Business Anthropologists

Comment by Robert Guang Tian on September 6, 2010 at 6:14pm

Comments on and Expectations of the International Journal of
Business Anthropology Vol. 1 (1)

Daisy Stevens Rojas
Cultural Expressions Consulting


The International Journal of Business Anthropology (IJBA) presents a useful and important tool for navigating our global community. Both professional practitioners and academic scholars in the field of Anthropology will find the case studies, real experiences and practical applications of anthropology informative and invigorating. Perhaps more importantly the business community will recognize the great value of cultural understanding and human experience through anthropological study necessary for sustained interaction. The formal acknowledgement of the merger of these two disciplines as demonstrated by the International Journal of Business Anthropology validates what both fields have known for many years--that a symbiotic relationship is necessary for the sustenance of each.

Applied anthropology seeks to work within communities to develop understanding and translation between cultures. The positive function of business culture seeks this knowledge to pursue organic growth with and among interested communities. Always in flux, human communities seek new opportunities and solutions to difficulties that can be fostered through the open dialogue created by publications such as IJBA. I found the Journal when searching for an appropriate venue for my own work on localized emergent financial markets aimed at assisting unbanked populations. Working as a consultant and freelance anthropologist, I have the freedom to choose my topics and research venues; but until now, have not had the opportunity to share work which provides advantages to both academia and the business community. Aside from having value as previously uninvestigated areas of interest, this type of anthropology is meant to provide resources and opportunities to socially conscious individuals and organizations.

As many in the discipline know anthropology is vital to our constantly negotiated relationships, both private and public. For academia, the pursuit of research for scholarly purposes sometimes means that practical application is lost in theory. Hopeful education of vibrant young people and inspired professionals are often the only means of providing an avenue for theory to interface with 'lived experiences'. My own desire to project elements of human experience in my work as taught by humanist anthropologist Edith Turner has provided an alternative view of a world whose language has been written for too long in statistics, graphs and trend data.

The bold decision to forge ahead with our dedication to cultural understanding and the belief that we can pass that knowledge on to members of other disciplines is the reason the International Journal of Business Anthropology will become an invaluable tool. At some point anthropologists come to a crossroads in the discipline; forced to decide between investigative academic research and professional applied research. Remembering our origins in American anthropology it seems that a fear of misuse clings to the ideas surrounding the field of applied anthropology. Whatever the decision, if we have taken our early lessons to heart we hope that our work will be used in appropriate ways. There is no reason to abandon our colleagues simply because they choose to pursue their ideals in a professional capacity instead of remaining in academia. Rather, to have a vehicle for disseminating information and sharing new research among applied anthropologists will assist in maintaining ethical principles for all members of the discipline.

Ann Jordan mentions in the very first article of the first volume, our dilemma as dedicated anthropologists is how to determine what questions should be asked (Jordan). This deceptively simple requirement involves dedicated ethnography, in depth engagement and focused time learning from interlocutors in the field. It was also a great comfort for me to see that articles present in IJBA Volume 1 (1) include the names of revered works from Malinowski, Levi-Strauss and Victor Turner listed in the references of the selected texts. Applied anthropologists have not forgotten the foundational elements of our discipline--we have instead sought to further understand and extend understanding to the world within which we live.

The Journal addresses meaningful issues present and pressing in our own lives as well as those of many others seeking knowledge from our discipline. The first volume of the International Journal of Business Anthropology discusses issues such as generation gaps within communities and this effect on labor systems, differing management styles among particularized communities, and the intricate balance of developing a firm dedicated to the business of anthropology (Zhou and Sun, Walle, Bronitsky). Providing useful information, pressing questions and open discourse to the business community allows Anthropology a voice in areas which have traditionally excluded human experience from the record.

The articles within the pages of this journal are written in clear language and make use of tools already familiar to the business community as well as those of the anthropological community. I suggest institutions, businesses, professors, professionals, scholars and interested community members to consider including it as a work resource. Support and participation through subscription and submission of new material develops our discipline and allows a critical eye of the work that members of our field are putting to a useful purpose. In many ways the work of applied anthropology has come to fruition through this publication. But with privilege comes responsibility, and those practitioners and scholars who recognize the value of this resource will also know the need we have to maintain a high level of variety, innovation and critical commentary.

Future works slated for publication include articles on modernism and post-modernism in industrial settings, intercultural training for multinational corporations, anthropology in small businesses, and the emergence of business anthropology in Latin America. I look forward to the future volumes of the International Journal of Business Anthropology with great expectations and hope other members of the field will provide feedback and material for this and subsequent volumes on a regular basis.

(Daisy Stevens Rojas is an Assistant Editor for the Journal of Anthropology and Humanism and President of Cultural Expressions Consulting. Her work involves studies that unmask potential among marginalized populations. She has published in the U.S. and abroad on subjects including social identities of indigenous peoples, establishing racial dialogue, and experiences of Latino immigrants in the U.S. Correspondence may be directed to www.culturalexpressionsconsulting.com or ds3bg@virginia.edu)

Comment by Michael O'Neal on November 26, 2010 at 10:38am

A search on the web (including Google Scholar) for material on the ethnography of family business and the business family, as well as cross-cultural aspects of family business, has not yielded very much. Grateful for any recommendations and/or resources. Many thanks.

Comment by Barry R. Bainton on April 5, 2011 at 3:51pm

Business anthropology is a specialty within anthropology that focuses on the Business sector of the socio/cultural system and the business activities with in specific cultural system. Anthropologists both academic and applied employ the  anthropological perspective to these situation  (1) to address theoretical academic anthropological issues, or (2)  to research and solve practical problems defined by a client.

