Nigerian corruption complex: rethinking complementarities to curative measures

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 576-588
Author(s):  
Moses Udo Ikoh

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the emerging corruption complex in Nigeria, the cultural nexus that influence its enculturation, dynamics and the amoral values that tend to shape it. Design/methodology/approach The paper drew data largely from documentary and empirical secondary sources for analysis. Findings Current institutional responses are not effective and cannot be sustainable in the fight against corruption. The enculturation process needs to be countered through measures other than arrest, prosecution and punishment to include mass mobilisation, values orientation, conscientisation and sensitisation of Nigerians on the evils of corruption. Research limitations/implications The endemicity of corruption in Nigeria suggests the multiplicity of its causative factors. But this study focuses only on primordial cultural fault line which hinders collective conscience in the fight against corruption. Practical implications Implementing the suggestions on moral awakening – value orientation, conscientisation, mass mobilisation and sensitisation – is thought of as enthronement of national values as opposed to primordial ethnic cultural values. It would complement the legal remedies in the fight against corruption. Social implications The building of character of Nigerians alongside existing laws on corruption will checkmate emerging culture of corruption that is attracting adherents in both business and bureaucratic activities in the countries. Originality/value The paper takes a cultural perspective and explains how primordial cultural values inhibit natural cultural values to enthrone amoral values that have contributed to the emergence corruption complex in Nigeria.

2009 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 155-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong Han ◽  
Nada K. Kakabadse

PurposePreviously, researchers have performed studies on job satisfaction and organizational behavior outcomes in Western contexts. The purpose of this paper is to explore whether economic prosperity or cultural perspective may explain why job satisfaction may not be an effective predictor of organizational outcomes in Greater China. Researchers need more empirical evidence to understand the nature of the relationship between job satisfaction and work outcomes in a non‐Western context in general and in Greater China in particular.Design/methodology/approachThe paper represents a conceptual work that draws on the metrical literature review within the field of organizational behavior.FindingsReview of empirical studies regarding job satisfaction shows that in Greater China, including Mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, job satisfaction has a different meaning than those presented in Western organizational behavior literature. The differences in the meaning of job satisfaction between Western interpretation and Eastern (i.e. Chinese) interpretation can be explained by differing Western and Eastern cultural values rather than stages of economic development. Thus, both scholars and practitioners are able to re‐examine the concept, construct and correlates between job satisfaction and its organizational outcomes in Greater China.Practical implicationsThe paper has implications for global management awareness in understanding complex meanings of job satisfaction and work outcomes in multinational enterprises and international joint ventures in Greater China.Originality/valueThe paper's findings raise awareness of potential shortcomings in using Western concepts, models and practices in Greater China and other non‐Western cultures. Moreover, it highlights the importance of cultural context and a need for further research in the area of organizational behavior from a Chinese cultural perspective.


2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 607-626
Author(s):  
Ritu Tripathi ◽  
Abhishek Kumar

PurposeTo identify the characteristic features of humanistic leadership in the Tata group in India, and to explicate the key facilitating factors.Design/methodology/approachNarrative case-study inquiry via semi-structured interviews with top management leaders and middle managers, and secondary sources of information.FindingsThe top leaders of the Tata companies emphasised the following values and leadership experience: (1) Adherence to the founder's philosophy and the basic core values, (2) Leadership with Trust, (3) Community as the key purpose of the enterprise, (4) Senior leaders as mentors and role-models, (5) Abiding by the ethical code of conduct, (6) Employee-focus and (7) Tacit alignment with Indian cultural values. These resonated with the humanistic leadership tenets. Based on the literature the authors also identified that in Tata leadership, there is an amalgamation of personal values (humata, hukhta, hvarshta: good thought, word and deed) and national cultural ethos (dharma, karma and jnana: emphasis on duty-bound action and knowledge). These leadership values are conveyed and institutionalised in the organisation via strategic initiatives such as the Tata Trusts, Tata Business Excellence Model, Tata Code of Conduct. This synergy of personal values, national cultural ethos and organisational strategy makes Tata group realise the humanistic leadership objectives, while achieving business targets.Research limitations/implicationsThe thematic analysis of interview data provides a contextualised understanding of how humanistic leadership gets realised at both the individual behavioural level, as well as at the broader organisational strategic level. This provides inputs to building the theory of humanistic leadership.Practical implicationsBy unravelling the factors that facilitate the realisation of humanistic leadership in the Tata group, the authors provide an exemplar for other organisations and business leaders to draw insights from.Social implicationsHumanistic leadership, oriented towards upliftment of community and society, and not just profit maximisation, is critical to creating a more sustainable and peaceful world.Originality/valueThis is one of first studies that conceptualises the Tata leadership from the humanistic perspective. The theoretical insights are of basic and applied use.


