New Mantras in Corporate Corridors : From Ancient Roots to Global Routes [1 ed.] 9788122424393, 9788122420951

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Preface The history of management theory can be divided into three eras viz. the ‘scientific’ management era, humanistic and the new age of management. During ‘scientific’ era, management thought was dominated by the ideas of Taylor et al. During humanistic era, management thought was influenced by humanistic world views. Now during the new age of management and knowledge economy, new voices are being heard to provide a new thrust to management thought. These include Zen, Vedantic and other Eastern voices, leading to new whispers in corporate corridors. Arrival of the idea of knowledge society, knowledge ethos and the ‘net age’ facilitated this process. The scientific era dominated the management profession for nearly fifty years and modern management era dominated it for another fifty years. Perhaps, the “new age management” era could in future influence the management thought, theory and practice for many years to come. It may also be indicated that till 1970, the ‘corporate language’ was largely Western. 1970 onwards, was the era of Japanese Management and corporate language was influenced by Japanese expressions. After the arrival of ‘new age of management’, many Indian words have entered the corporate corridors. Expressions such as mantra, guru, rishi, pundit, mahatma, nirvana, etc. have become part of the corporate lingo and are widely used in international publications. Increasingly, the Western concept of ‘model’ is supplemented and complemented by the Indian concept of ‘mantra’. Now we find emergence of a new integration and convergence of the ‘models’ and ‘mantras’ as a basis for new age management thought. Within India a new Indian blend is emerging that is a blend of three historical processes viz. Western Enlightenment, Eastern Awakening and the tradition of Many Routes to Nirvana. These three processes can be captured through the metaphor of ‘Western Windows, Eastern Doors and Nirvana Corridors’ which is an extension of author’s earlier metaphor, ‘Western Windows and Eastern Doors’. This could as well provide new conceptual foundations for a new vision of the society and its institutions. It is in this context, India’s intellectual heritage provides a fertile ground for development of new age management ideas. These ideas could be developed by drawing upon Indian civilizational experience of thousands of years and accumulated ‘empirical intelligence’ of

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Indian experience. My own work on this theme has continued over several years. It found publication in the form of three books viz. Management in New Age: Western Windows Eastern Doors (1996), Quantum Rope: Science, Mysticism and Management (1999) and Arrows of Time: From The Blackholes To The Nirvana Point (2001). These books have been considered by scholars, as original and creative contributions to the development of the New Age Management thought. The ideas presented in these books have been further developed and extended in various journal articles, conference papers and other presentations. There was an encouraging response to these books and the models and management mantras presented therein from many readers and many quarters. Encouraged by the success of these books and suggestions of fellow thinkers, my students, and many practitioners, I decided to put together the material from various journal articles, conference papers and other related writings in the form of a new book titled as New Mantras in Corporate Corridors: From Ancient Roots to Global Routes. Assimilation and synthesis have been the essence of Indian civilizational experience and Indian ethos. This experience is also applicable to the field of management and social thought, wherein new ideas are generated through assimilation, synthesis and reinterpretation of ancient thought in new forms. These approaches to knowledge creation and knowledge building represent the essence of new age management in general and Indian management in particular. Accordingly, several models, metaphors and concepts developed in this book are rooted in the idea of ‘India blend’ wherein ancient ideas are reformulated, reinterpreted and blended with contemporary ideas, in new forms to suit the current and future needs. This process could be referred to as Tradition-Modernity blend, wherein valuable, critical and important ideas from the past are combined with new ideas to create new concepts. In future, today’s modernity would become an ‘old modernity’ and a ‘new modernity’ would emerge. With emergence of post-modern knowledge era, this is already happening. Hence, in future, there would be a need for an integral and creative synthesis of past in the form of tradition and old modernity. Such an approach would be required to improve not only the material conditions but also the spiritual conditions of human existence through better management practices. Drawing upon the idea of ‘integrative synthesis’, this book is divided into four parts. Focus of Part - I is on society, social context and the foundational basis of new age ideas in the ancient texts. Hence, it is titled as ‘Social Setting and Ancient Texts in New Context’. Focus

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of Part - II is on the individual. Hence it deals with Enlightened Leadership and Human Quality Development. Focus of Part - III is on the Enterprise and accordingly it deals with Enterprise Performance Improvement Models. Focus of this part is largely on managerial tools and techniques. Focus of Part - IV is on new corporate awakening in terms of new issues in the world of management thought including its relationship with social discourse and spiritual concerns. These parts with their emphasis on society, individual, enterprise and new issues, are inter-related and also draw upon each other in developing the new management concepts. The aim is to create foundations for further explorations by scholars and practitioners in creating new paradigms. The following provides a brief outline on contents of each part. Part - I deals with the Indian social setting in which the management and leadership operates and the new context of ancient texts. The model of India as a matrix society forms the background for understanding the managerial and leadership issues. The concept of India as an ‘extended nation-state-civilization’ also has implications for management and leadership of our institutions and business organizations. The idea of development matrix provides us insights into the complexities of Indian context. These concepts and frameworks help us to understand the ‘development vision’ and the nature of social discourse in the new age characterized by ‘cosmic village’, ‘new age modernity’, ‘holistic globalization’ and ‘viswa vision’ wherein the forces of globalization and ‘viswanization’ interpenetrate to influence each other leading to a new connectivity between corporate approach to development and the capillary action (grass root) approach to development. In foundations of new age Indian management, it is suggested that the idea of Indian management has ancient linkages with Indian ethos, Indian business philosophy and Indian business approaches. Ancient Indian texts represent the reservoir of wisdom and knowledge for development of ‘new age’ management concepts and theories. In fact, ancient texts in new contexts provide us a basis for interconnections between Indian ethics and the spirit of development. Though ancient texts were written in Sanskrit language, the ideas contained therein have been part of the popular consciousness and empirical intelligence in various forms. Further, most of the ancient texts are now available in English language. Hence, we have taken the next logical step viz. arriving at analytical frameworks of practical usefulness drawing upon the rich knowledge reservoir available in the Indian texts. In the chapter, Indian Ethos and Spirit of

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Development, foundations of Indian Management Thought are traced to Yoga, Vedanta and Kosha approaches. Further the concept of management is redefined as ‘joy of living’ and Self Management has been viewed as ART (Actualization, Realization and Transcendence). Two most influential books viz. Arthasastra and Gita are rich source for many trans-temporal ideas. For all practical purposes, Arthasastra is a foundation book for managers and leaders, as it is the only Indian text that has an ‘enterprise’ focus. It contains management ideas that can be considered as precursor to modern management. Accordingly, management ideas from Arthasastra are presented in new forms that are useful for today’s corporate context. In the chapter titled as Corporate Gita relevant management ideas are presented from Gita. Chapter related to Management Subhashitani deals with popular phrases, idioms and ideas from the collective consciousness and the Indian experience available in the form of rich metaphors, parables and proverbs rooted in the empirical experiences of people. The interlinkages of the ‘received wisdom’ and contemporary theories come out alive in these popular phrases. Received wisdom is useful in sharpening managerial SAW (Science, Art & Wisdom). Chapter, Corporate Veda, is based on VEDA model wherein VEDA implies Vision, Enlightenment, Devotion and Action. Essence of the theme ‘ancient texts in new context’ is to provide ideas for ‘practical philosophy’ drawn from the ‘perennial sources’ and ‘perennial philosophy’. It may be emphasized that ancient texts serve as inspirational sources for highl1ighting transcendental concerns as guiding principles for holistic living. Hence, their relevance for leadership and management ideas. Part - II focuses our attention at the “Self” and provides new models of Enlightened Leadership and Human Quality Development (HQD). Initial discussions on the idea of HQD and HQD models such as OSHA model were presented by the author in, Management in New Age: Western Windows Eastern Doors (1996). In this part, a four-step model of enlightened leadership has been presented. New leadership models such as CEO-Creative, Enlightened & Organic leader have also been suggested. Theory K has been elaborated as a theory of management styles and relationship management and as an energy systems model of management and leadership. Enlightened leaders move beyond the selfish gene syndrome. This they do through the process of self-selection and self-realization by moving to the O level of the OSHA model. While self-actualization implies achievement, self-realization implies enlightenment and new generation managers need to combine the two. Ultimate purpose of achievement and enlightenment is to improve

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the Total Quality Of Management (TQOM) by adopting decision styles suited to the requirements of enlightened organizations. In the chapter on decision styles, Division, D Vision and Direct vision styles of decision making and problem solving are suggested. Foundations for new age management and leadership models lie in Human Quality Development (HQD). The focus of various suggested models is not only on self-development, self-management and self-transformation but also on corporate development and social development. Like HRD is a Western contribution to management thought, HQD could be considered as an Indian contribution to management thought. In fact, the highlight of the Indian thought has been its focus on the self development. 3T model of management and leadership draws our attention to Transactional (T1), Transformational (T2) and Transcendental (T3) styles of management and leadership. Corporate Rishi uses an optimal mix of these styles. As extensions of 3T model, KT grid and K-TCP grid are presented to understand various styles of management and leadership. A nine dimensional framework of KTG yantra integrating X, Y, Z styles of management, T1, T2, T3 styles of leadership and Guna theory of self development and development of human beings as human beings (Tamas, Rajas, Sattava), is also presented as holistic model for development of ‘Corporate Rishi’. Part - III focuses our attention at the enterprise level. Accordingly, it deals with new age management models, mantras and managerial tools applicable at the enterprise level for its strategic gearing and effective performance. Final goal of leadership and human quality development in the context of corporate enterprises is to improve enterprise performance. This can be assisted by tools and techniques that could be useful to leaders to steer their organizations. This part presents some new tools and techniques and frameworks for the same. The models include the idea of the “BEST” model as a strategic management framework. The model serves as an analytical framework for analyzing changes occurring in an industry as well as the nature of forces influencing functioning of an organization. The concept of CINE matrix has been suggested as a framework for strategic scanning of the problems and configuration of forces with which today’s managers and leaders have to contend with. Initial discussion on CINE matrix is also available in Quantum Rope: Science, Mysticism & Management (1999). The idea of forward engineering has been presented as a framework for strategic gearing of organizations. Through forward engineering organizational leaders can envision new opportunity scenarios for their organizations and gear their organizations to new challenges in future. Further, the concept of Total

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Resources Management (TRM) has been presented to highlight the need for a framework of holistic approach to resources management. An integrated framework for Enterprise Performance Improvement Systems (EPIS) has been presented to help managers in focussing their attention on improving organizational performance. An omnijective theory for a new OD approach is also presented as a tool for development of organizations. Total capital approach to Organization, Development and Management (ODM) has also been presented. Nine dimensional VSP yantra representing an integration of three vectors V, S and P vectors is presented wherein V vector represents Vision, Vistas, Values approach, S vector represents Strategy, Structure, Systems approach, P vector represents Purpose, Process, People approach. Grounded praxis approach to management is suggested to integrate the ideas of ‘Forward Engineering’, EPIS (Enterprise Performance Improvement Systems) and ODM. It may be indicated that ideas suggested here have been field-tested and have been found to be useful tools by managers and corporate leaders. Part - IV focuses our attention on new corporate awakening influenced by new management thought, new social discourse and new awakening about spiritual concerns. New issues and concerns related to gender, social responsibility, environmental responsibility and corporate ethics are influencing functioning of the corporates. New awakening also includes importance of knowledge management, character competence of organizations, development of a holistic vision, use of right-brain approaches to knowledge creation such as aesthetic and poetic world views to capture the essence of management concepts, etc. In this part, wisdom matrix is presented as an analytical tool for analyzing gender issues at work place. Re-see approach is presented as a new methodology to supplement and complement the scientific approaches to study of reality around us. It leads to ‘sacro-scientific’ approach to view reality and also leads to development of sacroscientific temper taking us beyond the scientific temper approach to reality. Knowledge management windows are presented to highlight the new ways of knowledge creation. Creativity facilitates new knowledge creation. Several techniques of creativity such as inversion approach, darshan/ radial visioning, anti-benchmarking, mind liberation, mind walk, sabd yoga etc. have been presented. The idea of character competence is presented to create a new awakening among the corporates for good corporate governance. In Corporate Rhymes, management concepts and ideas are presented through a selection of author’s poetic expositions. They can be used for self-reflection and

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self-development. They can also be used to supplement and complement the analytical concepts for a holistic understanding of management ideas and concepts. There is a need to move towards a new symbiosis of Western Enlightenment and Eastern Awakening to create a new path of development. This can lead to unfolding of a new holistic vision of the world rooted in ethicotarian view, wherein utilitarian, ecotarian, and ethicotarian approaches are combined for creation of institutions and new age corporates that combine profit approach, social responsibility and good governance. A new vision of society has been articulated through the metaphor of colours in the form of GRS vision (Green, Red, Saffron representing integration of efficiency, equity and ethics). This vision is linked with various approaches to business ethics and managerial ethics with a view to create sacro-spiritual & sacro-civic society based on the integration of economic prosperity, social advancement and spiritual fulfillment. This also provides us a new political manifesto that takes us beyond current worldviews. While this book is an extension of author’s earlier work, in the form of four foundational books on management viz. Creation from Shunya (1993), Management in New Age: Western Windows (1996), Quantum Rope: science, Mysticism & Mangement (199) and Arrows of Time: From the Black Holes to the Nirvana Point (2001), it goes beyond these publications as several new management models, matrices, metaphors, mantras and perspectives have been suggested. Since the contents of this book are based on journal articles and related writings published over a period of time, some ideas find repetitions across chapters. Some amount of repetition of concepts has also been retained to reinforce the ideas and also to indicate their connectivity across various chapters. I take this opportunity to thank all the institutions and organizations that provided support for development and field testing of many ideas discussed in this book. I particularly thank three institutions with which I was involved from the seeding stage, viz. Indian Business Academy (IBA), Bangalore and Greater Noida, Women’s Institute for Studies in Development Oriented Management (WISDOM), Banasthali and Indian Institute of Plantation Management, Bangalore, I thank my colleagues in the profession as well as students with whom I had the benefit of interactions. I thank all the journals, editors of various conference proceedings, and the publishers of my earlier books, for their permissions and encouragement. Various chapters are based on already published

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material, footnotes indicate the name of the journal, periodical, conference proceedings etc. where the material was first published. A large number of practicing managers and others who participated in my executive development programs and workshops provided support in varying forms. I thank all of them for the direct and indirect support extended by them. This work has also been influenced by many sources and by work of other scholars, writers and thinkers both ancient and modern. An indicative list of supporting sources is provided in bibliography. List of author’s articles in different journals, books and conference proceedings that provide a basis for this book is also provided in the researcher’s corner for the benefit of the researchers and practitioners. This book also celebrates ten successful years of WISDOM (Women’s Institute for Studies in Development Oriented Management) Banasthali, as the ideas presented in this book constituted the foundational concept for WISDOM. It also celebrates seven years of success of Indian Business Academy (IBA), Bangalore and recent establishment of its centre at Greater Noida, with which I have been involved since beginning as its founding member. Ideas presented in this book have also been tested at IBA. I thank Prof. Diwakar Shastri, President, Banasthali Vidyapith, Prof. Aditya Shastri, Director, Banasthali Vidyapith, and Prof Siddharth Shastri, Dean, WISDOM, Banasthali for the support extended by them and also for academic interactions in the form of discussions, dialogue and discourse. I particularly thank Shri B.M.L. Jain, Chairman, Indian Business Academy (IBA) for the support extended by him in bringing out this publication. I also thank, Manish Jain, CEO, Indian Business Academy, Bangalore and Ritesh Jain, CEO, Indian Business Academy, Greater Noida for their support for this publication. I thank my wife Krishna Sharma, and Munish, Sujana and Rishi for their invaluable contributions in varying forms including their reactions and responses. Last but not the least, I thank Ms. T. C. Pushpalatha for her patience and enthusiasm in providing assistance in word processing and related help including assistance in documenting experiential exercises. Bangalore

Subhash Sharma

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Contents Preface ........................................................................................................ (v)

PART - I Social Setting & Ancient Text in New Context 1.

2.

INDIA AS A MATRIX SOCIETY Concept of India Indian Ethos and Indianity: India as an Idea Towards a Creativity View of Indian History Class Struggle or Dignity Struggle India as a Matrix Society: from Dialectical Analysis to a Matrix Analysis Dialectical Intensity: Intensity of Dialectics Matrix and the Circle: the Discourse Space The Underlying Basis of Social Matrix: from Clash to Confluence Managing in a Matrix Society: Castes, Class, Communities and Categories From Mind Colonization to Mind Liberation & Beyond Historical Connectivity: Towards a New Convergence SOCIAL DISCOURSE IN A GLOBALIZED ERA Paradigms of Development The Concept of Development Matrix Factors of Development: the Rich Model and NBUs LPG + LPGm: NBU Sectoral Matrix Towards Holistic Globalization Towards Viswa Vision, Viswa Model & Viswa Matrix Arrows of Development: From ‘Capillary Action’ to Corporate Action Towards Holistic Vision

3-25 4 7 8 9 10 12 13 15 16 16 22 27-51 27 33 38 42 44 44 47 49

(xiv) 3.

FOUNDATIONS OF NEW AGE INDIAN MANAGEMENT Foundations of Management: a Framework of Management Theories & Concepts The Construct of Indian Management Arthasastra for Strategic Management: From Strength to Strategy—from Local to Global (LG Approach)

53-63 53 57 61

4.

INDIAN ETHICS AND THE SPIRIT OF DEVELOPMENT 65-87 Two Sides of Life: the Essence of Indian Model 66 Indian Ethics and the Spirit of Development: Foundations of the Indian Model 66 Indian Ethos and Indianity 69 Towards an Indian Model of Corporate Development 75 Towards Development STEPS: Holistic Approach to Development 78 Towards a New Work Religion 80 YVK Foundations of Indian Management 82 Towards Spiritual Praxis: Spiritual Synergy (SS) and Positive Spirit (PS) 84 Practical Spirituality in Organization Context 85 Towards ‘Vedantic Praxis’ 86 Management as ‘Joy of Living’: Towards a New Definition of ‘Management’ 87

5.

MANAGEMENT IDEAS IN ARTHASASTRA 89-107 Philosophy of Arthasastra 90 Leaders as Achievers/Vijigsu 90 Leaders use of Authority/Power/Danda 91 Concern for People 91 Reason and Experience as Guides for Action 92 Arthasastra and Modern Management 92 A Comprehensive Definition of Management 92 Assumption About Nature of Humans 93 Kautilyan Theory of Motivation 94 Management Competencies and Excellence in Men 95 Decision-making Processes: Consultative and Consensual Group Decision-making 97 Analysis of Power: Power as Prime Mover 97 Theory of Organizations: Limb Theory or the Idea of Prakritis 98 Mandala Theory of Organizations 98

(xv) Cognitive Inference Systems and Types of Controls Responsibility Accounting and Independent Commercial Units Financial Information and Control Systems Output Linked Payment System Customer Orientation, Pricing Methods and Market Interventions Managing by Contracting Out Strategic Thinking and Management Kautilyan ‘GET’ Analysis Kautilyan Strategy Matrix 6.

99 100 102 103 104 104 105 105 106

CORPORATE GITA 109-135 Contribution of ‘Indian Management’ 110 A Theory of Society: Towards a New Vision of A Sacro-civic Society 110 A Theory of Self-development: Four S Model of Self Development & Growth 112 A Theory of Business: Value Addition with Values Addition 112 Gita in Corporate Context 113 First Approach: Empirical Testing 113 Second Approach: Corporate Slokas 113 Third Approach: Revisioning Gita 114 Fourth Approach: New Age Management Models 114 Analytical Models of Gita 115 Management Concepts and Ideas 116 Nature of Mind and Analysis of Mind 118 Nature of Humans: the Divinelike and the Demonic Types 119 Nature of Nature or the Guna Theory 121 Nature of Self 122 Mutuality and Interdependence 122 Positive Action and the Theory of Nishkam Karma 123 Perfection in Action: Yoga 123 Guide to Action and Decision-making 124 Perfect Person or the Enlightened One 124 Peace and Equanimity 125 Hierarchy of Consciousness 125 Typology of Gifts, Knowledge, Deeds, Human Agency and Intellect 126 Karma-phal or the Fruit of Action 128 Root, Shoot and the Fruit Metaphor 128

(xvi) Swadharma and Role Responsibility Battle of Righteousness Arrival of the Best: Sambhavami Yuge Yuge Law of Action: Will to Work Freedom of Choice Skill-values Combination Concluding Comment: a Values Struggle View of History

129 129 130 131 131 131 132

7.

MANAGEMENT SUBHASHITANI 137-155 Sanskritic Influences: Sanskrit Slokas as Management Sutras 138 Subaltern Creativity: Management Verbs and Proverbs 141 Cinematic View of Social Discourse: Indian Cinema & Indian Management 147 Lessons for Knowledge Building: Converting ‘Received Wisdom’ Into ‘Received Knowledge’ 149 Towards Managerial ‘SAW’ (Science, Art & Wisdom) 153

8.

TOWARDS CORPORATE VEDA 157-169 Essence of Indian Ethos 158 Knowledge Seeking Ethos 159 Spirituality-in-action 159 ‘PREM’ Approach to Relationship & Management 159 ‘HOPE’ as Driving Force for Existence 160 Universal Oneness for Worldwide Connectivity 160 Emergence of Corporates as State: Implications for Individuals, Organizations & Society 161 Implications of the Framework 162 Swastik Model of Social Analysis 165 ‘Swastik Analysis’ of Change 166 Towards Corporate VEDA 167 Concluding Comment: Spreading the Light of Indian Ethos 168

PART - II Enlightened Leadership & Human Quality Development (HQD) 9.

CORPORATE RISHI: TOWARDS ENLIGHTENED LEADERSHIP Towards VEDA Model of Leadership Towards Corporate Rishi

173-187 178 180

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11.

THE WAY OF THE THEORY K Fundamental Assumptions of Theories X, Y and Z Theory K & Relationship Management: Theory K in Inter-personal Context

193

The Driving Metaphor and Theory K

194

Sama, Dam, Danda, Bhed, X, Y, Z and K: New Theories and Old Connections

195

Combining Indian Guna Theory with Theories X, Y and Z: Towards an Indian Model of Enlightened Leadership

196

Need for Justice: the Ethical Dimension in Theory K

198

Empirical Impressions About Theory K: Conceptualizing the Indian Experience

198

Towards Energy Systems Model of Leadership

199

OSHA MODEL FOR RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT OSHA Model

12.

189-199 190

201-214 202

Management & Social Thinkers within OSHA Frame

204

Practitioners within OSHA Frame

206

Reconciling Man with Man: OSHA Model for Inter-personal Interaction Analysis

206

OSHA Analysis of Individual and His Environment

208

Arrow Analysis for Relationship Management

208

Four Forces and Their Field Effects

210

Reconciling Man, Markets and Nature: OSHA Model as a Theory for Nature Driven Markets

211

Reconciling Man with Society: Towards a General Theory of Relationship Management

213

Towards OSHA-OSHE Integration

214

Extending the OSHA Model to KOSHA Mantra

214

BEYOND THE SELFISH-GENE SYNDROME

215-224

Selfish Gene: Darwinism/Survival of the Fittest or the Might is Right

216

Duty of the Fittest: Noble Gene-Ecotarianism

217

Altruistic Gene: Cosmonism/From Survival of the Fittest to the Survival of All

218

Beyond Darwinism: Towards New Age of Management

218

Towards Enlightened Leadership and Enlightened Organisations 220

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13.

14.

15.

Reconciling Theories of Evolution: Implications for Self-evolution

220

Towards ‘Cosmic Man’ and ‘Woman Avatara’

221

TQOM: TOTAL QUALITY OF MANAGEMENT Means Ends Analysis for Managerial Actions Nature’s Action Means Ends, Karma Theory & Markets: Karma Advantage Human Values in Management Towards a Theory of Business Ethics: an Ideal Corporate House of Shubh-labh Five Management Principles from Gandhian Thought Corporate Shubh-labh: Corporate as Sacro-economic Entity Tamasoma Jyotirgamaya: a Guiding Principle for Improving Total Quality of Management (TQOM)

225-234 225 226 228 229

DECISION STYLES & DECISION CIRCLES A Review of Decision Style Models Nine Dimensional Analysis Implications for Decision Circles Decision Styles & Approaches to Problem-solving: Division, D-vision & Direct Vision Approaches

235-251 235 244 246

230 230 232 233

247

HUMAN QUALITY DEVELOPMENT (HQD) FOR CORPORATE MANAGEMENT 253-270 Conceptual Foundations of HQD 254 Concept - I — Development Motivation 254 Concept - II — Panchmukhi Vikas 256 Concept - III — Inner Qualities Development (IQD) 257 Concept - IV — Character-competence 258 Concept - V — Per Capita Happiness 259 HQD Models in Corporate Management 260 Model - I — Thought-Action Analysis 260 Model - II — Negergy-Synergy Grid 261 Model - III — So-So Window 261 Model - IV — Stimulus-Vivek-Response (S-V-R) 262 Model - V — G/T Ratio 263 Model - VI — Relationship Analysis 264 Model - VII — E-N-U Action Analysis 265

(xix) Enhancing Corporate LCM HQD in Social Context: HQD for Human & Social Development for Creation of Sacro-civic Society

266 267

16.

3T MODEL OF MANAGEMENT & LEADERSHIP Towards KT Grid and KTG Yantra

271-281 279

17.

BEYOND WESTERN MODELS OF SELF DEVELOPMENT Seven Models of Self Development Model 1: Three Levels of Self Model 2: Three Types of Struggles Model 3: Three Levels of Existence Model 4: Three States of Mind Model 5: Three Views of Life Model 6: Three Types of Leadership Model 7: Three Styles of Management Towards a New Integration of Western Windows, Eastern Doors and Nirvana Corridors

283-292 285 285 286 286 287 287 288 288 290

PART - III Strategic Gearing & Enterprise Performance Improvement Models 18.

THE ‘BEST’ MODEL OF STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT Four Factors Analysis ‘BEST’ Model as a Strategic Management Framework From Factors of Production to Factors of Creation KPCL Model of Factors of Creation BEST Model and a Typology of Markets The BEST Strategy Cube BEST Model and the Radical Change Management

295-313 295 299 301 302 303 306 309

19.

CINE MATRIX: A MODEL FOR STRATEGIC SCANNING 315-326 What is CINE Matrix 316 Developing CINE Matrix 317 Illustrative Configurations 319 Mind Pooling Through CINE Matrix 320 CINE Matrix as a Problem Solving and Decision Making Tool 320 CINE Matrix and the Change Process 320

(xx) CINE Matrix for Joint Diagnostic Analysis CINE Matrix for Action Based Research CINE Matrix as Integration of Control System & Strategic Management CINE Matrix for Self Empowerment Illustrative Applications Illustration 1 Illustration 2 Experiential Learning

321 321 321 322 322 322 323 325

20.

FORWARD ENGINEERING FOR STRATEGIC GEARING 327-345 Analytical Tools and the Conceptual Framework 328 ‘METRIC’ Analysis 329 Scenario Mapping 330 FATE Analysis and the SPOT Framework 331 Mind Pooling for Unique Solutions 332 Anti - Benchmarking for Creating Unique Strategic Positioning (USP) 332 The Integrative Framework of Forward Engineering 333 Art and Science of Radical Change Management: 3R Framework of Forward Engineering 335 Changes, Challenges, Responses & Initiatives: Managerial Approach to Industry/Sectoral Analysis 336 Controllable-internal Factors 342 Controllable-external Factors 343 Non-controllable-internal Factors 343 Non-controllable-external Factors 343 Barriers 344 Obstacles 345 Weaknesses 345

21.

MANAGING THROUGH TRM (Total Resources Management) 347-362 Source of the Resource 349 TRM and Managerial Effectiveness 349 TRM Framework for Competitive Advantage and Competitive Growth 350 TRM and the Best Corporate Leadership 351 Assets, Activities, Products and SBU: Improving Competitive Advantage 351 TRM and Business Success Cost (BSC) 352

(xxi) TRM and Benchmarking SPSS: Strengths, Problems, Solutions & Strategies From SPSS to SPA: Strategies, Policies and Action Linking SPSS with Goals, Purpose & Objectives TRM and Stakeholders Customer is the Wealth TRM and Knowledge Management Putting Corporate Wheel Into Motion through TRM: Five Variables model of corporate momentum Elephant and the Blindmen The TRM Yantra: The Nine T Framework 22.

23.

ENTERPRISE PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT SYSTEMS (EPIS) Value Chain Matrix (VCM) Value Chain and Values Chain: the Canopy of the Social Values Chain (SVC) Tools of ‘Forward Engineering’ for Designing EPIS EPIS Framework Resources, Sources and Forces Parameters of Performance Key Performance Areas & Key Problem Areas SPSS: Strengths, Problems, Solutions & Strategies Analysis of Change: Changing the Change and Changing with Change Performance Review and Performance Ranking: Towards Managerial Score Card (MSC) Action Plan: Preparing an EPI Report Concluding Comment

352 353 354 354 356 358 358 358 359 360

363-377 365 367 369 371 371 372 372 373 373 375 376 376

OMNIJECTIVE THEORY FOR NEW OD 379-388 From Traditionality to Modernity, Cybernity and “Cosmonity” 380 From Profit Maximization to Profit Optimization 382 From Behavioral Psychology to Spiritual Psychology 382 Towards the Farthest Reaches of Human Behavior 383 From Science Vs. Religion to the Science-religion Combination 384 Modernization, Humanization and Spiritualization 386 Mind Travel and the Physical Travel: Ancient Cosmologies and Modern Technologies 386 An Omnijective Approach to OD: Towards Transcendental OD 387

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ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT & MANAGEMENT (ODM): TOTAL CAPITAL APPROACH 389-403 Rating the Nations on Holistic Development 391 Holistic Development Framework as ODM Model 393 ERPS Framework for ODM: Towards VSP Model 394 VSP Model of ODM 395 ODM and Institution Building 396 ODM and Its Macro Linkages 401 Grounded Praxis Approach to Strategic Management 402

PART - IV Management Thought, Social Discourse & Spiritual Concerns: Toward New Corporate Awakening 25.

WISDOM MATRIX IN CORPORATE MANAGEMENT 407-416 Empowerment Theology: Indian Ethos and Indian Liberation Ideology 410 Pedagogy of the Liberated 412 Wisdom Matrix as a Sensitizing Tool: Understanding the Axis and the Praxis of Liberation 413 Response Models to Globalization & Holistic Globalization 414

26.

RISHI (RE-SEE) ROUTE TO REALITY: SACRO-SCIENTIFIC VIEW OF THE WORLD 417-428 ‘Normal Science’ and the ‘Re-See Science’ 419 Nature of Reality: a Totality Perspective 420 A Matrix View of Reality: Shankara’s Snake or Rope Matrix 422 Practical Significance of the Routes to Reality 423 Illustration 1: The Idea of Sacro-civic Society-from Secular Humanism to Spiritual Humanism 424 Illustration 2: Beyond Scientification of Man-From Alienation to Integration 425 Illustration 3: Towards Integral Therapy 426 Concluding Comment: ‘Modern Prince’ and the ‘Modern Rishi’ 427

27.

KNOWLEDGE GENERATION WINDOWS & GROUNDED PRAXIS 429-442 Knowledge Generation Matrix 431 Implications for Learning and Knowledge Building: Learning Contexts and Learning Models and Grounded Praxis 434 Five Steps to Knowledge Building 437 Creativity Tools for New Knowledge Creation 438

(xxiii) 28.

CHARACTER COMPETENCE OF THE CORPORATION 443-457 Paradigms of Ethics: Deontological, Teleological, Praxis and the Virtue Theorists 445 Cracking the Ethical Dilemmas 448 Ethical Imperatives: Individual, Organization and Markets 449 The IOM Framework: A Holistic View of Business Ethics 451 Towards Character Competence 452 Improving Character Competence: Back to Basics 453 Conclusion: Inculcating Ethical Sensitivity 456

29.

CORPORATE RHYMES 459-476 The Candle Light Experiment: Becoming Creative Through Experiential Learning 466 A Lesson From Candle Experiment: Omega Circle View of Truth 470 Some More New Age Verses 471 Concluding Corporate Rhymes 472

30.

WESTERN ENLIGHTENMENT AND EASTERN AWAKENING Implications for Management, Administration and Society

477-488 481

31.

UNFOLDING OF HOLISTIC VISION 489-495 Translating Holistic Vision Into Reality: Fundamental Equations of Holistic Development 496

32.

TOWARDS ETHICOTARIAN VIEW OF THE WORLD Practical Implications of the Three Visions Ethicotarian View in Corporate Context: Towards a New Corporate Model Three Wise Men in Corporate Corridors Towards GDP Model of Holistic Development

497-505 499

TOWARDS A NEW SOCIAL VISION Implications of GRS Vision Operationalizing GRS Vision: HDM/TM in Action New Social Vision & Ethical Foundations of Organizations: Towards GRS Model of Business Ethics Architecture of GRS Vision Towards a New Manifesto

507-517 509 509

33.

500 503 504

511 516 516

(xxiv) Annexure Researcher’s Corner–I Researcher’s Corner–II

519 527

Select Bibliography & Additional Readingss

539

Index/Keywords

551

Part - I Social Setting & Ancient TText ext in New Context

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1

1

INDIA AS A MATRIX INDIA AS A MATRIX SOCIETY* SOCIETY*

Study of Indian society has been a fascinating and daunting intellectual challenge. Indian society and history have been analyzed from different perspectives depending upon one’s ideological moorings and training, the schools of thought, mind - programming acquired as a result of studying in a particular institute, personal experiences and so on. Quite often, there is ethonocentricism and similar other biases. On one side, we have an extreme form of mind colonization manifested in various forms and on the other side Marxist thought subsumes the analysis of society within the single dimensional construct of class. Indeed we find many known and ‘unknown Indian’ under the grip of mind colonization. There is an ancient story about the elephant and the blind men. Blind men were describing only a part of the reality all the time thinking that their description represented the entire truth. The story indicates that a partial analysis can explain only a part of the totality. Analysis of the Indian society is similar to this phenomenon. Many times attempts have been made to explain away multi-dimensional complexity through uni-dimensional constructs. In this chapter, an attempt is made to put together different perspectives on analysis of a society in a multi - dimensional framework. For this purpose, the metaphor of matrix is used for describing Indian society as a matrix society. However, before we *

‘India As a Matrix Society: Complexities of Managing in a New Age’, Subhash Sharma, in B.R.Madan, Thomas Cangan & G.P.Rao (eds.), Human Resource Development: A Value Based Approach, Pointer Publishers, Jaipur, 1999, pp.95-100.

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New Mantras in Corporate Corridors: From Ancient Roots to Global Routes

elaborate this framework we would present a construct on the Concept of India followed by a creativity view of the Indian history and the idea of dignity struggle in contrast to class struggle. We provide these ideas with a view to appreciate the multi-dimensional reality of the Indian society that could be viewed in terms of a matrix structure.

CONCEPT OF INDIA Concept of India is an interesting construct. Depending upon the intellectual legacy that one has inherited, the ‘Idea of India’ (Khilnani, 1997) could be constructed or reconstructed. It is said that idea of India owes its origin to the nation - state notion. Hence it is of recent origin. To consider that ‘idea of India’ was born only recently during the colonial period is only a partial view about the concept of India. Even the word India is of ancient origin with its roots in Indus. Indeed the concept of India is an ancient concept not only in its geographical spread but also in its cultural contacts. Concept of India could be formulated in various ways. This construct is multi-dimensional in nature. The following are some of the perspectives that can be used in articulating this construct: • India as a geographical entity • India as a mythological entity • India as a land of spiritual heritage • India as a civilizational entity • India as a cultural entity • India as a rashtra or nation • India as a business entity or the India Inc. • India as a market • India as a reservoir of trained human power • India as a confluence of thoughts India as a geographical entity has experienced changing boundaries and contours. Ancient literature describes India in terms of various geographical locations. There are enough number of references in the ancient slokas to display ‘fundamental unity of India’ (Mukherji, 1991) through cultural inter - connectivity of various places from Kandhar to Kamrup to Kanyakumari e.g., fifty-one pithasthanas are mentioned in Sanskrit prayers. There are many passages in Sanskrit texts presented in a rhythmic form that enumerate the connectivity of various places spread

India as a Matrix Society

5

through out the Indian sub continent (Mukherji, 1991). For example in the follower prayer, the names of various rivers have been indicated. ‘Ganga cha Yamune chaiva Godavari, Saraswati, Narmade, Sindhu, Kaveri,jalesmin samidhim kuru’ (O ye Ganga, Yamuna, Godavari, Saraswati, Narmada, Sindhu and Kaveri, come ye and enter into this water of my offering!) (Translation from, ‘Fundamental Unity of India, Radha Kumud Mukherji, 1991, p.29). Rabindranath Tagore in writing India’s national anthem was deeply influenced by this tradition. That is why we find the names of places, regions, mountains, rivers etc. in a rhythmic form in the national anthem similar to the ancient Sanskrit texts wherein blessings are sought from the holy names of places and region etc. A case of modern and ancient inter-connectivity wherein ancient is the source of inspiration and creativity for a modern ‘national prayer’. Today’s geographical boundaries of India are merely 60 years old, but as indicated earlier, its mental connectivity with neighbouring regions is both ancient and modern. The above cited prayer as well as the national anthem indicate the connectivity of various regions, though some of them are no more part of today’s India, but they remain part of collective consciousness of Indica region. Indeed the essential unity of the Indian subcontinent has been at the core of emotional bondage. This is also reflected in Indian mythology and history. It may be indicated that ancient inter-connectivity of Indian subcontinent with other places has been of interest to many. For example, E.Damodaran (1998) in his book Man and His Civilizations indicates that name Baghdad is said to be of Indian origin. ‘Bagh is Sanskrit Bhaga, meaning God, and da in Sanskrit means to give. Baghdad thus means given by God or the gift of God’ (E.Damodaran, p.516). There are other illustrations. For example, Lahore has been said to be established by Luv son of Rama and the echo of his name is still intact in the name Lahore. The name Rawal Pindi, still contains the word Pindi which refers to the sacred stone. There are many such examples of ancient inter-connectivity of the entire Indica region and Indica nations. India is also thought in terms of a land of spiritual heritage. This is because it has traditionally concerned itself with exploration of SELF and thereby made significant contributions to spiritual knowledge. Further, it has been said, ‘culture is that which cultures life’. This can also be interpreted as ‘culture is that which nurtures life’. Indian thought and culture is rooted in this basic principle which has also been articulated as non-violence. Indeed as a cultural and civilizational

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New Mantras in Corporate Corridors: From Ancient Roots to Global Routes

entity India has its own distinctive contributions, in addition to contributing zero to the number system, its spiritual, cultural and civilizational heritage is also at the root of the fundamental unity of the Indian sub-continent. In many ways its civilizational heritage has also influenced the West. India as a rashtra is also an old concept. The re-birth of rashtra notion in the form of modern nation - state notion has not been a difficult transition. Indeed with globalization the very concept of nation - state may weaken because of the emergence of the ‘borderless world’ or the global village. However, it is not likely to whither away completely. Instead we may witness the emergence of a new concept in the form of an Extended Nation - State - Civilization (E-NSC) supported by the nation state. In some ways India has already become an extended nation - state civilization because of the non - resident Indians and ‘persons of Indian origin’, settled around the world. As a result of many ‘little Indias’, we are now seeing the emergence of the concept of ‘extended India’ originating from its ‘extended civilization’. The emergence of ‘Indian Diaspora’ is indicative of the ‘extended India’ concept. Like the ancient inter-connectivity of the Indian sub-continent with remote places, today’s ‘little Indias’ provide the modern inter-connectivity of many remote places with Indian nation-state-civilization. The rich metaphor of river provides us an interesting way of looking at the concept of India. In a flowing river, other rivers may also join as a result of certain cataclysmic and geo - climatic changes. After the change, the flow of the river becomes smooth and a new metaphor of sangam or the confluence emerges. This metaphor provides us the essence of the concept of India in its cultural context. When history is viewed in terms of this metaphor, we find many confluence points. Indeed the movement of Indian history has been towards new confluence points. Because of this reason, India as a cultural entity has enriched its traditions through new influences and their confluences. India as a business entity or India Inc. is another metaphor for the concept of India. Indian trading acumen is known since the days of Sindhustan or the Indus valley civilization. Indeed, it is the trading skills that had kept India going. Trading gives the advantage of leapfrogging into any century immaterial of the nature of technology. Now India as a business entity is at a new threshold. As a business entity it can not only draw upon its old strengths but also add new strengths to extend its business frontiers. Thus, India Inc. can be considered as another dimension of the concept of India. In the age of primacy of business, the concept of India as India Inc. assumes

India as a Matrix Society

7

significance. A simple lesson from history tells us that culture and trade need state support. Culture and trade have generally expanded because of some form of state support. Perhaps India has yet to learn from this lesson from history. India as a vast market is another emerging notion primarily highlighted during last several years with a view to invite foreign capital through MNCs. Given the complexities of Indian context, solving India’s problems through such a ‘corporate model’ is likely to be only a partial solution. Indeed this managerial myth suffers from myopia because it tends to seek solutions of the complex Indian problems primarily within the corporate framework only. India’s emergence as a reservoir of talented and technically trained human power is its distinctive feature. This Human Capital Reserve (HCR) has been tapped by many particularly U.S. India as a confluence of thoughts is another interesting metaphor. Many times from confluences of thoughts new ideas and new perspectives have arisen. Many isms arrived in India and withered away. Many ism also interacted creatively with Indian thought. From such interactions, they under went transformations and new thoughts and idioms emerged through new innovations. At times, there have been confrontations between different thought systems. However, even confrontations have lead to confluence with the churning, merging and settling down of the ideas and ideologies on the Indian soil and their integration with Indian soul. While many isms have withered away, many others have been absorbed. Further, many have been accommodated in various forms through an Indianization process. The concepts about India presented in this discussion have lessons not only for analyzing Indian society but also for appreciating the essence of Indian society as a matrix society with absorption of many discontinuities. These concepts also explain the reasons for Indian resilience to assimilate the changes along with a continuity with past and present. A case of change and continuity with assimilation of many discontinuities. This also represents the essence of the ancient concept of ‘chairaveti, chairaveti’ - move on, move on.

