Understanding Organizational Sustainability Through African Proverbs: Insights for Leaders and Facilitators
Author: Chiku Malunga and Charles Banda
Published: January 2011
Publisher: Practical Action
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1853396524
African cultural heritage, passed on from generation to generation, has been a source of guidance for African communities in times of peace, uncertainty, birth, life and earth. In Understanding Organizational Sustainability Through African Proverbs, the power of traditional wisdom contained in African proverbs is directed at organizational development and change. The result is a fresh new perspective on organizational management with important lessons for organizational leaders, consultants, volunteers and expatriates working or preparing to work in Africa. By discovering the power of African proverbs, readers are rewarded with new and creative ways to communicate organizational improvement efforts in a language that touches peoples hearts and motivates them to personal and organizational transformation. The book specifically addresses the needs of leaders and consultants implementing performance improvement and organizational change and contains proverb-driven assessment templates.
What people have said about the book
"The idea of using African proverbs could be the innovative alternative to the current standard practices because proverbs challenge people's values, behaviors and attitudes which are core ingredients for lasting change" Pappie Mokoena, Mayor of Pretoria
"Using African Proverbs as a tool for development offers an immense potential for institutional development as proverbs have the ability to connect people to their deeply held values" Professor Coraile Bryant, Columbia State University
"I was facilitating a leadership development workshop with a group of senior executives from Nigeria . I used some proverbs on leadership from, 'Understanding Organizational Sustainability through African Proverbs: Insights for Leaders and Facilitators'. The senior executives were able to identify the proverbs and their equivalents in their local languages! The proverbs greatly facilitated the process". Chuck Phillips, Organization Development Practitioner, Reddy.Phillips, An American Organization Development Consultancy Firm
"The Use of African Proverbs as a tool for institutional capacity building is a breakthrough discovery ushering us into a new era of development practice" A patron at the launch of ‘Understanding Organizational Sustainability through African Proverbs
"I am reading your book – a true indigenous approach to development. I have not come across a development resource material that contextualises my Malawian world (as does this one)" Gertrude Kabwazi, Development Practitioner, Projects Office, CCAP, Blantyre Synod
"It sounds great" Robert Chambers, IDS