Excerpt
Table of Content
Social and technological factors which are influencing Kenya’s organizations
(A) Social forces :
1. Pollution
2. Changing values
3. Poverty
4. Employment and education
5. International financial institutions’ emphasis on sustainable development
6. Change in the people’s lifestyle and living standards
(B) Technological forces :
1. Information and communication technologies in distance education
2. Environmental concerns
Does culture influence our perceptions?
Whether human resource managers should consider one’s personality as critical job performance factor
1. Morale
2. Learning ability
3. Experience
4. Culture
5. Attitude
REFERENCES
Social and technological factors which are influencing Kenya’s organizations
(A) Social forces :
1. Pollution
During the last few years, Kenyan organizations have become conscious of a serious problem regarding their physical environment. Firms and industries cannot continue to produce goods and then carelessly discard waste without upsetting the balance of nature. Pollution affects the land we use, the water we drink and the air we breathe. The survival of mankind depends on how well the society controls its natural environment.
When Kenya was ‘young’, pollution did not show its great effect on the land, water and air. Few goods were produced and the population was small. Now that we have more than 30 million people and the quantity of goods produced is so great, that the environment is seriously affected.
To curb this problem of pollution, local governments and environmental agencies have passed control laws. Business firms have become more conscious of the needs to take deliberate – sometimes – costly actions to help improve the physical environment.
2. Changing values
Mankind’s values are generally rather stable for long periods. There are times however, when values undergo change. Evidence suggests that during the past few decades in Kenya, values of Kenyans and Kenyan organizations have been shifting. The changes is brought about in part by such factors as pollution, poverty, consumer unrest, expanding population and corruption.
Society is concerned about the quality of goods and services provided by organizations and the quality of the environment. The desire to improve the human side of life has been especially evident among youth. Poverty, discrimination and corruption are some of the problems which firms and organizations have tried to fight until now.
3. Poverty
The poverty income level, which is not the same for all, is based on family size, age of members and location. For instance, in slum dwellings, most of the families are unable to save enough money for investment and future uncertainties because of many mouths to feed, children to educate, clothe and give health protection.
As a result of these factors, organizations have really concentrated on provision of job security, fair and better wages and salaries, supporting trade unions and also creating a band or partnership with micro financial institutions, in order to raise the living standards of workers, and in general maintaining customers and consumers, since they will be having more money to use in some interactions.
4. Employment and education
A large labor force is necessary to support a large GNP. As the population grows, the labor force also grows.
The labor force is composed of all those people who are available for work, whether they are employed or unemployed. Not included in the labor force are those people under 16 years of age, full – time students, housewives and retired and handicapped people.
With improved technology, the need has come for additional skilled employees. The demand for accountants, managers and other business specialists, for example, has never been greater. To become skilled, this means that the workers must be educated.
While demand for skilled workers has been rising, the need for unskilled workers has been declining. A problem to the businessman is to find adequately trained employees. Education and specialized training, therefore, must be readily available, in order to ensure that Kenyan’s economy becomes industrialized.
5. International financial institutions’ emphasis on sustainable development
The idea of “sustainable development” emerged from policy discussions at the United Nations throughout the 1980s and was popularized in the lead-up to the UN’s high-profile environment and development summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992.
Merging the language of long -term sustainability from the environmental movement with the “development” discourse of neo -colonialism, sustainable development became a rationale for advocating the continued expansion of capitalist market economies in the global south, while paying lip service to the needs of the environment and the poor.
6. Change in the people’s lifestyle and living standards
The constraints presented by poverty and by related issues such as illiteracy and the impact of poor health and HIV/AIDS, on efforts to respond to the challenges of ageing are still being addressed by various scholars, intellects and economists in various organizations, whether governmental or not.
Stressing the impact the HIV/AIDS pandemic has on most African countries, particularly to those people living below the poverty line, has really reduced the costs that most organizations incur, since money that was being used to treat HIV/AIDS workers and employers, can now be channeled more in productive projects like investments, savings and innovations.
Mankind is ageing and the older population is growing. Policies in the area of ageing must be revised and adjusted, taking into account the new demographic and socio-economic factors of today. We must all be fully aware of the implications of the role of older persons in society, in particular in a world characterized by globalization and epidemics, such as HIV/AIDS. Being aware of the positive contributions that older persons can play in social development, the Kenyan government has established policies regarding health and the fight against poverty and illiteracy.
(B) Technological forces :
1. Information and communication technologies in distance education
Instructional technology, according to current definition of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology is “the theory and practice of design, development, utilization, management and education of processes and resources for learning (Seels & Ricky, 1994)”
Rajesh (2003) examined the problems associated with information and communication Technology (ICT) adaptability is developing countries in the context of distance education. He said that the communication technologies had come to play vibrant role in democratizing education not only in the developed, but also in developing countries. The problems associated with the growth of ICT that had been focused upon in his study were the political, economic, cultural and technological factors.
[...]