Month: April 2020

Ghanshyam Das Birla (10 April 1894 – 1983) was an pioneering Indian businessman and member of the Birla Family.

Ghanshyam Das Birla was born on 10 April 1894 at Pilani village in Jhunjhunu district, in the Indian state then known as Rajputana, as a member of the Maheshwari Marwari community. His father was Raja Baldevdas Birla. In 1884 A.D. Baldeo Das Birla went to Bombay in search of new avenues of trade. He established his firm Shiv Narian Baldeo Das in Bombay in 1884 and Baldeo Das Jugal Kishore in 1897 in Calcutta. The firms started business in silver, cotton, grain and other commodities. He was succeeded by 4 sons, Jugal Kishore, Rameshwar Das, Ghanshyam Das and Braj Mohan. Ghanshyam Das was the most successful of the four brothers.

Business of Birla Family

Birla inherited the family business and moved to further diversify them into other areas. Of these, at least three contemporary family business groups existing in India today can trace their ancestry to him. Of these businesses, he wanted to turn the moneylending business into manufacturing. So he left for Calcutta in Bengal Presidency, the world’s largest jute producing region. There, he began “independently as a jute broker”. In 1918, he established Birla Jute Mills, much to the consternation of established European merchants, whom the biased policies of the British government favoured other than the local Bengali merchants. He had to scale a number of obstacles as the British and Scottish merchants tried to shut his business by unethical and monopolistic methods, but he was able to persevere. When World War I resulted in supply problems throughout the British Empire, Birla’s business skyrocketed.

With an investment of ₹5 million in 1919, the Birla Brothers Limited was formed. A mill was set up in Gwalior in the same year.

In 1926, he was elected to the Central Legislative Assembly of British India. He became the founding president of Harijan Sevak Sangh founded by Mahatma Gandhi in Delhi in 1932 .

In the 1940s, he ventured into the territory of cars and established Hindustan Motors. After independence, Birla invested in tea and textiles through a series of acquisitions of erstwhile European companies. He also expanded and diversified into cement, chemicals, rayon and steel tubes. Ghanshyam Das Birla during the Quit India Movement of 1942, had conceived the idea of organising a commercial bank with Indian capital and management, and the United Commercial Bank Limited was incorporated to give shape to that idea. UCO Bank, formerly United Commercial Bank, established in 1943 in Kolkata, is one of the oldest and major commercial bank of India.

Philanthropy

The statue of Ghanshyam Das Birla at Golders Green Crematorium

Envisioning infrastructural development in his hometown, Birla founded the Birla Engineering College (rechristened as Birla Institute of Technology and Science in 1964) in Pilani and the Technological Institute of Textile & Sciences in Bhiwani among other educational institutions in 1943. Both colleges have evolved over the years to develop into one of India’s best engineering schools. Now Pilani also houses Birla Public School, a famous residential public school named after Birla’s family and a number of polytechnic colleges. The town of Pilani and the local population enjoy a highly symbiotic relationship with these institutions, thereby stepping towards realising Birla’s dream. TIT&S also evolved as the Center of Excellence in Textile based education and training. Moreover, G.D. Birla Memorial School, Ranikhet, a premier residential school has also been established in his honour by his son B.K. Birla and is today one of the best residential schools in the country and The Birla School in Kalyan, India was founded by his efforts with the collaboration of Kalyan Citizens’ Education Society (KCES).

In 1957, he was awarded India’s second highest civilian honour, the Padma Vibhushan by the Government of India.

There is a memorial to Ghanshyam Birla in Golders Green Crematorium, Hoop Lane, London. It comprises a large statue overlooking the gardens with an inscription. He died in 1983 at the age of 89.

Late GD Birla was a highly focused man with money. He could earn it, spend it, retain it and make the most useful utilization of it,” Shri Agarwala said. GD was a financial wizard. And he was a man with foresight. Shri Agarwala related an example of the initial stages of HINDALCO. The company was in collaboration with the third largest producer of aluminium in the world. “When we started, the capacity was 20,000 tonnes per annum. At the time the total production of India was only 10,000 tonnes. To start a company with such a high capacity at that time was not a simple task. Our budget was Rs. 20 Crores – a huge amount in 1956-57. GD asked us how we could utilize the funds economically and differently. We came out with a budget of Rs. 16 Crores and started operations of the plant in exactly Rs. 15.6 Crores,” he remembered and emphasized, “Money has to be valued.”

