Business Strategy and the EnvironmentBus. Strat. Env. 9, 76–78 (2000)

BOOK REVIEWS

THE POST-DEVELOPMENT READER edited by MajidRahnema and Victoria Bawtree, 1997. Zed, xix + 440 pp,£15.95 (pbk). ISBN 1-85649-4748

This reader sandwiches 37 texts between introductory andconcluding commentaries, larded with some 60 boxedextracts, packaged to offer a flavour of post-developmentalism, and targeted originally at the normallybland diet enjoyed by west coast American college stu-dents. The introductory commentary outlines the ‘myth’ ofdevelopment. This consists, we are told, of a post-colonialdiscourse coalition comprising the leaders of newly inde-pendent states who seek to transform their devastatednations, the masses desiring freedom from both old and newforms of subjugation and the ex-colonial powers, attempt-ing to preserve their exploitation through new economicties. The principal editor served as a chairman of theDecolonization Committee of the UN General Assembly.

Many of the themes of this critique can trace their rootsto the volume’s acknowledged ‘guru’, Ivan Illich, who isaccorded two entries. The first, written in the early 1970s,offers a forceful, if overblown, condemnation of decisionmakers’ obsession with modernity, tracing the way in whichthis has directed returns to the emerging middle classes atthe expense of traditional cultures. A quotation taken fromanother Illich source listed in the annotated suggestedreadings concluding the volume sets the general tone of thechosen text: ‘The modern age can be understood as . . . anunrelenting 500-year war waged to destroy the environ-mental conditions for subsistence and replace them bycommodities . . . ’ (p 415). The second Illich text, anembarrassingly sycophantic interview with the main editor,consists of gnomic utterances given in response to lengthyobservations, drawing the depressing conclusion that thosewith the capacity for tackling the problems of developmentshould recognize their helplessness in the face of inexorableforces.

A more optimistic picture can be gleaned from othertexts, many of which view the sustainability of the devel-opment process in terms of an unequal struggle between thecultural and ethical values of traditional societies and thepressures of modernism. An interesting glimpse into waysof sustaining the development of indigenous Canadiansocieties sits beside Wolfgang Sach’s criticism of currentattitudes towards sustainable development in general, which

CCC 0964-4733/2000/010076–03 $17.50Copyright � 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

laments the neglect of the local community. Grassrootsresponses to the problems created by pressures for culturalchange are a predominant feature of many texts.

A reader is normally designed to accompany a specificschool of thought or paradigm. Does the concept ofpost-developmentalism meet this test? One difficulty withwhat is at times a stimulating volume is the absence of anyattempt to provide coherent foundations for the concept, orto illustrate how such a stance might lead to new insights,original prognoses and worthwhile initiatives. Few woulddeny that the motives of post-colonialism were sullied, butthose who participated in the process would be pressed tosupport a conspiratorial thesis: ‘under the banner of devel-opment and progress, a tiny minority of local profiteers,supported by their foreign ‘‘patrons’’, set out to devastatethe very foundations of social life in these countries’ (p x).This goes far beyond the claims that the Reader offers ‘aview of development from the perspective of the losers’(p xi).

In the commentary, three themes permeating the textsare identified. Firstly, the view of the underdog is stressed.Secondly, human values are preferred to technologicalachievements. Lastly, fundamentalist critiques of the devel-opment process are favoured. Within these criteria, somevaluable extracts can be discovered. Marshall Salin’s icono-clastic emphasis on the affluence of traditional hunter –gatherers opens the initial section on pre-developmentalsocieties. The following section dissects the developmentparadigm and has some sparkling texts by Teodor Shaninon the idea of progress (specially written for the Reader), byMarshall Berman on Goethe’s Faust as the first moderndeveloper (a must for every urban planner) and by ArturoEscobar. Escobar applies Foucauldian methodology todeconstruct developmentalism, which ‘was conceived not asa cultural process . . . but instead as a system of more or lessuniversally applicable technical interventions intendedto deliver some ‘‘badly-needed’’ goods to a ‘‘target’’population’ (p 91).

The third section considers the various ‘vehicles ofdevelopment’, analysing the roles of concepts such as theeconomy, the nation state, education and science as instru-ments for delivering the developmental process. This leadsinto a section on development in practice, in which some ofthe unintended consequences of the application of develop-ment ideology are considered. Here Susan George arguesthat structural reforms imposed by lending agencies havewreaked similar devastation both in third world societiesand in the societies of the richer nations, which suffer the

health and safety teams, told ‘and by the way, you are nowresponsible for the environment too’?

