Thesis (MTech(Business Administration)--Cape Technikon, Cape Town, 2004 / My central thesis is, that certain social systems and cultures have supported
modern economic growth and human progress, whereas others have not.
Countries and, winning organizations that have been able to jump ahead out
of the laggard have done so, because they developed a conquering culture of
rigor and work, removed from the influences of invisible forces.
The world at the beginning of the twenty first century is still, divided between
the few who are rich and powerful and the many who are poor and powerless,
between the free and the oppressed.
Traditional'explanations like imperialism, dependency, colonialism and racism
are no longer adequate after so many decades.
Increasingly researchers are reasoning that the principal reason why some
countries and ethnic groups are better off than others lies in cultural values
and beliefs and attitudes, which powerfully shape political, economic and
social performance, and share the view that value and attitude change is
indispensable to progress for those who are lagging.
There is a methodological difference between myself and some people who
are consistently uncritical of the values and attitudes of a culture, and think
people ought to resign themselves to economic and social values that
condemn them to poverty and subservience, in the name of cultural purity.
The power of cultural values, beliefs and attitudes to promote or resist
progress has been largely ignored. Culture is a significant determinant of a
nation's ability to prosper, because it shapes individual's thoughts and
behaviours, and the way individuals think about progress.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:cput/oai:localhost:20.500.11838/1007 |
| Date | January 2004 |
| Creators | Alexandre, Cesar da S |
| Publisher | Cape Technikon |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/za/ |
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