“GD would pay a lot of attention to finance. To arrange funds to the tune of Rs. 20 to Rs. 30 Crores was not a joke. There was no financial institutions, no LIC, no IDB, you could not approach foreign investors because they did not give to India, you could not borrow from the government, yet he could manage funds in such a way that no conditions were attached to it,” Shri Agarwala remembers.

Late G.D. Birla believed in grooming his own people. During those days, India had no B-Schools to do the job for him. He would personally train his people by assigning them work, directing them and making them work. “Whatever I learnt I learnt under him,” Shri Agarwala said, proudly, adding, “Today grooming being a crucial factor, we take the help of institutions. Fundamentals are the same: Focus on work, focus on financing, budget and complete the job on time. Utilize the resources available to the maximum extent,” he ended.

Bajaj Group is involved in a variety of welfare activities, which are carried out with the support of its companies and trusts. The social and welfare objectives of the Bajaj Group are being fulfilled through the many Trusts and Foundations it has established. Spending up to ₹100 million (US$1.4 million) every year.

Education

Shiksha Mandal Wardha was established in 1914 by Jamnalal Bajaj for educating the youth of India. This Mandal was a part of the national movement and received support for several national leaders including Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. It was also the first institute in India to prepare text books and conduct examinations in Hindi and Marathi at the graduate level. Currently, the Mandal runs two commerce colleges (in Wardha and Nagpur), a Science College and Agricultural College and Rural Institute and a Polytechnic at Wardha and in 2017 started its first engineering institution Bajaj institute of technology, wardha (http://bit.shikshamandal.org/). It has almost 10,000 students on its rolls. Its Science College has been adjudged as a College with Potential for Excellence by the UGC. Its Agriculture College has been rated as ‘A’ by its affiliating university and its Polytechnic has been rated as “excellent” by MSBTE.

Kamalnayan Bajaj School location at Chinchwad was established in 1976. Initially, it started off as a school providing education from Lower KG to grade 12 and in 2007 it also started running a junior college.

Dnyaneshwar Vidyapeeth was supported by Madhur Bajaj, Vice-Chairman, Bajaj Auto Ltd for its autonomous engineering school which offers a variety of engineering professional courses.

Janaki Devi Bajaj Institute of Management Studies was established in August 1997. It is a Centre of Management Studies and the Postgraduate Department of Management Education of the SNDT Women’s University. It offers a variety of full-time and part-time professional courses at Masters level and postgraduate diploma courses in management specifically for women.

Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, set up by the University of Mumbai in collaboration with the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University. With a donation from the Jamnalal Bajaj Seva Trust, was established in 1965. It was the first to start a full-time 2-year Masters Programme in Management Studies (MMS) in India. .

Bajaj Group volunteered to adopt 3 Industrial training institutes for Upgradation – ITI Mulshi, ITI Haveli and ITI Ramnager. A two-day training program was organised for all the staff of the Institutes, at a remote location

The company enabled education of eligible bright backward students with the launch of a program that would help scheduled castes and scheduled tribes students achieve academic excellence and make them at par with those who can afford coaching for top institutes.

Health

Kamalnayan Bajaj Hospital in Aurangabad was established in 1990 as a hospital and research center. Although it was relatively small when it started, it has soon grown into a very well equipped hospital with 225 beds, 60 full-time doctors and 150 staff, organ transplant center, well-equipped Cath Lab, CT Scan, MRI, Mammography & Dept of radiation oncology and so on.

The Bajaj-YCM Hospital A.R.T Center for HIV/Aids in Pimpri was established as a Public-Private Partnership between Government of India – Ministry of Health and Family Welfare – National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) to provide healthcare facilities to Aids patients.

