departments are not used to working together” (quoted in IDRC, p 19). This too reflects
changes at the macro level. As indicated above, while, on the one hand, marketisation has
greatly increased at all levels, on the other hand, and partly in reaction to this, there has been
increasing emphasis on the need for greater participation, accompanied by greater
decentralisation of government and a larger role for NGOs.
CONCLUSIONS
This paper has explored how norms and economic structures at a macro-level have shifted
quite dramatically over the twentieth century, and how this has affected the environment in
which groups operate. It has been suggested that in the Colonial and neo-colonial era, the
environment favoured P/C in most formal sector organisations, with combinations of P/C and
COOP relationships in local non-colonial organisations. During the first post-colonial phase,
the Keynesian state-centred paradigm continued to be mainly P/C, but with a somewhat
greater role for COOP behaviour. The paper traces how this paradigm gave way to a strong
market-orientation, where societal norms and institutions pushed group behaviour to M-type
motivation. Reactions to the domination of the market model has led to pressure for greater
participation and COOP modes of behaviour, which has been taken up apparently even in
such dominant market-oriented institutions as the World Bank.
The impact of these macro changes in norms on group behaviour was illustrated by
examining changing modes of behaviour in the health sector. The dominant P/C orientation
of the Colonial and neo-colonial period continued in the subsequent period, combined to a
greater extent than before with elements of COOP and M. This gave way to a much larger
role for M in the health sector when the macro-environment favoured M. While the paper
explored the health sector as an example, the influence of the macro-environment extends to
all other non-market groups. The heaqlth case indicates that the connection between macro-
environment and individual groups’ mode of behaviour is not watertight - it is apparent that
groups can operate in a way counter to the prevailing ethos. For example, popular grass-roots
organisations frequently adopt a COOP approach in macro-environments which are
predominantly P/C or M. But these cover only a minority of activities. Hence the formation of
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