Integral Ubuntu Leadership


Book Description

The four worlds as we know them today, the North, West, South and East, are out of balance. The West and the North generally dominate on a global scale while the South and the East lag behind. This also happens at individual, societal and organisational levels. It is clear that there is a need to change the way we lead our organisations in business and the way we think about leading in politics. Here is a comprehensive exploration of the Integral Leadership challenges of the twenty-first century. The author combines the African philosophy of Ubuntu or humanness, the cornerstone of African thought and life, with the concept of Integral Leadership, with particular reference to Lessem and Schieffer’s combining, in their 2010 book Integral Research and Innovation, of nature and community, culture and spirituality, science and technology, and politics and economies. This connectedness in the new paradigm of wholeness and relatedness goes beyond the relationships of human beings alone and involves experiences with nature and community. Leadership is viewed from an indigenous and exogenous perspective, bringing together a newly Integral approach, which will also introduce industry ecology and knowledge ecology as an evolution of the Ubuntu philosophy. The author offers a unique forum through which to commit to paper the operationalisation of the Integral Ubuntu Leadership model in catalysing development efforts and in CARE-ing for communities and societies.




Understanding Ubuntu for Enhancing Intercultural Communications


Book Description

Given the importance of cross-cultural competence, it is important that scholars from different parts of the world describe the conceptual frameworks underlying their cultures to provide people with knowledge helpful for understanding and navigating cultural barriers and promoting harmony and productivity in places of work. The literature is replete with reference points for understanding Eurocentric worldviews. Little has been written about non-Eurocentric worldviews with respect to the subject of socio-cultural harmony and interpersonal relations such as Ubuntu, Africa’s indigenous philosophy and its relevancy. This philosophy teaches the importance of maintaining good human relations and sensitivity to the wellbeing of other people both as individuals and collectively. In the teachings of this African conceptual framework, the wellbeing of others is more important than that of self. Another important distinguishing feature of Ubuntu is that it places great value on communalism as opposed to individualism. The tenets of Ubuntu include human-centeredness, teamwork, collaboration, cooperation, respect for diversity of opinion, and joint consideration of problems. These tenets can be applied for intercultural competence and communications. Understanding Ubuntu for Enhancing Intercultural Communications sheds some light on Ubuntu, Africa’s unique philosophy, and explores how the knowledge of Ubuntu can help minimize cross-cultural communication barriers. Within this context, the chapters work to make readers aware of the existence of an African worldview, specifically Ubuntu, and its possible contribution to interpersonal communication. This book also shares the lived experiences of being born and raised in sub-Saharan Africa where Ubuntu is a way of life. This book is essential for businesses seeking to expand internationally and managers overseeing diverse workforces as well as business executives, government officials, public relations officers, academicians, researchers, and students including those studying African studies, world religions, international business, international relations, management, communication, and more.




Integral Green Zimbabwe


Book Description

Integral Green Zimbabwe: An African Phoenix Rising by Ronnie Lessem, Alexander Schieffer and Liz Mamukwa is the first book in the Integral Green Society and Economy series, a series which has three overarching aims. The first aim is to link together two major movements of our time, one philosophical, the other practical. The philosophical movement is towards what many today are calling an 'integral' age, while the practical is the 'green' movement, duly aligned with that of sustainable development. The second is to blend together elements of nature and community, culture and spirituality, science and technology, politics and economics, thus serving to bring about an 'integral green' vision, albeit with a focus on business and economics. As such, the authors transcend the limitations to sustainable development and environmental economics, which are overly ecological, if not also technological, in orientation, and exclude social and cultural elements. Thirdly, this particular volume focuses specifically on Zimbabwe, as well as Southern Africa, drawing on the particular issues and capacities that this country and region represents. The emphasis on Zimbabwe and Southern Africa transpired not only because two of the editors (Lessem and Mamukwa) are Zimbabwean in origin, but because Zimbabwe is today like a phoenix rising from the ashes, and has the opportunity to recreate itself anew.




Integral Operational Leadership


Book Description

Throughout Integral Operational Leadership, Park acknowledges that the principles, perspectives and priorities highlighted in his first book Collaborative Wisdom: From Pervasive Logic to Effective Operational Leadership must be translated into practical and operational guidelines. Part I of this new volume briefly revisits the theory and concepts introduced in Collaborative Wisdom and brings to centre stage an alternative organisational framework and culture which has long operated on the sidelines in many business sectors. The substantive content of this volume, however, is dedicated by way of case studies and exercises to offering insights that encourage and facilitate effective day-to-day decision making. This book creates a logical and robust chain from the hidden, often forgotten, subconscious and intuitive element of the leadership cognitive process, to the daily issues, decisions, practices and actions of leaders within the operational environment. It demonstrates how the existence of a collaborative wisdom can influence the implementers, as well as the policymakers within the organisational leadership cadre. Integral Operational Leadership provides support for industry professionals who are seeking to develop their organisational capabilities and performance through clear operational leadership. This book concerns itself with an alternative and 'progressive' leadership logic based upon perspectives, priorities and practices considered more attuned to the realities of the twenty-first century environment within which the business organisation operates.




