PLACE IN RETURN BOX to remove this checkout from your record. TO AVOID FINES return on or before due due. DATE DUE DATE DUE DATE DUE] . . d . 5’ t! — — _ “75“;7‘,‘ L4: ‘; , A- k”. ,‘ __ 1' —--1| MSU Is An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Institution cWMMS-nt COMMUNICATION AND MANAGEMENT IN INTERCULTURAL DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE: A CASE STUDY OF ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE IN KENYA By James F. Ulrich, Jr. A DISSERTATION Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Educational Administration 1988 ABSTRACT COMMUNICATION AND MANAGEMENT IN INTERCULTURAL DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE: A CASE STUDY OF ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE IN KENYA By James F. Ulrich, Jr. Development planners in national organizations and those in international agencies often have different purposes and different frames of reference for the development planning process and their relationships with one another. When cultural differences between members of two or more cooperating agencies are great, so is the potential for dysfunction in communication about, planning for, and management of joint efforts. This study sought to understand the different operational assumptions and purposes of development planning in the Nakuru (Kenya) Laymen Association (NLA), an African voluntary association engaged in agricultural extension and rural community development activities, by studying its organizational culture. The research encompassed three modes of inquiry: (1) formal interviews of five Western development assistance volunteers who worked with the NLA; (2) ethnographic inquiry through participant observation; and (3) formal interviews of five NLA leaders. The purpose of each mode was, respectively, to: (1) identify types and sources of communication dysfunction and management disarticulation problems-~as perceived by the Westerners; (2) describe cultural approaches to project planning, personnel management, organizational development, and interorganizational relations (IOR) indigenous to the NLA; and (3) identify ways to promote greater intercultural understanding and more effective forms of partnership between Western development assistance workers, their sponsoring agencies, and members of their host organization in settings sharing features in common with the one studied. Significant findings for each mode of inquiry included (1) a taxonomy of perceived dysfunctions in intercultural development assistance; (2) striking parallels between the structure of the NLA’s councils and the traditional Kikuyu .kzgmg; a strong emphasis on protocol in IOR; a reactive, "noncrisis" management style; an hierarchical and paternal style of personnel management; considerable circumspection concerning presentation of the organization; and (3) suggestions both for Western and African agency personnel seeking more synergistic forms of cooperation. Methodological findings suggested that: the duration of participant observation of voluntary associations be gauged to organizational life cycles, such as from election to election, rather than a calendrical cycle; extended metaphors as opposed merely to proverbs be studied for cultural themes; and dilemma posing be considered a suitable technique for eliciting ethnographic data. TO BETHANY, JONATHAN, AND DARLENE iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Writing a research report such as this one is a humbling experience, because it forces one to realize not only how little he knows, but also how much of what he has managed to learn he owes to others. To those who helped shape my research study and, more significantly, me--I owe my deepest appreciation. First and foremost, I wish to thank the members and associates of the Nakuru Laymen Association for extending to me an invitation to work with them, for allowing me to participate with them in their organizational life, and for sharing their deeper selves with me in friendship. I will always be grateful to the Laymen for the hospitality with which they welcomed me and my family; the generosity they showed in giving of themselves, their time, and their vision; and for the trust they placed in me. I am grateful, too, to the leaders of the Africa Inland Church (AIC) for the privilege of working with the AIC in Nakuru District. A special word of appreciation is owed the five Westerners who participated as informants for the mini-case studies; their willingness to reflect upon their experiences and learn from them contributed greatly to the relevance and value of the entire research study. This research and, indeed, all of my doctoral studies at Michigan State University (MSU) would not have been possible without the National Resource Foreign Language and Area Studies (U.S. Department of Education, Title VI) grant awarded to me and administered by MSU’s African Studies Center from 1981 to 1984; a portion of the fellowship enabled me to study Swahili and Kikuyu at MSU. I also acknowledge with gratitude the kind assistance, helpful insights and prodding questions of Joshua Akong’a of the University of Nairobi’s Institute of African Studies, with which I was affiliated during my sojourn in Kenya. Finally, I benefitted greatly from the advice and encouragement of my guidance committee members and appreciate the influence on both me and the study each member had: Ted Ward, for helping to shape the initial research design; Joe Levine, for giving me a vision for and role model of the liberating potential and power of education; Gene deBenko, for his intercultural and truly global perspectives; Frank Fear, for stimulating critical thought about developmental processes and helping me dare to be a change agent; and Alemu Beeftu, for his wisdom, for his understanding of intercultural relations, and especially for his friendship. James F. Ulrich, Jr. