It is generally agreed that the most widely used management theories originate in the ‘West’, and that the developing world needs to adopt these theories if it is to promote efficient management. But are ‘Western’ approaches being wholly embraced by Africa-based organisations? Some authors claim that ‘Western’ ideologies, a legacy of colonisation, are the main influence on management practice in developing countries. However, others argue that these ideologies are alien to traditional African culture and in fact make operations less efficient. Thus, it has been suggested that organisations should either employ a combination of ‘Western’ and traditional practices, or they should stick with purely indigenous management approaches such as Ubuntu, which implies that communal interests are above those of the individual and that human existence is dependent on interaction with others. These arguments have been developed from research drawing mainly on data generated through surveys and/or interviews with managers in Africa.
This study used a grounded theory approach and applied a combination of ethnographic techniques to contribute to existing literature by exploring employees’ perspectives on what happens in practice in terms of performance management and control. The inquiry adopted an interpretivist and neo-empiricist stance in the belief that this would best allow me to reflexively access and interpret the behaviour of participants.
Generally, the design of the formal guidelines in the case study organisation reflected ‘Western’ ideas, though their implementation was largely dependent on informal relationships that reflected African communitarian values. This discovery helps to elucidate the role that ‘Western management’ approaches played in a development organisation in Uganda. The study also provides methodological insights into the reflexive collection and analysis of data on ‘management in Africa’