2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-65
Author(s):  
Damodaran Rajasenan ◽  
M. S. Jayakumar ◽  
Bijith George Abraham

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to link the multifarious problems of the elderly in a socio-economic and psychological framework. Design/methodology/approach – The universe of the sample is elderly left behind in emigrant households in Kerala. In total, 600 samples were mustered using multistage stratified random sampling method. The paper, with the aid of factor analysis, χ2 and correspondence analysis, blemish the principal factors responsible for the migration-induced exclusion of the elderly. Findings – The empirical result derived from the study shows that migration-induced exclusion is all pervasive in Kerala. The elderly left behind yearn for the presence of their children rather than the emigration and concomitant remittances. Research limitations/implications – The findings of the study are helpful to the policy makers to understand the issues faced by the elderly and include all stakeholders concerned to find a solution to tackle these problems faced by the elderly due to emigration of their children. Practical implications – The study is practically relevant in developing appropriate policy framework in Kerala as it illumines the role of the government to overcome the exclusionary trend and other manifold problems of the elderly. Social implications – The study sheds light to a new social problem developing in the state in the form of elderly exclusion owing to emigration of the young working groups in regional dimensions, demographic levels, community angles and the emerging culture of old age home in the Kerala economy and society. Originality/value – The study is a unique one and tries to situate the principal factors responsible for the emigration-induced exclusion of the elderly in Kerala with empirical evidence.


2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 211-233
Author(s):  
Thomas M. Bayer ◽  
John Page

Purpose – This paper aims to analyze the evolution of the marketing of paintings and related visual products from its nascent stages in England around 1700 to the development of the modern art market by 1900, with a brief discussion connecting to the present. Design/methodology/approach – Sources consist of a mixture of primary and secondary sources as well as a series of econometric and statistical analyses of specifically constructed and unique data sets that list nearly more than 50,000 different sales of paintings during this period. One set records sales of paintings at various English auction houses during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries; the second set consists of all purchases and sales of paintings recorded in the stock books of the late nineteenth-century London art dealer, Arthur Tooth, during the years of 1870/1871. The authors interpret the data under a commoditization model first introduced by Igor Kopytoff in 1986 that posits that markets and their participants evolve toward maximizing the efficiency of their exchange process within the prevailing exchange technology. Findings – We found that artists were largely responsible for a series of innovations in the art market that replaced the prevailing direct relationship between artists and patron with a modern market for which painters produced works on speculation to be sold by enterprising middlemen to an anonymous public. In this process, artists displayed a remarkable creativity and a seemingly instinctive understanding of the principles of competitive marketing that should dispel the erroneous but persistent notion that artistic genius and business savvy are incompatible. Research limitations/implications – A similar marketing analysis could be done of the development of the art markets of other leading countries, such as France, Italy and Holland, as well as the current developments of the art market. Practical implications – The same process of the development of the art market in England is now occurring in Latin America and China. Also, the commoditization process continues in the present, now using the Internet and worldwide art dealers. Originality/value – This is the first article to trace the historical development of the marketing of art in all of its components: artists, dealers, artist organizations, museums, curators, art critics, the media and art historians.


