Europe and the People without History

World Risk Society

Organized Uncertainty: Designing a World of Risk Management, by Michael Power, is reviewed.

Organized uncertainty: designing a world of risk management

The Foundations of Modern Political Thought

Globalisation, governance, accountability and the natural resource ‘curse’: Implications for socio-economic growth of oil-rich developing countries

Purpose




This paper considers the Eurocentric conceptualisation of risk, which reinforces language, culture and business practices that are in conflict with Africa’s own traditional business methodologies. It attempts to identify the rent-seeking methods and resource-seeking strategies that sustain the hegemony of global corporations in Africa.




Design/methodology/approach




The paper explores non-linear historical narrative around the concept and construction of the idea and language of risk. It follows discourse analysis to identify how the Eurocentric concept of risk was exported and incorporated within the language of international business in non-Western business traditions. The fundamental research question driving this paper is: To what extent does the conceptualisation of risk perpetuate the African continent as risk-ridden?




Findings




The rent and resource-seeking strategies used by multinational corporations (MNCs) are central to “manufactured” risks, and this negatively creates impact for post-independent Africa. Whilst the state is inconsistent in its approach to dealing with this crisis, global corporations continue to do business, extract resources and expand their capital and market base in Africa.




Research limitations/implications




The paper, therefore, proposes a further full empirical and theoretical enquiry to examine the nature of manufactured risk from an African perspective on the discursive psychological methodology to investigate how African leaders report on risk as the authors believe that risk theories in the Western-based theories are exaggerated and discursively shaped by their own ideals which do not necessarily apply to the contextual realities in Africa.




Practical implications




It is imperative for African governments to implement a nationalist-modernising strategy whereby initially the levels of export from local businesses could be proportioned to the levels of MNC resource-seeking activities. This approach would ensure the proliferation of local business groups that could gain access to local and international capital to maximise local production. In this sense, the government would not have to deal with manufactured risk and the challenges that emanate from the flight of capital.




Social implications




There are political implications for the nation-states, as MNCs use the instabilities and weaknesses of governments on the continent to seek and exploit resources to maintain their competitive advantage at the global level. On the economic implications side, weaker governments cannot have a proper development programme for their countries, thereby perpetuating a cycle of uncertainty and unemployed younger graduates. Instability in economic realms leads to social unrest whereby governments are constantly and fully blamed for the inadequacies in social equality.




Originality/value




The philosophical basis of risk and its historical foundations in the African context are presented. Neo-colonial business methods, languages, cultures and strategies are explored and consideration is given as to how African governments could address the issue of co-option, as well as how to respond to the risks arising by MNCs’ business practices. The paper adds to the theoretical narratives by arguing that when considering entry into the marketplace, MNCs must ensure they integrate African perspectives (native categories) into their operational strategies. Moreover, management practitioners might consider addressing the essential topics of language, culture, business systems and business practices using ethnomethodological lenses.

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Critical perspectives on “manufactured” risks arising from Eurocentric business practices in Africa

This is a conceptual paper offering an approach to apparent practitioner and academic dissatisfaction with the field of Knowledge Management KM. Discussing definitions of knowledge, the drivers for its value as an organisational resource and comparing these against definitions of Knowledge Management, this paper suggests a divergence between operational needs and KM as the medium for coordination. Offering an historical perspective of knowledge as a resource it suggests KM to be too broad a concept to be effective in fulfilling the needs of organisations. The authors suggest a continuum for knowledge resource development from which Strategic Knowledge Resource Development is offered as a potential solution for current unsatisfaction.

Are We Stuck With Knowledge Management?: A Case for Strategic Knowledge Resource Development

This paper derives from a research project, which sets out to address practitioner dissatisfaction in the area of Knowledge Management. The author discusses common weaknesses in existing thinking about Knowledge Management and in prevailing models in particular. Modelling processes are considered and underlying assumptions that are required to be addressed in any attempt to create a Knowledge Management Model are examined. An overview is provided of the initial stages in the development of a new, synthetic and general model, The Knowledge CoreiÂ¾©, with assumptions underlying this signposted and their influences upon modelling are discussed.

The Knowledge CORE: A New Model to Challenge the Knowledge Management Field

The Problem.The problem surfaced here is the development of societal competitive advantage and, in particular, the development of human resources; the awareness of this dynamic will allow human resource development (HRD) professionals to better understand the need for engagement with education providers in developing and protecting their future competitive advantage.The Solution.This article uses the Kingdom of Bahrain and its transition from an economy built on natural resources to a knowledge-based economy, as a lens for enquiry. The solution signposts a need for engagement between organizations and higher education institutions (HEIs) to lift the future competitive advantage of the country and the organizations that transact within its borders.The Stakeholders.The article emphasizes that success relies on cooperation between a triumvirate of stakeholders, including industry/enterprise, policy makers, and education institutions.

Societal HRD and Societal Competitive Advantage

This chapter investigates the barriers and driving forces of supply chain collaboration in Nigeria as prior research has not adequately explored this issue in developing countries. Using an in-depth qualitative interviews conducted with purchasing and supply chain managers in the food and beverage manufacturing industry in Nigeria, our results reveal the fragmented nature of supply chain management systems. Our findings also show how supply chain collaborations struggle to flourish in a highly unpredictable market. Thus, this chapter offers insights into the different factors that act as barriers to effective collaboration between supply chain partners. We also show how IT infrastructure and digital technologies could be used as a springboard to promote collaboration in the African context. The barriers and drivers are segmented into three distinct levels such as external, internal and supply chain level. The theoretical and practical implications of this research are highlighted.

Serge Koukpaki

Papers

Critical perspectives on “manufactured” risks arising from Eurocentric business practices in Africa

Are We Stuck With Knowledge Management?: A Case for Strategic Knowledge Resource Development

The Knowledge CORE: A New Model to Challenge the Knowledge Management Field

Societal HRD and Societal Competitive Advantage

Supply chain management systems in Africa: insights from Nigeria