Managing for Excellence in the Twenty-First Century: The Total Quality Approach

By Prof. Goski Alabi

Managing for Excellence in the Twenty-First Century: The Total Quality Approach is a seminal book for achieving the much sought-after traits of quality and excellence. The book provides a practical yet philosophical perspective into achieving quality and excellence. Goski brings her combined experiences from industry, academia, and research into a compendium of principles, theories, practices, tools, techniques, and strategies that can provide and support personal and organizational transformation and sustainable growth. Through the search for excellence and sustainability, Goski presents a different functional approach to management using a combination of existing wisdom, theories, and practices to help create and deliver value that meets or exceeds expectations. Managing for Excellence in the Twenty-First Century is a new perspective to make a difference in both your life and work.

Managing for Excellence in the Twenty-First Century: The Total Quality Approach is a wonderfully comprehensive resource that explain the concepts, philosophy, and principles of quality management clearly and simply enough that even complete beginners to quality management will be able to understand. But it is also thorough enough that those with previous experience in quality management will still gain insights.

It presents an expos of the concept of quality from a practical point of view and discusses the differences between management and quality management approaches of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The analysis of theories is backed by case examples, and careful attention is given to the limitations of existing theories, standards, and practices. The book also brings to the readers attention their innate power to make a difference and be original through the influence of creativity and innovation. The book also stresses the importance of the values of customer satisfaction, learning, leadership, and adaptation, with the view of improving continually.

The book also draws readers attention to some cultural shifts of the twenty-first century and provides insight into how to change with the times by focusing on digital fluency, among other strategies. The book provides a good text for teaching at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. It covers areas like the philosophy of quality management, the purpose of existence, the evolution of quality-management principles, and the lessons to be learned from the various shifts in management practices. It also includes a discussion of the philosophy of excellence, the concept of quality and management, people management, and the relevance of technology and social media in achieving excellence in contemporary times as well as strategies for achieving excellence in contemporary times.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Nov 19, 2016
• ISBN: 9781524643256

Prof. Goski Alabi

Prof. Mrs. Goski Alabi is an academic, practitioner and an accomplished entrepreneur with more than 15 years of experience in Academia, Consultancy and Regulation. She combines and brings her experiences from the regulatory field, industry, consultancy and academia to serves on several public, private and international boards and committees. Prof. Goski is the Dean of the Centre for International Education and Collaboration. Prior to that appointment, she served as the founding Dean of School of Graduate Studies from 2009 -2016, at the University of Professional Studies Accra. Starting from zero to about 1000 students in six years with 9 distinct graduate programmes. She was also the Coordinator of Research from 2006 -2009 at the University of Professional Studies Accra (UPSA). Prof. Goski was also founder and the Chief Editor of the Journal of Business Research, an international peer reviewed journal abstracted on the African Journals Online (AJOL) for seven years. She also proposed and facilitated the establishment of the Otumfuo Centre for Traditional Leadership and the Drolor Centre for Strategic Leadership, two leadership centres of excellence in Ghana

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© 2016 Prof. Goski Alabi. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 11/18/2016

ISBN: 978-1-5246-4324-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5246-4326-3 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5246-4325-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016916538

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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Acknowledgment

I owe this work to all the people who inspired, supported and contributed in diverse ways to the final Output.

Especially My Family, Hon. Prof. Joshua Alabi (OV), Joshua Bortey Alabi Jnr, and Naomi Alabi, Prof. Peter Okebukola who forwarded this book, as well as Munkaila Abdulai my Assistant and all the students and teaching assistants, whose inspiration and contributions cannot go, unnoticed.

Thanks for adding to the quality world.

Contents

Illustrations

Abbreviations

Foreword

CHAPTER 1: PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES OF MANAGING FOR QUALITY

From the Third World to the First World: The Role of Total Quality Leadership

Africa’s Current Symbolic Culture and the African Cultural Dream

The Effects of Colonialism on Africa’s Symbolic Culture

Is Leadership in Africa an Inheritance of Colonialism?

Overcoming the Anti-Progressive Forces That Slow Down Africa’s Development

Creating a First World for Africa

The Need for a Paradigm Shift in Africa

Total Quality Management in the Context of the African Cultural Dream

CHAPTER 2: TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT: A PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVE

The Philosophy of TQM

The Role of Values in TQM

Continual Improvement

The Importance of Customers and Stakeholders

What Makes TQM Work

The Six Philosophical Questions of TQM

Excellence in TQM

The Role Of Leadership In Managing for Quality

Why Organizations Exist

Types and Natures of Organizations

Usefulness: The Purpose of Existence and the Philosophy of Total Quality Management

The Concept of the Customer in TQM

CHAPTER 3: REQUIREMENTS FOR SURVIVAL AND GROWTH – A TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVE

Knowing Who You Are, What You Exist for, What Makes You Different, and What Keeps You Healthy: A Condition for Survival

Mission, Purpose of Existence, and Survival

Expressing Your Mission Statement: The Beginning of Quality

Knowing the Requirements of the Environment and Doing What Is Expected in That Environment

Conditions for Organizational Survival

Requirements for Growth: Responding to the Forces of Change

CHAPTER 4: THE CONCEPT AND IMPORTANCE OF TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT (TQM)

