2 PRACTICING ANTHROPOLOGY
4, Fall 1999
PRACTICING ANTHROPOLOGY IN
BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS
By Tomoko Hamada
T oday more than half of new Ph.D.s
in anthropology in the United
States find nonacademic jobs outside of
universities. An increasing number of
anthropologists are working in the
private business sector. Many well-
established programs are training
students for nonacademic careers in
applied anthropology. A newly-minted
Ph.D. in anthropology should be able to
present his or her competence in a
language that is comprehensible to non-
anthropologist-business people and the
general public. And yet, anthropology is
hardly a household term, nor is it
included in the lexicon of everyday
business. While most people can tell
something about what an accountant
could do for a business firm, few
nonanthropologists can articulate the
expertise that an anthropologist may
bring to the world of business. The
value of business anthropology has
been grossly underrecognized and
underpublicized, in spite of the fact that
industrial anthropologists have been
studying business for more than sixty
years, since its beginning in the 1930s.
This issue of Practicing Anthropology
addresses these concerns held by a
group of business anthropologists. We
believe that we can make significant
contributions in this area, if more
applied anthropologists can translate the
language of ideational and academic
anthropology into the language of
everyday business practice. The
language of industry and trade empha-
sizes practical application, effective
time-management, task-accomplish-
ment, and result-orientation. In short,
business people are interested in
empirical and specific problem solving,
because they do have problems to solve,
rather quickly.
Having recognized the nature of our
audience, the objective here is to
elucidate our professional skills and
Vol. 21, No.
to exemplify the practice of business
anthropology. To achieve this goal, we
have decided to use case studies, in the
area of multicultural organization
studies. This volume's contributing
authors are veteran-anthropologists
who have been working in or with
business firms. They will describe
what organizational domains are
especially open for the further involve-
ment of applied anthropologists, and
which tool-kits are useful for under-
taking the practice of business
anthropology.
The first article by Richard Reeves-
Ellington delineates a consulting job he
took for Rhodopski Kilim, a carpet
manufacturer, in Bulgaria in the mid-
1990s. This company faced grave
challenges in terms of market competi-
tion, the loss of government support and
the collapse of the national economy.
The firm began to seek international
Tomoko Hamada
markets for expansion. At this juncture
of organizational development, Reeves-
Ellington created a three-tier system of
collective culture learning. Based on Anthropologist Ann Jordan has been
ethnographic and questionnaire surveys, involved in an interdisciplinary project
this Bulgarian manufacturer could on organization transformation that
analyze, synthesize, and share the local involves new team concepts and
members' understandings of their own organizational restructuring. Despite
tradition and prescriptive values. They the popularity of the work team
then learned what value systems their structure, there are many barriers to
extended international customer chains its successful implementation. Jordan
expect from their service. The next step delineates specific contributions that
for them was to develop shared value an anthropological approach can
systems that can work for all. This case make as managers attempt to under-
study illuminates the usefulness of stand and facilitate rapid organiza-
systematic understanding of organiza- tional change.
tional culture, when the leader needs to Mary Yoko Brannen and W. Mark
assess the firm's collective strength and Fruin advocate ethnographic approaches
weakness and to devise culturally- to understanding the effects of changing
appropriate adaptive strategies for cultural contexts on technology transfer,
transformation. work organization, and individuals'
In an attempt to remain competitive, assumptions regarding work. They note
many companies have turned to a team- that the growing presence of multina-
based structure for intra-organizational tional enterprises has brought forth a
cooperation. Currently about half of the plethora of intra-organizational issues.
Fortune 1,000 companies in the United Cultural alienation is one such issue that
States are trying teams in pilot settings. may well prove to be one of the most
Vol. 21, No.4, Fall 1999
enduring byproducts of globalization.
Cultural alienation has emerged as a
salient issue of the multicultural
workplace, where peoples with very
different values, experiences, and
worldviews are brought together
through the immediacy and conve-
nience of modem transportation,
telecommunications, and global
information systems.
