Ubuntu is a philosophy that argues for a more holistic, relationally-based, and community-minded approach to organization. It avers that the values of caring, compassion, mutual respect, and solidarity are essential vectors for galvanizing organized social action. By contrast, Western orthodoxy has historically placed an emphasis on economics-based, cause-effect rationality, and individualism. In Western orthodoxy, the aforementioned values of Ubuntu are usually spurned and interpreted as antithetical to rationality. More recent organizational scholars, however, have begun to turn this around as reflected in several appeals for research that focuses on caring and compassion to improve the conditions under which people work. The dynamics of complex human interactions in organizations cannot be fully understood without the lens of care and compassion. We believe that integrating the fundamental values of Ubuntu into organizational theorizing conceptually makes it more reflective of human behavior. In practice, Ubuntu improves workforce relations and enhances work outcomes.
This notwithstanding, criticisms have continued to be directed at the theoretical underpinnings of Ubuntu, questioning its ontological and epistemological foundation, its empirical validity and practical application. It is notable that most of those who criticize Ubuntu declare it be an ‘invention’ of the African elite and assert that its systemization is an etic practice of these ‘self-proclaimed’ experts on Ubuntu who are removed physically in social practice from the emic expression at the village level. To these critics, Ubuntu should be dismissed as trivial because its values are neither new nor unique to Africa. There are legitimate reasons to interrogate some of the assertions made by the proponents of Ubuntu. An uncritical idealization of the Ubuntu philosophy runs the risk of overlooking some of its contradictions and limitations. Therefore neither the aforementioned skeptics of Ubuntu nor its uncritical protagonists are helpful in pushing forward the discourse on the topic. The motivation of this Research Topic is to provide a discursive forum to help in untangling the contributions that Ubuntu can make toward improving life at work. Issues that may be addressed include those listed below.
1. How conceptually sound is Ubuntu as an African philosophy?
2. Can the humanistic ethos of Ubuntu coexist with the individualistic ethos of the Western Anglo-Saxon paradigm? In other words, how can these two paradigms be reconciled? Is there a necessity and/or possibility for this reconciliation to occur? What are the limitations?
3. In Ubuntu, solidarity to one’s own group can lead to the diminution of others; respect can turn into blind submission to authority; loyalty to a leader can result in totalitarianism; and kinship reciprocity can result in nepotism. Are these contradictions or false dichotomies?
4. Do the predetermined societal values and structures in Ubuntu preclude individual agency? What is the role of individual agency in the production and reproduction of societal structures and norms?
5. What powerful learning points can Ubuntu offer organizations, especially as conflict situations continue escalate among stakeholders within organizations and in society at large.
Keywords:
Ubuntu, compassion, humanism, culture, epistemology, indigenous
Important Note:
All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
Ubuntu is a philosophy that argues for a more holistic, relationally-based, and community-minded approach to organization. It avers that the values of caring, compassion, mutual respect, and solidarity are essential vectors for galvanizing organized social action. By contrast, Western orthodoxy has historically placed an emphasis on economics-based, cause-effect rationality, and individualism. In Western orthodoxy, the aforementioned values of Ubuntu are usually spurned and interpreted as antithetical to rationality. More recent organizational scholars, however, have begun to turn this around as reflected in several appeals for research that focuses on caring and compassion to improve the conditions under which people work. The dynamics of complex human interactions in organizations cannot be fully understood without the lens of care and compassion. We believe that integrating the fundamental values of Ubuntu into organizational theorizing conceptually makes it more reflective of human behavior. In practice, Ubuntu improves workforce relations and enhances work outcomes.
This notwithstanding, criticisms have continued to be directed at the theoretical underpinnings of Ubuntu, questioning its ontological and epistemological foundation, its empirical validity and practical application. It is notable that most of those who criticize Ubuntu declare it be an ‘invention’ of the African elite and assert that its systemization is an etic practice of these ‘self-proclaimed’ experts on Ubuntu who are removed physically in social practice from the emic expression at the village level. To these critics, Ubuntu should be dismissed as trivial because its values are neither new nor unique to Africa. There are legitimate reasons to interrogate some of the assertions made by the proponents of Ubuntu. An uncritical idealization of the Ubuntu philosophy runs the risk of overlooking some of its contradictions and limitations. Therefore neither the aforementioned skeptics of Ubuntu nor its uncritical protagonists are helpful in pushing forward the discourse on the topic. The motivation of this Research Topic is to provide a discursive forum to help in untangling the contributions that Ubuntu can make toward improving life at work. Issues that may be addressed include those listed below.
1. How conceptually sound is Ubuntu as an African philosophy?
2. Can the humanistic ethos of Ubuntu coexist with the individualistic ethos of the Western Anglo-Saxon paradigm? In other words, how can these two paradigms be reconciled? Is there a necessity and/or possibility for this reconciliation to occur? What are the limitations?
3. In Ubuntu, solidarity to one’s own group can lead to the diminution of others; respect can turn into blind submission to authority; loyalty to a leader can result in totalitarianism; and kinship reciprocity can result in nepotism. Are these contradictions or false dichotomies?
4. Do the predetermined societal values and structures in Ubuntu preclude individual agency? What is the role of individual agency in the production and reproduction of societal structures and norms?
5. What powerful learning points can Ubuntu offer organizations, especially as conflict situations continue escalate among stakeholders within organizations and in society at large.
Keywords:
Ubuntu, compassion, humanism, culture, epistemology, indigenous
Important Note:
All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.