Abstract
Zimbabwe is endowed with a plethora of natural resources sufficient to provide raw materials and inputs to its engineering, mining
and processing companies. Despite having inherited functional industries at independence, over the last 15 -20 years, the country
has been grappling with recession, low capacity utilization, liquidation of companies and failure to export, let alone meeting local
requirements. Although political instability has been largely attributed to this failure, ongoing research through surveys, interviews
and direct observations at five companies involved in different business portfolios namely, furniture manufacturing, general
engineering and foundry, assembly and manufacture of bus and truck bodies, backup and service of heavy vehicles as well as
mineral processing, similarly revealed not only the lack of sustainability plans but also lack of involvement of all stakeholders in
decision making in a systems thinking approach to ensure business continuity in different situations. The research also revealed
that the failure to meet current needs without compromising the needs of the future could have contributed a great deal to low
capacity utilization and eventual liquidations. Recommendations made to the companies were welcomed as clear opportunities to
learn from the past and these are helping the companies to gradually recover and regain economic value in spite of the difficult
operating environment.