On the Contradictions of 'Pluralism': A Theoretical and Empirical Overview

By Dr. Mauri Yambo

January 30, 1985

1. INTRODUCTION

If one accepts the view that all contemporary societies are heterogeneous, one finds it difficult to isolate societies [perhaps better understood nowadays as nation-states] in which the term "plural" cannot apply. What Gutkind (1957: 351) said nearly thirty years ago [nearly sixty now] of "multiracialism" applies equally well to the term "plural societies" -- particularly when defined as loosely as Mazrui (1969: 333) does. In other words, the term implies a polarity between its existence and nonexistence. CLICK HERE TO READ THE WHOLE PAPER IN ITS ORIGINAL FORM.

The paper was presented at a workshop on The Role of the Judiciary in Plural Societies, January 30 - February 4, 1985; Nairobi and Eldoret (Sirikwa Hotel). The workshop was organized by Kenya's Public Law Institute and the International Centre for Ethnic Studies, Colombo, Sri Lanka.

CSO 405: Sociology of Work and Industry, Course Outline and Reading List, May-August 2016 Semester, Mod I and II

COURSE OBJECTIVE

To construct a detailed understanding of the nature of work in social life, the industrialization process in time and space, and the interface between work and industry.

COURSE DESCRIPTION/CONTENT

Key concepts in the field: labour, working class, socialization into work-roles, the quality of working life (QWL), de-skilling, alienation, motivation, hi-tech, industry, industrialization, work versus employment, and work versus leisure.  Models and theories: Human resource theory, the labour process, the theory of value, socialization theory, import substitution industrialization (ISI), export-oriented industrialization (EOI), labour market segmentation theory, social stratification, the division of labour, articulation of modes of production, de-industrialization, convergence and post-industrial society.  Industrial policies of selected countries in terms of, inter alia, employment, technological change, scale and diversity of production, the role of the informal/Jua Kali sector, ownership, quality of life and implications for the social structure.  The impact of science and technology on society, and vice versa, in terms of the past, the present and future.  Selected aspects of industrial psychology, labour law and migration.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FULL TEXT

MUSIC (Kenya): Ji Opogore by Yunasi

Ten years after it was released, Ji Opogore still wins the studied ear with its musicality. It has become a veritable classic, among connoisseurs. It celebrates the fact of difference among folks -- which is not the same thing as differences. Folks are different, wherever you find them, that's all. It is a world of difference that we live in, a world of diversity. A soulful ballad, then, as rich as the diversity it contemplates.

This titillating Kenyan song, sung in Dholuo, was little celebrated in 2006, and is even less known now, as I reckon. It's a veritable gem, nonetheless, as time flies. Take a listen:

Click to watch the video

Notes on Social Differentiation and Social Change

NOTES ON SOCIAL DIFFERENTIATION AND SOCIAL CHANGE

Prof. Mauri Yambo

1. Introduction: Conceptualizing Social Differentiation:

Leading scholars have sought to understand the process of differentiation in society over time, and have come up with a variety of useful conceptions and explanations. Among these scholars, whom students are called upon to read in order to likewise understand and explain (and thus to carry the baton forward), are Herbert Spencer[1] (1897)[2], Emile Durkheim (2014)[3], Max Weber (1947: 424-429)[4], Ferdinand Toennies (2001)[5], Georg Simmel, Talcott Parsons (1964: 339-357) and Niklas Luhmann (1987, 1995)[6].  All have looked at how societies evolve over time, based on the forms of complexity that arise inside them and the dissimilarities that perforce emerge among their members, driven by the inevitable pressures and contradictions of nature and nurture. I use ‘nurture’ here as an umbrella term for the multiplicity of ways in which “society, polity, economy and culture”, and even nature, affect us all – even as we, in turn, variously affect them...

CLICK Here to Access the Full Text [This text was first uploaded on November 16, 2015, and then rested. It is only today re-posted on this blog, and thus made publicly available again, It is best accessed via a laptop or PC]

















[CSO 103, CSO 501, Theory]

CSO 405: Sociology of Work and Industry, CAT Questions, September-December 2013

INSTRUCTION: Answer any TWO of the following questions:

1. Discuss the importance of the following terms to the contemporary workplace in Kenya:
a) Workforce diversity
b) The contingent workforce
c) Skills-in-use versus certified skills
d) Work-Life Balance.

