The management discourse: collective or strategic performance drive?

What is it about?

African scholars often call for a model of management in Africa. The concept remains unconceptualised, and marred by ideological post-colonial positioning. Authors display a nostalgia for past ethnic traditions when reflecting on management in Africa. This paper seeks to unpack the discourse on the nature of African identity as prerequisite for the development of a distinct ‘African management’ model. This paper engages with the discourse within the management fraternity, the concept of Ubuntu, and the viability of new thinking on the diverse and dynamic nature of management in modern African firms.The purpose of this manuscript is to engage with the discourse on the assumed existence of an distinct ‘African management’ model. It critically deconstructs concepts and submit an alternative strategy to address the need to understand what is happening in management of business in Africa. The purpose of this manuscript is to engage with the discourse on the assumed existence of an distinct ‘African management’ model. It critically deconstructs concepts and submit an alternative strategy to address the need to understand what is happening in management of business in Africa. A critical text analysis is used to expose the conceptual lacunae which undermines progress in the discourse. This paper contributes to the literature on ‘African management’ by systematically deconstructing the concept of ‘African identity’ as a prerequisite to the management discourse. By signaling ethnic nostalgia, the critical reconceptualisation of Africanness offers an intellectually creative strategy out of the stalled discourse.

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