(Apologies for cross-postings)

Philosophy of Management

CALL FOR PAPERS

SPECIAL ISSUE: AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY OF MANAGEMENT

Guest Editors: David W. Lutz (Catholic University of Eastern Africa) and
Peter John Opio (University of East London)


Rationale

In the half-century since African nations gained political independence, a
rich body of African philosophy has been produced. While there is much
diversity within this body of literature, there is also a consensus that
traditional African cultures differ in signifi-cant respects from modern
Western cultures. Nevertheless, the management theories offered to African
managers and students of management in African business schools and the core
texts are predominantly Western. One obstacle to practising African
man-agement in a manner that is both productive and consistent with African
cultural tradi-tions is the mismatch between African cultures and management
theories that are taught and prescribed in Africa, but that were developed
within and for quite different cultures. Research in African philosophy of
management can make a significant contribution to the existing literature in
African philosophy and management, as well as to the practice of African
management.

Although a substantial body of African business ethics literature already
exists, it is, like management theories, based largely on Western ontology.
The impact of these ethical theories on the practice of management in Africa
is negligible. Most business ethics literature either takes management
theory for granted and concerns itself with the moral dilemmas of managing
according to existing theories, or argues that some management theory is
unethical. There is, in any case, a significant difference between business
ethics and philosophy of management – just as there is a difference between
medical ethics and philosophy of medicine, or between legal ethics and
jurisprudence. Philoso-phy of management is concerned with the foundational
principles underlying the theory and practice of management, rooted in a
specific world-view. A practice of management relevant to the African
situation requires re-examining the relationship between phi-losophy and
management within African cultures.

The practice of business management in Africa involves not only management
in in-digenous African firms, but also management, by both Africans and
non-Africans, within African subsidiaries of multinational corporations
headquartered outside Africa. Furthermore, there are significant differences
between Anglo-Saxon, Continental-European and Asian multinational
corporations. While the contrast between Anglo-Saxon individualism and
African communalism is stark, the differences between Afri-can and
Continental-European, or between African and Asian cultures are more subtle.
There are, consequently, opportunities for research in the philosophy of
managing within African subsidiaries of non-African corporations.


Scope

This special issue aims to assemble papers that explore the relationships
between Afri-can philosophy and management and the implications thereof for
the practice of man-agement in Africa.

While the primary focus will be on the philosophy of sub-Saharan Africa,
papers about North Africa will be welcomed, as long as they address the
theme.

Philosophy of management includes the management of both commercial and
non-commercial organisations.

Philosophy of management includes not only the relationship between
management and moral philosophy, but also the relationship between
management and other branches of philosophy: ontology, epistemology,
philosophy of language, etc.

Although we encourage the integration of empirical findings and reflections
on the praxis of African management into the papers, they should be
primarily philosophi-cal/reflective in nature. Papers that merely describe
African managerial practices, with-out conceptual depth and philosophical
analysis, will not be considered for publication.

Papers are called for offering fresh philosophical treatment of African
philosophy of management in areas such as the following:

¨	The ontology of the African firm
¨	The contemporary relevance of African traditional cultures to the
practice of man-agement in Africa
¨	The relationship between African traditional cultures and
organisational culture
¨	Mismatches between Anglo-American management theory and African
cultures
¨	The philosophy of management within African subsidiaries of
non-African corpora-tions
¨	The philosophy of managing African governmental, educational or
other non-profit institutions
¨	African philosophy and human resource practices, leadership,
marketing, finance, or some other particular aspect of management

The above list is purely illustrative.


Contributions

Contributors are asked to send paper proposals with abstracts. In case the
proposal is provisionally accepted, the contributor will be asked to submit
a full paper draft for peer-review.

Proposed contributions will be welcome in the form of

·	Papers (3,000-7,000 words)
·	Book Reviews (750-1,500 words)

Proposals for literature reviews will also be considered.


Timetable

Proposals with abstracts	Due by Friday 29 January 2010

Provisional acceptances		Notified by Friday 19 February 2010

Drafts for refereeing		Due by Friday 21 May 2010

Referee reports 			Friday 20 August 2010

Final drafts			Due by Friday 8 October 2010

Publication				Spring 2011


Please send proposals, abstracts, papers and any enquiries to:

Dr. David W. Lutz
Email: [log in to unmask]
Phone: +254 722 467040

Submissions should be sent by email attachment (Word or RTF format). Please
provide a separate brief resume of the author(s) and full address for
correspondence, including phone, fax and email.

Full author guidelines for paper layout and referencing are at:
http://www.managementphilosophers.com/Getting%20Published.htm


Guest Editors: Dr. David W. Lutz (Catholic University of Eastern Africa) and
Dr. Peter John Opio (University of East London)

David W. Lutz received his MBA and Ph.D. in philosophy from the University
of Notre Dame. He is Senior Lecturer in Philosophy and Management at the
Catholic University of Eastern Africa (Nairobi), where he also founded the
University’s MBA Programme. He co-edited, with Paul Mimbi, Shareholder Value
and the Common Good and trans-lated Peter Koslowski’s Prinzipien der
Ethischen Ökonomie/Principles of Ethical Econ-omy into English. He has
published articles in moral theory, military ethics, bioethics and business
ethics, and has worked as a management consultant in Estonia.

Peter John Opio is Senior Lecturer in Strategy and International Business
and Pro-gramme Head, M.Sc. Programme in International Business Management at
the Univer-sity of East London. Previously he was Dean of Business at Uganda
Martyrs University and Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academics at Kampala
International University (Uganda). He received his MBA from the University
of Hull and his Ph.D. in philoso-phy from the Katholieke Universiteit
Leuven. He has published several articles on business and development
ethics, corporate governance and strategy.


Philosophy of Management 

Founded in 2001, Philosophy of Management is the established forum for
philosophi-cally informed thinking about management in theory and practice.
It seeks to define and develop the field of philosophy of management. The
Journal is read by thinkers, schol-ars, teachers, consultants and
practitioners in 20 countries. It is for philosophers work-ing in all
traditions, for management thinkers concerned with the philosophical
founda-tions and validity of their subject and practising managers seeking
to engage with the philosophical issues raised by what they believe and do.
Contributors have included some of the world’s leading philosophers,
management scholars, consultants and man-agers. It is independent,
international, refereed and appears three times each year. 

Full details at www.managementphilosophers.com

PLEASE FORWARD THIS TO ANYONE WHO MIGHT BE INTERESTED. THANK YOU.

Nigel Laurie
Editor and Publisher
Philosophy of Management
PO Box 217
Oxted
Surrey RH8 8AJ
UK