The Concept of Total Quality Management and the Difference between Total Quality Management and Product Quality Management

Importance of Quality Management

Relationship between Quality, Profitability, and Market Share

Relationship between Learning, Experience, Market Share, and Profitability

Quality Management and How It Fits into an Organization

Dimensions of Competition

Market-Orientated Approach to Quality

CHAPTER 5: THE EVOLUTION OF QUALITY MANAGEMENT

Quality in Medieval China, Africa, and Europe

Quality in Medieval Europe

Quality in Medieval America

Quality in the Industrial Revolution

Quality in the Early Twentieth Century

Quality during World War I

Quality during World War II

Quality Revolution in Japan after World War II

The US Quality Revolution

Quality in the Twenty-First Century: Beyond TQM – Total Quality Leadership (TQL)

CHAPTER 6: QUALITY MANAGEMENT PRACTICES: FROM DETECTION OF DEFECTS TO IMPROVEMENT OF QUALITY

The Six Quality Management Practices

The Relationship between the Concept of Quality and Quality Management Approaches

Craftsmanship: Fitness to Customization (1800–1900)

Quality Inspection: Fitness to Standard (1900–1920)

Quality Control: Fitness to Use (1920s–1950s)

Quality Assurance: Fitness to Cost (1950–1980s)

Total Quality Leadership: Fitness to Context and Future Requirements

CHAPTER 7: PISLAI – A MODEL FOR LEADING AND MANAGING QUALITY IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY

The PISLAI Model: A New Model for Managing Quality in the Twenty-First Century

Developing the Creativity of Innovation: Creative Styles – Adaptors versus Innovators

Key Aspects to Unleashing Creative Potential

CHAPTER 8: MANAGING QUALITY IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY: PERSPECTIVES OF THE TWENTIETH-CENTURY GURUS

Walter A. Shewhart

W. Edwards Deming

Joseph M. Juran

Phillip B. Crosby

Armand V. Feigenbaum

Kaoru Ishikawa

Genichi Taguchi

Similarities among Deming’s, Juran’s, and Crosby’s Concepts

Differences between Deming’s, Juran’s, and Crosby’s Concepts

Goski Alabi

Summary

Discussion Questions

CHAPTER 9: QUALITY DEFINITIONS AND CONCEPTS

Chapter Objectives

The Five Views of Quality

Fitness of Purpose

Fitness for Purpose

Quality as Threshold 

Fitness to Purpose

Quality as Value for Money (VFM)

Quality as Added Value and Transformation

Your Concept of Quality

Definitions and Concepts of Quality

Quality Concepts and Models

The Relationship between the Quality Perception Model and Service-Quality Gaps

The Quality Perception Model and Service Encounters

The Quality Perception Model and Zone of Tolerance

CHAPTER 10: MANAGEMENT CONCEPTS

Management Functions

Management versus Administration

Levels of Management

Managerial Skills

The Roles and Responsibilities of Managers

Attributes of Managers

Principles of Management

Evolution of Management Thought

The Big Question

CHAPTER 11: A FUNCTIONAL THEORY OF MANAGING IN A CHANGING WORLD: MANAGEMENT BY LEARNING (MBL)

Traditional Management Functions in the Face of New Realities

Dewey’s Views in Relation to Management Theory and Practice

What is the use of strategic planning to a manager in a world of uncertainty?

If plans are based on what we know, how should managers make room for variation and uncertainty?

How is it possible for managers to plan, strategize, communicate plans, organize resources, and still fail?

Can planning and risk management interventions provide assurance and insurance?

Does managing in uncertainty, variation, and change require reaction or preparedness?

Why are some managers unable to deal with variation and uncertainty effectively?

Lessons from the Tylenol Case of 1982 and 1986

Learning from Success or Learning from Failure

Learning from Success: Lessons from the Ducati Corse Case

The Need for a New Functional Management Model

CHAPTER 12: FUNCTIONS AND PRINCIPLES FOR MANAGING QUALITY IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY

Four Functions of Total Quality Management

Principles of Total Quality Management

Applying the Principle of Technology Management and Web-Presence Deployment

CHAPTER 13: QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

The Benefits of a Quality Management System

Management’s Responsibilities in Establishing and Maintaining a Quality Management System

Setting Up a Quality Management System

CHAPTER 14: ESTABLISHING A QUALITY CULTURE IN AN ORGANIZATION

The Organizational Development Model (ODM)

Characteristics of the Six-Stage Organizational Development Model (ODM)

Using the Organizational Development Model

Using the Results of an Organizational Development Assessment and Gap Analysis

The Building Blocks of TQM for Developing Quality Culture

The Role of Leadership in Developing a Culture of Quality in an Organization

Key Elements of a Strategic Plan

Voice of the Quality Process and Involvement of People

Need for a Quality Management System in Developing a Quality Culture

Need for People with Quality Mindsets in Developing a Quality Culture

Development and Documentation of a Quality Management System

Culture Change: Change Management

Stakeholder Management

Poor Practices to Avoid When Developing Quality Culture

Quality Culture in an Organization

CHAPTER 15: TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES FOR THE QUALITY MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS

Quality Planning Function and Tools and Techniques

Quality Planning and Policy

Quality Plan

Techniques for Quality Assurance

Managing Waste and Reducing Cost in an Organization

Why Do Process-Improvement Programmes Fail?

