A survey questionnaire with 20
constructs relating to African modes of leadership was designed. This was
used as an online survey to elicit electronic
feedback from individuals within a specific organization.
It is well-known that due to globalization, the world has become a smaller
place. Multinational companies (MNCs) are spanning the globe, increasing their
markets and developing their territorial
footprints and often applying the philosophical constructs of their native lands to the
host regions where they do business. However, Western, Northern, Eastern and
African paradigms are rooted in different, and
often contrasting, cultures (Mbigi, 2002).
Applying well-known management techniques often prove less effective when
transplanted elsewhere, as a nation's culture is rooted
in its value and belief system (Shen, 2004; Lindholm, 1999; Huo & Von Gilnow,
1995, Burnes, 1991).
While the Northern (European) construct values rationality and scientific
thinking, as famously expressed by Descartes with "Cogito, ergo sum" - I think, therefore I
exist or rather "I am because I think I am,"
Western philosophy can be described as more individualistic and self-serving and
expressed by the phrase "I am because I, the
individual hero, dream and do". Eastern
"Kaizen" philosophy, on the other hand, is
more collectivist with a focus on continuous improvement to attain perfection - "I
am because I improve" - while key writers
claim that the African philosophy is inherently collectivist in nature and is
encapsulated in the concept of Ubuntu "I am because
we are; I can only be a person through
others" (Mbigi, 2002 : 20). |
