Understanding tacit knowledge loss in public enterprises of South Africa

Orientation: South African state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are facing a perpetual struggle of institutional tacit knowledge loss, which poses a risk to these entities and threatens their sustainability. The research project endeavoured to tackle these challenges from knowledge management (KM) and human resource management (HRM) perspectives and proposes a plethora of integrated knowledge-driven HRM processes to mitigate risks associated with loss of tacit knowledge. Research purpose: The study provides an integrated understanding of the issues relating to the causes of enterprise tacit knowledge loss and extent to which there is recognition of company knowledge loss in selected SOEs in South Africa. Motivation for the study: There is limited research that provides an integrated approach to tacit knowledge loss from KM and HRM standpoints. Research approach/design and method: The exploratory sequential mixed-methods research design was used in this study. In the qualitative phase of this research, data were collected from the annual reports of the SOEs and unstructured interviews with 20 purposively selected human resource (HR) managers, which was subsequently analysed thematically using ATLAS.ti software. The quantitative data from 145 out of 585 respondents were analysed statistically using Statistical Analysis Software (SAS). Main findings: The study revealed that organisational tacit knowledge loss is largely caused by voluntary and involuntary employee turnover and a lack of retention strategies. This adversely affects the knowledge base and the knowledge absorptive and protective capacities of the SOEs. Practical implications/managerial implications: The study concludes that the journey for ensuring effective knowledge transfer and retention of valuable enterprise knowledge starts with the appreciation of knowledge as a key firm-specific strategic issue. Contribution/value-add: This study offers an integrated understanding of the causes of tacit knowledge loss for effective management in SOEs researched interdependently from KM and HRM perspectives

Economics of groundnut production in Malawi

An experiment was conducted at Chitedze Agricultural Research Station near Lilongwe, Malawi, during the 2000-01 crop season to estimate the production costs and profitability of groundnut at 3 different input levels (low, medium, and high). Production costs were K58 221 (US$894) in high input level, K40 181 (US$617) in medium input level, and K23 300 (US$359) in low input level. Net output in high, medium, and low input levels was 2.96, 1.92, and 1.16 t/ha-1, respectively. The net benefits in high, medium, and low input levels were K45 198 (US$695), K26 968 (US$415), and K17 389 (US$268) per ha-1, respectively

The burden and natural history of cardiac pathology at TB diagnosis in a high-HIV prevalence district in Zambia: protocol for the TB-Heart study.

BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis (TB) continues to be a major cause of death across sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). In parallel, non-communicable disease and especially cardiovascular disease (CVD) burden has increased substantially in the region. Cardiac manifestations of TB are well-recognised but the extent to which they co-exist with pulmonary TB (PTB) has not been systematically evaluated. The aim of this study is to improve understanding of the burden of cardiac pathology in PTB in those living with and without HIV in a high-burden setting. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional and natural history study to evaluate the burden and natural history of cardiac pathology in participants with PTB in Lusaka, Zambia, a high burden setting for TB and HIV. Participants with PTB, with and without HIV will be consecutively recruited alongside age- and sex-matched TB-uninfected comparators on a 2:1 basis. Participants will undergo baseline assessments to collect clinical, socio-demographic, functional, laboratory and TB disease impact data followed by point-of-care and standard echocardiography. Participants with PTB will undergo further repeat clinical and functional examination at two- and six months follow-up. Those with cardiac pathology at baseline will undergo repeat echocardiography at six months. DISCUSSION: The outcomes of the study are to a) determine the burden of cardiac pathology at TB diagnosis, b) describe its association with patient-defining risk factors and biochemical markers of cardiac injury and stretch and c) describe the natural history of cardiac pathology during the course of TB treatment

Social accountability in primary health care in West and Central Africa: exploring the role of health facility committees

Background: Social accountability has been emphasised as an important strategy to increase the quality, equity, and responsiveness of health services. In many countries, health facility committees (HFCs) provide the accountability interface between health providers and citizens or users of health services. This article explores the social accountability practices facilitated by HFCs in Benin, Guinea and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Methods: The paper is based on a cross-case comparison of 11 HFCs across the three countries. The HFCs were purposefully selected based on the (past) presence of community participation support programs. The cases were derived from qualitative research involving document analysis as well as interviews and focus group discussions with health workers, citizens, committee members, and local authorities. Results: Most HFCs facilitate social accountability by engaging with health providers in person or through meetings to discuss service failures, leading to changes in the quality of services, such as improved health worker presence, the availability of night shifts, the display of drug prices and replacement of poorly functioning health workers. Social accountability practices are however often individualised and not systematic, and their success depends on HFC leadership and synergy with other community structures. The absence of remuneration for HFC members does not seem to affect HFC engagement in social accountability. Conclusions: Most HFCs in this study offer a social accountability forum, but the informal and non-systematic character and limited community consultation leave opportunities for the exclusion of voices of marginalised groups. More inclusive, coherent and authoritative social accountability practices can be developed by making explicit the mandate of HFC in the planning, monitoring, and supervision of health services; providing instruments for organising local accountability processes; strengthening opportunities for community input and feedback; and strengthening links to formal administrative accountability mechanisms in the health system

A lost opportunity to foster E-Democracy and service delivery: E-Government in Sub Saharan Africa

Electronic government (e-government) is an innovative attempt totake advantage of information and communication technologies(ICTs) to facilitate the citizens’ access to government information andservices in order to support social, economic and political developmentand provide an avenue for the public to interact with governmentinstitutions and processes in a democratic, transparent and equitable way. E-government has the possibility of improving service delivery and enhancing the relationship between the government and the public. It may also help to foster electronic democracy (e-democracy). However, Sub Saharan Africa (SSA) faces a lot of challenges when it comes to implementing e-government programmes. The ICT infrastructure is weak and is not widely available to rural populations. In most cases, both government officials and the people who may want to use government services online lack basic skills. Government information is not properly organized as records management systems in many countries are collapsing. E-government projects are deficient in many countries in SSA, and they are grossly under resourced. Consequently, SSA may lose the opportunities offered by ICTs to improve government service delivery and foster democracy and accountability

Mapping Mixed Methods Research in Library and Information Science Journals in Sub-Saharan Africa, 2004 – 2008

This article explores the use of mixed methods research (MMR) in articles published in library and information science (LIS) journals in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) from 2004 to 2008. Mixed methods research entails using multiple observers, theories, methods, and data sources in a single study, thereby enabling the different methods to beneficially corroborate or validate one another. The MMR framework provided in the methodological literature was used to determine how this method was practised within the LIS scientific community in SSA. Six hundred and eighty five articles published in nine peer-reviewed LIS journals in SAA were analysed. The study found out that most of the articles used only survey designs or historical research methods. Only 48 out of the 685 articles (seven per cent) used MMR approaches, which is clearly limited and inadequate. The study recommends a paradigm shift and a change in the mindset of LIS researchers in SSA in order to be able to exploit the advantages offered by MMR