Journal of Design, Management and Sciences (JODMAS)

A Comparative Assessment of the Effects of COVID-19 on Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Selected Townships of Lusaka, Zambia

Pherguson Miti, Dr. Chrine Hapompwe, Dr. Asif Mahbub Karim — Thu, 26 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The outbreak of the Coronavirus of 2019 (COVID_19) has affected the entire globe socially and economically. It has affected the way of doing business between and within countries. The Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have been heavily affected by the outbreak of COVID-19 in these countries. This study aimed at assessing the effect of COVID-19 on the SMEs due to the significant roles they play in an economy, such as; creating employment and contributing to the national GDP. Therefore, the study explored the activities of the SMEs by comparing their performance two years before the outbreak of COVID-19 and immediately after. Hence the snowballing method of selection was used to ensure only SMEs whose businesses were operational at least two years before the outbreak were selected for the research. The Selected SMEs were also registered with the local authorities such as Zambia Revenue Authority, PACRA and the City council. The overall objective of the study was to assess the effect of COVID-19 on the performance of SMEs in the selected townships of Lusaka, Zambia and the data for the research was collected using the mixed method approach to ensure sufficient information was collected for the study. The results of the research showed that there was a reduction in revenue, number of customers, as well as orders for goods and services by the consumers after the outbreak of COVID-19. Additionally, the results showed that there was a disruption in supply of good and services, an increase in inflation, shortage of essential goods and an increase in unemployment. However, the SMEs came up with mitigation measures to survive the effects of COVID-19. They put up measures such as offering promotions, credit and discounts to royal customers, extended their working hours, shared spaces with other business to reduce the costs of rentals, stocked only products with high demand to reduce the inventory days. The SMEs also changed suppliers to cheaper and more reliable one to ensure that they didn’t runout of essential stock. There was also an increase in the use of electronic business (E-Commerce). The SMEs started advertising their products and services on social media platforms, conducted virtual meetings and trainings. And to ensure that they had capital for their business, the SMEs formed informal banking group called village banking. Therefore, the SMEs have shown that they are able to adapt to change in the environment so as to ensure that their business survive.

An Investigation into the Effect of Organizational Justice on Employees’ Job Satisfaction Among Government Health Workers in Kalomo District, Zambia

Lushomo Mukonka, Dr. Chrine Hapompwe, Dr. Asif Mahbub Karim — Thu, 26 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The primary purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between organizational justice and levels of work satisfaction. The specific objectives were; to determine the effect of distributive Justice on employee job satisfaction of health workers in Kalomo district; to determine the effect of procedural justice on employee job satisfaction of health workers in Kalomo district and to determine the effect of Interactional Justice on employee job satisfaction of health workers in Kalomo district. In this study, the research sampled four health facilities, namely; the Request Muntanga Hospital, Kalomo Urban Clinic, Namwianga Mission Hospital and Mawaya Clinic. The study used purposive and convenience sampling techniques to select the participants from the selected health facilities. The study administered 205 questionnaires to health practitioners in Kalomo district and observed that 38 questionnaires were incomplete and could not be analyzed while 20 questionnaires were not retrieved because the respondents were unreachable during the period of data collection. This entailed that 147 were completed and analyzed in the study translating into a response rate of 72%. Using multiple regression analysis, the data were analyzed. According to the results of the research conducted, distributive justice, procedural justice, and interactional justice are all correlated adversely with levels of work satisfaction. This suggested that equitable sharing of the duties and rewards of social cooperation among health practitioners in Kalomo whose individual needs and claims are in conflict with one another (distributive justice) diminished their work satisfaction. In addition, the fairness of the processes that health practitioners in positions of power use in order to arrive at certain results or decisions (procedural justice) caused a drop in the level of employee job satisfaction experienced by other health workers in subordinate positions. Last but not least, the health care workers' perception that they are being treated fairly when their employers offered explanations for their decisions and treated their employees with decency, respect, and sensitivity (interactional justice) led to a decrease in the employee job satisfaction of the health care workers. The findings of the study indicated that, in general, health care institutions in Zambia suffer from a lack of organizational justice. To be more specific, unhappiness with procedural justice, followed by discontent with distributive justice, and then dissatisfaction with interactional justice, was the leading source of job dissatisfaction among health workers. This shows that management in health institutions do not adhere to processes in their entirety when dealing with employee matters, and this can be related to inefficient communication between the two parties. The study recommended among other things that superiors in health facilities should treat health workers with dignity and respect as well as show them empathy. This creates an impression that they are valued in the work place. In addition, management in health facilities should enhance their communication strategy as this is instrumental in ensuring that employees are abreast with the necessary information to operate on a day to day basis

Factors Affecting Utilisation of Business Advisory Services by Small Medium Enterprises in Retail Pharmacy Businesses in Kitwe, Zambia

Thu, 26 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Purpose

The purpose of the study was to look at factors that influence utilization of business advisory services by SMEs in retail pharmacy business. Use of competition, Firm size and Firm debt were the independent variables while utilization of advisory services was the dependent variable.

