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Paradox beyond East/West orthodoxy: the case of Ubuntu
Umeå University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Umeå School of Business and Economics (USBE), Business Administration.ORCID iD: 0000-0001-5564-360X
UTS Business School, Sydney, Australia.
2021 (English)In: Interdisciplinary dialogues on organizational paradox: learning from belief and science, part A, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 2021, p. 29-50Chapter in book (Refereed)
Abstract [en]

That life is inundated with constant push-pull between contradictory demands is indisputable. Different traditions and worldviews inform individuals’ approaches to dealing with the ensuing paradoxes. However, the literature has focused on Western and Eastern philosophies and traditions, while disregarding others such as the Afro-centric. In this chapter, we explore Ubuntu, an Afro-centric tradition, as an alternative philosophical underpinning that can inform the nature of paradoxes. Doing so enriches the understanding, problematizing and managing of paradoxes. Central to Ubuntu is otherness: the emphasis on the need of the other that implies focusing on the other; in doing so, the polarities of diverse needs are accommodated, striving for an ultimate goal of harmony. Moreover, we elaborate on the hybrid space where collapsing the East-West and the West and non-west dualism allows engagement with a multiplicity of worldviews. In so doing, we expand paradox theorizing beyond the orthodoxy of East and West antinomies and challenge the basic assumption in paradox management by asking the question: what if we start from others’ demands?

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 2021. p. 29-50
Series
Research in the sociology of organizations, ISSN 0733-558X ; 73a
Keywords [en]
Paradox theory, Ubuntu, Afrocentric view, Otherness
National Category
Business Administration
Research subject
Business Studies
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-169830DOI: 10.1108/S0733-558X2021000073a004ISI: 000830567200003Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85108797024ISBN: 978-1-80117-184-7 (print)ISBN: 978-1-80117-183-0 (electronic)OAI: oai:DiVA.org:umu-169830DiVA, id: diva2:1425557
Available from: 2020-04-21 Created: 2020-04-21 Last updated: 2025-04-24Bibliographically approved

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Gaim, Medhanie

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CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • vancouver
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf