Post-Instrumental
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Management Systems in Africa

Post-Instrumental Management Systems in Africa

Neo-colonialism may result in the adoption of inappropriate Western principles and practices through the activities of multinational corporations in Africa, as well as through the numbers of managers being trained in Western management principles.

Western Influences

A belief, within the developing-developed world paradigm, reflecting the convergence theory of Kerr et al (1960) and contingency theory of Hickson and Pugh (1995; and see also Cray and Mallory, 1998, for an over-view), is that the developing world, through industrialization, should become more like the developed world. This is reflected in the trend for ‘western’ approaches to management to be imported into African countries through multinational companies, and ‘western’ approaches to be sought out by managers who are increasingly being educated within western or western-style management courses, and being trained in western traditions. This may not only affect organizations in the private sector, but also those in the public and parastatal sectors and those recently privatised enterprises which are in the process of refocusing as a result of downsizing and other major organizational change. This may reflect also a disparaging of ‘African’ (i.e. post-colonial) ways of organizing and managing. This disparaging is reflected in much of the literature reviewed above.

It is unlikely that such a system, based on ‘modern’ management theory is blatantly instrumental - that is, purely regarding a person as a resource for the pursuit of corporate gaols, or more specifically shareholder value, but will likely lack the humanism of what is here described as African Renaissance.

Soft Instrumentalism

A distinction has been made in the Anglo-American strategic human resource management literature between a ‘hard’ organizational perspective, reflecting utilitarian instrumentalism which sees people in the organization as a mere resource to achieve the ends of the organization, and a ‘soft’ developmental human relations approach which sees people more as valued assets capable of development, worthy of trust, and providing inputs through participation and informed choice (Beer and Spector, 1985; Tyson and Fell, 1986; Hendry and Pettigrew, 1990; Storey, 1992; Vaughan, 1994). Tayeb (2000) quite rightly states that the concept of human resource management is itself a product of a particular Anglo-American culture. It is likely that both the ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ approaches taken within western organizations are both a reflection of an inherent cultural concept which perceives human beings in organizations as a means to an end (Blunt and Jones, 1997, uses the term ‘functionalism’). If this is the case, then it is likely that when western companies, or managers educated in the western tradition, try to implement ‘western’ human resource practices in cultures which have a different concept of people, and a different regard for people in organizations, then incompatibilities will be manifested through lack of motivation and alienation leading to low productivity and labour strife.

The extent to which such manifestations are the case in foreign owned, and western management-oriented companies in Africa has been little researched. This remains at the moment as a hypothesis ripe for testing.

Post-Colonial Systems

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AfricaManagement.org © Terence Jackson 2002