INDIAN ETHOS AND INDIANITY: INDIA AS AN IDEA INDIA can also be metaphorically represented by INfinity & Diversity In Absolute. The concept of Indianity is rooted in this concept of INDIA and implies recognition of infinity and diversity that we observe in

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New Mantras in Corporate Corridors: From Ancient Roots to Global Routes

nature. The essence of Indian ethos lies in integration, synthesis and blending of new ideas and experiences. Absorbing, assimilating and thereby creating new ideas in the form of an ‘Indian blend’ is the key idea in Indian ethos. The essence of Indianity lies not only in the spirit of spiritual search or the exploration of the infinity but also in the spirit of accommodation to new thoughts or the acceptance of diversity. Indeed these aspects of Indian ethos and Indianity have consciously or unconsciously influenced many creative writers and thinkers in whose writings we can discern a touch of Indianity. In essence Indian ethos is being Indian at heart and Indianity refers to the feeling of being an Indian represented by Indian identity. In today’s world, the Indian identity is a blend of tradition and modernity which could also be referred to as ‘Indian Modernity’ (Pathak, 1998). Indianity also refers to the blend of tradition and modernity in the spirit of ‘Mera joota hai Japani… phir bhi dil hai Hindustani’. Thus, Indian ethos cover all values, knowledge, wisdom and intellectual heritage about past and current India, recognising the fundamental ‘idea’ of INDIA in terms of INfinity & Diversity In Absolute. In this perspective, India in itself is an idea in contrast to the concept of ‘idea of India’.

TOWARDS A CREATIVITY VIEW OF INDIAN HISTORY While there are many analytical frameworks on Indian history, a creativity view provides us some refreshing perspectives. For a creativity view of history we need to ask a simple question; which are the periods of intense creativity in Indian history. Asking this simple question is always an interesting exercise as it throws up many new insights. While opinions differ some broad trends emerge. We find many peaks of creativity spread over last several thousands of years. These peaks have occurred immaterial of the mode of production, nature of technology and forms of governance. Indeed beginning from the days of Sindhustan or the Indus valley civilization there are several bursts of creativity. In different periods of history the manifestation of the creativity found its expression in different forms. In the creativity view of Indian history we can identify the following three movements in creativity whose influence has spread across time and space: 1. Vedic movement 2. Bhakti movement 3. Freedom movement

India as a Matrix Society

9

These three movements or creativity revolutions correspond to the ancient, medieval and modern periods in Indian history. Viewed from the creativity perspective, we may refer to Indian history in terms of Vedic period, Bhakti period and the Freedom period and could also be referred to as Vedica, Hindica and Indica periods of Indian history. This periodization of Indian history can have important lessons for us not only for looking back but also for looking forward. Indeed as we move ahead, a new creativity movement to unleash creativity of India can be created. This could as well be referred to as mind-liberation movement to free the Indian mind from the mind colonization influences of the last fifty years. Since intensity of mind colonization has increased during recent years, mind liberation movement could as well be a new agenda for the thinking Indians for a new ‘Eastern Awakening’ with its historical connectivity with earlier movements and moments of awakening.

Class Struggle or Dignity Struggle* Is there a theory of society? Is there an Indian theory of society? Earlier we looked at the history of India in terms of a creativity view and at the concept of India in terms of a ‘moving society’. We will now look at the history of society in terms of dignity struggle in sharp contrast to the class struggle idea. Indeed, it would be interesting to compile factual stories from the Indian history around the following themes: • Dignity of self • Dignity of community • Dignity of the nation Empirical evidence from the pages of history is likely to favour dignity struggle hypothesis. Human life is struggle for dignity more than a clash of classes. Is feminism a dignity struggle or class struggle? Indeed, there have been more freedom and dignity struggles than class struggles in the world history. Dignity struggle could find its manifestation in identity struggle. Quite often dignity or identity struggles have become mass struggles leading to radical and revolutionary social changes. Dignity struggles have also contributed to the explosion of creativity during the periods of such struggles. Dignity struggles create conditions for emancipation. World history is indeed a history of freedom struggles; freedom from hegemony of various types such as economic, political, social and cultural. Even in *

A Brief History of History: Some Models of History and lessons for leadership and Management, Subhash Sharma, Journal of Human Values, July-December 2005, 11:2 pp. 123-137.

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New Mantras in Corporate Corridors: From Ancient Roots to Global Routes

the era of free - market politics, dignity struggles will continue to have relevance though its manifestation may acquire new forms.

INDIA AS A MATRIX SOCIETY: FROM DIALECTICAL ANALYSIS TO A MATRIX ANALYSIS India is a multi-structured multi-layered society with several layers of historical experiences. This uniqueness of Indian society is a product of several historical processes. In Indian context the constructs of caste, class and community are well accepted for the purpose of analysis of the society. With the emergence of markets, new categories and subcategories of ‘new professional class’ are being created. Caste is rooted in kinship, class in economic basis and in modern context, communities tend to be knowledge-based communities in the form of professional networks and associations and market is creating new categories. In addition to the caste, class and communities / networks, the categories of region, religion and rural - urban are also widely used in social discourses. Thus, we have following two sets of constructs viz. (Caste, class, community/networks, categories) and (region, religion, rural, urban) When these two sets of constructs are juxtaposed, we get a picture of Indian society in the form of a matrix society. Fig. 1.1 presents this view of Indian society. Region

Religion

Rural

Urban

Caste

Manu

Class

Marx

Community

Mahatma

Categories

Market

Gender as Axis

Fig. 1.1: Indian Society as a Matrix Society – From Manu to Markets

India as a Matrix Society

11

The axis of the matrix presented here can be identified in terms of gender. As the matrix rotates around the gender axis, a better perspective and appreciation of the social complexity emerges. It may be indicated that additional dimensions can be added to the matrix depending upon the levels of analysis. For example, culture, as a construct can also be included in the matrix along with elements such as cuisine, costume and customs. We can also refer to the matrix presented in Fig. 1.1 as diversity matrix as it is indicative of the nature of diversity in a society. Additional constructs can be incorporated in the matrix, indicating Indian society is essentially an open matrix society. The vertical side of the matrix also represents a historical evolution from Manu (caste) to Marx (class) to Mahatma Gandhi (community) to Markets (categories), wherein caste, class, community and categories manifest in many interesting ways and networks have emerged as new forms of associations. It may be indicated that analysis of Indian society has usually been done on the basis of only one of the cells of the matrix. For example Marxist analysis has ignored the reality of cells other than class. Similarly those preoccupied with caste have tended to ignore some of the other cells of the matrix. A totality perspective implies that various cells of the diversity matrix contribute to the complexity of the society. Further, since the matrix rotates around an axis, each cell of the matrix creates a social envelope that is dynamic in nature. Hence, a paradigm shift from dialectical analysis to the matrix analysis of the society can provide us a more meaningful basis of social discourse in Indian society. This also implies a shift from Marxist ‘dialectical simplicity’ to Indian ‘dialectical multiplicity’ manifested through the diversity matrix. In fact, the diversity matrix presented here also helps us in analyzing the changes in the society and find the location-specific solutions for the problems of the society. It may be indicated that this matrix can also be used to analyze the political processes in the Indian society. Each cell acts as a ‘vote bank’. Hence, there is a tendency to create rigidity in order to protect the vote banks. In view of the same, we may also refer to this matrix as ‘vote matrix’. During the electoral process, the ‘vote matrix’ is used by political parties to gain political advantage. Quite often, this creates divisions in the society. However, the need is to develop integrative metaphors to unify the diversity matrix.

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New Mantras in Corporate Corridors: From Ancient Roots to Global Routes

DIALECTICAL INTENSITY: INTENSITY OF DIALECTICS The matrix analysis can also be used to analyze the past and the present and predict the changes for future. The relative importance of various cells could help us in such an analysis. Indeed the unpredictability of many social events can be traced to the matrix nature of Indian society. The intensity of dialectics or the dialectical intensity of each cell contributes to the unpredictability. Dialectical intensity arises from the dialectical tension in each cell of the matrix. Further dialectical intensity could also vary across space and time. In democratic societies such as India, ‘dialectics of democracy’ finds its manifestation in various forms. For example, in ‘coalition politics’ that India has witnessed recently, we find a sharp manifestation of dialectical intensities arising from various cells of the social matrix. If dialectical intensities go beyond control, good governance is severely affected. Hence, the task of the enlightened leadership is to provide integrative ideas, metaphors and solutions to keep the dialectical intensities within manageable limits. Thus, good governance implies proper moderation of the dialectical intensities in order to ensure a dynamic stability of the coalition politics. Since, the constructs of caste, class, community, region, religion, rural - urban are part of the Indian reality solutions to Indian problems would have to take into consideration all the cells of the social matrix. The dialectical intensities could take many forms such as see-saw form, dialectical chakra form etc., resulting in synergy and negergy (negative energy) spirals in the society. Conflicts arising from castes, classes and categories in a society can result in negative spirals. Similarly when dialectical intensities are directed in positive form, there are synergy spirals e.g. moments of celebration, patriotism, etc. These dialectical intensities could reflect in terms of shocks and surprises e.g. in election results. It may be indicated that the conceptualization of India as a matrix society also helps us in a better understanding of social discourse and ideological positions. Multiple interpretations of Indian society and Indian history can be constructed because different ideologies belong to different cells of the matrix. Quite often ideas originating from a specific ideological cell of the matrix are inadequate to explain the totality of the matrix. It is because of this reason, many new isms have either failed, withered away or got absorbed as part of the total Indian social matrix. Because of matrix nature of Indian society, its multiple histories also coexist in collective consciousness of its people. Many times intellectuals

India as a Matrix Society

13

have viewed the Indian history from their favourite cell and thereby given us a ‘pigeon hole view’ of Indian society and Indian history. It may also be indicated that many other societies also function in a matrix manner. However, Indian social matrix is much more complex. Hence, its study also becomes relatively more complex, because of existence of multiple views and multiple interpretations of social realities. As a result many ‘ideas about India’ can be found in any social discourse on India and Indian subcontinent.

MATRIX AND THE CIRCLE: THE DISCOURSE SPACE* The concept of India as a social matrix can also be viewed in terms of matrix and the circle approach. Burrel & Morgan (1979) in their work on ‘sociological paradigms’ provide us a framework for analyzing various philosophical traditions in terms of objective - subjective ways of looking at reality accompanied with incremental - radical change processes in the society. Sharma & Singhal (1993) suggest a taxonomy of social discourse in the context of management theories and concepts based on structuralist - culturalist and universalist - relativist dimensions. Structuralist approach is based on the philosophical assumption of ‘reality as a concrete structure’. Culturalist approach is based on the philosophical assumption of ‘reality as a projection of human imagination’. Drawing upon these analytical frameworks, we suggest the matrix and the circle approach to understand the social discourse in the Indian society. Thus social matrix can be presented in a graphical format with x-axis based on economic philosophy and leaning towards labor (“Left”) or capital (“Right”) and Y-axis based on culture - structure approach to social reality. It may be indicated that there exists considerable discourse space between the extremes of ‘left’ and ‘right’ ideologies and the ‘culture’ and ‘structure’ categories. For example, Gandhi articulated the ‘Trusteeship model’ for harmony between labour and capital. There are at least three circles influencing the social discourse of leftist - rightist and culturalist - structuralist map. These are the circle of caste, circle of region and the rural-urban. Fig. 1.2 presents this swastika framework of social discourse in Indian context. This framework also helps in understanding the various political configurations and positioning of various political ideologies and parties in Indian context. * Indian Society 2004: Matrix and The Circle, Subhash Sharma, Southern Economist, August 15, 2004, 43:8, pp. 5-8.

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New Mantras in Corporate Corridors: From Ancient Roots to Global Routes Culturalist ("Culture") Region Circle

Left ("Labour") Right ("Capital")

Rural-Urban Circle

Caste Circle Structuralist ("Structure")

Fig. 1.2: A Framework of Social Discourse in Indian Society

It may be indicated that this framework helps us in analyzing the contemporary Indian society. Framework is also useful in locating the ideologies of various political formations in Indian society. For example, during Nehruvian period, the social discourse had strong structuralist approach and overtones. During freedom struggle there was a strong culturalist overtone. In fact, it can be said that freedom movement was essentially rooted in culturalist discourse of the society, overtones of the same can still be found in one form or other e.g. in the concept of ‘cultural nationalism’ that is interpreted in varying manners. While the matrix and the circle framework presented above provides us an analytical way of viewing the complexity of the Indian society, the same has also been captured through many popular metaphors and symbols. Unity in diversity, pluralism, overlapping cultures, confluence of cultures, rainbow society, multi-coloured society, cultural pendant, cultural collage with varying colours, symbols, sign, etc. It is because of this diversity, the “spell of the place” attracts many to understand the vibrant nature of the Indian matrix and the circle or chakra, with its ancient linkages and modern continuities. There is another dimension of intellectual discourse in India with respect to belief in Vedas and belief in God. Those who believe in authority of ancient scriptures as ‘Word of Gods’ are ‘astiks’ and those who don’t believe in them as ‘Words of Gods’ are ‘nastiks’. Ancient India had a strong presence of both viewpoints. Further, among the modern thinkers, there are two categories viz. theists and atheists. Thus, today’s intellectual and social discourse in India is influenced by intellectuals and scholars belonging to a matrix of Astiks and Nastiks constituting first axis and Theists - Atheists constituting the second

India as a Matrix Society

15

axis. For example, the Charvaka school of thought in ancient India was both ‘nastik’ as well as ‘atheistic’ in character. Out of an interaction between various cells of this matrix, a new creative churning is taking place leading to new interpretations. In fact, this analysis can also be extended to other religions and nations where intellectuals are grappling with tradition, modernity and post-modernity. This matrix can also be applied to the field of science. The paradigm breakers in science are essentially ‘nastiks’ as they don’t have faith in the current paradigm and they work in the direction of creating a new paradigm. Scientists could also be ‘theist’ those who believe in existence of ‘consciousness’ or ‘cosmic intelligence’ and ‘atheist’ those who deny existence of consciousness. Thus, the matrix provides us a typology of contemporary scientists, scholars, intellectuals and philosophers.

THE UNDERLYING BASIS OF SOCIAL MATRIX: FROM CLASH TO CONFLUENCE The concept of Indianity is linked to the idea of India as a matrix society. The underlying unity of the matrix is Indianity. In fact the matrix is supported by the ‘spirit of Indianity’ represented by the feeling of being an Indian. This idea has been expressed through the catch phrase, ‘unity in diversity’. The ‘unity in diversity’ concept is based on the co-operation of various segments of society. Creating a social change through co - operation is the keynote of this idea. It suggests that ‘clashes of civilizations’ should give way to ‘confluence of civilizations’ and conflict of nations to harmony among nations. The ‘war of civilizations’ concept should be replaced by ‘stars of civilizations’ concept which implies co-existence of civilizations and cultures just as there are many stars in the universe. Generally, it has been pointed out that ‘war of civilizations’ is a contradiction of terms because civilized people should not be engaging in wars. There should be civilized ways of resolving differences. Thus, the ‘confluence of civilizations’ as a ‘theory of society’ is based on achieving harmony between various social segments because it recognizes the nature’s law of inter dependence. The idea of Indianity represents the confluence of civilizations in sharp contrast to ‘clash of civilizations’. Thus, concept of India as a matrix society represents confluence of cultures, traditions, religions, viewpoints and thought systems. The confluence leads to ‘emotive togetherness’ of human beings and the basis for the same lies in the Indian ethos. The idea of India as a matrix society also indicates the need for developing more and more integrating metaphors that reinforce the fundamental unity of the Indian social matrix through

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New Mantras in Corporate Corridors: From Ancient Roots to Global Routes

‘cultural confluencism’. Since ancient times the positive and integrative metaphors have been a part of the sublime cultural basis of Indian national ethos which are particularly visible at the grass-root level.

MANAGING IN A MATRIX SOCIETY: CASTES, CLASS, COMMUNITIES AND CATEGORIES The conceptualization of Indian society as a matrix society has implications not only for the social analysts and social scientists but also for the managers. When an organization operates in a matrix society it has to cope with higher degree of complexity as well as high intensity of influences arising from various cells of the social matrix. Indeed managing in a matrix society is much more complex as compared to managing in other types of societies because the art of management lies in effectively managing the dialectical intensities arising due to several factors within and outside the organization. It is perhaps because of this reason that management theories and techniques need to be developed from the experience of handling dialectical intensities and dialectical multiplicities. It also indicates that in its historical journey, Indian society has been under transition from caste (Manu) to class (Marx) to communities (Mahatma Gandhi) to categories (Markets) system. The matrix and the circle framework indicates configurational map of Indian society in various groups. Further, a New Professional Class (NPC) with its own subcategories has emerged as a dominant force and a new category in the society. This professional class represents the ‘knowledge seeking ethos’ of the Indian society. Corporate managers are part of the ‘new professional class’, whose members come from various castes, classes and categories.

FROM MIND COLONIZATION TO MIND LIBERATION & BEYOND* Macaulay while formulating an education policy in 1833 wanted to train Indians as clerks for the British empire. This legacy of Macaulay * ‘From Mind Colonization to Mind Liberation and Beyond’, Subhash Sharma, Southern Economist, May 1, 2001, 40:1, pp.37-39. Also see, Ghosh, Prasun & Subhash Sharma (2002), ‘Synthesis in Behavioural Science, Organization Behaviour & HRM’, in Chowdhury, Subir & Sangeeta Bhattacharjee (eds.): Blending the Best of the East & The West in Management Education, Excel Books, New Delhi, pp. 213-222.

India as a Matrix Society

17

has continued in one form or the other in our educational systems. While in 1947, India became free in physical terms, its ‘mental subservience’ increased as a result of mind colonization originating from Macaulay and Marxist influences. Now a new wave of mind colonization has been sweeping in the name of globalization. In India, mind colonization starts from the nursery rhymes, “Pussy cat pussy cat, where have you been, I have been to London to look at the queen”. Thus, London’s queen still rules the mind of Indians. As a result of colonial legacy, ‘Queen Vandana’ (Queen Worship) is still unconsciously admired in contrast to PM and President of India. There are many other illustrations e.g. “Rain rain go away” is indicative of alienation from nature. In countries, where rain is worshipped, we teach children to hate nature through such rhymes. While mind colonization starts from the nursery stage, it continues in the higher education, where its dosage in many ways increases in varying forms. In this discussion, we provide an analytical framework to understand the processes involved in overcoming the mind colonization. This process could be referred to as three - phase process wherein three phases are as follows: 1. Mind Colonization 2. Mind Liberation 3. Mind Extension In the mind colonization phase, the intellectual relationship between two individuals is that of Master and Servant. For example, at one point in time, Marxist Masters were in Moscow and Servants were in other nations. The axis then shifted to other geographical locations. Now mind colonization is manifesting itself in the form of ‘cultural imperialism’ and ‘cognitive dominance’, and it is heavily supported by the corporates to gain commercial advantage at the market place. Indeed, a close linkage is emerging between mind colonization and markets. This is reinforced through advertising and other media sometimes in the name of globalization. Mind liberation implies changing the intellectual relationship from its hierarchical form of Master and Servant to a new form through an intellectual rebellion. In essence, the ‘servant’ revolts by questioning the dominant ideas and by tracing the roots of the ideas and the hidden biases inherent in the ideas. Through such a revolt mind is set free and the process of ‘mind expansion’ is initiated. Once the mind colonizing ideas are questioned, new ideas emerge. This is the beginning of the

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New Mantras in Corporate Corridors: From Ancient Roots to Global Routes

mind liberation process. There is a creative churning and unfolding of mind. It leads to a burst of creativity and a new body of knowledge is created which stands apart and is in contrast to the colonizing type ideas. This leads to a new interaction between Master and Servant and in the process Master also sees a point leading to a change in his mind set. This creates conditions for a new discourse and a new phase in intellectual relationship. Once the mind liberation is achieved, the intellectual relationship between two individuals is transformed to Master - Master relationship. This is the stage of mind extension. It represents a transformation from hierarchical / vertical relationship to horizontal relationship, wherein there is a relationship of equality and the two masters Table 1.1

Nature of Intellectual Relationships in Different Phases

Phase

Nature of Intellectual Relationship

Phase I : Mind Colonization

Master - Servant

Phase II: Mind Liberation

Intellectual Revolt by the Servant

Phase III: Mind Extension

Master - Master

can enter into meaningful dialogue. We call it mind extension because as a result of liberation, one is prepared to extend his/her ideas at the level of equality in relationships. This is also a democratic mode of discussions and ideas sharing leading to a new ‘confluence of ideas’, wherein there is no ‘cognitive dominance’. Table 1.1 summarizes the above discussion, highlighting the nature of relationships between dominator and the dominated. Societies and nations can be in Phase I, Phase II or Phase III. A truly liberated society would be in Phase III, because in this stage it can interact with others at an equal level. It can take ideas from others and can also give ideas to others. There is a two way ‘communicative interaction’ and a ‘domination free discussion’. In view of the above framework, an important question to ask, in case of India is as follows: Where was India in 1947 in the above cognitive liberation relationships? Where is India in 2007 in the above cognitive liberation relationship? If we take a look at history, India’s mind was free thousands of years back. As a result it could give ‘Zero’ to the world. Subsequently

India as a Matrix Society

19

there was a decline and its contribution became nearly ‘zero’. In 1947, its mind was completely colonized as it accepted the ‘cognitive dominance’ of the West. As a result its creative potential was lost. When we take a creativity view of Indian history, we find three distinct eras of creativity viz. Vedic period, Bhakti period and Freedom movement period. However, between 1947 to 2000 there was not much originality as a result of mind colonization though there have been some bright spots of creativity in different fields. Now, India is realizing the dangers of mind colonization and is attempting to liberate its mind to some extent. If a country remains under the siege of mind colonization for a long time, then it becomes a ‘cultural derivative’ of the colonizer. For example, Australia for all practical purposes was a ‘cultural derivative’ of England till it started recognizing Australian native culture. Many Indian intellectuals in the Post - Independence period have also been ‘cultural derivatives’ of the West. When a country is in the grip of mind colonization, the reference points are external. While Kalidas is referred to as Shakespeare of India, Shakespeare is not referred to as Kalidas of England. Because of mind colonization such metaphors have been so much internalized that it is nearly impossible to invert them. Harvard is never referred to as Taxila of the West! These examples indicate that ‘cognitive dominance’ is not only pervasive, but has also been internalized. As a result, mind colonized people are not even aware of the degree of mind colonization. Many times mind colonizing influences are carried forward through distortions in interpretations. An interesting example is well known verse of Tulsidas, “Dhol, gawar, shudra, pasu, nari; sakal tadana ke’ adhikari”. In this verse, the word ‘tadana’ means to see, to look after and to ensure rights. In Bhojpuri language, this word is ‘tarana’, which means to liberate. The verse in its original meaning implies, the need for empathy and sensitivity towards inanimate objects like drum, illiterates, people low in hierarchy, women. In its real sense the verse stands for ‘liberation of the weakest’. However, the word ‘tadana’ was misinterpreted to imply to ‘discipline’ and to ‘oppress’. Thus, the idea of the verse in terms of ‘entitlement for liberation’ was completely misinterpreted. In fact, there are many such examples wherein there is a selective misinterpretation leading to distorted meaning. There are other examples wherein negative metaphors are invented to demean the entire set of people from a region or class. Another example of such mind colonizing influences is the currently

20

New Mantras in Corporate Corridors: From Ancient Roots to Global Routes

floating idea of BIMARU states. An idea that seems to be product of a highly colonized mind. We need to liberate our mind from such distortions. To understand the dynamics and processes of mind liberation, we need to understand the sources of inspiration. The sources of inspiration could be internal to a society or nation or it could be external. Further, it could be both internal and external with internal as a primary source and external as a secondary source. When a society or nation has a large treasure of ideas to provide inspiration for new ideas, the society is in an ‘autonomous mode’. When society or nation largely depends on external sources of inspiration, it operates on ‘dependency mode’ and suffers from ‘dependency syndrome’. If it can achieve a synthesis of the internal and external impulses or sources of inspiration, it is in a ‘synthesis mode’. During its mind colonization phase, Indian society has suffered from the ‘dependency syndrome’. When this dependency syndrome was increasing in many walks of life, including arts and literature, there were ‘voices of dissent’ trying to move away from dependency syndrome to ‘interactive mode’. Table 1.2 sums up this discussion in terms of stage and state relationships and the sources of inspiration. Table 1.2

Stage and State of Nation

Stage Mind Colonization Mind Liberation Mind Extension

State Dependency Autonomous Interactive/Integrative and Synthetic

Source of Inspiration External Internal Internal and External

During recent years, voices of dissent have been arguing that creativity of Indians could be unleashed by synthesizing the internal and external sources of influences and by conceptualizing one’s living experiences through one’s own metaphors and myths. Through this process, Indian mind can be liberated and its creative potential can be used to create new waves of thinking drawing upon both the East and the West. Prof. J.B.P.Sinha (1999) argues in favour of ‘integrative indigenization’, wherein the methodology of ‘internalize’ and ‘integrate’ is a useful concept for internalization and integration of ideas to create new ideas. Integrative indigenization is rooted in 4Is process of Internalization, Integration, Innovation and Institutionalization of ideas. In a similar vein, Pravir Malik (2000) suggests synthesis of the East and the West. This author has given the

India as a Matrix Society

21

metaphor of ‘Western Windows Eastern Doors’ as a pathway for mind liberation and as a metaphor for a new confluence of ideas. Do we have any tools and techniques to help us in mind liberation process? Following three ideas are useful tools for this purpose: 1. Inversion - Subversion - New version 2. Grounded Praxis 3. De-programming and re-programming Inversion is a dialectical process wherein a dominant idea is inverted, e.g. ‘survival of the fittest’ is inverted by ‘survival of the weakest’. This inversion leads to subversion of the dominant idea. Once an idea is inverted, an interactive process begins leading to emergence of a new version in the dialogue process of the ideas. In the field of management, notion of management as Western management has been inverted by Indian scholars. S.K.Chakraborty among others, has made a pioneering contribution in this respect. From such inversion, the idea of ‘Indian Management’ was born. Now, this idea is developing further and is gaining some acceptance. This is an illustration of inversion subversion and new version. ‘Grounded praxis’ is another useful tool for mind liberation. In grounded praxis, the conceptualization of one’s experiences is rooted in ground reality. Further, one’s actions are also moderated by ground realities and are not driven by ‘Grand Theories’ originating from the minds of ‘Grand Theorists’. In grounded praxis, local myths and metaphors could lead to liberating influences. The surroundings acquire a positive meaning in contrast to mind colonizing influences which tend to give negative meaning to local myths and metaphors and provoke negative association with surroundings. It may be indicated that the idea of ‘grounded praxis’ is distinct from the concept of ‘grounded theory’, which has emerged as a research tool for qualitative research. However, insights from grounded theory could be useful for grounded praxis. The ‘grounded praxis’ idea could also be considered distinct from the Marxist praxis though some insights from Marxist praxis may also be useful. For all practical purposes, ‘grounded praxis’ could be considered a new approach to understand the nature of social reality. Herein lies its usefulness as a mind liberation tool. The concept of ‘grounded praxis’ is also useful as a managerial tool because of its focus on grounded reality. As an aid to learning, it could be useful for facilitating learning in organizations and in creating ‘learning organizations’. De-programming and re-programming is another tool for mind liberation. Mind colonization leads to programming of mind in a

22

New Mantras in Corporate Corridors: From Ancient Roots to Global Routes

particular manner. Thus, mind colonizing ideas are internalized to such an extent that individuals are not even aware of the colonizing influences. Hence, an awakening is needed. Awakening comes from de-programming the mind and creating conditions of re-programming. The de-programming is achieved by questioning the hidden assumptions and normative contents of the ideas and theories. Hence, it is useful to managers as a learning tool. We have now entered a new era viz. era of knowledge economy. In knowledge economy, due recognition is given to creativity and new ideas. Only a liberated mind is capable of providing fresh thinking, as it is not bound by the paradigms of others. Opportunity to liberate the Indian mind from the mind colonizing influences is knocking at our doors. If we can make use of this opportunity, we can once again become, net contributors to knowledge creation and regain the knowledge leadership, that India once provided through its immense ‘scientific creativity’ and ‘cultural creativity’. For the above to happen, India’s ‘mind liberation process’ should begin from now on. This may require initiating a Mind Liberation Project (MLP) for the nation and its institutions through a movement towards ‘Blending the best of the East and the West’.

HISTORICAL CONNECTIVITY: CONVERGENCE

TOWARDS

A

NEW

Whether zero and the number system belong to tradition or modernity? Concept of yoga belongs to tradition or modernity? There are many such ideas that belong to both the tradition and modernity. The dichotomized view about tradition and modernity has led to several problems. Modernity is not an isolated phenomenon. Its genesis lies in tradition. Modernity is not even a Western phenomenon as its origins also lie in Asian societies. Number system is as modern as it is ancient. In the tradition, modern and the recent, there are many ‘eternal’ ideas that have been proved to be time invariant. Washbrook (1997) has argued that historical roots of modernity could be traced to Asian societies e.g. India and China and silk route provided the road for travel of ‘ancient modernity’ to the West. Indeed, the roots of modernity are ancient, though the popular belief is that modernity originated in the West. Besides the number system, the very concept of ‘scientific approach’ is ancient as can be observed from ancient texts and

India as a Matrix Society

23

philosophies. However, further development of scientific approach took place largely in the West. Hence, the idea of modernity became associated with the Western thought. It is important for us to understand the ‘historical connectivity’ between the East and the West. This helps in achieving a new symbiosis between the two. Modernity as ideology of Western dominance should be differentiated from modernity as a phenomenon of new knowledge creation. Once we understand this difference there can be many versions of modernity. Indeed there can be many modernities as different countries conceptualize their experience in their own idioms and phrases. Further, in different metros around the world we find varying influences of Tradition and modernity leading us towards a new concept of ‘metronity’ that represents a combination of tradition and modernity. To agree to the universal idea of Western modernity, is to accept the mind colonization. Creation of the multiple views of modernity is to liberate one’s mind from Western modernity. In Indian context, it is the TM (Tradition - Modern) blend that has been emerging as a new phenomenon. Knowledge can be created anywhere and could be used in other locations e.g. the number system and modern technologies which are now used everywhere. It is now widely accepted that the number systems traveled from India to Europe via Arabia. There are many other ancient connections. The word cotton is derived from ‘kapas’ that is why we find the words ‘cloth’ and ‘kapada’ starting with same sound. Thus, there is a connectivity between the ancient ‘kapada’ and modern ‘cloth’ immaterial of the dress we wear. Even the so-called Western dress has Eastern connectivity with the dress in Saurastra and its nearby regions. Perhaps, gypsies took it to the far off places in Europe, which subsequently got modified as Western dress. Significant Indian contributions to the world civilization could be broadly classified in three categories viz. ancient contributions, modern contributions and the recent contributions. Ancient contributions include, the zero and the number system, Ayurveda, Arthasastra, and the entire range of Vedic literature. Illustrative modern contributions include Ramanujan’s mathematical innovations, Raman effect, Chandrasekhar limit etc. in the scientific field and contributions of Vivekananda, Aurobindo and Gandhi in t he social and spiritual philosophy. Recent contributions include application of spirituality in different walks of life. A number of new spiritual movements have originated from India. These include, TM, ISKCON, BKs, Chinmaya Mission, Art of Living, etc. These movements have emerged as new age non-corporate brand names.

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New Mantras in Corporate Corridors: From Ancient Roots to Global Routes

During the last decade, the significant Indian contribution has been through the emergence of knowledge workers as the main drivers of the new economy. In future, the connectivity between the East and the West is likely to emerge through a new blend of tradition and modernity. Fig. 1.3 presents an indicative historical connectivity between the East and the West. It is expected that the connectivity will grow stronger in future because of the emergence of global village and increased interactions between different nations and cultures. This would enhance the total stock of knowledge available for use for the benefit of human civilization. India has been a land of Rihis. We are familiar with the ancient Rishis. But, India has also produced modern Rishis in the form of Vivekananda, Aurobindo and Gandhi. Some consider, Vivekananda as prophet and Gandhi is widely accepted as Mahatma. During recent times, Osho, Mahesh Yogi, Chinmayananda have been considered by many as New Age Rishis. Thus, there has been a continuity from the ancient times to the recent time. In future, we may see the emergence of Corporate Rishis, who would provide a new touch to the idea of wealth creation by creating corporates that care for human values, human touch and human welfare. If this happens the idea of Indian Management would acquire international recognition. In the new convergence, the following three historical processes would find a new convergence: 1. Western Enlightenment 2. Eastern Awakening 3. Many Routes to Nirvana Tradition of ‘Western Enlightenment’ has contributed to the development of science and technology. ‘Eastern Awakening’ e.g. Bhakti movement, India’s freedom movement etc. have contributed to social awakening, social emancipation and empowerment. The tradition of ‘Many Routes to Nirvana’ has contributed to a tolerant approach and a new dialogue among ancient faiths and has also led to new spiritual movements. Many routes to nirvana is a metaphor for many paths for spiritual regeneration of human beings. In future a new confluence of these three parallel historical processes may be expected leading to a new global vision of society in the form of sacro-civic vision wherein there is a new integration of ‘Western windows’, ‘Eastern doors’ and ‘Nirvana corridors’.

India as a Matrix Society

‘Western Enlightenment’ Greek Thought Renaissance & Development of Sciences

Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and others

Revolutions French, Russian

Post-Modern Thinkers

NRIs (Indian Contributions to American Life)

Scientific Achievements Known & Unknown Links

C V Raman, Jagadish Chandra Bose, Hargovind Khurana, Meghnad Shah, Chandrasekhar, Ramanujan & others

Contemporary Western Thinking

Pentium-chip (Vinod Dham), Alternative Medicines (Deepak Chopra), Free mail system (Sabeer Bhatia) and others

Convergence

Tradition Modern Blend

Yoga Revolution Ancient Vedic Literature

Sulabh Sutras

Buddha, Mahavir, Kautilaya, and others

Aryabhatta, Varahmir, Bhaskaracharya

Arthasastra

Mathematical Contributions

Panchtantra

Bhakti Movement

Kabir, Tulsi & others

Freedom Movement Vivekananda, Aurobindo, Gandhi & others

TM (Transcendental Meditation) Vipasana Brahma Kumaries (BK) ISKCON Chinmaya Mission and Others

Indian Management Indian knowledge workers & Indian knowledge force

‘Eastern Awakening

25

Fig. 1.3: Towards a New Convergence of Western Enlightenment & Eastern Awakening

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2

2

SOCIAL DISCOURSE IN A SOCIAL DISCOURSE IN A GLOBALIZED GLOBALIZED ERA* ERA*

In this chapter, we discuss various paradigms of development and the concept of development matrix as a basis for development discourse. We also present the concept of NBUs (Nation’s Business Units) as a foundation for moving the development wheels of a nation. We conclude by providing a framework of sectoral matrix for reengineering the NBUs based on LPG + LPG m approach and a framework for convergence of various ‘arrows of development’ in order to realize the holistic vision of development, rooted in the concept of ‘holistic globalization’.

PARADIGMS OF DEVELOPMENT During ‘kingdom times’, the interactions between individuals and society were mediated through the kingdom i.e. State. Market as a phenomenon was not a dominant factor. Markets existed in their elementary forms in the local villages. Technology as a facilitator to market expansion was not a dominant force. Societies were driven by religious ideologies. However, during modern times, market has

* ‘Paradigms of Development: Implications for Management Thought and Social Discourse’, Subhash Sharma, Effulgence, Management Journal of Rukmini Devi Institute of Advanced studies, Indraprastha University, Delhi, January-June 2006, 4:1, pp.7-12.

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New Mantras in Corporate Corridors: From Ancient Roots to Global Routes

emerged as a dominant phenomenon and market realities of the global village are part of human experience and existence. Markets have pushed the State to margins. The interaction between individuals and society is increasing mediated through the markets. Hence, nationstates are becoming notional-states in the borderless world. Thus, with the emergence of markets as dominant force, the nature of relationship between individual, society and state has undergone a radical transformation. In fact, now the relationship between individual, society and state is greatly influenced by ‘market values’. A critical question that many thinkers have been asking relates to the existence of values other than the market values. What about the ‘traditional’ values reflected through ‘social values’ and ‘spiritual values’? It is important for us to understand the meaning of the three types of values viz. market values, social values and spiritual values and corresponding values chains. The language of market includes the phrases such as competition, efficiency, profitability, survival of the fittest, downsizing, etc. The language of social values is dominated by phrases such as cooperation, equity, justice, human rights, gender equality, diversity, environmental concerns, empowerment of the weakest, etc.. Language of spiritual values includes spiritual phrases such as bliss, joy and peace, harmony, beauty, goodness and truth, helping others, service orientation (seva-bhav) etc. Table 2.1 presents the key phrases from the language of values representing the three values chains viz. Market Values Chain, Social Values Chain and the Spiritual Values Chain. The driving force of the market values chain is the self-interest including selfish interest. The driving force of social values chain is enlightened self-interest and driving force of spiritual values chain is enlightened collective interest that includes altruistic behaviour. Table 2.1: The Language of Values - Values Chain Analysis

Nature of Values

Illustrative Phrases &

Driving Force

Expressions of the Value Chain Market Values

Competition, Efficiency, Profitability, Survival of the fittest, Downsizing, Economic Value Addition (EVA), etc.

Self-interest

Social Values

Co-operation, Justice, Equity, Human rights, Gender equality, Social harmony, Pluralism, Workplace

Enlightened selfinterest contd...

Social Discourse in a Globalized Era

29

diversity, Empowerment of the Weakest, Bio-diversity and other Environmental concerns, etc. Spiritual Values

Symbiosis, Helping others, Joy, Bliss & Peace (sat-chit-ananda), Beauty, Goodness & Truth (satyam, shivam, sundaram), Symphony & Harmony, Survival of all & development of all, etc.

Enlightened collective interest

In market driven societies, what is happening to the other values viz. social values and spiritual values? Is there any space left for these? An analysis of the modern societies indicates that the people are concerned with the social values as well as spiritual values. Return to values is a phrase that is often heard. Emergence of the civil society as a dominant force is also a pointer in this direction. Strong civil society has emerged alongside the strong market oriented society. Further, emergence of a large number of religious movements breaking away from the traditional religions is also an indicator of the longing for spiritual values. In fact, in market driven societies, the urge for social and spiritual values seems to be much higher. This could explain the popularity of yoga and other Indian meditation techniques in the overstressed Western world. In consonance with the above three types of values, we also observe the emergence of three types of institutions viz. corporate business entities rooted in market values and promoting the market values, civil society in the form of NGOs promoting social values through social concerns and new age spiritual organizations working towards the spread of spiritual values in the society. It is important for us to analyze the nature of interactions between three types of institutions represented by three types of values. It is also important to note that in this interaction, what is the role of the State? In fact, State has become redundant, because it does not know what type of values it should promote. Should it promote market values? Should it promote social values? Should it promote spiritual values? Should it balance market values with social values and spiritual values? From answers to these questions, would emerge the new role of the State. Since, it cannot play any of these roles, it is increasingly

30

New Mantras in Corporate Corridors: From Ancient Roots to Global Routes

becoming redundant. But how it survives? By creating conflicts between nations leading to wars so that it can justify its existence, by creating conflicts between communities so that it can justify its law and order role, by increasing conflicts between regions so that it can justify its role as arbitrator. Such roles of the ‘Modern State’ can be seen in action in many forms. Parliaments of different nation states waste much of their time in such issues. The ‘values typology’ presented above has implications for individuals, society and organizations. Since individuals are driven by market, social and spiritual values, there are three types of individuals depending upon the values dominance. Those driven by market values (could be called as A types), those driven by social values (could be called as B types) and those driven by spiritual values (could be called as C types). In many individuals an evolutionary process can be seen, wherein an individual evolves from A to C. During his / her ‘working life’, an individual is driven by market values. The existential requirements demand a market oriented approach to values. As he / she advances in life, person may graduate to the social values orientation. Further advancement in an individual’s thinking processes leads an individual towards spiritual values orientation. This stage model of self-development is similar to the ancient ‘ashram’ concept. ‘Grihastha’ stage is equivalent to market values stage, ‘vanprastha’ is equivalent to social values stage and ‘sanyasa’ is equivalent to spiritual values stage. Thus, our model can be considered as a reformulation of the ancient concept in a new context. Individuals driven by market values tend to promote profit oriented organizations. Individuals driven by social values tend to create NGOs and individuals driven by spiritual values tend to create spiritual organizations. We have leaders in each category. An Ambani, a Gandhi and a Vivekananda representing three different types of institution creators driven by three different types of motivations represented by market, social and the spiritual values. Fig. 2.1 sums up our discussion in a diagrammatic form. In this diagram, market values are metaphorically represented by a demand and supply curve. Social values are represented by a balance indicating equity and equality. Spiritual values are represented by a ‘chakra’ which could as well be called ‘spiritual chakra’ representing the spiritual energy. The so called ‘modern values’ are nothing but market values and so called ‘traditional values’ are largely social values and spiritual values. During recent years, the market values have occupied an increasing space in the values chakra.

