| dc.description.abstract | While industrial development receives a lot of
attention in all countries, this is particularly the
case in developing economies. The contribution of
both the public and the private sectors towards
economic growth is of vital importance. In Kenya, a
remarkable growth and expansion in the private sector
has been experienced since independence. However, the
per-independence period cannot be neglected if we are
looking at the factors affecting industrialization.
Prior to independence, Kenya was a British colony and
has inherited a number of British institutions,
including the employment and industrial relations
systems.
In this study, we look closely at the employment
system and industrial relations mainly in the private
sector. The study covers the industrial development in
a rural set-up as well as in an urban area so as to get
to the basic understanding of the problems encountered
in such enterprises.
The introductory part, Chapter 1, highlights very .
briefly a few stages of industrialization in Kenya.
This is looked at from two patterns of development.
There are those industries which are entirely indigenous
and there are those that have been established by foreign
companies.
Two case studies are.presented to illustrate the
dualistic system of industrial development. The first
case, in Chapter 2, portrays an indigenous industry
which has developed from a small saw mill into an
industrial complex within a rural area but still labor
intensive. The characteristics of the firm show the
sort of 'family' enterprises it has retained since the
installation of the first machines. The indigenous firm
uses local resources while. gradually borrowing foreign
technology to improve production.
,The second case, in Chapter 3, illustrates a
subsidiary of a multinational corporation which is
capital intensive. The foreign firm has established an
industry which utilities both local and foreign resources
while, at the time of establishment, it introduced
advanced technology into a society which could not
supply the required skilled labor. The external
influences the company is experiencing is discussed at
length.
In each case we look at the organization from
three dimensions. The first is the management, and
the company owners at large, which portrays the
organizational hierarchy. The second dimension focuses
on the worker and his environment. Finally, trade
union activities in each factory are discussed.
The final part of the thesis, compares and
contrasts the two case studies while the concluding
remarks dwell mainly on the research findings as well
as the advantages and disadvantages of the present
pattern of industrialization. | en |
