Colonial Organizations

I remember a book in Swahili that I read after finishing high school. The book is a play titled "Amezidi" by Said A. Mohamed. This play is set during the colonial periods in Tanzania at a particular firm where workers have gone on strike due to the poor working conditions, which they suffer at the hands of the firm's management. 

The strike was called and enforced by the firm's workers' union, chaired by a brave woman, the main protagonist of the play. Unfortunately, the protagonist's leadership faces many challenges due to betrayal from other leaders of the union, who secretly meet the management and negotiate better packages for themselves at the expense of the workers. The actions of the management and the few greedy leaders of the union show how the "divide and rule" rule policy is employed by the firm's management to oppress workers.

Sadly, colonial organizations still exist today, especially in African countries. In Kenya, workers still suffer at the hands of organizations' management.

Recently, I had a conversation with a friend who is a lecturer at a local college. He informs me of how the management of the college works with the Heads of Departments to stifle their voices in the organization and make their working conditions unbearable. Witch-hunting is the order of the day in the organization for dissenting voices. The rate of employee turnover in the organization is very high. Moreover, management comprises authoritative leaders who are not ready to tolerate different and diverse views on running the college. 

This occurrence reminds me of the theory X managers, defined by Douglas McGregor, a professor of management at the MIT Sloan School of Management. Like the theory X managers, the management at the college where my friend works believes that lecturers lack the intellectual capacity to contribute heavily to running the organization. It assumes that the lecturers are lazy and high productivity can only be achieved when tightening the work conditions for the lecturers. Its cooperation with the Head of Departments (HODs) and exclusion of lecturers is a prime example of "divide and rule," a significant feature of colonial organizations. 

People must condemn colonial organizations and their "divide and rule" policies. Research and many studies have proved that cohesive organizations where people work cooperatively and with mutual respect are the best. Firms and managers should know that when their workforce is divided, their potential as managers and the potential of their firms are curtailed.