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables . List of Figures Key to Abbreviations . QUARTER I. II. THE PROBLEM Introduction . . Research Questions . Modes of Inquiry . . Purposes of the Study Importance of the Study Background of the Study Specific Points of Inquiry . Case Study Approach . The Organizational Setting : Tripartite Research Strategy Mini-Case Studies . . Ethnographic Strategy Formal Interviews . . Population Descriptions . Assumptions . . Limitations of the Study . Problem Statement Summary Definition of Key Terms PRECEDENTS IN RESEARCH . Research on Organizations Sociological Foundations Comparative Management Studies. Anthropological Foundations . vii xi xii xiii WEB Kikuyu Ethnographies . . . Precedents in Research Methodology . Ethnographic Inquiry . . . Data Collection Techniques III. METHODOLOGY Mini- -Case Studies Methodology Purpose . . Informant Population Selection . . . Inquiry Procedure . . . Relation to Research Question . Ethnographic Study Methodology . . Overview of Ethnographic Methods Purposes of Ethnography Processes in Ethnography Products of Ethnographic Research. Strategies Pursued . . Researcher Entry and Role Observation Settings . Informants . . . . Data Gathering . Fieldnotes Documents . . Informal Interviews . . Elicitation Techniques Data Analysis . . Direction of Inquiry Theoretical Interests Mini-Case Studies Concerns . Initial Domain Analysis Corroboration of Analysis Relation to Research Question . Methodology for Formal Interviews Purpose . . Population . . Informant Selection . Inquiry Procedure . . . Relation to Research Question . Methodological Issues . . Research Time Parameters Social and Ethical Issues . . . Data Reliability and Validity . viii 40 41 43 W IV. FINDINGS . Findings from the Mini-Case Studies Ethnographic Findings . . . . Introduction Description of NLA Organizational Culture : The Council (Chama) . . Administrative Structure Meetings . . . . Order of Business . Respecting the Council Intercouncil Protocol Management of Events . . Noncrisis Orientation . Agenda . . Decision-Making Style . Correspondence and Reports Finances . Organizational Development Management of Personnel . Recruitment . . . Role Distinctions . Task Definition . Supervision . Discipline . Presentation of the Organization . NLA Self-Respect . . Respect for Others’ Face Avoidance Behaviors . . Group Loyalty and Discipline Circumspection . Findings from Interviews of NLA Members Suggestions for Westerners . . . Suggestions for African Leaders . Integrative Summary . . NLA Organizational Dynamics . Intercultural Tensions Toward Resolution . . Methodological Findings . . On Participant Observation On Proverb Analysis . On Dilemma Posing . Summary . . ix 172 ms V. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS Conclusions . Implications Policy-Level Implications Implications for Administrators Implications for Sojourners . . Implications for Intercultural Trainers Implications for African Leaders . Recommendations for Further Research GLOSSARIES Glossary of Swahili Terms . Glossary of Kikuyu Terms APPENDICES Appendix A: NLA Self-Description . Appendix B: FSK Self- -Description . Appendix C: NLA Constitution . . . Appendix D: Schedule for Interviews of Western Development Assistance Workers Appendix E-l Mini-Case One: David A. Appendix E-2 Mini-Case Two: Peter H. Appendix E-3 Mini-Case Three: Susan C. Appendix E-4 Mini- -Case Four: Wendell S. Appendix E-S Mini- Case Five: Stan B. . Appendix F: Chronology of Researcher-NLA Relations . . Appendix G: Dilemmas Posed to Informants . Appendix H: Schedule for Formal Interviews of NLA Leaders . Appendix 1: Types of Meeting Agenda . Appendix J: Informants’ Views of Westerners BIBLIOGRAPHY . 173 173 175 179 180 183 184 186 189 193 194 . 200 202 207 I 209 211 I 213 215 I 218 219 I 220 222 225 230 LIST OF TABLES TITLE Research Questions, Modes of Inquiry, and Purposes . . . . . . Taxonomy of Dysfunctions in Intercultural Cooperation . Informant Suggestions to Expatriate Development Workers . . . . . Informant Suggestions to Indigenous Development Planners xi 24 85 154 156 LIST OF FIGURES TITLE NLA Draft Organizational Chart xii 90 AGM . AIC . AIM . DCC . FSK . LTC . NLA . KEY TO ABBREVIATIONS . Annual General Meeting . Africa Inland Church . Africa Inland Mission . District Church Council . Farming Systems Kenya Laymen Training Centre . Nakuru Laymen Association xiii CHAPTER ONE THE PROBLEM o uc 0 Development planners in national organizations and those in international agencies often have different purposes and different frames of reference not only for the development planning process but also for their relationships with one another. When cultural differences between members of two or more cooperating