Quality Control Tools and Techniques

Statistical Process Control: Monitoring the Process for Variation

Seven Quality Control Tools

Quality-Improvement Techniques

Quality Improvement and the Role of Employees

Technology and Social Media for Quality in the Twenty-First Century

CHAPTER 16: FINAL REFLECTIONS ON MANAGING FOR QUALITY IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY – THE GOSKI ALABI APPROACH

Implementing Total Quality Management: Approaches and Pitfalls

The Philosophical Perspective of the Goski Alabi Approach for Leading for Quality and Excellence

Strategies for Deployment of the Fourteen Steps for Managing for Quality

Case Study of the Nuances and Subtlety of Culture: Bob’s Sense of Leadership

Quality Improvement and Strategic Positioning

The ISO Quality Assurance System: A Tool for Effective Organizational Management

Additional Resources

References

About the Author

Illustrations

Figures

1: The quality triangle: quality, cost, productivity

2: The extended quality triangle: the six dimensions of competition

3: Flow chart of the traditional process of preparing waakye as described by students, reflecting a reactive or control orientation

4: Johari window model

5: PISLAI – the quality leadership cycle

6: The ICDR model – framework for creating and delivering value the total quality management way

7: The PDSA cycle for quality assurance

8: Juran’s quality trilogy

9: Crosby’s prevention process

10: The ZIP model

11: The management skills mix – Katz’s three-skills approach

12: Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

13: Traditional four-function management model

14: New six-function management model

15: Strategic-leadership success factors

16: Skills strategic leaders need

17: Elements of strategic thinking

18: Framework for leading people in an organization

19: Elements of a quality management system

20: Model of a process-based quality management systems (ISO 9001:2008)

21: The strategic planning process

22: Example of scorecards cascading from strategic level to individual-goal level of UPSA strategic plan

23: Stakeholders of an organization

24: Stakeholder analysis and prioritization matrix

25: House of quality matrix for a care

26: Standard flow chart symbols and their usage

27: Flow chart for getting out of bed in the morning

28: KPAs, KPIs, and targets

29: Differences between accuracy and precision of measurements

30: Control chart showing upper and lower control limits around the mean

31: Histogram example

32: Normal distribution curve

33: Process Capability Diagram

34: Histogram showing trends and variations in applications, admissions, and enrolments at UPSA

35: Scatter plot showing no trend

36: Trend chart of applications, admissions, and enrolments at UPSA

37a: Mango-leaf diagram for lateness to work

37b: Fish-bone diagram for lateness to work

38: Benchmarking model

39: How to manage commitment and competence

40: The concept of organizational culture

41: A framework for governance in moving from conformance to performance

42: Strategy for quality development and ISO certification

43: Danderyds’ (Swedish hospital) path to TQM

Tables

1: Global Competitiveness Index 2014–2015 – Top Ten Countries

2: Old and new concepts of quality

3: The evolution of quality management practices

4: The characteristics of quality management practices

5: Comparison of traditional management, total quality management, and total quality leadership

6: Differences between Crosby’s, Deming’s, and Juran’s approaches

7: Perspectives of the gurus

8: Quality dimensions for goods

9a: Evans and Lindsey’s (1984) service-quality dimensions

9b: The RATER model – Parasuraman, Barry, and Zithmam’s (1988) service-quality dimensions

9c: Initial service-quality dimensions proposed by Parasuraman et al. (1985)

10: Differences between administration and management

11: Comparison of management by objectives, management by results, and management by learning

12: Characteristics of the six development levels of organizations

13: Characteristics of the organizational development matrix

14: ISO 9001:2008 QMS gap-analysis checklist

15: Immediate next objectives to move from level 0 to level 1

16: Strategic planning terminology

17: Example of an implementation matrix for a strategic plan of the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA)

18: Factors constraining and driving stakeholders’ influence

19: Sample stakeholder analysis of a university in Ghana

20: Tools and techniques for quality planning

21: Quality assurance activities and tools and techniques required

22: Risk management probability-and-impact matrix

23: Risk rating – impact-and-action matrix

24: Failure mode and effects analysis matrix

25: Value-adding activities in PISLAI

26a: Raw data of customer wants and needs from a hotel

26b: Affinitized data of customer wants and needs from a hotel

27: Corrective-action matrix

28: Check sheet template

29: A check sheet tracking the number of mentions of desired employee qualifications in newspaper job advertisements over a six-month period

30: Checklist template

31: Template for corrective-action matrix

32: Major differences between a conventional process and a kaizen process

33: Major differences in terminology between ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 9001:2015

34: Requirements for documented information in ISO 9001:2015

35: The Swedish Quality Award criteria

36: The Malcolm Baldrige Excellence Award criteria

Abbreviations

Foreword

Down through the ages, the growth of civilizations and the rise of empires have rested on the plank of quality. Quality of human resources has been the key driver for sustaining development. Africa’s rise in the early years of human civilization was based on this axiom. Ancient Africans contributed much to civilization, especially to science, including one of the first intensive agricultural schemes; metallurgy, including the mining and smelting of copper, practised in Africa as far back as 4000 BC; and hieroglyphic writing and the use of papyrus. The science of architecture also reached new heights with the pyramids. These were amazing accomplishments both in terms of construction and the mathematical and astronomical knowledge necessary to build and situate them. Between 3000 and 2500 BC, under the guidance of Imhotep, an African physician and architect, a calendar and numeration system were developed, and a carefully defined medical system was established. The Egyptians were responsible for many medical innovations, including the development of an elaborate herbal tradition, many methods of clinical therapy, and a code of medical ethics. From north to south and east to west in Africa, quality was the watchword, and the continent grew in esteem.

