CHAPTER ONE

ORGANIZATIONAL ANALYSIS
1.2 Company Background and History
Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZPWMA) is a parastatal under the
auspices of the Ministry of Environment and Tourism. It operates under an Act of
Parliament, The Parks and Wildlife Act of 1975 amended in 2001. The policies and
activities of Parks and Wildlife Management Authority are scrutinized by a civilian Parks
and Wildlife Board composed of members nominated by the Minister of Environment
and Tourism. The Act allows land owners whether private or communal, to utilize the
wildlife in their areas. Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZPWMA)
does not depend on treasury for financing its operations but retains all revenue accruing
from activities it undertakes. The Authority manages about 5 million hectares or 13 % of
Zimbabwe total land area, most of its estate is in ecological regions, 4 and 5, which are
characterized by low rainfall and poor agricultural soils.

The estate of the Authority is divided into six categories:

1. National Parks provide visitors with a rest camp comprising of chalets, lodges,
and picnic and camping sites, game viewing and walking trails are available.
2. Botanic Reserves- small areas designed to protect particular plant species e.g.
Vumba Botanic Garden
3. Botanic Gardens- areas where indigenous and exotic plant species are protected
and propagated.
4. Sanctuaries- reservoirs of animal species that are threatened with extinction and
thus need safe breeding habitants.
5. Recreational Parks- centered on big national dams or lakes. In such areas the
aquatic life therein as well as monitoring recreational activities, which impact on
the environment.
 6. Safari Areas- hunting is permitted but is strictly controlled through a quota
system. Generally hunters bid for concessions to operate hunting safaris in these
areas.

1.2 MISSION STATEMENT

The organization is led by a mission statement which says:
“To manage efficiently and profitably the conservation of Zimbabwe’s wildlife heritage
for the benefit of present and future stakeholders through sustainable utilization and
delivery of quality service.”

1.3 VISION STATEMENT

“To be the world leader in sustainable conservation”

1.4 CORE VALUES

 Teamwork
 Commitment
 Transparency
 Professionalism
 Integrity
 Accountability
 Creativity
 Environmentally ethical

1.5 OBJECTIVES
The Authority is a paramilitary organization with a mandate to protect, manage and
administer the wildlife resources including both flora and fauna in Zimbabwe. Its main
objectives are:
 To preserve representative examples of Zimbabwe’s aquatic and terrestrial flora
and fauna and their physical environments.
 To protect areas of scenic beauty and special interest
  To preserve rare, endangered and endemic species
 To conserve water catchments
 To provide opportunities for public education and the advancement of scientific
knowledge and without prejudice to any of the above
 To encourage public use related to the enjoyment and appreciation of these areas
 To generate economic activity within the estate and surrounding areas to enhance
rural development

1.6 ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

The Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZPWMA) is headed by the
Director General and for administration purposes it is divided into three main divisions,
namely:
 Conservation
 Commercial Services
 Finance, Administration and Human Resources

The Head Office of the Authority is situated at the Botanic Gardens corner Borrowdale
Road and Sandringham Drive, Alexander Park, Harare.

The Authority has three regions, namely, Northern, Western and Southern. A Principal
Warden heads each region. The administrative regions covered by each region are:

Province Region
Mashonaland West Northern
Mashonaland East/Central
Manicaland
Masvingo Southern
Midlands
Matebeleleland North Western
Matebeleleland South
The Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZPWMA) is currently under
the control of the Director General aided by three directors and the rest of the staff.

ZPWMA ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

 BOARD OF DIRECORS

DIRECTOR GENERAL
Dr M Z MTAMBIWA

PRIVATE SECRETARY DRIVER

AUDIT MANAGER TFCA NAT COORDINATOR

MR J CHIMWANDA MR E CHIDZIYA

PUBLIC RELATIONS MANAGER

INVESTIGATIONS AND SECURITY MGR
MR L NHIDZA
Rtd MAJOR E MBEWE

DIRECTOR COMMERCIAL SERVICES

DIRECTOR CONSERVATION DIRECTOR FINANCE, ADMIN & HR
MRS A MADZARA
MR T CHIMUTI MR A PASINAWAKO

CHIEF ECOLOGIST
BUSINESS DEVPT MNGR CONS ADMIN & CORPORATE SERVICES MNGR
Dr H MADZIKANDA
MR T CHIPERE MR E MANYONGANISE

CHIEF WARDEN MNGT BUSIINESS DEVELOPMENT MNGR HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER

MR G MATIPANO MR L NYAGUSE MR F CHOKUDA

FINANCE MANAGER

MR M GONDO

PRINCIPAL MUSHANDIKE COLLOGE OF WILDLIFE MGT

MR KAWAZA

ICT MANAGER
MR T BOBO

INTEGRATION OF ORGANIZATIONAL DEPARTMENTS

Conservation

Conservation is the core business of the Authority and it comprises two functional areas
1. Management services

Management services includes among other activities, wildlife and habitat

protection, law enforcement, problem animal control, bees and quelea control and
park planning and management.

