The effects of culture on management practices in the public service organisations in the Southern Sudan

Madut, Andrew Malek (1986) The effects of culture on management practices in the public service organisations in the Southern Sudan. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

This research is an investigation into the effects of culture on management practices. The investigation centres primarily in the theory of culture patterns. It illustrates how the behaviour patterns are formed through socialization in the institutions of the society, and how they are transmitted into an organizational environment through the individual member's attitudes, perceptions, interpretations and interaction with one another. The objective of the investigation is to understand the mechanics of the effects of culture in management practices, so that complementary theories, techniques and practices can be developed to avoid conflict of culture and management practices. The absence of conflict between culture and management practices can create a desirable atmosphere for organizational efficiency and effectiveness.

The research uses a phenomenologically-based method in investigating the conflict of culture and management practices. The essential feature in the phenomenologically-based research method is in the understanding of the individual subjective experience as a source of knowledge about the subject or the phenomena of investigation. In this research the subjective experiences of eight senior local government administrators from the Southern Sudan are used to illustrate the conflict of culture and management practices in public service organizations in that environment.

The research concludes that the conflict of culture and management practices can be resolved by doing the following two things: First, by identifying the forces of divergence and convergence in the cultural and organizational environment. Second, by reducing the process of cultural and organizational divergence in order to achieve a considerable convergence through a mutually-inclusive model that accommodates both the local culture and the local organizational interest.

• Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Subjects: H Social Sciences > HB Economic Theory
• Colleges/Schools: College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Sociology Anthropology and Applied Social Sciences
• Supervisor's Name: Huczynski, Dr. Andrzej A. and Mair, Mr Robert
• Date of Award: 1986
• Depositing User: Angi Shields
• Unique ID: glathesis:1986-4511
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 06 Aug 2013 13:20
• Last Modified: 07 Aug 2013 10:19
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/4511