Social Discourse in a Globalized Era

31

Spiritual Values

Social Values

Market Values

Fig. 2.1: A Holistic View of Values Circle

Nature offers us many lessons. We can observe the equivalences of the values-chakra in nature. Nature shows us three types of behavioural patterns viz. competition, co-operation and symbiosis. In the ‘hierarchy of nature’s behaviour’, competition represents the lower form of nature, co-operation is higher form and symbiosis is the highest form. Human beings also display these three types of behavioural patterns. They compete, they co-operate and they synergize i.e. seek symbiosis. In interpersonal interactions, three types of pattern can be observed viz. interpersonal competition, interpersonal co-operation and interpersonal symbiosis. Synergy is generated when interpersonal interactions move from lower form i.e. interpersonal competition to higher forms i.e. interpersonal co-operation and interpersonal symbiosis. In fact, we can develop an interpersonal interaction matrix on the basis of these three behavioural patterns. While person A could be on competition mode, co-operation mode or symbiosis mode and person B could also be on any one of these three modes. These interactions yield nine behavioural combinations, each with its own consequences and implications. Given the classification of an individual in terms of competitive types, co-operative types and symbiosis oriented, and the ‘state of action’ in terms of market values, social values and spiritual values, we get a framework of ‘state of mind’ and ‘state of action’ given in Fig. 2.2. This matrix could also be referred to as ‘values chain matrix’, because it identifies the state of mind of an individual and links it with the values chain in terms of market, social and spiritual values.

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New Mantras in Corporate Corridors: From Ancient Roots to Global Routes

Market Values

State of Action Social Values

Spiritual Values

Symbiosis

State of Mind Co-operation

Competition

Fig. 2.2: Values Chain Matrix

The values framework presented above is in consonance with following three paradigms of development: Paradigm 1 : Economic Development Paradigm 2 : Sustainable Development Paradigm 3 : Holistic Development Economic Development Paradigm is rooted in the market values. It considers humans as mere resources. This is a narrow definition of human beings and is rooted in the economistic definition of humans as factors of production. Sustainable Development Paradigm as a new paradigm, takes into consideration many social concerns, particularly the environmental concerns and concerns of future generations. The Holistic Development Paradigm takes us to the next evolutionary step viz. the incorporation of spiritual values as part of the development paradigm. We can also link our framework with the ancient Indian thought of the four objectives of life viz. dharma, artha, kama and moksha. Market values and the corresponding economic development paradigm gives emphasis only to artha and kama. Sustainable development paradigm emphasizes both ecology and dharma. Holistic development paradigm incorporates moksha or the spiritual values in its fold. In holistic development, there is a balancing between market values, social values and spiritual values i.e. between artha, kama, dharma and moksha. In achieving the balance, science and technology are merely instruments and not an end in itself. The economic development paradigm considers humans as resources for economic development, hence, it promotes Human Resource Development (HRD) as its ideology. In sustainable development, the focus is on Human and Social Development (HSD) and in holistic development, focus is on Human, Social and Spiritual Development. Table 2.2 sums up this discussion.

Social Discourse in a Globalized Era Table 2.2

33

Paradigms of Development

Development Paradigm

Values Rootedness

Values Expression

Expressions form Ancient Thought

Economic Development

Market Values

Human Resource Development, Economic Value Addition

Artha & Kama

Sustainable Development

Market Values & Social concerns

Human & Social Development, Ethical Values Addition & Ethical Duties

Dharma, Artha & Kama

Holistic Development

Balancing between Market Values, Social Values & Spiritual Values

Human, Social & Spiritual Development, Spiritual Values Addition

Dharma, Artha, Kama & Moksha

It may be indicated that the ‘corporate model’ is largely based on the paradigm of the market values. Hence, it tends to ignore the social and spiritual values. Traditionally its lingo is largely drawn from the ‘competition motivation’ and not from co-operation motivation and symbiosis motivation. For holistic development of the global village, concern for social and spiritual values is equally important. Hence, there is a need to redesign the corporate model to include the ethical concerns and social responsibilities. Herein lies usefulness of ideas such as Trusteeship as a new way to organize business activities. This is already happening to some extent through the multiple stakeholder model of organizing the corporate affairs.

THE CONCEPT OF DEVELOPMENT MATRIX * The concept of development matrix provides us a basis for social discourse in a globalized era. The advent of liberalization and * ‘Social Discourse in Globalized Era: Towards the Concept of Development Matrix’, Subhash Sharma, The Indian Journal of Public Administration, July-Sept 9998 44:3, pp.328-338. Also reprinted in Chaturvedi T N (ed.): Towards Good Governance, Indian Institute of Public Administration, New Delhi, 1999, pp. 76-86.

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New Mantras in Corporate Corridors: From Ancient Roots to Global Routes

globalization has opened a new social discourse. Indeed the dominant discourse space now centres around these two catch phrases. However, in the process totality of Indian complexity has been either ignored or wished away or played down. In this discussion we present a framework to capture the totality of Indian complexity and we refer to this framework as ‘development matrix’ framework. The framework is fundamental to the task of good governance in Indian context. At the generic level our framework can also be referred to as ‘activities - organization’ framework. Human activities can be classified in terms of market and non-market contexts. Organization of the activities could take place in terms of corporate or non-corporate structures. When these two ideas are juxtaposed in the form of a matrix we get a holistic view of the development matrix. This matrix is presented in Fig. 2.3. The corporate structure and the market context i.e. cell - I of the development matrix refers to organization of economic activities around a corporate mould or corporate model. MNCs, large private companies and large co-operatives belong to this category of the ‘corporate engines of growth’. The public sector organizations set up by Government also belong to this category. However, it may be pointed out that after the liberalization globalization policy, Government’s role in manufacturing and selling is withering away. The corporate structure in the non-market context i.e. cell - II refers to organization of social and economic activities using the corporate mould for social focus which may include the public goods. Provision of social services by the Government could belong to this category. Defence related public sector units also belong to this cell. Further Government as an organization also operates in a non-market context because there cannot be two or more Governments of India. Large NGOs operating in non-market context also belong to this category. It may be indicated that the organizing principles and management requirements of these two types are different from each other, however in terms of the structure-activities matrix presented here they belong to cell - II. Non-corporate structures and the market context i.e. cell - III refers to organizing economic activities around small and tiny microenterprises. ‘Small is beautiful’ and the ‘small but significant’ business enterprises and small growers in case of agriculture production systems belong to this category. It may be indicated that we also have ‘mid range structures’ falling in between the ‘corporate’ and ‘non-corporate’

Social Discourse in a Globalized Era

35

structures. Medium sized organizations operating in market context belong to this category. This cell also represents the ‘subaltern economy’. Non-corporate structures and the non-market context i.e. cell - IV refers to organizing economic and social activities in the form of noncorporate structures such as self-help groups, cultural associations etc., operating in non-market contexts. A school operating in a remote village would fall in this category. Similarly grass-root level NGOs would also belong to this category. Context of Activities Market

Corporate

Non-Market

(I) MNCs INCs (Indian National Corporates) Large Co-operatives Public sector organizations (with market focus)

(II) Government Large NGOs Public sector organizations (e.g. Defence related)

(III) Small size Co-operatives / Small groups Small Business/Micro & tiny enterprises

(IV) Grass-root NGOs Social institutions such as self-help groups, cultural associations

Structure

Non-Corporate

Fig. 2.3: The Concept of Development Matrix

Thus, the activities-organization matrix provides us a mental - map of a society wherein the human activities are viewed in terms of the four cells of the activities-organization matrix. It may be indicated that the market and non-market contexts can also be understood in terms of profit and non-profit framework. Further, while the corporate structures tend to be large, the non-corporate structures include the organizations that are mini or micro in size. Thus, the development matrix can also be viewed in terms of profit and non-profit nature of activities and their modes of organization in terms of large, medium and mini sizes. The concept of development matrix also indicates that the social discourse should not only include the four development cells but also include the individuals operating at the ‘fringe of the market’ or the ‘outskirts of the market’. When Indian population is categorized in terms of the their employment in the above indicated four cells of the matrix, an interesting picture emerges. Indeed the quality of life of a nation’s population depends not merely on cell - I of the development matrix but on the quality of organizations and institutions belonging to all the cells of the development matrix.

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New Mantras in Corporate Corridors: From Ancient Roots to Global Routes

The liberalization globalization discourse is largely based on the ‘corporate model’. It is primarily pre-occupied with creation and development of corporates, which are considered as the primary engines of growth. ‘Corporate entrepreneurship’, corporate competition, and the corporate warfare are the favourite tunes of this discourse. Management academia’s pre-occupation with these engines of growth tends to take away the social discourse from the problems of the other three cells. It is interesting that the cell - I rests on the backbone of the other three cells. Indeed the cells - II, III and IV of the development matrix represent the foundational basis of a society. Weakening of these three cells could lead to social chaos particularly in those societies, which have large population base and operate in non-market contexts and even ‘beyond the boundaries of the market’. For a holistic vision, there is a need to articulate the strategies for the various cells of the development matrix. While the liberalization and globalization agenda has addressed itself to the cell - I which largely deals with ‘corporate capitalism’, there is also a need to evolve appropriate solutions for the issues and problems in the cells - II, III and IV. Indian business organizations have responded well to the competitive pressures generated as a result of liberalization and globalization. However, their strategies also largely address to the cell - I of the development matrix. Since, liberalization and globalization primarily implies extension of ‘corporate capitalism’, it has its own limitations in addressing itself to the problems falling in the cells - II, III and IV of the development matrix. Hence, it provides at best only a partial vision and a ‘partial theory of society’. It needs to be guided by higher order vision. This vision should also incorporate the ecotarian view of the world guided by ‘biolization’, wherein attention is paid to environmental aspects including bio-diversity. While cell - I advocates mass production strategy, the cell - III refers to the ‘production by the masses’. The tiny and the micro enterprises would continue to play an important role in the economies that have large population base spread out in the rural areas. In general, they are beyond the ‘corporate canopy’, and they have to face the competition from the corporates. It may be observed that India’s production structure is dominated by large number of producers each producing small quantities. Hence, in a competitive situation, it is important to develop their ‘market competence’.

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Development matrix also helps us in understanding the competitive pressures. In cell - I, competition is between corporates metaphorically represented by ‘cola wars’. In cell - III, competitive pressure is felt not only from the corporates but also among the economic enterprises belonging to this cell. In a country like India, there is a dynamic interaction between the four cells of the development matrix. The Government should ensure that this interaction is not destructive in nature and market forces are channelized in a way that would facilitate constructive interaction among all the four cells. It implies playing an umpire role to ensure holistic development by balancing the four cells of the development matrix. All the four cells need distinct approaches. Cell - I requires corporate management approach, which typically forms the intellectual foundations for business management. It represents the ‘corporate economy’. Intellectual foundations of cell - II are largely rooted in Public Administration and NGO management. Good governance through better accountability, Public Administration and ‘Administrative Development’, should be the key note of this cell. Cell - III requires an Entrepreneurship orientation and micro enterprise management approach. This cell represents the ‘subaltern economy’. Cell - IV requires Development Action approach to solve the problems belonging to this cell. This development action includes Rural Development. Thus, a holistic approach requires not only an understanding of the interaction between all the four cells but also concrete strategies and actions for balancing the development matrix. We present this holistic view in Fig. 2.4.

Corporate Management (I)

Good Governance (II)

Entrepreneurship (III)

Development Action (IV)

Fig. 2.4: Four Complementary Approaches for Holistic Development in Consonance with Development Matrix

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New Mantras in Corporate Corridors: From Ancient Roots to Global Routes

It may be indicated that Mintzberg (1996) argues that for a fruitful interaction between the corporates and the Government, there is a need for ‘Managing Government and Governing Management’. His framework is rooted in the nature of ownership in terms of public, private and co-operative. He also contests the notion that ‘Government must become more like business’. However, Government can learn management from corporates and corporates can learn good governance from Government. In our model, we have suggested a synergetic relationship between the four cells of the development matrix.

FACTORS OF DEVELOPMENT: THE RICH MODEL AND NBUs * The concept of RICH model provides us a basis for nation’s development. The components of RICH model include: 1. Per Capita Resources 2. Per Capita Income 3. Per Capita Consumption 4. Per Capita Happiness Thus, RICH model focuses on ‘four factors of development’ viz. Resources, Income, Consumption and Happiness. It may be indicated that the concept of per capita happiness is not widely discussed or understood. This idea could be viewed as a derivative from the concept of ‘Gross National Happiness’ (GNH) suggested by the Government of Bhutan. An index for Gross National Happiness has also been suggested. The components of this index include environment protection, economic growth, cultural promotion including spiritual and ethical values and good governance. Indeed, the idea of per capita happiness could be indicative of the overall quality of life of citizens and it includes the spiritual dimension of life. The Human Development Index (HDI) is widely used in ranking countries with respect to their ‘human development’. However, it may

* ‘Corporate As State and the Development Discourse’, Subhash Sharma, in Jeevan Kumar K and Susheela Subrahmanya (eds.), Vision Karnataka 2005: Strategies and Action Plans for Sustainable Development, Southern Economist, Bangalore, 2001, pp. 13-30.

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be indicated that there is no negative marking in this index with respect to negative sources and forces influencing a society and thereby reducing the per capita happiness. Negative forces include crime rates, drug abuse, moral degeneration, corruption, ecological devastation etc. Thus, there is a need to redefine the concept of HDI. If negative marks are given, the adjusted HDI would reflect a better picture of society. The existing ranking of the nations would also undergo a radical change. The adjusted HDI could as well be called as Wholistic Development Index (WDI), as it would take into consideration the concept of per capita happiness. It may be indicated that EDI (Economic Development Index) was rooted only in economic parameter of per capita income. HDI widened the concept of development to ‘human development’ by incorporating the health and education dimensions measuring them through life expectancy and literacy. The WDI concept suggested here, would take into consideration the happiness dimension by giving negative marks for pain inducing activities in society. In ranking of countries on all three indices viz. EDI, HDI and WDI would be useful for devising strategies and action plans for holistic development. Similarly in a State, various districts can be ranked on EDI, HDI and WDI to get an overall view of the State’s development. Cities with high crime rates would be lower on the WDI ranking, though they may be higher on EDI rank. Rankings on EDI, HDI and WDI would also be useful for understanding inter-linkages between Economic Development, Human Development and Wholistic Development. Fig. 2.5 presents this concept in a diagrammatic form, wherein Economic Development is viewed as a foundation for Human Development and Wholistic Development and the ultimate aim is Wholistic Development. Wholistic Development: WDI

Human Development: HDI

Economic Development: EDI

Fig. 2.5: Indices of Development

The development wheel of a nation includes the above identified four RICH parameters viz. per capita resource availability, per capita income, per capita basket of consumption and per capita happiness.

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New Mantras in Corporate Corridors: From Ancient Roots to Global Routes

There are States, e.g. Bihar, Orissa etc. that have a very high per capita resource availability, however, they don’t have the necessary IT (Institutions and Technology) to convert per capita resources into higher level of per capita income. As a result their per capita basket of consumption is also small. It may also be indicated that in the Western model of development, the focus is on R, I and C factors. Western experience of development indicates that the H i.e. Happiness factor is missing. In spite of affluence, there is so much violence, anomie and alienation. It represents the case of ‘failed modernity’. The model lacks ‘ecological ethics’, as it is primarily based on the mind set of conquering nature. The RICH model presented here aims at correcting this deficiency of the Western model. Happiness factor implies living in harmony with nature. Thus, the RICH model suggested here takes into consideration the idea of ecological ethics, which is deeply rooted in Eastern thinking. This model can correct the ‘failures of modernity’ reflected through examples such as plastic culture etc. Fig. 2.6 presents the concept of RICH model as development wheel or the ‘vikas chakra’. Because of its focus on happiness, this model includes spiritual dimension as an important parameters of development. Hence, this model integrates the economic and spiritual aspects of development.

Per Capita Happiness

Per Capita Basket of Consumption

Per Capita Resources

Per Capita Income

Fig. 2.6: Concept of Development Wheel or Vikas Chakra

As indicated above, development wheel moves with the help of IT viz. Institutions and Technology. Societies that develop their institutions and take help of the technology are able to give a better momentum to

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the development wheel. It can, of course be supported by the other IT viz. Information Technology. It may be indicated that the RICH model of development presented here could also be viewed as a model of holistic development and also a model of sustainable use of resources leading to sustainable income and sustainable human development. The development wheel of a nation moves through Nation’s Business Units (NBUs). The idea of SBUs (Strategic Business Units) is widely discussed in management literature. When it is extended to a nation’s context, we arrive at the idea of NBUs i.e. Nation’s Business Units. Indeed, in consonance with the development matrix discussed earlier, the spectrum of economic activities of nation could be viewed in terms of six distinct forms/sectors/models viz. the MNC sector, INC private sector, public sector, co-operative sector, self managing micro enterprises sector or the ‘people’s sector’, or the ‘small growers’ sector or the ‘nano sector’. Entrepreneurship and start up businesses could also belong to the people sector. Table 2.3 presents this spectrum which could also be referred to as coca cola - coconut spectrum. It may be indicated that all the six models of NBUs have their own strengths and weaknesses, plus points and negative points and in any development strategy, due consideration should be given to the Full Spectrum rather than only one end of the spectrum. Table 2.3 MNC

Large, Organized, Mega Structures ”Coca Cola”

NBUs of A Nation INC

Family owned Business

Public Sector

Large, Large Size Large, Organized & Mid Size Organized, Structures Government Supported

Co-operative Sector

People’ Sector

Large and Mid size

Mid size, MicroEnterprises, Self Managing, Nano Enterprises ”Coconut”

An analysis of the contribution to GNP of each sector is critical to understanding the focus of government’s policy. This will indicate the degree of economic relevance of each sector in a country like India. Instead of focussing merely on the market shares and market growths, the GNP shares and employment generation also need to be focussed. In the hype created by advertising, the issues related to GNP shares are quite often forgotten, as the focus is on ‘Fortunate 500’ rather than the masses. The current emphasis of Government policies appears to

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New Mantras in Corporate Corridors: From Ancient Roots to Global Routes

be in favour of the MNC side of the spectrum. It can also be argued that what is needed is a correction or reform in favour of the people’s sector and nano sector of the economy to improve its market competence to effectively compete at the market place. While, there could be extreme positions what is perhaps required is a balanced approach wherein public sector, co-operative sector and people’s sector play partnership and complementary roles in the development process and thereby contribute to generating the required momentum for the development wheel to move forward.

LPG + LPGM: NBU SECTORAL MATRIX For strategic gearing of the various sectors of the economy we need to understand the idea of sectoral matrix wherein one side of the matrix indicates the NBUs and the other side indicates various sectors of the economy. We can refer to this matrix as NBUs sectoral matrix. The same is presented in Table 2.4. Table 2.4

NBUs Sectoral Matrix Sector Sector 1 Sector 2 Sector 3 Sector 4 Sector 5

···

NBUs MNC INC Family Owned Public Enterprises Co-operative Enterprises People Enterprises (Self-Managing)

The utility of NBUs sectoral matrix lies in analyzing various sectors of the economy in terms of the NBU spread. The LPG (Liberalization, Privatization, Globalization) policy of the Government has been in favour of MNCs. Instead of this one side approach, we need to take a holistic view and find out ways to make self-managing business units (SMBUs) more competitive and market oriented. Hamel and Prahlad (1994) suggest the idea of ‘reinventing the industry’. When applied to the context of a specific sector, it implies ‘reinventing the sector’. A sector can be reinvented by giving a push to

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the idea of LPGm i.e. Local Products in Global Markets. In fact, the forces of LPG and LPGm interact and determine the market dynamics. Porter (1985) deals with ‘the competitive advantage of nations’. It may be indicated that the competitive advantage of a nation is also influenced by the nature of interaction between LPG and LPGm. The NBUs sectoral matrix can help us in reinventing the sector, as each sector can be analyzed from the view point of ‘comparative advantage’ as well as ‘comparative advantages’. A particular sector of the economy may offer ‘comparative advantages’ in terms of employment, though from the view point of ‘comparative advantage’, it may not be the most cost efficient. From the nation’s point of view, trade offs between ‘comparative advantage’ and ‘comparative advantages’ is required. In fact, ‘the competitive advantage of a nation’ should not be seen merely in terms of ‘comparative advantage’. It should also be seen in terms of ‘core competencies’ or ‘comparative advantages’. Once an analysis of nature of NBUs is carried out, it may be necessary to restructure the NBUs and re-engineer the business processes. For this Michael Hammer’s (1993) ideas on ‘re-engineering the corporation’ are useful guides. In consonance with the management control systems framework, initially suggested by Anthony and Dearden and subsequently refined by Anthony and Govindrajan (1994), in sectoral analysis, all the three strategies viz. Re-inventing, Restructuring and Re-engineering could be used. We may call this framework as 3 Rs framework. At the policy / strategic level, reinventing the sector implies creation of new opportunities. At the managerial level, restructuring the organization in consonance with reinventing the sector would ensure preparedness of organizations to new opportunities. At the operational level, re-engineering of business Table 2.5

Strategies for Sectoral Rejuvenation - 3 Rs Framework

Level

Strategic Option

Policy / Strategy Level Managerial Level Operational Level

‘Reinventing the sector’ Restructuring the enterprises within the sector Re-engineering business processes

process would lead to alignment of operational aspects of business to the new situation. Table 2.5 presents a summary of this discussion. It may be noted that different Rs are required at different levels, however, there should be a proper alignment between the three Rs for rejuvenating a sector or an enterprise. Ghoshal (2000) et al., suggest radical change management. The 3 Rs framework suggested here could also be helpful for the same.

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New Mantras in Corporate Corridors: From Ancient Roots to Global Routes

TOWARDS HOLISTIC GLOBALIZATION There are essentially four global forces that influence our societies. The four forces are as follows: 1. Force of Market 2. Force of State i.e. Force of Government 3. Force of People 4. Force of Self i.e. Force of spirituality These four forces find their manifestation in varying forms e.g. in the form of business organizations, Government institutions, NGOs and religious and spiritual organizations etc. Further, there is a dynamic interaction between these forces influencing various nations and societies. These four forces can be presented in the form of a ‘global swastika’ to indicate their dynamic interaction. When these forces are in harmony, there is synergy. However, when these forces are not in harmony, a global growth and development is hampered. Holistic globalization implies a proper balance between these forces. In the context of a nation, it implies that there should be a conscious effort to seek a proper balance between these forces. Evolution towards the concept of holistic globalization can be viewed in terms of three steps viz. globalization, inclusive globalization and holistic globalization. The concept of inclusive globalization suggested by Amartya Sen and others suggests the need to include the marginalized sections of the society in the process of development. Human Development Index (HDI) can be considered as an indicator of the inclusive development. The idea of ‘holistic globalization’ and holistic development takes us one step beyond the idea of inclusive globalization by incorporating the concept of spiritual dimension as part of human development process.

TOWARDS VISWA VISION, VISWA MODEL & VISWA MATRIX* The words videshi and swadeshi have provocative and evocative meaning because of their political connotations. However we use them * New Horizonts in Management Thinking, Subhash Sharma, in conference proceedings, New Horizons in Management Education, Conference organized by Canara Bank School of Management Studies (CBSMS), Bangalore University, July 21-22, 2000. * New Horizons in Management Thinking: Towards Net Age Management Ideas, Subhash Sharma, Management Perception, July-December 2000, 2:2, pp.28-32.

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as analytical categories and thereby as analytical phrases to refer to home-grown and elsewhere grown ideas and technologies. In the context of business world it refers to indigenously developed business enterprises and foreign business enterprises respectively. Swadeshi has also acquired a new interpretation in terms of nation-building. In the context of business. It implies development of indigenous entrepreneurship and indigenous business leadership. Thus, swadeshi also implies empowerment of people and empowerment to compete effectively in the market place. Indeed there are two extreme scenarios viz. the strong videshi scenario and the strong swadeshi scenario. Implicit in the strong videshi scenario is an ‘invasion model’ wherein the indigenous market space is dominated by the foreign brands. In this scenario Indian business houses are mere spectators. They occupy a peripheral position and are at best delivery boys thereby having low control over their economic destiny. Thus, it represents a dependence situation. Implicit in strong swadeshi scenario is the dominance of indigenous business enterprises and indigenous brand names. Development of nuclear technology was a manifestation of a strong swadeshi scenario. It represents the non-dependence situation. The word ‘viswa’ stands for the world and interestingly it can be decoded as videshi + swadeshi. In ‘viswa’, ‘vi’ stands for ‘videshi’ and ‘swa’ for ‘swadeshi’. Thus, in this word the two evocative expressions merge in a new form. Globalization has been one way traffic, however, the idea of ‘viswa’ vision provides us a new foundational premise for extending corporate frontiers. It implies a partnership framework between the Videshi and Swadeshi rather than any kind of ‘colonial domination’ as is implicit in the globalization discourse. It may be indicated that 100% dependence may not be good and 100% nondependence may not be feasible. Hence, the need for an appropriate mix depending upon local requirements and capacities. Rooted in Viswa vision, Viswa model leads us to the idea of ‘viswanization’ which decolonizes the concept of globalization. While globalization discourse largely stands for the videshi products in swadeshi markets, in viswanization, the swadeshi products find their appropriate niche in videshi markets and they also find their proper space in the swadeshi market. Viswanization implies not only the empowerment of the indigenous enterprises but also the development of local entrepreneurship. Hence, it can be viewed as new economic development model in the context of new competitive scenario. Fig. 2.7 presents the ‘viswa’ model.

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New Mantras in Corporate Corridors: From Ancient Roots to Global Routes

Swa Vi

Vi

Swa

Fig. 2.7: The Viswa Model

Viswa

= Vi + Swa = Videshi + Swadeshi

Thus, the word viswa reveals two analytical ideas viz. videshi and swadeshi. It may be indicated that we are using these two expressions, not as political categories, but as analytical categories though they have political connotations. Fig.2.7 provides the metaphorical presentation of the globe as viswa or videshi plus swadeshi. We can refer this idea as ‘viswa model’. It is an analytical model for a conceptual understanding of the idea of viswanization. Product-market framework is a well-known matrix in marketing and strategy literature. We can apply this framework to the viswa model wherein product side of the matrix is represented by Viswa (Videshi - swadeshi) products and market side of the matrix is represented by Viswa (Videshi + swadeshi) markets. We can refer this matrix as videshi - swadeshi matrix or the viswa matrix and the same is presented in Fig. 2.8 as viswa products and viswa markets. This matrix points to four situations viz. videshi product - videshi market, videshi product - swadeshi market, swadeshi product - videshi market and swadeshi product - swadeshi market. Videshi products in videshi markets may be of relevance for an Indian entrepreneur from an awareness point of view. It could also be business proposition e.g. call centres could be in this category. Viswanization implies swadeshi products in videshi markets (exports) and swadeshi products in swadeshi markets (domestic). In contrast to this globalization implies videshi products in swadeshi markets. What should be the strategy of business enterprises is a question of importance and relevance not only to the enterprises but also to the nation and the government. As the experience of the IT industry shows,

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in the net age, viswanization is a new way of doing business. It can enhance competitive advantage of the nation. For viswanization to take deeper roots competitive strength of the nation’s various economic sectors should improve. Market Vi

Vi

Swa

(Vi, Vi)

(Vi, Swa) Globalization

(Swa, Vi)

(Swa, Swa)

Product

Sw a

Viswanization

Fig. 2.8: The Viswa Matrix-Contrasting Viswanization and Globalization

Viswanization implies strengthening the strengths of the nation by converting local into global. It can also be referred to as LPGm i.e. Local Products in Global Markets or Local Products for Global Marketing. The idea of LPGm goes beyond the concept of LPG i.e. Liberalization, Privatization and Globalization popularized during recent years. Indeed the idea of LPGm can be implemented not only by private entrepreneurs but also by the public sector by improving their marketing competence. Government can play the role of facilitator by providing encouragement to the idea of LPGm. Viswanization also implies establishing our intellectual property rights on our own ideas and innovations - both traditional and new. It also implies encouraging and channelizing the “local productive forces” for human and social development. If, along with LPG, proper support is provided to LPGm there would be a balanced development.

ARROWS OF DEVELOPMENT: FROM ‘CAPILLARY ACTION’ TO CORPORATE ACTION* In consonance with the development matrix, it may be indicated that a nation’s development is also rooted in the convergence of four * Towards A Holistic Vision ofdevelopment’, Subhash Sharma, Southern Economist, February 15, 2003, 41:20, pp. 9-11.

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New Mantras in Corporate Corridors: From Ancient Roots to Global Routes

‘Arrows of Development’, viz., Corporate Development (CD), Institutional Development (ID), Entrepreneurship Development (ED) and Grassroots Development (GD). Fig. 2.9 presents convergence of Arrows of Development. Corporate Development (CD) Institutional Development (ID) Entrepreneurship Development (ED)

Nation's Development

Grassroots Development (GD)

Fig. 2.9: Convergence of the Arrows of Development

Convergence of the four arrows of development would facilitate a nation’s holistic development. However, if these arrows move in different directions, then lot of energy is wasted leading to sub-optimal development. To make the ‘arrows of development’ move, certain supporting mechanisms and processes are required. Each arrow requires four supporting forces. The strategy and policy support is provided by the leadership, which constitutes the first force. Technology is the second force. Management input is the third force and information input or Information Technology is the fourth force. Fig. 2.10 summarizes this discussion in the form of a nation’s vision matrix. It may be indicated that there are three supporting structures for the ‘arrows of development’ viz. Market, State and People (MSP) representing corporate economy, state presence and subaltern economy and their inter-dependence. During recent years, market has acquired dominance and corporates have emerged as important institutions. State has been on retreat and its role has been reducing though it still has a facilitative role for institutional development. People’s institutions in the form of micro-enterprise in unorganized sectors of the economy still play an important role. They represent the ‘capillary action’ model of development. For the four arrows of development to move in the direction of synergy, there is a need for harmony between market, state and people. This implies that there should be partnership between private sector - Government and people sector, with a spirit of mutual learning. For nation’s development, corporates, Government and people’s institutions should play

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complementary role. Development problems of a nation cannot be entirely solved by corporates or state or people’s institutions. Hence, the need for partnership between three mega forces viz. market, state and people. This is the essence of MSP support systems for the arrows of development to achieve convergence. Arrows of Development

Supporting Forces

Leadership

Corporate Development ‘Corporate Action Model’

Technology

Management

Information Technology

World Class Corporates e.g. Infosys etc.

Institutional Development

World Class Institutions e.g. IISc etc.

Entrepreneurship Development

World Class Entrepreneus e.g. Knowledge Entrepreneurs, Techno Entrepreneurs, etc.

Grassroots Development GRAM & GRID Grass Root Action & Mgt. Grass Root Institutional Dvt. ‘Capillary Action Model’

Development Initiatives & Panchayati Raj Institutions etc.

Fig. 2.10: A Nation’s Vision Matrix

This matrix also suggests three roads to development viz. capillary action road, corporate action road and connecting road model represented by AMUL, wherein corporate action and capillary action (production by masses) are connected together. For a nation’s development, all the three roads should be developed.

TOWARDS HOLISTIC VISION The above discussion indicates that we need to move towards a holistic vision by taking an integrative view about individuals, society and corporate management. The ultimate aim of any development process is to create ‘harmonic society’ and happiness for individuals. Further, the institutions and corporates should contribute towards this aim. Hence, holistic vision can also be presented in the form of a 3H framework as indicated below: H1 :

Happy Individual

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New Mantras in Corporate Corridors: From Ancient Roots to Global Routes

H2 : Holistic Corporate Management H3 : Harmonic Society In the capitalistic view, human beings are treated as ‘resources’. Hence, the concept of HRD is a basic concept of management. Further, in this view, corporates are Darwinian in nature and the society is a ‘civic society’. These three concepts viz. HRD, Darwinian corporates and Civic Society represent the three key concepts in the capitalistic vision. The holistic vision takes us beyond these three ideas and provides an expanded view about the individuals, organizations and society. In the holistic vision, individuals are viewed in terms of a ‘set of qualities and values’, hence, the concept of Human Quality Development (HQD). Organizations are not merely Darwinian following the law of the ‘survival of the fittest to eliminate the rest’ but are ‘New Age’ in nature following the law of the ‘arrival of the best to lead the rest’. In essence, they are ‘holistic organizations’ based on holistic corporate management rooted in an integrative framework of efficiency, equity, and ethics. Further, society is not merely a civic society but a sacrocivic society wherein a touch of transcendental values provides it a soft touch, which is missing in most civic societies of the world*. For translating the above presented holistic vision into reality, we need an operational framework of Holistic Development & Management (HDM). There are three levels of development viz. macro (e.g. world, nation or society), mid or meso (e.g organizations & institutions) and micro i.e. individual. At the society level, for creation of a sacro-civic society we need to focus on Human & Social Development (HSD). At the level of organization, we need to focus on Organization Development & Management (ODM) and at the level of individual we need to focus on Self - Development & Management (SDM). Holistic vision aims at integrating the three processes of development. To conclude, in this chapter we have presented various paradigms of development and models of holistic development, wherein the *The concept of Sacro-civic society was initially suggested by the author in his article, Corporate Gita, Journal of Human Values, July-Dec. 1999, 5:2, pp. 103123. Also see Development of Sacro-civic Society throgh hormonization paradigm, Subhash Sharma, in Susheela Subramanya, Meera Chakraborty & N. S. Viswanath (eds.) Women in Nation Building: Perspectives, Issues & Implications, Bangalore, Southern Econimist, 2005. pp. 44-57, and also see Towards a New Social Vision: Sacro-civic Society and the calling of Holistic Globalization, Subhash Sharma, Vilakshan, XIMB Journal of Management, vol. 4, March 2007, 121-130.

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sustainable development approach is incorporated as a step in the direction of holistic development. We presented the concept of development matrix as a basis for ‘reinventing’ the nation and its NBUs. The idea of RICH model has also been presented to correct the inadequacy of the Western model of development. In order to properly gear the NBUs of a nation, it is suggested that a sector by sector analysis is required in terms of the spread of NBUs within various sectors of the economy. It is also suggested that such an analysis would help in ‘reinventing’, restructuring and re-engineering various sectors of economy in consonance with the development matrix and the RICH model. A vision matrix rooted in the convergence of various ‘arrows of development’ has also been presented. This matrix also links ‘Capillary action’ model of development with ‘corporate action’ model and provides a framework for holistic development of nation|region.

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3

FOUNDATIONS OFNEW NEW AGE FOUNDATIONS OF AGE INDIAN MANAGEMENT* INDIAN MANAGEMENT*

Liberalization and globalization have enhanced competitive pressures on nations and their corporate enterprises. It has also led to increased contact between East and West. When Japanese conceptualized their experience of creating competitive enterprises, the idea of Japanese Management was born. Now with the conceptualizing of the Indian experience of creating world class organizations the construct of Indian Management is taking shape. In order to appreciate the development of the construct of Indian Management, we provide a conceptual framework on foundations of management. This framework highlights the major ideas and paradigm shifts in management theories and concepts. Further, we provide illustration of Indian Management from a well - known Indian text viz. Arthasastra.

FOUNDATIONS OF MANAGEMENT: A FRAMEWORK OF MANAGEMENT THEORIES & CONCEPTS A review of management theories and concepts indicates that the development of the concept of management can be looked at from various conceptual lenses. We provide here a framework of four-way classification of management theories and concepts. These approaches * ‘New Age Management for Competitive Advantage: The Metaphors of India Blend, Indica and Indian Management’, Subhash Sharma, Management & Change, Journal of IILM, New Delhi, January-June 1999, 3:1, pp.1-14.

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are based on understanding the role of managers and functions of management, understanding the self and the inter-personal relationships, evolving appropriate tools for enterprise performance improvement and understanding the cultural context of management.

1. Role of Managers and Functions of Management In the fifties, the popular management abracadabra used to be POSDCORB. Known as ‘principles of management’ the knowledge about management and organizations was usually classified under the broad headings of Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Directing, Controlling / Co-ordinating, Reporting and Budgeting (POSDCORB). In this approach the focus was on role of managers and functions of management. It is interesting to observe that in the nineties very rarely a management book is organized around these headings. Many consider this classification old-fashioned perhaps because no new conceptual grounds were broken within the boundaries of this framework about an enhanced understanding of the ‘process of management’.

2. The Psycho-philosophical Foundations of Management In this approach the focus has been on understanding the self / individual and the inter-personal relationships. Accordingly, behavioral sciences and related social sciences provided some new management ideas, concepts and jargons. Leadership, Communication, Motivation (LCM), conflict resolution, change, empowerment, learning etc., became the new buzzwords for organizing the concepts and ideas about organizations and their management. During recent years Indian Management scholars drawing upon Indian psycho-spiritual heritage have also contributed many new ideas for a better understanding of organizational processes related to motivation, communication, leadership, empowerment and so on. In fact some of the insights gathered through Eastern psycho-spiritual approaches have also entered the corridors of Western management thought. An intellectual movement in India broadly known as ‘Indian Ethos in Management’ provided a foundational premise for application of Eastern psycho-spiritual ideas in corporate management. Indeed many recent books on management tend to focus on themes originating from psychospiritual understanding of human beings and their purpose in life.

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3. Enterprise Performance Improvement Techniques This approach to understanding of management came from the focus on enterprise performance improvement. The major idea behind this approach has been to develop tools & techniques to improve performance of organizations. Under this approach old tools were modified or discarded and new tools were innovated. Popular management tools and techniques such as MBO, OD, Re-engineering, TQM, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Knowledge Management (KM), Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), etc., evolved in response to the need for enhancing the competitive edge of business enterprises in the market context. Some of these tools and techniques were also found to be useful for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of public institutions and not for profit organizations. It may also be indicated that many earlier tools and techniques were largely based on a ‘rational’ approach ignoring the intuitive and subjective aspects of reality. Recognition of the reality as ‘omnijective’ i.e. a fusion of objective and subjective is now leading us to the next step in the conceptualization of management theories and concepts as well as development of new tools and techniques. This next step is taking us towards ‘new management ideas’ based on combination of the rational-analytic and the intuitive holistic approaches.

4. The Cultural Context / The Country of Origin This approach to understanding of management processes emerged from the cultural context of management theories and practices. With the success of Japanese economic enterprises, the concept of Japanese Management was articulated. While earlier the management books talked of the American Management as the salvation, a new breed of writers started writing about the Japanese Management. As a result now considerable literature exists both in relation to American Management and Japanese Management theories and concepts. In Indian context also the construct of ‘Indian Management’ has been slowly emerging and Indian models and concepts of leadership and management are now recognized in international literature. Indeed the urge to develop the construct of Indian Management has come from some interesting empirical observations such as the resilience of Indian society to survive over last five thousand years, its ability to adapt, adopt and march onward.