2. Scientific services

 Research

Provides scientific research into management and organizational problems and

generates information which is used as a basis for decision making that is,
monitoring the ecological status and the trends of wildlife throughout
Zimbabwe.

Ecologists work in a variety of spheres for instance research, education and

interpretation of ecological topics for students as well as for the general
public. Research is divided into terrestrial section and aquatic section, both
headed by a Chief Ecologist. Terrestrial ecologists are often based within
conserved areas, where they provide management staff with ecological
information. They also publish papers on topics such as population dynamics,
vegetation trends. Aquatic ecologists are involved in trout farming, fishing in
rivers and dams, and the management of water bodies controlled by the
Authority.

This arm also offers consultancy services to the public where appropriate on
wildlife and related issues and also carries out basic and applied research in
wild flora and fauna as well as wildlife economics.
 It also carries out regular ground and aerial large mammal population surveys
within and outside the Parks Estate. In addition, scientific services provide
guidance and assistance in parks planning and assist in formulation,
monitoring and evaluation of policies of wildlife conservation and utilisation.

Scientific Services also executes the functions of the Zimbabwe CITES

(Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) Scientific
authority pertaining to all scientific issues.

The Scientific Services Department also undertakes the control of problem

animals such as snakes, hyenas, lions, both inside and outside the Parks
Estate, especially when they stray into areas occupied by humans. Many of
these animals are captured and moved into conserved wildlife areas.

Commercial Services

The division is divided into two branches namely Non-consumptive and Consumptive
Tourism. It focuses on achieving growth by pursuing commercial activities that will
exploit the vast untapped business opportunities available to the Authority. The division
has as its vehicle a subsidiary private company that has several Strategic Business Units
targeted at distinct business opportunities. The overriding objective of Commercial
Services Division strategic plan is to complete the transformation of the department of
National Parks and Wildlife Management into a viable world class conservation
Authority. The successful implementation of the strategic plan should see the Zimbabwe
Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZPWMA) providing a transformational
model for other government departments at home and internationally.

Non-consumptive
It is responsible for tourist facilities which include lodges, chalets, picnic and camping
sites and recreational activities such as game viewing, canoeing, boating, photographic
safaris, walking and pony trails and other activities.

Consumptive

It focuses on sustainable utilisation of natural resources, fishing and hunting. The branch
runs some projects that are of a consumptive nature to help the Authority sustain itself
financially.

Some of the projects include Strategic Business Units (SBUs) - Mugundumu Safaris,
Mugundumu Fisheries and Mugundumu Flowers. Partnerships include Crocodile farming
and Leather tanning. Other activities include live animal sales and auction of hunting
concessions.

Finance
This department is responsible for resourcing and financial management of the Authority.
The Finance Manager is in charge of this department. This section is responsible for all
the financial activities and requirements of the whole organization. It also administers
and controls the expenditure of the Authority. It is where the books of accounts are
complied and kept.

Corporate Services and Administration

The Administration department deals with management of assets, purchasing, transport
management and the day to day management issues of the organisation. The corporate
services department serves as the secretariat to the Board, negotiates contracts such as
lease agreements and contracts of sale.
Human Resources

The duties of this department include management of the Human Resources and
Development functions of the organisation. These include recruiting, training, reward
management and performance management.The Human Resource Manager manages the
activities of this section. The objective of Human Resources is to maximize the return on
investment from the organization's human capital and minimize financial risk. It is the
responsibility of Human Resource Manager to conduct these activities in an effective,
legal, fair, and consistent manner.

Regional Managers
The Regional Manager heads each region, the Wardens within individual parks and
reserves, including the rangers and game scouts who undertake tasks such as the
maintenance of tourist facilities, the regulation of visitors and general policing, including
anti-poaching operations. They may also be involved in the capture, translocation and
culling.

