ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a contextual background for the remaining chapters dealing with aspects of management. We give an overview of Africa’s current levels of development and consider African countries’ role in today’s global business environment. We briefly look at Africa’s geography and present a short history of Africa highlighting developments over the past 600 years. Measures of development for African countries’ performance are discussed. Throughout we relate issues to doing business and managing in the African context. Students of management and managers need this background picture to understand effective management in the African context.
