Tribalism reflects strong ethnic or cultural identities that separate members of one group from another, making them loyal to people like them and suspicious of outsiders, which undermines efforts to forge common cause across groups.
Interpretation
Tribalism creates divisions based on ethnicity and culture, fostering loyalty within groups while creating suspicion towards outsiders.
The quote by Rosabeth Moss Kanter highlights the concept of tribalism, which is characterized by strong attachments to one's ethnic or cultural identity. This loyalty can be both a unifying force within a group and a barrier to collaboration or understanding with those outside the group. Such divisive identities can hinder collective efforts to tackle broader societal issues, as they promote a sense of 'us versus them' that can obstruct common understanding and cooperation.
In practice
In a discussion on social unity vs. division, this quote can illustrate the challenges of overcoming tribalism.
Organizational structures that allow divisions and departments to own their turf and people with long tenure to take root creates the same hardened group distinctions as Congressional redistricting to produce homogeneous voting blocs - all of which makes it easier to resist compromise, let alone collaboration.
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