Drawing the Contours of Organizational Culture Through Neoliberal and Colonial Discourses

Abstract

This study employed a cultural materialist framework to examine organizational culture through the analysis of discourse at the National Communications Authority in Ghana (NCA-Ghana), the state-sanctioned regulator of the communications industry in the country. The study explored the interconnections among neoliberalism, colonialism, and organizational culture through an examination of discourses of professionalism and individualization. Using the discourse historical approach (DHA), the study found that neoliberalism functions in corporatized African organizations by activating colonial logics which in turn influence organizational culture. An important implication of the study is that, even for the individual, organizational culture is not merely symbolic but has material consequences. Because of these consequences, resistance efforts may not always look different from practices that reproduce dominant discourses.