Africa’s steady decline and classification as part of the Third World is ascribable to several hindering factors, including scant attention to the promotion of excellence through quality. Herein lies the merit of this book, written by a scholar who has devoted most of her life to promoting quality.

Professor Goski Alabi’s sharp intellect and oratorical endowment are attributes which make her stand out in a community of scholars. My first encounter with her several years ago was in an international gathering of this community. In Managing for Excellence in the Twenty-First Century: The Total Quality Approach, Professor Alabi brings the full weight of her scholarship and practical experience to bear on every word.

In the opening chapter, Professor Alabi entrenches her thoughts in philosophical frameworks, moving in the next chapter to conceptual clarifications and the importance of total quality management. She lists the dividends of subscribing to total quality management as survival, competitiveness, good image, growth, increased market share, freedom from legal action and sanctions, reduced waste and increased profit, enhanced transparency and accountability, value for money, and transformation and socio-economic development. I cannot agree more with her.

Chapter 3 through 6 soak the reader in details of the theory and practice of total quality management, all laced with interesting case studies. For me as a quality assurance practitioner, Chapter 6, Establishing Quality Culture in an Organization, presents a juicy package which should be the reference point for all who desire rapid improvement in the quality of delivery of their services. The models, tools, and techniques for implementing the process are narrated with examples in Chapter 7.

Professor Alabi should be confident that there will be many grateful readers who will gain a broader perspective of total quality management from this book. Students and teachers of business and public administration, owners of businesses big and small, politicians who desire improvement in the quality of delivery of dividends of democracy, and quality assurance practitioners in education and industry will find the book a good treasure and a gold mine of ideas for successful practice.

We are aiming for a world where Africa will be a global leader in the twenty-first century, a world where Africa will flaunt good scores on all development indicators, a world where excellence will be promoted through total quality management. It is my hope that this book will deepen its readers’ belief in the possibility of such a world.

Congratulations, Professor Goski Alabi for a great book even as we look forward to other exciting titles from your scholarly pen.

Professor Peter A. Okebukola, D.Sc., Ph.D., FSAN, FSTAN, OFR

President, Global University Network for Innovation (GUNI)–Africa

Chairman of Council, Crawford University, Nigeria

UNESCO Kalinga laureate and director, UNESCO Institute for African Culture and International Understanding

Chapter 1

Philosophical Perspectives of Managing for Quality

From the Third World to the First World: The Role of Total Quality Leadership

Chapter Objectives

• Explain strategic leadership and examine its relationship with development.

• Explain Africa’s current symbolic culture and the need to change this symbolism.

• Discuss the effects of colonialism on the development of the African continent.

• Recognize that leadership is a collective effort and not just what leaders do.

• Discuss the requirements of effective leadership.

• Identify factors contributing to Africa’s developmental slowness.

• Explain how total quality management (TQM) can facilitate the necessary and constructive change Africa requires.

Introduction

Africa is the second largest continent in the world with a land size of 30,370,000 square kilometres (11,730,000 square miles). The continent is rich with natural resources and a diverse culture, but it remains one of the most underdeveloped. The continent has abundant sunshine, rainfall, and land mass for its 1,022,234,000 people in fifty-four independent countries. The continent is rich in mineral and natural resources. According to the World Trade Report of 2010, the continent possesses 99 per cent of the world’s chromium resources, 85 per cent of its platinum, 70 per cent of its tantalite, 68 per cent of its cobalt, and 54 per cent of its gold resources, among other elements and minerals. It also has significant oil and gas reserves. Nigeria and Libya are two of the leading oil-producing countries in the world. The continent also has abundant timber, diamonds, bauxite, precious metals, and tanzanite. Yet the continent has the highest proportion of poor countries in the world. It has been reported that about thirty-three of the fifty poorest countries in the world are in Africa, south of the Sahara (UN’s Human Development Report 2014). The question is why should a continent so big and blessed with such abundant resources be so underdeveloped and characterized with marked poverty (United Nations Department of Economics 2011)?

Africa’s Current Symbolic Culture and the African Cultural Dream

Africa is plagued with poor quality of life characterized by malnutrition; infrastructural underdevelopment; low GDP per capita and purchasing power; low life expectancy; housing deficiencies; low gross enrolment ratios in education, especially at the tertiary level; and generally poor standards of living.¹ These conditions have often been blamed on corruption, greed, dictatorship, military coups, incompetent leadership, and mismanagement. These ineffective leadership practices are believed to undermine Africa’s governance systems and culture.

