Strategy as practice in the production of the parade of a samba school
Name: ANA CAROLINA JULIO DA SILVA ANDRADE
Publication date: 08/12/2015
Advisor:
Name |
Role |
|---|---|
| CÉSAR AUGUSTO TURETA DE MORAIS | Advisor * |
Examining board:
| Name |
Role |
|---|---|
| ALFREDO RODRIGUES LEITE DA SILVA | Internal Examiner * |
| CÉSAR AUGUSTO TURETA DE MORAIS | Advisor * |
Summary: The purpose of this research is to analyze the organization of the strategizing (as a strategic practice) in the Carnival production of Jucutuquara, a samba school from Espírito Santo/Brazil. I used Schatzki`s epistemology and the SAP perspective as my theoretical basis to understand these phenomena. In order to achieve the overall goal, I conducted this research through triangulation between participant observation, interviews, documental research and images/photos. I used the posteriori content analysis procedure on the analysis and interpretation of data. The findings illustrate that Jucutuquara`s strategizing (illustrated through the themes that emerged from the data analysis) unfolded around core activities, involving multiple actors, "doings" and "sayings", rules, understandings and teleo- affective structure. Nowadays, samba schools are expected to have beautiful, well-done and aesthetically well-presented costumes and floats. A Carnival parade is only considered "good" when a samba school "brings luxury to the avenue", visually impacting the public and especially the jury. Members of Jucutuquara (as practitioners of strategizing) knew how to deal with financial and time constraints. They had a refined aesthetic sense, they were creative, flexible and able to improvise. They knew how to use simple and cheap materials, or even materials from previous parades. They were skilled at combining colors and careful with the finishing of floats and costumes. Thus, understandings and know-how of each of these members about how the Carnival practices happen in current and local context were essential for the strategizing, which allowed Jucutuquara to achieve the second place in the Carnival competition. The aesthetic dimension of the strategizing, visibly noticed in the context of the Carnival production, is also an aspect that can be extrapolated to other organizational contexts. Through the aesthetic (visual aspects, for example) it is possible to mobilize people. After all, strategizing involves developing an image/projection for the future, which guides the immediate actions. The regulatory effect of the rules that organized the Carnival production also permeated the strategizing. The judgment categories were the rules, and "Playing the rules of the game" was one of the strategies adopted during the production of the parade. The teleo-affective structure also organized the strategizing of Jucutuquara. The main goal of the Carnival 2014/2015 was honoring the flag and the memory of the president of the school. This was the desire of each member who considered Jucutuquara his "school of the heart". Therefore, I consider that the objectives of an organization not involve only its results, orientation, survival or competitive advantage. Those examples of objectives can coexist with the affections of individuals as practitioners. The affection can also guide what people do; which may be understood as an anthropological trait of human beings. Finally, I realize that strategizing is performative; it is not just an intellectual conception, which is not restricted to the samba school context. The strategizing does not occur in the "vacuum" and it is not the result of decisions make "here and now" by visionary strategists. The strategizing is a performance of all involved in the design and execution of the activities around which the practice unfolds, encompassing the perceptions of practitioners into the past, present and future.
