Management lessons from Indian scriptures (1).pptx

Quality

1. Management lessons from Indian scriptures Dr. Rajendrasing Pardeshi Ph.D. ,MBA ,UGC –NET 9762573384

2. Introduction Indian heritage goes back thousands of years. Although it is difficult to arrive at a firm figure it is a fair estimate to say that our scriptures go back to between 3000 and 5000 BC or thereabouts. A study of our ancient Indian scripture that includes the Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, Ramayana and Mahabharata besides Manusmriti and Arthashashtra reveals a veritable treasure trove. This treasure includes the finest guidelines into the way man is expected to behave towards his family, his society and his colleagues.

3. In today’s modern times the world moves guided by modern managerial precepts at every step. Irrespective of whether the subject concerns finances and banking or the corporate sector, the production industry or the military and agriculture or the vast engineering field or the health services, management is what guides them all. In recent times we have seen how poor managerial practices have brought about chaos all over the world. This essay is an attempt to delve into our rich heritage and try to find out likely solutions in the Vedic and other scriptures to problems that confront modern man in the discharge of his or her managerial functions.

4. Grooming the Manager A few lines from the Atharva Veda are pertinent. “O King! Take care of the welfare and growth of all your people Then you will grow as the sun grows And shines at dawn and after its rise” Here, the Chief Executive is compared with the sun. He should have no fear. He should be persistent in his efforts towards his assigned goal which is basically dedicated to the growth of all those that have been placed in his care.

5. Yajur Veda In another example the Yajur Veda exhorts one to “continue to put in one’s best efforts for 100 years or whole lifetime with detachment from its results”.

6. Bhagvad Gita Lord Krishna in Bhagvad Gita also enlightens us on managerial techniques to be followed in order to succeed in not only leading a good life but also in overcoming all conflicts and tensions and above all in achieving the task one has set out to achieve.

7. Attaining Self Growth Peter Drucker , the modern day management guru, way back in 1974 stated that anyone in the chain has to ask himself who he was, what his strengths were and where he belonged as well as how he needed to work and what his contribution was to be. This basically concerns the task of managing oneself and goes back to the Bhagwad Gita where Lord Krishna says: “The senses are said to be superior to the body, The mind is superior to the senses and Intellect is superior to the mind and That which is superior to the intellect is He (Atman)”. In order to understand one-self a manager will have to cultivate his thoughts. He will need to seek knowledge so that he is able to make decisions that are well informed.

8. 1. Each Soul is a potential God A human being has a soul, a spark of the Divine. The divine resides in the heart of a person. The Divine means perfection in knowledge, wisdom and power. Therefore a human being has immense potential power or energy for self — development. Thus human efforts can achieve even an apparently impossible goal and convert the impossible into a reality. The partnership of   God and Man can bring about extraordinary or miraculous results; only if man chooses willingly to collaborate with God and actively participates in the affairs of the society by right action under his guidance and grace. He can bring about not only personal development, harmony, happiness but also prosperity of his own organization and the society without injustice to others.

9. 2. Holistic Approach Holistic approach in Management  is based on spiritual principle of unity, oneness, non-dual or Advaita concept. Under this principle of unity, the universe in an  undivided whole  where each and every particle is connected with every other particle. Thus, entire Humanity is ONE. Such an integrated human personality of self-developed manager and worker can assure best and competent management of any enterprise, involving collective works and efforts. It will achieve perfection or excellence in whatever sector you work. This is the ideal of Indian ethos :   ‘ Atmano Mokshartham Jagat Hitya Cha.’   (For gaining perfection in individual life, as well as for the welfare of the world.). This is the message for all managers and workers given by the Indian ethos for management.

10. 3. Equal Importance to Subjectivity / Objectivity Indian ethos for management distinguishes between subject and object. Subject is subtle and intangible. Object is concrete and tangible or visible. We have the concept of the third eye, the eye of wisdom. It can see even that which the normal two eyes cannot. It can see the intangible i.e. invisible. Human and ethical values or qualities such as courage, vision, social awareness, fearlessness, integrity, pure and clear mind, truth, etc. are subjective, subtle and intangible concepts. These subjective or subtle qualities are as important as money, materials, machines, information or data as well as human skills. Inner resources of human beings are more powerful than external resources.