The contrast between Africa’s endowment and its level of socio-economic development raises a number of concerns. The continent has often blamed its situation on imperialism fuelled by colonialism. However, the questions to ask are, What was Africa’s situation in respect of its development prior to colonialism? Aside from imperialism, how has the African culture contributed to the African plight? How was Africa during the precolonial era, and how is it now? What has changed, and are those changes desirable enough? What brought about those changes? What is the impact of colonialism on African culture? The current developmental plight of Africa is what I describe as the African symbolic culture. This chapter discusses how the total quality management philosophy and effective leadership can be used to change the African symbolic culture and create the proposed African cultural dream. These arguments are based on the principles and theory of total quality management, including strategic leadership, value systems, the creation and delivery of value, and cultural theory supported by exemplary leadership on the continent. The principles of total quality management include leadership, continual improvement, fact-based decisions, efficiency and effectiveness of management, stakeholder satisfaction and management, system thinking, and the process approach.

The current African culture is a legacy of beliefs, attitudes, and value systems transmitted from past generations through language, attitudes, material objects, rituals, the arts, institutions, and leadership practices that distinguish the African people from the rest of the world. Cultural values have been defined by BusinessDictionary.com as the commonly held standards of what is acceptable or unacceptable, important or unimportant, right or wrong, workable or unworkable, etc., in a community or society. It can also be defined as beliefs and a way of life.

Geert Hofstede defined culture as the collective programming of the mind that distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from others (Hofstede, Hofstede, and Minkov 2010: 6). This implies that culture can be learned since it does not form part of human nature. Culture is distinct from individual personality, but the members of one group share it. Hofstede’s definition also implies that the people around an environment share in the programming of each other’s minds. Culture therefore provides a code of conduct that defines acceptable behaviour. This is different from the developmental climate, which is a set of conditions which influences growth in an environment such as leadership, economic endeavours, governance, social attributes, technology, education, resources available, competition, and supplies. Both culture and the developmental climate can influence the growth and quality of life of a people. I argue that the developmental climate and the value system can influence the culture, which can influence development of a people, just as culture can also influence the developmental climate. This suggests that whatever culture exists at any given time can be consciously changed if so desired.

Edgar Schein, professor of management at MIT, defines culture as the shared tacit assumptions of a group that it has learned in coping with external tasks and dealing with internal relationships. He conceptualizes culture as a layered phenomenon with three interrelated levels of meaning. The first level is artefacts and creations, such as rites, ceremonies, symbols, taboos, myths and stories, language, and norms of behaviour. The second level is values and beliefs, such as integrity; the basis of reward and punishment; employee control; decision-making; concern for people, suppliers, and customers; management contact; and autonomy. The third level is basic assumptions, such as respect for the individual, responsibility for actions and decisions, internal cooperation, and freedom.

Symbolically, the African culture is a paradox defined on one hand by a legacy of a rich history and rich traditional heritage reflected by the arts through language, music, and artefacts and defined on the hand by poor standards of living – such as infrastructural underdevelopment, disease, squalor, illiteracy, war, unemployment, and low life expectancy – and a patchwork of languages in several economically unviable tiny nations. It is a system that places individual good above common good and generally reflects poor quality of life. These symbols have over the years become the norms and acceptable standards for Africa south of the Sahara. African leadership – traditional, religious, and political leadership – has played a significant role in the development of this symbolic culture.

Often poorer countries blame their plight on imperialism without considering how culture, leadership, and management practices have contributed to the situation. These attributes are reflected in the culture of wishful thinking, adhocracy, self-gratification at the expense of sacrificing contributive leadership, and contentment with the status quo. This culture lacks creativity, value addition, strategic planning, and goal-oriented leadership. This type of culture reflects a belief in living one day at a time – just care about today; tomorrow will take care of itself – as well as a culture of learned helplessness and mediocrity, which has earned Africa this cultural paradox. A set of religious beliefs ascribes almost every occurrence or phenomenon to the gods, the supernatural, and destiny or fate.

In 1985, in the Sunday Times, a South African newspaper, David G. Mailu published a speech former South African president P. W. Botha made to his cabinet. In that speech Botha said:

We are not obliged even the least to try to prove to anybody and to the blacks that we are superior people. We have demonstrated that to the blacks in 1001 ways. The Republic of South Africa that we know of today has not been created by wishful thinking. We have created it at the expenses of intelligence, sweat and blood … By now every one of us has seen it practically that the Blacks cannot rule themselves. Give them guns and they will kill each other. They are good in nothing else but making noise, dancing, marrying many wives and indulging in sex. Let us all accept that the Blackman is a symbol of poverty, mental inferiority, laziness and emotional incompetence. Isn’t it plausible? … And here is a creature (Blackman) that lacks foresight … The average Black does not plan his life beyond a year.²

Harsh and antagonistic as these words may be, has Africa south of the Sahara been able to prove Botha wrong, with its own system of governance or leadership and management practices?