2. "Work and industry represent a continuum in terms of conception, organization and classification." Critically discuss this statement, supporting your answer with relevant examples and reference to specific texts (or authorities).

3.  a) What do you consider to be the main sources or explanations of unemployment in Kenya today?
     b) Suggest the main ways in which Kenya's policy-makers can significantly increase youth employment in                the next five years.



NOTE:
1. Released on November 10, 2013
2. Deadline for submissions: 5.30 pm on Wednesday, November 27, 2013. Submit at GW 407E
3. CAT paper length: 6 to 8 pages (size A4). These must be: word-processed, double-spaced, font 12
4. Answers should be well-researched, with clear reference to relevant authorities (check course outline)
5. Both Regular and Module II (Evening and Day) students to do this CAT.

Sensitivity Training

The goal of sensitivity (or sensitization) training is to raise participants’ awareness of the overall or context-specific sensitivities of those that they interact with at close range or at arm’s length. That is to say, the motivation in such training is to make them (or to become) more acutely aware of other’s manifest, understated or hidden (inconspicuous) sensitivities, and to act accordingly.

Candidates for sensitivity training are not necessarily innocent offenders of others’ sense of propriety and (mutual) respect. They may quite deliberately set out to offend. And yet some offend without meaning to – being unaware that certain of their utterances display prejudice or bigotry – and suffer short-term and long-term repercussions without quite realizing why or since when.

Viewed that way, sensitivity training is a knowledge-based solution for the negativities that an insensitive actor may encounter in a diversity-predicated social arena, or at the workplace. Such negativities may hamper individuals’ work-performance, jeopardize organizational operations and goal-attainment, and make for a lousy workplace.  By definition, these negativities and insensitivities play out in group settings, and are thus lodged in the broader notion of group dynamics. Thus, sensitivity training and group dynamics training overlap, at least in part.

Group dynamics, as seen by Margaret Mead, is “The social process by which people interact and behave in a group environment… [It] involves the influence of personality, power, and behaviour on the group process. [It seeks answers to these questions:] Is the relationship between individuals conducive to achieving the group’s goals? Is the structure and size of the group an asset in pursuing both the task and maintenance functions of the group? How is formal and informal power used to build consensus or reach decisions? Does the combination of individuals produce the right culture?”

Answers to these and related questions yield to researchers and trainers extant patterns and ‘regularities’ which are crucial to clarifying the status of “group effectiveness” and plotting re-design modalities.  

 Well-designed sensitivity and group-dynamics training programmes – including role-play or role-reversal, and group dynamics training – can help make amends.

Diversity

Diversity refers to both the awareness of difference – cultural, racial, ethnic, class, age-related, religious, educational, national origin, physical ability, gender and marital status, among others – and the acknowledgement or acceptance of difference as an inescapable fact of public life in a growing number of countries. The Kenyan constitution itself touts diversity in various areas of public life, such as: appointments to public office, enrollment in institutions of learning and employment. However, the fit between the letter of the law and actual practice (or habit) is the subject of much debate. There is much room for knowledge-based (or informed) implementation strategies. In national settings, diversity is all about democracy-mediated inclusion. On a global scale, it is about emigration and (usually selective) immigration– that is to say, the selective issuing of visas. Diversity, in a world of randomly and thinly distributed arrays of crucial talent, is increasingly seen in influential circles as a source of national strength and competitive advantage.

On Why Focusing on Core Business May be the Route to Oblivion

The mantra of top business minds (at least since Tom Peters made the call) and leading business schools has been: "Focus on your core business"; that is to say, on your core competencies. Diversions were to be avoided at all costs.

Now Adam Harting warns, in a Forbes article, that doing so is a sure route to oblivion. Being nimble-footed -- able to shift gears as quickly as rapidly changing fields of play demand -- is what is called for; better still, being able to juggle several balls of commitment and focus at the same time, to multi-task, to diversify activity, to hedge risk and even to anticipate the future -- as Google seems to be (as AIG was not) good at.

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