agencies are great, so too is the potential for dysfunction in communication about, planning for, and management of joint efforts. In the international corporate world, such dysfunction can result in frustration, delays, lost opportunities and lost profits (Brislin 1981:228-270). In the world of multilateral development assistance, other potential consequences of such difficulties are under- utilization and misuse of human and material resources; the undermining of trust among the agencies’ staffs, clienteles, and constituencies; and the implementation of ineffective or inappropriate programs. If planning is seen as a process conditioned by cultural values through socialization, then it is inevitable 2 that development planners working across cultures will have different operational assumptions and purposes in the planning process. The urban-based cultures of academicians and intercultural development practitioners are quite distinct from the culture of a rural people in a particular place-~which should be the "true centre of attention and learning” (Chambers 1983:46). The problem can be especially acute when development assistance workers from a more technologically advanced country-~such as the United States--attempt to work with leaders of local development organizations located, for example, in rural Africa. Western approaches to planning are future-oriented, rationalistic and scientific in their demand for explicitness and measurability. Traditional African patterns of thought, by contrast, are set in different time scales, do not separate ideas (such as plans) from people and reality, and are less inclined to reflect critically on established theories and categories (Horton 1970). The size of this gap in approaches to planning varies from situation to situation, but is both real and inescapable nonetheless. Current conceptions of rural and community development implicitly include aspects of intentionality: development is a process of planned change toward desirable goals. But indigenous leaders and managers of social development may well view the planning process differently than outsiders seeking to lend--also with intentionality--their assistance. 3 When interactions between local development planners and outside experts or development workers are intercultural, one may expect some dysfunction to occur throughout most, if not all, phases of their association. The "presenting symptoms" of such assumed dysfunction include, but are not limited to, the following: 0difficulties in negotiating forms of partnership, terms of relationship and exchange of personnel; Clack of information about the recipient organization’s program goals; program and personnel needs; available resources; future plans and modes of planning, monitoring, and evaluating organizational programs; and omisunderstandings over support services to be provided to development assistance workers by the host organization. No doubt other types of dysfunctions occur in forms of interagency collaboration which are not specifically intercultural in nature. This study is primarily concerned, however, with dysfunctions arising because of differing cultural expectations held by partner agencies for their cooperative relationship and efforts. When intercultural dysfunctions overlap with other assumed sources of dysfunctions (e.g., distance barriers to interorganizational communication), an inclusive--rather than exclusive--view of intercultural problems was adopted. We The study sought to answer the following questions: (1) What specific forms of communication and management dysfunctions has a sample of (2) (3) 4 Western development workers attempting to work with the selected African organization perceived? What are the central themes in the culture of the organization studied, and how are these themes expressed in the leaders’ management and communication activities (especially those which are intercultural in nature)? How can Western development agency leaders and agents and leaders of indigenous develop- ment organizations in Africa minimize dysfunctions due to the intercultural nature of their relationship? ModssJLInsuirr Corresponding to these three research questions, three modes of inquiry were employed: (1) (2) (3) formal interviews of individual, Western development assistance workers who worked with the organization studied; participant observation by the researcher over an extended time; document analysis; selected, directive interviews of informants focussed upon situations involving inter- organizational relations, program planning, personnel management, and organizational development; proverb analysis and dilemma posing; and formal interviews of leaders of the organization studied. Wand! The purpose of each mode of inquiry, respectively, of the research described herein was to: (1) identify types and sources of communication dysfunction and management disarticulation problems-~as perceived by Western development assistance workers in a particular African situation; 5 (2) describe patterns of planning and organizing indigenous to a particular African organization as the patterns relate to identified communication and management problems; and (3) identify ways to promote greater intercultural understanding and more effective forms of partnership between Western development assistance workers and members of their host organization in situations sharing features in common with the one studied. 