The symbolic culture of Africa – poverty and underdevelopment – must give way to a more progressive and desirable culture, which I call the new African cultural dream. The African cultural dream is a culture of distinctiveness powered by development and African values of cohesion, interdependence, and collectivism. This culture seeks a constructive and necessary change for the African people. The African cultural dream must be characterized by evolution for continual improvement, value addition, learning, and social, as well as individual, good. It has to be fuelled by strategic leadership and good governance. Good governance may not necessarily be as defined by the West but rather a governance that works for the African people. The link between this African cultural dream and effective leadership is unbeatable. The new African cultural dream can be achieved through the principles, practices, tools, and techniques of total quality management, as applied to a purpose-driven and strategic leadership. This will require management practices based on long- and short-term planning, partnerships, and a culture of discipline and efficient management practices in areas where Africa may have comparative advantages, like the extractive industry, agribusiness, and certain service areas, just as Japan moved from a nation of devastation to the third-largest economy in the world. China has achieved its position as the world’s second-largest economy by a similar pursuit. Europe and America achieved their feats through similar quality practices as well.

The Effects of Colonialism on Africa’s Symbolic Culture

Colonialism, among other things, left a legacy of cultural diversity, which I call the quadruple heritage of colonialism – religion, governance, language, and artificial boundaries. These four cultural heritages have affected the African culture in diverse ways. However, the question is, what defines the African culture, and how have African leadership and management practices contributed to the current African culture, if culture is dynamic and created?

Religion

Religion in Africa is a mix of inheritance from three different sources: the African traditional belief system and the legacies of Christianity and Islam. Religion affects development in Africa in the sense that, generally, Africans tend to lean more on fate than faith. Almost everything that happens is considered fate. So when people’s indiscipline results in undesired results, those results are considered fate. This notion of fate often precipitates the justification to accept any situation. The idea of accepting undesirable conditions or situations as fate and conditions that we have little control over does not promote and support the need for change and responsibility. Fate is therefore responsible for our development as a people. This notion of fate needs to be deprogrammed from the minds of the African people to improve our pursuit for development, which requires the need to accept responsibility for one’s actions and inactions. Excellence ensues from consistent outstanding performance. In a situation where performance is ad hoc and not well planned because it is dependent on fate, outcomes are often ambiguous and unpredictable because any results should be accepted as fate. As a consequence of this belief system excellence can hardly manifest.

Language and Artificial Boundaries

Colonialism left behind a mix of languages on the African continent, including English, French, and Portuguese. Language is a potent force of human development. Language brings people together and divides people. The United States of America has demonstrated over and over again the strength and power of unity of a people bound by a common language. The strength of the common language that binds the United States together is a true force to reckon with compared to the European Union, Africa, Asia, and other continents that are not bound by a common language. Making matters worse, colonials powers’ scramble for territory further divided much of the African continent. Africa is divided into several tiny, economically unviable nations with different languages. This division by language and geographical boundaries undermines development of the continent and also undermines three of the principles of total quality management: effective leadership, which requires a common vision; everybody’s involvement; and systems thinking. Therefore efforts towards development on the continent are fragmented. Africa does not speak a common language in all respects of socio-economic development. We do not use the same monetary currency like the dollar of the United States or the euro of Europe, we need visas to travel within the continent, our economic blocks are not integrated, and trade within the continent is low. We have refused to recognize that what affects one part of the system has an effect on the other parts and do not live by the principle of systems thinking.

For example, when the Soviet Union was one country with different republics speaking different languages, force was used to maintain the system, but in the end the centre could not hold, as republics with different languages started seeking their own independence. After the disintegration, the individual states became very weak, as they had to reorganize themselves. Russia emerged as a strong force and is currently a power as a result of language. The country identified itself with one language. Even those around the periphery who speak Russian are trying to align with the mainland Russia and therefore causing security risks in their states. China speaks a common language and has one vision; no doubt with strategic leadership China has become the second-largest economy of the world.

Governance

Governance in Africa is also an inheritance of colonialism. Colonialism left behind in Africa a diffuse system of governance called democracy – rule of the people, by the people, and for the people – which has turned into democrazy and is interpreted differently in the different countries of Africa as a craze of collective governance. In Ghana for example, it is interpreted in the Akan language as Kebi mami Kebi, literally meaning say and let me say, not do and let me do. Consequently, with the proliferation of media houses, the airwaves are dominated by insults against leaders, which is misconstrued as participatory decision-making, rather than discussion about pertinent developmental issues. Democracy, in my opinion, has become a system of leaderless governance in Africa. Contrary to the process and systems approach in TQM, which respects structures and norms, democracy, which is a game of numbers, does not allow some of the governments in Africa to make the right decisions for development for fear of incurring the wrath of the people and losing their votes in the subsequent elections. In many countries the time frame for a democratically elected position is four years with the possibility of re-election for another four years. This time frame, within the context of a continent that needs some continuity for strategic leadership, undermines the essence of long-term strategic leadership orientation. Many African countries run on an ad hoc basis, fighting fires as they arise, with a focus on retaining government seats for at least a term. For example, I have never visited any country in Africa, from east to west and north to south, for at least a week without power outages. Why are there no rampant power outages in developed countries? Do our governments not realize the need to plan and develop power supplies to meet the growing needs of the population and economic endeavours? However, a democratically elected government concerns itself more with preventing a coup d’état and securing its seat in the next democratic elections, so there is not much time to plan and lead strategically for the people. Concerns and questions about whether democracy is the right form of governance for Africa have arisen. Learning from post–Arab Spring uprisings in Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia, for example, and the cost of operating democratic parliaments in democratic African countries like Ghana and Nigeria, we must consider whether democracy is the right form of governance for Africa and if so what form of democracy is best. The hypothesis that democracy is right for Africa is still awaiting test results. Should Africa redefine a governance system that works for it? The question remains unanswered.