2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (8) ◽  
pp. 1262-1269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel F. Baskerville ◽  
Kerry Jacobs ◽  
Vassili Joannides de Lautour ◽  
Jeff Sissons

Purpose Accounting research has struggled with how ethnicity is to be understood in relation to concepts such as nation and nationality and how ethnicity may impact on accounting and auditing practices, behaviours, education and professional values. These themes are explored and developed in the papers presented in this special issue. In particular, the purpose of this paper is to explore the contrasting theoretical and methodological approaches reflected by the papers in the issue. Design/methodology/approach This is a reflective and analytical paper which explores how notions of ethnicity are conceived and operationalised in accounting research. The authors identified two distinctive analytic ordering processes evident within this AAAJ Special issue: Mary Douglas’ scheme of Grid and Group and the Pierre Bourdieu’s conceptual tools of field, capital and habitus. Findings The “Grid and Group” Culture Theory with Bourdieu’s theoretical tools evident in the papers provide powerful tools to explore the relationship between ethnicity and accounting both conceptually and empirically, suggesting that ethnicity can be deployed to reveal and challenge institutionalised racism. This paper highlights the potential to integrate elements of the “Grid and Group” Culture Theory and Bourdieu’s theoretical tools. The issue of ethnicity and the relationship between ethnicity and accounting should be more fruitfully explored in future. Research limitations/implications The authors acknowledge the challenges and limitations of discussing the issue of ethnicity from any particular cultural perspective and recognise the implicit dominance of White Anglo centric perspectives within accounting research. Originality/value The papers presented in the special issue illustrate that the issue of ethnicity is complex and difficult to operationalise. This paper highlights the potential to move beyond the ad hoc application of theoretical and methodological concepts to operationalise coherent concepts which challenge and extend the authors’ understanding of accounting as a social and contextual practice. But to achieve this it is necessary to more clearly integrate theory, methodology, method and critique.


2016 ◽  
Vol 36 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 242-257 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erika Cudworth

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to map the field of sociological animal studies through some examples of critical and mainstream approaches and considers their relation to advocacy. It makes the argument that while all these initiatives have made important contributions to the project of “animalising sociology” and suggest a need for change in species relations, the link between analysis and political strategy is uncertain. Design/methodology/approach – The paper develops its argument by using secondary sources, reviewing sociological positions and offering illustrations of possible interventions. Findings – Sociological interventions in the field of animal studies have been informed by critical perspectives, such as feminism and Marxism, or taken less critical routes deploying actor-network theory and symbolic interactionism. Whilst those working in critical traditions may appear to have a more certain political agenda, an analysis of “how things are” does not always lead to a clear position on “what is to be done” in terms of social movement agendas or policy intervention. In addition, concepts deployed in advocacy such as “liberation”, “quality of life” or “care” are problematic when applied beyond the human. Despite this, there are possibilities for coalition and solidarity around certain claims for change. Research limitations/implications – If the central argument of the paper were taken seriously by general sociologists, then sociology may be more open to “animal studies”. In implications for exisitng sociological animal studies scholarship is to trouble some of the certainties around advocacy. Practical implications – If the central argument of the paper were taken seriously by advocacy groups, then the hiatus between “welfarism” and “liberation” might be overcome. Originality/value – There have been recent attempts to map the field of scholarship in animal studies, but surprisingly little consideration of how different emergent positions inform questions of advocacy and the possibilities for political intervention.


2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (S2) ◽  
pp. 445-445
Author(s):  
E.A. Arens ◽  
N. Balkir ◽  
S. Barnow