Women empowerment

The objective of the Jankidevi Bajaj Gram Vikas Sanstha is to empower women and it has been doing so by training women in using improved technology for storage of food grains and initiating goat rearing projects owned and managed by women, emphasising the importance of family planning particularly tubectomy operations and securing loans for women members for both consumption and income generation.

IMC Ladies’ Wing Jankidevi Bajaj Puraskar for Rural Entrepreneurship, which commemorates the birth centenary of the late Smt. Jankidevi Bajaj, is an award conferred for outstanding contribution of women working for rural development

Self-reliance

The Jamnalal Bajaj Seva Trust initially assisted Sarvodaya workers and Gandhian constructive programmes. It later established the International Sarvodaya Centre in Vishwaneedam to promote agriculture, dairy development, rural development and training local women and youth for self-employment. It also funded the Jamnalar Bajaj Institute of Management Studies and undertook the maintenance of Bajajwadi at Wardha. It also has supported the Kamalnayan Bajaj Hall and Art Gallery.

The Jankidevi Bajaj Gram Vikas Sanstha and it helps the rural population develop self-reliance to do so by building family-size biogas plants, training women in using improved technology for storage of food grains and so on.

The IMC Ramkrishna Bajaj National Quality Awards was instituted in 1997 to encourage Indian Industry to be alert to the importance of quality in the context of global competitiveness. The Quality Award is presented every year to companies in manufacturing, service sector and small business company.

The Institute of Gandhian Studies, established in 1987, promotes long-term and short-term study courses on Gandhian thoughts and methodology. It also organises seminars, consultative meets for Panchayat workers, special courses for women members of the Panchayats and trade union workers.

Rural development

The trusts that work towards rural development include Jankidevi Bajaj Gram Vikas Sanstha, Jamnalal Bajaj Foundation, Jamnalal Kaniram Bajaj Trust and Jamnalal Bajaj Seva Trust. The welfare activities are carried out in collaboration with CAPART, Khadi and Village Industries Commission, NEDA, respective State Governments and beneficiaries. They are aimed at improving the living conditions of the rural population via income generation, training for self-employment, improved health and sanitation, supply of drinking water, improved agricultural and land maintenance practices such as horticulture, social forestry and reclamation of waste land. Other activities include distribution of solar-lantern and solar cookers, installation of biogas plants, deepening and widening of wells and drinking water scheme, tree plantation and kitchen gardens, lift irrigation, veterinary services like insemination, vaccination and distribution of cattle feed, watershed development and building of model villages, distribution of agricultural equipment and building a center of Child Labor Welfare.

In addition, the Bajaj Group has also undertaken several educational activities. They not only focus on mainstream education through the maintenance and running of Bal Sanskar Kendras, Balwadis and conducting study tours, but also on vocational education through tailoring classes, literacy and hobby classes, training programmes for self-employment, and so on. Jamnalal Bajaj Award was established in 1978 by the Jamnalal Bajaj Foundation.

Environment & natural resources

The Jankidevi Bajaj Gram Vikas Sanstha has engaged in water conservation projects for improving agricultural productivity, helping build family-size biogas plants, conducting vermiculture projects, and so on.

Standing on the 12th position, it is one of the few Indian brands with an ‘international’ distinction, and that of being the largest producer of scooters in the world. In the Brand Trust Report 2012, Bajaj was ranked 7th Most Trusted brand in India and in Brand Trust Report 2013 Bajaj slipped one place to the 8th position among India’s Most Trusted brands.

In 2014, Bajaj was ranked 46th among India’s most trusted brands by the Brand Trust Report 2014. The Report also listed Bajaj Pulsar, Bajaj Allianz, Bajaj Electricals and Bajaj Almond Oil among India’s most trusted brands.

Competitive Advantage

In throwing out existing data and process led theories of strategy formation, Prahalad and Hamel developed a simple model of how corporations can achieve competitive advantage. This simplification of their ideas is mine and any errors of interpretation I have introduced are mine too.

