UBUNTU: THE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

Ubuntu, a word that comes to our minds related to an operative system software, has its roots in the African social philosophy, that sometimes is misunderstood by foreigners ignoring the tacit and explicit knowledge derived from it. Some aspects analyzed as relevant by Mangaliso (2003) are presented as follows...

Relationship with others

Human interdependance, has as driving norms reciprocity, suppression of self-interest, and the virtue of symbiosis. These words provide a different understanding in relation to the western society philosophy of life, which rests on individual gains rather than group harmony. In this sense managers can apply the social responsability not as an added value but as a normal symbiotical relation with its stake-holders.

Language and Communication

The mastery of the art and skill of oratory is still a prerequisite for leadership. Cross cultural managers must understand and identify the proper way to express the company´s objectives and purpose to its employees so that they can receive the message as wanted by the managers.

Decision Making

Under Ubuntu´s Philosophy decision making is a circular, inclusive one process trying to get unitiy. The western managers must understand how important it is to make decision making process as inclusive as possible so that the different viewpoints can add more value to the taken decisions.

Time

"God gave the African time, and the westerner a watch". Since misunderstandings about time are often a source of friction in cross-cultural interactions, managers must identify every single society view of time, before establishing assumptions over it, and even more about the time limits, being them very often conflict creating matters.

Productivity and Efficiency

In the Ubuntu context, the emphasis is on social well-being rather than on technical rationality. Managers can use this philosophy for the benefit of the employees creating spaces at work in which the employee can have improvements, such as resting spaces, or free food, things like that which improve the well-being initially of the employee but then of the entire organization.

Age and Seniority

Ubuntu´s philosophy values experience, and accept directions only by those "elder". In that order of ideas is something clear that experience is an added value, so it´s important to understand how in some contexts the elders are trusted more as leaders than youngers.

Since all of this has a belief system inside of it, we must understand how by being aware of Ubuntu´s cultural philosophy managers can benefit not only by increasing the welfare of the employees but also by a better performance of the entire organization.

References

- Mangaliso, Mzamo. 2003. Building competitive advantage from Ubuntu. In Thomas, David Clinton, editor, Readings and Cases in International Management: A cross-cultural perspective.

- http://media.photobucket.com/image/ubuntu%20africa/MotherTongues/SouthAfrican8.gif

Don´t let the earth undressed, dress yourself.

This could be a slogan to commercialize a shirt made of recycled materials, that also generates electricity based on solar panels on it. The idea is that by buying our product (shirt), you can help to protect the Amazon jungle, because a part of the money would go to programs against deforestation. Also by the raw materials used to make the product, you can contribute to the recicling processes in the Amazon neighboring countries. But the most interesting part is that while walking in the street you can charge your cellphone or any other devise, thank´s to the energy generated by your shirt which is powered by the sun light.

The metaphor means that by using the proper cloth, you can contribute to protect the Amazon jungle against deforestation, so the earth won´t be "undressed" of its green. In order to commercialize successfully the product in the international markets there should be some strategies to be carried out with the business parters:

1. It´s neccessary that the partners don´t be wholly profit oriented, but also companies with social responsability and most important of all "environmentally active". If the company to do business with, has environmental programs, would be an excellent channel because the "environmentally aware customer" would prefer to buy this kind of product to them, the trust already exists.

2. Non profit organizations working on environmental issues, could receive free items, with the condition of showing the advantages of how a product that dress you can help "to dress" the earth with its original green.

3. Another strategy is to offer the product to governmental agencies working on environmental issues, and be with them promoting green solutions, of course as part of it the use of our new product.

4. Very important is the international certification of the CO2 saved by charging your Cellphone with the shirt power, and the certification of the land protected and the reforestation programs, because in that order of ideas the customer would be satisfied that their money is really contributing to what they wanted it to contribute.

Image taken from: http://ecosolpartners.com/default.aspx

OPEN DEBATE: DO YOU THINK MARKETING IS A CONSTANT PYGMALION EFFECT?

Have you ever realized a lot of people buy goods or services just because they watched an advertising campaign showing how good is a product or service. And at the end the people feel what they thought at beggining they would feel, a clear example of Pygmalianism Do you agree with this statement?

Curiosity about self-fulfilling prophecy: Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZZs5atIGDU&feature=related

Pygmalion effect and managerial perception

There is a relation between expectations about performance, and the effect those expectations have in the real performance. That is known as the pygmalion effect or the self-fulfilling prophecy. In the work done by Takao and Analoui (2009), they demonstrated the effect of that on Japanese aid workers. The result of their work is that Japanese aid worker´s positive perception causes positive behaviour in local colleagues and will result in higher organizational organizational performance.

That research is an excellent demonstration of how the human being can cause effects just by thinking those effects would actually happen. Even movies such as "the secret" explain how thoughts, can make things happen, however that is part of the phsycological field.

Here there´s a diagram by doctor Tim Ong (2008) that explains the pygmalion effect as a process, as a secuence of actions and beliefs..

http://theselfimprovementsite.com/news/100303.php

Quote:

"Dream lofty dreams, and as you dream, so you shall become. Your vision is the promise of what you shall one day be; your ideal is the prophecy of what you shall at last unveil"

James Allen

Reference: Takao Inamori, Farhad Analoui "Beyond the pygmalion effect: the role of managerial perception" journal of Management Development, Vol 29 Iss: 4, pp. 306 - 321

ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR AND OPPORTUNITY

Organizational behavior can be understood as the study of individual behavior and group dynamics in organizations. The studies about human behavior are influenced by two types of perspectives:

- Internal: the behavior is influenced by factors inside the person, thoughts, feelings, past experiences, and is generally psychodynamics.

- External: the behavior is influenced by environmental forces to which a person is subject

http://oldweb.lyon.edu/webdata/groups/psychology/Information_and_Requirements.htm

VERSUS

http://www.planware.org/salebi_report.htm

Organizations are entities, for that reason they change, like any natural entity that has to adapt itself to his environment, organizations if wanting to have a future must adapt themselves to their own changing environment.

Reference: Mead, Richard 2004. International Management: Cross-Cultural Dimension London: Blackwell Publishing, chapter 1

INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT AND CULTURE

The culture has a strong influence on how the organizations make decisions, communicates with the external environment, the performance of its internal structure and in general with its relationships. This can lead to the next statement:

" different social groups may respond to similar situations in a different way"

That´s way organizations with a very different approach to the same market, and of course differing strategies, can have similar effects and results in terms of organizational performance. An important characteristic of the culture is the enormous influence it has on the behavior of the members sharing it, all because it influences and is influenced as well by:

- A particular system of values.

- A set of beliefs (including religion)

Since the previous vary in different people, so does culture. Furthermore culture is learned and the learning process is sustained within particular groups. These are the reasons for a multicultural world, and because of it managers must be aware of the implications of handling organizations which are a mix of a cultures under the concept of modern globalization.

Reference: Nelson D.L & Quick J.C 2010. Organizational behavior: science, the real world and you. South-Western College Publication 7th Ed. Chapter 1

What a mulcultural world, don´t you think?

Source: http://www. globallead.comPressRoomArchive.cfm