IntroductionEmotion regulation (ER) via cognitive reappraisal (CR) has been shown to be superior to the use of expressive suppression (ES) in terms of several aspects of mental well-being. However, a cultural perspective suggests that the consequences of ES may be moderated by cultural values (Western/individualistic vs. Eastern/collectivistic values).ObjectiveTo test this hypothesis that ES may be associated with better outcomes in collectivistic cultures (e.g. Turkey) than in individualistic cultures (e.g. Germany) not only in healthy individuals but also in patients with mental disorders.AimThis study aims to gather knowledge to what extent associations of ER strategies and mental health are universal or rather culturally specific.MethodsWe investigated healthy (n = 30) and depressed (n = 30) German women and healthy (n = 30) and depressed (n = 30) Turkish immigrants living in Germany. Groups were compared in terms of frequency of ER strategies (CR and ES) and their consequences for different aspects of mental well-being.ResultsHealthy Turkish immigrants exhibited a greater ER flexibility (frequent use of ES plus frequent use of CR) what was associated with more positive outcomes of ES in Turkish than in German women. None of these differences were found between patient samples, both of which showed a greater use of ES than CR.ConclusionsResults suggest that cultural moderation of ES consequences are associated with a greater ER flexibility in healthy Turkish individuals. Depressed Turkish patients may not profit from ES due to their more rigid use of ES.


Author(s):  
Thanh Quy Ngo Thi ◽  
◽  
Hong Minh Nguyen Thi ◽  

Proverbs are important data depicting the traditional culture of each nation. Vietnamese proverbs, dated thousands of years ago, are an immense valuable treasure of experience which the Vietnamese people desire to pass to the younger generations. This paper aims to explore the unique and diversified world of intelligence and spirits of the Vietnamese through a condensed and special literary genre, as well as a traditional value of the nation (Nguyen Xuan Kinh 2013, Tran Ngoc Them 1996, Le Chi Que and Ngo Thi Thanh Quy 2014). Through an interdisciplinary approach, from an anthropological point of view, approaching proverbs we will open up a vast treasure of knowledge and culture of all Vietnamese generations. The study has examined over 16,000 Vietnamese proverbs and analysed three groups expressing Vietnamese people’s behaviors toward nature, society and their selves, and compared them with English and Japanese proverbs. The research has attempted to explore the beauty of Vietnamese language, cultural values and the souls and personalities of Vietnam. Approaching Vietnamese proverbs under the interdisciplinary perspective of language, culture and literature is a new research direction in the field of Social Sciences and Humanity in Vietnam. From these viewpoints, it is seen that proverbs have remarkably contributed to the language and culture of Vietnam as well as and constructed to the practice of language use in everyday life which is imaginary, meaningful and effective in communication. Furthermore, the study seeks to inspire the Vietnamese youth’s pride in national identity and to encourage their preservation and promotion for traditional values of the nation in the context of integration and globalisation. In the meantime, it would be favourable to introduce and market the beauty of Vietnamese language, culture and people to the world, encouraging the speakers of other languages to study, explore and understand Vietnam.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikhil K. Mehta ◽  
Shubham Chourasia ◽  
Aswini Devadas

Theoretical basis This case uses concepts from Korten’s strategies of development-oriented four generations of non-government organizations (NGOs) and social psychology such as stereotypes, prejudices and actions to explain the social phenomenon. In furtherance, the case presents Aristotle’s approach to creating a message for masses that include use of ethos, pathos and logos. Stood’s (2017) narrative, engagement and technology (NET) model of social leadership was used to analyse the characteristics of social leaders. Research methodology Prima facie the case was developed from primary sources i.e. interviewing with Ashish Thakur. Literature from secondary sources was obtained to make teaching notes. List of references is presented towards the end that depicts the use of textbooks, research papers, websites and blogs. This case was tested in the classroom with MBA students learning business communication. Case overview/synopsis The case dealt with the challenges of an NGO that included conducting respectful last rites of unclaimed dead bodies. As the NGO grew, Ashish Thakur, the initiator of Moksh started facing resource management challenges, namely, volunteer induction, fundraising and managing non-human resources. These issues are deeply embedded in several social stereotypes about dead bodies. Learning covers strategies of four generations of NGO development, a NET model of social leadership, breaking social stereotypes related to dead bodies and last rites (necrophobia), designing social communication and opportunity to assess faulty rationalizations and do critical thinking around the socio-religious practices. Complexity academic level This case is intended to be used for the students of the social leadership or social entrepreneurship, social psychology, business communication or communication skills, organizational behaviour, advertising and social media.


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