0 t t d Planning is an activity whose assumptions, forms and expected outcomes are all shaped by cultural values and serve socially defined purposes. Westerners take for granted the various aspects of and steps in the planning process such as: problem definition, goal articulation, generation of possible courses of action, evaluation of proposed solutions, selection of a preferred solution, and setting criteria for measuring success. Implicit in such activities are concerns for objectivity, precision, explicitness, efficiency, effectiveness, and progress--all characteristic of a Western, scientific worldview. Non-Westerners also plan, but their activities may be more prominently shaped, for example, by concerns for maintaining good relations among planning participants, for conserving traditional values, and for saving face. Neither approach to planning is inherently better than the other; each is better understood against its own backdrop of cultural values and patterns of behavior. 6 Of course, not only are the underlying assumptions about, and purposes of, planning thus culturally conditioned, but also the specific behaviors of individuals engaged in planning activities are culturally shaped. The way in which potential solutions are evaluated by Westerners may be by open discussion; how a preferred solution is adopted in the West may be by majority vote. In non-Western societies, such discussions may be held in private, and consensus may be achieved by following the lead of a respected leader. How people view the planning process and how planning is actually accomplished are culturally relative and therefore worthy objects of intercultural study. Furthermore, when planners from one culture work with planners from another culture, their cooperation is beset by many pitfalls. The outcome of such intercultural efforts are affected by the way in which their relationship has evolved, what roles have been defined for or assigned to the respective actors, the level of mutual trust attained, resistance to an outside change agency and other such factors. Above all these considerations is the inability of members of one culture to foresee in the planning stage undesirable impacts of a proposed program once it is implemented in a foreign culture setting (Salih 1986). The difficulty indigenous planners have in foreseeing undesirable consequences of development programs in their 7 own culture point to a lesson for every external change agent: not only learn the culture in which project impacts will be felt, but also, at the same time, learn the organizational culture and the ways in which plans are formulated and carried out. c nd Studies which have dealt with the problem described above and similar problems are almost entirely interdisciplinary in nature. Brief mention of several types of research into this problem area is made here. W. The field of cross-cultural psychology recognizes and studies the cultural determinants of behavior. While many of the studies in this field deal with basic psychological processes (e.g., perception, cognition) or developmental psychology (language acquisition, personality development), studies in cross-cultural social psychology prove more relevant-- especially those focussing on organizational psychology and behavior. Differences between Western, legal-rational organizations and non-Western organizations have been studied with particular reference to differing interrelationships with organizational members’ habits, skills, and cognitive styles (Tannenbaum 1980). ,Sggiglggz_gf_grganizatign§. Sociological research on organizations has focussed on a number of aspects of organizations--particularly complex, formal organizations: 8 organizational leadership and authority, organizational structures, motivational systems, participation patterns, environmental conditions and organizational effectiveness (Knoke and Prensky 1982). Classical organization theories, human relations theories, and open-system or contingency models of organizations--all offer useful tools for organizational analysis, although different theories have decidedly different orientations and applications. The problem studied herein emerges less from a classical approach to organizational structures or a human relations approach to behavior; rather, it is in the open-system approach’s study of the interaction between an organization and its environment that problems of organizational dysfunction have been most fruitfully analyzed (Kassem 1977). The open-system approach has not only acknowledged most explicitly the importance of culture as an environmental variable in the study of organizations, but also noted the existence of organizational culture and emphasized the study of salient features of organizational cultures and their effects on organizational outcomes. Anthrgpglggy. Problems of organizational dysfunction have also been studied through anthropological modes of research. Ethnographic analyses of varying types have been used to describe organizational culture, to identify "rules of organizational behavior,‘ and to uncover "native-views" of organizational cultures and subcultures (cf. Pettigrew 9 1979, Schall 1983, Gregory 1984). Participant observation