The Mouride Management Model : fondations and principal axes Through this theme, we will explore the Mouride Managerial model, taking into account the doctrinal corpus and the socioeconomic practice observed in the senegalese society.
The « Mouridism » is a Religious brotherhood founded in 1880 by Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba in Senegal.
Initially it was positionned as an instance of cultural resistance against the assimilationist strategy of teh colonial administration ; then it turned into a real home of social and economic organzation furthermore into political promotion environnement
These aspects, closely linked to the texts of Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba constitute the fundament of the mourid Management Model.
WORK AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC ORGANIZATION MODEL :
The Mouridism granted a prominant sense to production in general and work in particular by considering it as a form of prayer (devotion).
In his book, « Paths to Heaven », Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba stated that « it’s an obligation for the believer to seek lawfull properties. Seeking lawfull properties is a form of Jihad ».
The identification of work to the Jihad (ie Holy war) clearly indicates it influence and importance in the social and economic organization.
If the Mourid disciple must strictly refer to all the worshiping obligations, if he must, in particular, renounce to carnal pleasures for the triumph of peace of soul, he must also, by his sustained effort contribute to the socio economic promotion as well as the community development to which he belongs.
Refering to that subject, Cheikh Ahmadou BAMBA declared : « Know that surrendering to God doesn’t exclude the Kasb (ie work to earn your bread). Do not waste your time. The best behavior is to combine the Kasb and the surrendering to God, although the combination appears as a divorce »
After his deportation in 1895 to Gabon an to Mauritania in 1903, Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba, moved to Diourbel (Senegal) in 1912 and with his disciples promoted the cultivation of peanuts. The share of mouridism in groundnuts cultivation made the brotherhood become a strategic part of the oil industries since colonial times.
That strategic position has been strenghtened with Senegal’s accession to independence and made the mourids operators involved in each phase of production, transformation and selling of the products.
Which inevitably led to the emergence of a class of Mourid operators essentially active in ago-industry first and then in agro-business.
Today, the Mourids are central to the agro-industrial and commercial connection linked to the exploitation of peanuts and its derivatives.
Which gives the economic organization, a particular orientation, since not only the worker sees his mission as a priesthood, but in addition, he considers the achievement of the goals of the company as a condition to his spiritual elevation. In this, we are close to the relation established by WEBER between « protestant ethic » and « spirit of capitalism ».
The Community logic
The Mourid community is, since the beginning, considered as an association of « brothers seeking for the same goal, faithful and sincere in fraternity, serving as fellow travelers » (Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba : Faut il pleurer les illustres disparus ? Should we mourn the illustruous dead ? )
This community is based on a common membership of all mourids to the same religious brotherhood. That’s why Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba in his writings seek out to the Human being regardless of any ethnic, professional or caste considerations.
That’s why in « The paths of heaven », the Cheikh states « Give your precious help to all, tirelessly and without unpleasant words.
Therefore, we can understand why the muridism presents itself as a meta-ethnic reality that makes possible a peaceful and multi-ethnic coexistence and promotes trans-ethnic solidarity.
Such an application, is a particularly important element of economic promotion for at least two reasons.
The first one, refers to the spirit of collegiality, the reproduction of daara (environment of religious brotherhood affinities) within the production unit. So that the mourid company does not break with the mourid culture and/or ideology that underlies and rythm its operation. The worker, here, fulfills his duty as a cultural obligation, takes charge of the corporate objectives and adopt what we can call a productive behavior.
Between 1927 and 1933, Elton MAYO had shown in his researchs at the WEC that the psychological environment in wich evolve the worker influences the production.
The second reason refers to form large human collectivities to face the competition in a context of globalization. One lesson to learn from muridism is that the market share gained depends on the level of integration of the geoeconomic environment in which we evolve. Muridism clearly and sufficiently laid the foundation doctrine for a real economic integration that goes by « sincer brotherhood ».
Endogenous Management Model
The unilinear scheme of development elaborated by ROSTOW highlights the idea that economic growth inevitably goes through 5 stages : tradional society, preconditions for take-off, the take-off, maturity and mass consumption.
Everything happens as if, as is shown by Charles Correa, that "there is a box inexorable linearity mechanically and inevitably leads to poverty to wealth."
Everything happens, as if, as it’s noted by Charles CORREA « there is an inexorable box of linearity that mechanically and inevitably leads from poverty to wealth »
This means that the adaptation of management models to local african realities largely depends on the competitiveness of our businesses. CROZIER himself talks about the contingent nature of organization forms ie the non « replicability » of managerial strategies from geo-cultural context to another.
Consequently, it is "making" management models endogenous and original all at once dynamic and open to the efficient management of all available resources on the continent. System exploration Mouride is part of this perspective, and business schools have, at this level, an interesting challenge to consider.
Accordingly, it is about « making » endogenous and original management models, all at once dynamic and open for an efficient management of all the available resources over the continent. The murid exploration system is an application of this concept ; and it constitutes an interesting challenge that business schools should consider.
Bibliography :
• H. DESROCHES : Religion et développement in archives de sociologie des religions N° 12, 1961
• S.B. DIAGNE et H. OSSEBI : La question culturelle en Afrique, Dakar, CODESRIA, 1996
• D. DIAKHATE : Mouridisme, marchés hebdomadaires et sociétés rurales sérères : études des transformations socioculturelles et économiques de Foula-Foul, Thèse de doctorat de sociologie, Janvier 2000.
• WADE : La doctrine économique du mouridisme, Dakar – Martin 1969
• Archives Nationale du Sénégal : Dossiers BAMBA. 3e 55, 13 G
• P. COUTY : Doctrine et politique du travail chez les mourides, ORSTOM, 1969.
