Communities in South America have long lasting structures
To improve an enterprise does not necessary mean to implement new structures and get rid of all the old ones. It means to keep the best traditional practices and add useful ones.It is interesting to look at different organizations in order to find out why their structure is lasting through decades. A very special case is the prevalence of native communities in Southern America. As native or indigenous we understand groups of people that still use traditional cultural habits that differ from the main culture in the country. Through various changes in the political and economic situations of their country, still indigenous community organizations were able to adapt without losing their basic principles. Next to the big urban cities in Latin American countries, native communities are still a form of organization that proved to last. We are not going to look at it from a political perspective, but we want to think about it in a way of organizational theory.
So we want to ask, what incentives can native communities provide for a modern management?
Everybody is asked to contribute
One of the very interesting principles that are present in a lot of indigenous communities is the principle of consensus. This means that decisions are not only found by a simple election or made by one person, but every member of the community can express his or her concern and others are trying to convince him. In a business situation, this is not possible, because decisions have to be made quickly and some hierarchies have to exist in order to run a business. But one of the effects of the consensus is highly interesting. It ensures solidarity between the members and all of them identify with the community and respect it. This is something we can also wish for in a business.Provide an open space for discussion
If we look at how consensus is achieved in native communities, we will find that transparency and openness is very important for the communication. Almost every indigenous community has its own city hall, where everybody can fit in. These halls have a small stage, even a microphone and a lot of chairs. Normally the community hall is the biggest building in the village.
When decisions have to be taken, all people are participating in the meeting and hear all of the arguments. If somebody has a strong concern, he has the opportunity to discuss it. Therefore, the decisions the community makes are very well-thought-out, since not only one person’s knowledge is involved, but the knowledge of the entire community. In the end, every member understands why decisions are made and decisions are taken on a very profound evaluation.
Good management engages people
A business can do that too: If we think of the city hall as a place to meet where open discussion is possible this is exactly what social networking tries to provide. If we now have open topics and allow everybody to utter his or her concern, then we will have a similar effect. Every person has an easy way of contributing and is able to see the arguments of others. He knows that his opinion is respected and therefore is motivated to engage in the problems of the businesses. Workers understand decisions have transparency and furthermore are able to contribute special knowledge.
So as conclusion we can see that a good management relies on the involvement of the whole group. For businesses social technologies can provide what indigenous city halls provide. Time to get started with it.