Step 1: Corporate Imagination

This is where corporate leaders visualise new markets and how to exploit them ahead of their competitors. They argued that to do this effectively, executives have to:

1. get away from their natural focus on existing markets
2. look for new product concepts
3. be prepared to challenge radically their old assumptions about pricing (this idea would recur in Prahalad’s thinking about how to create markets at the Bottom of the Pyramid)
4. lead customers by creating expectations, rather than follow them by meeting expectations

Hamel and Prahalad had little time for small scale intrapreneurial innovation. They advocated big, revolutionary changes in markets that would allow a corporation to dominate, such as:

• Adding wholly new functionality to your existing products
• Delivering your proven functionality through new products
• Using existing products to deliver functionality in new ways

To do this, they argue that an organisation must understand its ‘core competencies’ – the abilities it has to create and innovate by bringing together its skills, technologies, assets, and relationships in ways that dominate multiple markets by offering big benefits to customers in a way that competitors find hard to duplicate.

The threat of relying on core competencies, however, is two-fold. Firstly, it may cause market and product diversification into arenas where the corporation has insufficient depth of understanding or presence to be effective. This can lead to large failures. Alternatively, over-focus on core competency leads to a rigidity of thinking that is reinforced by a sense of comfortableness, and leads to a sense of complacency. Such circumstances lead to being replaced in your core markets by insurgent competitors.

Step 2: Implementation

Hamel and Prahalad’s focus on core competencies leads them to focus what they say about implementation on building up core competencies and their supporting infrastructures of assets, resources and technologies.

Step 3: Consolidate your Control of Emerging Markets

You do this through what they call ‘Expeditionary Marketing’ to understand how the parameters of feature-sets, performance, and pricing need to be balanced to penetrate, consolidate and dominate your market.

The Bottom of the Pyramid

How do you build a market among people who are too poor to buy your products? By re-thinking entirely how you deliver your products and the pricing model you use. Prahalad was able to find and research numerous case studies that show how corporations can do this successfully, to create:

• Affordability: creating offerings that dramatically change what people need to pay and how they can pay for it
• Accessibility: thinking carefully about the local context, rather than applying first-world distribution models
• Availability: getting products to where they are needed, when they are needed, in a form that makes it possible for people to buy.

Mahatma Gandhi was a unique individual. If you read up some of Gandhi’s famous quotes what will strike you is an amazing and unnatural depth in leadership styles in management of a nation’s mindset. The best demonstration of Gandhi’s leadership is his worldwide influence. American civil rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr., the Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Archbishop Belo of East Timor, and countless other leaders have been deeply influenced by Gandhi and his philosophy of non-violence. For example, in 1994, in a Gandhian spirit of forgiveness and reconciliation, Nelson Mandela reached out to his adversaries the same ones who had tortured and imprisoned him to bring an end to apartheid rule.
Gandhi’s greatest legacy is the notoriety he achieved for advocating non-violence as a means of overcoming oppression. It is this belief that guides the actions of millions of average citizens who participate in civil society movements today across the globe. And therefore he is known as leader of leaders. Some of the leadership principles Gandhi used which influenced many people are as follows –

