Economic Considerations
Featured Evaluating Local Worker Satisfaction of Chinese Firms in Africa: Insights from China Harbour Engineering Company in Côte d’Ivoire
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Matthew Rochat
Chinese investment in Africa is often assessed from a macroeconomic perspective, emphasizing infrastructure growth, trade volumes, and geopolitical influence. However, a key puzzle remains: How do local workers experience and perceive Chinese firms, and why do narratives of Chinese engagement oscillate between developmental success and exploitative practices? This study addresses this gap by focusing on the China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) in Côte d’Ivoire, one of West Africa’s fastest-growing economies. Through a survey of CHEC’s local workforce, the research evaluates job satisfaction across dimensions such as workplace conditions, management practices, salary fairness, and opportunities for skills transfer. The findings reveal mixed perceptions, with workers acknowledging CHEC’s efficiency and employment opportunities but raising concerns about safety standards, limited advancement, and cultural integration. A comparative analysis with perceptions of French firms operating in the same context highlights how management styles and historical relationships influence worker satisfaction. By grounding the analysis in the lived experiences of African laborers, this study bridges the gap between macroeconomic narratives and micro-level realities. The insights provide policymakers, businesses, and civil society with a deeper understanding of how foreign investments can balance efficiency with equitable labor practices, fostering sustainable development in Africa.
Artificial Intelligence in Business Management: Ethical Considerations and Governance Strategies
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Razak Surrey
Artificial intelligence (AI) stands as one of the revolutionary concepts in the contemporary business management, which impacts decision making process, organizational performance and planning. However, liberal expansion of AI technologies has stirred crucial moral issues among them being; bias, privacy of data, fairness and transparency of action. These challenges prove why the right governance standards are reasonable to establish to protect against the negative results of questionable use of AI. By doing so, this study advances the understanding of AI, ethics, and governance for business management by identifying necessary ethical concerns and presenting workable governance solutions. The literature review, case studies, and expert interviews form the basis of the research to realize the current deficits in ethical AI practices and to assess the efficiency of the sociotechnical governance frameworks. All the findings stress on the need to incorporate the international policies in corporate governance especially as they relate to AI, involve stakeholders in policies and adopt the ethical principles of fairness in intelligence. This research contributes to the emerging literature in AI or management, providing practical suggestions for firms attempting to navigate this course. The implications of these findings are evident in affirming the significance of ethical AI governance in improving the operations of business and making them sustainable, competitive and trustworthy.
