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BUSINESS ANTHROPOLOGY
THE BASICS
SOLUTION-FOCUSED THERAPY
YVONNE DOLAN
BUSINESS ANTHROPOLOGY
TIMOTHY DE WAAL MALEFYT
EATING DISORDERS
ELIZABETH MCNAUGHT, JANET TREASURE, AND JESS GRIFFITHS
TRUTH
JC BEALL AND BEN MIDDLETON
PERCEPTION
BENCE NANAY
Typeset in Bembo
by Taylor & Francis Books
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements vi
About the Author viii
References 183
Index 194
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS
ANTHROPOLOGY
are two fields with their own differences, which are used inter
changeably since business anthropology is considered a part. Since
business enterprises have increasingly become integrated on a global
scale and have extended their reach across humanity in virtually
every community around the world, now is a crucial time for
anthropologists to be actively engaged in influencing such
enterprises.
As provost at King’s College Cambridge, Gillian Tett (who is
also an anthropologist) writes in her book, Anthro-Vision (2021),
that anthropology can better equip companies to see laterally and
recognize issues they might not typically consider. She advocates
that anthropology provides an intellectual framework that “enables
you to see around corners, spot what is hidden in plain sight, gain
empathy for others and fresh insights on problems” (2021, xii).
Anthropology offers an essential way of thinking and doing for
solving issues; it provides a means for instigating change in the
world to address the pressing issues today of climate change and
the environment, respond to racism, social media overload, the rise
of artificial intelligence, social inequalities, and political conflict.
While we live in an age of artificial intelligence and data analytics
that gather information on a large scale and offer rapid solutions to
problems, data science presents a point of view that is incomplete,
often narrowly focused, observed from a distance, and constructed
by selecting its object of analysis through sets of parameters that
typically reduce rather than expand issues. Business consultants,
Christian Madsbjerg and Mikkel Rasmussen affirm, in The
Moment of Clarity (2014), that most businesses create a linear
mode of problem solving, using rational analysis, deductive rea
soning and hypothesis testing in a quest to narrow and reduce
complex variables. But this approach to problems fails to ask the
larger strategic question of “why?”
The first premise of this book is to inform anthropology students,
beginning practitioners and curious non-anthropologists about the
ways in which anthropology provides an intellectual and practical fra
mework for seeing and dealing with the larger “why”questions of
human behavior in business and society. It shows ways of addressing
issues holistically; identifying with people empathetically; acting
reflexively and understanding situations from an emic, or insider’s,
point of view. Anthropology offers an expansive, open, and explorative
INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS ANTHROPOLOGY 3
want to know the impact they are having on other people’s lives,
both positive and negative, and the effect they are having on rela
ted systems and society at large. It is by experiencing “otherness”
that we can put ourselves in a position to consider culture from
another perspective. As an example, this perspective is essential to
design anthropology, for, as Adam Drazin (2021, 63) mentions,
design creates an intrinsic “otherness” in its perspective, since
seeing an object only in terms of its design makes sense because
there is an attempt to consider or anticipate an other person,
community or place who will use and appreciate it. This is done in
an effort to make (positive) change on behalf of others.
Yet, this methodological approach of thinking thoughtfully and
reflexively of others stands in contrast to what most businesses are
taught. The standard way of thinking through business issues is
linear, sequential, and progressive; it’s about getting things done,
moving forward and moving on. “Default thinking,” as Madsbjerg
and Rassmussen (2014) describe it, is a linear and rational mode of
problem solving in business. It’s successful at analyzing information
extrapolated from a known set of data, and is popular because it
creates efficiencies, optimizes resources, balances product portfolios,
and cuts operational complexity. Business is about taking resolute
action and not looking back, especially for the start-up mentality of
disruption, acting fast and “breaking” things.2 But what happens
when the challenge involves understanding people’s complex beha
vior? Anthropological thinking encourages businesses to reflect on
themselves, to value consideration, and not just take determined and
resolute action. In fact, it is through reflexive thought that new
insights arise, and business may uncover new opportunities.
In addition to a reflexive perspective, holistic–systemic thinking—
the ability to see the integrated picture, to pull back from the specific
problem, event, or situation under study and put it in a larger
context—is one of anthropology’s most important contributions
to business. A holistic approach considers how the parts to an
organization are mutually influential and interconnected to other
parts, larger processes, and whole networks; if one part is tweaked,
then the effect ripples out to affect the rest of the system. Just as we
understand culture as an integrated system, we can understand
how issues are frequently integrated with other issues, so that to
understand museum attendance, for example, one must look at use
8 INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS ANTHROPOLOGY
activity by “doing some good.” Now is the time for all anthro
pologists to engage in relevant social and environmental issues and
drive change.
FOOTNOTES:
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