One of the areas where these two perspectives intersect is in the role of capitalism as a system of belief and practice. A recent discussion from the business point of view can be found in the  McKinsey Quarterly

Articles include:

 CEOS ON REPAIRING CAPITALISM

 THE REMEDIES FOR CAPITALISM

 CAPITALISM FOR THE LONG TERM

A LONG-TERM INVESTOR WEIGHS IN

 

Comment by Barry R. Bainton on August 4, 2011 at 12:53pm

A major challenge for business anthropology is understanding and documenting the conflict between Capitalism as an economic theory and its practical application and its ethical implications for the local, regional national and global economic systems. Here are a couple of links you may find of interest.

Long Term Capitalism  

 and

 

Culture of Wall Street

 

Enjoy

Comment by Barry R. Bainton on August 16, 2011 at 12:31pm

As a recent graduate in anthropology who is thinking about an applied career in business, you have several choices. You can try to find a job with an established firm ( for profit or not for profit) as a technician performing some technical role within the organization. Or you might try for a staff position where you might assist, advise, or manage a management support service. Or as a third option , you might think about going into business for yourself.

In the first two cases, the employer will have a set price that he/she/it is willing to pay for your services. This may be part of a company established compensation schedule and in part related to local labor market conditions. Basically you will a " price taker" of whatever the compensation being offered is; i.e. your negotiation position will be restricted by the above cnstraints.

 

In the third case, you face a very different problem. As the founder and owner of business you need to know what you are worth. You need to know for two reasons. First, you need to know what it is going to cost you to open and run your business so you can set a price for your services. Second, you need to know when it is better to outsource or hire help to do that part of the job that you "are too expensive" to do. In order to compete in the market place as an entrepreneur you will a "price asker."  To succeed as a business, you will have to know the answer to this question:  What am I worth?  

To find out the answer to that question, click on the link above

Comment by Barry R. Bainton on October 14, 2011 at 8:28am

Book Review:  Generation to Generation

Generation to Generation: Life Cycles of the Family Business is, in my opinion, a major contribution to the study and understanding of the complex nature of this most basic of human occupations - the family business.

As a business anthropologist, I found the life-cycle model applied to the study of the family business eye opening from both an academic and practical perspective.

There is a saying among family business owners and consultants that expresses the folk wisdom about the family business as an institution and enterprise. It goes something like this , "The first generation creates, the second builds, and the third consumes the family business."

A business is an institution and organization created to perform the function of making money, i.e. producing an income, for the owner(s) by producing a good or service to meet a public need. The business can be as simple as the one person/owner/operator start-up shoe shine stand at the airport to the $7.5 billion a year 5th generation conglomerate, S.C. Johnson & Sons.

Although each is uniquely different, yet each will face, now face or has faced, the same challenges and crisis to its survival outlined in this model. 

Gersick, Davis, Hampton and Lansberg develop a life cycle model for the family business that explains in clear, objective and sound social science terms why there is so much truth to this folk wisdom. The authors define the three key domains in which the family business exists and in which it must survive. Each of these domains has its own dynamic and its own life cycle. Each responds to different and sometimes conflicting demands from its environment.

These domains are the business enterprise, the ownership, and the family. In order to understand and effectively manage a family business, the founder and his/her successors must understand how these three domains are operating at any particular time to create opportunities and threats for the business.

The life cycle model draws upon the principles of business ownership models as established in corporate law, the dynamic theory of organizational life cycles and management structures, and the theories of human and family development found in psychology, sociology and anthropology. This comprehensive, integrated model focuses on the business enterprise as a institution and is explained using examples from real family businesses and corporations. It addresses the basic survival problem all family businesses face -- succession. But more than that the authors clearly outline the issues and alternatives at each phase of the life-cycle for the enterprise and the key actors in the family and the enterprise.

As a consultant/business coach to family businesses, I find the insights here validating of the observations I have made and experienced in my practice with clients. I also find it reassuring to see how the holistic approach, which takes all three domains into account, can produce an outcome that will satisfy the personal and business objectives of all the interests involved -- the business, the owners and the family.  

I strongly recommend this book to anyone who owns, operates, is part of, or interested in family business.

Comment by Robert Guang Tian on October 14, 2011 at 8:53am

Barry:

Would you please write a formal interview with details about the book so that we can publish it in the journal of IJBA?

Comment by Heidi on October 17, 2011 at 8:57am

Hi everyone!  I'm a PhD conducting my fieldwork on a multinational corporation, and I'm wondering if you all have any suggestions for conferences related to business anthropology or sociology?  Thanks!

Comment by Barry R. Bainton on January 23, 2012 at 11:51am

In today's economic climate it is important for Business Anthropologist to keep up with trends and thoughts in the global marketplace. One of the trends we need to understand is the role that M&A (Mergers and Acquisitions) play in the changing structure of international business.

In light of the global melt down in the financial system, valuation has become a hot topic with serious consequences.

Here is a link to an interest paper by McKinsey consultants  " Taking a longer-term look at MA value creation"

Comment by Barry R. Bainton on July 30, 2012 at 3:21pm

Applied anthropology is a policy science. It looks to the body of anthropological and social science theory and data for the clues, evidence and models for organizational policy formulation, application and/or implementation. An important part of any policy science is the role it plays in strategic planning and execution.

Here is an interesting article from McKinsey Consulting about the problem of strategic thinking.

https://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Strategy/Strategic_Thinking/Hidde...

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