Diversity in business organization is
a growing concern of business manage-
ment and labor, because culture could
become a hotbed of differences, with
pathological symptoms such as blam-
ing, harassment, alienation, stress, and
sabotage. Anthropologists are particu-
larly trained to bridge perception gaps
and emotional schism among organi-
zational members. According to
Rosenberger, one of the anthropologist's
most important contributions lies in the
skills of eliciting the sincere thoughts
and everyday behavior of various
people at different locations in the
organization. Rosenberger has been
investigating the meanings of work that
are perceived differently by female
workers in Korea and Japan. As
anthropologists participate in activi-
ties along with workers they are
studying, they gain insight into
people's interactions and behavior.
Anthropological methods such as in-
depth interviewing, informal conversa-
tions and focus groups bring people's
special spontaneous expressions to the
surface.
According to Hendrick Serrie,
leadership in a multicultural work
organization is another important
business domain that begs for anthropo-
logical insight. Multicultural leadership
is one of the most difficult challenges
for managers and supervisors who face
diverse workforce, and potential cost of
leadership failure is quite extensive.
Serrie describes a particular leadership
training program that he has organized
for American joint ventures in the
People's Republic of China. According
to this business anthropologist, Chinese
and Americans have acquired such
contrasting sets of cultural understand-
ings about leadership, each set backed
by an impressive history, tradition, and
PRACTICING ANTHROPOLOGY
body of literature, that at times they
seem unalterably opposed. If left
unresolved, intercultural ignorance and
misunderstandings inhibit the smooth
functioning of a joint venture and
deprive it of valuable input from every
"We believe that we can make significant contributions
in this area, if more applied anthropologists can translate
the language of ideational and academic anthropology
into the language of everyday business practice. ' ,
member of the organization. Misunder-
standings occur not only in situations
involving subordinates responding (or
not responding) to their superiors, but
also among managers of equal status.
Serrie's strategy is to deepen the
seminar participants' understanding of
the other system, so that they will be
able to reflect on their own institutional
history and behavioral patterns, from
the perspective of the others. This
exercise diminishes ethnocentrism
and opens new paths of cultural
negotiation.
Anthropological analysis can supply
information about the manner in which
people operationalize certain projects or
policy changes at local levels. In
essence, it reveals how things really are
being done, what effects they are having
on people-and how they could be done
better. The goal is not worker control,
but understanding of the personal
experiences and problems that affect
worker motivation. In eliciting
workers' perceptions of their every-
day realities, anthropological research
goes beyond the official corporate
culture into the "culture of work."
People working within any corporation
mesh their individual and social
realities with the demands of their job
and corporate culture. In this process,
workers create their own set of behav-
iors and beliefs.
3
These articles collectively character-
ize one unifying theme of anthropologi-
cal investigation, that is to examine in
detail the lived experience of peoples, to
depict previously-hidden concerns,
ideologies, feelings and views. Anthro-
pologists are trained to learn the
language and culture of other people
and to understand and appreciate
alternative ways of life. Most anthro-
pologists possess at least one in-depth,
area-specific or language-specific,
expertise about a people other than their
own. This in-depth knowledge about
another culture encourages self reflec-
tion, and guards them against forming a
quick judgement based on one's
common sense. They are aware of the
fact that their way of looking at the
world is not necessarily a natural or
superior way. Instead of testing a
preconceived hypothesis formed by the
researcher, ethnographic inquiry seeks
to discover perspectives held by the
others. Anthropologists are skilled
fieldworkers, and they use open-ended,
naturalistic inquiry methods and
inductive reasoning to understand local
perspectives. Instead of giving question-
naires, ethnographers follow people
around, observe team meetings,
participate in activities, ask open-ended
questions, and listen to ideas and
opinions expressed in formal and
informal settings. They analyze the
material culture, communication styles,
time allocations and spatial dimensions
of organizational life. They examine the
most mundane, everyday routines of
organizational life, and pay attention to
the people's life within and outside the
4 PRACTICING ANTHROPOLOGY
organization. They try to see linkages
and patterns among pieces of informa-
tion; between the unit and the whole;
and between different sets and levels of
analyses, in order to construct the world
views held by local peoples, which are
different from their own.
Inductive reasoning and comparative
analysis of local, multiple, viewpoints
help them interpret deeper structural
and cultural reasons. Apparently simple
organizational phenomena such as the
format of a quality control meeting or
the sales manual are in fact interpreted
differently by different members.
lnductive reasoning helps explain why
things remain the way they are, despite
sincere managerial efforts to entice
changes.
