff’s understanding of both the cost-benefit analysis concept and document management