THE booming economies of sub-Saharan Africa have created numerous business opportunities both for African entrepreneurs and multinational companies eager to tap into new markets.But running an office in Nairobi or Johannesburg is significantly different from operating in London, Berlin or New York. Many ventures in Africa founder due to a lack of insight and understanding of the dynamics of local cultures, and a lack of respect for the differences encountered.In a very real sense, the success — or failure — of a business rests with its managers. So finding the right person to manage an African enterprise has to be a major consideration. This raises the question: is there an ideal African management style?There is some evidence that managing people varies country by country according to the culture and the temperament of the people living there. A study by linguist Richard Lewis published on Business Insider uses diagrams to show how managers in different countries respond to employe...
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