This PDW aims to generate critical reflection about the challenges associated with indigenous management styles and practices within western workplaces, and spark transformational thinking that leads to action, support and change. This workshop builds on emerging research agendas that place attention to indigenous management, alternative management models and decolonial management thought and praxis to inform different ways of thinking in organizations and foster inclusivity and plurality in management practices. Concepts such as ubuntu, jeitinho, wasta, compadrazgo, jugaad, blat and guanxi are of fundamental importance to global management practice because they embed socio-cultural, religious, and political knowledges that shape the values and actions of peoples around the globe; however, they have not been given sufficient theoretical and practical attention in western management theories. As a result, indigenous management continues to be misunderstood, misrepresented and de-legitimized. The key objectives of the workshop are to facilitate collective conversations about indigenous management within different contexts, share examples of challenges faced by indigenous managers in western organisations, and understand how indigenous management practices can enhance our understanding of the relationship between situated difference, contextual values, and management styles and practices. Through a carefully curated format, the workshop will facilitate a generative dialogue, discussing three key themes: (1) challenges and systemic barriers, (2) interpersonal dynamics and strategies, and (3) support mechanisms and organizational impact.
