Using the Critical Management Studies Tenet of Denaturalisation as a Vehicle to Decolonise the Management Discourse in South Africa

Abstract

It has been roughly five years since the #FeesMustFall student protests shook the foundations of higher education in South Africa. However, in the aftermath of these protests, the students’ demand for decolonization of the curriculum, despite initial energy, has seemingly lost momentum. Within the discipline of management and organization studies, the situation is even more exacerbated, with efforts toward decolonization being cosmetic at best. However, much criticism has been directed toward the notion of decolonization for its lack of normative literature. This paper suggests that Critical Management Studies (CMS), and in particular the CMS notion of denaturalization, might provide a broad framework for achieving decolonization. Furthermore, the work of contemporary philosopher Jacques Ranciere is proposed as a pragmatic means to denaturalize management thinking in order to move closer to a truly decolonized management curriculum in South Africa.