Changing the Canon: Chinua Achebe’s Women, the Public Sphere and the Politics of Inclusion

This paper examines the subjugation of Nigerian women with regard to how their political marginalisation constricts the public sphere, the resource centre of public opinion, which strengthens the ideals of democracy and good governance. The political marginalisation of women in Nigeria is a rectilinear upshot of their low participation in government and politics necessitated by patriarchy. This patriarchal practice has animated the urgency of expanded public sphere as well as feminism, an ideological, aesthetic and cultural movement, steeped in agitating for the rights of women and expanding the frontiers of their participation in the political process. In the political novel Anthills of the Savannah, which is to be considered in this paper, Chinua Achebe has deftly refracted the rise of new Nigerian women, who are generation changers. Beatrice represents Achebe’s new women; her portraiture in the novel interrogates postcolonial Nigerian politics of disempowerment, marginalisation, shrunken public sphere and gendered space that occlude good governance

The impact of work-life balance on the commitment and motivation of Nigerian women employees

This study borders on motivating female employees in Nigerian organisations in order to widen possibilities for business growth, high performance and organisational commitment. It is also about the impacts of work-life balance (WLB) on the commitment and motivation of women employees in Nigeria. Thus, the main thrust of this paper is to articulate how WLB affects these variables: women’s commitment and motivation in bringing about better organisational performance particularly at the turn of the millennium when organisations are in a constant flux of competition and change precipitated largely by the pressures of ascendancy of women’s involvement in work-related activities, the descent of patriarchy and above all postmodernist pressure. The realities of African (Nigerian) patriarchal society have brought about serious challenges for women employees both at home and in organisations causing them to be pressured, which is largely responsible for the nature of motivation and commitment they bring to work. To this end, this paper will be exploring how to enhance (Nigerian) women employees’ motivation to bring about commitment for better organisational performance, given their perceived interests to get paid employment as precipitated by pressures of work-life imbalance as well as postmodernist burden to be part of providing for their families

Rethinking Labour Turnover: Prospecting For Shared Leadership

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Waterstone's and the Changing Bookselling Environment in the UK: the Journey so far and Prospects

Abstract This study investigates the market environment of the United Kingdom high street bookselling business with emphasis on Waterstone's. In doing this, stress shall be placed on a brief exploration of the global outlook of book retailing venture as it relates to the United Kingdom. Another focus of this paper is the micro-environment and macro-environment of book retailing business in the United Kingdom and the internal environment of Waterstone's -that is a look at the PESTEL, SWOT, consumer behaviour, and Porter's Five Forces as well as strategies for a re-invented and management strategies for improved services and profitability will be considered as well as the conclusions of the major thrusts of the paper

Analysis of Factors that affect the use of Microfinance for Microbusiness Development in Ghana

This chapter examined the factors that affect the use of microfinance for microbusiness development in Ghana. The study employed semi-structured survey questionnaire to determine whether an entrepreneur’s personal attributes impede or facilitate microbusiness development in Ghana. Multiple linear regression analysis was conducted to determine the effects of entrepreneur’s personal attributes on the monthly sales, number of employees, business assets and capital stock of microbusinesses that received credit from a microfinance provider in the northern region of Ghana. The findings of the study suggest that the micro-entrepreneurs prior work experience, occupation and prior income facilitate the use of microfinance for microbusiness development. These findings have policy implications for the government of Ghana and other agencies that are interested in using microfinance as a catalyst for economic growth in deprived communities in the country

Persuasive language of responsible organisation? A critical discourse analysis of corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports of Nigerian oil companies

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate how language (choice) in CSR reports of leading oil companies in Nigeria is used to portray an image of “responsible organisation”. Design/methodology/approach This paper draws insights from communication studies (persuasion theory) and critical discourse analysis (CDA) studies to discursively unpack all those subtle and visible, yet equally invisible, linguistic strategies (micro-level elements): wording (single words), phrases and chains of words (clauses/sentences). These linguistic strategies (micro-level elements) proxy organisational discourses (meso-level elements), which are reflective of wider social practices (macro-level elements). The authors base the investigation on CSR reports of six leading oil companies in Nigeria from 2009 to 2012. Findings The findings of this study reveal that (leading) Nigerian oil companies linguistically use CSR reports to persuasively construct and portray the image of “responsible organisation” in the eyes of wider stakeholders (the communities) despite serious criticism of their corporate (ir) responsibility. Originality/value As opposed to the previous content analysis based studies, this paper contributes to the emerging stream of CDA studies on CSR reporting by providing a finer-grained linguistic analytical schema couched in Fairclough’s (2003) approach to CDA (and persuasion theory). This helps to unravel how persuasive language/discourse of responsible organisation is enacted and reproduced. The authors thus respond to the calls for theoretical plurality in CSR reporting research by introducing persuasion theory from communication studies literature which has hitherto been rarely applied

