Impact of Covid-19 On Institutional Operations in Zambian Organisations

International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation (IJRSI) | Volume IX, Issue I, January 2022 | ISSN 2321–2705

Impact of Covid-19 On Institutional Operations in Zambian Organisations

 Sitali Wamundila¹, Daniel Siakalima², Lubinda Haabazoka³, and Francis Simui^4
1Department of Library and Information Science, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia
²& ⁴Institute of Distance Education, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia
³Graduate School of Business, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia

Abstract: Covid-19 has had a devastating impact on world economies, particularly the poor economies. In this study, a survey was conducted on the impact of Covid-19 on business organisations involving 94 organisations in Zambia. Findings revealed that most organisations implemented the global and national health Covid-19 guidelines that were provided by institutions such as the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Government of the Republic of Zambia through the Ministry of Health. The study also revealed that although the majority of the organisations were impacted by Covid-19, the impact was not uniform as some organisations were severely affected, whilst others were moderately affected; Only 8.5% of the organisations had completely shut down; 21% of the organisations reported that their operations were severely affected by covid-19, while 58.5% of the organisations reported that they were moderately impacted by Covid-19; 8.5% of the other organisations reported that they were not impacted by Covid-19, while 3% reported to have had a positive impact out of the covid-19 situation. These results suggest the availability of a relatively stable operational environment for Zambian organisations despite the on-going challenges posed by Covi-19 globally. The results may thus suggest that the various interventions from the Zambian Government as well as the individual institutions are yielding positive results in terms of mitigating the Covid-19 operational challenges.

Keywords: Covid-19, Operational Performance, Business Performance, Financial Performance, Zambia

I.INTRODUCTION

The global economy in 2020 witnessed unprecedented ravaging impact of a pandemic that was hardly known (African Union 2020; Association of Certified Chartered Accountants 2020; Kumar et al 2020; Vyas and Butakhieo 2021; Przytuła et al 2020; World Health Organisation 2020). The effects of Covid-19 in organisations have ranged from not only deaths of human capital but to death of institutions in extreme circumstances (Association of Certified Chartered Accountants 2020; SHRM 2020; United Nations Conference on Trade and Development 2020). Many more other organisations have been reported to have had their operations disrupted, placing their operational performance in dismay (Association of Certified Chartered Accountants 2020; United Nations Conference on Trade and Development 2020; WHO 2020). These developments have rendered the going concern of most organisations to be in doubt (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development 2020). To this end, the world stage has witnessed various Governments struggle to keep their economies afloat. Similarly, corporate institutions have equally been hit hard leading to their folding up their businesses, others making drastic changes to their operations by instituting budget cuts, laying off staff and reducing scope of operations, among other efforts (Association of Certified Chartered Accountants 2020; Society for Human Resource Management 2020).

Read More