Adaptive Peacebuilding


Book Description

This open access book responds to the urgent need to improve how we prevent and resolve conflict. It introduces Adaptive Peacebuilding through evidence-based research from eight case studies across Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America. It also considers how China and Japan view and practice peacebuilding. The book focuses on how peacebuilders design, implement and evaluate programs to sustain peace, how interactions between external and local actors have facilitated or hindered peacemaking, and how adaptation to complexity and uncertainty occurred in each case study.




Leading Like Madiba


Book Description

This is a book about a many-sided man whose legacy is his unquenchable desire to spend himself for the well-being of others. Through a series of stories told by men and women about how Nelson Mandela touched their lives, the book shows what it is that has made him one of the greatest people of our time: the way he has managed to inspire people through ordinary human actions. Here in essence are some of the key qualities of great leadership. Most of the stories in this book are from ordinary men and women. A few came from newspapers, television and magazines. Whether they happened exactly as they are narrated is not important. What is true about these stories is that they are an attempt by people to describe the 'Madiba phenomenon'. They are a way in which people seek to treasure what Mandela has taught the world. Their significance lies in their ability to inspire those that share and listen to them.




African Political and Economic Philosophy with Africapitalism


Book Description

This book creates (on the one hand) and explores (on the other hand) philosophies of African development suitable for Black sub-Saharan African countries. As an academic discipline focused on thought informed by indigenous moral values among Black peoples in the sub-Saharan region, African political philosophy involves philosophizing normatively about government by traditional Black African people with the aim of advancing a better African society. African political philosophy does not mean that its themes, views, concepts, and approaches are exclusively African. It also does not mean that only thinkers in Africa could hold these concepts, nor does it mean that all African thinkers hold the same views. “African” is used geographically in African political philosophy to demarcate certain perspectives that are unique to sub-Saharan African thought and practice that tend not to be the case elsewhere. An African political and economic philosophy should address the origin and method of political power, the guarantee of human and civil liberties, and how economic goods are generated and distributed in African societies. Africapitalism, as a new economic philosophy, obviates the inadequacies in Afrisocialism and offers an option for an African economic philosophy. Edited by Ephraim-Stephen Essien and Frank Aragbonfoh Abumere, the contributors to African Political and Economic Philosophy with Africapitalism: Concepts for African Leadership ask the question: can a neo-Afrisocialism offer anything good for the Africa?




Ubuntu


Book Description




Innovation Driven Institutional Research


Book Description

ReNewed Innovation Driven Institutionalized Research GENE -- ReaSoned realization of Communal activation GENE -- ReaSoned realization of Awakened integral consciousness GENE -- ReaSoned realization of Innovation Driven Research GENE -- Index.




Integral Knowledge Creation and Innovation


Book Description

This work focuses on the creation of new knowledge, and how this has happened throughout all ages, as far back as the time of ancient philosophy to today. A product of integral research, it covers the process of creating new knowledge, leveraging existing knowledge, sometimes resulting in cutthroat innovations. It also includes knowledge systems such as conventional university systems to Mode 2 university concepts, culminating on integral research to innovation. This book will help the reader to realise that the subject of knowledge creation is no longer business as usual. Many innovations have been created for human benefit in general, but such innovations may have benefited only parts of society. The challenge in the world is that, while new innovations may be brilliant, there are sections of society who continue to slip into poverty. Modern innovators must also consider such communities and come up with appropriate interventions. This book will open the eyes of innovators to new possibilities. In addition, the subject of knowledge should not be an elitist affair. One may stand to gain a lot by seeing the knowledge in other people, whatever their station in life. This realisation can enable serious innovators to widen their scope in terms of the sources of existing knowledge which can be improved and reassessed as new knowledge. Such existing knowledge can be identified by engaging the very communities that may be affected by a problem or challenge. Such communities will have had time to interrogate their situations and think of possible solutions to such, though they might not have the economic capacity to implement such solutions. This is always a useful starting point if one is seeking a solution to a community problem. This book will be useful to students interested in the subject of knowledge and innovation, from under-graduate to PhD level. It will also benefit captains of industry, executives and managers who are interested in improving their knowledge improvement cycles in their companies.