Leadership for high performance in local councils in Cameroon and Nigeria: Examining deviant and concordant practices to the philosophy of Ubuntu

Eyong, Joseph Ebot

doi:10.1080/23322373.2019.1631030

Cited by 11 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 74 publications

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“…For example, of the articles we reviewed, nine theoretical and two empirical studies discussed a distinctive African leadership style, Ubuntu, with studies ranging from its definition/description to empirically testing its relevance to the practice of management in the African context (e.g. Elkington, 2020;Eyong, 2019;Holtbrügge, 2013;Iwowo, 2015). There were also several peer reviewed studies that examined Western leadership styles (transformational, transactional, servant leadership, for example) in the African context.…”

Section: Purpose Of the Special Issuementioning

confidence: 99%

Multilevel perspectives on leadership in the African context

Abebe

Tekleab

Lado

2020

Africa Journal of Management

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Despite the depth of research on leaders and leadership in the Western and Asian contexts, the study of leadership in the African context remains at a nascent stage. In this special issue, we take a multilevel perspective to review and synthesize current research on leadership in Africa in three distinct scholarly domains (Organizational Behavior & Human Resources (OB/HR), Strategy and Entrepreneurship). Based on this review, we offer specific recommendations to advance leadership research and improve the scope and rigor of theoretical and methodological approaches. Finally, we present three scholarly works that highlight the distinctive nature of leadership in Africa, including the perspectives of followership, emergence of entrepreneurial leadership in the informal sector, and a leadership style based on an African principle.

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Section: Purpose Of the Special Issuementioning

confidence: 99%

Multilevel perspectives on leadership in the African context

Abebe

Tekleab

Lado

2020

Africa Journal of Management

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“…The contention that seeking to rediscover indigenous African management theories would be less beneficial to African scholarship and organisational and entrepreneurial outcomes than embracing universal management theories is shared by other critics of African management (Bolden and Kirk, 2009). Not surprisingly, this position is rejected by African management advocates (Kuada, 2010;Nkomo, 2017;Ayittey, 1991;Ahluwalia, 2001;Jackson et al, 2008;Barnard, 2020;George et al, 2016;Hamminga, 2005;Nkomo, 2017;Zoogah et al, 2015), including scholars exploring Africa-inspired approaches to leadership and enterprise (Adeola, 2020;Darley and Luethge, 2019;Eyong, 2017Eyong, , 2019Hamann et al, 2020;Koenane, 2018;Osiri, 2020;Zoogah, 2020). This schism reflects a wider ongoing debate in the management field.…”

Section: Jmhmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The challenge of advancing African management thought in a world resonant with globalising impulses has, in recent years, generated a great deal of scholarly discussion in management and organisation studies (Amaeshi and Idemudia, 2017;Eyong, 2019;Jackson et al, 2008;Barnard, 2020;Hamann et al, 2020;Zoogah et al, 2015;Prieto and Phipps, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards advancing African management scholarship

Ibeh

Eyong

Amaeshi

2022

JMH

Self Cite

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Purpose This paper aims to address the main arguments put forward in Grietjie Verhoef’s article and contribute to a wider debate among management scholars on the role of indigenous theories. It challenges the view of African management as illusory and points to the rising support for indigenous theories as indicative of the weakening of the unquestioned dominance of universal theories. Design/methodology/approach This paper takes a conceptual and critically reflective approach, underpinned by a 360-degree evaluation of pertinent literature and theoretical arguments. Findings This paper reveals an underlying symmetry and interconnectedness, anchored on a shared communal ethos, among Afrocentric management concepts, specifically Ubuntu, Ekpe and Igbo apprenticeship systems. This symmetry points to an underlying indigenous management theory that begs to be further conceptualised, evidenced and advanced. Research limitations/implications This paper affirms Verhoef’s demand for Ubuntu, Ekpe, Igbo apprenticeship system to be more rigorously developed and theoretically coherent and urges scholars to intensify effort towards advancing the conceptual and empirical foundations of African management. Echoing Mahatma Gandhi’s timeless counsel, this paper calls on critics of African management to join the effort to bring about the change they wish to see in African management theorising. Social implications This paper disavows the alleged effort to impose a single “African management” model or perpetuate the “colonial/indigenous” binary divide but equally cautions against an effort to veto scholarly striving for a common identity, to learn from history or not embrace collective amnesia. As examples from the USA and Europe show, diversity, even heterogeneity, needs not to preclude the forging of a commonly shared identity complemented with appropriate sub-identities. Originality/value This paper links the African management-centred themes addressed by Verhoef to the wider debate among management scholars about lessening the dominance of universal theories and allowing space for context-resonant indigenous theories. It calls on African management scholars to invest the premium and intensified effort towards building a more robust and coherent body of indigenous theory that will have the capacity and efficacy to inform, explain and advance organisational practice and outcomes across Africa.

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“…This work assumes that the management praxis of the productive enterprises are based on highly native traditional socio-ethical foundations and this work calls for a renaissance, total rebirth and regeneration of the meanings given to the socio-ethical elements which transcend many workplaces. In line with this thought, it has been opined that there is a need to rethink management practice and leadership in Africa as well as theoretically upgrade philosophies such as Ubuntu as currently being theorized (Eyong, 2019;Guma, 2012). For instance, one can still be one's "brother's keeper" only if there is a redefinition of brotherhood to include persons living in the same world.…”

Section: Sources Of Employees' Self-destructive Work Behaviormentioning

confidence: 99%

Self-Destructive Work Behavior Management for Socio-Economic Emancipation: A Classic Case of Saving One from Oneself

Ugwuzor

2021

JEBS

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Africa is amply endowed with diverse dimensions of resources as well as having a rich cultural heritage with great potentials for economic growth and development. It is also worthy of mention that the resourceful capacities of Africans in the diaspora in all spheres of life have contributed immensely to the development of other continents of the world. Despite these great progressive potentials, a large percentage of African States are in obvious and dire need of sustainable socio-economic emancipation. This glaring need to identify the key challenges and propose solutions necessitated this study. This study is conceptual and examined self-destructive behaviors at multiple levels using theoretical underpinnings from the Human survival and the self-destruction paradox as well as the dialectical behavioral therapy. This Paper identified several ingrained sources of self-destructive work behaviors in contemporary public sector workplaces in Africa which contribute to the socio-economic challenges. This work highlights that these obnoxious, self–destructive work behaviors seem highly inimical to management praxis. The behaviors seem capable of contending against the aggregate fight for sustainable socio-economic emancipation of the Continent. Deliberate self-salvation was opined here to steer away behaviors, especially in workplaces, from this current path of self-destruction. Novel Actionable thoughts were suggested to stem this unfavorable tide and push for a generation of operational work behaviors as well as an ethical renaissance in management praxis for the emergence of archetypes completely devoid of any anti-progress tendencies.

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Leadership for high performance in local councils in Cameroon and Nigeria: Examining deviant and concordant practices to the philosophy of Ubuntu

Cited by 11 publications

References 74 publications

Multilevel perspectives on leadership in the African context

Multilevel perspectives on leadership in the African context

Towards advancing African management scholarship

Self-Destructive Work Behavior Management for Socio-Economic Emancipation: A Classic Case of Saving One from Oneself

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