CHAPTER TWO

ORGANIZATION AND CORPORATE CULTURE

The corporate culture at the authority is a unique fusion of a paramilitary, civil service
and business culture. The authority is a paramilitary organisation and this has resulted in
a paramilitary or ‘command style’ culture and leadership. Those with lower ranks in the
organisation have to salute those with higher ranks. Most employees of the organisation
have to undergo paramilitary training at some stage and they are taught to be loyal and
obey commands.

The Parks Authority has, to a certain extent, inherited the latter’s corporate culture which
is largely a ‘civil service’ culture. The civil service culture is characterised by a
conservative mindset. Employees cling on to old ways of doing things and believe ‘we
have always done things this way’ is the best approach to problem solving. Innovation
and change are not readily accepted. The civil service mentality is largely prevalent in the
‘old guard’ of the organisation who have ‘seen it all’ from the days of the department to
the new authority.

However the authority is undergoing transformation and a ‘results oriented’ culture is

being adopted. Management has been advocating for a change from the ‘civil service’
culture to a ‘results oriented’ culture. Steps have been made to ensure that employees
understand transformation and its benefits in such an uncertain and ever-changing
environment. Change, however, is a process and it will take some time for every
employee to embrace change and work towards achieving organisational objectives.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE ORGANISATION

Zimbabwe has received bad publicity since it repossessed land from white farmers and
this has had serious repacations to the organization as it deals mainly with foreigners.
Since 2002, there has been critical shortage of foreign currency, the country has been
unable to obtain finance or credit facilities from international lenders to inject into the
economy, sanctioned by United States and European Union. The Authority has suffered
in the following aspects:

Economic
  The foreign currency crisis has resulted in the continued devaluation of the
domestic currency, and coupled with the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe injecting
huge sums of money into the economy is resulting in accelerating inflation
levels. It is affecting the tourism sector; Zimbabweans can not afford such
luxuries as they are struggling to buy basic commodities.
 Unavailability of resources such as fuel has resulted in decreased production
of goods and services. Ecologist are not carrying out their research at full
capacity, clients are finding it difficult to go for auctions in places such as
Hwange and Harare.
 The economy has shrunk by 60% with industry capacity of 10%, making the
unemployment rate 82%. This has resulted in increased levels of poaching of
the rhinoceros for ivory which is almost extinct, in order to be able to survive.
The elephant is also poached for its tusks and meat.
 The government has been controlling market prices of goods and services.
This causes losses to the producing firms, resulting in closure of most firms.
Price controls also result in price distortions and most commodities are found
on the parallel market at an ever increasing price. Goods for administrative
purposes are expensive considering that the organization is non-profit making.
 Daily price increase erodes the purchasing power of incomes, increasing
business uncertainty and risk. There has been a high turn over rate and brain
drain of highly skilled employees going to work in other countries.
 Underperformance of the export sector due to viability and foreign exchange
constraints. There has been decreased purchase of game products that are for
export by Zimbabwean licensed dealers. The unsold game products are rotting
or loose quality if they are kept for a long time.
 Stipulated interest rates that are not based on the money supply. It is difficult
to charge interest otherwise clients will not be able to purchase the products.

Political
Since 2002, there has been bad publicity of Zimbabwe worldwide due to the following:
  No property rights. White farmers were forced off their farm, some of them
were killed and their equipment was taken away.
 No rule of law and gross human right abuses. During the presidential
elections, many people were killed, wounded and their houses burnt, of the
two political parties.
 Zimbabwe has been portrayed as an unsafe tourist destination due to the
political situation.
This has resulted in reduced levels of foreign tourist coming into the country. Some of the
hunters have withdrawn from hunting activities. The organization has lost foreign
currency.

Socio-Cultural

Changes in customs or demographics greatly influence firms. Some other social factors
include class structure, culture, and leisure interests. Most young people of this era tend
to be very mobile and adventurous and well traveled. The numbers of foreign tourists are
however decreasing because of the unstable political climate in the country and the
negative publicity it has been receiving.

Technological
Technologies being the practical application of knowledge to meet a need or to solve a
problem, employees have posts that they are able to tackle without difficulty given tasks
they can tackle. About three quarters of the offices are equipped with computers and have
access to the internet that employees carry out their research on a given task especially
the Scientific Services department. The organization has installed software and most
departments have attended essential classes such as programming classes in order to
upgrade levels of knowledge application. The organization has a generator in cases when
there are power cuts, it is made use of. Due to the inflationary environment, most
experienced employees have left the company for better salaries in other countries, hence
loss of knowledgeable people to carry out different duties.
Geographical

The Authority has a unique product and service that is both strategic to the growth of the
entire country’s tourism as well as strategic to economic growth. The Parks and Wildlife
Estate is rich in biodiversity and geological formations. Augmenting these products is a
comprehensive network of accommodation and recreational facilities that together with
the product have to be marketed to a wider audience.

