Dialectic of Control and Emancipation in Organizing for Social Change: A Multitheoretic Study of the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh

Abstract

In recent years, the Grameen (rural) Bank of Bangladesh gained international fame for successfully organizing grassroots microenterprises for productive self-employment and social change. The Grameen Bank provides collateral-free loans and various social services for the poor, charging 20% interest on capital' and yet maintaining a 99% loan recovery rate. Many of the bank's I. 9 million members, of whom 94% are women, attribute their present well-being to its ameliorative qualities. Using multiple theories (coorientation, concertive control, and critical feminist theories), we analyze the Grameen Bank's programs to explicate the dialectic between control and emancipation in organizing for social change. By examining the Grameen Bank's organizational processes from multiple theoretical perspectives, we draw insights about theory and praxis in organizing for social change.

Collective leadership with power symmetry: Lessons from Aboriginal prehistory

“…This study, therefore concurs with scholars like Burrell (1992) and Reedy and Learmouth (2009), who encourage management/business scholars to study alternative organizations -the other 2% in the study by House and Aditya (1997). Fruitful cases for bringing the SL/DL discourse forward can be found among employee-owned cooperatives (Rothschild-Whitt, 1986;Summers, 2004); knowledge-intensive organizations dominated by experts (Alvesson, 2004;Klenke, 1997); new organizational forms such as the Grameen Bank (Papa et al, 1995); or in the performing arts as demonstrated by Koivunen (2007). Further qualitative micro level studies in shared leadership settings are required to explore the mechanisms of rotational leadership, possibly using Day et al's (2004) IMOI model.…”

The empowerment dilemma: The dialectic of emancipation and control in staff/client interaction at shelters for battered women

“…Finally, the findings contribute to Papa, Auwal, and Singhal's (1995) original conceptualization of the dialectic of emancipation and control by placing it in a new context. This dialectic is virtually unexplored.…”

“…This study develops the dialectic by viewing it in a specific type of relationship. By characterizing the dialectic through the accounts of the interviewees, this study adds another dimension to Papa, Auwal, and Singhal's (1995) conceptualization, by contributing to a better understanding of the "helping" relationship typical of most shelters for battered women.…”

“…The themes identified in these interviewees' accounts help to substantiate the dialectic by illustrating different scenarios in which it is present. Also, Papa, Auwal, and Singhal's (1995) study explores the dialectic in the relationship between an institution (the Grameen Bank) and a group of people. This study develops the dialectic by viewing it in a specific type of relationship.…”

“…2 Papa, Auwal, and Singhal (1995) examined the dialectic of emancipation and control by studying an American-style banking system in Bangladesh, designed to empower citizens by teaching them self-sufficiency. As Papa, Auwal, and Singhal (1995) note, the bank experienced particular problems when attempting to empower its female clients: The women exposed to the Grameen Bank's programs are not intimately involved in the process of determining how they will emancipate themselves. Rather, they are told in a paternalistic manner how they must behave (e.g., rules for loan disbursement) and in certain instances change their behavior (e.g., not give or take dowry in the marriage of their children) to qualify for loans, (p. 215) By investigating the power structure of the staff/client relationship, this study explores the dialectic of emancipation and control in staff/client interaction.…”