INFORMANT
Friday 10 April 2015
INFORMANT: WHAT IS IN A BUSINESS DEGREE?
INFORMANT: WHAT IS IN A BUSINESS DEGREE?: What is in a business degree? A business degree can be applied to virtually any industry and can also be used to help you start your ...
WHAT IS IN A BUSINESS DEGREE?
What is in a business degree?
A
business degree can be applied to virtually any industry and can also be used
to help you start your own business. It provides a broad exposure to all the
crucial elements that make an organization function well. Business is one area
where continuing education even for established professionals is crucial in
order to remain competitive. Being a social science, it not only prepares one
for managerial responsibilities but also enables real life applications.
The
business degree has equipped me with many skills and expanded my horizon of
thinking. This is my greatest investment for tomorrow. The return on investment
(ROI) is promising having sharpened my tools ready for the corporate world.
According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development study, the
global financial crisis has made college degrees more important than ever in
raising personal income. The study shows that the difference in earnings
between the low and highly-educated has widened from 2008 to 2011.
"Probably in these times there
is no better investment you can make than in your education. Rate of return is
in the order of 10 to 15 percent. And then think about what other investments
you can make these days where you get a similar rate of return,"
Andreas Schleicher once quoted. In most industrialized countries a degree is of
utmost importance and not just a degree but what you study!
A
business degree makes one a better manager and decision maker in day to day
activities. Studies have shown that the average person makes around 600
decisions per day. Multiply that by the number of days in a month and you’re
talking about tens of thousands of decisions over the course of a single year. No
matter which major you choose, earning a business degree will qualify you for
more than five
times the number of jobs than those available to a high school
graduate.
Earning
a business degree is a rewarding venture. Visualize of the ideal job you wish
to have, could be a C.E.O of your own firm or even C.O.O at IMF! Who knows God’s
plans for us? Talk of the seven figure salary you have heard of, it will be
yours if you utilize the degree well. Finishing the 8-4-4 system is itself a
proof of the patience to get quality education. It is enjoyable and rewarding in
the long run.
Monday 23 March 2015
WORLD'S BEST CEO.
WORLD’S
BEST CEO
Harvard
Business Review in November last year reported about world’s performing CEOs.
On top of the list was Jeffrey Bezos of Amazon. The report compiles list of
best performing CEOs by comparing returns by shareholders for 1200 S&P Global
companies.
Jeffrey
Bezos is an American technology entrepreneur and founder of Amazon. He is also
an investor as well as a business magnate globally. As the CEO of Amazon, he
guided Amazon.com to become one of the largest retailer online and top companies
for internet sales. According to ranking of wealthiest persons globally, he
stands at number 15 on the Forbes list of billionaires.
Before
becoming successful, one must have had experience in an area he wishes to stamp
an authority. Bezos previously worked in different companies under different
roles something that prepared him to become the best CEO years later. In Wall
Street he worked in the computer science department. Later on he worked for
Fitel, Bankers Trust and D. E. Shaw &Co in internet enabled business
opportunities.
Upon
learning about business opportunity in internet use, he left a well paying job
at Hedge fund to found Amazon.com in1994. According to portfolio.com, Bezos pays
attention to business detail. This is a quality that makes him to be where he
is today.
The
efforts of ensuring Amazon achieves growth and profitability has the CEO have
previously been recognized. He was Named person of the year by Time Magazine in
1999. In 2008, he was part of the selected best leaders in U.S. Lastly before
being named world best CEO, in 2012
Fortune named him as the businessperson of the year.
To
achieve this interesting personal milestone you have to do things in a unique
manner. Bezos transformed Amazon from an online bookstore to a retailer and
business services provider. In the process the stock of the company increased
by 397% in the last five years.
This
is one leader I wish to chat with to make the Kenyan Bezos. His leadership is
formidable and can be emulated anywhere globally. He treasures customer so much
that he even has a vacant seat to represent customers at conference tables.
Having customers’ interest at heart is the sure way of succeeding.
Monday 16 March 2015
OBSTACLES TO POVERTY REDUCTION
OBSTACLES TO POVERTY REDUCTION
Towards
the end of last year Kenyans received some good news. The Kenyan economy moved
to low middle level income status. This was achieved earlier than expected
considering it was expected to take effect in 2030. This meant more employment
opportunities and improved living standards. Fast forward to march 2015, the
situation is even worse.
Here
are some of the reasons that can be attributed towards the failed poverty reduction.
At the top is the restricted growth to urban places. The scenarios of urban
areas being favored in terms of development at the expense of rural places have
been heard or seen. Many are left wondering why they are being marginalized when
it comes to sharing the national cake. Rural places have poor road networks as
compared to urban places thus bringing disequilibrium.