and unobtrusive measures are primary means by which researchers have entered the realm of organizational culture, though ethnographic researchers are by no means undifferentiated in their assumptions and approaches (Sanday 1979). Culture is recognized not only as something an organization bag, but also as something an organization is (Smircich 1983a). Definitions of culture vary among cognitive, symbolic, and structural cultural anthropolo- gists; corresponding to this variation, organizational ethnographies focus on shared knowledge (Goodenough 1971, Agar 1982), systems of shared meanings (Geertz 1973), and organizational expressions of the mind’s unconscious operation (Rossi and O’Higgins 1980). In all of these approaches, culture is a root metaphor for organization as a particular form of human expression (Smircich 1983a). Social organizations do not exist independently of the people who create them through patterns of symbolic relationships and meanings. Social interactions, and dysfunctions therein, are products of symbolic expressions arising from specific contexts and bringing to the surface underlying values. figmparatix§_manag§mgnt. Comparative and cross-cultural research on management examines the behavior of people interacting between and within organizations around the world (Adler et al. 1986:296). Its typically applied focus seeks to help managers understand organizational behavior 10 across cultures and improve organizational effectiveness. A primary concern in comparative management is the nature of the role that culture plays in shaping the behavior of organizational members. Contemporary concerns in comparative management include organizational culture in multinational corporations, interorganizational relations, and cultural synergism. W Case Study Approach In order to study the problem described above in a way that would contribute both to theory-building and improved understanding for intercultural practitioners, a case study approach was used. In particular, relations between the Nakuru Laymen Association1 (NLA) of Nakuru, Kenya and selected, Western development assistance workers who had been associated with the NLA provided the focal point of the research. Although case studies are of limited value in terms of generalizability, they are necessary in the process of 1 The official name, according to its Constitution, is "Africa Inland Church Nakuru District Laymen Association," but is abbreviated throughout this report simply as the "NLA." In 1986, the NLA’s immediately superior governing body, the District Church Council, changed the NLA’s name to "Nakuru Lay People Fellowship." The NLA leaders did not immediately accept the change, however, and later began a process to appeal the decision. The name "Nakuru Laymen Association" (NLA) has been used throughout this report because it is the historic name of the organization by which it is still widely recognized both abroad and within Kenya. 11 building relevant theory. If it is accepted that voluntary, rural development organizations in Africa have received relatively little attention by social science researchers; that this type of organization is playing a significant role in selected contexts; and that such organizations can benefit from human and material assistance of Western development agency partners--then the case study approach is justified. Ihe_grganizgtigg§l_§§tting. The NLA is a voluntary association of the Africa Inland Church (AIC), Kenya and is under the authority of the AIC’s Nakuru District Church Council (DCC). Officially constituted in 1972, the organization is a fellowship of lay leaders of local AIC congregations, primarily from the Nakuru and Njoro Branches within Nakuru District. NLA members have a broad concern for rural community development with a specific focus on smallholder agricultural development and youth technical training. Members in the association include Directors, who are members of the NLA Planning Council--the executive governing body of the NLA, and all other dues-paying members. The Planning Council is made up of elected officers, appointed members, and ex-officio members. The Planning Council, in turn, has two other councils, or boards, under it: Farming Systems Kenya (FSK) Board and the Laymen Training Centre (LTC) Board. The first of these 12 oversees a church-sponsored agricultural extension program with its own personnel and budget. The LTC Board has oversight of the Laymen Training Centre, an unfinished building complex designed to include: a conference center, dormitories and a dispensary; the Githioro-ini Youth Polytechnic, a training institution patterned after other so-called "village polytechnics" already widespread in Kenya; and a demonstration farm, including a piggery.2 Further specific information about the NLA is contained in several documents generated by the organization’s members themselves. These are appended to this report as Appendix A, "NLA Self-Description,“ (including a section entitled "Development of Laymen Training Centre"); Appendix B, "FSK Self-Description"; and Appendix C, "NLA Constitution." An organizational chart of NLA administration and structure appears in Figure 1, "NLA Draft Organizational Chart" (below, p. 90). Tripartite Research Strategy A three-pronged approach was used to address the problem of perceived dysfunctions in intercultural development assistance. These consisted of mini-case studies 2 During most of the research observation period, the LTC Board delegated management of the demonstration farm to FSK. Since the LTC was not operational, in effect the LTC Board functioned exclusively as the management committee for the Githioro-ini Youth Polytechnic. Nevertheless, the LTC was a distinct entity in the minds of the NLA Directors and was only temporarily identified solely with the Polytechnic. 