Introduction
A flourishing business environment is key to enhancing the economic prospects of Sub-Saharan Africa. A few decades ago, this region was unfavorable for starting a business due to its poor infrastructure, corruption, and weak legal regimes. However, with more foreign and domestic investments, it becomes appropriate for the organization to provide gas refill business for the countries. This business should be more service-oriented and cover larger scales to provide transparency and quality of service between customer and provider. To start this business, the organization will move about 400 expatriates to the host countries and provide their families with adequate housing and education conditions.
Identifying the Business Scales
Sub-Saharan African countries are diverse in population, economic stability, and growth rates. It has a relatively poor market with low demands and low competitiveness. It justifies numerous attempts to start a business in this region. Especially the ease of starting a business in sub-Saharan Africa results in a 0.79% increase in foreign direct investment (Nketiah-Amponsah & Sarpong, 2020). According to the four main motives of resource-seeking, market-seeking, efficiency-seeking, and strategic-asset-seeking, this organization will expand to Nigeria, South Africa, Ethiopia, and Mozambique. All these countries are oil and gas producing states, proving that their population has more financial capacity to meet their needs (Nketiah-Amponsah & Sarpong, 2020). Diesel shortages and high demand from the population make it attractive to start gas refill businesses in these areas. Considering that the maximum number of cities in these countries is nine, each will be supplied with ten gas stations.
The gas stations are unique spots for drivers, providing them with refilling gas and some snacks for the road. Therefore, each gas station will have convenience stores and cash machines. The convenience stores will generate additional profits by selling tobacco products, hot food, packaged snacks, and non-alcoholic beverages. Additionally, customers will use cash machines to make purchases. It will not take many places but will bring positive outcomes by keeping up its 50% fees. The stations will not be equipped with urgent care stations, as it does not pose any threat to people’s lives on their own. However, the employees will have the ability to provide first aid in emergencies. Thus, the first step toward business expansion will be identifying the environment.
The Number of Employees
Employees play a crucial role in an area’s quick and successful business implementation. To evaluate the possible number of employees in the host countries, the organization should focus on market demand and living standards in the Sub-Saharan countries. Although the selected regions are famous for large deposits of crude oil, they have a disincentive policy for foreign expansion and high minimum tax rate than ever before (Nketiah-Amponsah & Sarpong, 2020). Thus, the countries can not support the lives of more than a hundred foreign employees.
First, to purchase and transport gas to the ten gas stations in each country, the organization will need drivers of special vehicles with suitable licenses. Thus, the company will relocate two drivers with their vehicles to each gas station in the host countries. They will also plan the best roads for gas transportation, considering all the logistics principles. They will pass training from local professionals to learn to navigate quickly in the surroundings and learn the language.
The organization will relocate seven other employees to each station. Approximately every country will host seventy foreign workers. They will not be eligible for any other employment due to their contracts with the organization. Two employees will be the oil and gas producing professionals who will resolve any technical issues connected with gas stations. One employee will be responsible for the external affairs of the organization. Thus, he will negotiate with the licensed manufacturers and wholesalers of gas. Two workers will be filling station attendants who perform all services necessary for clients. The company will employ the best workers in the gas station’s convenience store. They will have a shift schedule, replacing each other by agreement.
The Successful Relocation of the Employees
The relocation of the employees to the Sub-Saharan countries will be challenging. They will pass pre-move training and receive immigration support from the host countries. Although the organization will provide them with all necessary sponsorship, it is better to have a one-year assignment because the host countries are culturally distinct from the expatriate’s home countries. As Wang and Varma (2019) report, “expatriates considered the family situation and flexibility/adaptability to be more important than technical competence for their success in the host country (p. 2213)”. Therefore, for expatriates, the shorter periods are the optimal decision. If an employee has a child, then his child will be educated in a state school. The child will receive extra help from teachers and tutors for free. He will have mentoring programs to help facilitate employee adjustment and performance in the new cultural context. The same relates to his child, who will be accompanied by a peer encouraging him to make new social bonds with children around.
An essential part of an expatriate’s life concerns housing in the host country. The organization will provide all families with apartments depending on the number of children. Since the company will have ten gas stations at different places around the city, it is unreasonable to place all workers in one apartment housing. Thus, the company will rent houses for their employees in a more suitable place near the shops, school, and workplace.
Conclusion
To conclude, Nigeria, South Africa, Ethiopia, and Mozambique will get ten new gas stations employed by no more than 90 workers. The expatriates will relocate to the host country only after passing all essential training to adapt to the Sub-Saharan African cultural context safely. The organization will guarantee a one-year assignment with employees based on negotiations with local schools and housing paid by the company.
References
Nketiah-Amponsah, E., & Sarpong, B. (2020). Ease of doing business and foreign direct Investment: case of sub-Saharan Africa.International Advances in Economic Research, 26(3), 209–223.
Wang, C.-H., & Varma, A. (2019). Cultural distance and expatriate failure rates: The moderating role of expatriate management practices.International Journal of Human Resource Management, 30(15), 2211–2230.