In chapter 4 we are treated to an interesting insight intothe world of land reclamation, and the role volunteers play.An observation is made that ‘Environmentalist teams havegreater diversity and more subtle personal needs’. This is, ofcourse, the reality for organization-based teams, but execu-tives generally underestimate these issues or ignore themaltogether. One could possibly argue that within an organi-zation there is less diversity, but the need to understand theagenda of the individual is vital if any team initiative is tobe successful. This point is borne out by some interestingobservations in chapter 2 about how to treat individualswith respect to the issue of the environment, particularlywhen the environment may be a core value of theindividual.

A synthesis of learning points always misses some of thesubtlety of the arguments put forward. However, I wouldhave found this helpful, given that a lot of information ispresented and the learning points are scattered throughoutthe text.

Suzanne PollackHenley Management College,

Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, UK

CANON: GLOBAL RESPONSIBILITIES AND LOCALDECISIONS by Philip Sandoz, 1997. Penguin, ix + 180 pp,£15.00 (hbk). ISBN 0-670-87408-6

Global responsibilities of businesses, particularly of the big

BOOK REVIEWS

consequences of the reversed aid flows caused by indebted-ness in the form of street drugs, illegal migration, globalinstability and environmental destruction. This section con-cludes with a gem – the development game – written undera pen name from the perspective of a leader of aninternational aid mission, which strips bare the fundamentalcynicism driving such exercises. It is essential reading forany aspiring member of such missions.

The final section deals with the post-development age,bringing together various pieces on how the losers might ordid fight back, including a percipient essay by Vaclav Havelon the philosophical underpinnings of the Czech art form ofGood-Soldier-Schweikian dumb insolence applied to thecommunist period of rule. Esteva and Pradash plead for localthinking to match local action, rather than recourse to globalthinking, if by this is meant ‘big’ ideas which neglectcommunity values. They draw on Wendell Berry’scommunity-based approach to sustainability to argue that‘Since none of us can ever really know more than aminuscule part of the Earth, ‘global thinking’ is at best onlyan illusion and at worst the ground for the kinds ofdestructive and dangerous actions perpetrated by global‘think-tanks’ like the World Bank, or their more benigncounterparts – the watchdogs in the global environmentalmovement’ (p 279). The volume, for all its limitations,should at least give any remaining Panglossian developer orenvironmentalist cause for reflection.

Tony JacksonGeddes Centre for Planning Research,

School of Town and Regional Planning,University of Dundee, UK

MANAGING GREEN TEAMS – ENVIRONMENTALCHANGE IN ORGANISATIONS AND NETWORKSedited by John Moxen and Peter Strachan, 1998. Greenleaf,xv + 268 pp, £35.00 (hbk). ISBN 1-874719-08-X

People working together to improve the environment is nota new phenomenon – arguably this has been happeningsince the dawn of civilization. However, it is rare to findsuch a substantial collection of information in one place thatconcentrates, solely, on the issue of how environmentalimprovements can be achieved through the effectivedeployment of teams.

For those readers who are familiar with team practise andliterature, there are few surprises about the lessons pre-sented for effective team development and deployment.Similarly, for those readers who are familiar with theenvironmental debate, particularly in relation to the role ofbusiness, there are not many surprises. However, there ismuch to be gained from reading about the combined subjectof environmental improvement through effective teamworking. For example, in chapter 1 we are told that ‘initialroutines are often difficult to change’. In other words, if youaim to address environmental concerns via a team then thatteam should be established with this goal in mind – a pointthat sounds obvious, but how often are existing teams, e.g.

global commercial organizations, have gained tremendousattention from the public in recent years. The expectation ofethical transactions is prevalent among the stakeholders andPhilip Sandoz’s book on Canon is a very welcome additionto the studies of business ethics.

Canon is one of the more widely acknowledged Japanesebrand names in the international business scene. The firm inmany ways represents the industrial trajectory of post-warJapan. Japanese work ethics and a conviction blended withreligious philosophy propelled Canon from a small domesticcamera manufacturer to a global giant with diversifiedproduct lines. Mr. Sandoz, through his journalistic lenses,meticulously narrates the success story of Canon andpresents us with a book full of interesting colours and detail.The writing style is culture sensitive and depicts the essenceof Japanese society in an accurate fashion. Because of theauthor’s long-term association with Japan, the book rendersa non-superficial and no-nonsense treatment of the diffi-culties in business formation and management in Japan. Theauthor, apparently well versed in Japanese history, renders ahelpful interpretation of historical connection to businessstrategies in presenting the facts surrounding Canon’sascension to the top of the global marketplace. Hisinterview accounts are systematically and passionatelyorganized, reflecting his admiration of Japan.

I particularly enjoyed reading and learning about theglobal responsibility dimension of Canon’s management

Copyright � 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. Bus. Strat. Env. 9, 76–78 (2000)

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