allAfrica.com: Botswana: Out to Lunch (Page 1 of 1)

Generally speaking, people who have recently and perhaps even unexpectedly come into money are usually easy to recognise. They generally go to gaudy lengths to display their new wealth, and all their recently acquired status symbols.

They go even further to show their rejection of anything associated with their old lives, including even their values and relationships.

As they grapple with some of the life lessons they will undoubtedly encounter in their new station, those with no money and no prospects look on in embittered envy while those with so-called 'old-money' look on in awe.

The nouveau riche are something of a hybrid species in their communities - they won't recognise the poor and they don't fit in with the historically wealthy, and yet, they won't associate with other newly wealthy types simply because they are in fierce competition with each other over who has bought the latest, biggest, best, and priciest.

Many of the people I'd term nouveau riche are driven by a need to prove a point to whoever they imagine may be watching; a need for external acknowledgement and validation; and, a low sense of self.

Many of them seem to suffer identity crises which are brought on by the fact that they chose to reject everything they have been while they are unsure about how to become what it is they aspire to.

They present themselves as something they very often aren't - plainly stated, they are amoral, materialistic, empty, superficial and fake, and that becomes immediately apparent in any exchange with them. It's a neurotic condition that is manifest more and more in our society today.

And how is this a human resource or service delivery or productivity issue? Well, firstly, we have an emergent class of nouveau riche presenting a new management challenge in every type of organisation across the country today, and secondly, I've used a change in personal fortunes as a metaphor for the changes we are experiencing at a national level but haven't had any form of real support in terms of formal 'change management' strategies for.

Here we are, a 40-something old economy, coming from an entrenched 'subsistence' background and trying to adjust to, and work towards, delivery standards that are dictated by economies that have been active since the 1800's. Not to say we can't compete, or that we're not capable. Of course we are capable, and in many ways, we are catching up with the best, and in areas like technology, we are on par.

So while we celebrate that we can in fact compete, but we need to ensure that we nurture ourselves, our communal sense of wellness, and our attitudes, so that when we get to that Promised Land, it's not a hollow victory where we find we have swapped our souls for the ability to impress.

I'm talking about attitudes and social consciousness because that is the basis of all behaviour, including organisational behaviour. We can't be expected to deliver world class service standards and connect with our colleagues and customers when we have had to learn to lose our sense of community.

We are, for instance, becoming increasingly insular, and less likely to greet people, unless we recognise how those people can be of value to us personally and professionally.

We think snubbing people shows sophistication, but what is overall result? Can't anyone see how artificial it is all becoming?

How can one work and cooperate with a colleague who has already been informally and finally profiled as socially inferior and unworthy of civility? In this context, how do we sincerely engage in team building activities?

Is this how the gloried West really works and lives, or have we thrown the baby out with the bath water? Having discovered commercial activity and how its rewards outweigh the humble subsistence practices, have we given up parts of who we were - as a people - to align with what we think suits profitable enterprise?Our culture as a people was evolved over a span of several generations, and while I accept that culture is fluid and will keep evolving, we must be careful to only make positive adjustments.

Our culture is all we have, it is our reference point, and if we dispose of it before we have a viable alternative, well, heaven help us.

I think it's fascinating to see how readily we have embraced changes at a social level, when as behavioural scientists and consultants we have to work very hard to persuade teams to even start to question their prevalent organizational cultures, never mind change them.

You see, on the work-front, we try to get teams to learn a new, competitive, productive and 'correct' way of working. A new and improved set of working ethics, behaviour patterns and communication styles. We call these world class. As if we are not

part of that world - if we were part of the world, wouldn't our perspective influence the application of these practices? Why should we have to be 'westernised' to be productive?

If reading this leaves you upset and confused, that's fine, because in the first instance, the subject is upsetting while in the second, I hope you'll be provoked enough to (at least think) about it.

Whether you think its hit too close to home, or that it's all nonsense, bear it in mind because I'm certain you are going to see it all play out in your team sooner than later.

Shameela Winston is a human resource consultant in private practice. She is available to readers at ponniewinston@yahoo.com.

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