Dr Pratima Sambajee
Work, Employment and Organisation
Pratima Sambajee
553 6011 pratima.sambajee@strath.ac.uk
I am a lecturer in International Business focusing on International and Cross-cultural Management. After graduating from the University of Sunderland with a PhD in Culture, I joined the Department of Strategy and Organisation in 2011. I started as a teaching associate lecturing and coordinating a number of undergraduate classes. Prior to joining the University of Strathclyde, I also taught and coordinated a wide range of International Business/Management classes at postgraduate level. In 2013, I took on a lectureship in International Business. Alongside teaching, I am now actively engaged in research with interests in the UK/EU contexts and on Emerging Economies such as sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). My research in the UK/EU focuses on migrant interaction at work and the resulting organisational transformations.
My interest in sub-Saharan Africa stems from my PhD which was carried out on Mauritius. I am particularly interested in management systems operating in these contexts and how they diverge and/or converge with existing models. Africa is undergoing major changes and one of these has been the increase in Chinese investment in the continent. In this line, I have also begun exploring the relationship between China and Africa focusing on cross-cultural management issues and the dynamics of entrepreneurial activities at grassroot level. My proposal titled "From informal to small and medium enterprise sector: an analysis of management practices employed by SMEs in Mauritius" won a highly commended award at the 2013 Emerald Africa Management Research Fund. I welcome research ideas and collaborations on the above topics from fellow academics as well as students at both postgraduate and undergraduate levels.
Outside work, my personal hobbies include cooking, socialising with friends and family, long walks and travelling.
Has expertise in:
Cross-cultural management
African management systems
Postcolonial theory
Mobilities theory
From informal to small and medium enterprise sector: an analysis of management practices employed by SMEs in Mauritius
More prizes and awards
An African dilemma : pastoralists, conservationists and tourists - reconciling conflicting issues in Kenya
Kieti Damiannah, Nthiga Rita, Plimo Jonathan, Sambajee Pratima, Ndiuini Ann, Kiage Ezekiel, Mutinda Peter, Baum Tom
Development Southern Africa (2020)
Health and well-being of south-south migrants
Sambajee Pratima, Scholarios Dora, Mohamadhossen Imteaz, Maherally Naila
35th EGOS Colloquium (2019)
Exploring career (im)mobilities of Kenya hoteliers in the UK
Sambajee Pratima, Baum Tom, Ndiuini Ann
ECAS Conference 2019. Africa: Connections and Disruptions (2019)
The dynamics of language and ethnicity in Mauritius
Sambajee Pratima
International Journal of Cross Cultural Management Vol 16, pp. 215-229 (2016)
Rethinking non-traditional resistance at work : the case of the Indian Diaspora in Mauritius
Culture and Organization Vol 21, pp. 386-408 (2015)
Government and SMEs in the Maldives and Mauritius
Sambajee Pratima, Dhomun Mehdi Zulficar Azad
International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Research Vol 21, pp. 778-795 (2015)
https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEBR-12-2014-0230
I am the subject leader for International Business. I teach Managing in a global context, International Business Analysis,Managing accross Cultures and Frontiers and Contemporary Issues and Trends in International Business. I have previously also taught the third year Events Management class.
I am interested in understanding the dynamics of management accross cultures and more particularly non-western contexts. On one hand,my research looks at migrant workers in the UK/EU and how they cope with working away from 'home' while on the other hand, I am very interested in exploring management systems which do not pertain to mainstream western models. Hence why my current research takes on the case of Africa and China, two emerging economies from whom there is a lot to discover.