Research Design and Application

The study used a cross-sectional survey method on 33 randomly selected retail pharmacies in Kitwe registered under the Zambia Medicines Regulatory Authority (ZAMRA). Research data collected through questionnaires from SME owner- managers was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistic tools.

Findings

Competition and firm debt were found to positively influence utilisation of business advisory services. Firm size did not significantly influence SME owner- managers to purchase business advisory services. Trust in the business advisor was found to be a mediator factor on two antecedent factors (competition and debt) and utilisation of business advisory services. The research also revealed that accountants were the most preferred business advisors by SME owner- managers in retail pharmacy business in Kitwe.

Implication/Originality/ Value

The study contributes to ongoing studies around SMEs in Zambia and ways of sustaining growth through advisory services. The results implied that health competition among retail pharmacies and increased gearing of SMEs triggered demand for business advisory services that helped SMEs to improve their efficiency and effectiveness. Accountants being the most preferred business advisors, adequate training in business advisory services (also called non-compliance services) was required for them to continue to meet the expectations of SME owner- managers.

The findings are useful to entrepreneurs and policy makers.

Examining the Effects of Covid-19 Pandemic on Small and Medium Scale Business Enterprises in Ng’ombe, Lusaka, Zambia

Yotam Ngoma, Dr. Chrine Hapompwe, Dr. Asif Mahbub Karim — Thu, 26 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The study's main objective was to examine the effect of COVID-19 pandemic on small and medium scale businesses (SMEs) in Ng’ombe, Lusaka. The study's specific objectives were to highlight the effect of COVID-19 lockdown measures on the performance of SME businesses; to ascertain the effect of COVID-19 on the financial performance of SMEs business, to determine the level of relief provided by the government to the SMEs to mitigate the impact of the pandemic. The study collected both qualitative and quantitative data. Using the purposive sampling technique, 98 SMEs were sampled from Ng’ombe Township (out of the 4,500 list of registered SMEs in Lusaka for 2018). Ninety eight (98) questionnaires in all were distributed. Descriptive statistics were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Service Solutions (SPSS), while qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis. According to study results, 46.3% of participants said that significant decrease in the number of customers or orders was the biggest effect of lockdown measures on the performance of their businesses. Furthermore, the field survey data revealed that 42.1% of participants indicated that there was a 40% reduction in revenues as the biggest effect of covid-19 on financial performance of SME businesses. On the other hand, the survey data revealed that 90.5% of participants indicated they have not received any governmental assistance as business mitigative relief. This analysis clearly shows that the COVID-19 pandemic is doing more significant damage to businesses than good. Despite the "COVID-19 relief packages" offered by the Zambian government in the form of the K10 billion ($434 million) financial stimulus package as a temporary fix to aid SMEs, awareness and accessibility remained difficult because of the complicated accessibility requirements. The following recommendations were arrived at: Promoting SMEs access to digital market. In this environment, businesses may carry on with their operations and conduct business with customers without worrying about contracting an infection through direct contact. The Government needs to review monetary and fiscal policy measures, ensure effective and efficient palliative measures are established by the government, NGOs and organizations.

The Impact of Industrial Production, Exchange Rate and Money Supply on Inflation in Zambia: A Period Ranging from 2000 to 2020

Sun, 29 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Purpose

The purpose of the study was to find out the impact that industrial production has on Zambia’s inflation rate dynamics for the period ranging from 2000 to 2020 on quarterly basis. The study took into consideration the exchange rate and the money supply as the intervening variables.

Research Design and Application

The research design adopted was quantitative due to the fact that the data collected was mainly time series which was analysed using econometrics techniques taking into consideration the stationarity test, degree of correlation and tests for co- integration to measure the association amongst the variable. Analysis made use of the Engel-Granger Error Correctional Model (ECM).

Findings

After identifying and eliminating the presence of unit roots, heteroscedasticity, and autocorrelation using The Augmented Dickey Fuller, Breusch-Pagan-Godfrey and Durbin-Watson diagnostic tests respectively, The ECM revealed that at 5% level of significance industrial production has a negative short run impact on inflation and then in the long run, the relationship is positive but insignificant.

Implication/Originality/ Value

The study contributes to the value addition discussion in Zambia by recommending support for local manufacturing in order to improve the conversion rates of locally produced raw materials into finished products since the local manufacturing sector has greatly been affected by cheap imports from foreign nations.