Co-opting Culture: Managerialism in Age of Consumer Capitalism

Author(s): A. R. Vasavi
Source: Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 31, No. 21 (May 25, 1996), pp. M22-M25
Published by: Economic and Political Weekly
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4404179
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 Co-opting Culture
Managerialism in Age of Consumer Capitalism
A R Vasavi

Culture and cultural variatiotns have recently beconme key issues in business nmanagement. This recognzit
culture has become imperative as global transnational capitalism penetrates and seeks legitimacy in areas of vast
cultural diversity. But businiess managenent 's gaze at cllture vill be predominantly in terli of seeing cultural dive-sity
as market opportunity and in integrating cultural sensitivit) in order- to diffuse hostility to capitalismn. In co-opting
culture business management will negate the capacity of clulture to Inobilise sentimenits againist the discontents of
capitalism.

OF recent, business management has accumulation. Such an orientation meant the reasons for business management's
encountered culture. Culture as a variable the discounting of the role of culture in negligence and oversight ol culture can be
and culture as a concern are being integratedgeneral and that of non-western cultures in linked to the prominence of western
into business management's organisation, particular. capitalism, business management's
strategies, and decision-making. For a A primary reason for business mana- recognition of non-western cultures can
discipline and its practice which have long gement's oversight of non-western cultures linked to the growth and changes in the
ignored and discounted the role of culture, anld of culture as a factor in the conduct of characteristics of capitalism itself.
this is a milestone. Several factors account business may lie in the early theoretical and
for this shift in perspective. But business popular constructions of capitalism. The MULT1IPtLE CAPITAIISMS
management's gaze at cultures will be seminal and influential essays by Max Weber
particular to the interests and changing promoted a view that the growth of capitalism The emergence of Japan - a country once
characteristics of capitalism. In noting in the west was linked to the specific ethos associated with being all that was non-western
business management's recent interest in - the 'protestant etlhic' that was particular and anti-western - as a global capitalist
cultures, it is pertinent to understand the only to the west. Weber's perspective led power, accounts for the early, but gradual.
reasons for the long-term oversight of culture, to the formation of an established and recognition of the role of cultures inl
the recent trends which have necessitated the dominant view that only western culture engendering capitalismii. Japan's capitalist
recognition ot cultur-e as a tactor in was capable of generating a capitalist development was explained, first, as an
constituting business practices, and the economy and society. Such a perspective anomaly'and later, as embodying practical
implications of such integration for the gained strength through further studies. Asand alternlative tips in organising t'orbusiness.
general detinition and constitution of W W Rostow argued, any nation's efforts Much attention was paid to Japan's cultUral
international cultures. in the 'stages of economic growth', which and social institutions; of the patriarchal
A critical review of business management were ultimately to led to capitalism, were family, its norms of loyalty, obedience, and
will indicate the extent to which management possible only if the nation developed and perseverance - all of which were considered
ideas and practices represent, and are embed- exhibited some social and cultural to be central to the development of a novel
ded within, western culture. Developing in characteristics that were similar to those form'of capitalism. For the first time, there
an era of rapid industrialisation, business found in the industrialised, capitalist west was recognition of the ability and capability
management drew on neoclassical econo- [Rostow 1956]. Some of these traits were of a non-western culture to be able to generate
mics, operations research, statistical analyses to be the development of a work ethic, a and sustain capitalism.
and organisational behaviour for defining itscompetitive spirit, a more inner-worldly and Linked to the recognition of Japan's
disciplinary characteristics. In addition, the non-soteriological religious attitude, and cultural fabric and its role in sustaining
principles of rationalisation, optimisation, small family norms. The aim of much of the
economic success are recent studies which
and predictability, which formed the key post-1950s development aid to the recognise the role and contributionis oftother
elements of business management further 'underdeveloped' counLries was to initiate cultures in developing variants of capitalism.
negated the consideration of any cultural and sustain such western cultural ethos which Studies such as those by Hofstede stress the
factors in constituting business practices. would then enable and ensure the 'take-off' role of culture as part of the 'mental
The impact of Fordism and Taylorism with to the capitalist stage of development. programmes ot'people' which in turn impact
their emphases on systematisation, The growth of busi ness management, since on organisations and organisational
specialisation. and scientific management the 1950s, integrated such views into its behaviour [Hafstede 1980]. And Petri's
enhanced business management's focus on predominantly positivistic framework. report for the World Bank notes the extent
issues of decision-making, quantitative Further. such a positivisitic, operation to which the miracle economies of south-
analysis, and a systemic perspective of research-based model in which the roles of east Asia were made possible not only by
complex organisations [Harbison and Myers culture as a f'actor and cultures in their sound and pragmatic economic policies but
1959; Simon 1964; Jelinek 1980]. The goals particularities were discounted, was also by "conducive cultural traits which are
of these perspectives and the training that embedded in Confuciani traditions but are
promoted as a relevant strategy and paradigm
emanated f'rom them were to enable business for all countries. adapted to the needs of an industrial society"
managers to c -age in the maximisation of But the I990s have been witness to a [Petri 1993].
time, space, I-csources, and labour in order growing recognition of 'culture' in business In addition to the enforced recognition of
to increase production and enlhance capital managemiient theory and practice. Just as the positive role of non-western cultures in

