UBUNTU

I didn’t know much about Africans culture; just that they influenced countries like Cuba, Argentina, Dominican Republic and others countries in America; in northern there were many empires, like: Egypt, Cartago, Roma and the Islam; Nowadays China and United States are countries very interest in Africa because of their oil and antiterrorist.

Now that I have read "Building Competitive advantages from Ubuntu: Management lessons from South Africa", I have many arguments to explain their behavior in companies and their lives. First, lets define UBUNTU: “can be defined as humaneness- a perceive spirit of caring and community, harmony and hospitality, respect and responsiveness- that individuals and groups display for one another” (Mangaliso, P. Mzamo, (2001) Building competitive advantage from UBUNTU: Management lessons from South Africa, Academy of Management Executive, vol 15 no 3, pag 24).

This philosophical thought system explains the Africans behavior, including their culture, religion, values, mythology, and the importance of being a human and be treated as well; in all places and situations. These are important factors that managers in companies pay attention at first, but with the pass of the years they start to act forgetting their employees and their requirements. UBUNTU explain us how to create a successful workplace and how to learn and practice it in companies.

The relationships with others in UBUNTU are key concepts; norms are exchanges, maintaining close relations and ignoring self interests. Managers must respect the different cultures, for example, UBUNTU considers kinship ties very important, they treat people, including the ones that have not blood ties, like their family; the presence and the respect of this thought, creates an emotional and psychological support to workers.

Create an environment full of peace and productivity between every member of the company, makes more easily the coexistence and the development of labors; that’s why learn and know the people who are working with us is fundamental, everybody wants to be treat as a human like I said before, employees that don’t have high employments are also important people to the company and their opinions must be listened by their managers.

Managers have to “educate” their employees to do a better job, not shouting them, or giving strict punishments; teaching to love their jobs, getting to the company on time, doing their labors quickly and well done, giving them a treat fairly, giving them a space to say what they think to help to the growth of the company and the most important, making them feel important people, because they are.