High
population growth rate that exceeds the available resources is also to blame. Currently
there is an annual change of 2.7% in terms of population. According to the
census report, in 2009 Kenya had a population of 38.6 million people. Comparing
that with the 2014 population estimates, Kenya has about 44.4 million people. This
makes the government o strain in offering services to her citizens.
Mismanagement
of resources is another key hindrance. Development funds are embezzled in broad
daylight. Have you not heard of impeachment threats from various counties? We now
have what is referred to as devolved embezzlement of resources thanks to the
devolved system of governance.
The
setting of goals should be long term for effective implementation. In Kenya the
story is different. Even the millennium development goals are short term to
align with the political calendar. In the end a lot is planned for but little
is achieved. Did you know Kenya has one of the best blueprint development plans?
We only fail in implementation part because we over focus on short term goals
instead of being strategic thinkers.
Poverty
will remain part of us unless we prioritize where to invest. Politicians invest
their precious time fighting over titles. What is in a title? The sacred cow
projects are launched with the end results being disaster. Public funds find
storage in some greedy individuals who do not have interest of public welfare. We
should invest in education and infrastructure as this will increase literacy
and ease communication respectively.
Finally
is revenue redistribution, the area that interests politicians and investors the
most. Every august house member fights for his/her region to get a large share
of the national cake. Why fight for what you have not worked for? In the end it
becomes a competition on who is smarter to influence biased redistribution of
revenue. In the end the core objective is overlooked.
In
conclusion all the above causes of failure to eradicate poverty such as growth
restriction to urban areas, high population growth and resource mismanagement
should be countered. Kenya has changed status so should living standards
improve by eradicating poverty. “Kick poverty out of Kenya…”
Wednesday 11 March 2015
MENACE OF UNEMPLOYMENT
Menace
of unemployment in Kenya
Unemployment occurs
when people are without work and actively seeking for limited slots of work
opportunities. The unemployment rate is a measure of the prevalence of
unemployment. According to International Labour Organization (ILO) report, more
than 197 million people globally or 6% of the world’s workforce were unemployed
in 2012. Market mechanisms are the major causes of unemployment skyrocketing
and ironically they also resolve unemployment.
Unemployment has become
a menace in Kenya since more jobs are lost than created. External environment
may have become an obstacle to creation of employment opportunities.
Interventions imposed on the labor market such as unionization, bureaucratic
work rules, minimum wage laws, taxes and other regulations many a time
discourage hiring of workers. The current regime should intervene strategically
to increase demand for labor lest unemployment becomes a national threat.
Eveready Battery
Company, Inc., an American manufacturer of battery brands recently reached a
decision to close Eveready East Africa’s Nakuru plant. Eveready was facing
cut-throat competition from cheap battery imports mostly from china. The
cost-cutting move meant the company had to retrench 99 employees thus adding to
unemployment menace. They instead opted to source batteries from Egypt, its
affiliate. “We blame cheap imports for the closure of our factory and several
others in Kenya,” said the plant manager. Indeed we are ‘creating’ jobs in
Kenya. Once Eveready, a dream employer for most graduates in late 1990s leaves
Kenya market then all is not well. We need to fix the causes and not the
symptoms.
Cadbury, a British
Multinational Confectionary company also announced closure of its Nairobi
factory at the end of October. Their reason being a global transformation
strategy meant to reinvent its supply chain. The move will leave about 300
Kenyans who worked in the plant either as permanent or casual employees become
unemployed. Upon closure the company will import its products from Egypt to
sell locally. As unemployment is becoming a menace, Egypt is set to benefit
from our misfortune. It is difficult to comprehend how you stop operations
making a significant number of active workforces to be unemployed without
consulting the stakeholders.
Kenya’s economy largely
relies on the agriculture sector which contributes 25.3% of GDP. 2.63% of the
national GDP is from horticulture while 1.29% is from the flower industry.
Horticulture is one of the top foreign exchange earners in Kenya, generating
approximately US$ 1 billion annually. All the good news is set to evaporate
overnight due to the effects of the new taxes by the European Union (EU).
150,000 people stand to lose jobs should horticulture industry collapse as it
has threatened to. Kenya’s European Union market share of about 38% is in
danger, the situation will get worse, and the consequences are better imagined than
experienced. When the backbone of our employment hope, agriculture, starts to
stumble instead of creating more employment opportunities then we are in
danger.
Diversification is the
best option for any entity that needs to stay afloat in the face of competition.
Local and foreign factories should review their marketing and operational
strategies to counter foreign competition. The multinational firms should also
increase operational efficiency to create employment opportunities instead of
jeopardizing them. The best option is for youths to embrace entrepreneurship as
they make significant percentage of the Kenyan active workforce.
written by:
Moffat Onyancha
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