Ethnographic findings often reveal
the current distribution of knowledge in
organization, and point out cognitive
gaps, omissions, misrepresentations,
and dissonance at various loci. Ethno-
graphic investigation excavates previ-
ously hidden dimensions and relations
among organizational phenomena,
ideologies, memories, fears, and
aspirations. It clarifies alternative
possibilities of decision or action, that
have not been officially addressed. This
tends to produce more relational and
multifarious decision-making process,
and provides opportunities for mutual
sense-making activities At the least,
anthropological reports trigger self-
reflection and stimulate dialogues
among stakeholders. The acquired
knowledge about alternative perspec-
tives tends to renew emotional energy
flows, and invigorate organizational
creativity.
Most business problems are people
problems, and most people issues
involve cultural mediation. Anthro-
pologists are organizational bridge-
makers and cultural translators. They
are trained to resolve emotional
embroilment and conflicts between
groups. They are trained to disassemble
the 'we-versus-they' bifurcation, and to
use hidden meanings and new
metaphors for organizational transfor-
mation.
Business firms that develop anthro-
pological skills can successfully create
culturally appropriate strategies to work
with multi-ethnic, multinational,
multicultural groups of workers,
managers, staff, customers, partners,
suppliers, clients, and competitors. We
need a new type of organizational
leaders who understand and promote
cultural diversity. We urge that more
anthropologists get involved in business
organization, and that more business
people become anthropologically
competent. Business organization is one
of the most significant institutions in the
contemporary society. It is an urgent
task for anthropologists to understand
and improve the systemic nature of this
institution, both from within and
outside.
Tomoko Hamada is Margaret Hamilton
Professor ofAnthropology at the
College of William and Mary. Her
research interests include anthropology
of work organization and identity
politics at work places. She has worked
in various parts of the world including
Japan, South Africa, China, and the
United States. She holds degrees from
the University of California, Berkeley
(Ph.D.), Keio University (M.A.), and
Vassar College (B.A.). Her publications
include American Enterprise in Japan
(1991), Cross-Cultural Management
and Organizational Culture (with Ann
Jordan 1991) and Anthropological
Perspectives on Organizational Culture
(with Will Sibley, 1994). She may be
reached at <thamad@facstaff.wm.edu>.
Further Readings in Business
Anthropology
Baba, Marietta L.
1986 Business and Industrial Anthro-
pology: An Overview. NAPA Bulletin
No.2. Washington, D.C.: American
Anthropological Association.
Dundes, Alan and Carl P. Pagter
1992 Work Hard and You Shall be
Rewarded: Urban Folklorefrom the
Paper Work Empire. Detroit, MI:
Wayne State University Press.
Ervin, Alexander M.
2000 Applied Anthropology: Tools and
Vol. 21, No.4, Fall 1999
Perspectives for Contemporary
Practice. Boston: Allyn and Bacon
(In Press).
Giovannini, Maureen J. and Lynne
M.H. Rosansky (Editors)
1990 Anthropology and Management
Consulting: Forging a New Alliance.
NAPA Bulletin, No.9 Arlington,
VA: American Anthropological
Association.
Hamada, Tomoko and Ann Jordan
(Editors)
1990 Cross-Cultural Management and
Organizational Culture. Studies in
Third World Societies, Volume 42.
Williamsburg, VA: College of
William and Mary.
Hamada, Tomoko and Willis Sibley
(Editors)
1994 Anthropological Perspectives on
Organizational Culture. New York:
University Press of America.
Hamada, Tomoko, (Editor)
1998 The Anthropology of Business
.Organization, A Special Volume of
the Anthropology of Work Review,
Vol XVIII, Numbers 2 & 3, Winter &
Spring.
Hofstede, Geert
1997 Culture's Consequences: Interna-
tional Differences in Work-Related
Issues. Newbury Park, CA: Sage
Publications.
1997 Cultures and Organizations:
Software of the Mind, Intercultural
Cooperation and Its Importance for
Survival. New York: McGraw Hill.
Jordan, Ann T. (Editor)
1997 Practicing Anthropology in
Corporate America: Consulting on
Organizational Culture. NAPA
Bulletin 14. Arlington, VA: American
Anthropological Association.
Miller, Daniel
1997 Capitalism: An Ethnographic
Approach. London: Berg Publishing.
1998 A Theory of Shopping. Ithaca, NY:
Cornell University Press . •