M-22 Economic and Political Weekly May 25, 1996

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sustaining capitalist activities, a legitimation of all non-western forms of entrepreneurial racial and class tensions, promoting
crisis has also become an issue concerning activitics as aberrant forms of capitalism, is adherence to business gwals. Similarly, in
business houses and business management. itself a sign of the extent to which definitions India, a number of new management
The Iranian revolution of 1979 in which of capitalism are now no longer culture- development agencies and persons draw on
resistance to capitalism was based largely bound. Hindu classical ideas and doctrines to train
on the recognition ot' it being 'foreign' and The recognition of a range of capitalisms both management personnel and workers.
'satanic' compelled the first recognition of and their attendant socio-cultural milieu While managers are taught ideas such as
the cultural threat to undisguised western has been a direct outcome of the process that of slrtestac dhatrma to extoll the virtues
capitalism. As studies continue to note, the and structuring of capitalism's global of judiciouLs management, factory workers
development of what is referred to as intervention and presence. Capitalism's are introduced to notions of tat tvam asi
.vernacular mobilisation' - the organisation (thou art that) and to vishvvakar,na pluja
restructuring in this late 20th century, global
of groups and movemnents to critique and context has included the reorganisation of (worship of instruments/machines. so that
counter the spread of a hegemonic, western production activities, the separation of workers relate well to equipment arI
capitalism and its associated culture- is seen finance from industrial capital, the growth increase production (Ouitlook, November
as a potential and real threat to the presence of a range of labour forces, the development 15, 1995).
of international business [Smith 19901. of a new international division of labour, In addition to integrating culture in its
Business management has then had to and a pervasive integration of international production strategies, international business
reckon witlh culture as a corpus of values, markets in which large numbers of people management is now seeking to intearate and
meanings and sensibilities forcing it to are participants [Drucker 1993; Lash and understand other, espccially non-western,
take cognisance ol' the variations of cultures. Urry 1987; Offe 1985]. Yet, global cultures into its organisational structures.
Emanating from this recognition ot'cultural capitalism has had to, perforce, build on The recruitment of local personnel in
variations, strategies to integrate a sensitivity the "culturality of material conditions and multinational corporations. the need to learn
to otlher cultures within its practices and the materiality of cultural conditions" other languages, the recent stress on
disguise itself by appropriating culturally- [Robertson 1992]. exposing MBA students to other cultures
acceptable representations have become While a well known example of the are cases in point. As the Blusin2ess Week
the concerns of international business integration of existing cultural factors into article on 21st century management goes
managyemernt. capitalist production is provided in the on to detail, international business managce-
But the recent recognition and integration case ot the employment *t Asian women ment will draw on western accounting
of culture(s) into business management's workers - seen as docile, hard-working and practices, Japanese style of work-team units,
strategies and concer-ns also reflect the reliable - in multinational electronics and co-ordinate international decision-
changing characteristics of capitalism and factories of south-east Asia [Nash and making and activities through information
of capitalism's ability to adapt to varying Fernandez-Kelly 1983], several new trends technologies.
