Description of the two organizations in Kenya
- Company with the best cooperate leadership
The KETEPA tea company
Ketepa tea is arguably the most recognizable name in tea production in Kenya. It is also a prominent firm in Africa.
The company is owned 66% by small scale tea growers through KTDA. Every factory in Kenya supplies 6% to 7% of their tea to Ketepa who then pack and distribute processed tea independently.
Truly this is a really successful organization despite all the competition that comes along.its long-term business success and employee well being and fulfillment are linked. Employee well-being and engagement has come along due to an effective corporate leadership. Clearly, if an organization is looking to increase its capabilities then addressing its leadership culture is perhaps the best place to start. The company has the best leadership starting at the top of the organization with those who greatly influence and shape culture. Leadership culture in the KETEPA is from the bottom- up, although a costly process for the organization.
The top management has tried to employ some good leadership skills and they’ve done it professionally.
Firstly the KETEPA company has developed organizational values that not only speak to profit generation but also to the growth, development, and well being of employees.
It has also created and implemented corporate wide business metrics that provides a clear sense of what needs to be done in the company.
It has also provided clear and constant two-way communication of corporate values, vision, mission, and critical success factors for the purposes of understanding and context. The corporation also listens to employees and takes appropriate action. This shows an effective corporate leadership that is open to criticism, seeks feedback, and is accountable for its actions.
They have also Embraced and foster creativity, innovation and learning. This is an organization’s ability to learn in today’s marketplace which is perhaps its greatest strategic advantage by:
- Creating an environment of trust and respect.
- Removing redundant corporate bureaucracy.
- Creating and implementing a succession/career progression planning program that clearly articulates corporate expectations and charts a course for employee development.
- Create space for leadership to grow.
Corporate sustainability requires a powerful corporate leadership culture like the one in the KETEPA where employee energy, passion, and intellectual capital can flourish in support of an organization’s objectives.
Based upon the KETEPA experience I believe creating this environment should be the number one priority within organizations. This is the gas that fuels the organizational engine like.
- The company which is worst in cooperate leadership
The Kenya Explorer Tea Company
This is a company that’s situated in the kericho region in western country that competes with the KETEPA tea company. While the KETEPA tea company is focusing on the worldwide market, the Kenya explorer is seriously mending its leadership loopholes. The greatest corporate leadership issue in this company is lack of trust and poor communication – specifically communication regarding corporate values, vision, mission, and critical success factors. Combined, these two elements seem to be at the root of leadership duress within this organization. Trust is a heady, multi-faceted, and elusive concept that pervades and manifests itself in everything we do. It comprises such weighty ideals such as accountability, integrity, truth, and honesty. As with individual leaders, nothing erodes or destroys corporate leadership more than not being trusted by its employees. In the Kenya explore Tea Company, the workers are always on strike due to bad governance and squandering of the company’s finances by the higher officials in the organization. The company is always at debt with the bank
.For Sure distrustful leaders might achieve mediocre (results that are of poor quality) results, but they will never be able to truly harness people’s passion and generate the energy truly required to achieve outstanding business results. Mostly the middle and senior level managers have the inability or failure of senior management and the organization as a whole to “walk the talk” as a critical dissatisfier and prime indicator of lack of leadership in this company.
Secondly there is Poor communication and this is probably the greatest weakness in the organization. There is Poorly communicated, misunderstood, and unclear corporate goals, vision, direction, corporate values, and critical success factors that are leading cause of poor organizational performance, poor morale, and internal confusion in the Kenya explorer tea company. Frequently, when you speak with senior VP’s in the organization, they are adamant that their organization’s values and goals are absolutely clear and understood throughout the organization, yet when you speak with individuals at levels ranging from senior to junior managers this is clearly not the case.
Organizational goals, objectives, values, and critical success factors need to be communicated and reinforced on a continuous basis. As things change, individuals within organizations need to be able to contextualize this change with their organization’s values, vision, direction, etc., and be able to assess the impact of change and take the necessary actions in order to beat the high competition in the KETEPA tea company.
I believe it is but it is no easy task. It requires significant commitment throughout the organization and leadership…especially from the top!