'Ubuntu' as a management practice

Summary

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Humanness creates a sense of community. A community in which one is motivated to help one another, to raise group performance to a higher level. In general, the sense of community leads to more willingness to share knowledge, and more eagerness to learn/acquire knowledge (knowledge sharing and learning is an interactive process, a continuum). In organizational context this leads to an increase in individual capital (which consists of social, cultural, and economic capital), which in turn increases the innovativeness/innovative behavior of individuals and teams in an organization. Eventually this can create a firm specific advantage which will boost (long term) organizational performance. Hence, the management implication is to stimulate a sense of community by treating subordinates as equals, and promote the sharing of knowledge. In this, a good manager leads by example. With the way a manager treats and implements the humanness approach, however, the country and cultural context should be taken into consideration. Country/culture seems to influence the likelihood of the presence of a humanness management style, and/or to demand different approaches to the humanness concept.