Corrupt Regulatory Institutions and Microfinance Development in Developing Economies: Contextualising Ghana, Nigeria and Sierra Leone

This chapter is based on the role corrupt institutions, specifically, microfinance institutions play in making microfinance not accessible for business development in Africa: Ghana, Nigeria and Sierra Leone. The chapter essentially uses the contexts of Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Ghana to shed light on the challenges and opportunities for small businesses in a culture of corruption in these countries and associated challenges for small business owners and entrepreneurs as well as microbusiness development. In many developing countries with a high level of corruption, there is potentially a high incidence of institutional void that triggers hindrance and challenges for businesses to thrive. Microbusiness development relies largely on effective institutions to develop, and in situations where institutions are corrupt, these challenges are rather redoubled thus posing a threat to entrepreneurship development. Thus, these contexts will enable the interrogation of the challenges beleaguering microbusiness development, where corrupt microfinance institutions exist, as well as business opportunities if these corrupt institutions were not present. Consequently, this chapter contends that for businesses to thrive enabling and effective institutional mechanisms are crucial, which will facilitate opportunities for microbusiness development

Legitimisation strategies and managerial capture: a critical discourse analysis of employment relations in Nigeria

YesIrrespective of the fundamental role of legitimacy in industrial relations as well as social and organisational life, little is known of the subtle meaning-making strategies through which organisational concepts, such as employment relations and engagement, are legitimised in modern world of work, particularly in developing countries such as Nigeria, which results in managerial capture. As a result, this paper explores the discursive legitimisation strategies used when making sense of employment relations in Nigeria’s conflictual, non-participatory employment relations terrain. Relying on Leeuwen’s (1995) legitimisation strategies, critical discourse analysis (CDA) and call by Bailey, Luck & Townsend (2009) and Legge (1995) to widen employment relations discourse, we explore interview, focus group and shadow report data, and distinguish and analyse five legitimisation strategies. The strategies include authorisation, moralisation, mythopoesis, rationalisation, and management. Therefore, we contend that while these specific legitimisation strategies appear in separate data source, their recurrent manifestation and application underscores legitimising discourse of managerial capture in Nigeria’s employment relations

POETICS OF RESISTANCE: ECOCRITICAL READING OF OJAIDE'S DELTA BLUES & HOME SONGS AND DAYDREAM OF ANTS AND OTHER POEMS

Nigerian written poetry spans about six decades, from its inception, and has been a medium of engagement, decrying colonialism, cultural imperialism, socio-economic oppression and political tyranny. Tanure Ojaide’s poetic enterprise follows in the footsteps of this mould of interdiction, which can be called resistance poetics. Particularly, his collections of poetry, Delta Blues & Home Songs and Daydream of Ants and Other Poems, are illustrations of ecocritical literature. Ecocriticism in literature is a form of aesthetics that concerns itself with the nature of relationship between literature and the natural environment. Ojaide considers the ecocritical art of poetry as a kind of public duty, which he owes to the Nigerian people, to expose, reconstruct, and negate the actualities of environmental degradation in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. The author argues that since Ojaide’s poetry intersects with the realities of ecological imperialism, it is thus a dependable barometer to gauge the Nigerian environmental/ ecological experience

Leading A Postmodern African Organisation: Towards A Model of Prospective Commitment

Abstract Africa's adoption of Western management and leadership practices has impacted adversely on her capacity to develop in the global marketplace. As this paper shall argue, an African oriented management and leadership paradigms couched in postmodernism will facilitate her efforts towards continental bliss. Postmodernism is a reaction against modernity that universalises Western (organisational) models by asserting one-dimensional approach to apprehending reality. Leading a postmodernist African organisation entails a deconstruction of Western schema through opening up multiplicities. The envisioned new African organisational model is one of these multiplicities. Also, Africa's (organisational) leadership in post-modern era is a correlate of prospective commitment. Prospective commitment translates into envisioning future progress of African business as well as re-imagining Africancentred organisational models for competitive edge. This is crucial for Africa to rediscover its cultural identity. This is also critical for transcending the trammels of Western oriented management methods by evolving Africa's indigenous management practices that are couched in Ubuntu, a collectivist leadership model premised on shared vision and experience. This is important for Africa's renaissance as well as a useful management tool for circumventing imperialist hangover and impositions, which are standing in the way of her organisational growth and development