13 based on interviews of Western development assistance workers, an ethnographic study of NLA organizational culture, and formal interviews with NLA leaders. They are discussed briefly, in turn, below. Mini;Q§§§_§tudi§§. The initial mode of research focussed on Western development assistance workers and their perceptions of communication and management dysfunctions in their relationships with the NLA. Western informants were asked how they established contact with the NLA, what forms of communication they had with the NLA, and what difficulties or frustrations they encountered in their sojourn experience working with the NLA (cf. Appendix D). The purpose of these interviews was to identify types of dysfunctions perceived by the Westerners in order to focus on specific aspects of NLA organizational culture in the second, ethnographic mode of inquiry. Findings from the mini-case studies are summarized in Table 2, "Taxonomy of Dysfunctions in Intercultural Cooperation" (below, p. 85). Ethnograph1g_§§r§1§gy. Despite the need for "grounded theory" and for refraining from imposing a foreign interpretive framework from the start (Glaser and Strauss 1967), a research strategy which also recognizes the need for clarity and focus may wisely adopt a preliminary framework if it is recognized as rough and revisable (Miles 1979). 14 For the ethnographic study of NLA organizational culture, the study adopted one such framework to guide the initial inquiry. A model of organizational planning was used in which planning is seen as an activity with identifiable-- though not necessarily discrete--stages: problem recognition and definition, goal setting (including specification of criteria to be met by the solution adopted), identification of planning premises, generation of alternate solutions, evaluation of possible solutions, and selection of the best course of action (cf. Koontz 1980:172-177; Filley, House and Kerr 1976:447-450). Another focus of the study was to identify patterns of behavior for each planning stage in the normal course of organizational business, including decisions about program implementation, personnel management, interorganizational relations, and the development of the organization itself. Some of the specific questions to which answers were sought include the following: (1) How are problems in any of the areas mentioned above recognized? How are they brought to the group’s attention? How is the importance of a particular problem assessed? (2) How are criteria for acceptable solutions identified? How are goals for the solution of problems prioritized? What time orientation underlies goal setting? (3) How are environmental constraints and other planning premises identified? (4) How are alternate solutions generated and proposed? 15 (5) How are possible solutions critiqued and evaluated? What group dynamics pertain? (8) How is consensus for a particular course of action obtained? What forms does dissent take and what are its consequences? (7) How do leaders of the NLA view the planning process itself? Are they conscious of any pre-defined steps in a planning process? What approach do they take to planning nonformal education and rural development activities, and what are the cultural values which underlie that approach? (8) How do the leaders of the NLA view development? How are these views reflected in the leaders’ approaches to planning development activities? (9) What forms of communication do the NLA leaders use and attend to in different types of planning activities and other organizational matters? The ethnographic inquiry was also informed through the early completion of the mini-case studies and what they revealed about specific planning, management and communication activities perceived by Westerners to be dysfunctional. Eggma;_intggxigg§. After the major portion of the ethnographic inquiry had been completed, selected informants were interviewed with respect to the third purpose of the study-~to identify ways to promote intercultural understanding and effective cooperation. Specifically, they were asked how Western development agents can adapt their behavior to function more effectively in their host organization. In addition, the NLA informants were asked to suggest ways that leaders such as themselves could minimize 16 dysfunctions in their intercultural contacts (cf. Appendix H, “Schedule for Formal Interviews of NLA Leaders"). Findings from these interviews are summarized in Table 3, "Informant Suggestions to Expatriate Development Workers" (pp. 154-155, below), and Table 4, "Informant Suggestions to Indigenous Development Planners" (p. 156, below). Population Descriptions The populations which were studied differed for the several modes of inquiry conducted. For the mini-case studies built around structured interviews, informants