Leadership and Organizational Development in Africa

Special issue call for papers from African Journal of Economic and Management Studies - Emerald Publishing

Deadline: June 30, 2016

Leadership and Organizational Development

Background to the topic

The world is changing very rapidly and managing this change is probably the single most difficult task managers of organizations, especially those operating in Africa, have to contend with. This change, manifested by globalization, liberalization, technological changes and advancement, and market changes is rapidly transforming the environment in which organizations operate. Since an organizational environment, as an epitome of society, is stochastic in nature, it might not remain stable in the midst of such rapid changes. The external challenges and changes taking place in the operating environments of organizations make it imperative for the invocation of survival strategies by managers of business which can help the future-oriented enhancemennt of their organizations’ productivities. In this regard, the future outlook of an organization’s productivity and performance can be situated in the intersection of changes in technology, organizational life style, organizational diversity and geopolitics (Hammel & Prahlad, 1997) of globalization and economic liberalization.  As such, there is the need for the development of the requisite leadership and management models, as well as organizational structures and systems for the efficient and effective management of the on-going transformational developments in organizations. This is based on the notion that for a manager to have the ability to lead an organization efficiently and effectively in a world of technological change, globalization, competition and social responsibility, she/he might need to be a person who; (i) works effectively as a self-aware, reflective change leader, (ii) understands organizational dynamics and how to improve efficiency and effectiveness, and (iii) uses sound leadership and organizational development practices to lead an organization to success.

In the African context, there is the perception that the African cultures and institutions are characterized by tensions, some of which are frequently described in terms of dichotomies, such as, individualistic versus collectivist world visions, local versus global cultures, and formal versus informal relationships (Bolden & Kirk, 2009).  As Binan argues about two decades ago,  the African society, facing momentous challenges at the beginning of the new millennium, needs visions of the future, which when made so attractive, inspiring and compelling will shift managers’ current mindset of focusing on managing crises to anticipating the future (Binan, 1997). However, there appears to a dearth of empirical studies that explain the nature, and confirm the existence, of a relationship between leadership style and organisational development in the African context. For example what empirical or conceptual answers do we have for the following questions?

• How do business managers lead in today's ever-changing work environment?
• Going by the argument that effective leadership does not always translate from one situation to the next, what contemporary tools do managers of businesses use or require in tackling today’s organizational development challenges?
• Answering the questions above is of particular importance to our contemporary understanding of  leadership and organisational development issues in African organizations, because of Africa’s unique position as an emerging market economy pursuing affirmative action policies characterized by an open economy. The African Journal of Economic and Management Studies (AJEMS) wishes to foster the debate on leadership and organizational development in Africa by providing the platform for researchers to share insights of their answers to the questions posed.
• In this special issue, therefore, we seek papers that provide new insights and add to our understanding of the contemporary Afrocentric perspective on leadership and organizational development, (especially, the dialogue of management activities that promote the relational, critical and constructionist perspectives on leadership and organizational development).

Submissions are invited on

We invite contributions from various disciplinary perspectives that focus on leadership and organizational development in Africa, including, but not limited to;

• Theoretical and methodological approaches to leadership and organizational development.
•  Leadership development
• Talent management and development
• Leading a healthy organization
• Team leadership
• Leading organizational change
• Future-focused leadership
• Contemporary issues in leadership
• Coaching and mentoring towards employee development
• Strategic visioning
• Evidence-based decision-making
• Leveraging leadership competencies
• Management of future leadership development
• Integration of interpersonal leadership needs and project management logistical needs
• Comparative perspectives of leadership and organizational development (African countries versus Others).

Submissions and deadlines

• You are invited to submit articles related to the issues raised not later than 30th June 2016.
• All papers will be subject to a rigorous peer review. Feedback on papers will be given in the Autumn of 2016.
• Publication of the special issue is scheduled for 2017.
• Papers should be between 6,000-6,500 words. Authors should follow AJEMS author guidelines
• To submit your paper online, you must first create an author account and then follow the on-screen guidance which takes you through the submission process
• Please contact the guest editor if you need more information on your manuscipt or the submission process

Guest Editor

Mohammed-Aminu Sanda
Department of Organization and Human Resource Management
University of Ghana Business School 
P. O. Box LG 78 Legon
Accra, 
Ghana

Email : masanda@ug.edu.gh 
Tel +233 57 1669945

And

Department of Business Administration, Social Science and Technology
Luleå University of Technology
SE – 97187 Luleå
Sweden

Email: mohami@ltu.se

References

Bina, C. (1997). The epochal imperatives and development tendencies. In: Gupta, S. D. (Ed.), The political economy of globalization. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers, pp. 13-37.

Bolden, R. & Kirk, P. (2009). African leadership: Surfacing new understandings through leadership development,  International Journal of Cross Cultural Management, 9 (1): 69–86.

Hammel, G. & Prahlad, C. K. (1994). Competing for the future. Boston, M.A: Havard Business School Press.

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