11. Continued…. Creator is subjective. Creation is objective.  Insight i.e.,  creator is more important than  Outsight i.e.,  creation. Our body, senses, intellect, mind,etc ., are objective, seen, tangible. But our soul  atman  is unseen, intangible, subtlest and subjective. Hence, wisdom manager/ worker is much more important and valuable than knowledge manager/ worker. Therefore, manager must develop his third eye, ‘ Jnana Chakhu ’ , the eye of Vision intution , insight, foresight and such other divine qualities or values. This is the essence of Indian ethos for management.

12. 4. Karma Yoga It is yoga of selfless service to others. Karma Yoga is all about identifying your priorities and trying to achieve them. Also , a person should have accountability i.e. he should always hold only himself responsible for whatever goes right or wrong. This brings about the union of human being with the Divine.

13. Continued…. Gita says that do your duty without ego and without calculations of gain or loss. One should believe in Nishkama Karma i.e. fruits of work should not be thought of while performing the duty. The memorable words of Gita are “To work only you have the right and you have no right to the fruits of work”. However, this does not mean that one should work day and night and the returns that he gets should be almost negligible. What the Gita tries to say is that let not the fruits of action motivate you as they might just divert your attention from work. When you are doing a job, put your heart and soul in to it. One has no control over the future hence never waste your present in useless dreams of future hopes and fears of present actions.

14. Why Do I Work? 1) For my own salvation and personal growth. 2) For the good of the world. The inner joy of doing something gives the doer a sense of achievement and also helps him in respecting himself more than he used to. Money is important but running behind money all the time leads to tension, stress and total loss of peace. Self-motivation can assure self-development. When work is performed without passion, hatred, arrogance and desire we have individual development and social good. Indians always had two great truths of successful, harmonious and happy life: Divinity of life can be used through self-development for personal growth and also for social welfare. I cannot cheat you and nature without cheating myself. Working for harmony and peace results in a sense of fulfillment. It is becoming clear that a chapter, which had a Western beginning in business management, will have to have an Indian ending. Karma Yoga is not just meant for the common man but also for leaders and managers who if act responsibly will in turn influence the behavior of a number of people.

15. Karma Yoga thus is a good pathway for: Self-purification and Self-development. Individual growth and welfare. Collective growth and welfare. Minimum play of passion, jealousy, hatred. Team spirit and Teamwork. Autonomous management, minimum control and supervision. Manager acts as a Mentor. Self-motivation. Perfection. All round happiness and prosperity. Skills and values united. Conflicts resolved by integration.

16. 5. Yogah Karmasu Kaushalam Yoga means excellence at work. Seek to perform your assigned duty or work in an excellent manner. Kaushalam denotes doing work with devotion and without attachment i.e. without being a work-a- holic .   Such detatched attitude enhances its values and improves the concentration and skill of the worker. You work with smartness, determination and ability. Your head, heart and soul co-operate with your hands. You do not hanker over the fruits of action. You have no anticipation of reward, or personal gain. You become a tool of God to perform the work. Any work carried out with full concentration, dedication and with all abilities that a person has, becomes valuable and the person also becomes valuable to others as well as to society. In   total quality management(TQM)  Karma Yoga and Yogah Karmasu Kaushalam provide valuable contributions. Under this slogan we have one hundred percent concentration coming from within. The extrinsic incentives  e.g.,  money, other perks, etc. play a very minor role as motivators.

17. 6. Co-Operation Healthy competition is a powerful motivator for excellence and success, especially business success. The idea of cut-throat competition is founded on the concept of ‘struggle for existence’ and survival of the fittest . Indian ethos says that for human beings the royal road is co-operation as a powerful motive for team work. We are human beings having mind and power of discrimination. The Gita says : “ By co — operation and mutual help all shall achieve the highest human welfare.” Unity is strength. Even in the holistic approach, we stress the co-operation integration, synthesis and team — spirit for extraordinary performance, for enduring harmony and peace, because in our hearts chamber is living the pure conciousness of the Divine,  i.e., Purnatman .  Peaceful co- excistence , harmony, not struggle is the rule. Indian insight endorses this in the management of any enterprise.