INDUSTRY ENVIRONMENT

The Authority generally operates in the Tourism industry, but more specifically there are
several sub sectors within the tourism industry which constitute the Authority’s
competitive environment, these sub sectors include hunting tourism, co-tourism
hospitality, sport and commercial fishing of large fish species, sale of various wildlife
species and also sale of game and wildlife products in their forms like plants, herbs, ivory
and animal skins and a variety others.

The Parks and Wildlife Management Authority is a statutory monopoly in the area of
wildlife conservation and the sole regulator in the utilization of Zimbabwe’s natural
wildlife resources, all licences based on tourism are regulated by the Authority hence,
because of its commercial drive the Authority has embarked on various wildlife related
business ventures. Areas of business for which licenses are granted, include fishing in
national dams, keeping, breeding and sale of wildlife resources both flora and fauna, and
all other functions mentioned in the background.

CHAPTER THREE
EVALUTION OF WORK RELATED LEARNING

The industry environment and the nature of competition at the time the student was
attached affected the organization greatly. During the attachment period the organization
was facing numerous challenges due to the country’s situation. The challenges ranged
from economic that is high inflation, lack of foreign currency to social that is negative
publicity which meant that the number tourists visiting Zimbabwe decreased considerably
among others. All this seriously impacted on the manner in which the organization
flowed.

Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZPWMA) is a big organization

 The tasks of the organization are allocated as official duties among the various
positions.
 There is an implied clear-cut division of labor and a high level of specialization.
 A hierarchical authority applies to the organization of offices and positions.
 Uniformity of decisions and actions is achieved through formally established
systems of rules and regulations. Together with a structure of authority this
enables the coordination of various activities within the organization.
 An impersonal orientation is expected from officials in their dealings with clients
and other officials. This is designed to result in rational judgments by officials in
the performance of their duties.
 Employment by the organization is based on technical qualifications and
constitutes a lifelong career for the officials.

This type of structure has severe disadvantages that are:

 The over-emphasis on rules and procedures, record keeping and
paperwork may become more important in its own right that as a means to
an end.
  Officials may develop a dependence upon bureaucratic status, symbols
and rules.
 Initiative may be stifled and when a situation is not covered by a complete
set of rules or procedures there is a lack of flexibility or adaptation to
changing circumstances.

PLACEMENT DEPARTMENTS

ZPWMA has a flexible programme for attachés this enables one to circulate within all the
departments of the organization so as to get a hands on experience of the whole
organization, its departments and their respective functions. For the first part of the
attachment period that is from 3 March 2008 to 31 August 2008 the student attaché was
attached to the Public Relations office. From the 1 st of September 2008 up to the time the
report was written the student was with the Marketing Department.

PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICE

This office handles a number of tasks that ensure that the organization ZPWMA has a
good corporate image such as media relations, dealing with the general public, organizing
shows like the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF), Harare Agricultural Show and
other functions and exhibitions among other duties. Public relations is known as the
practice of managing the flow of information between an organization and its public and
this gains an organization individual exposure to their audiences and helps in the
company’s research, planning, communication dialogue and evaluation. Basically the role
of the public relations office is diverse and unrestricted hence it cannot be conclusively
defined.

Tasks Carried Out in the Public Relations Office

The Public Relations office constituted of only the Public Relations Manager (PRM) who
reported directly to the Director–General. The student performed various tasks in the
Public Relations office with the help of the PRM who was willing to be a mentor to a
learner despite his position and high demands of the job. The student’s duties were :

