Inequality and Organisational Practice: Work and Welfare

This theoretical formulation responded to the quest for Africanised epistemic space to construct the hidden indigenous practices into the world of knowledge. Kenimani (that others may not have) and Kenimatoni (that others may not reach up to one’s status), a Yoruba language, one of the African languages was rationalised as an organisational theory of relationships capable of understanding and interpreting people’s actions, and inactions in organisations. The exploration was guided by examining how the underlying meaning and principles of Kenimani-Kenimatoni can be exemplified to the leadership and followership syndrome of organisational relationships. The article was designed using inductive and deductive experiential exploration to present the argument. Yoruba and its beauties were examined to open a linguistic permutation for the analysis. The two Yoruba words ‘kenimani’ and ‘kenimatoni’and their conjunctional framing as peculiar to university community were elucidated to reflect university organisational relationships. The dilemma of positivism and the negativism and the principles embedded in the Kenimani-Kenimatoni organisational practices were uncovered. The Kenimani-Kenimatoni epistemic standpoint was also exemplified with the conclusion that African society is rich in knowledge and practices. Therefore, an Africanised practice like Kenimani- Kenimatoni can explain relationship dynamics in organisations, though this is open to further scholastic discourse.

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Transforming Organisational Practice and Culture Through Embedding Critical Reflection and Research

Practicing Critical Reflection in Social Care Organisations ◽

10.4324/9780429351501-9 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 137-155

Author(s):

Christine Morley ◽

Chez Leggatt-Cook

Keyword(s):

Critical Reflection ◽

Organisational Practice

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How to study bureaucracies ethnographically?

Critique of Anthropology ◽

10.1177/0308275x19842918 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 39 (2) ◽

pp. 243-257 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Thomas Bierschenk ◽

Jean-Pierre Olivier de Sardan

Keyword(s):

Grounded Theory ◽

Public Services ◽

Ethnographic Methods ◽

Major Research ◽

Informal Practices ◽

Methodological Reflection ◽

Organisational Practice

We propose a short epistemological and methodological reflection on the challenges of doing ethnographical research on public services (‘bureaucracies’) from the inside. We start from the recognition of the double face of bureaucracy, as a form of domination and oppression as well as of protection and liberation, and all the ambivalences this dialectic entails. We argue that, in classical Malinowskian fashion, the anthropology of bureaucracy should take bureaucrat as the ‘natives’, and acknowledge their agency. This means adopting basic anthropological postures: the natives (i.e. the bureaucrats) must have good reasons for their seemingly ‘absurd’ (or arbitrary) practices, once you understand the context in which they act. Based on intensive fieldwork and understanding ethnography as a form of grounded-theory production, to explore this ‘rationality in context’ of bureaucrats should be a major research objective. As in day-to-day intra-organisational practice and in internal interactions between bureaucrats, state bureaucracies function largely as any other modern organisation, the anthropology of bureaucracy does not differ that much from the anthropology of organisations. One of the major achievements of the latter has been to focus on the dialectics of formal organisation and real practices, official regulations and informal norms in organisations ‘at work’. This focus on informal practices, pragmatic rules and practical norms provides the main justification for the utilisation of ethnographic methods. In fact, it is difficult to see how informal norms and practices could be studied otherwise, as ethnography is the only methodology to deal with the informal and the unexpected.

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Analysing Organisational Collaboration Practices for Sustainability

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su12062466 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (6) ◽

pp. 2466 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Lea Fobbe

Keyword(s):

Collaborative Networks ◽

Collaborative Partnerships ◽

External Stakeholders ◽

Stakeholder Perspective ◽

Sustainability Challenges ◽

Organisational Practice ◽

Non Parametric

The complex sustainability challenges that society faces require organisations to engage in collaborative partnerships. Stakeholders affect, and are affected by an organisation’s sustainability activities, making it an important element when deciding with whom to collaborate. A large number of studies have focussed on collaboration for sustainability, especially on vertical and dyadic partnerships and collaborative networks, while there is limited research on overarching collaboration activities from the perspective of individual organisations (for example, the Kyosei approach), and even less that includes a stakeholder perspective. The objective of this paper is to analyse with whom individual organisations collaborate and how stakeholders affecting and being affected by sustainability efforts are considered when choosing collaboration partners. A survey was sent to a database of 5216 organisations, from which 271 responses were received. The responses were analysed using non-parametric tests. The results show that organisations are engaged in collaboration activities for sustainability, collaborating mostly with two to three external stakeholders. However, the focus on collaboration for sustainability does not extend to a point that it would lead to a change of organisational practice nor do organisations necessarily consider how stakeholders affect and are affected by their efforts when choosing their collaboration partners. An update to the Kyosei process is proposed, in order to provide guidance on how to strengthen and extend collaborative partnerships for sustainability.

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