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New Mantras in Corporate Corridors: From Ancient Roots to Global Routes

India’s freedom struggle is another unique historical event and an eventful case - study for several management lessons. India also ranks high among the nations with several more than hundred years old surviving business organizations. Now, liberalization and globalization have provided a new impetus to create and develop organizations around new ideas and businesses. When Americans conceptualized their experience of building business organizations, the idea of American Management was born. Similarly when Japanese conceptualized their experience of nation building through business building the idea of Japanese Management was born. Now Indian scholars have started conceptualizing the Indian experience of building corporate enterprises in terms of Indian metaphors, models and mantras, hence the idea of Indian Management is emerging. In the new context of the global village, we are also observing a convergence of ideas from various cultural contexts and regions of origin leading to a new mingling of cultures and ideas. Thus, we find an intermingling of American, Japanese and Indian management concepts in varying forms particularly in Indian organizations. This mingling can be referred to as K3 approach wherein, K3 =

Kola* Kaizen* Knowledge

It can also refer to as, K3 =

Kola* Kaizen* Karma

In these perspectives, K3 can emerge as a universal approach. From the above discussion the focus of the four approaches to understanding the concept of management can be identified in terms of emphasis on (i) Role; (ii) Self; (iii) Enterprise Performance Improvement; and (iv) Cultural context. Fig. 3.1 presents this conceptual framework for the foundations of management. In ‘new age management’, we keep our mind’s windows and doors open to learn from all the four approaches to have a better understanding about functioning of organizations and institutions.

Foundations of New Age Indian Management

57

Culture

New Age

Indian

Japanese

American

MBO

Learn- Empower- Change Motiva- Communi- Leadering ment tion ship cation

OD

ReEngineering

TQM

ERP

KM

BPO

Planning

P Self O

Organizing

S

Staffing

D

Directing

CO

Co-ordinating

R

Reporting

B

Budgeting

Enterprise

Role

Fig. 3.1: Foundations of Management: A Conceptual Framework

THE CONSTRUCT OF INDIAN MANAGEMENT When we talk of Japanese Management the idea of quality circles comes to our mind and when we talk about Indian Management the idea of yoga for stress management is widely quoted. While TQM is Japanese contribution, TM (Transcendental Meditation) is Indian contribution and a merger of TM & TQM could lead to a new idea for improving efficiency and effectiveness of organization. It may also be observed that the construct of Japanese Management goes far beyond the quality circles and the construct of Indian Management goes far beyond the

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New Mantras in Corporate Corridors: From Ancient Roots to Global Routes

TM. Indeed developing appropriate combinations of current ideas to create new ideas is the essence of the concept of ‘India blend’. For a deeper appreciation of the idea of Indian Management, it is to useful to take a historical perspective because new models and metaphors can be generated by relying upon the vast reservoir of ideas and concepts hidden in historical experiences of a nation or civilization as well as in its psycho-spiritual heritage. ‘Indian business acumen’ is known since the time of Indus-valley civilization which had trading links with far off places. Concepts such as vanijya, shubh-labh, hundi, grahak, krya-vikrya, aya-vyaya, labhhaani etc., which appear in ancient writings formed the foundations of ‘Indian business approach’ as well as trading management practices (‘Vyapar Sastra’). Many such concepts found their way in business management practices e.g., the padta system of monitoring financial performance etc. Similarly hundi was the first idea on forward contracts and today’s credit cards. The concept of taxation has been explained through beautiful metaphors such as honey-bee drawing honey from flowers etc. Such metaphors are available in Arthasastra and other ancient writings. A concept of organizations viz. Sanghas and Chaityas (a place of worship) to organize religious activity originated during ancient times. In Arthasastra we also find the concept of workers’ sangha. These ideas later found their manifestations in other space-time contexts also. For example, the lessons for organization and management of places of worship owe much to the concept of chaityas or the Buddhist monasteries. This may perhaps be a reason for the similarities in management practices between the chaityas and the church. Another unique idea about business organizations viz., Trusteeship also originated in India. The ‘harmonization paradigm’ of Industrial Relation owes its roots to Gandhi’s thoughts on harmony between workers and management. The idea of loksangraha i.e., working for the benefit of society provides a framework for social responsibility of business. Thus, Indian Business Approach and Indian Business Philosophy have its distinct flavour and it also provides foundations for development of Indian Management thought, theory and practice. It may be indicated that during ancient times India had vibrant trade links with the rest of the world. Story of flow of Indian spices to other countries and flow of gold to India is not a myth but a reality. However during colonial period Indian contact with others was either completely closed or regulated for the benefit of the colonial masters.

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Lack of contact with rest of the world led to stagnation of Indian trade and business as Indian business class could not get access to technology and ideas. However, after independence, India regained its trade and cultural contacts with other countries and now it has an instant access to the development of technology and ideas elsewhere. Similarly now its ideas also experience the ‘free flow phenomenon’. This has led to increased exchange of ideas. Indeed with liberalization and globalization the construct of Indian Management has received tremendous boost just like the construct of Japanese Management received boost with increased global competition. The foundational work for the development of the idea of Indian Management, started with a movement known as ‘Indian Ethos in Management’. This movement concerned itself with management concepts related to motivation, leadership, human values, stress management, corporate applications of yoga and so on. With the liberalization and globalization, a new movement for further evolving the idea of Indian Management as a distinct discipline gathered momentum. Search began for ideas that could form a new body of knowledge about management. It was observed that many successful Indian managers have been consciously or unconsciously drawing upon ideas of Indian origin because they had either heard about it or read about it, even though such ideas are not usually taught in formal curriculum. Table 3.1 provides a few such ideas. Table 3.1 Sl. No. 1

Illustrative Indian Ideas in Management Idea

Functional Classification

Source

Psycho - Spiritual Understanding of Self Padta System for Performance Monitoring

Organization Behaviour

Organization Theory Organization Theory

Gandhi’s Thoughts

Strategic Management

Arthasastra

6

Trusteeship Organizational Form Harmonization Paradigm in Industrial Relations Extending Corporate Frontiers Shubh-labh

Indian Ethos in Management Indian Trading Systems Management Gandhi’s Thoughts

Business Ethics

7

Loksangraha

An Idealised Indian Business Concept Gita

2

3 4

5

Financial & Control Systems

Social Responsibility of Business

contd...

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New Mantras in Corporate Corridors: From Ancient Roots to Global Routes

8

Tax Metaphors

Finance & Public Policy

9

Stress Management through TM Advertising Rasa & Raga Human Values in Management

Organization Behaviour

Arthasastra & Other Writings Yoga & Meditation

Marketing Management Thought

Nav-rasa Theory Indian Philosophy

10 11

While many ideas from Indian metaphors and experience have become part of management thought, the construct of Indian Management is evolving further through a synthesis of Eastern and Western ideas. It is in this respect that the idea of ‘Indian blend’ from Indian tea industry provides us a new foundational basis for future development of Indian Management. Similarly metaphor of ‘Indica’ from Indian automobile industry is indicative of the capacity and potentiality of Indian organizations to effectively respond in competitive situations. In essence, the recent history of Indian Management can be viewed in terms of three distinct eras. During the first era, Indian Management ideas originated largely from the domain of trading activity and small business. During the second era, an intellectual movement known as ‘Indian Ethos in Management’ arrived and it made substantial contributions to management thought. Now, Indian Management has entered the third era viz., the era of synthesis between East and West. This era has arrived because of liberalization and globalization. Many world class organizations have emerged in response to new competitive challenges. Further, those who wanted to do business with India needed to know India and Indian psyche. In fact many MNCs have been learning to Indianize their appeal by positively responding to Indian psyche. This can be particularly seen in their advertising approach. The above categorization of evolution of Indian Management in terms of three eras also corresponds to development of Indian business entrepreneurship through small business, national level corporate to the experience of building world class organizations. It may be indicated that Indian contributions to management could also be studied on the basis of functional categories. For example, the concepts of ‘Rural Marketing’ in the field of marketing, micro-finance in the field of finance, meditation and yoga in the field of organization behaviour and HRD, mass production systems|community based production, in the field of production management, new institutional models, in the field of institution building and new creations. From Arthasastra to ‘Vyapar sastra’ to ‘Management sastra (Science, Art, Spirituality & transcendental approach)’ presents the journey of Indian Management through the ages.

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ARTHASASTRA FOR STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT: FROM STRENGTH TO STRATEGY—FROM LOCAL TO GLOBAL (LG APPROACH) In New Age Management, there is no hesitation to look at the past for getting new ideas. Accordingly, it looks at the past with curiosity to get cues for some new ideas that are useful for the present and for shaping future. It also takes a creativity view of history and learns from the creativity inspiring ideas and periods from the history. With the emergence of service sector as a dominant economic activity the ‘tradition’ with intuitive holistic aspects of viewing reality is now recapturing its sway over human mind in the same fashion as ‘modernity’ or the rational-analytic methods captured the imagination during industrial revolution. In New Age Indian Management we find a new blend of tradition and modernity. In Indian history, there were many periods of intense creativity. Further, there are many sources for creative ideas. Arthasastra is one such source. It can indeed be considered a foundational source book for Indian Management ideas and concepts. It provides several interesting insights that are useful for improving the competitive advantage of not only the corporate business houses but also the small businesses. Here we present an illustration of ideas from Arthasastra appearing in Book 9, ‘The Activity of the King About to March’. This idea explained through interesting metaphors, could also be referred to as the ‘natural strategic advantage’. ‘A dog on land drags a crocodile, a crocodile in water drags a dog’ ‘By day a crow kills an owl, at night an owl kills a crow’ (Arthasastra, Book 9, Ch.1, Sutra 29 and 31) These observations when used in the business context provide us interesting insights for formulating strategies and in developing a nation’s or an organization’s ‘natural strategic advantage’. These metaphors also provide us an interesting management lesson viz. strategy should flow from strength. A corporate organization needs to identify its natural strategic advantages and thereby it could either be an ‘owl’ type, ‘crow’ type, ‘dog’ type or ‘crocodile’ type. The dog-crocodile metaphor is indicative of the space (read market space) advantage while crow-owl metaphor indicates the timing advantage. These metaphors also indicate another important management lesson viz., creating competition rather than

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New Mantras in Corporate Corridors: From Ancient Roots to Global Routes

merely facing the competition should be the key driving force for any competitive advantage. In the context of liberalization and globalization, it is imperative on the part of business organizations to identify their natural strategic advantages in terms of being an ‘owl’, ‘crow’, ‘dog’ or ‘crocodile’ companies and also identify the competitors in terms of these metaphors with a view to devise effective strategies. It may be indicated that the well-known BCG matrix in strategic management also uses similar interesting metaphors. Thus, use of such metaphors is ancient yet modern. We can also apply this lesson from Arthasastra in the context of a nation. India enjoys natural and acquired strategic advantage in several sectors of economy. By making a sector by sector analysis we can identify the ‘owl’, ‘crow’, ‘dog’ and ‘crocodile’ sectors of the Indian economy vis a vis our competitors. This would help us in making sector specific strategies for enhancing Indian competitiveness in the domestic and the world market. For the purpose of illustration we can cite the following sectors of Indian economy where India either already enjoys or has a potential for a natural or the acquired strategic advantage. India’s Natural and Acquired Strategic Advantage

• • • • • • • •

Information Technology Space programme Nuclear research programme Education, particularly higher education Indian cinema Herbal medicine sector Co-operative dairying Handloom and handicrafts · · · Supported by Human Capital Reserve (HCR)

Perhaps this list would grow bigger if we undertake sector-wise exercise to identify our strategic advantages. India also has a large pool of scientific talent. Because of its brain power resources India ranks quite high on Human Capital Reserve (HCR). A part of its HCR has been effectively utilized by other nations in building their own strategic advantages. India’s pool of brain power resources also represents its ‘scientific advantage’. However, this ‘scientific advantage’ needs to be combined with natural strategic advantage, then only we

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can enhance our competitive advantage. Thus, the New Age Management formula for improving competitiveness is as follows: Scientific Advantage + Acquired or Natural Strategic Advantage = Competitive Advantage Once we identify the sectors where we enjoy strategic advantage, the next question we need to ask is whether the Government policies are towards enhancing the strategic advantage or towards reducing the same. In essence, where is the focus of Government policies. Indeed ‘strengthening the strengths’ should be the policy objective. In economic context it implies facilitating strengthening of domestic industry. In corporate management context it implies that strategy should originate from strength. The lesson of the strength and strategy linkage is useful not only at the nation’s level but also for the corporates. In essence, the direction of the liberalization and globalization should be towards enhancing the natural and acquired strategic advantage rather than towards reducing them. In extending India’s corporate frontiers, this lesson from Arthasastra could provide useful insights to India’s entrepreneurs and business houses. Just like Vedanta was globalized by Indian gurus, India’s New Age Managers not only need to connect the local with global but also learn to convert local into global. For illustration of converting local into global (LG approach) we can cite many examples such as Indian software industry, Indian tea industry and ‘Banking Entrepreneurship and the Spirit of Capital’ arising from South Canara and so on. Indeed ideas from Arthasastra and other related texts provide us lessons for creating competition rather than merely facing competition. India is a ‘growing economy’, hence, it offers growing opportunities to entrepreneurs and business organizations to convert the local into global. During ancient India, ‘Per Capita Consumption of Gold’ and ‘Per Capita Consumption of God’ reflecting material and spiritual prosperity was high. In the new age of ‘holistic globalization’, this could again be achieved by improving competitiveness of our corporates and other institutions.

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4

INDIAN AND THE INDIAN ETHICSETHICS AND THE SPIRIT SPIRIT OF DEVELOPMENT* OF DEVELOPMENT*

Many of our ancient books display a uniqueness of futuristic looks and timeless ideas. They are sanatana or eternal in their approach. They form a basis for articulating a vision for social and management theory as reflected by an emphasis on the eternal human values. Though the nature of political system, production system and organizational forms has undergone a change and innovations in technology have affected our life-styles, however, the human yearning for idealized values has not in any manner diminished. This is indicated by the emphasis on revival of human values. With the flow of time, many isms have come and gone. In future also new isms would arise and go, but the sanatana or the eternal aspect of human values would continue to inspire the humanity and its institutions. Indeed during each era of social upheaval, a great need has been felt for revival of human values. This upheaval-revival dynamic or the dialectic is captured by the famous sloka from Gita viz. Yada yada hi dharmasya… which indicates that whenever there is erosion of human values or the adharma takes over, there is a need to re-establish the human values. It is in this context that a new model of development as well as leadership and management is required to guide us to take up the challenges of the new millennium. * ‘Indian Ethics and the Spirit of Development: The VEDA Model of Leadership and Management’, Subhash Sharma, Management Perception, July-December 2001, 3:2, pp.33-41.

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TWO SIDES OF LIFE: THE ESSENCE OF INDIAN MODEL Indian thought favours a holistic view of life, a balanced approach to the material and spiritual development of individuals and society. In today’s context, it implies combining the spiritual heritage with scientific advances. In the holistic model of development, the spiritual side of life is also represented by the yin and the material or the materialistic side by yang. The holistic model strives to achieve a balance between the two. Thus, it is based on the complementary principle or the harmony of opposites. The concept of the ‘dialectical harmony’ has its origin in the Eastern thought and is best represented by the yinyang concept of the Chinese and the Ardhnareshwar / Shiva-Shakti in the Indian thought. Hegel’s thesis, anti-thesis and synthesis concept also bears interesting similarities with this idea. In holistic model of development, emphasis is on dialectical harmony of the spiritual and material side of life. Management concepts and theories as derivatives of this model imply that both sides of the life should be combined in such a manner that it leads to the holistic happiness while operating in a competitive situation. This is the essence of the Indian model of development. The Indian model of holistic development has also been metaphorically described by people of wisdom as the two wings of a bird - one representing the material side and the other the spiritual side. Both wings are needed to fly. Thus, development implies a balanced approach to life and progress. If there is only one - sided materialistic development, it leads to several social problems, as the Western experience indicates. Similarly if there is an emphasis only on spirituality there would be no material progress. Hence, the ‘spirit of development’ demands that for the progress of life in the ‘material’ and the ‘spiritual’ world, a balanced approach is needed.

INDIAN ETHICS AND THE SPIRIT OF DEVELOPMENT: FOUNDATIONS OF THE INDIAN MODEL Indian Ethics also referred to as Indian ethos is at the heart of the Indian model of development. It is in sharp contrast to the Western model of ‘Protestant Ethics and Spirit of Capitalism’, that is rooted in extreme individualism and has resulted in emergence of mal-developed societies. Hence, the need for a correction. The Indian ethics model with its emphasis on holistic development provides us a new model

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67

for future development of human society, in which ‘spirit of capital’ or the artha dimension of life is not negated but is driven by dharma or the ethics. Thus, ‘dharma driven artha’ or the ‘spiritually guided materialism’ represents a balanced approach to development. While Western ethos are rooted in individualism or the primacy of selfinterest, Eastern ethos favour loksangraha or the primacy of collective interest and altruism. What is required is a balance between the two. The intellectual foundations of the Indian model could be traced to three fundamental ‘theories’ from Indian scriptures viz. The panchkoshas theory, the purushartha theory and the theory of gunas. The essential aspects of the three are presented below. By combining the three theories we can arrive at the foundational basis of the Indian model. The panchkoshas theory provides a framework for holistic self development. It identifies five levels of self-development viz. the physical, psychological, mentological, intellectual and the spiritual consistent with the annamaya, pranamaya, manomaya, vijanmaya and anandamaya koshas. It provides foundations for the idea of ‘Panchmukhi vikas’ or the fivefold holistic development - ‘Physical, Practical, Aesthetic, Moral and Intellectual’ at the individual level. Panchkosha theory also broadly corresponds to the BMS (Body-Mind-Spirit) model of human beings wherein annamaya kosha corresponds to ‘Body’, manomaya and vijanmaya correspond to ‘Mind’ and anandmaya to ‘Spirit’. Further, it also corresponds to the MMC (Matter-MindConsciousness) view of reality. It may also be indicated that manomaya, vijanmaya and anandamaya koshas also broadly correspond to EQ (Emotional Quotient), IQ (Intelligence Quotient) and SQ (Spiritual Quotient). The theory of purusharthas takes a holistic perspective on balancing the four ‘objects of life’ viz., the dharma, artha, kama and moksha or the ethical, material, sensual and spiritual dimensions. This theory suggests a balanced approach for the holistic development at the individual level as well as of the society. The theory of gunas identifies three gunas viz., the tamasik, rajasik and the sattvik as three aspects of nature. Tamasik is indicative of the selfish and self-interest, rajasik connotes the enlightened self-interest and sattvik connotes the enlightened collective interest. This theory is applicable at the individual and society levels and has also been applied at the corporate level. This theory also provides us a framework for transformation of work culture in organizations from tamasik to sattvik with a view to improve the quality of work – life.

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New Mantras in Corporate Corridors: From Ancient Roots to Global Routes

By combining the three theories we get a general theory of development, wherein individual, society and organizations are driven by eternal human values and a balanced approach is taken towards material and spiritual development of individuals and society. Figure 4.1 provides the framework of the general theory of holistic development. Eternal Human Values

In Dividual

Annamaya Pranamaya Manomaya Vijanmaya Anandmaya

Society

Organization

Dharma Artha Kama Moksha

Tamas Rajas Sattva

Panchkoshas

Four Purusharthas

Physical Psychological Mentological Intellectual Spiritual

Ethical Material Sensual Spiritual

Three Gunas

Self - interest Enlightened self interest Enlightened Collective interest

Individual Society Organization

Holistic Development and Management

Fig. 4.1: Foundations of an Indian Model

It may be indicated that there have been several scholarly efforts to formulate conceptual frameworks drawn from Indian ethics for application in management and administration particularly in the corporate context. In fact, need to move beyond American and Japanese models has been felt strongly (Gupta, 1991). During the recent years these efforts have gathered momentum and it has been realized that Indian concepts though developed for the individual and social development are also useful for corporate management. Swami

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69

Ranganathananda (1982) provided a lead in showing the relevance of Indian thought to corporate management. Athreya (1995) drawing upon darsanas provides us a conceptual model for National Human Resource Management. Chakraborty’s (1987, 1993, 1998) pioneering work in applying Indian ethos in corporate context through his frameworks of ‘Managerial Effectiveness and Quality of Work - life’ and ‘Managerial Transformation by Values’, is widely known. Swami Someshwarananda (1996) provides many interesting insights from Indian Ethos Management and applies them in corporate context.

INDIAN ETHOS AND INDIANITY* The expression, Indian ethos has different meaning for different persons. Hence, defining Indian ethos has been a difficult proposition. It is essential for us to understand the essence of the Indian ethos which provide the basis for functioning of the social systems, organizations and individual self-development. Basically, Indian ethos can be defined as a sum total of the Indian traditions and modifications and enrichment in traditions to suit the requirements of changing times. The following could be considered as core ideas of the Indian ethos. 1. Unity in Diversity: This is the fundamental mantra of Indian ethos representing the pluralism and its underlying unity. This idea is also indicative of the ‘spirit of tolerance for different viewpoints and different approaches to reach the destination. India is a nation of ‘all religions, many languages and many minds’, woven around a deeper unity among them. Hence, the phrase, unity in diversity reflecting an eternal truth of nature because in nature we observe multiplicity originating from an underlying unity. Nature is full of colours indicative of diversity. India as a nation is also full of diversity reflected through its various hues. The idea of unity in diversity can also be expressed as INfinity & Diversity In Absolute (INDIA) (Sharma, 1996). This also gives us an idea of India in terms of India as a ‘conceptual entity’ in addition to its identity as a ‘physical entity’. 2. Integrative Synthesis: Integration is another unique characteristic of Indian ethos (S.Radhakrishnan). Indian society has been open to many influences some arising out of a * ‘Towards A Confluence of Civilizations: A Lesson from Indian Ethos & Indianity’, Subhash Sharma, Southern Economist, January 1, 2002, 40:17, pp.11-14.

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New Mantras in Corporate Corridors: From Ancient Roots to Global Routes

natural inflow of ideas some even arising out of forced imposition. The resilience of the Indian ethos is reflected in integration of even contradictory ideas in its fold through a ‘churning process’ or ‘manthan’. Thus, tradition and modernity though considered in contradiction to each other get assimilated in the form of new fusion leading to a new continuity. Modernity is not only integrated but also spiritualized and a new blend is being created arising from a new synthesis of science and spirituality leading to a new integration of tradition and modernity. In fact, tradition is riding ahead on the vehicles of modernity. In India, we can see people using many vehicles of modernity to forge ahead the tradition. We can also see many Swamiji using internet to communicate with their devotees. In fact, tradition is not only reconciled with modernity, it moves ahead along with modernity and sometimes moves ahead of modernity using the modernity. Modernity has also rediscovered tradition e.g. yoga has been rediscovered through modernity. There are many such examples. Even turmeric has been rediscovered through modernity. ‘Rediscovery of tradition through modernity’ is a new discovery in itself. Thus, modernity is not a break from tradition but reconciliation with tradition. A few have even argued that modernity had historical roots in India and other Asian countries e.g. Washbrook (1997). He indicates that formal rationality that is at the root of modern science was part of Sanskrit culture during ancient times. We are now experiencing a ‘return of modernity’ in a new language and new formats aided by technological advancements. Many times, after a synthesis and value addition, it is also being reexported. Hence, modernity is not rejected, only its ideological and cultural dominance is many times questioned. Integration and synthesis go hand in hand. Synthesis comes through the assimilation of ideas both through interaction and confrontation with new ideas. In fact, ‘creative synthesis’ has been at the root of Indian ethos since time immemorial. ‘Integrative Indigenization’ has also helped in assimilation of new ideas and perspectives (J.B.P.Sinha). India has been a ‘fusion society’ since ancient times. For example, Indian and Greek techniques of sculpture once flourished in Afghanistan. There are many other such examples of integrative synthesis and fusion of different ideas.

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Integrative synthesis has been achieved through the process of continuous critique and ‘balanced synthesis’. Continuous critique has been another hallmark of Indian ethos. It is reflected in one of the most famous catch phrases ‘Nindak niyre rakhiye… keep the critique close to you’. Ideas progress due to critique. If there is no critique ideas tend to stagnate. Essence of Indian ethos has been to absorb the critique in a constructive manner. Critique is most useful when it is differentiated from criticism. Further, extreme negativity is also not helpful though it may help in articulating certain ideologies. Negativity could lead to negative self-image thereby destroying the self-confidence of people. Emphasizing only the negative aspects of a society could contribute to erosion of self-confidence. This needs to be overcome by emphasizing the positive aspects. It is the resilience of Indian ethos that it has absorbed even negative attitudes and converted the negatives into positives. The idea of integrative synthesis helps us in unifying contradictory ideas. For example, the ‘Tolerance for many Gods’ implies tolerance for many different view points and ideas. It can also be expressed as, ‘sarv vichar sambhav’ : All ideas are possible, all religions are possible, all isms are possible. The critical question is to discern a synthesis between all possible isms, religions and ideas. This is the aim of the integrative synthesis. 3. Confluencism: ‘Sangam’ or confluence is one of the most important metaphor. It implies ‘co-mingling of different streams’. Confluencism is the key idea in Indian approach to life. ‘Indian Secularism’ is essentially a confluence approach to our understanding of civilizations through the idea of harmonization. It represents the essence of Indianity. Sangam implies a movement towards ‘confluence of civilizations’ in sharp contrast to ‘clash of civilizations’. Rigveda states, “Let noble thoughts come to us from all directions”. ‘Harmony of religions’ through a harmonization approach and ‘Tolerance for many Gods’ is the essence of confluencism. This tolerance has helped Indian mind to accommodate new Gods i.e. new ideas. It has lead to ethos of tolerance and assimilation. While God is an idea, Gods are ideas. In the past, Indian thought recognized 33 crore Gods. With the arrival of new Gods, i.e. new ideas this number can be further extended to include all

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the new Gods/ ideas. Confluencism implies creating space for new ideas and moving forward through integrative synthesis and cultural integration. It can be said that Indian culture is essentially a ‘sangam culture’ rooted in changing traditions, wherein modernity is one of the rivers flowing along with other rivers and joining the ‘sangam’ without capturing the other rivers. Through this approach, we can appreciate the role of modernity enriching the human life, as an independent thought system without assuming hegemonic role or ‘scientific arrogance’. 4. World as a Family: Vasudhaiv Kutumbhkam is an ancient thought wherein the entire world is considered a family. It is essentially the idea of ‘global family’. Advances in technology have reduced globe to a village. The idea of ‘global village’ is an essentially economic and market metaphor wherein entire globe is a market. In contrast, the idea of vasudhaiv kutumbhakam (globe as a family) is a cultural metaphor. While global village is indicative of the reduction in market distances, global family emphasizes need for reducing the spiritual distance or the heart to heart distance. ‘Global family’ concept emphasizes emotional integration. For overall welfare of humanity, we need to go beyond the concept of global village to the concept of global family wherein there is no hegemony of one family member. 5. Humans as Spiritual Being: Indian model of ‘man’ is in terms of a spiritual being. Swami Vivekananda said, ‘Man is potentially divine, mission is to manifest his divinity’. ‘Aham Brahmasmi’ (I am the Cosmos) can also be stated as ‘I am the reflection of God’ and ‘Kingdom of God is within me’. This Indian approach is essentially an approach of the spiritual search. In fact, Indian ideas on spiritual search are well known the world over. India’s strength lies in its spiritual heritage. It was not just the hippies who flocked to India at one point of time in search of happiness and spiritual pursuits, it is also the yuppies and other self-actualized individuals who are drawn to the attraction of the spiritual contentment that Indian ethos seem to provide. The corporate world uses the techniques of Transcendental Meditation (TM) and the corporate managers learn various yoga/meditation techniques that have been a unique gift of Indian ethos to the world of corporate management.

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Though Indian model of ‘man’ is essentially a spiritual being, it may be indicated that many times spiritual has been shrouded by rituals. Hence, there may be a need to liberate the spiritual from the ritual because rituals are influenced by space-time context. Table 4.1 summarizes the implication of the above Panch Siddhanta or the five principles of Indian ethos, for individual, social, corporate/ organizational and national and global contexts. Table 4.1

The Panch Siddhanta of Indian Ethos

Application Level/Individual Basic Prinicple

Social

Corporate/

National & Global

1. Unity in Diversity

Creates a tolerant Mindset

Promotes pluralism

Helps in managing

Emotional Integration diversity

2. Integrative Synthesis

Develops an integrative mindset

Provides a basis for integrating different viewpoints

Integrative Indigenization directions

Let noble thoughts come to us from all

3. Confluencism

Work in the direction of convergence of ideas

Convergence approach to social issues

Oneness with corporate goals through confluence teams

Integrate different wiewpoints towards national and global perspectives

4. World as a Family

Expansion of Familyhood one’s consciousness to include everyone in one’s circle of relationships

Organization is a microcosm of world as a family

Nation is a family and a member of the world family

5. Humans are Spiritual Beings

Holistic approach to Who am I?

Spirituality at work place

Recognition of spirtual development as an important aspect of development

Develops oneness and empathy, Liberates spritual from the ritual

The Panch Siddhanta discussed above constitute the core of Indianity. It may be observed that the concept of Indianity is reflected through various metaphors such as ‘Manthan’ (churning), ‘Sangam’ (confluence), ‘Kutumbh’ (family) and spiritual model of human beings. These metaphors constitute the essence of Indian ethos and can be found in varying forms in ancient scriptures and modern literature. They are essential part of the Indian collective consciousness and influence the social and management thought in one way or other. They are also universal in nature and hence have relevance for

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development of societies as sacro-civic societies. Herein, lies the usefulness of these ideas in today’s context. Fig. 4.2 presents the concept of Indianity as constituted by the five basic principles. Unity in Diversity

Integrative Synthesis

Confluencism Indianity

World as Family

Humans are Spiritual Beings

Fig. 4.2: Five Foundational Concepts of Indian Ethos

The above discussed ideas of Indianity can be found in one form or other in various Indian isms or Indianisms such as Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Gandhism, Indian Secularism, etc. Metaphorically speaking Gandhi’s Dandi march is also indicative of a march towards Indianity. The Indian isms mentioned above have influenced human thought in one way or other. Guy Sorman (2001) in his book, The Genius of India, has identified several influences of Indian isms on Western thoughts. He states, “India has never ceased to haunt the imagination of the West. On three occasions, she left an indelible imprint on the Western shores. Christianity borrowed from her the idea of compassion and the belief in immortality of the soul... The Enlightenment philosophers discovered the practice of toleration... Mahatma Gandhi demonstrated, in the twentieth century, the strength of non-violence and in the sixties, the West borrowed the notions of ecology and feminism from India. These influences from the East may come as a surprise to many Westerners”. In fact, it may also come as a surprise to many Indians. Indian isms have been influencing the West in one form or other, thereby Indianity has helped the onward march of humanity in many subtle ways. Sorman (2001) in his above

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mentioned book, captures this aspect of Indian influence on Western thought through the metaphor of “India within us”. This can be modified as ‘Indianity within us’. While many Indian isms have gone out of India and have influenced the Western thought, many new isms have also come to India from the outside world. These ideas, thoughts and isms have interacted with Indian isms. Through such interactions, these isms have been modified or absorbed through integration and synthesis. This synthesis and fusion has also given birth to many new ideas, new Indianisms and perspectives which in turn have influenced human thought in several ways. This has also helped in creating an ‘integrative personality’ of India as a nation. Openness to various cultures and comingling is the essence of this integrative nature of Indian personality. The concept of Indianity captures this essence of its fusion, synergic and syncretic approach. As a metaphor of such synthesis, this author has suggested the concept of ‘Western Windows Eastern Doors’ as a new Indian ism suiting to future journey of Indianity rooted in Indian ethos. This could provide a new foundational premise for a ‘rediscovery of India’ as a place for ‘confluence of civilizations’.

TOWARDS AN INDIAN MODEL OF CORPORATE DEVELOPMENT* Following seven ideas constitute the foundation of Indian model for corporate development. Idea # 1: Human Welfare or the Loksangraha This idea implies that individual and corporate actions should be driven by the criterion of the overall benefit of the society. It draws our attention towards the social responsibility of the corporates. ‘Sarve bhavantu sukhina, sarve shantu niramaya’ is an ancient sanskrit sloka outlining the basic philosophy of life applicable not only at the individual level but also at the corporate level. It implies ‘welfare of all’ and ‘survival of all’. It should be contrasted with the social Darwinism which believes only in the ‘survival of the fittest’. * ‘Corporate Rishi Model: An Indian Model for Corporate Development & Ethical Leadership’, Subhash Sharma, in Udai Pareek, Aabad M Osman-Gani, S Ramnarayan & T V Rao (eds.), Human Resource Development in Asia: Trends & Challenges, New Delhi, Oxford & IBH, 2002, pp.291-296.

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Idea # 2: Unattached Action or the Nishkam Karma The idea of nishkam karma is unique to Indian thought. Formulated centuries ago, the concept is at the core of leadership concept in corporate context. Detached action without longing for the immediate results is the essence of this concept. Modern leadership literature is coming close to this idea as a fundamental quality of enlightened leaders.

Idea # 3: Ethical Profits or the Shubh Labh Wealth generation through ethical means or the Dharma driven Artha has been an ideal principle for the conduct of business. Indeed wealth generation has been given positive importance in Indian secular texts and scriptures. The very fact that India was known as Golden bird at one point of time in the world history, indicates that wealth generation had its due importance in the overall scheme of life. The conditionality imposed on the wealth generation was in the form of an ethical principle that wealth generation should be driven by dharma or the ethical ways. Hence, the idea of shubh-labh was developed.

Idea # 4: Self-Development: Divinity in Human Beings ‘Every soul is potentially divine’ declared Vivekananda. This philosophy is at the core of Indian thought. It also represents the essence of self-development.

Idea # 5: Work as Worship The ideal concept of work ethics is inherent in the well-known Indian phrase, ‘work is worship’. Hence, the attitude in performing one’s task should be in the form of worship. When work is treated as worship it leads to excellence in task performance. Manifestation of this idea can be seen in many fields of art and literature wherein most people ascribe their achievements to their attitude towards work in the form of work as worship. It may be indicated that the difference between ‘work religion’ and ‘personal religion’ should be understood. In the idea of ‘work as worship’, the ‘work religion’ gets a priority over the rituals of the personal religions. When personal religion is adjusted to the requirements of work religion, then only proper work ethics develop in an organizing context.

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Idea # 6: The Concept of Family, Kutumbh ‘Vasudhaiv kutumbkam’ – Entire world is one family, is an important message from Indian thought. The idea of kutumbh is unique because each family member has a say in decision making as well as a role to play which changes according to situation and requirements. When organizations are viewed as a family, the joys and sorrows are shared equally and members are part of the ‘corporate community’.

Idea # 7: Avoidance of Extremes Avoidance of the extremes is an idea formulated long time ago. Also popularly known as Buddha’s middle path, it implies balancing and steering through the middle or alternative approaches to the extreme solutions. Hence, Indian models seek to evolve new ways rather than being carried away by the ‘only way’ approaches to problems of humanity. The above identified seven ideas form the core values of the Indian thought. When combined together as elements of a conceptual framework, we get an Indian model for Corporate Management and Development. This framework is presented in Fig. 4.3, in the form of a house like structure. Human Welfare (Loksangraha) (1)

Nishkam-karma (2)

Shubh-labh (3) Avoidance of extremes (7)

Self-development (4)

Work as worship (5)

Organization as Family (6) (Theory K)

Fig. 4.3: An Indian Model for Corporate Development

With the advent of spirituality-at-work movement, the application of the Indian ethos in corporate context has acquired a new relevance (Kalburgi Srinivas, 1998). It is perhaps because of the realization of

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the need for spirituality at work place, that Indian concept of ‘Transcendental Meditation’ and similar other techniques of stress reduction have become part of the ‘received knowledge’ on corporate management. Indeed, in the future development of management theory and practice, the Indian model of a balance between the spiritual and materialistic achievements, could provide a new foundational premise for a balance between excessive individualism and extreme altruism. Perhaps it is time for the ‘Asian Dharma’ to provide the new social vision for the new millennium – a vision of sacro-civic society based on ‘spiritualization of modernity’ (Pathak, 1998).

TOWARDS DEVELOPMENT STEPS: HOLISTIC APPROACH TO DEVELOPMENT* By STEPS we mean the following dimensions of development: S : Social T : Technological E : Economic P : Political S : Spiritual Social development implies promotion of art, culture, literature and related soft aspects of human development. A vision that ignores this dimension of human existence, could only be a partial vision. Hence, for holistic development, this aspect cannot be ignored. It may be indicated that values such as equity, human rights, human dignity, etc. are important aspect of social development. Second dimension of development STEPS, is the technological dimension. Use of technology is critical to human and social development. It may not be necessary to reinvent the technology wheel as it may require huge investments in Research and Development. While technology or new ideas may be invented in any part of the world, what is important is the development of required skills in use of technology and new ideas for the benefit of people. Third dimension of development STEPS, is the economic dimension. Harnessing the markets and promotion of entrepreneurial spirit of * ‘Development STEPS’, Subhash Sharma, in Jeevan Kumar D & Susheela Subrahmanya (eds.), Vision Karnataka 2025: Strategies & Action Plans for Sustainable Development, Bangalore, Southern Economist, 2001, pp.295-298.

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people are critical inputs for economic development. Development of the different sectors of the economy is important for the economic development. Hence, a sectoral development approach is very much required as a part of economic development. Fourth dimension of development STEPS is the political dimension. By this we imply development of political institutions to ensure good governance. Karnataka is known for its Panchayati Raj institutions. Democratic institutions need further strengthening to ensure a synergy between the markets, State and the people. State should play the facilitation role in unleashing the entrepreneurial spirit of its people. Fifth dimension of development STEPS is the spiritual dimension. It implies making human beings as better human beings. A touch of spiritual aspect would ensure. Material prosperity is used for social purposes. It also implies that human beings also set higher order purposes as their life’s goals and make contributions to the society. In fact, making “contribution to society” can be considered as an essence of spiritual dimension of development. Inclusion of spiritual dimension in the development model takes us a step towards creation of a “sacrocivic society”. Values such as “concern for environment” “concern for others” including and “concern for the poorest and the weakest”, can as well be considered as part of the spiritual dimension of development. The STEPS development model is the model of “Panchmukhi Vikas”, five-fold development of the nation by emphasizing five dimensions of the development STEPS. It goes beyond the existing models rooted exclusively in technology or markets, which end up producing “mal-developed societies”. For a holistic development of the nation, there is a need to expand the horizons of the development process by going beyond the existing models of development. The STEPS development model takes us towards an “ideal nation”, wherein there is a proper balance between five dimensions of development . For all the five elements of the STEPS model, we can identify the key measurement parameters. They are as follows: S : Social

—→

Equity & Social justice

T : Technological

—→

Innovation

E : Economic

—→

Per Capita Income

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P : Political

—→

Democratic Spirit (% voting as an indicator)

S : Spiritual

—→

Per Capita Happiness

A wholistic vision implies nation’s development on all the above identified performance parameters. It may be indicated that in the Western models of development, the idea of per capita happiness has been missing. Hidden in this idea, are the ecological concerns, spirit of tolerance for different viewpoints, in addition to the selfdevelopment as a human being. On the basis of the STEPS model, a Wholistic Development Index (WDI) can be worked out and nations can be ranked on this index. Such an index will take us beyond the currently popular Human Development Index (HDI). There are no negative marks for crime, corruption and other pain inducing activities in this index. Hence, WDI provides us a better picture of development.

TOWARDS A NEW WORK RELIGION ‘Work is worship’ is an ancient mantra, though rarely practised today. Many think, ‘worship is work’, so they worship with total dedication. Even at the workplace their attention is on worship rather than on work. For this mindset to change, we need a new framework based on the idea of ‘work-dignity’ i.e. deriving dignity from the work. We can identify following three types of religions in consonance with three ‘existential’ spheres viz. work sphere, social sphere and the personal sphere. 1. Work - religion corresponding to work sphere. 2. Worship - religion corresponding to social sphere. 3. Personal - religion corresponding to personal sphere. The conceptual difference between the three religions should be understood. An individual having a particular personal religion could have a different worship religion as he or she may ‘worship’ an icon to get inspiration. Even a stone can turn into an icon and a rock can acquire new symbolism. Some may even attribute ‘miracle powers’ to it and start worshipping it in a literal sense. Further, a worship religion can also be born from ‘hero worship’. Even many isms turn into new worship religions.

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There is a dynamic interaction between the three religions. Fig. 4.4 presents this interaction.

Work Religion

Personal Religion

Worship Religion

Fig. 4.4: Interaction Between Three Types of Religions

Dotted line in fig.4.4 indicates that personal religion should not be allowed to interfere with work religion. When it comes to priorities, work-religion should have priority over the personal religion. Search for the ‘God’/‘Gods’ in the work itself. This is the essence of ‘karmayoga’ which could be another name for the work-religion. It may be mentioned that this idea of work-religion is not a new idea. We can find its echo in Kabir, who can be considered its originator. Kabir states, “Mala pherat jug gaya, gaya na manas ka pher, karka manka dari dey, manka manka pher”. It may be indicated that the need to appreciate the difference between three types of religions has become important in the contemporary context because of the new requirements of the production systems and social systems in the society. Our framework of personal religion, worship religion and work religion can also be viewed as an evolutionary model, wherein there is a need to transcend personal religion and move in the direction of work religion. Traditionally, Productivity is the work-religion of Americans, Quality is the work-religion of Japanese and ‘Knowledge’ & ‘Knowledge seeking’ is the work-religion of Indians. However, if India has to play the leadership role, then Productivity, Quality and Knowledge should be integrated together to constitute the new work-religion to gain a new competitive advantage.