Is Leadership in Africa an Inheritance of Colonialism?

There are arguments about whether leadership in Africa is another inheritance from colonialism or not. In my opinion, leadership as it exists now in Africa is not an inheritance of colonialism, because leadership is what leaders and followers do together to influence each other towards the achievement of common goals. What are Africa’s common goals, and how have we collectively contributed towards the achievement of those goals? Africa has no concrete common goals developed by Africans for Africa, so what is there to collectively achieve? Who is accountable to whom? We continue to blame our leaders while the leaders blame the indiscipline of the people.

Leadership is a process where leaders and followers influence each other towards the achievement of both collective and individual goals that bring about constructive and necessary changes in a given environment. Contrary to popular perceptions, leadership is not what leaders do to influence members but what leaders and members do together to bring about constructive and necessary change. The key difference between management and leadership is that the essential task of leadership is to bring about some necessary and constructive change. Management, on the other hand, may not necessarily result in a change, because management is only an act of execution and stewardship for the achievement of set goals. Leadership effectiveness and outcomes are therefore moderated by the characteristics and behaviours of not only the leader but also the members, as well as by the times and the cultural environment.

The Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) notes that the need for effective leadership in Africa is high. But traditionally, talented leaders have not received much structured support for developing their full leadership potential, and the structured systems for efficient management are not in place (CCL 2010). For this reason, many organizations and traditional systems in Africa are underperforming. The CCL argues that by strengthening leadership skills, organizational and community outcomes could improve and strengthen prospects for sustainable growth and prosperity in Africa. The CCL further adds that in Africa ideas about leadership are tied to culture, religion, educational background, and language. Consequently, effective leadership can be employed as a vehicle to promote the African cultural dream. This cultural dream should be crafted by Africans for Africans and developed by Africans for the African people within a global context. The dream should not be invented by others and imported to Africa. This is why effective leadership is crucial. Africa needs to think globally but act locally.

Two key characteristics of leaders and followers that have influenced African leadership and the African symbolic culture are the strategic thought process and locus of control. Effective leadership requires strong strategic thinking and internal locus of control rather than the external locus of control that is largely exhibited by African leadership. Strategic thinking is the ability to envision a dream bigger than oneself which transcends present or immediate-future needs as well as physical and geographical barriers while still taking the past into consideration.

The path-goal theory of leadership pushes forward the notion that subordinate characteristics determine which styles or behaviours of the leader will be acceptable and effective. These characteristics include authoritarianism, locus of control, and ability. Authoritarianism has been defined as the degree to which followers want to be told what to do and how to do it. Locus of control is defined as the way a follower sees his or her responsibility towards his or her activities. A person can have an internal or external locus of control. Followers with internal loci of control feel that they control goal achievement and are ready to accept and deal with the consequences of their actions without pushing blame. On the other hand, followers with external loci of control feel that others control goal achievement. When things don’t go as expected, these followers easily shift the blame to those they perceive to be externally responsible for the situation. Ability refers to followers’ skills, attitudes, competence, confidence, and commitment to undertake the required responsibilities. Do African leaders and members collectively have the requisite attitudes, competence, commitment, and confidence to stand up for what will drive and accelerate economic and social development, or do we often find excuses to explain our inabilities?

This chapter puts forward that Africa’s symbolic culture of poverty and underdevelopment is characterized largely by external loci of control, authoritarianism, and low ability of African leaders (which refers to the African leadership in general) and members. The tendencies for authoritarianism and an external locus of control are reflected in the current symbolic African culture, which has been precipitated by a situation where it has become acceptable for the world to dictate and set the African agenda, like the United Nations prescribing the Millennium Development Goals for Africa. The African agenda is often defined by some latent forces and pushed before us. Other characteristics of the African symbolic culture include the dependency syndrome where the financial basket of Africa is often put at the mercy of external donors and development partners.

The tendency towards external locus of control has been demonstrated in African leadership by the blame syndrome – blaming Africa’s entire plight on imperialism. Geert Hofstede in his cultural dimensions theory discusses long-term orientation versus short-term orientation. Values associated with long-term orientation are thrift and perseverance, while values associated with short-term orientation are respecting tradition, fulfilling social obligations, and saving face, similar to the theory of locus of control. Which values are associated with the African culture? Long-term orientation or short-term orientation?

Overcoming the Anti-Progressive Forces That Slow Down Africa’s Development

Three forces that impede Africa’s progress have been identified in this text:

• ignorance

• the blame game

• the dependency syndrome.