1) Leaders Should Be Examples for Others

“A man is but the product of his thoughts what he thinks, he becomes.” – Mohandas Gandhi
Gandhi demonstrated the power of his thoughts and actions. His physical actions were a true expression of his values and principles. He ate vegetarian food and went on long fasts to purify his body and his mind, as well as a form of social protest. He practiced the Indian idea of Ahimsa, which means “to do no harm.” He believed that all living being are connected, including all races of human beings as well as animals. That’s one of the primary reasons why he practiced both vegetarianism and non-violence. For me, self discipline is about controlling your actions and your habits to align them with your thoughts and your values. “Thinking about doing good” is not good enough. You must also take action to do well.
Whenever something appealed to Gandhi, even as a boy, his first impulse had always been to try it out for himself. When he went to England, after the first few months he decided to become an English gentleman. He engaged tutors in French and proper speaking, bought expensive tailored clothes, invested in violin lessons and tried to learn the Foxtrot. But the role of the gentleman failed to meet his needs. The gap, he sensed, between his inner and outward self was widening into a chasm. After about three months Gandhi awoke abruptly from this dream of grandeur. How could changing the way he dressed, make him anything more than what he already was? To change his life he had to change his way of thinking, and that was something that went deeper than any differences in custom or culture. Better to be true to one’s self than to try and act like someone else, “If my character made a gentleman of me,” he wrote, “so much the better. Otherwise I should forgo the ambition.”
When once an obviously well off missionary came to Gandhi to get his advice on how to help the outcast people of Indian villages. Gandhi’s answer challenged the very basis of his life. “We must step down from our pedestals and live with them – not as outsiders but as one of them in every way sharing their burdens and sorrows.”This is the heart of Gandhi’s approach. He taught, above all, by personal example. He went and lived with the Harijans: and to encourage them to improve their health and sanitation, he himself became their servant. Hundreds of his followers made their homes in poor villages throughout India, living with the people, teaching and encouraging them by their own example to release themselves from the bondage of ignorance, squalor and their own superstitions.   In the course of his life he created a number of communities or ashrams so people could learn from his daily example, how to make love and non-violence the daily basis of their life. For the first fifteen years he was at Sabarmati, which he gave over to Harijan service and then chose carefully the site for Sevagram seven miles from civilization in a part of India which is unbearably hot. Most Indians had to live in this climate and that is why he preferred it for his ashram rather than a cool Himalayan hill station or a fertile tract along the Ganges.
He may have hoped for isolation but in a few years there were so many people walking to the ashram that by their feet they made the road. He received so much mail that the government was obliged to open a post office there. So many telegrams came that a telegraph office was set up. Sevagram became a throbbing bee-hive of activity where all the world could see what it means to do even the smallest daily acts in love. “You must watch my life, how I live, eat, sit, talk, behave in general, the sum total of all those in me is my religion.”
During the thirties a woman came with her son to Sevagram wanting Gandhi to tell her son to stop eating sugar. Gandhi told them to come a week later. When they came, he told the boy to stop eating sugar because it was not good for him. He then joked with the boy, gave him a hug and sent him on his way. When the mother asked why he hadn’t said that on their first visit, Gandhi smiled and said, “Last week, I too was eating sugar.”

2) Leaders Should Stand Up for What They Believe In Through Peaceful Means

“An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind.” – Mohandas Gandhi
Gandhi showed the world that you didn’t have to have a title, or authority or a military to change the world and make a difference. All you needed to do was believe in yourself, and to act according to your highest values. He demonstrated that oppressed peoples should not put up with their condition. They should stand up for their rights, but they should do it in a peaceful manner. Hate does not overcome hate. War does not overcome war. He was an example that peace can overcome hate. Interestingly, social leaders who read his teachings also implemented his peaceful strategies of protest. He inspired Martin Luther King Jr in the United States, Nelson Mandela of South Africa, Benigno Aquino of the Philippines and many other social leaders.

3) Definite of Purpose

One of the main traits that Mahatma possessed was his ‘definite of purpose’. His vision and how he was to achieve this, was the guiding light for the choices that he made. His main goal was to set India free and to fight for the rights of the repressed, through the use of non-violent means. His total commitment to this at times caused great tribulations for him and his people, but his principle that, non-violence was the correct way to accomplish the goal of freeing India was always at the fore front of everything he did.
Christ gave me the message Gandhi gave me the method. – Martin Luther King

4) Related To People

He made an effort to truly understand his people. He spoke from their point of view…from what motivated them. It has been said that, when he spoke publicly to large audiences it was like he was speaking to you individually. He did not put himself on a pedestal and segregate himself from his people. He had great empathy. He did not let his ego come between him and his people. He was approachable to his people, he connected to his masses because he loved and took a stand for them. He opened his heart to them and was able to connect to them because he was authentic and he was able to show them his vision and his belief because when he spoke he spoke from the heart.