grounld realities. Just as capitalism is no indicate the incorporation of other non- The international attention to cultural
western principles and practices into
longer a purely western enterprise and several variations and the according of legitimacy
'Asian Tigers' have entered the global interniational business management. An to culture as a contributing variable to
capitalist arena, the characteristics ot' example of this is the Japanese stress on capitalisnm have in turn encouracted business
capitalism have also become amenable to business organisations to be doclacikuka; management acadeinics to address issues of
fast anld varied changes. As a recent issue a precept which emphasises the need for culture. In a recent book on 'Understanding
of the Business Week, celebrating the management to pay attention to local Cultural Diversity in Business. Fons
assumede death of communism, summarised patterns while acting within the framework Trompernaars calls on business professional
in its article on 21st century capitalism, of global transactions [Robertson 1992]. not to continue to treat "culture as a side
"calitalism will probably surprise us 'Glocalising' or dochakutka has also meant
dish" (p 16) and then goes on to provide a
witlh its inventiveness. It has proven its the understanding of local conditions and simplistic version of international cu. ,iral
resilience over the competing system of inducting them into larger organisations types that resembles Parson's typology of
fascism and communism and transformed and production decisions and factors, social actions [Trompemaars 1993].
itself to accommnodate dozens of cultures spreading ot central principles to local Other scholars and authors of management
worldwide" (Business Week, December 12, areas, and maintaining a local colour. best-sellers postulate the contributions of
1 994). A more recent development relating the even ancient religious values to contemporary
The assertion that capitalism 'accomn- incorporation of local cultural idioms to management practices. Popular books
modates dozenls of cultures' also aligns withcorporate management practices is reported expound the relevance of Confucian, Taoist,
the recognition accorded to variants of' from South Africa. Promoting the term and Zen principles to improving management
capitalism. A range of capitalisms such as lubim tit, which in Zhosa and Zulu languages
strategies. In India, a recent book speaks
consumer capitalism (as in the US, UK, of the contributions of Vedic insights to
means 'humanity', corporate houses in post-
Canada, and Australia), producer capitalism apartlheid South Africa seek to integrate management while some managemaent gurus
(as in Germany, France, Japan, Mexico), Africans and Europeans in business offer Hindu principles an ' idioms with which
t'amily capitalism, in which large kin groups organisations. Reporting on the use of the personnel relations, productivity and
and clans dominate business flows (as in idiom, The Econiomi.st quotes a professor
administrationi can1 be better conduicted i
Taiwan, Malaysia,Thailand, and Indonesia), of business management who notes, "if the the newly liberalised Indian economy
and f'rontier capitalismn (as in China andi social and oral vitality c f black South Africans [Chakraborty 19941. Oftferings of such
Russia) are identified as varieties ov' can be married to northern rationalism. in scholarslhip and expertise tie in with the
capitalismn which will be the main players a high performance Ubuntu. a powerful new recent growth not only ol the business sector
in the 21 st century (Business Week, December way to do business could emerge" (The in India but also with the nascenlt but
1 2, 1994). Such a recognition of the varieties Economist, March 18-24, 1995). Here, a omnipresent inclinations among some
of capitaIlism, from ealrlier entrenchled v iews cultural idiom is sought to diffuse possible quarters to . ad(u fundamentalism.

