Communication as Organisation: An Exploration of the Constitution Chamas in Kenya
Communication as Organisation: An Exploration of the Constitution Chamas in Kenya

Summary/Abstract: Two out of three Kenyans organize themselves in popular social collectives known as Chamas. Despite their prevalence, there is scanty literature discussing Chamas, especially from an organizational communication perspective. Strong literature now explains organisations as constituted through communication, especially through the meta-theory Communicative Constitution of Organisation (CCO) and its three Schools of thought. This study presents findings from four purposively selected Chamas, studied through one of CCOs schools, McPhee and Zaug’s (2000) Four Flows. The purpose was to explore exactly how communication constitutes the Chama. Four Flows provided a theoretical framework to analyse and discuss the data. The study adopted a case study design. The findings are based on twelve Chama meetings observed over seven months, four focus group discussions, and eight in depth interviews with Chama leaders. The findings illustrate specific explications of the Four Flows, on exactly how communication constitutes and strengthens the Chama, despite its non-formal nature.

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