{"id":1480,"date":"2016-02-24T12:48:53","date_gmt":"2016-02-24T11:48:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.iese.edu\/africa\/?p=1480"},"modified":"2016-10-26T16:31:09","modified_gmt":"2016-10-26T15:31:09","slug":"rethinking-africa-a-humanistic-approach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.iese.edu\/africa\/2016\/02\/24\/rethinking-africa-a-humanistic-approach\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cRethinking Africa\u201d: A humanistic approach"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cRethinking Africa<\/b>\u201d: how does this resonate with you? To me, it sounds like a theme for a summit of business leaders and policy makers<\/b>. Interestingly, it was the focus of a poetry workshop<\/a><\/b>. Even more interestingly, a commentary* referred to \u201crethinking Africa\u201d as \u201can endeavor perhaps better suited to poetry than policy papers.\u201d At the end of the day, business and humanistic studies may have a lot in common: they do if one approaches business from a humanistic perspective<\/b>.<\/p>\n

\"Rethinking
Collaboration promotes cohesion and reciprocity<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I have found this humanistic perspective to be in tune with the approach that many African business leaders<\/b> take (see my earlier post<\/a> on Africans\u2019 communal mentality). The famous Ubuntu<\/a> concept<\/b> captures it somehow. Ubuntu is a worldview originated in the Southern Africa region. It refers to the belief in a universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity. Actions based on ubuntu principles nurture cohesion and reciprocity <\/b>among people.<\/p>\n

I also have a humanistic approach to business<\/b>. I\u2019m a business professor, and I\u2019m a humanist, so I can\u2019t but have such an approach to business. What does this mean? It means that I see the human being as the source, the center, and the purpose of all business activities<\/b>:<\/p>\n