Practice, power and meaning: frameworks for studying organizational culture in multi‐agency rural development projects

Abstract

Culture has received increasing attention in critical development studies, though the notion that there are important cultural differences within and between development organizations has received less consideration. This paper elaborates elements of a framework for studying organizational culture in multi-agency development projects. It draws on selected writings in anthropology and in organizational theory and suggests that these two bodies of literature can be usefully brought together, as well as on insights from ongoing fieldwork in Bangladesh, Burkina Faso and Peru. At the centre of this framework is the analysis of context, practice and power. Where development projects involve multiple organizations (such as donors, government agencies, non-governmental organizations and grassroots groups) an analysis of cultures both within and between organizational actors can help explain important aspects of project performance. The paper argues that organizational culture is constantly being produced within projects, sometimes tending towards integration, often towards fragmentation. This fragmentation, indicative of the range of cultures within development organizations, is an important reason why some projects fail, and why ideas stated in project documents are often not realized, especially in the case of the newer and more contentious objectives such as 'empowerment'.

Strategic drift in international non‐governmental development organizations—putting strategy in the background of organizational change

“…Although managers may engage in strategic planning processes as part of their management practice, they should not expect strategies and plans to be implementable and should acknowledge the inevitability of unintended outcomes of change. In the INGDO context, because of their diffuse power structure, multiple interfaces and competing commitments (Hilhorst, 2003;Lewis et al, 2003;Lister, 2003;Ebrahim, 2005;Mosse, 2005) strategic planning is better conceived as a context for political engagement, coalition building and influence (Mosse, 2005). Managers do need to think of strategy in terms of technical requisites, but also as a language through which other underlying issues can be resolved.…”

Of texts and practices: Empowerment and organisational cultures in world bank-funded rural development programmes

“…In this research the notion of organisational culture was used to draw attention to each of the following (Lewis et al, 2003):…”

The practice of design: developing the Chars Livelihoods Programme in Bangladesh

“…There is a wealth of material relating to the implementation of social development projects (see for example Pottier, 1993;Mosse et al, 1998;Rew and Rew, 2003;Marsden and Oakley, 1990;Rew, 1997). However, studies that outline how development projects are designed and show how connections are made between social development ideas and practical actions within a multidisciplinary framework are less common (see Lewis et al, 2003). As Booth argues in this Issue, working out how to link theory, research and practice in a particular context matters a great deal.…”