Economic and Political Weekly May 25, 1996 M-23

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 CULTURAL DIVERSITY AS MARKET
OPPORTUNITY
But the most significant alteration in the
perspective of business management, which
has enforced it to take culture into account,
has been the increasing importance of
consumerism as a central activity and
outcome of capitalist production. As an
offshoot of the trend in which marketing
rather than manufacturing has become the
central source of profit for business
management, consumerism has provided the
raison d'etre for cultures to be recognised,
celebrated and created. Culture is then seen
as a source for capitalist activities, the very
plurality of which can be integrated in
multiple ways in either production (as in
employment of a certain ethnic group or
women for particular types of work),
marketing (as in the integration of local
cultural preferences), or organisational
activities (as in the recruitment of local
personnel).
Under these conditions, when culture has
been incorporated as a capital itself, the new
business managerialism, reflecting the
'inventiveness, resilience and adaptability'
into another tributary of its power" [Baumanenteiprises to cash on. Just as sociology
(Blsine1ess Week, December 1994) of recent
1992]. Recent advertisements in India exhibit and psychology were integratcu into
capitalism will address, assess, integrate,
and create a range of cultures. But business
management's gaze at cultures will be
predominantly in terms of: (a) discerning
particular cultural specifticities in order to
incorporate these speciticities into production
and marketing patterns and goals;
(b) studying culture in a vivisectionist view,
in which only a section of a cultural corpus
or a singular dimension of a particular culture view of culture can be observed in its
will be studied and represented; and
(c) attempting to integrate itself into the
cultural consciousness of people and align
itself with national public and cultural
activities.
Business management's attention to
cultural diversity will be linked to the four
most important sources of global
consumerism. These consumer-linked
cultural preferences will be those that relate
to the choice of durable and non-durable
consumer goods, eating habits, travel, and
other lifestyle patterns such as dressing
and living styles. As Bauman notes, "the
market seems to thrive on cultural diversity;
there is hardly a cultural idiosyncracy the
market cannot take in its stride and make
the extent to which business management,
especially marketing strategies, has
assessed culture. Building on existing
norms and values and integrating these
with new trends or popular preferences,
advertisements have successfully 'niched
and pitched' goods at particular target
groups.
Business management's vivisectionist
selective representation and reproduction
of the middle class culture of most nations.
The middle class, especially the urbai
middle classes, and their preferences are
observed and recreated through advertise-
ments and other marketing strategies. In
representing the preferences and incli-
nations of a certain class culture, business
management will in turn promote the ideas,
values, and identities of this particular
culture to a wider audience. Such a trend
explains why the May 1994 issues of both
Forbes and Fortune magazines had middle
class Indian families on their covers and
as the lead articles went on to detail, the
changing lifestyles of the middle class
provide excellent grounds for business

weW gvn you a s G frt

Because you corns anYUd r

Asian Paints.
A series of firsts
add up to make us No. I
When you'r going to be first, you try a littl harder. That's why we reach out to you with the widost
distribution. The most comptitive prices. And, of course, the largest range.
It takes foreight to come out first.
First with a comprehensive retail network. Our products are sold in over 25,000 outlets spanning the length and breadth of the
O
First Indian paint company to set up a subsidiary abroad.
O
First with Majiktouch. The wonder concept that gives you shades you thought didnt exist.
0
First with Super Decopiast - India's No. 1 affordable Plastic Emulsion Paint.

First with corrosion-resistant protective paints for Urea Prill Towers.

O
First with computer for integrated management systems. Also the first Colour Control System for 100% shade fidty.
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First with Kribo - India's first pure acrylic car finish

_____________ 28 years of leadership asian paints Wy

M-24 Economic and Political Weekly May 25, 1996

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business management for their diagnostic
and manipulative capabilities respectively
[Bauman 1992; Nandy 1995], so also will
studies of culture (and not anthropology
perse) be incorporated as tools with which
the pulse of people's choices, preferences,
norms and values can be discerned.
In addition to integrating culturally
sensitive practices, business management
seeks to address and alleviate culture-based
criticisms. A case in hand is that of.the
recent study sponsored by MTV in India,
and conducted by the Marketing Analysis
and Research Group (MARG) of Mumbai.
The study concluded that the impact of
MTV on the adolescent groups was not as
negative as popularopinions considered them
all institutional domains, the cultural
to be. The youth who were interviewed
reportedly indicated their adherence to
'Indian and family' norms, despite watching
MTV. Conclusion? MTV did not have a
negative influence, and hence was not a
threat to Indian cultural values and norms
Culture has, at times, been the medium
and source forexpressions of dissent against
the discontents of capitalism. But in the
late 20th century, at a time of multiple
forms of capitalism, and in the reign of
consumer capitalism, capitalism has been
able to invade and gain acceptance in the
most sensitive and central domain of several
societies; that is, in culture itself. As
exemplified in the use of the terms ubuntu
in Southern Africa and that of tat tvamn asi
in India, co-optingcultureorcultural idioms
in manager-worker and employer-employee
relations helps diffuse class differences
and tensions. Trends and practices such
as this may be particularly valid since, "of
institutions are the most vulnerable to the
logic of counter-revolution. They are the
first to be destroyed and the last to be
reconstructed under the auspices of
peripheral development" [Corradi 1972].
Seeking legitimacy, acceptance, and
[A revised version of a talk delivered to research
students at the Indian Institute of Management.
Ahmedabad, India. Thanks are due to M N
Srinivas who first urged me to see management
as another sociological field.]
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Economic and Political Weekly May 25, 1996 M-25

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