were Western development workers who had sojourned in Kenya for the purpose of assisting the NLA or one or more of its members. The population did not include any Western personnel of agencies which entered into various forms of partnership with the NLA but who did not sojourn in Nakuru. Five informants were interviewed of a total population of no more than twenty. The ethnographic inquiry used as primary informants the members of the NLA elected to the Planning Council or appointed to the subsidiary Boards of either the Laymen Training Centre or Farming Systems Kenya. Secondary informants were the other roughly fifty members of the NLA, plus ex-officio members, such as key AIC Church leaders in Nakuru District. The majority of primary informants for the ethnographic study were urbanized, educated Kikuyu businessmen or 17 commercial farmers. Most of the secondary informants were Kikuyu and Kalenjin farmers from the rural areas surrounding Nakuru town, although many of these had dual careers in the urban or rural nonfarm economy. Informants for the third mode of inquiry--formal interviews of NLA leaders--were the same as those in the primary informant population for the ethnographic study. W In order to aid the reader in understanding and interpreting the research methodology and findings reported below, a number of key assumptions which were made in the problem definition stage of the research are overtly stated _ at this point. An observation which precedes and underlies all of the following assumptions--and which is also noteworthy--is that the researcher and his intended audience are Westerners. The consequences of this fact are numerous. First, what is perceived as a problem or to be dysfunctional by Westerners may or may not be so perceived by non- Westerners. Whether the study will be seen by non-Westerners to be valuable, then, depends on the extent to which they are seeking to understand and collaborate more effectively in development efforts with Western partners. Second, the study followed the canons of Western social science research, not all of which are valued or seen as relevant by non-Westerners. And third, the ethnography was guided by theoretical interests and concerns of Westerners with a view 18 to helping other Westerners understand the organizational culture of an African voluntary association. Had an African conducted the study for an African audience, the findings would have been understandably different due to presumably different concerns and research interests. The theoretical constructs which were employed in the problem identification above commit the research to follow certain given lines of inquiry within prevailing social science paradigms. For example, whether a cognitive, symbolic, or structural approach to ethnography is emphasized shapes the focus of field observation. This study used an holistic approach to field research (of. Ouchi and Wilkins 1985) grounded in participant observation but also employing formal interviews, proverb analysis, dilemma posing, and document analysis; the methodology was also semiotic, in part, due to a clear focus on informants’ perceptions of their organizational reality expressed in language. Similarly, whether a classical, open-system, or human relations view of organizations is adopted determines the types of questions asked about the organization studied and the types of phenomena to be observed, for example, in the planning and management of organizational activities, inter- organizational relations, and organizational development. The current study assumed an open-system view of organizations because of its greater suitability to studying 19 intercultural phenomena and their interactions with organizations. Organizations were further viewed in structural-functionalist terms, so that they were assumed to exhibit certain forms and to facilitate the attainment of latent and manifest goals held by their members. It was 323 assumed that a proactive approach to goal attainment was necessarily better than a reactive approach, even if the former is seen to be more conducive to synergistic forms of intercultural cooperation than the latter. The perception of dysfunctions in inter- organizational relations by one or more parties was not assumed to reify them for other parties; nevertheless, it was assumed that problem recognition--however articulated-- is an essential step in organizational development. Similarly, "effectiveness" in organizing and interagency cooperation was measured against goals held in common by the organizational actors concerned. Organizations are not entirely rational; organizational activities are not necessarily orderly; and organizations--though relatively stable-~are constantly in flux (Weick 1969:36ff.). A final, basic assumption underlying the present study is that communication and management dysfunctions in intercultural development assistance §§n_hg_m1t1g§t§g. But they can only be lessened if the personnel involved-~both Western and non-Western--are aware of the dynamics at play and are willing to learn from each other and adapt, at least 20 partially, to the cultural patterns of their counterparts. Implicit in this willingness to learn is the ability to learn--or to be taught--new modes of relating across cultural barriers. Hence, the study has wide implications