Ignorance

In life, our actions are informed largely by what we know, the information we have at any given time, our interests, and our values. You are what you think, know, and do. The difference between a truly educated person and an uneducated person lies in the knowledge and information available to him or her and how he or she puts that knowledge and information to use. It is said that if an axe is dull and one does not sharpen the edge, one must use more strength. Wisdom brings success. That is why people who lack the requisite knowledge and competence have to use more strength and resources and still cannot be as competitive. A typical example of this is how Africa’s abilities, enrolment ratios in higher education, and development and deployment of technology compare with its developed peers.

Gross enrolment ratios for higher education in Africa fall way below global averages with less than 10 per cent for Africa against a global average of above 30 per cent and above 80 per cent for developed countries. The continent is confronted with balancing access to higher education and quality of higher education. However, most important is how we apply our knowledge to development in our own way. Knowledge must result in creativity, value addition, and innovation, which are prerequisites for development. How can we continue to rely on old knowledge and technology and expect to be competitive or to improve the quality of life? Farming in Africa still has not taken advantage of new knowledge. For example, agriculture in Africa is largely agrarian and peasantry when science and technology have already taken farms from the ground to greenhouses. In many parts of Africa farming is still rain dependent or hoe and cutlass led. How many patents and inventions has Africa developed for its own advancement? Africa still exports much of its goods in either raw form or with very little value addition. For example, solar energy is so abundant in Africa, yet Africa still relies largely on rain-fed hydropower; wind and other sources of renewable energy are not well developed. Another area where Africa needs to move from old knowledge to new knowledge is leadership and management, which is why we are not able to manage our abundant resources well. We need solid science, technological, management, and leadership knowledge to change these paradigms. Leadership and management education need to be reconsidered and prioritized in order for Africa to lead in a fashion that is distinctively African but with a global focus.

The Blame Game

The blame game is about looking for someone or something to blame for your situation anytime things do not go well. Often people with external loci of control feel they do not have control over goal achievement, and they are therefore not psychologically ready to accept and deal with the consequences of their actions without placing blame. Many of us try to blame one thing or the other for our predicaments. The contrast between Africa’s endowment and its level of socio-economic development raises a number of concerns. However, rather than interrogate how we, as a people, and our culture and attitudes have contributed to this underdevelopment, we tend to blame everything we are or are not and what we have or do not have on imperialism. Africa has often blamed its situation on imperialism fuelled by colonialism and slave trade. However, the questions to ask are:

1. What was Africa’s situation in respect to development prior to colonialism and the slave trade?

2. What did those who were left behind after the slave trade and colonialism do differently to change our plight?

3. What are those of us who inherited the heritage of colonialism doing right now to change our situation?

4. Aside from imperialism, how has the African culture contributed to the African plight?

5. What was Africa like during the precolonial era or before the slave trade? How about our counterparts who dominated us? How is Africa now?

6. What has changed, and are those changes desirable enough?

7. What is the impact of colonialism on African culture?

Indeed, Africa’s resources were untapped prior to the coming of the slave merchants. Africa was either unaware or ignorant of most of its resources and what to use them for. The extractive industry is a good example. Our gold, diamonds, and oil were largely untapped before the slave merchants arrived.

I was in Brussels in 2006 with a group of professors from different African counties. For most of us it was our first time in Brussels, so we admired the Grand-Place. In the process we looked at the date inscribed on the plaque and argued about how the square’s buildings had been created. Then one professor said, I don’t understand why we credit these people and compare them with Africa. Have you all forgotten that it was our great-grandparents who were hauled from Africa in the most demeaning manner to come build all these so–called grand plazas?

I said, Bravo, but I have one question. Did the slaves who built Europe build similar cities and grand plazas in Africa before they were hauled to Europe or America? Why not? Because they were not strategic. They had no vision or plans to do anything more than what would support daily living – that is, eating, having basic thatch-roof huts to lay body and soul at the end of each day, drumming and dancing, and procreating – and they were very contented. The slave merchants, on the other hand, had a vision, a plan to build great cities, and needed to mobilize resources. They realized they could mobilize part of the resources they required from Africa, so they came, and behold, there were more resources than they had anticipated – cheap labour and mineral and oil resources. The results were great success. Let’s consider or assume that coming to Africa to get the slaves was part of their strategy to mobilize the needed resources. However, let us also remind ourselves that resources alone do not turn themselves into added value; leadership and prudent management make the difference.

Unfortunately, those of us left behind have not made much of a difference, yet we are always blaming our situation on the powers that be, the invisible hands that decide what we should or should not be doing. But it is said that no one can make you feel inferior without your permission. We have made ourselves inferior to any other race by our own conduct and value system. We must collectively make real effort to jump out of our slumber now and start living so we can make the life we want and leave better legacies behind for future generations. We and only us – Africans – are responsible for our development and growth. Opportunities abound around us, but we hardly identify or take advantage of them. The continent is plagued with malnutrition, underdevelopment, squalor, and generally poor quality of life. Could these conditions be blamed on lack of strategic thinking and strategic leadership or on contentment with the status quo or on corruption, greed, dictatorship, incompetent leadership, and mismanagement? Can we improve our situation if we stop blaming others and instead focus on the true culprits – ourselves – and how to improve these conditions? We need to stop blaming the world for who and what we are.

A typical example of the blame game is the xenophobic attacks which happened in South Africa in May 2015. Native South Africans blamed their inability to