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YVK FOUNDATIONS OF INDIAN MANAGEMENT* ‘YVK’ represent three eastern doors that can provide future foundations for ‘new age corporates’. ‘YVK’ stand for Yoga, Vedanta and Kosha theories that have universal application as well as universal appeal. During recent years, considerable work has been done by Indian scholars to open these doors to the world of management. Pioneering initiatives by Prof. S.K.Chakraborty, Dr. M.B.Athreya as well as this author’s work among others, have been widely acknowledged as foundation for opening new vistas in the field of management. These contributions rootd in ‘Vedico-scientific’ worldview are pointers towards the managerial relevance of YVK.

Y: Yoga (‘Udyoga As A Yoga’) Indian word for industry is ‘Udyog’ that contains the word ‘yog’. Thus, ‘udyoga’ can indeed be considered as a new yoga. This yoga theory of management suggests that there should be harmony and balance between various factors of creation viz. K (Knowledge), P (power i.e. Leadership and Managerial Capacity), C (Capital) and L (Labour). This KPCL model of organizations is rooted in harmony and harmonization of four factors of creation. Hence, it represents the yoga theory of management. It may be indicated that ‘stress management’ has been an important concern for the corporates. As a result, yoga acquired popularity as a stress management technique. TM (Transcendental Meditation) entered the text books of management as a tool for stress management. However, as indicated above, yoga theory can provide us a new foundational premise for the new corporate model wherein there is a balancing between profit, people and purpose. In fact the concept of Udyoga as a yoga captures the essence of India’s management philosophy in one simple phrase. Because of the popularity of Yoga, the management world at the global level understands the concept of Yoga in its various variants and its usefulness in organizational context. It may be indicated that Yoga includes Udyoga, work-yoga and spiritual yoga. For a manager, all the three are important for success, while a spiritual aspirant may * New Directions in Management Thought, Subhash Sharma in Explorations in Management Thought: A Festschrift Honoring Prof. Ishwar Dayal, Deepak Dogra & Vinay Auluck, Ane Books India, New Delhi, 2006, pp.186-203.

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be interested only in ‘spiritual yoga’. It may be indicated that ‘Management by Harmony’ is the key note of Yoga theory of management, wherein aim is to seek harmony between various factors of creation.

V: Vedanta (Towards Vedanta-In-Practice) Vedanta in management has been receiving some attention, because Vedantic model of human being as ‘divine being’ takes us far beyond Maslow’s conceptualization of human being in terms of ‘hierarchy of needs’. Swami Vivekananda’s concept of ‘practical Vedanta’ is also finding its application in management of institutions and organizations. The concept of ‘management by consciousness’ is gaining acceptance in contrast to ‘management by objective’ that represented a teleological approach and ignored the deontological and virtue ethics approaches. Vedantic principles also provide conceptual foundations for implementing the idea of ‘spirituality at work place’, to make workplaces synergistic and harmonic in nature. Vedanta can also be interpreted as Ved-ananta i.e. eternal knowledge. In this interpretation, Vedanta represents the eternal values emphasized by all spiritual traditions of the world. Thus, it provides a basis for ‘spiritual confluencism’ as well as ‘values based management’. ‘Management by Values’ is its keynote.

K: Kosha (Five KOSHA Energies) ‘Kosha’ theory rooted in ‘panchkosha’ model of evolution of consciousness provides new directions for self-evolution and selfdevelopment. ‘KOSHA’ theory is essentially an ‘energy systems’ theory indicating five types of energy viz. Kosmic energy (K), Oceanic energy (O), Spiritual energy (S), Heart energy (H), ‘Animalistic’ energy (A). ‘Heart energy’ represents the emotional energy and ‘animalistic’ energy represents the brute forces’. It may be indicated that ‘KOSHA’ theory can also be considered as an extension of ‘OSHA’ model, wherein ‘OSHA’ stands for Oneness, Spiritual, Humanistic and Animalistic aspects of human existence. This model is rooted in Indian guna theory wherein human behaviour is analyzed in terms of Sattvik (Spiritual), Rajasik (Humanistic) and Tamasik (Animalistic) qualities. It may further be indicated that KOSHA theory could also be viewed as a combination of Theory K and the ‘OSHA’ model, because Theory K takes a ‘cosmic perspective’, wherein entire globe is one family, as suggested by the concept of ‘Vasudhaiv Kutumbkam’. Theory K also views organization as ‘Kutumb’ or community.

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When ‘KOSHA’ model is applied in organizational context, it represents the level of consciousness of the organization and also its energy spectrum and energy channelizing systems. Leaders and mangers use various types of energies of consciousness viz. silent or latent spiritual energies (sattvik energies), vibrant / emotional energies (rajasik energies) and violent (tamasik energies). These three types of energies also get reflected in the way power is used in organizations. Sattvik power, rajasik power and tamasik power lead to silent, vibrant and violent approaches to channelizing organizational energies. These energies also get reflected in inter-personal relationships and interpersonal dynamics. With the acceptance of the ideas of EQ (Emotional Quotient) and SQ (Spiritual Quotient), organizations have started making positive use of emotional and latent spiritual energies within the organizations. In essence, ‘KOSHA’ model draws our attention to use of organizational energy in positive manners. It may be indicated that ‘YVK’ framework provides us a foundational basis for Human Quality Development (HQD) as its roots can be traced to Indian guna theory of personality. Yoga implies harmony, Vedanta suggests need for eternal values and Kosha leads us towards various levels of consciousness and suggests positive use of energies of consciousness. These three concepts viz. Yoga/harmony and harmonization, Vedanta/eternal values and Kosha/positive use of energies, constitute three pillars of new age management thought. Three inter-related management processes based on ‘YVK’ viz. management by harmony, management by values and ‘management by consciousness’ constitute new foundations for ODM (Organizational Development & Management). Further, the idea of ‘Indian Management’ could also be captured by the phrase ‘YVK’, as it constitutes the three pillars of ‘Indian Management’.

TOWARDS SPIRITUAL PRAXIS: SPIRITUAL SYNERGY (SS) AND POSITIVE SPIRIT (PS) Foundations of new management thought could also be viewed in terms of ‘Spiritual praxis’. The expression ‘praxis’ contains within itself ‘PRA’ model wherein P refers to Philosophy, R to Reality and A to Action. Praxis implies creating social change to change the social axis through PRA approach. For example, in ‘Marxist praxis’ social change was envisaged through the Marxist philosophy rooted in violent approach to change. It failed because of its violence- oriented philosophy. In contrast, in ‘grounded praxis’ a creative approach is

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taken to create social change by relating grand theories and grand ideas to ground reality and taking a non-violent route to change. In the age of holistic globalization, ‘grounded praxis’ provides us a new approach to social change and change within organizations. ‘Spiritual praxis’ takes us a step further, wherein spiritual dimension is also included in creating social change.

PRACTICAL SPIRITUALITY IN ORGANIZATION CONTEXT In organizational contexts, ‘Spiritual Praxis’ can be operationalized through SS*PS model of ‘Practical spirituality’ wherein SS*PS implies Spiritual Synergy (SS) and Positive Spirit (PS). Synergy is a scientific concept and it stands for ‘System’s energy’. When this scientific concept is given a spiritual and transcendental touch, we arrive at the concept of ‘Spiritual Synergy’ (SS). Individuals with ‘spiritual synergy’ and ‘positive spirit’ orientations develop positive mental attitude and positive T-A (Thought-Action). ‘Spiritual Praxis’ implies corporates should recruit individuals with SS and PS orientations, rather than merely on the basis of technical knowledge. ‘Spiritual praxis’, uses SS*PS approach to transform individuals into positive persons. Herein lies its practical utility. In essence, SS*PS can be considered as a model for change from negergy (negative energy) and ‘negative actions’ to synergy and ‘positive actions’. If such an approach is implemented at the community and society level, terrorism etc., would come down. In essence, SS*PS is a mantra of conversion i.e. conversion from sin (negative actions) to win and yin i.e. positive actions. Thus, it is a mantra for changing karma from negative to positive and thereby change one’s destiny because negative actions lead to negative impact on destiny and positive actions lead to positive impact on destiny. The essence of SS*PS framework can be summed up by following equations: (i) Positive Mental Attitude (PMA) = SS*PS (ii) Positive T-A (Thought-Action) = SS*PS (iii) Positive Karma (PK) = SS*PS These equations can also be considered as equations of spirituality in society and practical spirituality at work place. Hence, they constitute the essence of ‘spiritual praxis’ and thereby ‘Practical spirituality’. They represent ‘sacro-spiritual’ approach to life, work and relationships. SS*PS success mantra also captures the essence of the last sloka of Gita. Wherever there is ‘Spiritual Synergy’ (SS) represented by Krishna and ‘Positive Spirit’ represented by Arjuna, success is inevitable.

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TOWARDS ‘VEDANTIC PRAXIS’ Spiritual Synergy (SS) and Positive Spirit (PS) represent the core of ‘spiritual praxis’. ‘Vedantic Praxis’ is an extension of ‘spiritual praxis’ and it implies application of Vedantic principles to create change in society and its institutions. It may be indicated that foundations of modern India as a nation are rooted in ViGA (Vivekananda, Gandhi and Aurobindo) thoughts in addition to borrowing certain Western ideas. Thoughts of Vivekananda, Gandhi and Aurobindo also represent three Eastern doors and even West has acknowledged the need to incorporate the ideas from these three influential thinkers. In fact, democratic institutions of the West through these thoughts have found a new direction from the East by getting a Vedantic touch and evolve in the direction of divine-democratic approach. If we represent Western ideas of democracy and its institutions on x-axis (western windows) and ViGA currents on Y-axis (eastern doors) we arrive at new combinations of these approaches represented by (x, y) coordinates, in the form of sacro-civic approach representing a new direction metaphorically represented by ‘western windows eastern doors (wwed)’. From such an integration we arrive at the concept of ‘sacro-civic society’, wherein economics, politics and spirituality find a new integration. Fig.3 represents this integration.

eastern doors (ed) (e.g. ViGA thoughts)

y-axis (x,y) combination

Towards divinedemocracy / Sacrocivic society

x-axis western windows (ww) (e.g. democratic institutions)

Fig. 4.5: Towards A New Path of Sacro-Civic Society Based on WWED

To operationalize the idea of the above outlined new path, we suggest a framework of ‘Vedantic praxis’ through an integration of

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Vivekananda’s ‘Practical Vedanta’, Aurobindo’s ‘Integral Yoga’ and Gandhi’s ‘Trusteeship Concepts’. Fig.4 presents this integrative framework of ‘Vedanta-in-Practice’. Vivekananda's 'Practical Vedanta' ‘Vedantic Gandhi's 'Trusteeship Concepts'

Praxis’ in Social . &

Aurobindo's 'Integral Yoga'

Organizational Contexts

Fig. 4.6: A Framework of ‘Vedantic Praxis’ in Social and Organizational Contexts

This integrative framework of ‘Vedantic praxis ‘provides us a basis for creating change in society and organizations through a touch of transcendence. Worldwide presence of several influential spiritual movements and institutions originating from India and rooted in these ideas provide us a strong empirical evidence of potentiality of these concepts for Organization Development & Management (ODM) and converting enterprises into sacro-economic entities.

MANAGEMENT AS ‘JOY OF LIVING’: TOWARDS A NEW DEFINITION OF ‘MANAGEMENT’ Ideas presented in this chapter lead us to a new definition of ‘management’, wherein ‘management’ is defined as ‘joy of living’. Managers create wealth for their organization, for their nation, their families and for themselves. They create employment as well as knowledge. Any process of creation is a process of joy. Hence, ‘management’ can indeed be defined as ‘joy of living’. This definition also represents the essence of the Vedantic approach to management. Swami Bodhananda (2006) suggests the idea of ‘Joyful living in an interactive world’. The concept of management as ‘joy of living’ is a close equivalent of the same. This approach also implies that every individual in the organization should be SRI (Self Responsible Individual). Further, joy of living implies going beyond selfactualization to self-realization and self-transcendence. Broadly, selfactualization represents achievement, self-realization represents enlightenment and self-transcendence represents awakening. Self Management being a combination of the three, could be viewed as an ART (Actualization, Realization and Transcendence). This ART constitutes the foundation for the idea of ‘joy of living’ as well as joyful living.

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MANAGEMENT IDEAS MANAGEMENT IDEAS IN IN ARTHASASTRA* ARTHASASTRA*

Hailed as one of the most influential and important books on the art of statecraft and public administration, most of the commentaries on Arthasastra highlight its political, diplomatic and administrative insights. Exploring it from management-ideas viewpoint, the author finds it to be a source book for a number of ideas. In his bid to underscore that, for all practical purposes, Arthasastra can be considered as a foundation book for managers, the author highlights some of the key management ideas, whose origin can be traced to Arthasastra - such as assumptions about “models of man”, theories of motivation and leadership, training and development, decisionmaking, financial administration, information systems, and strategic management. Are there any major lessons that modern managers can learn from Arthasastra? Although written in a different time-span and in different social context, Arthasastra contains a number of trans-temporal ideas that modern managers will find useful. Kautilya’s penetrating insights in different aspects of management and administration have relevance for efficiently managing the large business and non-business enterprises. Let us identify some of these management ideas from Arthasastra. * ‘Management Ideas in Arthasastra’, Subhash Sharma, Indian Journal of Public Administration, Indian Institute of Public Administration, New Delhi, April-June 1994, 40:2, pp.165-192.

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PHILOSOPHY OF ARTHASASTRA Arthasastra is defined as a science which is the means of acquisition and protection of the earth. Artha is regarded as one of the important goals of human existence; the other being dharma, kama and moksha. Artha is usually “understood to stand for material well-being as well as the means of securing such well-being, particularly wealth”. the Arthasastra views the pursuit of artha, as the primary goal of human existence. Kautilya considers the artha as, most important. He indicates that arjana (creation), vardhana (increase) and raksana (protection) as three important aspects of the artha or the “wealth of the nation”. He believes that wealth is the star for wealth, and advises to be guided by this star alone and not by the stars in heaven. “The object slips away from the foolish person who continuously consults the stars, for an objective is the constellation for object; what will stars do? (9,4,26). This indicates his practical, though materialistic approach. It may be indicated that notation (9,4,26) refers to Book 9, Chapter 4, Sutra 26. This pattern of notation is followed in the subsequent discussion drawn from Kangle’s translated version, The Kautilaya Arthasastra (Kangle, 1986).

Leaders as Achievers/Vijigsu Arthasastra views the man in leadership position as a vijigsu, i.e. desirous of vijaya (victory/achievement). Vijigsu is an all encompassing phrase, denoting the “overall achievement orientation” of the leader. However, this achievement orientation is not guided by the narrow self-interest, but by the yogakshema i.e. well-being, prosperity, happiness and security of the ‘subjects’ or the organizational members. It may be indicated that “yoga refers to the successful accomplishment of the object while kshema refers to the peaceful, undisturbed enjoyment of that object”. Thus, the leader ensures that organizational members carry on their tasks in a peaceful and ‘undisturbed’ environment. The idea mentioned above, when applied in the context of modern organizations, suggests that a modern business vijigsu’s strategic actions should be guided by his desire to expand his organization’s ‘territories’, which may include the product and market territories as well as influence territory. This, however, should be guided by the organizatoinal yogakshema.

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Leaders Use of Authority/Power/Danda On the use of authority or power to punish (danda), Kautilya cautions his ‘ideal king’ to use it judiciously. Further, he advises to use it to protect the weak from the stronger. “For the (king), severe with the Rod, becomes a source of terror to beings. The (king) mild with the Rod, is despised. The (king), just with the Rod, is honoured” (1,4,810). Thus, the leader is advised not to misuse his power and authority. Kautilya prefers the use of power to instill the order and protect the weak. “If not used at all, it gives to the law of the fishes. For the stronger swallows the weak in the absence of the wielder of the Rod” (1,4,1314). Thus, Kautilya suggests that the leader should have concern for protecting the weak. He prohibits excessive use of power and authority entrusted to the individuals. He indicates that an unjust or improper use of the authority may lead to serious consequences, the most serious being a revolt (kopa) of the subjects against the ruler (1,4,12). He seems to be aware of the subaltern processes of resistance and revolt. Kautilya’s idea on use of authority/power/danda can be diagrammatically presented as Kautilyan U-curve. Fig. 5.1 presents this curve, where in X axis represents the severity of the rod and Y axis represents the level of kopa (frustration). Most managers tend to operate in the mid-region of this curve.

Level of frustration / kopa

Mild

Too severe

Fig. 5.1: Kautilyan U-curve of Danda (‘Power’)

Concern for People Arthasastra brings out the concern for people as one of the main ideas. It is suggested that the actions of the leader should be guided by this concern. The concept of yogakshema reflects this concern. “In the happiness of the subjects lies the happiness of the king and in what is beneficial to the subjects is his own benefit. What is beneficial to himself

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is not beneficial to the king, but what is dear to the subjects is beneficial to him” (1,19,34). Translated in the context of modern organizations, this appears to be the first lesson in the superior-subordinate relationships within the framework of concern for employees. It indicates that the superior should not be guided by his personal selfinterest; he has to demonstrate a genuine concern for the subordinates. Thus, the human relations should be guided by “what is dear” to the subordinates, rather than what is ‘dear’ to the boss.

Reason and Experience as Guides for Action Kautilya’s leader is guided by reason and experience. Leader’s actions should be based on both reason as well as past experience. “With the aid of the former, he analyses... and with the help of the latter, draws general conclusion” (Mehta, et.al., 1980, p.15). Thus, Kautilya emphasizes the importance of rationality as well as past experience in decision making. Further, the need for bridging the theory-practice gap has also been emphasized. “One conversant with the science, (but) not experienced in practical affairs, would come to grief in (carrying out) undertakings” (1,8,24). Thus, the importance of the practical experience has also been emphasized.

ARTHASASTRA AND MODERN MANAGEMENT A Comprehensive Definition of Management Arthasastra provides a comprehensive definition of management. The following are identified as basic elements of management and administration (1,15,42): 1. The means of starting undertakings/assignments, 2. Excellence of men and materials, 3. Suitable apportionment of time and place, 4. Provision against failures, and 5. Accomplishment of the work. These five elements are basic to management planning and management process which indicate the most crucial elements in any management process. The emphasis on excellence is critical to the management. It is also interesting to note that adequate attention is paid to the provision against failures. Thus, contingency planning is considered as very important. The following quote reads like a first lesson on project management. “The means of starting undertakings,

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the excellence of men and materials, (suitable) apportionment of place and time, provision against failures (and) accomplishment of the work - this is deliberation in its five aspects” (15,11,42).

Assumption About Nature of Humans Arthasastra makes a number of assumptions about the nature of humans. These assumptions are based on pragmatic considerations and general observations. It is assumed that different persons behave in different ways. Further, behaviour of people tend to fall in different typologies. It is recognized that ‘man’ has both, good as well as bad aspects. (i) Man as shaper of his destiny: Kautilya believes that it is not inscrutable destiny but man himself who shapes his destiny. “Wealth will pass away from that childish man who inquires most after the stars; for, wealth is the star for wealth; what will stars do? Capable men will certainly secure wealth at least after a hundred trials” (9,4,20). (ii) Man in work situation; Man the variable: Man is assumed to be ‘inconstant’ or variable in his intentions. Therefore, it is considered important to understand the nature of variability: “... he (superintendent) should constantly hold an inspection of their works, men being inconstant in their minds” (2,9,2). Thus, the shirking behaviour in work situation has been identified as critical in work situations. (iii) Man in social context: Man as an exploiter/oppressor: Metaphorically man is referred to as matsaya type, wherein there is a tendency on the part of stronger ‘animals’ to ‘devour’ the weaker ones (1,4,14). Stronger man using his power to oppress the weaker ones. The matsaya metaphor indicates the tendency to dominate. Thus, it is an indicator of the use of power to dominate others. (iv) Man in weaker moments; Man the corruptible: The corruptibility of man is indicated metaphorically in several verses. Hence, the emphasis on designing appropriate audit systems to exercise a check on the possible leakages. The following verses indicate the assumption about the corruptibility of man. “Just as fish moving inside water cannot be known when drinking water, even so officers appointed for carrying out works cannot be known when appropriating money” (2,9,33). “It is possible to know even the path of birds flying in the sky, but not the ways of officers moving with

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their intentions concealed” (2,9,34). Thus, man’s tendency to cheat has been identified as critical to several social problems. The foregoing discussion indicates that while man is considered as shaper of his destiny, the various facets of man’s behaviour in different situations have also been indicated. Table 5.1 summarizes Kautilyan model of humans. Table 5.1

Kautilyan Model of Humans

Good Aspect

Dominator Aspect

Thorny Aspect

Abstaining from injury to others Truthfulness Uprightness Freedom from malice Compassionate Forbearance

Dominator Matasaya nature Work shirker Manipulator

Tendency to cheat Corrupt ”Thorny”

Kautilyan Theory of Motivation Drawing upon earlier writings, Arthasastra identifies four different methods of motivation, viz. sama, dama, danda and bheda. As a group they can be referred to as ‘motivation means’ and their various combinations as ‘means-mix’, Sama is the persuasion method of motivation, dama is the ‘incentive system’ or the reward method of motivation, bheda is the ‘internal competition’ method of motivation, and danda is punishment method of motivation by use of power/authority/force or to use the current terminology from management literature, the ‘Theory X’ of motivation. Arthasastra also suggests the sequencing of the use of above stated means. The ‘natural method’ is to use the sama (persuasion) and the dama (incentives) first, creating internal competition comes next and the use of force comes as the last method. Arthasastra also suggests that different situations require different types of motivation means-mix. One method can not work in all situations. Use of motivation mix is also related to the dominance of particular aspects in human nature. Table 5.2 presents the illustrative ‘motivational-means’ for different personality types. Table 5.2

Personality Types and Means of Motivation

Typology of Persons

Preferred Means of Motivation

Good type (humans in good-self)

Persuasion and incentives i.e. sama and dama

Work shirker type

Internal competition i.e. sama, dama and bheda

Corruptible type

Force i.e. danda

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In many organizations, there is greater reliance on bheda and danda rather than on persuasion and incentive systems. The current researchers in social sciences are rediscovering the importance of sama approach. In management terminology, sama approach goes by different names, such as ‘Theory Y’. It may be indicated that the sama approach finds its expression in human relationship approach to life, dama approach is the economic approach to motivation, bheda is the political power approach to motivation, and danda is the ‘brute’ force approach to motivation.

Management Competencies and Excellence in Men Are there any competencies needed for administrators, managers and advisors? Arthasastra identifies quite a few of them and suggests that these competencies should be tested before assigning the critical responsibilities. The competencies to be tested are as follows: 1. Test person’s training in possession of the eye of science through those learned in the same science. Thus, technical competence must be tested. 2. Test intelligence, perseverance and dexterity. 3. Test eloquence, boldness and presence of mind. 4. Test uprightness, friendliness and firmness of devotion in dealing with others. Amiability and absence of disposition of animosity. 5. Test strength of character (1,9,3). Thus, the important competencies can be broadly classified as: (i) technical/professional competence, (ii) decision-making competence, particularly in emergency situations, (iii) communication competence, (iv) behavioural competence as reflected in dealings with others, and (v) character competence. In addition to testing these competencies, a final test of ‘overall capacity for doing work’ is also recommended. “For, from the capacity for doing work is the ability of a person judged”. Table 5.3 indicates the nature of tests for testing various competencies.

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Table 5.3

Kautilyan Competencies and Methods of Testing

Typology of Competence

Methodology of Testing

Technical/professional

Use the subject experts

Intelligence (‘native’) perseverance and dexterity

Direct observation in handling of assignments

Eloquence, boldness and presence of mind

Direct observation on various occasions of conversations and assignments

Behavioural Character

Direct observation of person’s dealings with others Get references and make inquires

Thus, a great reliance is placed on the expert opinion as far as the technical competence is concerned. For testing other competencies, the methods of direct observation and ‘observation in action’ are important tools. It may be observed that these methods are recommended for very senior positions. Further, additional information about the person is obtained through references as well as through inquiries. The overall ability is judged by the ‘capacity to do work’, which is considered as a function of technical, behavioural, analytical competencies as well as the strength of character. It may be indicated that even today, most modern corporations tend to rely on the above indicated methods for recruiting their senior persons. Arthasastra places great stress on building competencies. In fact, the very first chapter is titled as “Concerning the Topic of Training”. It emphasizes the twin qualities of the ‘skill-in-action’ and ‘quest for perfection’. These would be achieved by a continual emphasis on human advancement, renewal and improvement. Arthasastra identifies some of the basic characteristics of the ‘trainable’ persons. These are as follows: (i) Desire to learn (ii) Effective listening ability (iii) Ability to reflect (iv) Ability to reject false views (v) Intentness on truth, and not to any person The key to building the competencies is self-discipline. Those not desirous of improving their competencies are considered as ‘untrainable’. “For training disciplines suitable stuff, not one unsuited. A science imparts discipline to one, whose intellect has (the qualities

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of) the desire to learn, listening (to the teacher), learning, retention, thorough understanding, reflection, rejection (of false views) and intentness on truth (and) not to any other person” (15,4-5). Besides suggesting a rigorous training, Arthasastra also recommends the idea of learning through association. This is considered very important for building the competencies. “And (he should have) constant association with elders in learning for the sake of improving his training, since training has its root in that” (1,5,11). Thus, traineeship under the guidance of those who are experienced is recommended.

Decision-Making Processes: Consultative and Consensual Group Decision-Making Arthasastra recommends the consultative and consensus oriented group decision-making. This is reflected in the metaphor of the wheel. “One wheel alone does not turn” (1,7,9). In order to turn the wheel, others are also needed. “All undertakings should be preceded by consultation” (1,15,2). Kautilya also advised against relying only on a few advisors. For difficult decisions, he advises relying on more number of councillors. However, the group should not be too large, as large groups find it difficult to arrive at decisions. Further, the secrecy of the strategic decisions cannot be maintained. The competence of the advisors is also an important element as “... holding a consultation with one (only), he may not (be able to) reach a decision in difficult matters (1,15,35). “With more (councillors)... it is with difficulty that decisions on matters are reached or counsel guarded” (1,15,40).

Analysis of Power: Power as Prime Mover Power is defined as “possession of strength”. Arthasastra refers to three types of power, viz. power of knowledge, power of authority, and the power of personal energy and drive. Table 5.4 presents main characteristics of the three types of powers. Thus, three types of powers are recognized. Corresponding to these three types of powers, there are three types of success, viz. success attained through the power of counsel, success attained through the power of authority, and success attained through power of personal drive or energy. In this framework, power and success are interrelated. Power is to be used to attain success. An individual leader is expected to use all the three types of powers to attain success. Further, if the

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leader does not possess these three types of powers, he “should endeavour to endow himself with power and success”. Thus, in this framework, the power and achievement orientation are interconnected. Leaders are advised to use the powers of counsel, authority and personal drive to demonstrate their ‘achievement orientation’. Although these three types of powers of knowledge, wealth, and prowess were identified in the context of inter-state relations, this concentpualization of the basis of power is also valid in organizational contexts. Table 5. 4

Main Characteristics of Three Types of Power

Typology of Power

Basis of Power

Power of counsel Power of influence Power of personal energy

Knowledge/expertise Authority/financial control of wealth Individual drive

Theory of Organizations: Limb Theory or the Idea of Prakritis The metaphor of human body was used by ancient thinkers to convey the concept of the organization. Although used in the context of the ‘state’, the limb theory is also applicable to modern organizations. In Arthasastra, the term used is prakritis, which means the elements and the elements of what constitutes the State, which are metaphorically compared with the human limbs. Seven prakritis were identified. In the context of modern organizations, the various prakritis would be: the chief executive, the dominant coalition, the head office or the co-ordinating unit, the organizational domain, the financial situation, the worker power, and the competitors. The relative importance will depend upon the context in which the organization is operating. Drawing a parallel from Arthasastra, the metaphoric equivalence of the seven prakritis is as follows: the chief executive is the head, the dominant coalition the eyes, financial aspects the mouth, workers the hand, organizational domain is the field of vision, coordinating units as the mind, and the competitor as the ‘other person’.

Mandala Theory of Organizations The mandala theory was developed by Kautilya in the context of power relationships in the context of inter-state relations. The ideas presented in the theory can also be used in organizational analysis, particularly in the analysis of power relationships within various organizational units and with respect to various organizational

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members. Mandala means a circle with a centre or nucleus. Within an organization, a number of mandalas may exist. In decentralized structures, each decentralized unit can be thought of as a mandala. The inter-relationships and the coordination issues of various units can be ascertained through analyzing the power relationships between various mandalas. In the context of individuals occupying the centre of the mandalas, the mandalas also represent their role sets. Viewed in this perspective, the role theory would be considered as a derivative of the mandala theory.

Cognitive Inference Systems and Types of Controls Three methods of cognition are identified, viz. directly perceived, unperceived, and inference. “What is seen by himself is directly perceived. What is communicated by others is unperceived. Forming an idea of what has not been done from what is done in respect of undertakings is inferred” (1,9,5-7). The emphasis on inference is important. Further, in drawing the inference about what is not done from ‘what is done’, indicates the concern for target achievement. It may also be noted that implicit in the above indicated cognitive inference system, are three types of controls, viz. direct control, indirectcontrol, and the inference-based control. Indirect control is exercised on the basis of what is communicated by others. Inference based control is based on ‘forming an idea’ on the basis of given information. The information collection is also of three types, viz. the directly perceived, communicated by others, and the inferred on the basis of actual performance. The role of information and consultation has been emphasized. The collection of information is important for the following purposes: i.

To know what is not known;

ii. Finding out the rest in a matter that is partly known; iii. Definite strengthening of what has become known; iv. Removal of doubt in case of two possible alternatives in a matter (1,15,20-21). Therefore, in order to draw inference, it is important to collect information on what is not known and what is partly known. Further, additional information on the choice from alternatives is also recommended. It is considered important to increase the level of confidence in what has already become known. Consultation with persons ‘matured in intellect’ is considered important to gain insights in the above indicated aspects of any problem. “Coming to know what

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is not known, definite strengthening of what has become known, removal of doubt in a matter that is partly known - this can be achieved with the help of ministers. Therefore, he should sit in counsel with those who are matured in intellect”. The possibilities of ‘information failures’ have also been recognized. The ideas presented above can be summarized in the form of a 2 × 2 matrix presented in Fig. 5.2, in which one dimension relates to the known-unknown aspect of the situation and the other dimension relates to the degree of knowability as reflected in full or partial knowability. The matrix indicates the nature of action required in each decision context. Degree of Knowability

Partial

Known

Full

Strengthen existing knowledge

Choice of alternatives

Gather more information

Explore

State of the Situation

Unknown

Fig. 5.2: State-Knowability Framework of Decision Contests

It may be observed from Fig. 5.2 that different decision situations call for different actions in order to know more about the situation and take better decisions in making choices among alternatives. In addition to the soundness of the decisions, an important advice is not to put off decisions as “an (affair / decision) postponed becomes difficult to settle or even impossible to settle” (1,19,30).

Responsibility Accounting and Independent Commercial Units The concept of responsibility accounting is fundamental to the Arthasastra. The assignments to carry out the responsibility of departments/undertakings are in accordance with the capacity of the officer. Further, the officer/superintendent is responsible for the activities under his purview and also the outlay and the profit accrued

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as a result of the activities. “All superintendents ... should be appointed to works according to (their) capacity (2,9,1). The responsibility for the outlay and profit is indicated in the following quote. “Therefore, he should be cognizant of the worker, the office, the place, the time, the work to be done, the outlay and the profit in these (undertakings)” (2,9,9). A budgeting system is considered important to monitor the performance of various departments. The concerned officer is expected to prepare the budget after taking into consideration the revenue estimates, accrued revenues, outstanding revenues, the income and expenditure and inform the various departments. Each person responsible for a department/responsibility centre/independent commercial unit is expected to indicate the exact nature of department’s activities and report on the income and expenditure of the department/ undertakings. “Therefore, he who is appointed by an order to a particular department shall communicate the real nature of that work and the income and expenditure (both) in detail and in the aggregate” (2,9,19). In addition to this reporting in detail as well as in aggregate, there is also an individual accountability for the revenues and the expenditures. “The high officers should render accounts in full in accordance with their activity, without contradicting themselves” (2,7,24). In case an officer causes any diminution in budgeted revenues and exceeds the sanctioned expenditures, the officer is liable for personal responsibility. “If the (officer) causes a diminution of the revenue fixed or causes an increase in the expenditure sanctioned, that is causing loss. For that, the fine is four times the amount lost” (2,8,12). Thus, the responsibility is not only for the achievement of the activities assigned to the officers but also for the associated revenues and expenditures. In case expenditures exceed the budgeted limits, the officer is personally responsible to bear the excess expenditure. Thus, both the responsibility accounting as well as the profit centre concept is fundamental to the Arthasastra. In order to carry the responsibilities in an effective way, the delegation of authority is communicated in writing. “The delegation of authority in the matter of doing a work and in the matter of issuing orders, this may be a document authorizing (the issuing of) order or even containing an authorization (for doing work)” (2,10,43). Thus, the following characteristics can be identified: 1. Preparation of budget and activity planning; 2. Reporting on the revenue and expenditure;

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3. Responsibility for both the revenues and expenditures, as well as the profit; 4. Personal responsibility for exceeding budget limits; 5. Proper delegation of authority. These characteristics indicate that individual responsibility for profit, particularly in respect of ‘State undertakings’ was accorded a high place.

Financial Information and Control Systems In addition to the individual responsibility for profits, a detailed information and control system was also recommended. The purpose of this system was to monitor the progress on a periodic basis and was based on the concept of periodic monitoring. The frequency of monitoring is given due consideration. Further, both revenues as well as expenditures were classified according to various parameters, such as head of income, source, period, quantity, etc. A classification system for the purposes of expenditure reporting was also recommended. “And he should check (the accounts) for each day, group of five days, fortnight, month, four months and a year. He should check the income with reference to the period, place, time, head of income, source, bringing forward, quantity, the payer, the person causing payment to be made, the recorder and the receiver. He should check the expenditure with reference to the period, place, time, head (of expenditure), gain, occasion of the thing given, its use and amount, the person who orders, the person who takes out, the person who delivers and the receiver” (2,7,30-32). Thus, this control system is geared towards monitoring of the revenues and expenditures as well as the other details associated with them. The checking of information, on a daily basis, indicates the tightness of operational controls. Although the exact format of reporting is not indicated, however, the key pieces of information have been mentioned. Thus, the key elements of management reporting and information system can be identified in the system. In addition to the financial information and control system, Arthasastra recommends a very detailed audit and internal control system. As this aspect of Arthasastra is well-known, a discussion on this aspect is not presented here. It may be indicated that Arthasastra mentions about 40 different ways of financial embezzlement (2,8,10). In addition to the collection of financial information for various responsibility units, Arthasastra recommends comprehensive information collection systems. An illustration of village/rural

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information system is as follows: “He should record the number of villages by fixing their boundaries, the number of fields by an enumeration of ploughed and unploughed (fields), dry and wet fields, parks, vegetable gardens, (flower and fruit) enclosures, forests, structures, sanctuaries, temples, water-works, cremating rounds, rest houses, sheds for drinking water, holy places, pasture lands and roads, (and) in conformity with that he should keep records of size of boundaries, forests and roads, and of grants, sales, favours and exemptions, concerning village-boundaries and fields, and (keep records) of houses by an enumeration of tax payers and non-tax payers” (2,35,3). In addition to the above classifications and details, emphasis is also laid on the amounts of income and expenditures of families as follows: “And of males and females in the family, he should know the number of children and old persons, their work, customs and the amount of their income and expenditure” (2,35,5). This indicates the importance given to the detailed classification of information. Arthasastra also indicates the importance of record-keeping. A separate office of “records and accounts and audit is assigned for this purpose”. Among other things, the information collected pertains to the following: 1. The activity of each state department. 2. The working of state factories and conditions governing production in them. 3. Prices, samples and standards of measuring instruments for various kinds of goods. 4. Laws, transactions, customs and regulations in force in different regions, villages, castes, families and corporations. 5. Salaries and other perquisites of the state servants. Thus, existence of a record-house and the type of information maintained points to existence of a comprehensive information collection system.

Output Linked Payment System The output linked payment system is an important characteristics of the Arthasastra. The mere presence of the labourer doesn’t entitle him for payment. He gets paid only according to the work done. “A wage is for work done, not for what is not done” (3,14,8). The wages are paid according to the output of the work, Arthasastra also provides for the union or sangha of workers and suggests that the disputes regarding the wages should be redressed by the State.

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Customer Orientation, Pricing Methods and Market Interventions The concept of demand and supply and its impact on the pricing of commodities was recognized and given due consideration. The interest of customers is the prime consideration. For this purpose, the State can intervene. Thus, market intervention operations are guided by the customer’s interests. “He (the superintendent of markets) is to fix the prices, raising or lowering them according to the availability of the goods, always keeping in mind the customers’ interests” (2,16,13). However, producers’ interests are also taken care of. In case of glut of any commodity, the sale is centralized with a view to ensuring that the price does not slump” (4,2,33-35). It is further indicated that a large profit must be avoided if it is harmful to the subjects (4,2,29). Certain limits were fixed on the overall profit. Often the interests of the customers are regarded as supreme (4,2,26-27). Further, a penalty is recommended in case of unfair trade practices. Cornering of a particular commodity and forcing its price above that fixed by the State involves heavy fine” (4,2,17). In fixing the prices, due consideration is given to various factors. Notable among them is the consideration given to the investment of capital. Modern management texts always emphasize this factor in decision-making. Arthasastra, besides laying emphasis on the investment of capital, also considers the interest charges as an important factor. “He is to fix prices of various commodities after taking into consideration such factors as investment of capital, interest charges, duties paid, rent and so on” (4,2,36). Thus, it gives due consideration to the cost of capital.

Managing By Contracting Out Arthasastra suggests that the idea of managing by contracting out should be practiced particularly in those cases where the State finds it costly to run the activity itself. For example, it is stated that a mine costly in its working should be leased out for a fixed share of the output, or for a fixed rent, and only a light mine should be worked by the State directly (2,12,22). The concept of contracting out was practised in case of a number of State activities. For example, salt-mines were leased out for a share or on hire (2,12,28). The most common feature of contracting out was the system of labour contract through the institution of sanghas. The sanghas or the associations/unions of labourers were allowed to negotiate with the employers. In case of disputes, the matter was referred to the State.

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Strategic Thinking and Management Arthasastra’s emphasis on ‘niti’ indicates that the strategic orientation was considered an important aspect. The strategic thinking is also reflected in the very term vijigsu, i.e. one desirous of victory. The vijigsu should have the complete picture of the comparative strength of himself and his enemy. Before initiating an action, he should ascertain the strength, place, and time, the consequences, the loss of men and money, profits and danger (9,1,1). Thus, the vijigsu is expected to assess the risk. Further, finding out the weak points of the enemy is considered very important. Thus, vijigsu is expected to undertake some kind of ‘CINE’ analysis before initiating an action. The term ‘CINE’ stands for assessing the controllable internal, non-controllable external factors. In addition to the CINE analysis, the vijigsu has to take into account the resulting benefit before launching any profit. When the expected profit (labha) overweighs the losses (kshaya and vyaya), an action against the enemy is recommended. Translated in a business context, the organizational vijigsu should have a complete picture of his strengths vis-à-vis his competitors. He should be aware of the controllable, noncontrollable, internal and external factors. He should estimate the expected gains after taking into consideration the associated expenses and he should give due consideration to the associated risk.

Kautilyan ‘GET’ Analysis Beginning of Book 9, chapter 1 states, “After ascertaining the (relative) strength or weaknesses of powers, place, time, ...revolts in the rear, losses, expenses, gains and troubles, of himself and of the enemy, the conqueror should march if superior in strength, otherwise stay quiet” (9,1,1,). This framework could be referred to as ‘GET’ framework, wherein the expression GET indicates the Gains, Expenses and Troubles. ‘GET’ framework of strategic management is presented in Fig. 5.3. Gains

Gains

Expenses

Expenses

Troubles

Troubles

Self ('Conqueror')

Other ('Enemy'/Competitor)

Fig. 5.3: Kautilyan ‘GET’ Framework of Strategic Management

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It may be indicated that the GET analysis incorporates within itself the popularly known SWOT analysis of strategic management. In conducting GET analysis, Kautilya also recommends analysis of support, and dangers, both internal and external. Further, it is suggested that the “relative strength or weakness of powers, place of time” (9,1,1), should also be considered, wherein the expression ‘power’ refers to the personal drive as well as the resource availability. It may be indicated that this concept can be applied to the area of strategic marketing wherein the ‘product power’, place and time factors are very critical. The ‘product power’ would imply the intrinsic strength of the product.