for intercultural educators and cross-cultural trainers as they facilitate the learning and adapting process. Such crosS*cultural adaptation usually is assumed to begin at the start of a sojourn in a foreign culture, but even the communications and negotiations which precede such sojourns are subject to dysfunctions stemming from differing cultural meanings attached to planning and organizing functions. a 'o s o h tu Because of the ethnographic nature of the study, it is necessarily limited in scope. Although the ethnographic description is written primarily for Western readers, it examines only one African organizational culture. The object of the research inquiry is to describe a particular set of cognitive and behavioral phenomena, not to compare them acress cultures. It would have been desirable to be able to draw such comparative conclusions at the gtig level-~a term by which Berry (1969, following Pike’s [1966] distinction between phonetics and phonemics) characterized transcultural, universal constructs. However, because so little is known about indigenous approaches to organizational planning in the sub-Saharan context (cf. Ahiauzu 1986 and Blunt 1986), the findings of the study at 21 hand are confined to the ggig level of analysis, (1.9., derived from characteristics or behaviors internal to one culture). Another limitation of the research derives from the specific characteristics of the organization studied. The fact that most of the leaders of the NLA spoke English and that several key leaders had international experience has, no doubt, facilitated intercultural cooperation with Westerners. Had the NLA been a less modern organization, one might presume that dysfunctions in intercultural contact would have been greater. Similarly, the relative ethnic homogeneity of NLA members may be presumed to facilitate intercultural cooperation in some ways, although the members of an ethnically heterogenous organization would perhaps be more adept at other forms of intercultural communication and cooperation. Therefore, systemic sources of communication or management dysfunctions in the NLA case generalize only partially to African rural development organizations which are further removed from the international scene or which differ in other significant respects from the NLA. Another limiting factor of the research reported below stems from the fact that the NLA is a voluntary organization. If one can agree with Knoke and Prensky (1982) that current organizational theories have limited usefulness for voluntary organizations, it is not unreasonable also to assume that different organizational dynamics are at play in 22 voluntary associations from those in corporate businesses. Consequently, the findings below have greater relevance to researchers and practitioners working in voluntary organization settings than in other types of organizations. These limitations on the generalizability of the research study do not necessarily diminish its worth. To date, few studies using the ethnographic approach have been done in African organizational settings, and, of these, fewer still have been done in voluntary organizations. It is hoped that the research findings reported below will contribute to theory building about voluntary organization dynamics in African settings. r t S The problem examined in this research study arose out of a particular context (case), evidenced itself in specific dysfunctions, and was addressed from several, interdisciplinary research bases. The case setting took the Nakuru Laymen Association of Kenya as its center of focus, but included the NLA’s broader, extraorganizational relations--both with Kenyan and non-Kenyan organizations and individuals--in its view. Problems that Westerners had in relating to the NLA were not assumed to be ggi_g§n§;i§ but were seen as typical of interactions between other Westerners and organizations similar to the NLA. These included difficulties: in negotiating terms of partnership and exchange of personnel, in getting information about the 23 host organization’s program parameters, and in coordinating support services to be provided to sojourners. Specifically, these and a number of other problems of others were substantiated through interviews of Western development assistance workers who had attempted to work with the NLA. It was assumed that these perceived dysfunctions were largely intercultural in nature. An ethnographic study of the NLA organizational culture was undertaken with a view to uncovering indigenous patterns of planning and organizing and to understanding at what points Western and African approaches to planning for development are in tension. Because the study had an applied focus, leaders of the NLA were interviewed to obtain their suggestions for improving intercultural contact between African organizations such as the NLA and Westerners. These three modes of inquiry (interviews of Westerners, ethnography, and interviews of African organizational leaders) are summarized in Table 1, together with the research questions and purposes which guided each mode of inquiry. The study was founded upon an interdisciplinary base and drew most heavily from research on the sociology of organizations and from anthropological field research methods. 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