Graduation Term
Spring 2026
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
School of Communication
Committee Chair
Mary Beth Deline
Committee Member
John Baldwin
Committee Member
Pete Smudde
Abstract
This thesis investigates how NGOs operating in Ghana conceptualize and practice organizational listening (OL), and how these practices align with or extend existing OL theory when viewed through an Afrocentric lens. Drawing on Macnamara’s seven canons of listening and Asante’s Afrocentricity, the study examines how Ghanaian NGOs define OL, with whom they listen, and how socio-cultural contexts shape the drivers, nature, and outcomes of their listening practices. Using a qualitative, exploratory design, I conducted eight semi-structured, in depth interviews with executives and communication related staff from diverse NGOs across five Ghanaian regions, and analyzed the data using Braun and Clarke’s reflexive thematic analysis. The study argues that effective organizational listening in Ghanaian NGOs requires not just implementing Western best practices but grounding listening in Ghanaian cultural norms, values, and material realities. This study calls for organizational listening scholarship to move beyond its Western focus by centering non-Western knowledge, practices, and values, not simply as cases to which Western theory is applied but as legitimate sources of theory-building in their own right.
Access Type
Thesis-Open Access
Recommended Citation
Senu, Getrude Kafui, "The Architecture of African Listening: Enriching Macnamara’s Conception of Organizational Listening Through An Afrocentric Lens In Ghanaian NGOs." (2026). Theses and Dissertations. 2257.
https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/etd/2257
Included in
Africana Studies Commons, International and Intercultural Communication Commons, Nonprofit Administration and Management Commons, Nonprofit Studies Commons, Organizational Behavior and Theory Commons, Organizational Communication Commons, Strategic Management Policy Commons