Power-with and Power-to and Building Asian Studies in Africa: Insights from the Field

Taking seriously Chinweizu’s (2004) call for Asian Studies in Africa this article examines the ways in which African Asianist scholars with their partners elsewhere decided to take counterhegemonic action, and how their approach differs from the status quo as a prefigurative politics of power-with society they seek. This work explores the establishment of Centres for Asian Studies in Africa as institutional actors in the counter-hegemonic project of decolonization. The processes that led to the setting up of the Centre for Asian Studies (the first in Black Africa excepting South Africa) at the University of Ghana serve as a case study. The article utilizes information gathered through the authors’ ongoing participation over the last eight years in the ideational, organizational, logistical, financial and institution building moves that are aiding the establishment of an ultimately emancipatory Asian Studies in Africa research framework. To establish the contextual challenge, the article engages discursively with how hegemony (power-over) functions within Global North/Western/modern research agendas, funding, and institutions; and explains how and why its colonial project is most evident in Area Studies in particular. The work concludes with pointers on how these moves for building Centres for Asian studies in Africa may be useful for other institutional intellectual decolonial efforts.

Seeking the next wave of growth in a dynamic business environment: a case for Nitor Infotech Pvt. Ltd.

Learning outcomes The learning outcomes of this study include: recognizing the strategic inflexion points and related business and strategic perspectives in the life of an organization; understanding sources of sustained competitive advantage and connect it with resource-based view for internal analysis; applying dynamic capability theory to identify capabilities that help an IT company stay relevant in an IT sector characterized by VUCA (an acronym for volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity) environment; analyzing the multi-dimensional and multi-contextual challenge an organization faces, or is likely to face, in the foreseeable future and the possible ways it addresses or should address them; evaluating strategies adopted at various points of an organization’s journey for their effectiveness; and helping a company co-create value for its customers. Case overview/synopsis This case of Nitor Infotech Private Limited (Nitor), a mid-sized software product outsourcing company, outlines its decade-long journey, highlighting its achievements. While the company has consistently grown by leveraging its expertise in software product engineering and its domain knowledge in the healthcare segment, it entered into a stage of its life cycle where it had to develop a long-term strategy to effectively compete in the product engineering market. Nitor’s strategy was built around product engineering and outsourced product development. The two major choices for a software company were either to develop its own product and thereby own the intellectual property (IP) or to develop modules which would be part of a product that would be owned by a client. In the latter case, the IP would be held by the client. So far Nitor chose to follow the second option by developing components for its client’s products. Although this strategy allowed it to develop expertise in a particular domain, and serve different customers in a particular market, the chances of a competitor attacking its position was high. On the other hand, if it developed its own product, it can create its own brand name and can sell packaged software to several different customers. However, the challenge with the latter is that the cost of marketing could be very high. The choice for the company in the future is to decide on selecting a specific strategy to expand its international business. Complexity academic level This case is appropriate for an undergraduate and postgraduate management course in the area of strategic management. The level of difficulty can be from medium to high depending on the learning level. Knowledge of management fundamentals is not a prerequisite but is desirable for case analysis. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email [email protected] to request teaching notes. Subject code CSS 11: Strategy

Spirituele vorming om ’n missionale karakter in gemeentes in die praktyk te bewerkstellig

Spiritual formation to bring about a missional character in congregations in practice. This study applied literature review to focus on missional ecclesiology and, more specifically, on the important role and impact of spirituality in supporting a missional church. Although the research originated in reformed churches in South Africa, the reflection on the relation between the concept of missional church and a Christian spirituality, and the practical examples that illustrate such a missional spirituality, transcend the context and is applicable to most contexts. The conclusion of the research affirmed a Trinitarian approach to spirituality and the indispensable place of a missional spirituality for Christian congregations. A life in the Trinity forms and informs everyday life. It encourages disciples of Christ to participate in God’s mission. There is no difference between Christian spirituality and missional spirituality. One of the key findings was the important role of habits: believers should change their habits in their everyday life in order to change their thoughts, and not the other way around. Practical examples of habits are as follows: systematic reading of God’s Word; to see what God sees; kenosis shown through hospitality; faith discernment with other believers; associating the everyday normalities as spiritual; finding rest in God; and eating together.Intradisciplinary and/or Interdisciplinary implications: This article was written from the perspective of mission studies. The contextual challenge was to emphasise the importance of habits in Christian spirituality, and the reciprocal relationship between spirituality and being a missional church. This article has challenged the culture of church-organised mission projects.