ZTC was founded in 1956 by a British national, Mr. Roy Smith, in a British colony then known as Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). The company’s core business was transporting copper from the mines in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) to Southern Rhodesia for onward transmission to overseas markets in Europe. This arrangement worked smoothly until 1965. On 11th November 1965, the white settlers in Southern Rhodesia, who were principally of British origin, unilaterally declared political independence from Britain. Most countries roundly condemned the action by the white settlers because not only were the white settlers a minority but the independence that had been declared was perceived to be for the whites and not the African black majority. To the African majority, the declaration of independence by the white settles was merely a transfer of colonial power from Britain to the local white settlers and was therefore considered by Africans and their sympathisers to be slap in the face of the Black African majority who at the time fighting the British for political independence and majority rule. Except for South Africa, The United States and Britain, world reaction to the unilateral declaration of independence by the minority whites in Southern Rhodesia was hostile. The response of the black majority in Rhodesia and newly independent African states was predictable. The Africans in Rhodesia, who were already waging a guerrilla war for independence, vowed to continue and intensify their struggle for freedom. The United Nations considered military intervention to wrestle political power from the white settlers but Britain, along with its Western allies, thwarted the move and instead prevailed on the UN to impose economic sanctions. Zambia, having attained political independence in 1964, and a fierce advocate of majority rule, refused to recognize the white minority government and, on its part, banned all forms of trade between Zambia and Rhodesia. ZTC was caught up in this political and economic saga and found itself unable to continue hauling copper from Zambia to Southern Rhodesia. There was also another complication for ZTC. The company was headquartered in Rhodesia and its shareholders largely comprised whites who were openly sympathetic to the usurpation of power by a white minority regime. ZTC strategically turned to South Africa whose government was in the hands of a white minority regime. However, a Mr. Ismail Singh who was a minority shareholder of ZTC and was based in Zambia decided to cut ties with the company on account of the company’s turn to South Africa which was also run by a minority white regime. In the face of these developments, ZTC was compelled to restructure the company. It sold its business interest in Zambia to Mr Ismail Singh in exchange for the fifteen percent stake Mr Singh had in the company. Mr. Singh decided to part ways with the company because of its renewed ties with South Africa. Mr Singh then transformed the old ZIC operations and assets in Zambia into a new company which he named Singh Transport Company (STC). Two years after parting company with ZTC, Singh decided to form an alliance between Singh Transport Company and Zambia Haulage Company. Zambia Haulage Company was founded by two indigenous Zambians who were former civil servants. The two gentlemen were childhood friends and had gone to school together. At university, one of them had studied engineering and the other had studied public administration. Upon graduation, they had both joined the Ministry of Roads and Construction. After working for twenty years, they had decided to retire from the civil service and form their own company, Zambia Haulage Company, which specialized in transporting goods between Zambia and Tanzania. Although the haulage business between Zambia and Tanzania was profitable, the company consistently made losses because of poor management and lack of working capital. For instance, it was an open secret that Zambia Haulage Company had an old fleet whose trucks were constantly breaking down. Further, the two proprietors of the company seemed to be either incapable or indifferent to what was going on at the company. Required: What was the strategic significance of the alliance between Singh Transport Company and Zambia Haulage Company?
Critical Path Method
The critical path is the longest succession of tasks that has to be successfully completed to conclude a project entirely. The tasks involved in the sequence are called critical activities, as any task getting delayed will result in the whole project getting delayed. To determine the time duration of a project, the critical path has to be identified. The critical path method or CPM is used by project managers to evaluate the least amount of time required to finish each task with the least amount of delay.
Cost Analysis
The entire idea of cost of production or definition of production cost is applied corresponding or we can say that it is related to investment or money cost. Money cost or investment refers to any money expenditure which the firm or supplier or producer undertakes in purchasing or hiring factor of production or factor services.
Inventory Management
Inventory management is the process or system of handling all the goods that an organization owns. In simpler terms, inventory management deals with how a company orders, stores, and uses its goods.
Project Management
Project Management is all about management and optimum utilization of the resources in the best possible manner to develop the software as per the requirement of the client. Here the Project refers to the development of software to meet the end objective of the client by providing the required product or service within a specified Period of time and ensuring high quality. This can be done by managing all the available resources. In short, it can be defined as an application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to meet the objective of the Project. It is the duty of a Project Manager to achieve the objective of the Project as per the specifications given by the client.
ZTC was founded in 1956 by a British national, Mr. Roy Smith, in a British colony then known as Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). The company’s core business was transporting copper from the mines in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) to Southern Rhodesia for onward transmission to overseas markets in Europe. This arrangement worked smoothly until 1965. On 11th November 1965, the white settlers in Southern Rhodesia, who were principally of British origin, unilaterally declared political independence from Britain. Most countries roundly condemned the action by the white settlers because not only were the white settlers a minority but the independence that had been declared was perceived to be for the whites and not the African black majority. To the African majority, the declaration of independence by the white settles was merely a transfer of colonial power from Britain to the local white settlers and was therefore considered by Africans and their sympathisers to be slap in the face of the Black African majority who at the time fighting the British for political independence and majority rule.
Except for South Africa, The United States and Britain, world reaction to the unilateral declaration of independence by the minority whites in Southern Rhodesia was hostile. The response of the black majority in Rhodesia and newly independent African states was predictable. The Africans in Rhodesia, who were already waging a guerrilla war for independence, vowed to continue and intensify their struggle for freedom. The United Nations considered military intervention to wrestle political power from the white settlers but Britain, along with its Western allies, thwarted the move and instead prevailed on the UN to impose economic sanctions. Zambia, having attained political independence in 1964, and a fierce advocate of majority rule, refused to recognize the white minority government and, on its part, banned all forms of trade between Zambia and Rhodesia. ZTC was caught up in this political and economic saga and found itself unable to continue hauling copper from Zambia to Southern Rhodesia.
There was also another complication for ZTC. The company was headquartered in Rhodesia and its shareholders largely comprised whites who were openly sympathetic to the usurpation of power by a white minority regime. ZTC strategically turned to South Africa whose government was in the hands of a white minority regime. However, a Mr. Ismail Singh who was a minority shareholder of ZTC and was based in Zambia decided to cut ties with the company on account of the company’s turn to South Africa which was also run by a minority white regime.
In the face of these developments, ZTC was compelled to restructure the company. It sold its business interest in Zambia to Mr Ismail Singh in exchange for the fifteen percent stake Mr Singh had in the company. Mr. Singh decided to part ways with the company because of its renewed ties with South Africa. Mr Singh then transformed the old ZIC operations and assets in Zambia into a new company which he named Singh Transport Company (STC).
Two years after parting company with ZTC, Singh decided to form an alliance between Singh Transport Company and Zambia Haulage Company. Zambia Haulage Company was founded by two indigenous Zambians who were former civil servants. The two gentlemen were childhood friends and had gone to school together. At university, one of them had studied engineering and the other had studied public administration. Upon graduation, they had both joined the Ministry of Roads and Construction. After working for twenty years, they had decided to retire from the civil service and form their own company, Zambia Haulage Company, which specialized in transporting goods between Zambia and Tanzania. Although the haulage business between Zambia and Tanzania was profitable, the company consistently made losses because of poor management and lack of working capital. For instance, it was an open secret that Zambia Haulage Company had an old fleet whose trucks were constantly breaking down. Further, the two proprietors of the company seemed to be either incapable or indifferent to what was going on at the company.
Required:
- What was the strategic significance of the alliance between Singh Transport Company and Zambia Haulage Company?
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