5) Able To Transcend Adversaries

The first time Mahatma got up to speak in court, when he was working as a lawyer, he could not speak one word out loud due to fear. This caused him great humiliation. Even though he failed miserably, those failures eventually lead to him becoming one of the best public speakers of all time. There were quite a number of times Gandhi failed; each time he used the failure to improve his leadership skills and to improve himself and the task at hand. Mahatma shows us that the even the best leaders still fail and make mistakes. He also shows that the difference between good leaders and great leaders is that the great leaders acknowledge and learn from their mistakes.

6) Stop Blaming & Take Accountability

We live in a blame society. We blame the fast food chains for producing junk food that makes people obese. But we ignored the fact that people willingly subject themselves to eating such food. We blame the Internet for being a source of violence and pornography for the kids but we forget that it’s the responsibility of parents to monitor and teach their children the right values in interpreting such information. We argue that our current predicament is a result of a lack of certain resources, overlooking the fact that those resources are not necessary to improve our situation in the first place! In the midst of this blaming culture, it’s easy to possess a distorted view of the issue and fail to notice the essence of the problem, isn’t it? The problem never gets resolved. It just gets bigger. This is where I think we can learn from Gandhi. Even though he was involved in the blame game earlier part of his life, he subsequently took accountability for it. His enlightenment started from the realization that no matter how his environment changed, if his mentality, attitude and internal mettle were still the same, he would never be able to break through the chain. And when he stopped blaming, the piece of filth clogging his visibility removed itself, allowing him to see the crux of his problem, himself again.

7) “Be quick, be brief, be gone!”

Personal meetings with Gandhi were very short, generally lasting a couple of minutes. However, in those minutes people felt that Gandhi made them feel as if they were the only person in the world that Gandhi would have liked to talk at that time.
I look only to the good qualities of men. Not being faultless myself, I won’t presume to probe into the faults of others. – Mohandas Gandhi
Gandhi was not a very skilled public speaker; generally he was believed to be quite average. On the other hand, he was an exceptional listener of both the articulated and the unsaid. He seemed to be practicing “seeing with your ears.”
It is unwise to be too sure of one’s own wisdom. It is healthy to be reminded that the strongest might weaken and the wisest might err.

8) Leadership does not mean being serious and busy compromising laughter and fun “If I had no sense of humor, I would long ago have committed suicide.” – Mohandas Gandhi
Serious-at-work does not mean suppressing laughter and fun. Sometimes, when we get too serious, people fail to get our message as well as our objective. If we keep on sticking to rules all the time compromising better relationship with people will exhaust positive energy at work. Mostly, people wants to be inspired based on enthusiasm than fear; to be coached than to be drove; to look up to someone who helps to fix the breakdown than to fix the blame for the breakdown; and to have a leader that says “Let’s go!” instead of “Go!”.
A good leader makes his people love to reach their goals by having laughter and fun at work from time to time. Gandhi had this.

Management Centre for Human Values at IIM Calcutta was established in early 1990s by Prof. S. K. Chakraborty. At this center, experiential methodologies derived from modern and ancient Indian texts, aimed at giving Indian managers a psycho-philosophy rooted in the Indian context and values. According to him, “The crisis in business is spiritual. All management ideas till now have been external-directed paradigms, developing behavior and skills, not character and values. But meaning and richness must flow from mind to work, not the other way. We need a fundamental shift from the current reductionist, fragmentized, materialistic paradigm to one which recognizes relationships, consciousness and spirit as the right approach.”

Chakraborty is pioneer in putting Indian Management on firm footing through is writings and talks.

He has authored following well known books related to Indian ethos and Management:

1. Foundations of Managerial Work
2. Ethics in Management: Vedantic Perspectives
3. Management by Values: Towards Cultural Congruence
4. Values and Ethics for Organizations: Theory and Practices
5. Leadership and Power: Ethical Explorations
6. Managerial Transformation by Values: A Corporate Pilgrimage
7. Management and Ethics Omnibus
8. Applied Ethics in Management: Towards New Perspectives
9. Spirituality in Management: Means of End?
10. Leadership & Motivation: Cultural Comparisons
11. Human Values: The Tagorean Panorama
12. Human Values and Ethics: In Search of Organizational Integrity
13. Wisdom Leadership
14. Against the Tide: The Philosophical Foundations of Modern Management

Chakraborty (1991) makes a distinction between values as means and values as ends and identified 13 basic values culled out from indigenous religious Hindu and Buddhist texts as well as the works and lives of social reformers in India like Gandhi, Tagore, Vivekanand and Aurobindo.