Kautilyan Strategy Matrix Arthasastra recommends to the vijigsu, four types of strategies in order to achieve the desired objectives. These are as follows: sama, i.e. persuasion, and negotiation’ dama is the payment of ‘price’; bheda is causing dissensions; and danda is an open attack. In the context of modern business organizations, the sama is seeking the strategic alliances, dama is manipulating things to one’s advantage, bheda is creation of confusion in the market place, and danda is the head-on collision with the competitor. These four processes can be observed in actual practice of strategic management by modern organizations. In response to another party using any of the four means, the affected party can also use any of the four strategies. Kautilyan ‘strategy matrix’ presented in Fig. 5.4 which can be used in formulating strategies in various contexts. This matrix is presented in Fig. 5.4. In this matrix, notations Sa, Dm, Dn and Bh stand for sama, dama, danda and bhed respectively. B’s Response Strategy

Sa A's Strategy

Sa

Dm

Dn

Bh

Sa, Sa

Sa, Dm

Sa, Dn

Sa, Bh

Dm

Dm, Sa

Dm, Dm

Dm, Dn

Dm, Bh

Dn

Dn, Sa

Dn, Dm

Dn, Dn

Dn, Bh

Bh

Bh, Sa

Bh, Dm

Bh, Dn

Bh, Bh

Fig. 5.4: Kautilyan Strategy Matrix

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In this strategy matrix, for each strategy there are four types of responses. The efficacy of different responses will depend upon the strengths and weaknesses of both the parties. In addition, “doctrine of mandala” serves as a basis for seeking strategic alliances. This chapter presents a number of management ideas whose roots can be traced to Arthasastra. Arthasastra was basically a manual for the administrators, and a treatise on the art of statecraft. However, as can be seen from the discussion presented here, it could as well be a basis for a number of management concepts, frameworks and theories. The ideas presented in it can be updated and further developed in the light of the experience of modern organizations. This study indicates that Arthasastra could be considered as a foundation book for managers and leaders.

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CORPORATE GITA* CORPORATE GITA*

Whatever a great person does is followed by others People go by the standards set up by the others (Gita 3-21) Gita provides us an insight into a theory of self-development that is useful for holistic living and social improvement. During recent years the relevance and importance of Gita in social and corporate contexts has received attention of management gurus, management scholars, management teachers, management practitioners and social scientists. Literature in this respect has been growing. Renewed scholarly attention has also been facilitated because of the new realization for spirituality in society and at work place. This is leading us to a new appreciation of ancient texts in the corporate context. Gita’s spirituology is not only relevant for stress management at individual level but also important for improving the psycho-spiritual environment at the work place. In addition, it also offers lessons for enlightened leadership and ethical management. While Tilak, Aurobindo, Vivekananda and Gandhi demonstrated its importance and relevance in the social context during the freedom movement, many management scholars and corporate managers are now discovering its relevance in corporate context. * ‘Corporate Gita: Lessons For Management, Administration and Leadership’, Subhash Sharma, Journal of Human Values, Management Centre for Human Values, IIM Calcutta, July-December 1999, 5:2, pp.103-123.

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CONTRIBUTION OF ‘INDIAN MANAGEMENT’ ‘Indian Management’ as a distinctive branch of study has come into focus during recent years. The following represent the four areas of management theory and practice where ideas from ‘Indian Management’ in general and Gita in particular have found corporate applications both in the West and in the East. 1. Stress Management 2. Psycho-spiritual improvement in work-environment 3. Business ethics and human values 4. Enlightened Leadership In fact, in these four areas the contribution of ’Indian Management’ has now been recognized by management scholars and management gurus from the West and the East. In this chapter some of the important slokas (verses) from the Gita have been identified. These provide us lessons for management, administration and leadership issues in social and corporate contexts. Indeed the Gita is regarded as ‘perennial philosophy’ with universal appeal. It is a sacro-secular (as Chakraborty says) text for the entire humanity and does not belong to Indians alone. It provides us many ideas of importance to individuals, society and organizations irrespective of the mode of production, nature of technology and structure of organizations. This is because the Gita deals with exploration of the self and provides us an understanding about self-development. It deals with the ‘modes of thinking’ and the ‘modes of action’ rather than the ‘modes of production’. According to the Gita, manas-vacchah-karma i.e. thought, words and deeds, and thereby modes of thinking and action, are common to all events. The idea of manas-vacchah-karma indicates the thought and action connection, and is also expressed by the currently popular phrase in management literature, ‘walk the talk’. In the Gita the focus is on decision-maker’s mental state during the moments of decision making. This can be contrasted with traditional literature on management, which focuses more on decision making rather than on the mental state of decision-maker.

A THEORY OF SOCIETY: TOWARDS A NEW VISION OF A SACRO-CIVIC SOCIETY Is there any ‘theory’ of society imbedded in the Gita? The following

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key ideas and expressions provide us a clue to a theory of society leading us to a new vision of a sacro-civic society: 1. Enlightened Collective Interest or Loksangraha (Gita 3-20 & 3-25): Loksangraha implies that actions should be performed keeping in view the welfare of the society as a whole. Thus, actions should be guided by enlightened collective interest and not by selfish interest or self-interest alone. In the context of corporate organizations, it implies that corporate behaviour should be guided by larger social interest. 2. Mutuality and Interdependence or Parasparam Bhavayantaha (Gita 3-11): Mutuality and interdependence are key to social living. As against the conflict model, in this idea we find the mutuality model. This can be achieved through mutual cooperation rather than through the intensification of conflicts between various segments of a society. Thus, various segments of society should interact on the basis of mutuality and cooperation rather than through conflict. This idea also provides a basis for harmony in organizational contexts. 3. Positive Action and the Theory of Nishkam Karma (Gita 247 & 2-48): Emphasis on positive actions is an important lesson from the Gita. Nishkam Karma or action without attachment to fruits of action is a key idea in the Gita. In today’s corporate context positive action implies an emphasis on creating ethical organizations and on introducing the ethicality dimension in decision making. 4. Enlightened Leadership (Gita 3-21): Whatever great persons do is followed by others. Thus standards of actions are set by the leaders. These four ideas viz. enlightened collective interest, mutuality and inter-dependence, positive action through nishkam karma and enlightened leadership constitute the four pillars of an ideal society. Thus, the Gita provides us a conceptual framework for a theory of good society. It may be indicated that this theory is not just a utopia but has a practical significance as it forms the foundation for a new vision of society wherein sattva guna dominates. In the expression sacro-civic, sacro implies dominance of sattva. Accordingly, a sacrocivic society is an evolved society while a civic society is merely an evolving society. It may be mentioned that an economically developed society is not an evolved society if it is not moving towards the goal of being a sacro-civic society. It is indeed merely an evolving society.

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A THEORY OF SELF-DEVELOPMENT: FOUR S MODEL OF SELF DEVELOPMENT & GROWTH In Gita we also find a 4S or four stages model of self-development. In consonance with the requirements of today’s society we can identify four stages of self-development and growth as follows: 1. Student or the learning phase 2. Secular phase 3. Sacro-secular phase 4. Spiritual phase During student phase, one is devoted to learning the life skills and values. During secular phase of life, one engages in materialistic pursuits, during sacro-secular phase one starts moving beyond purely materialistic pursuits and during spiritual phase the focus is entirely on self-discovery. This framework of four stages i.e., student life, secular life, sacro-secular life and spiritual life is nothing but the concept of four ashramas viz., brahmacharya, grihastha, vanprastha and sanyasa. The only difference is that one need not go to the forest during the vanprastha stage because that is not feasible in today’s context. However, one can pursue the sacro-secular and spiritual ways of life living in the city itself. It may be indicated that an individual can take a quantum jump from one phase to another. Swami Vivekananda is an inspiring example in this respect. Because of competitive pressures of modern day living, many may not be able to move beyond the second or third stage. Further, given the present day realities the four stages of growth can’t be neatly divided into four spans of 25 years each. While the first phase may be for 25 to 30 years, the second phase i.e. the phase of secular life could be for 30-35 years. The other two phases could be for the duration of 10 to 15 years, considering the average life span of an individual to be 80 to 90 years. However, it is possible that an individual’s development may not correspond to his or her age. An enlightenment experience may create a quantum jump from one stage to next levels.

A THEORY OF BUSINESS: VALUE ADDITION WITH VALUES ADDITION From the Gita, we can also envision a theory of business relevant for the modern context. This can be summed up as ‘value addition with

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values addition’. It indicates that performance of a corporate organization should be seen not merely in terms of value-addition but also in terms of values addition. Value addition activities of an organization, not in consonance with values addition contribute to social degradation. It implies that business enterprises must fulfil their social responsibility. The idea of value addition with values addition is also in consonance with sacro-civic vision of society presented earlier. To what extent modern corporate organizations are doing values addition is a question worth exploring. Indeed it would be useful if corporates provide a values-addition statement in their annual report. Such a statement could be in qualitative format.

Gita in Corporate Context It has been indicated earlier that the relevance of the Gita in corporate context has received the attention of several scholars and practitioners. The impetus in this direction has been provided by many spiritual teachers e.g. Swami Rangnathananda (1982), Swami Jitatmananda (1992), Swami Bodhananda (1994) and Swami Someshwarananda (1996). In addition scholars and practitioners have also contributed to this area. The published work by management scholars and practitioners can be classified in terms of following four approaches :

First Approach: Empirical Testing This approach can be referred to as empirical applications of Gita’s concepts. The pioneering and well known work by Chakraborty provides us empirical information on corporate applications of several concepts from Gita. He has tested the applicability of several ideas through OD interventions based on his framework of ‘Managerial Effectiveness & Quality of Work-life’ and ‘Managerial Transformation by Values’ (Chakraborty, 1987, 1993, 1998).

Second Approach: Corporate Slokas This approach could be referred to as compilations and interpretations of Gita slokas relevant for managers and other professionals. Many scholars and practitioners from diverse fields such as corporate management, army, judiciary, etc., have interpreted relevant slokas and ideas from Gita and shown their relevance in corporate and social contexts e.g. Narayana (1992), M.B. Athreya (1995), Ajanta Chakravarty (1995), Brig. Naib (1997), Justice Sundaram (1997). Such compilations are also available in other publications e.g.

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‘Ancient Indian Wisdom for Motivation’ and ‘Ancient Indian Wisdom for Self Development’, Ahmedabad Management Association (1993, 1995), ‘Management Tips in the Geetha’, Chinmaya Mission (1996) and ‘Indian Ethos in Leadership’, KVK Raju International Leadership Academy (1997). Most of these slokas focus on self-development and decision making under stressful conditions. In addition, these scholars and practitioners emphasize the importance of Karma-yoga at a normative level as well as in terms of their personal experiences.

Third Approach: Revisioning Gita In the revisioning approach, the concepts from Gita have been revisited and reinterpreted in contemporary context. For example, Ranchan in his work on the Gita provides interesting insights on ‘ideas and images for active imagination’ and highlights the importance of Gita for psycho therapy and considers Krishna as a psychotherapist (Ranchan, 1991). According to Ranchan, Gita goes beyond psychotherapy and provides us foundational premise for psycho-spiritual analysis and psycho-spiritual therapy. Ranchan provides us several psycho-spiritual concepts from Gita in this respect. Chattopadhyay (1997) also revisits Gita from the viewpoint of decision making in work organizations, society and family.

Fourth Approach: New Age Management Models This approach aims at developing new management models with origin in Gita. Sharma has developed a number of such models. He uses the idea of East - West blend and provides management models which have direct relevance for corporate enterprises. The examples of these models include the OSHA model (Sharma, 1995), the negergysynergy grid (Sharma, 1996, p.188), the ‘MBA’ (Manas-BuddhiAhankar) model (Sharma, 1996, p.209-214), a four steps model of enlightened leadership (Sharma, 1995), Total Quality Of Management (TQOM) (Sharma, 1996), Omnijective OD (Sharma, 1997) and so on. Some of these ideas have been tested in the organizational context and have been found useful by corporate managers in the analysis of causes for high negative energy or negergy in organizations. Banerjee has developed the model of ‘Mother Leadership’ which is also rooted in the ideas from Gita and other Indian Scriptures (Banerjee, 1998).

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All the above four approaches viz. the empirical approach, sloka compilation approach, revisioning approach and model building or the new concepts development approach, have contributed significantly to the growing literature on corporate application of ideas from the Gita.

Analytical Models of Gita Having discussed the relevance of the Gita in providing a ‘theory’ of society and in providing us ideas for corporate application, we would now focus on a few analytical models for social and organizational contexts. 1. The guna dynamics model 2. The dharma-adharma dialectics model 3. Divinelike - demonic type classification of human beings. These three models combined together provide us an analytical framework for analysis of a society, irrespective of its technological advancement. First model i.e., the guna model analyses the dynamics of the three gunas viz. tamas, rajas and sattva. This dynamics is presented in sloka 14-10 ‘Sattva asserts itself by predominating over rajas and tamas, rajas predominates over sattva and tamas and tamas tries to dominate sattva and rajas’. This dynamics can also be presented in the form of a matrix analysis of the three gunas and could be used for predictive purposes. When the intensity of tamas is higher than sattva and rajas, there is lot of negative energy or negergy. When the intensity of sattva is higher than rajas and tamas there is lot of synergy. Hence, Gita suggests a transformation from tamas to rajas to sattva through increase in the intensity of sattva and reduction in the intensity of tamas. This model is useful not only for the analysis of the current status but also the future state of a society. As indicated above, if tamas dominates in a society and its institutions, it would lead to lot of negergy thereby leading to disorders in society. Hence, the social processes should be designed, organized and transformed in such a way that there is increase in rajas and sattva in the society. This would lead to the establishment of a ‘good society’ taking us towards the vision of sacrocivic society. Therefore, the criterion of analyzing the social processes and social events is to monitor their negergy generating or synergy generating impact. Communism failed because it led to excessive negergy inherent in ‘dictatorship’. Colonialism was defeated because it also resulted in lot of negergy as a result of its inherent nature of

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relationships based on extreme exploitation. Only the isms that are synergy generating in their outlook and world-view would survive in the long run. The second model viz. the dharma-adharma dialectics model provides us insights into social processes. While dharma refers to moral order, adharma refers to moral disorder. As adharma increases, the social system craves for reduction of adharma and restoration of dharma. Adharma leads to greater disorder and higher entropy or negergy. Hence, for proper social order, enlightened leadership is required. This idea is expressed by the sloka (4-7) in Gita, ‘As and when goodness declines and wickedness shows its rise, O! Bharata in such situations I myself arise’. The third model viz. a model of human typology in terms of divinelike and demonlike nature of human beings explains the good or bad behaviour of individuals in society and organizations. As per slokas (16-2&3) divinelike human qualities include truthfulness, gentleness, modesty and steadiness, freedom from anger, forgiveness, freedom from malice and excessive pride. As per slokas (16-4&10) demonlike display arrogance, excessive pride, anger, harshness and manipulation. Individuals are guided by thoughts and action. Divinelike thoughts lead to divinelike actions and demonlike thoughts lead to demonlike actions. Divinelike persons act as facilitators, provide positive support and create positive forces in society and organizations. Demonic types create obstacles, act negatively and create negative force in society and organizations. Thus, this classification can also be viewed in terms of positive action and negative action types of individuals or simply as positive and negative types. The metaphors of ‘selfish gene’ and ‘decent gene’ can be considered correlates of demonlike and divineline individuals. The three models viz. the guna dynamics, the dharma-adharma dialectics and the model of human beings in terms of divine-demonic nature, when integrated together provide us with many insights into the happenings around in society and organizations. Indeed for the sacro-civic society to become a reality, transition towards sattva is needed. This is facilitated by dharma driven artha-kama (that is material ends) and through the enlightened leadership of divinelike persons.

Management Concepts and Ideas In the discussion below I have followed the third and fourth approaches discussed earlier viz. the sloka compilation and new

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concepts development. It may be indicated that in my approach to sloka compilation, poetic liberty has been taken while retaining the essence of slokas. While a summary of key management concepts is provided in Exhibit 6.1, our discussion is structured around the following ideas: • • • • • • •

Nature of mind and analysis of mind Nature of humans : The divinelike and the demonic type Nature of nature or the guna theory Nature of self Mutuality and Interdependence Positive action and the theory of Nishkam Karma Perfection in action : Yoga

• Guide to action and decision making • Perfect person or the enlightened one • Peace and equanimity • Hierarchy of consciousness • Typology of gifts, knowledge, deeds, human agency & intellect Karmaphal or fruits of action • Root shoot and the fruit metaphor • Swadharma & role responsibility • Battle of righteousness • Leadership by example • Arrival of the best • Freedom of choice • Skill-values combination In the presentation below relevant slokas have been adapted and compiled under the above mentioned headings. It may be indicated that the Gita has been translated into English by several renowned personalities. Of particular interest are the translations by Swami Chidbhavananda, Swami Chinmayananda and Acharya Prabhupada as they provide explanations in a simple and lucid language. As indicated earlier in my adaptation of slokas, I have taken poetic liberty from these sources particularly from the BhagvadGita by Swami Chidbhavananda. While drawing from these sources, the objective has been to retain the essence of the slokas and to reinforce their present day importance and relevance. The inspiration for the rhythmic resonance has come from Sri Hari Gita published in Hindi

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(Manavdharma Karyalaya, Delhi, 1937). Indeed the rhythms of Sri Hari Gita flow silently in the verses presented here. Gita is rich in metaphors and images. Ranchan provides us some of the master images which perhaps have never been visualized in other cultures. For this he cites the master image of sthithaprajna, ‘who is tortoise in introversion and dynamic eagle in extroversion... a solar dynamo in action’ (Ranchan, 1991, p.145). He also cites another master image viz. ‘Krishna works even though he does not have to’. This has been referred to as Atlas complex - Krishna carrying the weight of the world (Ranchan, 1991, p.149). While ideas and images of the Gita have importance for psychotherapy, we take a managerial perspective about some of the ‘ideas and images for active imagination’ in organizational context. These are presented in Exhibit 6.2 and include metaphors such as many branching and endless diversions that lead to lack of focus, tortoise withdrawing its limbs with ease and spontaneity to face an adverse situation, wind pushing a rudderless ship, the revolving wheel, unstable fire of desire, lotus leaf unaffected by water, a non-flickering lamp, row of gems strung on a string, luminous lamp, sun illuminating the whole world and so on. These metaphors have interesting learning value for managers, administrators and leaders.

Nature of Mind and Analysis of Mind Mind is the starting point for human thought and action. Hence, in Indian psycho-philosophy it occupies a centre stage for any analysis of human behaviour. In Gita we find several slokas dealing with the nature of mind. They could form a basis for developing psycho-spiritual analysis of the causes leading to wandering and wavering of mind. The imagery of wind turning a ship off its course provides a powerful image for understanding the nature of mind. When the mind is carried away fully by the senses, Even persons striving for perfection lose their excellences. (2-60) When mind yields to roving senses, in discrimination it fails, Just like the boat in the water gets pushed by the gail. (2-67) That deluded person is said to be a hypocrite, Who pretends to control the senses but whose mind is on sense sites. (3-6)

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O Arjuna, directing organs of action & restraining senses by the mind, Always excel in the path of action being beyond its bind. (3-7) Senses, mind, intellect and self are ordered in a hierarchy, Self is the most superior, unravel it through knowledge’s key. (3-42) Set the intellect in its firmness attain the quietude, Fix the mind on the self and develop this attitude. (6-25) By whatever cause the wavering mind tends to wander away, Control the same with self-control and remove the effect of its sway. (6-26) Hey Krishna, the mind is verily restless, turbulent and obstinate Like controlling the wind is difficult, it is difficult to control its state. (6-34) Doubtless O mighty armed, mind is restless and hard to control Through the practice and non-attachment control the mind’s stroll. (6-35)

NATURE OF HUMANS: THE DIVINELIKE AND THE DEMONIC TYPES In the Gita we find a two way classification of humans in terms of divine like and demonic types. Characterisation of such persons has been elaborated in detail. Further, a person is essentially viewed in terms of the mind stuff or the mentalities the person is made of. Divinelike individuals display a positive mental orientation and demonic types display a negative mental orientation. Hence, divinelike are synergy generators while demonic type are negergy generators. In management theory we find the theory X or the authoritarian style and theory Y or the democratic style and accordingly X and Y types of individuals. A comparison of the X and Y typology with Gita’s classification provides us interesting insights. Sharma combines the two ideas to get a management styles grid. He refers to this as negergysynergy grid (Sharma, 1996, p.188). This managerial grid provides us a better understanding of human behaviour in the corporate context.

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It also provides us with a framework for enlightened leadership in corporate and social contexts. In the Gita, an individual is thought in terms of mind-stuff. This provides us a theory of personality which according to Swami Vivekananda can be stated as ‘I am a sum total of my thoughts and actions’ (Joseph, 1995, p.5). Indeed we can put it in a mathematical form, I = ∫ TA where I is the individual’s personality, TA is thought-action function and the symbol is the mathematical symbol for integration or summation. Interestingly this theory of personality answers the question - Who am I? ‘I am the sum total of my thoughts and actions’. Hence, ‘I am what I think’. A divinelike person thinks divinelike and therefore acts divinelike. A demonic type person thinks demonlike and therefore acts demonlike. Fearless with purity of heart and steadfast in knowledge, Straightforward, austere, inner voice of self the divine types acknowledge. (16-1) Non-injury, truth, absence of anger and absence of crookedness, Compassion, gentleness, modesty are aspects of divineness. (16-2) Vigour, forgiveness, fortitude and absence of hate, These are qualities of humans belonging to divine state. (16-3) The demonic don’t know what to do and refrain from, Purity and truth is not there in them in any form. (16-7) For the demonic this world exists without any moral basis, From the lust it is born, this is their main thesis. (16-8) Filled with insatiable desires and full of hypocrisy, Pride, arrogance and evil, they make this world crazy. (16-10) Egoism, power, violence, lust, anger and the greed, Malicious is their intent, hate is part of this creed. (16-18) A person essentially is his/her mind’s representation, Mindstuff reveals what is one’s natural inclination. (17-3)

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Nature of Nature or the Guna Theory Guna theory is an analytical framework for analyzing Nature’s nature. This framework finds its wide appeal not only in social and corporate contexts but also in making a social analysis of the events happening in a society. In corporate contexts guna theory can be considered as a fundamental management theory because it informs us about the long run negative consequences of tamas driven management styles. As per guna theory management styles could be tamas driven, rajas driven or sattva driven. Because the tamas driven management style ultimately leads to disaster, the emphasis is on a shift towards rajas plus sattva or preferably pure sattva driven management styles. These management styles emphasize the ethical dimension of management. The following slokas provide the key aspects of the guna theory. Guna theory not only provides us a theory of personality but is also useful in psycho-spiritual analysis of the three ego states viz. the tamasik, rajasik and sattvik. When these three ego states in an individual interact with each other and interact with ego-states of another individual, we get interesting insights into human behaviour. Guna theory provides us insights into the nature of Nature. In Nature, tamas leads to gloom, rajas to boom and sattva creates the bloom. Tamas creates the vicious cycles while sattva creates the virtuous cycle. Hence, ‘freedom from delusion’ is considered essential for self-development as well as for creating virtuous cycles. Born out of prakriti are sattva, rajas and tamas, Through their interplay the three gunas bind us. (14-5) Sattva is pure, health improving and completely luminous, It leads to self-knowledge and creates happiness. (14-6) Rajas creates passion and desires for attachment, It binds us to actions and fruits for achievement. (14-7) Tamas is born out of nescience and it makes temptations, Through heedlessness and indulgence it shows its passions. (14-8) Between sattva, rajas and tamas there is a dynamic interplay, Each shows its dominance for having its own sway. (14-10)

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From sattva arises wisdom, from the rajas greed, For the ignorance and error, know the tamas as seed. (14-17) Balanced in censure - praise, pleasure - pain, and in loss and gain, Enlightened one is beyond all the guna’s stains. (14-24) The same in honour and dishonour, the same to friend and foe, Unaffected by the gunas, enlightened one is above guna’s arrows. (14-25)

Nature of Self The Gita provides us with a deep understanding of the nature of self. Indeed it is a foundational book for self-knowledge and thereby it provides us a ‘theory’ for self-development. The senses, the mind and the intellect are rooted in desire, Desires through temptation consume wisdom in its fire. (3-40) Therefore, O Arjuna slay them mastering first the senses, Because they are destroyer of self-knowledge and its preference. (3-41) Even if you are the most sinful of all sinners, Through the raft of self-knowledge you become a winner. (4-36) Like the blazing fire reduces fuel to the ashes, So the self-knowledge finishes all the karma’s lashes. (4-37) There is no better purifier than the self-knowledge, By persons perfect in yoga, this is always acknowledged. (4-38) Self is the friend and self is the foe, Raise oneself by the own self, this principle one should know. (6-5) When the lower me is conquered by the higher me, Self becomes the friend, otherwise it is an enemy. (6-6)

Mutuality and Interdependence The ideas of mutuality and interdependence are key concepts recognized in Gita. These ideas have implications for designing systems that would promote co-operation between different segments of society and between different stakeholders in case of corporate organizations.

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Further, for team-work and team spirit, mutuality and interdependence need to be recognized. Cherish the mutuality and interdependence, Reap the goodness through mutual dependence. (3-11)

Positive Action and the Theory of Nishkam Karma Karmayoga represents the essence of the Gita through the principle of nishkam karma i.e. action without attachment to the fruits of action. Karmayoga is the theory of positive action as well as a theory of detached action. Its correlate, ‘karmavada’, suggests that intentionality of action is crucial to the moral result of actions. Bad intentions lead to bad results and good intentions create conditions for good results. It may be mentioned that karma is not to be confused with fate. This popular misconception needs to be corrected. Always seek to perform the actions, without longing for the fruit, Don’t lean towards inaction follow this action route. (2-47) Motivated karma is inferior to the sacrificing kind, Hankering after fruits of action creates an uneven mind. (2-49) Continue to perform your karma with full detachment, And become a better human being with non-attachment. (3-19) What is action what is inaction, this is a complex question, By knowing this you become free from evil and its passion. (4-16) When the selfless actions are performed for the sacrifice alone, Entire karma melts away let this knowledge be known. (4-23)

Perfection in Action: Yoga The definition of yoga as perfection in action provides us a guide to decision making as well as holistic living. Perfection in action also leads to ‘excellence motivation’. Even mindedness in success or failure, yoga is this equilibrium, Perform actions renounce attachments and practice this equilibrium. (2-48) With the evenness of the mind comes freedom from virtue and vice, Skill in action is the yoga, devote yourself to this choice. (2-50)

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When the intellect is tossed around by whatever you have heard, But is not disturbed and is poised, it follows the yoga’s word. (2-53) When one is moderate in eating, sleeping and the recreation, Yoga destroys all the pain as one is balanced in actions. (6-17) Disconnecting self from the pain, know it as yoga by name, Practice this yoga with determination with mind fully tamed. (6-23)

Guide to Action and Decision-Making The Gita suggests that unnecessary details could lead to getting out of focus and thereby it could lead us to wrong decisions. Hence, it is necessary to concentrate on the proper choices and alternatives. While drawing up ‘decision trees’ may be a useful exercise, one should not get lost in many branching and endless extensions of a decisiontree. The mental state of the decision-maker is critical to decision making. Anger is considered as the root cause for delusion leading to confusion in decision-making (Gita 2-63). Hence it is suggested that critical decisions should be made in an anger free mental state. Further, in the Gita, five factors have been identified as influencing the results of decision making viz., the ‘seat’ (body) or the right place, the doer (ego) or the competency, organs of perceptions or the instruments, functions of various organs of action or the effort and the ‘presiding deity’ or the chance factor. Many branching and endless are decisions of the infirm mind, In one pointed determination, firm decision you always find. (2-41) From anger proceeds delusion, from delusion more confusion, Leading to ruin of reason and creating condition for destruction. (2-63) Right place, competency, instruments, effort and the chance factor, These are the five influences on the decision vector. (18-14)

Perfect Person or the Enlightened One Who is an enlightened individual or sthithprajna? Gita provides us not only a definition but also a path to become enlightened individuals. An enlightened one achieves three types of freedom viz. 1) Freedom

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from pair of opposites; 2) Freedom from fear; and 3) Freedom from delusion. As indicated earlier, the master image of the enlightened one or the sthithprajna is unique to Indian culture (Ranchan, 1991, p.149). Know that person as enlightened one and stable in the wisdom, Who has achieved from desires, a total and complete freedom. (2-55) Mind is not perturbed by adversity and not exalted by happiness, Perfect one shows the freedom from fear, anger and the fondness. (2-56) Like the tortoise shows the poise withdrawing limbs with tact, An enlightened one draws the senses from the sense objects. (2-58) Free from attractions and aversions with senses under control, The enlightened one gains tranquillity which is the final goal. (2-64) Within feel the happiness within feel the delight, With the illumination within, gain beatitude and sight. (5-24)

Peace and Equanimity Peace of mind is essential for not only making decisions but also for peaceful living. Hence, the emphasis on peace and equanimity and its usefulness for self-development. Unsteady mind can’t meditate, lacking wisdom it feels the stress, Without meditation there is no peace, without peace no happiness. (2-66) That person feels the peace in whom all desires merge, Like the rivers flow into ocean for quenching their inner urge. (2-70) That person attains peace who is devoid of longings, Freed from all desires and I and mine feelings. (2-71) The poised one achieves peace abandoning fruits of action, Others are impelled by desires, in the fruits lie their attention. (5-12)

Hierarchy of Consciousness In Ch.11 Arjuna asks Krishna, Kaun-tvam: Who are you? Krishna in return shows his cosmic form. This chapter alongwith chapters 7 & 10, provides deep insights to the fundamental question ‘Who am I’. A

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reading of these chapters creates not only a healing effect but also enhances the self-confidence of individuals to face adversities. Indeed these chapters also provide a foundational basis for an integral theory of psycho-spiritual analysis going beyond the horizons of psycho analysis. Hence, the Gita’s relevance for stress management and psychological healing through psycho-spiritual therapy has been widely acknowledged. Sharma provides the OSHA model as a basis for understanding the question of kaun-tvam (Sharma, 1996-1999). In OSHA, O stands for oneness, S for spiritual, H for humanistic and A for animalistic tendencies corresponding to the gunatit, sattvik, rajasik and tamasik levels. This is a model of ‘hierarchy of consciousness’ in contrast to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. It sums up the essence of Gita in the form of a management model. It also suggests the need to move beyond the ‘selfish gene syndrome’ (Sharma, 1997).

TYPOLOGY OF GIFTS, KNOWLEDGE, DEEDS, HUMAN AGENCY AND INTELLECT Guna theory provides us a basis for a typology of gifts, knowledge, deeds, human agency and intellect. They are classified as sattvik, rajasik and tamasik in nature and their characteristics are discussed to provide us a guide for holistic living. Gifts: Gifts made without expectation of any return, Know them as sattvik when given to a worthy person. (17-20) Gifts made with expectations for something in return, Know them as rajasik as giver is waiting for his turn. (17-21) Gifts given without respect and with intention to insult, Know them as tamasik as tamas is the result. (17-22) Knowledge: Tamasik knowledge represents the nescience, rajasik knowledge is reductionist and sattvik knowledge is holistic and leads to selfrealisation. Nescience, science and conscience correspond to the tamasik, rajasik and sattvik knowledge. Interestingly agyan, vigyan and gyan also represent these three levels.

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The knowledge by which oneness is seen in all existence, Undivided in the divided, Sattvik is its essence. (18-20) The knowledge by which manifold is seen in every scene, Rajasik is its essence in viewing the varying scenes. (18-21) Knowledge that is trivial and is without reason, Consider it tamasik as truth is not its foundation. (18-22) Deeds: Deeds performed without attachment to the fruits of action, Know them as sattvik this is a basic lesson. (18-23) Deeds that are done with cravings for desires, Know them as rajasik as they arouse egoistic fires. (18-24) Deeds that are undertaken without the sound advice, Delusion, loss and injury result from this tamasik vice. (18-25) Human Agency: Free from attachment, firm and non-egoistic, Balanced in success and failure, know this person as sattvik. (18-26) Passionate, greedy, excessively attached to the fruits of action, Easily moved by joy and sorrow, rajasik is such a person. (18-27) Vulgar, stubborn, deceitful, indolent and by nature malicious, The tamasik person is unsteady and is very vicious. (18-28) Intellect: Intellect that differentiates right and wrong actions, That intellect is sattvik, fit for the liberation. (18-30) Intellect that takes a distorted view of a situation, Know it as rajasik, as it is clouded by the passion. (18-31) Intellect that views the things in a perverted manner, It is enveloped in darkness, tamasik is its banner. (18-32)

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Importance of intellect is fundamental to human beings. In contrast to the animals, humans are endowed with intelligence, vivek or the power to discriminate. This indicates that Skinner’s mechanistic S-R (Stimulus-Response) model rooted in the action-reaction law needs a reformulation. We present the S-V-R model as a new model of human behaviour. This S-V-R model is as follows: Stimulus - Vivek - Response According to this model, human beings use their vivek or power to discriminate between ‘good’ or ‘bad’ before responding to a stimulus as against pigeons and rats whose response may be automatic and mechanistic. Since, the close English translation of vivek is intelligence and it refers to the use of intellect in discriminating the nature of stimulus, we can also refer to S-V-R model as S-I-R model presented below: Stimulus - Intellect - Response This model can also be contrasted with Stephen Covey’s model of gap between the stimulus and response (Covey, 1989). Our model suggests that the ‘gap’ between stimulus and response is filled by vivek or intellect.

Karma-phal or the Fruit of Action The consequences of each type of action are identified. ‘As you sow so you reap’ is an ancient way of expressing the same idea. Sattvik actions lead to purity, rajasik create the pain, Know tamas as a generator of the ignorance chain. (14-16) Lust anger and greed, they all lead to hell, Abandon these three in order to feel well. (16-21)

Root, Shoot and the Fruit Metaphor ‘Karmanye vadhikarasthe ma phaleshu kadachana’ is the most famous and least understood sloka. Once we use the metaphor of the root, shoot and fruit we get a better clarity about this sloka. There is always a time gap between the planting, emergence of roots, emergence of the shoots and flowering of the fruit. Such time gaps between the cause and the effect, action and reaction, effort and result, stimulus and response and their non-simultaneity need to be appreciated. Further, if the quality of the planting material is good, the quality of the fruit will also be good. This is the essence of the karmanye

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vadhikarasthe. If due and proper attention is paid to the effort, the result is also good. In fact, if one is over-concerned with the results this may create unnecessary anxiety thereby affecting the quality of efforts. Once this happens, the quality of result also gets affected. Hence, emphasis on the nishkam karma i.e. on performing actions without attachment to the fruits of action. This also helps in taking a long-term view about the effort and results linkage like the time gap between the planting and flowering of fruit. Always seek to perform the actions, without longing for the fruit, Don’t lean towards inaction follow this action route. (2-47) ‘Karmanye Vadhikarasthe…’ is also indicative of the focus and emphasis on the process rather than result, in the Process-Result (P-R) dynamics. Excessive emphasis on result tends to take away our attention from the process. If due attention is paid to the process, results would follow. This is the basic lesson from the Gita. The root, shoot and fruit metaphor presented here also provides us with a deeper understanding of the process-result dynamics in organizational and social contexts.

Swadharma and Role Responsibility Swadharma is an important idea in the Gita. In general it has been translated as performance of one’s duty. It refers to one’s inherent nature and mental orientation and performance of duty as per one’s nature and natural inclinations. In organisational context, it implies fulfilling one’s role responsibility. It also implies that one should not overstep into roles of others because not performing one’s role and overstepping into role boundaries of others could lead to conflict intensification. Hence, swadharma reminds one of one’s role and responsibility and its effective performance. Devoted to one’s own duty & role, one attains perfection, How is this done, discourse on this you listen. (18-45) Better is performance of one’s own role than the role of others, If one is driven by one’s role, no negative effect would then occur. (18-47)

Battle of Righteousness The essence of the Gita lies in fighting the battle of righteousness for one’s dignity. Indeed the Gita provides a foundational premise

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for dignity struggles. In this sense it is perhaps the first revolutionary book known to the human kind centuries before any other revolutionary text was written. Indeed its essence lies in ‘freedom from fear’ in fighting a battle of righteousness and thereby overcoming fear of failure. The atman in this body is eternal, though body has an end, Therefore, O Arjuna fight for righteousness, don’t at all bend. (2-18) For the born death is certain for the dead birth, Don’t grieve on this inevitable, play your role on this earth. (2-27) Look at your own role and duty, don’t at all waver, Fight the righteous war Arjuna with full spirit and vigour. (2-31) Treating alike defeat and victory and the pleasure and pain, Fight the battle with full spirit victory you will gain. (2-38) With the sword of self-knowledge cut the ignorance veil, Stand up and fight O Arjuna and get the victory trail. (4-42)

ARRIVAL OF THE BEST: SAMBHAVAMI YUGE YUGE ‘Arrival of the best to lead the rest’ is a fundamental contribution of Gita to human thought sharply in contrast to Darwin’s ‘survival of the fittest to eliminate the rest’ (Sharma, 1996, p.215) The idea of ‘arrival of the best’ is contained in the most popular verses of Gita viz. verses 4-7 and 4-8, which also provide us with an interesting view on history that is presented subsequently. Yada yada hi dharmasya glanir bhavati bharata I abhyuthanam adharmasaya tadatamam srjamyaham II (4-7) Paritranaya sadhunam vinasaya ch duskrtam I dharma sansthaparanarthaya sambhavami yuge yuge II (4-8) As and when goodness declines and wickedness shows its rise O! Bharata in such situations I myself arise. (4-7)

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For the protection of the good and destruction of the evil I am born in every age for establishing the goodwill. (4-8)

Law of Action: Will to Work In Chapter 3 we find the law of action in contrast to the law of inaction. The idea that Krishna works even though there is no need for him to work is not only fascinating but also has a deeper meaning. It implies that everything in this universe is in a state of motion or vibration. Quantum physics has come to a similar conclusion. Since everything in the universe is in a state of motion at every moment and there is nothing at rest in this universe, the ‘will-to-work’ is fundamental to nature’s functioning. Gita’s law of action indicates that will-to-work is inherent in the universe and also in the human beings and is guided and moderated by one’s guna mix. By the virtue of gunas everyone is driven to action, None can remain without action even for a fraction. (3-5) For me there is nothing that has not been done, Nor anything to be attained, I still engage in action (3-22)

Freedom of Choice An important idea from the Gita is that of freedom of choice. Yathicchasi tatha kuru - Do as you wish, says Krishna after his discourse and after presenting all the alternative solutions. O Arjuna from me you have heard the wisdom’s voice, Reflect upon it fully and act according to your choice. (18-63)

Skill-Values Combination The last sloka of Gita indicates that skill-values combination provides the necessary condition for success. Whenever Arjuna’s skill is combined with Krishna’s values, Victory is ensured, consider this as the final view. (18-78) We can also rephrase this idea as follows: If you have the will and the skill, You can make it to the top of the hill.

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CONCLUDING COMMENT: A VALUES STRUGGLE VIEW OF HISTORY The Gita also provides us a ‘theory’ of past and future. A theory of history is provided in slokas 4-7 and 4-8 which provide us an analytical framework for not only viewing past but also predicting future. We repeat these slokas again. As and when goodness declines and wickedness shows its rise, O! Bharata in such situations I myself arise. (4-7) For the protection of the good and destruction of evil, I am born in every age for establishing the goodwill. (4-8) Thus, history is viewed as a struggle between dharma or the good values and adharma or the evil values. Gita suggests and predicts that in this struggle the ultimate victory is in favour of humanistic values. Metaphorically this is facilitated by Krishna’s arrival in different forms in different periods or space-time zones (sambhavami yuge yuge). Thus, in history we find Krishna’s arrival in the form of Buddha, Mahavir, Christ, Gandhi and so on to establish the ‘yuga of the sattva’ or the ‘kingdom of goodness’ through a ‘voice of virtue’. Further we also find emergence of many prophets, saints and sages in different periods of history in different places on the globe. As per slokas 4-7 and 4-8 they could all be viewed as Krishna’s various names and forms, and Krishna’s various reincarnations in different space-time zones. Thus, there is no ‘end of history’ or no finality in history because as and when in future, wickedness and exploitation would increase, a Krishnalike enlightened leader would emerge to correct the balance. This is a lesson from history and a prediction for future. Hence, it represents a theory of the past and future in the form of values struggle rather than class struggle. In this theory ‘creation of a social revolution’ is based on struggle for values. India’s freedom movement is an illustration of the same and indeed should be referred to as ‘Indian revolution’ as it goes far beyond the other revolutions usually discussed in history. In this ‘liberation of a nation’, the Gita served as a foundation book for initiation of the liberation process as many including Tilak, Aurobindo, Subhas Chandra Bose and Gandhi had drawn their revolutionary inspiration from this source book. Thus, in Gita we find not only a ‘theory’ of society but also a ‘theory’ of history. In contrast to many other theories or views about history,

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this view of history has a claim to greater appeal because of its emphasis on humanistic values and on an optimistic future. In fact, this view of history is more progressive than many other views usually presented to us as ‘progressive’ but have turned out to be ‘myopia of utopia’. Further, this view of history is not bounded by ‘mode of production’ or ‘structures of organization’ but is driven by ‘mode of thinking’. Its ultimate aim is to establish sacro-civic society wherein sattvik mode of thinking dominates over other modes of thinking leading to greater synergy generation in societies. This also implies ‘spiritualization of modernity’ (Pathak, 1998, p.225-229). Indeed realizing the vision of sacro-civic society is a new challenge for the next millennium and Gita could serve as a foundation book for the same. We conclude by quoting the well known Rigveda verse: Let noble thoughts come to us from all directions and take the liberty of making a modification: Let noble thoughts go from us in all directions. (Quantum Rope, p.132) Thus, the following represents the combination of these two ideas: Let noble thoughts come to us from all directions And let noble thoughts go from us in all directions. And in conclusion we can say that, GITA stands for Grand Integration of Thought and Action (Sharma, 1999). Let this noble thought go from us in all directions. Exhibit 6.1

Sloka No.