 To assist the PRM in the provision of communication expertise to the

management in the form of counseling and active communication skills in
order to further the interest of the Authority.
 To act as a host to journalists who came to the Head office and assist them in
any way possible
 To act as a link between the media and Public Relations Department. This
meant that the student would deal closely with the media organizing meetings
and interviews between the media personnel and the PRM or the Director-
General depending on the issues to be discussed. The student would compile
the questions from the media persons and give them to the PRM and Director-
General prior to the interview so as to give them adequate time to prepare.
 Arranging the placements of advertisements in the press. The student would
liase with the press, get quotations, facilitate payment, draft the advertisement
and submit it to the press.
 To monitor the media, the student would go through some of the country’s
newspapers such as The Herald, The Chronicle, The Sunday Mail, and
Financial Gazette among others so as to keep abreast on current affairs and
take note of anything about the organization. She would make press cuttings
of any information about ZPWMA and file in the respective file in
chronological order or date of publication. There were files for every
newspaper hence the filing was easy.
 The Authority has a house journal that is published quarterly it was the duty of
the student to gather and compile stories for the journal. She worked closely
with the company assigned to produce the magazine to make sure that all the
details and information were accurately captured and produced. The student
was part of the editorial committee.
  To assist the PRM in organizing events like exhibitions and shows. The
student assisted in the making of promotional material like t-shirts, banners
and flyers. The “Save the Rhino Campaign” was launched in April 2008 this
is an on-going process that was launched in order increase awareness to the
public on the endangered species like the rhino which is under threat of
poaching. Promotional material such as t-shirts and banners with the message
were made and distributed at the ZITF and various Parks Authority stations.
The students sourced quotations and facilitated payment for these promotional
materials. For the Harare Agricultural Show the student was involved in the
sourcing of display material such as banners that were displayed at the
ZPWMA stand
 Maintain office records which included records of all purchases made by the
department, filing of internal memos, reports and basically handling all the
paperwork of the public relations office.
 Compiling a monthly report that was submitted to the Director-General and
also after any function like the ZITF and Harare Agricultural show a report
was written by the attaché.

MARKETING DEPARTMENT
The duties carried out in the Marketing Department are as follows:
The student compiled monthly tourist returns from the various Parks tourist facilities for
instance the Zambezi camp and Rainforest in Victoria Falls, Nyanga and Vumba among
others. These statistics were used to compile a monthly report that would enable the
management to make a survey and analysis of the tourist trends of that particular month
and make a comparison of the previous month as well.
NEW SKILLS ACQUIRED

During the attachment, the student acquired skills such as:

 Strong interpersonal communication with both employees and clients
 Effective writing and persuasive speaking
 In-depth knowledge of various media
 Negotiation skills
 Working under pressure, efficiently to demanding deadlines
 Team work
 Client facing skills
 Responsibility, working without supervision
 Problem solving and decision making

MANAGERIAL PROBLEMS IDENTIFIED

Management by crisis
No pricing policies- cost/ budget based
No clear functions- overlap
Decentralization of functions to regions but not equipped with resources, money
No motivation
METHODOLOGY

RESULTS/POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS TO THE MANAGERIAL

PROBLEMS

RECOMMENDATONS

CHALLENGES FACED DURING ATTACHMENT

 There was no proper induction and orientation. The attaché was not introduced to
staff members this meant that during the first days the staff could not assist her in
any way. The attaché had to ask for directions in the corridors or my supervisor,
as time passed by she got to know the employees names, department and post.
 Sometimes there is no clear explanation of why you are doing certain tasks, you
are just told what to do. The student had to ask or would understand later on.

SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVING INDUSTRIAL ATTACHMENT

To improve industrial attachment, the institution should;
 The institution should arrange for a programme or workshops to groom students
in preparation for attachment so as to build their confidence and for the students
to realize their potential.
CHAPTER FOUR
CONCLUSION

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THEORY OF PROGAMME AND

OPERATIONAL PRACTICES AT THE ORGANIZATION.

The theory learnt at the college proved to be vital and work related learning managed to
help the student understand better the theories she had learnt as they were now being put
to practice. The experience of putting into that which was learnt was enlightening. There
was a close relationship between theory and practice. All the courses learnt contributed in
one way or the other were the work was concerned. In the Public Relations department
communication skills were very important because the attaché proved to be very vital
because the student interacted with different people and this required expertise, good and
excellent communication skills. Furthermore, they helped in the successful and efficient
relaying of information within and outside the organization. Telephone etiquette was also
important as it helped in image building and managing a good relationship with the
general public. The communication skills were a guiding principle in the Public Relations
department.

Computer literacy was very important the Information Technology course helped in
giving one the basics and essentials to enable one to use the computer. Practical
knowledge of the internet and electronic mail system was relevant so as to communicate
with stakeholders, clients and everyone concerned. This was a fast and efficient way to
keep everyone informed about anything important from things like meetings, reports,
tariffs and everyone else.
CONCLUSION

REFERENCES