MANAGING IN THE MILLENNIUM -- TRADITIONAL ECOLOGICALKNOWLEDGE (TEK): A FIRST NATIONS APPROACH TO SUSTAINABILITY.

Abstract

Academy of Management Annual Meeting Proceedings includes abstracts of all papers and symposia presented at the annual conference, plus 6-page abridged versions of the “Best Papers” accepted for inclusion in the program (approximately 10%). Papers published in the Proceedings are abridged because presenting papers at their full length could preclude subsequent journal publication. Please contact the author(s) directly for the full papers. ArticlesMANAGING IN THE MILLENNIUM -- TRADITIONAL ECOLOGICALKNOWLEDGE (TEK): A FIRST NATIONS APPROACH TO SUSTAINABILITY.GAIL WHITEMANGAIL WHITEMANPublished Online:13 Dec 2017https://doi.org/10.5465/apbpp.1999.27628079AboutSectionsPDF/EPUB ToolsDownload CitationsAdd to favoritesTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail AbstractAs the millennium ends, ecological damage continues at an unprecedented rate and the need for sustainable management is evident. Yet managers often lack a practical template--how do they "walk the talk" of sustainability? There are not many concrete examples. However, the management practices of indigenous peoples can provide important concrete insights into the practice of sustainable management. Using ethnographic data collected on the Cree tallymen of eastern James Bay (subarctic Canada), this paper provides empirical data on a First Nations approach to sustainable management and explores "traditional ecological knowledge" (TEK) as an indigenous management system that has successfully avoided ecological collapse. Perhaps most critically, research findings indicate that a TEK-based management approach is both socially and ecologically embedded. In turn, the embeddedness of TEK gives rise to a number of key principles for sustainable management: (i) humble pragmatism, (ii) a fundamental commitment to social and ecological reciprocity, and (iii) managerial leadership is based on ecological legitimacy gained through TEK. TEK also emphasizes the need to learn how to manage sustainability from outside the organization's four walls. As the millennium draws near, traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) may provide a powerful template for a sustainable future.FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Vol. 1999, No. 1 Permissions Metrics in the past 12 months History Published online 13 December 2017 Published in print 1 August 1999 InformationCopyright of Academy of Management Journal is the property of Academy of Management and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder’s express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.KeywordsSUSTAINABLE developmentINDUSTRIAL management -- Environmental aspectsMANAGEMENT stylesTRADITIONAL ecological knowledgeSOCIOCULTURAL factorsCOMMERCIAL policy -- Environmental aspectsMANAGEMENT -- Social aspectsENVIRONMENTAL engineeringSUSTAINABLE engineeringCORPORATE environmentalismDownload PDF