A Summary of Key Management Ideas from Gita

Sanskrit Phrase

English Equivalent

2-38

Sukhadukhe same krtva

Treat pleasure and pain alike

2-47

Karmanye vadhikarasthe

Continue to perform the action

2-47

Ma phalesu kadachana

Don’t be attached to the fruits of action

2-48

Yogasthah kuru karmani

Being fixed in yoga, perform action

2-48

Samatvam yoga uchyate

Equilibrium is yoga

2-50

Yogah karmasu kaushlam

Work done to perfection is yoga

3-8

Karma jyaya hyakarmanah

Action is superior to inaction

3-11

Parasparam bhavyantaha

Recognise mutuality and inter-dependence

3-20

Karmnai’va hi sansiddhim

Achieve perfection through action

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3-20

Lokasangraham eva pi sampasyam kartum arhasi

Keeping in view protection of the people, perform action

9-22

Yogaksemam vahamayaham

Take care of people’s welfare

18-45

Swakarma niratah siddhim

Through one’s role-action one attains perfection

18-63

Yathicchasi tatha kuru

Act as you choose

Exhibit 6.2

Sl. No.

Metaphors and Images from Gita

Metaphor/Image

Managerial Interpretation & Usefulness of the Imagery

1

Cast off worn-out garments and put on the new one (2-22)

Psychological rebirth and being prepared for a new role. Newness is a fundamental law of nature and sign of change and growth.

2

Many-branching and endless are the decisions of the infirm mind (2-41) A tortoise withdraws its limbs with ease and spontaneity (2-58)

Don’t get lost into the unnecessary branches of a decision tree.

3

For facing adversity, this strategy works many times as the person is able to keep calmness and therefore acts in a rational manner.

4

Wind pushes the ship leading to change in ship’s course (2-67)

Nature of mind is described in this metaphor. A rudderless ship is at the mercy of wind. As rudderless ship doesn’t reach its destination so the misdirected mind moves away from its objective.

5

Thus revolves the wheel of life (3-16)

Chakra or the wheel symbolises rotation and change. Gita suggests the need to follow the virtuous cycle described through the wheel of life. Wheel as a metaphor is an ancient concept, reinvented many times.

6. Fire enveloped by smoke, Mirror enveloped by dust, Embryo enveloped by the womb (3-38)

These rich metaphors indicate that for deeper under-standing of a phenomenon or a situation, we need to go beyond the enveloping factors.

7. The insatiable fire of desire, the constant foe of the wise (3-39)

The metaphor of fire is interesting. Decisions taken under the influence of insatiable fire of desire are likely to be biased and wrong. Hence,

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8. Lotus leaf is unaffected by water (5-10)

Growth of lotus is dependent on water. While being in touch with it, the lotus leaf is not wetted with water. Decision maker should be like lotus leaf, taking decision with a detached attitude.

9. A lamp in a windless place doesn’t flicker (6-19)

Flame of a lamp in a windless place is steady. Such a steadiness is required even if there is flow of wind.

10. Row of gems strung on a string (7-7)

String provides the support to the row of gems. Without the string gems will get scattered. A lesson for team work.

11. Luminous lamp of wisdom (10-11)

Ignorance is destroyed by the luminous light of wisdom.

12. Sun illuminating the whole world (13-33)

Illuminate the field (kshetra) of your operation. This metaphor sums up the essence of enlightened leadership.

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7

MANAGEMENT MANAGEMENT SUBHASHITANI* SUBHASHITANI*

Subhashitas or Subhashitani refer to Sanskrit slokas that provide in few words or lines guidelines for human conduct and behaviour. Subhashitas deal with not only the practical aspects of life but also with the philosophical perspectives of human existence. In this chapter, we extend the definition of the expression Subhashitas to the ‘received wisdom’ contained in catchphrases not only in the Sanskrit language but also in other languages. Further, we extend this notion to the field of management in general and corporate management in particular. Hence, the idea of Management Subhashitani seeking the linkages between the Indican Wisdom - ancient and modern with the management theories and concepts. It may be indicated that Subhashitani originated from the human experience in social context while modern management theories originated from human experience in corporate context. In spite of such distinct and different origins there are interesting parallels and insights because enterprises themselves are micro social systems operating in macro social contexts. Further a creative synthesis of ideas from Subhashitani and ideas from management theories can provide us new ideas for management. Sinha (1999) identifies various influences viz. ancient Indian wisdom: Vedantic etc., the folkways and the Western in the form of Transnational influences (Sinha, 1992). He suggests the development of indigenous management on the basis of ‘integrative indigenization’ of these influences (Sinha, 1999). * ‘Management Subhashitani’, Subhash Sharma, in Siddharth Shastri (ed.), Indian Management for Nation Building, WISDOM, Banasthali, 2002, pp.31-52.

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This chapter is divided into four sections followed by a concluding comment. First we present some selected Sanskrit Subhashitas that have relevance for management, administration and leadership principles. They represent Sanskritic influence for future development of Indian Management. Then we present ideas from the common pool of wisdom available in our proverbs, folklore literature and other Indian knowledge sources and resources representing the subaltern creativity and influence of the folkways. We also present some phrases and meaningful dialogues from the Indian cinema to demonstrate the allpervasive extensions of Subhashitani and subaltern expressions in various ways and forms. They represent cinematic influences on the idea of Indian Management. In the last part of the chapter, we present some lessons from Subhashitas, folkways and cinematic influences for converting the ‘empirical intelligence’ and ‘received wisdom’ into ‘received knowledge’ of management theory and practice. In concluding comment, we observe the usefulness of Indian knowledge sources for future development of the idea of Indian Management through ‘integrative indigenization’ as well as ‘integrative internalization’ and ‘assimilative synthesis’. In this integrative indigenization, there is interaction, interface, influence and confluence of at least three streams viz. Sanskritic, subaltern or folkways and the corporate ways. It may be indicated that there are innumerable jewels of Indian wisdom in the form of Subhashitas, local proverbs and meaningful cinema dialogues which represent the ‘empirical intelligence’ of Indian Society. While Subhashitas belong to the ‘grand’ intellectual tradition, local proverbs belong to the great folk traditions. Both find integration and expression in contemporary discourse in the form of empirical intelligence of people. In the discussion below, we present only a few well-known ideas from ancient and recent sources, primarily to illustrate their practical usefulness in the context of management theory and practice.

SANSKRITIC INFLUENCES: SANSKRIT SLOKAS AS MANAGEMENT SUTRAS In this section, we present illustrative Sanskrit slokas that are widely known and provide lessons for management, administration, leadership and social philosophy. Many of these are self-explanatory.

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1. Sarve bhavantu sukhina sarve santu niramaya, Sarve bhadrani pashyantu ma kashchit dukhbhave bhavate. Let everyone be happy, Let everyone be healthy, See good in everyone, Let nobody be ever unhappy. This philosophy provides us a holistic view of life and suggests that ‘enlightened collective interest’ should be the basis of our actions. Survival of all is the essence of this idea. Ultimate objective of the institutions and organizations is to work towards the goal of everybody’s welfare. Hence, the role of organizations corporate or otherwise should be evaluated within this framework. 2. Udhymena hi siddhayanti karyani na manorathe, Na hi suptasys sinhasya prvishanti mukhe mriga. Success comes from efforts and not from wishful thinking, A deer doesn’t enter a lion’s mouth automatically. Only through the dedicated efforts an assigned task can be accomplished. Mere wish or intentions will not lead to accomplishment of the task. Even the king of the jungle has to put in efforts. The lesson for us is to concentrate on efforts in order to achieve success. This sloka has an inspirational meaning not only for the entrepreneurs but also for others. 3. Koatibharah samarthanam kim duram vyavasayinam, Ko videsha suvidyanam kah parah priyavadinam. No task is impossible for a competent person, No place is distant for a business-person, No land is foreign for educated persons, No one is stranger for persons with good communication abilities. 4. Udyamah sahasam dhairyah buddhi sakthi parakrama, Shad ete yatra vartane tatra devah sahayakrt. Hard work, risk taking, patience, intellect, Strength and prowess are six human qualities, If they are present in an individual, Even God extends help. 5. Uttisthata jagrata prapya varaan nibodhata, Khsruya dhara nisita duratyaya durgam pathastat.

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Awake, arise and learn by approaching the excellent ones, The path to success is difficult and risky, It is like walking on the razor’s edge. The idea of learning from the excellent ones is key to one’s advancement. Swami Vivekananda also reiterated the idea of arise and awake in his famous lines, ‘Arise, awake and stop not till the goal is reached’. ‘Chairaveti, chairaveti’, ‘move on, move on’, is another inspirational expression to motivate us to move towards our goals. We are reminded of the famous lines ‘Miles to go, before I sleep’ expressing the similar sentiments. 6. Satyam vad dharamchar. Be truthful and follow the dharma. When interpreted in contemporary context, the basics of ethical management are summed up by this Subhashita. 7. Dharmo rakshiti dharma. It is the dharma that sustains. Dharma or the ethical practices should be at the foundation of human actions. 8. Phalen parichayat. Know by the fruit. Evaluate according to result. 9. Ubho antey anupgamma majhine’ dhammam deyseyti. The two extremities are not to be resorted to, Stay in the natural way. This represents the essence of the Buddha’s middle-path. An interesting management principle for modern day managers and leaders. 10. Chakram ekam na varatate’. A wheel doesn’t turn alone. This phase from Arthasastra provides us the essential meaning of teamwork through the metaphor of the rotation of wheel. A wheel when it has to be moved by human effort requires a team to move it. 11. Asatoma sad gamaya, Tamasoma jyotir gamaya, Mrityorma amritam gamaya. Lead us from unreal to real,

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From darkness to light, From death to immortality. When interpreted in today’s context, this sloka provides a foundational basis for human actions in various spheres of life. Asatoma sad gamaya can be re-interpreted as a shift from asat or the unethical style to sat or the ethical style of human actions. Tamasoma jyotir gamaya implies a shift from tamas or negative energy to light or synergy. Mrityorma amritam gamaya can be re-interpreted as a shift from inactive state to an active state. ‘From inaction to action’ is its message. The above Subhashitas indicate that some ‘new principles of management’ could be formulated to help the managers to be more effective. These include 1) Putting in the right effort; 2) Learning from the excellent ones; 3) Avoiding the extremes; 4) Evaluating according to results; 5) Following the path of right conduct. Indeed these five ideas could be considered as foundational concepts of effective management because they focus on effort, learning, decision making, results as a basis of evaluation and the conduct of the individual. The essence of these management principles lies in development of ‘character-competence’ as a basis for effective leadership and management.

SUBALTERN CREATIVITY: MANAGEMENT VERBS AND PROVERBS In section I, we presented illustrative Sanskrit slokas that provide us guidelines for not only creating change but also improving one’s efficiency and effectiveness in task performance. Now we present ideas from the folklore literature and dohas that are widely used by common masses in their day to day conduct. They represent subaltern creativity in varying forms and could be referred to as ‘Subaltern Subhashitani’. Many management scholars and theorists have rediscovered their efficacy in corporate context. It may be indicated that, at times, contradictory proverbs exist. In a conversation with this author, Prof. J.B.P.Sinha indicated that this should be seen as a sign of creativity because an issue or a problem is looked in different ways. Hence, the contradictions exist. Further, the context of the proverb is also critical

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to its interpretation. For example, ‘Ekla chalo rey’ (move alone) is at variance with proverbs that emphasize teamwork. However, the context of ‘Ekla chalo rey’ or move alone is important to understand its meaning. For Moksha or self-realization, ‘ekla chalo rey’ or moving forward alone is OK. However, in organizational context, proverbs emphasizing the teamwork are more meaningful. Following are some of the interesting proverbs from management point of view: (1) i. Ek aur ek gyaraha. One and one is eleven. This phrase explains the meaning of teamwork as well as synergy. Though idea of synergy is explained by 2 + 2 is greater than four. In ek aur ek gyaraha (one and one create eleven) the degree of synergy is eleven times. ii. Ek phool sey mala nahi banati. We can’t make garland from one flower. The metaphor of garland is used to convey the idea of team. A team is formed through a combination of different skills possessed by different individuals like the different flowers of a garland. iii. Nahi akele se chale, duniya ho ya desh, Tabhi teen isme’ lage, Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh. World or a nation can’t be run merely by an individual, That is why a team of three, Brahma, Vishnu & Mahesh is needed. Currently popular jargon in management theory is teamwork. The importance of the same is clearly indicated in a simple language. (2) Jakey paiir na phati bivai, so kya jane pir parayi. The one who has not experienced the pain oneself, How can this person understand pain of others. Putting oneself into others’ shoes is a well-known phrase in human psychology. The same idea is explained here. Thus, the concept of empathy is explained in sublime language. ‘Darde dil na samjhe, wo insaan kya hai’ – A person who can’t understand the painful churnings of the heart, is not a human being. Gandhiji’s favourite song, ‘Vaishnav jan to tenere kahiye, jo pir parai jane rey’ - ‘Those who understand the pain of others are Vaishnav in nature’, also reflects the same sentiment of empathy. It may be mentioned that empathy has now become a popular management jargon.

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3) i. Pahle tolo phir bolo. First measure then speak. ii. Vani ek amol hey jo koi bole jani, Hiye tarajoo tol key tab mukh bahir ani. Speech is invaluable, the learned one knows this, Bring it out after measuring it in the balance of heart, iii. Juban hi sar chadaye juban hi sar utare, One’s word brings the self-respect and it could also bring down the same. iv. Kaman sey nikala teer aur mukh sey nikli baat, Vapis nahi aati. Arrow shot from a bow and words spoken from mouth, Don’t return. v. Madhur vachan se mit jaat, uttam jan abhiman, Tanak seet jal se mite jaise doodh ufaan. With mild speech, excellent individuals overcome ego, Just like the boiling milk calms down with sprinkling of cold water. vi. Kaga kaka dhan hare koyal kako det, Methe sabdh sunaya ke jag apana kar lait, Crow doesn’t take away anybody’s wealth, Kuckoo doesn’t give anything to anybody, With musical words, It entices the entire world. vii.Aisi vani boliye manas ka apa khol, Auron ko shital kare aphu shital hoye. Speak in such nice language, It has a cooling effect on others, And also on the self. All these proverbs highlight the importance of communication process to create goodness feeling in the human beings. They provide excellent insights to human communication process, which have yet to enter the management textbooks. 4) i. Kuch kaman jhuke kuch gosa. Let the bow and the string accommodate each other. Accommodation and adjustment as a basis to resolve conflicts is explained through the metaphor of bow and string. As the pressure is

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applied on the bow, it bends and the string also bends to facilitate the process of shooting the arrow. ii. Jahan kaam aye sui, kya kare talwar. Where needle is needed, what can sword do. Needle style and the sword style are two ways of resolving a conflict. If a conflict can be resolved through the needle style, what is the need to resort to the sword. iii. Saanp mare na lathi tute. Snake is not killed and the stick is also intact. This is also a conflict resolution technique wherein conflict is resolved without causing any damage. These proverbs provide us insights to conflict resolution, conflict management and conflict dissolution. Indeed there are many other examples in Indian languages providing hints for innovative solutions for conflict handling. 5) Karm pradhan viswa rachi rakha, Jo jus karhi to tus phal chakha. This world is driven by action, You reap the fruit of your own actions. As you sow so you reap is an ancient phrase. This world is karm pradhan i.e. it is driven by action. However, responsibility lies on oneself for the fruits of action. 6) i. Nij par shasan, phir anushasan. Rule thy self before ruling others. ii. Manas key harey har hey, Manas key jite jeet. Mind leads to victory, Mind leads to defeat. One’s success and failure is dependent upon one’s attitudes towards success and failure. 7) Duvidha mein dou gaye, Maya mili na Ram. As a result of dilemma, One loses both the Maya and the Rama. In decision making one has to make up one’s mind. As a result of in-decision one loses benefits from both the options.

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8) i. Taka sameroy rupiah bache, Penny saved pound saved. This Marwari proverb is indeed interesting and perhaps represents the key to their business success. It also provides us an interesting insight on cost control. ii. Pahle likh aur picche dey, Bhool pade kagaj sey ley. First write and then give, For any error written material you refer. Another Marwari proverb which brings out the importance of accounting. All transactions must be recorded and referred to as and when required. iii. Ashrfiyan lute koylon par chap. Gold coins are looted but coal stores are raided. Doing the right things in right manner is the essence of management. Indeed focussing one’s energy on the right things is very essential. iv. Bahati Ganga mein hath dhona. To wash one’s hands in flowing Ganga. This brings out the idea of free riding as well as opportunism through a very interesting metaphor. v. Aam key aam guthliyon key daam. To get the price for mango and also for its seed. To make full use of the product in hand. It can also be interpreted as a concept of value addition. 9) Laton ke bhoot batyon sey nahi mante. Those motivated by force are not motivated by words. This popular phrase provides insights into nature of human beings. Indeed similar phrases are available in most Indian languages. Variations of the same could also be found in other languages of the world. In management jargon, these ideas are known as Theory X and Theory Y. 10) i. Kar bhala to ho bhala. Good actions lead to goodness. This phrase captures the essence of positive actions. Good actions lead to synergy and therefore goodness in organizations and society. They also create conditions for reciprocal good actions on part of others leading to higher probability of win-win situations.

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ii. Aap bhala to jag bhala. Aap muya to jag muya. I am OK the world is OK. I am not OK, the world is not OK. ‘I am OK you are OK’ is a well-known idea in management theory and practice. In the phrase ‘aap bhala to jag bhala’ this idea is communicated in its broader perspective to motivate individuals to perform those actions which not only make the individual OK but also make this world OK. When I am OK, I see the world in its OK form. An individual with positive attitude sees positive things around and an individual with negative attitude sees negative things around whether it is work place or any other situation. 11) Rayee ka parvat banana. Making mountain out of mole. Practising managers often face situations in their organizations wherein small events are turned into big issues. We are also reminded of the theory of chaos that deals with the idea of small events creating big effects. 12) Biti tahi visar dey, Agey ki suddh dekh. Forget the bad events of the past, And look forward to the future. This proverb inspires people to positive side of life. Hence, it also has a therapeutic value. Indeed, there are many such local proverbs that have been used for psycho-spiritual therapy. Perhaps, psychoanalysts would find such proverbs worth exploring from the viewpoint of healing efficacy. 13) Karat karat abhyas thi, Jadmati hot’ sujan. Through continuous practice, Even an unskilled person can improve. The role of abhyas, riyaz or practice for achieving excellence has been emphasized in Indian dance and music. History provides us many examples of persons who through continuous practice have excelled in their fields. Echoes of the Japanese idea of ‘kaizen’ could be heard in these lines, which inspire us to improve through continuous practice. 14) Jahan choti machli pahunch sakti hai, Vahan vadi machli nahi ja sakti.

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Small fish can enter places, Where big fish cannot reach. ‘Big fish eats the small fish’ is a well-known idea. However, this idea ignores the maneuvering ability of the small fish. Small fish can enter places where big fish can’t reach because of its size constraint. Thus, big fish is not ‘fit’ with respect to certain spaces. This has interesting implications for economics and management as ‘local’ could have advantages over the ‘global’. This is a new insight, which could become part of the ‘received knowledge’ in future. 15. Kabira Jab hum aye is jug mein, Jug huse hum roye, Aisa kartab kar dikha, Hum huse jug roye. When you are born, you cry and world laughs Do such noble deeds, that at the time of Leaving this world, you will laugh and The world will cry, says Kabir. This Kabir’s doha inspires individuals to do good work for the benefit of society. It is interesting that Stephen Covey nearly repeats the sentiments of Kabir in his metaphor of funeral. He asks people to imagine what others would be talking at the time of one’s funeral. Through this metaphor he reminds people to undertake positive actions. In the above indicated proverbs, a number of management ideas have been presented. Some are known hence it is easy to see the parallels with existing theories and concepts, and some are new awaiting ‘discovery’ by management scholars and management gurus for their inclusion in the standard management text-books. Exhibit 7.1 provides a summary of the local proverbs and equivalent management concepts for a ready reference.

CINEMATIC VIEW OF SOCIAL DISCOURSE: INDIAN CINEMA & INDIAN MANAGEMENT Music and poetry have been important medium of communicating ideas and knowledge to the masses. This is particularly true of the Indian tradition wherein ideas have been passed on from generation to generation through music and dance. Indian cinema carries this

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tradition further. Indeed, meaningful dialogues and inspirational songs from Indian cinema provide us a rich source of social discourse. They arise from deeper understanding of cultural consciousness and stay long in the collective consciousness of people. They also provide interesting insights to inter-personal relationships, analysis of self and society, nature of social change and many other such issues. Indeed many meaningful cinema dialogues and phrases are widely used in corporate corridors in many different ways. Here we provide a few selections to illustrate our idea of the linkage between Indian cinema and the idea of ‘Indian Management’. 1) Saathi hath badana, ek akela thak jayega, Mil kar boj uthana… Join hands together, alone you would be stressed, Lift the burden as a team... This song from Naya-Daur gives us basic idea about teamwork. 2) Tum burayee karo, hum bhalai kareyen, Nahi badale gi yeh bhavana… You do the harm, we do the good acts, Our this orientation will not change... This song from Do Ankhey Barah Hath provides us key to interpersonal window in interpersonal relationships. 3) Na muh chhupa key jiyo, na sir jhuka key jiyo, Gamo ka daur bhi aye to muskraa key jiyo…. Don’t live hiding your face, don’t live in shame, Even if there is a cycle of crisis, still smile and live... This song from Humraj provides us insights to the idea of self-respect as well as improving the self-confidence by facing adversities in life. 4) Mein kya hoon, mein kaun hoon, Tum tum ho…. What am I, who am I, You are you... This dialogue from Pakeeja reminds us about the Who am I? question. 5) Hum hum hein to kya hum hein, Tum tum ho to kya tum ho… If I am I, what am I, If you are you, what are you...

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This dialogue from the movie Border provides us insight into team building and win-win situation. 6) Insaaf ki dagar pey, bacchon dikhyon chalkey, Yeh desh hey tumara neta tumhi ho kal key, Insaaniyat key sir pay izzat ka taj rakhna… Rakh do gey ek din tum sansaar ko badal key… Follow the path of righteousness, O children of the nation, This nation belongs to you and you are the leader of tomorrow, Keep the crown of dignity on the head of humanism, And you will change the entire world, one-day. This song from Ganga-Yamuna provides us the importance of human values for creating social change. It inspires people to provide the much needed leadership for nation building. These illustrations are indicative of interesting insights that we can get from movie dialogues and inspirational songs. In fact an interesting book on ‘Indian Management’ could be written by compiling such meaningful dialogues and inspirational songs from the Hindi and the regional cinema. Perhaps management scholars and practitioners would undertake such an overdue exercise for the benefit of management profession and management education. Indeed there is an inter-connectivity between Sanskrit Subhashitani, folklore literature and many insightful Indian cinema dialogues. While Sanskrit Subhashitani represent the elitistic tradition, folklore literature represents the ‘folkways’ or the subaltern tradition rich in folk metaphors. The two traditions have been interacting over centuries and many Sanskrit Subhashitani have found expression in many ‘folkways’. Now, we observe an interaction of these two traditions with the ‘corporate tradition’ of management ideas and concepts. It may be indicated that use of cinema and similar other arts as a part of teaching methodology in management programmes has now acquired acceptance.

LESSONS FOR KNOWLEDGE BUILDING: CONVERTING ‘RECEIVED WISDOM’ INTO ‘RECEIVED KNOWLEDGE’ Ideas presented in Sections I, II & III of this chapter indicate that there is a vast reservoir of ideas and insights on the concept of management

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from the Indian knowledge sources. Further, these ideas also have interesting implications for new knowledge generation and knowledge development. Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995) identify two types of knowledge ‘explicit’ and ‘tacit’ (Nonaka, et.al., 1995). Correspondingly there are two routes to knowledge creation and development viz. knowledge through intuitive models and knowledge through validated concepts in the form of structured knowledge. They can also be referred to as knowledge by people and knowledge by pundits. Knowledge by people is usually presented in catch phrases and metaphors based on the day to day empirical experience of people in their organizational and social contexts. In contrast to this, knowledge by pundits is put in the form of analytical models and concepts. For the development of any discipline a ‘tested’ body of knowledge is required. This is possible provided there are conceptual frameworks and analytical models. Knowledge generation by pundits follows this methodology. In doing so, many times pundits also draw heavily from the pool of ideas available in the knowledge fund of people. Hence, the reasons for parallels and similarities between the ideas generated through different routes to knowledge creation and development. It is generally said that ‘knowledge is power’ or the route to power is knowledge. However, some times ‘power is knowledge’ as the ‘ideas of ruling class become the ruling ideas’. History of the world shows that those who acquire power, their ideas become the ‘received knowledge’ because legitimacy of their ideas is easily established. After Japan achieved the economic success, many of its ideas from its ‘received wisdom’ became part of the ‘received knowledge’ of the discipline of management in the form of ‘Japanese Management’. With Indian business enterprises achieving success, Indian ideas in management would gain acceptance. In the mean time, some of these ideas may continue coming back to us through the Western route in the manner of Yoga and its many variants. The Subhashitani, local proverbs, local idioms, parables, meaningful cinema dialogues and many other phrases in daily use represent conceptualization of day-to-day experiences by the people in people’s language. In essence, they are ‘ideas-in-practice’, since they are rooted in empirical experience of individuals, communities, and societies. Though the word ‘native intelligence’ has been in practice, a better expression is ‘empirical intelligence’ to reflect the true essence of Subhashitani and local proverbs that are rooted in the empirical experiences of a society or nation. Such empirical intelligence helps

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the practitioners in a better understanding of the events happening around them. Local proverbs and local idioms are also easy to internalize as they reflect the human experience in simple and sublime language. Internalization by masses of the tacit knowledge is relatively easy as compared to structured knowledge. Structured knowledge is more useful for intellectual debate and discourse. Its internalization by masses is a relatively a slow process. Hence, the reason for the popularity of Subhashitani, local proverbs and similar other intuitive models both in the spoken and written forms of knowledge. It may also be indicated that knowledge generation by people is not a static phenomenon, as there is a continuous production of new knowledge through new idioms, new metaphors and new phrases to express new experiences. It is a dynamic process in our social interactions. For social science researchers and management theorists, these ‘ideas-in-practice’ provide interesting clues and open new windows and doors for further explorations. Though, recognition of ‘tacit knowledge’ as valid knowledge is relatively a new idea, with this recognition, the horizons of valid knowledge have expanded to include the people’s knowledge as part of the valid and useful knowledge. It has been often argued that it is easy to see post-facto correlations and parallels between management theories and concepts with priorknowledge in the ‘received wisdom’ of people or some ancient scripture here and there. The context in which ancient texts originated and the context of management theories and concepts are entirely different. It may be mentioned that most of these parallels are in the field of social human relationships management, relationships and ethical conduct. Indeed the conduct of human affairs has been a matter of concern since the dawn of civilizations. Many management theories are essentially the result of cumulative insights over centuries. Hence, the reason for parallels. It may also be mentioned that seeing such parallels makes the absorption and internalization of ideas easy. Indeed, certain insights have yet to enter the management text books because the domain of ‘received wisdom’ is usually much larger than the domain of accepted theories and concepts. In this chapter, we have presented at least a few insights from the local proverbs, which could open new doors for management theories and concepts. It may be observed that ‘received wisdom’ is always closer to the heart because of the appeal of intuitive models and catch phrases. When it is converted into ‘received knowledge’ in the form of analytical concepts and models, it also becomes closer to the mind.

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Folkways

Corporate Ways

Integrative Synthesis

Towards Future Development of Indian Management Thought

‘Indian Management’ as an idea should be viewed in a historical context to appreciate its connectivity with the ‘collective unconscious’ as well as ‘collective consciousness’ and ‘empirical intelligence’ of the Indian nation-state-civilization. When the concept of management is viewed in such a context, we find that Sanskrit Subhashitani provide the foundational basis for many catch phrases and concepts that are still in use in society and its economic enterprises. Further, local proverbs, which co-evolved with Subhashitani, provide the substantive foundations of the tacit knowledge on Indian Management. During the contemporary times, Indian cinema provided the new metaphors and mantras for many ideas that are consciously or unconsciously used in our day to day experiences. Sanskrit Subhashitani and local proverbs not only articulate the high ideals and holistic philosophy of life, but also provide the clues for putting the high ideals into practice. Indeed, the future of the Indian Management thought would continue to be influenced, directly or indirectly by the two streams of consciousness viz. the Sanskrit Subhashitani and the folkways. They form the basis for ‘intuitive models’ that are widely used by people in varying forms. These streams are already interacting with third stream viz. stream of management theories and concepts originating from corporate experience. The basic question is how do we use this ‘empirical intelligence’ or ‘received wisdom’ and ‘tacit knowledge’ in conjunction with the ‘corporate stream’ of management ideas for nation building, corporate development and social development. One way is through ‘integrative indigenization’ (Sinha, 1992, 1999). The second way is through ‘Integrative internalization’. By integrative internalization, we imply appreciation of the parallels between the ‘tacit knowledge’ as reflected by wisdom of the people and the ‘structured knowledge’ as evolved by scholars and theoreticians. This appreciation leads to easy internalization of the structured knowledge.

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Construct of Indian Management would acquire a sharper focus through such integrative internalization and re-interpretation of known ideas in new corporate context as well as integration of management theories with ‘received wisdom’. The structured body of knowledge so developed could then be easily applied in enterprise context as well as in social development context. Indeed, Management Subhashitani aim at conceptualization of the intuitive metaphors and tacit knowledge in the form of structured knowledge for application in organizational context. This conceptualization could be based upon interaction, interface and confluence of three influences viz. Sanskritic stream, subaltern stream or the folkways and the corporate stream or the corporate ways. This implies converting cues, ideas and intuitive insights from Indian ‘received wisdom’ into modern ‘received knowledge’ of management theory and practice, and also re-reading of ideas from ancient texts in contemporary context. This is the task for future development of the idea of Indian Management in terms of a creative synthesis of the three streams of influences. It implies not only Indianization of management concepts but also globalization of Indian concepts. This author provides the metaphor of ‘Western Windows Eastern Doors’ and several illustrations of Management Subhashitani in the form of analytical models, metaphors and concepts, as a basis for an integrative synthesis of the three streams of influences on management theory and practice. Sinha (1992, 1999) also notes that knowledge building process in the direction of ‘integrative indigenization’ has already begun. In essence, a journey from Sanskrit Subhashitani and Subaltern Subhashitani to Management Subhashitani sums up the brief history of Indian Management.

TOWARDS MANAGERIAL ‘SAW’ (SCIENCE, ART & WISDOM) Idea of management as science and art is well accepted. However, management also involves application of wisdom. Wisdom contained in the form of tacit knowledge of people as well as historical experiences of nations and organizations can be put to effective use in improving the functioning of organizations. Managerial wisdom in the form of intuitive and tacit knowledge of managers can be effectively used at the strategic level. While at the operational level management is more of science, at the managerial level it is more of art and at the strategic and leadership level it is more of wisdom. ‘Management Subhashitani’ implies an integration of theses three in the form of ‘Managerial SAW’.

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(Science, Art & Wisdom). In fact, management can be viewed in terms of a combination of science, art and wisdom. This is the essence of ‘Management Subhashitani’. Exhibit 7.1

Subaltern Subhashitani: Intuitive Models from Local Proverbs and Other Indian Knowledge Sources

Sl. Proverb No.

Equivalent Translation

Equivalent Management Concepts

1. Ek aur ek gyaraha

One & one is eleven

Team work, Synergy

2. Jakey Paiir na phati bivai, so kya jane pir parayi

The one who has not experienced the pain oneself, how can this person understand pain of others

Empathy and sensitivity to others’ feelings

3. Vani ek amol hey

Speech is invaluable,

Communication

the learned one knows this, bring it out after measuring it in the balance of heart

effectiveness

4. Juban hi sar chadaye juban hi sar utare

One’s word brings the self-respect and it could also bring down the same

Communication effectiveness

5. Kuch kaman jhuke kuch gosa

Let the bow and the string accommodate each other

Conflict resolution

6. Saanp mare na lathi tute

Snake is not killed and the stick is also intact

Conflict resolution

7. Nij par shasan, phir anushasan

Rule thy self before ruling others

Self development

jo koi bole jani, hiye tarajoo tol key tab mukh bahir ani

8. Manas key harey har Mind leads to victory, mind hey, manas key jite jeet leads to defeat

Attitude to success

9. Duvidha mein dou gaye, Maya mili na Ram

As a result of dilemma, one loses both the Maya and the Rama

Clarity in decision making

10. Taka sameroy rupiah bache

Penny saved pound saved

Finance sense

11. Pahle likhe aur picche dey, bhool pade kagaj sey ley

First write and then give, for any error written material you refer

Accounting and recording as a basic requirement

12. Laton ke bhoot batyon sey nahi mante

Those motivated by force are not motivated by words

Theory X & Theory Y

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13. Aap bhala to jag bhala, aap muya to jag muya

I am OK the world is OK, I am not OK, the world is not OK

I am OK & world is OK

14. Biti tahi visar dey, agey ki suddh dekh

Forget the bad events of the past, and look forward to the future

Futuristic orientation, take an optimistic view

15. Karat karat abhyas thi, jadmati hot’ sujan

Through continuous practice, even an unskilled person can improve

Continuous practice leads to perfection

16. Jahan choti machli pahunch sakti hai, vahan vadi machli nahi ja sakti

Small fish can enter places, Advantage of the ‘local’ where big fish cannot reach over the ‘global’

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TOWARDS CORPORATE VEDA* TOWARDS CORPORATE VEDA*

The expression ‘Indian Ethos’ is an overarching concept to capture the experiences of the Indian civilization over the centuries. As a result, it is an expansive expression, with its beginning in ancient times. Its flow can be compared with a gigantic perennial river that gathers momentum as it flows and in the process other rivers also join. With the flow of history many new ideas and perspectives have become part of the Indian ethos. Hence, Indian Ethos is a very broad term and defies a narrow definition. Some even argue that this term cannot be defined, though we need an operational definition to communicate its essence to others. In fact, this idea has inspired the whole new concept of ‘Indian Diaspora’ among the Non-Resident Indians. Thus, the concept of Indian Ethos has now travelled beyond the boundaries of India & Indica region and is finding its manifestation in varying forms outside India. One way to understand Indian ethos is to take a creativity view of Indian history. We can identify at least three distinct periods wherein entire nation was vibrating with ideas and creativity. Vedic period, Bhakti period, Freedom struggle represent the three periods with several other intermediate periods. Now, with the advent of knowledge era, the fourth period is on the anvil. In all the above periods, Indian Ethos through ‘integrative synthesis’ provided a backdrop for creative churning. Now a new creative combination is in the making. * ‘Towards Corporate VEDA: Indian Ethos and Corporate Development’, Subhash Sharma, Journal of Human Values, July-December 2003, 9:2, pp.163-172.

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It may be indicated that ‘Indian Ethos’ is rooted in many traditions. This author in his writings has identified a number of streams such as Arthasastra, Vedantic, LIFO (Liberation from Oppression), Syadvada (Multiple perspectives), Gandhian, Confluencism, Epic stream and subaltern and common man’s wisdom, etc. Prof. J.B.P.Sinha has identified several trends having different shades of indigenous management. These trends draw upon three major traditions of knowledge: ancient Indian wisdom, folkways of people and trans-national system and principles of management. These three traditions of knowledge find their application in various forms viz. purist form, adaptive and fusion form. Prof. Sinha suggests the idea of ‘integrative indigenization’ as a basis for integrating the various sources of knowledge for developing an indigenous management system. It may be indicated that folkways also represent the common man’s wisdom and survival techniques and there is also a two way interaction between the ‘street knowledge’ of the subaltern and ‘elite knowledge’ of scholars and other experts. Many times from such interactions new knowledge emerges. While there are many traditions as discussed above, Indian management scholars have largely drawn from the Vedantic tradition. It is primarily because of the pioneering work by Prof. S.K.Chakraborty who demonstrated direct applicability of Vedantic concepts in corporate / organizational contexts. Another scholar, Dr. M.B.Athreya also draws upon Vedantic ideas and demonstrates their practical utility in organizational context through his consulting work. Swami Jitatmananda argues for application of Indian Ethics in modern management. Swami Someshwarananda also provides a Vedantic perspective on Indian Ethos and its application to management. This author uses an eclectic approach and freely draws upon various Indian traditions to develop conceptual models that are applicable and workable in organizational contexts. Siddharth Shastri argues for the need of ‘Indian Management’ for nation building. Ipshita Bansal explores the significance of management concepts from ancient Indian psycho-philosophic thought for present day organizations. As indicated above, Prof. Sinha argues in favour of a synthesis approach, wherein an integrative methodology is followed to develop new concepts and ideas.

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ESSENCE OF INDIAN ETHOS Drawing upon various concepts and ideas from Indian ethos, the following can be identified as fundamental concepts from Indian Ethos: 1) 2) 3) 4) 5)

Knowledge Seeking Ethos Spirituality in Action ‘PREM’ Approach to Relationship & Management ‘HOPE’ As Driving Force for Existence Universal Oneness for Worldwide Connectivity

Knowledge Seeking Ethos ‘Knowledge seeking ethos’ of the Indians represents the essence of the Indian Ethos. In the knowledge era, this is turning out to be a great advantage. ‘Indian Management’ has gained acceptance and legitimacy because of the knowledge seeking ethos of the Indians. Democratization of knowledge has led to the spread of knowledge seeking ethos across all classes. It has also created a unique worldwide brand identity viz. knowledge worker identity of Indians. India’s ‘knowledge worker’ has emerged as a ‘grand brand’. India’s ‘academic factories’ should be complimented for creating such a distinct brand. Knowledge seeking ethos of Indians are reflected in many symbols. For example, schools, colleges and academic institutions are referred to as ‘temples of knowledge’ (Gyan-Mandir). ‘Knowledge is the Window’, is another phrase reflecting the knowledge seeking ethos.

Spirituality-in-Action Spirituality at workplace is emerging as a new concept. However, spirituality-in-action has been a fundamental concept in Indian ethos since time immemorial. It is because of this reason, every secular activity was given a sacred touch. Even instruments of production are literally worshipped at least once in a year. Under the corporate influence, the idea of spirituality-in-action was diluted. However, with the acceptance of the idea of spirituality-at-workplace, a new faith is being restored in spirituality-in-action.

‘PREM’ Approach to Relationship & Management Closely related to the idea of spirituality-in-action is the concept of PREM approach, wherein PREM means, Purity in Relationship with Emotivity & Mutuality. PREM approach takes us beyond the EQ:

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Emotional Quotient. This approach is best explained by Kabir: Pothi pad pad, jug muya, pandit bhaya na koi Dhai akshar prem key, pare so pandit hoi Nobody has become a pundit so far, By merely reading books / theories, By learning a few letters of prem, You can become a pundit. For becoming ‘management pundit’, we need to learn about the PREM approach and improve our PREM co-efficient.

‘HOPE’ As Driving Force for Existence By HOPE, we mean Higher Order Purpose of Existence. Indian ethos has always stressed on the higher order purposes, which are reflected in the concept of ‘struggle for values’. While Darwin stressed on ‘struggle for existence’, Indian thinkers always stressed on ‘struggle for values’. In fact, we can identify a three stages struggle model or existence model as given in Fig. 8.1. In this model, the three stages are: struggle for existence, struggle for betterment and struggle for values. The essence of Indian ethos lies in ‘struggle for values’ which has been articulated by the ancient thinkers as well as modern thinkers such as Vivekananda, Aurobindo, Gandhi and others. The concept of HOPE: Higher Order Purpose of Existence, finds its manifestation in struggles and values. Struggle for Values

Struggle for Betterment

Struggle for Existence

Vivekananda, Aurobindo, Gandhi & Others

Maslow & Others

Darwin & Co.