Management by Values concept based on 13 basic values drawn from indigenous Vedantic perspective would help executives have a refined perception of human relationships, and hence, contributing to quality decision making process and management and transformation of organizations through these values.

Chakraborty (1995, 1993, 1987, 1988, 1983, and 1999) conducted many studies which are rooted in Vedantic knowledge available in Vedas and the Upanishads, which contains abstract and universalistic ideas of the cosmos and human existence. His work on ‘Guna’ theory of ‘Samkhya’ led him to propose a ‘giving model’ of motivation rather than the ‘needing models’ suggested by many Western psychologists like Maslow and McClelland. This guided by the fundamental belief that a man is born into this world with a fivefold debt, he proposed ‘wisdom based leadership’.

Chakraborty (1995) in his book “Ethics in Management: Vedantic Perspectives” provided a conceptual and empirical framework of Vedantic and allied principles applicable to the various aspects of management. The book examined the relevance of the Vedantic system in individual motivation, leadership and the transformation of the work ethics. It suggests a set of guidelines to revive holistic consciousness for ethico-moral values. It also studies the contribution of great thinkers like Rabindranath Tagore, Mahatma Gandhi, Sri Aurobindo and others in the field of different management perspectives. The author also examined the Tata leadership crisis of 1991 and the securities scam of 1991-92 and asserted that the fragmental approaches to modernize organic cultures like that of India are fraught with grave danger. If it’s basic human values are restored with renewed vigour, of which the business ashram could be a modern symbol, India would be doing good, both to herself and the world. The author concludes that the integration of western technological and managerial skills with a holistic cultural ethos and system of values should be applied in management for sustaining corporate morality.

Prof. Chakraborty reasons that Indian managers have been known to adopt value systems from nations abroad which have no depth in India. Value systems that have been imported from abroad are devoid of the philosophical basis with regards to the centuries old Indian value system.

He strongly believes and advocates the Indian values and ethics system that is deep rooted in the Indian culture and draws references from the ancient texts e.g. Bhagvad Gita.

According to Chakraborty, the guna theory provides valuable insights into three core psychological elements that define the ethical or unethical tendency of human nature. Similarly, the karma theory offers a cause and effect structure as a system that explains actions propelled by guna. The desireless action theory or the nishkam karma theory provides a psychological method towards work that can thwart unethical actions.

Chakraborty developed a model of managerial effectiveness on following seven key Indian psychophilosophical

ideas:

• The concept of self and reality
• Dis-identification
• Theory of gunas
• Theory of samsakaras
• The doctrine of karma
• Theory and method of work
• Giving model of motivation

Chakraborty (1988) in reference to ethics and values that are ensconced in Indian thought, proposed various ideas which refer to:

• The concept of self in man has to embrace the spiritual dimension beyond the physical, social and economic dimensions.
• The creative energies of human beings are derived from and rooted in the supreme creative intelligence.
• Managerial decision-making requires the interplay of both analytic and holistic faculties.

According to him. Ability for developing effective leadership style requires an understanding of the three qualities of human beings viz. sattwa (righteousness), rajas (selfishness) and tamas (laziness). He advocates that guna theory can be instrumental in better elaborating, the environmental impact of industry and the escalating negative inclinations that exist in the current day society. Prof. S.K. Chakraborty has given the following ten propositions which could form the core of future management style in India:-

