African Values for the Practice of Human Resource Management

Abstract

Ozet: The importance of cultural values for management practice in Africa has become increasingly obvious in recent years as many expectations of African organizations and institutions created and managed along lines of Western management assumptions, textbooks and models have not achieved the expected results of sustainable economic development and growth. In Africa, we have very limited knowledge about its cultural values and the consequences it poses for management practice in African organizations. The research project investigated some African traditional values in Nigerian work organizations. The research question that the study tries to address is: to what extent is the assumptions in Western management theories consistent with the African Traditional values for the practice of management in Africa? The research findings strongly suggests that the applicability of Western management assumptions in theories and models for motivating African workers from a high power distance and collectivistic societies is doubtful and suspect. The transplantation of Western management theories and models has not met the needs and aspirations of the peoples of Africa. The study suggests that elements of traditional values pose serious challenge to African managers’ ability to adopt traditional and modern practices that can improve the effectiveness of HR in their organizations.