Fig. 8.1: A Three-Stage Model of Struggles

Universal Oneness for Worldwide Connectivity ‘Vasudhaiv Kutumbhakam’, ‘whole world is a family’ is another key idea from Indian ethos. It represents the concept of Universal Oneness i.e. UNO, which United Nations of Organizations is supposed to represent. This idea takes us beyond the concept of ‘brotherhood’, which

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usually has a restricted meaning in terms of community kinship. It takes us towards the concept of ‘familyhood’, wherein entire world is one big family with worldwide connectivity through unity in oneness. The above five ideas define the essence of Indian ethos and are applicable in corporate context of today. In order to appreciate their applicability, we first present a model of social transition and a model of social analysis.

EMERGENCE OF CORPORATES AS STATE: IMPLICATIONS FOR INDIVIDUALS, ORGANIZATIONS & SOCIETY Transitions in history have been viewed through many perspectives. Dominant among them are frameworks advanced by Marx and Toffler. Marx viewed social transitions in terms of hunting and gathering society, feudal society, capitalistic society and communistic society. Toffler considers social transitions in terms of agriculture society, industrial society and information society. Another way of classification of the transitions in history is in terms of bow and arrow society, plough society, steam engine society and search engines society. This is a technological view of changes in society. We can also view transitions in history in terms of an organizational view. In our framework, three distinct transitions in history can be observed in terms of Kingdom-State, Nation-State and the CorporateState. Emergence of Corporates as State is a recent phenomenon. We increasingly hear about expression such as global village, borderless world, integration with global economy, globalization, global markets, dominance of markets in contrast to dominance of State. Thus, the language itself is undergoing a radical change. Fig. 8.2 presents our transition model in a diagrammatic form. Corporate Market Nation State State Kingdom State

Wealth of Kingdom

Wealth of Nation

Wealth of the Corporate

Fig. 8.2: A Historical Perspective on Transitions in Society

People

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It may be observed that in the above diagram Corporate as State is not the final stage. In the next stage of evolution, there would be a dynamic interaction between Corporate, State and People as a new dynamics is emerging between Market, State and People (MSP) affecting the society in general. This is also reflected in three types of solutions to development issues viz. corporate approach, State driven approach and people driven approach. It may be noted that Kautilaya’s Arthasastra was the foundational book on the ‘Wealth of the Kingdom’. It belonged to the era of the kingdom-state. Adam Smith’s ‘Wealth of Nations’, focussed on the Nation. It belonged to the era of the nation-state. In the new emerging era, people are more concerned about the ‘Wealth of the Corporate’. Hence, ‘Reading the Balance-sheet’ as well as books related to enhancing the ‘wealth of the organizations’ have become quite popular. Metaphorically during the era of kingdom-state, 500 Kings and Queens used to rule the world. In the nation-state, 500 politicians were ruling the world. In the era of the corporate-state, 500 CEOs rule the world. However, they have to increasingly respond to the new expectations of the people. Hence, in future there would be a new dynamic interaction between corporates, State and people represented by NGOs and other people’s institutions.

Implications of the Framework The framework presented above has several implications. It also has an explanatory power to understand the changes that we are witnessing with the ‘withering of the Nation-State’. In the discussion presented below, we analyze the implications of this framework for the individuals, organizations and society. (A) Withering Away of Many Disciplines: Emergence of Management Gurus as a New Force We observe withering away of many disciplines. Enrolments for subjects such as sociology, political science, psychology, economics, etc. have been coming down in many universities. At one point of time, renowned sociologist and psychologists had important say in social affairs. They were widely quoted in press and other media. Today the management gurus have replaced them. The reason for the same lies in the fact that disciplines such as sociology, political science, public administration, economics etc., provided useful foundational premise for the nation-state. With the emergence of the corporate-state, these disciplines are losing their importance. At best they have become feeder-

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disciplines to new emerging disciplines such as Marketing, Finance, HRD, Systems, Strategy, etc. Even NGOs rely on the expertise of professionals trained in Marketing, Finance, HRD, Strategy, etc. Sociology and Psychology find its merger into HRD, Economics into Corporate Economics, Finance & Marketing and Strategy is appropriating many traditional disciplines. While traditional disciplines are losing importance and relevance as they belonged to the nationstate era, ‘Management’ as a discipline has emerged as a new subject, as it belongs to the corporate-state era. B) Changing Language of the Politicians and the Bureaucrats Politicians and bureaucrats are increasing talking the language of the corporate-state. They have already abandoned the language of the nation-state. They talk in terms of knowledge about the fundamental driving factors of the Corporate - State viz. Competition, Product and Market (CPM). Even their dress code is changing. Chief Ministers prefer to call themselves as CEOs, Chief Executive Officers. While they get elected on the plank of the nation-state, once elected, their language changes to the language of the corporate-state. C) Kautilaya, Kotler and Beyond Kautilaya’s Arthasastra was the most influential book, at least in India. It was widely used by the Kings and Queens to run their Kingdoms, as is evident from the fact that its manuscripts were discovered in far off places such as Mysore and Patan. But, Arthasastra, belonged to the kingdom-state era, which in India continued in one form or other right up to 1947. Many kings and queens considered it as a ‘confidential book’, because of its radical approaches in managing the affairs of the kingdom. In fact, it still remains the first book on ‘Management’ and a foundational book on management even for the managers of the corporate-state. However, with the emergence of the market as dominant force, and the emergence of the corporate-state, the discipline of marketing has acquired an all persuasive influence. Future ‘Management Sastra (Science, art, spirituality & transcendental approach)’ would draw lessons from all such changes. D) Implications for Culture & Symbols Corporates, in particular ‘MNCs’ bring with them the culture of the country of their origin. This is often confused as cultural imperialism. When American corporates open their offices in other countries, they naturally promote ‘Western’ festivals and convert these festivals to gain commercial advantage. The new year celebrations, the valentine

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day, the card culture, etc. are manifestations of the same. Japanese corporates bring with them, the Zen-Buddhism, Bonsai, Reiki, etc. India has not developed its MNCs and therefore, India’s corporate-state has nothing to offer so far. It is busy in imitating the Western and Japanese cultural symbolism. With the withering of the nation-state and emergence of the corporate-state, many countries are under threat of ‘Westernization’ promoted by the Western corporate-state. Japan countered it by developing its own corporate-state. As a result, it has created many global brands. India’s ‘Knowledge worker’, though a brand name in itself, is largely a result of ‘knowledge seeking ethos’ of Indians and not a result of India’s corporate state. Emergence of ‘Indian Diaspora’ and travel of Indian culture and symbols to the West, is largely because of people’s individual initiatives rather than any corporate effort or corporate support. E) Implications for IPR Corporate-state is appropriating the IPR (Intellectual Property Rights) of the nation-state. Bio-piracy is an illustration of the same. Basmati became Texmati and the next target as well may be Shrimati, under the human genome project. F) Implications for Institution Building Earlier the task of institution building was linked with nation building and institutions were considered as national assets. This notion is changing and institutions are turning into ‘corporate assets’. Further, now the institution building process is market driven, hence, Market Driven Institution Building is a new imperative, as funding support from the nation-state has withered away. As a result, institutions are no more objective in their approach as they have to adjust to the market imperatives in the corporate-state era. Perhaps, the term, institution building in the traditional sense, has become irrelevant. New form of institutions building processes are required. Emergence of ‘corporate universities’ is a pointer in this direction. G) Towards Better Corporate Governance During the nation-state era, the key mantra was ‘good governance’, on the part of the nation-state. Now, in the emerging era of the corporate-state, the focus is shifting to Corporate Governance. Since, corporates are acquiring a dominant role in the life and affairs of people, high expectations from it in terms of business ethics, social responsibility and corporate governance, are quite natural. Echoes of such phrases can be heard in many social discourses.

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SWASTIK MODEL OF SOCIAL ANALYSIS Changes in the society can also be analyzed through a swastik model. Swastik represents interactions between the horizontal dialectics and the vertical dialectics. Thus, it is a double dialectics model, as its dialectics is 3600 in nature representing both horizontal and vertical dimension compared to Marxist dialectical model that is 180° representing only horizontal dimension. When applied in the context of the analysis of societies, we have the following two types of dialectics: 1. Individual and Community (Collectivity) Dialectics 2. Market and State Dialectics Individuals want freedom, communities tend to curtail freedom leading to a dialectical relationship between the two. Similarly, there is dialectics between the Market and the State. Market pushes State to margin but State wants to reinforce its authority. When both types of dialectics are juxtaposed, we arrive at the Swastik model for social analysis. Fig. 8.3 presents this model in a diagrammatic form. Individual

State

I

II

III

IV

Market

Community

Fig. 8.3: Swastik Model

The Swastik model gives rise to four interactions: I) Market–Individual interactions/interface II) State–Individual interactions/interface III) State–Community interactions/interface IV) Market–Community interactions/interface Each type of interaction can be further analyzed in terms of consequences it generates. Further, changes in the history can also be

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analyzed in terms of changes in these four types of interactions. During the Kingdom - State era, there was dominance of the Kingdom and Community interactions. Individuals had to submit to the will of the Community and State. Accordingly, individuals enjoyed low degree of freedom. During the Nation - State era also, State and Community had dominance though Individuals could exercise their freedom through a democratic process. Hence, Individuals have a better degree of freedom. In the Corporate - State era, Market has acquired dominance over the State and the Community and there is dominance of the Individuals and Markets. Hence, Individuals have acquired a higher degree of freedom as Market offers a wider degree of choices. However, at any point of time, there is a continuing social discourse among all the four types of interactions. Swastik model draws our attention to this dynamics. The Swastik model presented here helps us in understanding the changes in history. In fact, history can be viewed in terms of Swastik change and Swastik movements, rather than simple dialectical process suggested by Marx. This model liberates history from Marxist framework and can provide a better explanation of current social discourse in society. History can indeed be viewed in terms of changing relationship between individual, community, market and state. During ancient times, markets were not well developed, hence nature of such relationship was of different types. With the emergence of global markets, the relationships have undergone a radical change. Changes in relationships could as well constitute a new project for study of history. Swastik model helps in ‘Swastik analysis’ of changes in history and society as it focuses our attention on the dynamics of horizontal and vertical dialectics and the corresponding forces of change.

‘SWASTIK ANALYSIS’ OF CHANGE Swastik analysis of change takes us beyond the Hegelian dialectics of thesis - anti thesis and synthesis. When, this is supplemented with dialectics of action - reaction and interaction, we get the framework of ‘Swastik analysis’. Thus, change can be analyzed in terms of two dialectical processes driven by four forces: Thesis, Anti-thesis, Action, Reaction. Social

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change is a resultant effect of the dynamics between the two dialectical processes as identified above. Decision making processes both macro level and micro level can also be analyzed in terms of swastik analysis. Decision making can be viewed as a dialectical process of thesis and anti-thesis coupled with action-reaction dynamics. It may be indicated that Swastik analysis and Swastik changes framework can be applied not only to the study of social change and the study of history, but can also be applied to organizational context, wherein, change can be studied from the viewpoint of double dialectics rather than merely in terms of Lewin’s framework of Inhibiting and Facilitating factors of change. In fact, changes in organizations can be better understood through a series of ‘Swastik diagrammes’ sketching the various underlying forces creating the change. New Age Corporates need this understanding of the forces of change affecting the individuals, society and organizations.

TOWARDS CORPORATE VEDA Ancient vedas are treasure house of knowledge both secular and the sacred. Today in the corporate context, the metaphor of veda provides us the concept of corporate veda. This author had earlier proposed the ‘VEDA’ model of leadership wherein VEDA stands for Vision, Enlightenment, Devotion and Action aspects of leadership. This model was further extended to identify its linkages with the spirit of holistic development. When corporate leadership is based on these dimensions, it can be said that it is following Corporate Veda. While, Vision, Enlightenment, Devotion and Action constitute the preamble or the opening verse of the Corporate Veda, what are its remaining chapters or verses? Perhaps many chapters of the Corporate Veda book are yet to be written. We can have a tentative outline. This outline would be based on the experience of building a Corporate State or the world class institutions and organizations. A comparative study of the worldwide experiences could provide a conceptual foundation. With the emergence of knowledge era, the concept of Indian management has been emerging. In Exhibit 8.1, we provide a comparative analysis of the concepts of American / Western Management, Japanese Management and Indian Management. Key

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points of three management approaches and styles have been presented in the Exhibit. Corporate Veda implies that all the three approaches are put to use through an ‘integrative synthesis’. In fact, through their synthesis we can transcend all the three and arrive at ‘new age management’ approach. This is the essence of Corporate Veda for the new age corporates.

CONCLUDING COMMENT: SPREADING THE LIGHT OF INDIAN ETHOS By ‘LIGHT’ of Indian ethos, we mean the following five human values that were identified by ancient seers of the ‘LIGHT’. We have merely put them in a new order: L I G H T

= Love as in ‘PREM’ approach founding the basis of a Universal Religion of Love (URL) = Integrity, reflected through ROI - Return on Integrity = Godness/Goodness as in ‘Satyam Shivam Sundaram’ = Harmony, also HOPE as in Higher Order Purpose of Existence = Truth as in ‘God is Truth and Truth is God’

These five eternal values represent the essence of Indian ethos. They also represent five fundamental forces viz. force of love, force of integrity, force of godness, force of harmony and force of truth. They represent the force field of LIGHT. Fig. 8.4 presents the force field of light. The ‘LIGHT’ concept presented here can also be considered as a leadership model and can be used as a foundational framework for leader-ship development. Love L Integrity I Godness G Harmony H Truth T

Fig. 8.4: Force Field of LIGHT

•

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It may be indicated that the above mentioned five human values were valid during the kingdom-state era of history. They are valid for the nation-state. They are also valid for the Corporate-state. Let the ‘LIGHT’ of five fundamental human values spread in all directions. This could be considered as essence of the Corporate VEDA. t Exhibit 8.1 A Comparative Analysis of the American, Japanese & Indian Theories & Approaches to Management American

Japanese

Indian

Foundation Theory

Theory X, Theory Y

Theory Z

Theory K

Supporting Theories

Self-Actualization I am OK, You are OK

Continuous Improvement

Self-Realization I am Happy, You are Happy I am Divine, You are Divine

Zen approach Decision Making

Rationality First

Creativity First

Wisdom First

Conflict Resolution

Domination Approach

Negotiation Approach

Adjustment approach(e.g. swalpa adjust maadi in Kannada language)

Leadership

Vision, Mission, Action

Super-ordinate Goals

VEDA: Vision, Enlightenment, Devotion & Action

Roots of the Theories

Struggle for Existence

Struggle for Betterment

Struggle for Values

Influencing Thinkers

Darwin & Co.

Zen Philosophers

Vedantic and Other Social Thinkers

Dominant Ethos

Spirit to Dominate

Spirit to Improve

Knowledge Seeking

Dominant Metaphor

Cola (‘Kola’)

Kaizen

Karma Yoga

Key Emphasis

Result Oriented

Process Oriented

Effort Oriented

Key Focus Factor / Driving Force

Productivity

Quality

Knowledge

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Part - II Enlightened Leadership & Human Quality Development (HQD)

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9

9

CORPORATE RISHI RISHI: TOWARDS CORPORATE : TOWARDS ENLIGHTENEDLEADERSHIP* LEADERSHIP* ENLIGHTENED

For performing organizations, positive energies of people should be channelized in a creative manner. Hence, there is a need for enlightened leadership. An enlightened leader harmonizes vision, mission and action through positive management and proactive actions. In order to harmonize vision, mission and action, it is important to get a view of the portfolio of situations that modern day leaders and managers face. Such a portfolio is characterized by three types of situations; 1) routine and emergency; 2) Crisis and chaos, and 3) Adversity and catastrophe. A distinctive shift has been taking place from routine management to crisis management and from crisis management to adversity management. Similarly, a shift can be observed from emergency management to chaos management in which there is a continuing emergency, and from chaos management to catastrophe management. Situations of adversity and catastrophe management call for greater involvement of people. Given the need for harmonizing the vision, mission and action, and sharpening the strategic tip, under situations characterized by a portfolio mix of catastrophe situations, the task of building performing * ‘Towards Enlightened Leadership: A Framework of Leadership & Management’, Subhash Sharma, in Akhilesh K B, L Prasad & P Singh (eds.) Evolving Performing Organizations Through People: A Global Agenda, New Age International Publishers, New Delhi, June 1995, pp.209-214.

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organizations presents a challenge for the new generation of managers. Hence, there is a greater need for enlightened leadership for organizations that can enthuse and involve people through HOPE (Higher Order Purpose for Existence) values. In order to develop a framework of enlightened leadership, we would first consider the difference between a manager and a leader as highlighted in the academic writings. Kotter (1990) provides this distinction by highlighting the manager - leader traits. In this distinction, manager is more rational - analytic while leader is more intuitive - holistic. An analysis of these traits indicates that managers are more yang / left brain oriented while leaders are more yin / right brain oriented. We can also differentiate between a ‘robot’ and manager. While manager makes decisions, a robotic person doesn’t take decisions. Such a person merely follows the instructions and procedures as per the programming and doesn’t retort back. In robotic style of management, there is no scope for discussion. Manager is not a robot, as he / she is expected to make decisions that a robot cannot make. Like there is a distinction between a robotic person and manager, there is also a difference between a leader and an enlightened leader. An enlightened leader harmonizes vision, mission and action in the context of changing scenarios. Such a person represents a combination of both the yin and the yang qualities, i.e., a combination of both the left brain and right brain qualities. Fig. 9.1 summarizes the above discussion as a step model of enlightened leadership. Enlightened Leader

Leader

Manager

Robotic Person (Robot)

Fig. 9.1: A Four Steps Model for Enlightened Leadership

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The key metaphors differentiating the robotic person, manager, leader and enlightened leader are summarized in Table 9.1. Table 9.1

Typology of Persons and Corresponding Metaphors

Typology Robotic person Manager Leader Enlightened leader

Metaphor Robot / No use of brain Yang / Greater use of left brain Yin / Greater use of right brain Use of both sides of brain

When management scenarios discussed earlier are viewed in terms of this framework, we observe that a robotic person is suited to routine management. A manager can effectively handle both the routine as well as the emergency situations. A leader is the one who deals effectively with situations of crisis and chaos. An enlightened leader is the one who can deal with situations characterized by adversity and catastrophe as well as the situations characterized by crisis and chaos management. It was earlier indicated that a modern manager faces a portfolio mix of situations that include routine management, crisis management as well as adversity management. Hence, the need for enlightened leadership for creating performing organizations is more urgent in today’s context. We can also view our framework of enlightened leadership from the viewpoint of nature of change process. Buddha was perhaps the first person to formulate a ‘theory’ of change, when he declared that everything in this world is changing. However, nature of change could be of following types. 1. Incremental change (shaney-shaney) 2. Radical change 3. Sea change Incremental change or shaney - shaney is indicative of the small changes. Usually such changes are incorporated in a step by step manner in one’s working environment. As a result, impact of such changes may not even be visible because individuals and organizations on an incremental basis assimilate such changes in their consciousness. A radical change may bring a total change in the way individuals and organizations function. For example, militancy in North East has

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brought in a radical change in the life-style of plantation managers. Their houses are now grilled and the open spaces around their bungalows are no more available to them. Radical changes may be cataclysmic in nature and may occur due to shocks and stirs to which individuals or organizations may be subjected to. History presents several examples of radical changes brought in through revolutions and rebellions as well as revelations. A sea change implies a major change e.g. a beach on the sea shore undergoing a change because of repeated waves hitting the shore. Socio-economic changes due to emergence of markets as a major force are illustrative of sea changes. In addition to above, we also observe the phenomenon of cosmic change. It implies changes of great magnitude and great importance such as the changes occurring at the galaxy levels. Disappearance of civilization, nations and ideologies from the scenes of history are closer to the concept of cosmic change. The typology of change presented here can be related to the framework of enlightened leadership discussed earlier. A robotic person works best in the no change or status quo situation. A manager with his rational-analytic mid set is well suited to incremental change situations. A leader with intuitive-holistic mind set performs well in the radical change situations. An enlightened leader as a harmonizer of vision, mission and actions is able to foresee the sea changes and is able to respond to such changes effectively. A super-enlightened leader or the avatara can manage even the cosmic changes with ease. When viewed in terms of Rowe’s decision making styles (Rowe, 1987), a robotic person operates best under the directive or the adesh style. A manager tends to use analytical or the vishleshan style indicating scientific - analytic orientation. Leader makes a greater use of behavioural or the vyavhar style and enlightened leader uses the conceptual or the intuitive-holistic style characterized by the metaphor of drishta. A diagrammatic summary of the above discussion is presented in Fig. 9.2, which provides an integrated framework for enlightened leadership.

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HOPE - Values Higher Order Puropse for Existence

En lig htened Leader Leader Manager Robot Orientation

Robotic

Yang

Yin

Yang and Yin

Left side of brain

Right side of brain

No change

Incremental change

Radical change

Sea change

Nature of management situation

Only routine

Routine and emergency

Crisis and chaos

Adversity and catastrophe

Nature of decision style

Directive / "Adesh"

Analytical / "Vishleshan"

Behavioural / "Vyavhar"

Conceptual / "Drishta"

Which side of brain Nature of change

No side of brain

Both sides of brain

Fig. 9.2: An Integrated Framework for Enlightened Leadership

The following represent the highlights of the framework presented in Fig. 9.2: 1. An enlightened leader harmonizes vision, mission and action through HOPE values and positive management approach. 2. An enlightened leader combines both the yang and yin qualities and thereby creates movements and performing organizations through people. 3. An enlightened leader performs effectively in situations characterized by adversity and catastrophe. 4. An enlightened leader responds effectively to radical and sea change situations. 5. An enlightened leader is a drishta visionary. 6. An enlightened leader combines both leadership and management metaphorically represented by the concluding verse of Gita, which in view of this author provides a most lucid definition of enlightened leader.

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TOWARDS VEDA MODEL OF LEADERSHIP* For translating the idea of ‘Indian Ethics and the Spirit of Development’ in practical context, a supporting model is required. This model is presented here as VEDA model of leadership and management. In this model we identify the following four aspects of the leadership: V :

Vision

E

Enlightenment

:

D :

Devotion

A :

Action

It is interesting to note that the academic literature on Transformational Leadership is coming closer to the above - presented model of leadership. Our model has many interesting insights to offer. VEDA is at the heart of the Indian model articulated through the expression, ‘Indian ethics and the Spirit of Development’. Further, it also reveals the convergence of the four margas viz. raj-yoga, gyan yoga, bhakti yoga and karma yoga. The parallels are given in the box below: The VEDA Model V : Vision E : Enlightenment D : Devotion A : Action

Raj-yoga Gyan yoga Bhakti yoga Karma yoga

Thus, all the four margas viz. raj-yoga, gyan yoga, bhakti yoga and karma yoga are revealed through the individual letter V, E, D, A. In a way this de-coding or ‘discovery’ is interesting because essence of Vedas in the form of four margas to self realization, is reflected in the very expression VEDA. While VEDA model discussed above is a model of enlightened leadership, there is a need for development of such new models rooted in the philosophy of ‘Indian Ethics and the Spirit of Development’ and relevant for corporate management. The wheels of modern society are turned by four types of individuals viz. Leaders, Managers, Entrepreneurs and Workers. Leaders provide * Indian Ethos and the Spirit of Development: The VEDA Model of Leadership and Management’, Management Perception, July-December 2001, 3:2, pp.33-41.

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the vision and inspiration, managers achieve results and translate vision into reality, entrepreneurs innovate and take risks and workers provide the support function and all the four complement each other in achieving the goals of a society or an organization. Thus, there are four roles a society demands from its citizens viz. Leadership, Managership, Entrepreneurship and Workership, wherein leadership has inspirational role, managership has implementational focus, entrepreneurship has risk taking function and workership has workmanship or workship role emphasizing work excellence. This is now well recognized in HRD and OB literature. Indeed these phrases are now being used widely in the academic community and also by the practitioners. They also provide a functional classification of the tasks/roles performed in a society. Balakrishnan et.al. (1999), provide a discussion on conceptual distinctions between leadership, managership and entrepreneurship in terms of task demands and personal dispositions. The concept of workership while incorporating the idea of workmanship and work dignity views workers as holistic individuals and not merely resources. An economic enterprise would run effectively if all the four roles viz. leadership, managership, entrepreneurship and workership move in rhythm leading to synergy. However, if the orchestra of the four roles is out of tune with each other, the music produced will have several flaws. Fig. 9.3 provides a diagrammatic representation of the wheel model of modern society and corporate organizations.

Workership:

Leadership:

Work Excellence

Vision & Inspiration

Entrepreneurship:

Managership:

Risk Taking

Implementation

Forward Movement

Fig. 9.3: Four Pillars of Society and Organizations

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The above-discussed framework provides us an understanding about the forward movement of organizations which is dependent upon the proper synchronization in the four types of roles indicated above. This framework also provides us a foundational premise for developing models of corporate management and good governance. An enlightened leader is visualized as a person who combines the four elements of VEDA (Vsion, Enlightenment, Devotion and Action). Through vision and enlightenment, such a person is able to foresee the radical and sea changes and through devotion and action the person is able to effectively deal with the portfolio of changing situations represented by crisis and adversity. By combining the four elements, an enlightened business leader sharpens the strategic edge of his organization and thus improves its competitiveness. In essence, an enlightened leader is guided by a positive management approach in his/her proactive actions. Hence, for evolving performing organizations through people, enlightened leadership is the requirement of the day.

TOWARDS CORPORATE RISHI* Punnett and Shenkar (1996) in their Handbook for International Management Research, provide a review of research on leadership wherein they have highlighted many Non-Western leadership theories. They provide leadership models from Japan, particularly the PM (Performance - Maintenance) theory of leadership wherein leaders are classified by their focus on Performance function and Maintenance function. They also discuss the Indian model of leadership, particularly the Nurturant Task (NT) leadership model suggested by J.B.P.Sinha (1980). In a review of “Leadership Styles, Traits, Roles and Practices Down the Ages”, Singh & Karunes (2000) also provide a review of leadership models. Their review also includes Indian contributions to leadership literature. The Indian contributions mentioned by Singh & Karunes include Singh and Bhandarkar (1990-1995) model of Transformational leadership in Indian context and Sharma (1995) model of Enlightened Leadership. In fact, several ‘models of leadership’ have been developed by Indian thinkers and scholars. The following provides a discussion on them: * ‘Corporate Rishi Leadership Model: An Indian Model for Corporate Development & Ethical Leadership’, Subhash Sharma, in Udai Pareek, Aahad M Osman-Gani, S Ramanaraan & T V Rao (eds.), Human Resource Development in Asia: Trends & Challenges, Oxford & IBH, New Delhi, 2002, pp.291-296.

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1. Vijigshu Model of Leadership (Kautilaya): Vijigshu means Vijaya (victory) ikshuk (desirous). Thus, leader must be desirous of victory. Developed in the context of ‘Kingdom Management’, model required the king or the leader to be self motivated and driven by ‘victory’ orientation. Vijigshu uses the persuasion (sam), economic incentive (dam), power division (bhed) and punishment (danda) as instruments to achieve his objective of loksangraha (welfare of the world). In this model, power (danda) is to be used for loksangraha i.e. enlightened collective interest and not for self-interest. 2. Nurturant - Task Leadership Model (Sinha 1980): According to this model, ideal leader is both nurturant and task oriented. The nurturant dimension of leadership is revealed in leaders taking care of their subordinates, being considerate and affectionate. The nurturance is contingent on task performance. Thus, leader becomes benevolent if the subordinate is task oriented and works hard. It may be indicated that in NT leadership, a paternalistic and parentalistic approach is part of the leadership process which is also found in many NonWestern countries (Punnett & Shenkar, 1996). 3. OCTAPACE Model (Pareek, 1981): The concept of OCTAPACE was developed for designing OD intervention. According to Pareek, OCTAPACE stands for eight values viz. Openness, Collaboration, Trust, Authenticity, Pro-activity, Autonomy, Confrontation and Experimentation. These eight values also represent the leadership values or leadership attributes. Hence, OCTAPACE model is also a leadership model. 4. Karta Model of Leadership (Singh & Bhandarkar, 1990): This leadership model views the leader as ‘karta’ or the head of a joint / extended family. Karta type leaders facilitate workers’ participation in management. He / she is available to them for information, guidance and problem solving (p.120). He considers organization as a “big kutumbh” i.e. an extended family. Hence, “instead of scolding, he puts a hand on the shoulder and explains”. Thus, we find an echo of Sinha’s nurturant task leadership model in the Singh and Bhandarkar’s Karta model of leadership. 5. Four Steps Model of Enlightened Leadership (Sharma, 1995): In this leadership model, four steps have been identified in terms of Robot, Manager, Leader and Enlightened Leader.

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The following have been identified as the characteristics of an enlightened leader: • An enlightened leader harmonizes vision, mission and action through HOPE (Higher Order Purpose of Existence) values and positive management approach. •

An enlightened leader combines both yang and yin qualities and thereby creates movements and performing organizations through people.

•

An enlightened leader performs effectively in situations characterized by adversity and catastrophe.

•

An enlightened leader responds effectively to radical and sea change situations.

•

An enlightened leader combines both leadership and management metaphorically represented by VEDA (Vision, Enlightenment, Devotion and Action).

•

In enlightened leadership we find an integration of skills, values and wisdom.

6. Yin-Trinity Model of Leadership (Sharma, 1996): This model is rooted in the concept of yin-trinity represented by the female trinity of Laxmi, Saraswati and Durga symbolizing wealth, knowledge and power. The model implies that the leader should use wealth, knowledge and power positively and for the welfare of the organization and society. With the rise of the women power in the corporate world, this model of leadership may emerge as a future model. The model takes out the male-centricism that is inherent in many models of leadership conceptualized by the practitioners and scholars. 7. Mother Leadership Model (Banerjee, 1998): Mother leadership is a holistic model of leadership. It refers to a ‘SELF realized leader with a long term perspective that helps sustainability and promotes values’. The model encompasses all existing leadership styles viz. visionary leader, servant leader, wisdom leader, missionary leader, intuitive leader, value-based ethico-moral leader, proactive leader and authority oriented leader (Banerjee, p.13). In essence, it is an integrative model of leadership based on the metaphor of mother. Hence, it also includes the Nurturant-Task leadership in its formulation. In the era of environmental concerns, this metaphor is definitely an evocative metaphor for the new paradigm in leadership. Gustavsson (1998) considers the idea of ‘Mother Leadership’ as a new idea that “may help the myopic leadership develop to a leadership of wisdom” (p.viiii).

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It may be indicated that, Rao (1990) had also suggested a ‘maternalistic approach to management’, wherein he suggested the symbol of ‘mother’ and its relevance in organizational functioning and work-ethics. Rao provides a systems framework for depicting role of the ‘mother’ symbol in the context of the work-place. While Rao’s effort has been to seek the relevance of ‘mother’ metaphor in work ethics context, Banerjee takes us beyond the work ethics and suggests it in the leadership context. In leadership context, Banerjee’s model is organization-wide, integrative and holistic in nature. 8. Workship Model of Leadership (Chatterjee, 1998): Rooted in the concept of Karmayoga, the workship model of leadership considers, ‘work as worship’. Workship “signifies that when work is done in the spirit of worship, the quality of work undergoes a metamorphosis. As a result, even ordinary work is transformed from a mere chore to an extraordinarily reality” (Chatterjee, 1998, p.64). In the workship model of leadership, there are four roadmaps that take the leader towards workship. “These are inner paths leading to the same destination which is the self” (p.69). These paths are (i) Discipline; (ii) Righteousness; (iii) Sacrifice; (iv) Transcendence. In this framework, transcendence is defined as ‘a state of realization in action’. Workship creates conditions for effortless effort and the leaders practising workship become the inspirational models. Chatterjee cites the example of Gandhi, Vivekananda and others as the practitioners of the workship model of leadership. 9. Wisdom Leadership Model (Chakraborty, 1999): The model of ‘wisdom leadership’ as proposed by Chakraborty is rooted in the ancient ‘rajrishi’ model wherein a leader has a touch of ‘rishi’ or the touch of sacredness in all his actions. According to Chakraborty, “This line of leadership development has continued unbroken from mythology to history, to the present times; from King Janak to Budha, Ashoka to Chandragupta, ... Vivekananda to Gandhi” (p.79). Chakraborty considers the ‘raj-rishi’ concept as quintessential Indian model of leadership. To substantiate his argument, he provides empirical evidence in the form of dialogues with leading corporate leaders and he finds many of them practising ‘raj-rishi’ model in one form or other. Problem with such dialogues is that at times, people in senior positions tend to give socially desirable answers.

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Hence, many times it is extremely difficult to make firm conclusions about the true nature of leadership. In spite of such limitations, the ‘rajrishi’ model as a concept is a useful benchmark for leaders. Since, ‘rajrishi’ is an embodiment of ‘wisdom’, Chakraborty refers to this model as ‘wisdom leadership’. 10. Contribution Model of Leadership (Singh, 2000): This model considers contribution as core of leading. “Every person is known by his contribution”. Based on several “profiles of leading” drawn from the middle management, Anup Singh suggests ten commandments (10 Cs) to energize, motivate and lead, viz. creativity, character, courage, cause, control, competence, communication, care & coaching, creativity and collective management. It may be indicated that “commandments” quite often suffer from internal contradictions e.g. contradiction between ‘control’ and ‘creativity’. 11. Responsible Leadership (Bhatta, 2000): The idea of responsible leader as 24-hour leader and thereby 24-hour leadership, suggested by Bhatta is rooted in the ancient concept of leader’s responsibilities towards his people/followers. A leader ‘owns debt to his/her people’. Hence, he pays his entire attention to properly lead his/her people. He/she is responsible to his/ her people. He is in 24-hour duty and not merely 9 to 5. He/ she is a 24-hour manager and not just a “one minute manager”. Kautilaya had worked out 24-hour time table for the King. The idea of 24-hour leader suggested by Bhatta is rooted in this Kautilayan concept. Bhatta provides an ‘Ashokan model of leadership’ as illustration of ‘Responsible Leadership’ rooted in the 24-hour model of leadership. Drawing upon the ancient ‘panch-ttava’ concept, Bhatta suggests the qualities of responsible leaders in consonance with five elements. According to him, ‘sky’/space represents creativity and innovation, ‘earth’ represents emotional stability, ‘fire’ represents energy/power, ‘air’ represents change and movement, ‘water’ represents purity and sanctity. These are also essential qualities of responsible and responsive leadership. 12. Corporate Rishi Model (Rishi as Re-see, Sharma, 2002): This model is rooted in the interpretation of Rishi concept as Re-see concept. A ‘corporate rishi’ is one, who can re-

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see the things, events, and actions around him or her in a new perspective in addition to providing a touch of humanness (Sharma, 2002). He/she is also Self Responsible Individual (SRI). This model considers knowledge creation in terms of rationality, intuition and revelation in a hierarchical order. Rationality is at the lowest step, intuition is the next step and revelation is the third step. Through re-see approach, leaders use their intuition effectively and thus arrive at new interpretations and revelations that lead to radical changes in the organization and society. Re-see leaders use the radial approach for being always in touch with happenings around them and also for envisioning the future. We can also refer to them as ‘full circle leaders’, as they see and re-see the environment through full circle radial visioning approach. Sharma also suggests an integrative synthesis of the ‘modern prince’ and ‘modern rishi’ for corporate leaders. This integrative embrace combines the yin and yang together, and is therefore holistic in nature. Corporate Rishi combines skills, values and wisdom in an effective manner. 13. Corporate Rishi as CEO (Creative, Enlightened & Organic) Leader (Sharma, 2005): This model is rooted in the concept of Corporate Rishi as CEO ( Creative, Enlightened and Organic) leader. Such a person is highly creative and is enlightened and establishes organic relationships with stakeholder and displays ecological sensitivity. It may be indicated that Corporate Rishi model combines the earlier models of leadership viz. King Philosopher from Greek tradition and Raj-Rishi from Indian Tradition. Corporate Rishi is King Philosopher Rishi (KPR) reflected through his/her Re-see competence as well as Creative, Enlightened and Organic approach to management. It may be indicated that 5K model of leadership from Kannada language is represented by Kannu (Eyes), Kivi (Ears), Kuttige (Neck), Kai (Hand) and Kalu (Legs) A Corporate Rishi keeps his eyes and ears open, keeps his head straight, works with his own hands and walks the talk. A summary of the Indian models of leadership is presented in Exhibit 9.1

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New Mantras in Corporate Corridors: From Ancient Roots to Global Routes

Exhibit 9.1

A Summary of Indian Models of Leadership

Model

Author

Key concept

Vijigshu

Kautilaya

Desirous of victory

(Ancient times)

(Vijaya + Ikshuk)

Nurturant Task Leadership

Sinha (1980)

Ideal leader is both nurturing and task oriented

OCTAPACE Model

Pareek (1981)

Eight Leadership values are Openness, Collaboration, Trust, Authenticity, Pro-activity, Autonomy, Confrontation & Experimentation

Karta Model

Singh & Bhandarkar (1990)

Leadership style based on the metaphor of Karta head of the joint family

Four Steps Enlightened Leadership Model

Sharma (1995)

Enlightened Leader harmonizes vision, mission & action through HOPE Higher Order Purpose of Existence and VEDA (Vision, Enlightenment, Devotion & Action)

Yin-Trinity Model

Sharma (1996)

Leader combines the

Mother Leadership

Banerjee (1998)

qualities of yin-trinity viz. Laxmi, Saraswati and Durga in his/her leadership style Self-realized leader with a long term perspective that helps sustainability and promotes values

Workship Model of based on

Chatterjee (1998)

Inner pathos to leadership Leadership (i) Discipline; (ii) Righteousness; (iii) Sacrifice; (iv) Transcendence

Wisdom Model of Leadership Contribution Model

Chakraborty (1999)

Rajrishi framework as a basis of leadership Every person is known by

Anup Singh (2000)

Towards Enlightened Leadership of Leadership Responsible Leadership Bhatta (2000)

187 his/her contribution. Leaders is in 24 hours duty and not merely 9 to 5

Corporate Rishi (Rishi as Re-see)

Sharma (2002)

CEO (Creative, Enlightened, Organic) Model

Sharma (2005)

Corporate Rishi is Matured and Self Responsible Individual. He/she has ability to re-see things in new perspectives CEO leader is Creative, Enlightened and Organic in his/her relationships

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10

THE WAY OF THE THEORY K* THE WAY OF THE THEORY K*

Is there an “Indian” theory of management, administration and leadership? In this chapter we explore an Indian way of managing through the use of theory K derived from the metaphor of Kutumbh or family. The idea of organization as Kutumbh or family is derived from the Indian concept of “vasudhev kutumbhkam” i.e. entire world is our family. In addition, theory K recognizes the “need for freedom” and “need for justice” as fundamental human requirements. It may be indicated that in general, these needs have not been widely recognized in the management literature which in the past has usually restricted itself to McClleland’s narrow view of needs in terms of achievement, affiliation and power. Before we explain the theory K, there is also a need to explore the inter-connectivity of well-known theories of management viz. theories X, Y and Z with earlier intuitive ways of expressing the similar ideas. In general, there is a tendency to use dichotomous categories of tradition and modernity in viewing the past and present. As a result, we do not see the inter-connectivity of origin of many ideas to the ‘ancient wisdom’. However, once we take the approach of continuity of the past into the present or the continuity of the tradition into modernity our perspective changes. In this perspective, modernity is not a break from the past but a flow of the past into present. Since, tradition and modernity are intertwined and inter-connected, we can * ‘Enlightened Leadership in Indian Ethos: The Way of the Theory K’, Subhash Sharma, Management & Change, Journal of IILM, New Delhi, June 1998, 2:1, pp.93-104.

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observe the “linked-continuity” or inter-connectivity of a number of management concepts and theories to the traditional concepts presented to us in simple and sublime language. For example, theories X, Y and Z have been known to the Indian mind in various forms through different metaphors. Therefore, they appear to be familiar, similar and even identical to earlier concepts. We will present a few of such metaphors subsequently. However, it may be emphasized that these ideas have been refined by the theorists for applications in modern corporate contexts. Thereby they have acquired the status of being classified as management theories. In theory K we present a similar refinement of a widely practiced concept.

FUNDAMENTAL ASSUMPTIONS OF THEORIES X, Y AND Z Much has been written about theories X, Y and Z. Here we draw from Reddin’s book because it provides at a glance the essence and the “ideological” moorings of the three theories. Accordingly the following summary of management style theories is compiled from Reddin’s, What’s wrong with Style Theories? (Reddin, 1987, p.91). Summary of Management Style Theories /CPCIGOGPV 5V[NG-G[ 5[UVGO &KOGPUKQPU

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