Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Figures and Tables
- Acknowledgements
- Dedication
- Foreword
- 1 Introduction and Background
- 2 Methodology: A Phenomenological Study of Sub-Saharan African Immigrants
- 3 Being a Sub-Saharan African Immigrant in the United States: Speaking From the Heart in a Foreign Language
- 4 Perception and Definition of Success
- 5 Racism and Discrimination
- 6 Coping Strategies as We Reclaim Our Identity and Voices of Power
- 7 The Myth of Going Back Home While Living in Two Worlds
- 8 Leadership in Africa as a Contributing Factor to Emigration
- 9 Leader and Leadership Development
- Conclusion: Applicability and Practical Suggestions About our Research
- Index
8 - Leadership in Africa as a Contributing Factor to Emigration
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 April 2024
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Figures and Tables
- Acknowledgements
- Dedication
- Foreword
- 1 Introduction and Background
- 2 Methodology: A Phenomenological Study of Sub-Saharan African Immigrants
- 3 Being a Sub-Saharan African Immigrant in the United States: Speaking From the Heart in a Foreign Language
- 4 Perception and Definition of Success
- 5 Racism and Discrimination
- 6 Coping Strategies as We Reclaim Our Identity and Voices of Power
- 7 The Myth of Going Back Home While Living in Two Worlds
- 8 Leadership in Africa as a Contributing Factor to Emigration
- 9 Leader and Leadership Development
- Conclusion: Applicability and Practical Suggestions About our Research
- Index
Summary
The challenges facing Africa not only stem from national and international policies but are also moral, spiritual, cultural, and even psychological in nature. While colonialism was devastating for Africa, it has become a convenient scapegoat for conflicts, warlordism, corruption, poverty, dependency, and mismanagement in the region. Africa cannot continue to blame her failed institutions, collapsed infrastructure, unemployment, drug abuse, and refugee crises on colonialism; but neither can these issues be understood fully without acknowledging the fact of Africa's past.
—Wangari MaathaiThe main argument that the researchers are making in Chapter 8 is that current global leadership styles, specifically those found in Africa, and the disillusionment with leaders in some of the sub-Saharan African countries were the major immigration factors for some of the respondents. To give this chapter a historical and contextual baseline, the effect and impact that colonialism had and continues to have on Africa (and most of the world that experienced this trauma) will be discussed. The authors found that time has not healed all wounds, and the impact of colonialism still causes mental stress and continues to contribute greatly to low general well-being.
African leadership and management are areas that are not widely researched or publicized. What gets people's attention is negative coverage of issues which root cause is not fully investigated. Since African leadership and management was one of the emigration reasons cited by our respondents, we decided to research and find out more about the topic. We will examine the present and the past, and present a futuristic perspective on the issue. Additionally, we will discuss the issues related to Africa's identity, leadership, and management styles. These variables are important for Africa as they support the continent's self-determined evolution and leadership styles that will shape it beyond the twenty-first century. We argue that the discussion on African leadership and management demands a theoretical framework beyond Eurocentric models or one that sees Africa as a poor continent. We also avoid limiting the discussion on African leadership and management by solely looking at post or neocolonial history, the colonizers’ conquest or savior stories, or by examining Africa as a monolithic culture ready for appropriation just like its human and natural resources.
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- Information
- Publisher: Anthem PressPrint publication year: 2022