Afro Bit

 An information technology (IT) services
company was founded in 1997 by Henry Wilson.

 Henry, who held a computer engineering
degree, was the Chief Information Officer for
many years at Nestlé, one of the leading
consumer package goods companies in Nigeria
 AfrobitLink started as a small company with one
office in Lagos, Nigeria and fewer than two
dozen employees
 In 2003, the Nigerian government deregulated the
telecommunications sector.
 Winning licenses from the government to start

telecommunications services in the country
 Creation of opportunities for AfrobitLink to expand its business to

include the provision of IT services to the new telecommunications
firms.
 These services included installation, design, and maintenance of

infrastructure for telecommunications companies as well as
consulting services.
 AfrobitLink won major IT service contracts with the new
telecommunications companies.
 Compulsion by the Nigerian government to provide
telecommunications services in all 36 states of Nigeria within
a short time frame.
 Driven by the rapid growth of its new telecommunications
clients, AfrobitLink also expanded rapidly into each of the
remaining 35 states of Nigeria.
 AfrobitLink grew from about 20 employees in 2003 to over
500 by 2006. A manager was hired to lead operations in each
of the 35 states.
To meet urgent need the demands of the
telecommunications companies, AfrobitLink changed its
hiring process and its hiring criteria.
 The human resources department hired so quickly that if

an individual turned in an application, he/she was likely to
get hired within two days(organizational barriers: absence
of organizational rules of recruitment and selection).
 The new employee would then be required to relocate to

the location of his/her assignment within the next two
days. New employees received very little formal training
(Organizational barrier: inadequate opportunities).
 There were only two employees in the department who worked
overtime for many weeks in order to complete the hiring process
on schedule(Interpersonal barrier: Information overload to
employees)
 Reliance on referrals by state managers in order to make the hiring

process faster and more reliable and this led to nepotism on hands
of state managers(organizational barriers: absence of
organizational rules on accountability)
 Assumption of reliability led to hiring of new employees without

scrutiny(organizational barriers: absence of organizational rules
of recruitment and selection)
 Although a manager who reported directly to Henry led each of
the 36 states, Henry was not able to monitor all the states as
closely as he did when AfrobitLink was small.
 As a result of his wide span of control, there was low

accountability. The state managers were powerful, yet due to their
wide spans of control there was minimal accountability among
their direct reports (Organizational barrier: complexity in
organizational structure)
 Due to the widened communication gap between top

management and subordinates, the expectations from employees
were not properly communicated and this led to low
performance of employees (Organizational barriers: Lack of
cooperation between superior and subordinates)
 The culture of the organization changed dramatically from high
standards with high accountability to low or no standards. So,
employees did not feel the need to transfer information and
accomplish goals(Organizational barrier: Organizational culture
of low accountability)
 The employee goals were not properly communicated.

Communication channels present in the company were
inadequate and less functional(Interpersonal barrier: Lack of
proper channel- how does employee convey)
 Communication process between employees and customers was
hindered due to the failure of staff to respond to the urgent
requests of their clients. Costs exceeded revenue; profits declined
(individual barrier: inattention)
 Low work motivation, and high employee turnover(interpersonal
barrier: lack of trust in organization).
 Resistance of change of employees(interpersonal barrier: fear of
penalty)
 Incompetency of managers(interpersonal barrier :shortage of
time for employee)
 Weak performance management system and no merit based
promotion(Organisational barrier: inadequate rules and
regulations)
 There must be proper division of labour among managers and
employees. Work under division of labour is allotted according to
the ability and capacity of the individual worker. This ensures a
high degree of efficiency as the right man is put in the right
job. This maximizes communication of right goals and standards.
 Organizational goals after expansion process should be clearly

communicated to people and expectations from employees
should also be stated. This will reduce the uncertainty and shall
enhance accountability.
 Vivid policies about hiring and performance management must be

formulated and shared with employees to avoid any ambiguities.
 This organization does not have a proper feedback system due to
which employees feel stressed and engage in turnover,
absenteeism and decreased performance. So, there should be a
clear feedback system where good and bad performance is clearly
communicated and shared.
 Organization must opt few extensive training programs for newly

hired employees and should try to build a climate of trust and
coordination. This will help new employees to communicate freely
their concerns and problems.

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 An information technology (IT) services

company was founded in 1997 by Henry Wilson.

 Winning licenses from the government to start

 Creation of opportunities for AfrobitLink to expand its business to

 These services included installation, design, and maintenance of

 The human resources department hired so quickly that if

 The new employee would then be required to relocate to

 Reliance on referrals by state managers in order to make the hiring

 Assumption of reliability led to hiring of new employees without

 As a result of his wide span of control, there was low

 Due to the widened communication gap between top

 The employee goals were not properly communicated.

 Organizational goals after expansion process should be clearly

 Vivid policies about hiring and performance management must be

 Organization must opt few extensive training programs for newly

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