Launch of the Centre for the Political Economy of Labour
EURAM Annual Conference
Africa Research Group
Nottingham University (External organisation)
Africa Research Group (External organisation)
More professional activities
GCRF_NF127 A capabilities assessment of Covid-19 changes to the Workers? Rights Act in Mauritius: implications for domestic and migrant workers
Sambajee, Pratima (Principal Investigator) McGuire, Darren (Co-investigator) Scholarios, Dora (Co-investigator)
21-Jan-2020 - 20-Jan-2022
Cities as mobility hubs: tackling social exclusion through 'smart' citizen engagement SMARTDEST
Baum, Thomas (Principal Investigator) Briken, Kendra (Co-investigator) Sambajee, Pratima (Co-investigator)
Health and well-being in south-south migration: a case study of Bangladeshi workers in Mauritius
Sambajee, Pratima (Principal Investigator) Scholarios, Dora (Co-investigator)
Bangladesh relies heavily on remittance from migrant workers. Mauritius has become an attractive work destination for Bangladeshi workers due to its industrial and cultural similarities. These workers are uneducated, low skilled and cheap. For them Mauritius represents the opportunity to earn a better living and alleviate poverty back in Bangladesh. However they are subjected to lower wages, long working hours and poor housing. They face major integration problems including little social interaction and xenophobic sentiments. They are deprived of proper legal support, health care and occupational safety. These are often masked as general exploitation without specific consideration of impact on migrants' health and well-being. Nevertheless, the Bangladeshi government has renewed its bilateral agreement to send more workers to Mauritius. This project posits that there is an urgent need to address both policy and practice vis-à-vis the health and well-being of Bangladeshi workers in Mauritius. It is designed to firstly assess the current situation of Bangladeshi workers in relation to health and well-being and secondly to bring together a multidisciplinary and multifunctional set of stakeholders from private, public and third sectors who will be able to contribute to research and create policy-related impact for Bangladeshi workers in Mauritius.
Policy Implementation in the Micro and Small Enterprise (MSE) sector in Kenya since 2008
Sambajee, Pratima (Principal Investigator) Weston, Alia (Co-investigator)
Research between 2008 and 2014 shows ongoing problems faced by MSEs in Kenya, much similar to those faced prior to 2008 despite the introduction of pro-MSE initiatives under Vision 2030. These include recurring problems around access to credit (Atieno, 2009a, 2009b; Mwangi, 2010; Odongo, 2013; Wanambisi & Bwisa, 2013; Kiboki et al, 2014), business skills development (Kimweli, 2009; Okumu, 2010; Messah & Wangai, 2011; Osanjo, 2012; Ngugi & Bwisa, 2013), marketing (Kimani et al, 2009; Kithae et al, 2012; Ruhiu et al, 2014), access to information and technology (Mosomi, 2011; Mon'gare, 2013; Kithae et al, 2013), growth and innovation (Daniels 2010; Kiraka et al, 2013), women entrepreneurs (Wawire & Nafukwo, 2010; Messah & Wangai, 2011; Mwangi, 2014) and internationalisation (Gitau & Otuya, 2014). These are evidence that MSE policy changes and initiatives in Vision 2030 have not started to reap the benefits anticipated. Recommendations by these researchers have been to advise for further policy amendments including increasing state economic support. Little is known about the problems around implementation of these pro-MSE policies to the exception of a recent work of Moyi (2014) on MSE associations. Exploring the process of policy implementation is well grounded in Western practice but rare in the African case (Juma & Clark, 1995). The seminal work of Pressman and Wildavsky on policy implementation identified implementation as crucial (Pressman & Wildavsky, 1973). Furthermore, Juma and Clark's work on Policy Research in sub-Saharan Africa stated that 'implementers interact with policy-makers by adapting new policies, co-opting the embodied project designs or simply ignoring new policies, hence underscoring the fact that implementers are crucial actors whose actions determine the success or failure of policy initiatives' (p.126). This research thus proposes to adopt an implementation perspective in order to provide explanations for the observed underperformances of the MSE sector. This will contribute to a better understanding of the dynamics between policy and its beneficiaries by involving implementers.
Practices and strategies leading to Formalisation of Informal Businesses in Mauritius
Sambajee, Pratima (Principal Investigator)
Duncan Wing
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