Cave Canem! The Art (or Science?) of Western Management in an African Context

Nadine Mendelek Theimann and Kurt April

Chapter 2 in Diversity in Africa, 2007, pp 10-34 from Palgrave Macmillan

Abstract: Abstract The West has continued to supply leadership and management ideas, political systems, and economic infrastructures to Africa, from colonial times to the present. Understandably, most Western theories that are continuously being used in organisations in Africa, with their seemingly good intentions, have not achieved the desired outcomes, because many Africans find it difficult to relate to them and have to sacrifice their authenticity in order to fully embrace them. Some have identified the limitations of perspectives and practices formulated solely in the West (Blunt and Jones, 1992; Kamoche, 1993, 1997; Nzelibe, 1986), while others have offered empirical evidence on the nature of extant practices, pointing to their appropriateness or lack thereof (Blunt and Jones, 1986; Kamoche, 2000a; Seddon, 1985). This growing critique has highlighted the need to understand the African context as well as the indigenous thought system and, in particular, the perspective of the African worker.

Keywords: Human Resource Management; African Context; International Business Study; Western Management; Strategic Human Resource Management (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2007
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:palchp:978-0-230-62753-6_3

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DOI: 10.1057/9780230627536_3

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