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1 – 10 of 33Anel Flores Novelo and Oscar Javier Montiel Méndez
Although scarce in the literature of entrepreneurship, the Aztec and Mayas (as well as the Incas), two of the most important civilizations in ancient Latin America, are considered…
Abstract
Although scarce in the literature of entrepreneurship, the Aztec and Mayas (as well as the Incas), two of the most important civilizations in ancient Latin America, are considered by us as entrepreneurs. This is our departing point for understanding where entrepreneurship was born and built in Latin America. Unfortunately, its indigenous communities still are far behind in terms of labor, quality of life, poverty, and economic opportunities. From the ethnic entrepreneurship theory and after a deep literature review, a model is proposed for our region, a starting point to analyze and understand its processes in our region, thus making an impact on the development of public policies that can ultimately alleviate and improve the condition of this communities, and by going back to its roots, give a clearer picture of the reasons behind the present and future condition of entrepreneurship in Latin America.
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Manuel F. Suarez-Barraza and Jose Angel Miguel Davila
Well into the 21st century, it is difficult to deny the contribution that Mayan culture has made to the history of the world, and not only because of its contribution to universal…
Abstract
Purpose
Well into the 21st century, it is difficult to deny the contribution that Mayan culture has made to the history of the world, and not only because of its contribution to universal culture with its architecture, astronomy and mathematics. Understanding the management practices of a Mayan dance (the dance of the Pochó) that has transcended over the years can give us an idea of the management practices carried out by an ancestral culture such as the Maya. The purpose of this article is to establish an initial conceptual relationship between the management process proposed by Henry Fayol (1916) and the management of a Mayan dance that has survived to the present day.
Design/methodology/approach
A specific ethnographic study was carried out in the municipality of Tenosique, Tabasco (Mexico) for two consecutive years. Research methods such as direct observation, researcher diaries, in-depth interviews and photographs were utilized that allowed a study of management practices.
Findings
Thanks to the cross-checking of the data obtained, it was possible to determine a theoretical-conceptual relationship between Fayol's management process and the Mayan dance studied. In fact, 12 specific management practices found in the four phases of the process were identified. In addition, with the ethnographic study it was possible to determine the levels of intensity and impact regarding the satisfaction of those attending and performing the dance.
Research limitations/implications
Research limitations are due to result from the fact that the analysis corresponds to a single Mayan dance in a specific place (Tenosique) in the state of Tabasco, Mexico.
Practical implications
To understand the management practices of the Mayan culture through the study of a dance that has remained alive until our days; this might be useful for the management practices of today's companies.
Originality/value
It is a pioneering study that analyzes a Mayan dance through the optics of management sciences.
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A synthesis of the various strands of macro-sociology that is commensurate with a more robust theory of evolutionary institutionalism.
Abstract
Purpose
A synthesis of the various strands of macro-sociology that is commensurate with a more robust theory of evolutionary institutionalism.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing from what may be conceived of as classical institutionalism and from neo-evolutionary sociology and other related traditions, this chapter endeavors to provide a general theory of evolutionary institutionalism as an overview of institutions and institutional autonomy (along with the underlying forces driving the process of autonomy), to present a theory of institutional evolution that delineates the relevant units of selection and evolution, the types of mechanisms that facilitate institutional evolution, and a typology of the sources of variation.
Findings
The chapter constitutes the attempt to provide a theoretical framework intended to engender an improved historical-comparative institutionalism inspired by the works of Max Weber and Herbert Spencer.
Research limitations/implications
The purpose of the theoretical framework presented should not be misconstrued as a general, “grand” theory for the discipline of the sociology as a whole, but rather understood as the model of a common vocabulary for sociologists interested in macro-sociology, institutions, and socio-cultural evolution designed to complement other available models.
Originality/value
As a synthesis, the originality of the theoretical framework presented lies in (1) elucidation of the idea that institutional autonomy as the “master” process of institutional evolution, (2) more precise delineation of the link between meso-level institutional entrepreneurs and institutional evolution, and (3) combination of a body of complementary – yet often loosely linked – bodies of scholarship.
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Recent scholarship in neo-evolutionary sociology has rejected stage-models in favor of multilinear theories that shift the study of sociocultural change away from teleological…
Abstract
Recent scholarship in neo-evolutionary sociology has rejected stage-models in favor of multilinear theories that shift the study of sociocultural change away from teleological arguments toward those that emphasize selection pressures and macrodynamics. The paper below adopts a neo-evolutionary frame to revisit one of the most epochal moments in human sociocultural evolution, the urban revolution (about 5,000 years ago in Mesopotamia, China, Egypt, and perhaps the Indus Valley) and the rise of the first political units. Shifting the analysis from conventional perspectives, this paper asks the question why the polity was the first autonomous institution besides kinship and what consequences did this have on the trajectory of the human societies, and more generally, human sociocultural evolution. By doing so, a slightly different historiography is presented in which institutional autonomy corresponds not with stages, but rather an historical “phasing” that emphasizes the role that institutional entrepreneurs have played in driving institutional evolution via structural opportunities and historical contingencies.
Abuse/Incest Support site offers a weekly feature about survivors or issues of interest to survivors, their family and friends or professionals. Also has a listing of resources…
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Pedro Antonio Martín-Cervantes and María del Carmen Valls Martínez
This chapter explores how the irruption of plastic materials in contemporary society, in the same way that it facilitated a wide range of human activities, eventually degenerated…
Abstract
This chapter explores how the irruption of plastic materials in contemporary society, in the same way that it facilitated a wide range of human activities, eventually degenerated into a global danger through the contamination of rivers and seas, damaging the human food chain. In doing so, the historical background of this situation has been outlined. Moreover, the countries and areas at present that have polluting plastic substances and those that can be most easily recycled is highlighted. It should be noted that it is precisely in the area of recyclability where most hopes have been placed to counteract plastic contamination aimed at avoiding single-use plastic products. Subsequently, the different positions adopted by the members of society on this problem have been described and, by way of example, the state of the situation in a specific country, Spain, has been summarised.
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