1. The concept of self in man has to embrace the spiritual dimension beyond his physical, social and economic dimensions.
2. Man’s creative energies are derived from and rooted in the supreme creative Intelligence.
3. Managerial decision-making required the interplay of both analytic and holistic faculties.
4. In de-egoization rests the final resolution of managerial conflict situations.
5. The key to cooperation and team work lies ultimately in the progressive assimilation of the reality that it the same Atman which dwells in each one of us.
6. A full understanding and internalization of the “doctrine of Karma” is essential to improve the quality of managerial decision- making and style.
7. Intrinsic and enduring motivational strategies need to be based on the giving model of man.
8. Conscious modulation for effective leadership style (and management style) requires the understanding of the triune guna composition of the human being-“Sattwa”, “rajas” and “tamas”.
9. All managerial decisions are subjective in the ultimate analysis and depend in a large measure on the purity of the subjective of the decision maker.
10. There is need for proper balance and harmony in the quality of domestic life and quality of work-life. Indian philosophy expounds four Purusharth: Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha. There is great stress on the art of living and eternal values.
11. Spiritualism is the brand mark of Indian ethos of management.

Flow of management ideas should be from mind to work, not the other way. For this there is a need for stilling the mind. In his management development programs, he used to conduct ‘mind stilling exercises’ for practice of mind stilling by professional managers.

Swami Vivekananda’s teachings continue to inspire men to live their highest ideals and dedicate themselves to their highest pursuit. He was a leader who is reminisced by generations and continues to be a guiding force for leaders of the world.

Swami Vivekananda preached sacrifice, dedication, service and work with absolute commitment. He aroused the highest capabilities in a man by reminding them of their own divinity that made anything possible.

India celebrates his birthday as National Youth Day to celebrate the wisdom, teachings and mission of the soul that illumined the world with his presence. Here we look at the top leadership lessons from the timeless master.

1. Believe in Yourself

“Believe in yourself and the world will be at your feet.”

-Swami Vivekananda

A leader needs to believe in himself, his mission and what he is doing. When you have unwavering faith and belief, you find ways to accomplish things you want in your life. Difficulties, hardships and struggle make a true leader more determined to succeed.

2. Dedication to Work

“Even the greatest fool can accomplish a task if it were after his or her heart. But the intelligent ones are those who can convert every work into one that suits their taste.”

All great leaders remain deeply dedicated to their work. It doesn’t matter what you are doing, but how you are doing it that makes the ultimate difference. Great opportunities are always possible for the one who is dedicated to what he is doing.

3. Face the Problem

 “If you ever feel afraid of anything, always turn around and face it. Never think of running away.”

-Swami Vivekananda

A true leader will always have a mission and purpose in life. He will be ready to fight the world for it. You cannot solve problems by running away from them. Sooner or later, you will need to face the problems and conquer your fears. Leaders inspire people to face problems and find solutions for the benefit of all.

4. Focus on the goal

“Whatever you are doing, put your whole mind on it. If you are shooting, your mind should only be on the target. Then you will never miss. If you are learning your lessons, think only of the lesson.”

-Swami Vivekananda

The difference in quality of two men lies in their ability to concentrate. When you focus your mind, energies and work towards your goals, success is assured. Leaders who work with single pointed focus are achieve their goals and vision.

5. Motivator

“All power is within you. You can do anything and everything. Believe in that”

Leaders empower their people by believing in them, trusting them and they rise to greatness as a result. A leader instills belief in others where they can accomplish things that they never thought were possible. Swami Vivekananda preached about the infinite power that resides in each of us and how it unleashes itself to help us achieve anything we want.

6. Strong Intentions and Resolutions

“There is no impossible word in the dictionary of those who lead. No matter how big a challenge, they can be resolved with strong intentions and resolutions.”

A leader always has great intentions, big vision and the resolution to try until he succeeds. When you are working on a noble mission with the right intentions, you may face hurdles, but you will make it in the end. Important is not to lose focus, change directions or give up.

Great efforts always lead to great results. Every problem is a challenge that can be overcome when you have a strong resolve.

7. Stay Disciplined

“Leader is one who knows how to obey commands before knowing how to command. Learn obedience first.”

-Swami Vivekananda

A leader knows the rules of the game. He is the one who sets the benchmark for others to follow. Leaders take the responsibility, they walk the talk and never ask their teams to do what they wouldnt do themselves. A leader sets high expectations, standards and ideas for others to follow.

To sum up Swami Vivekananda’s life and selfless leadership, he once said “This life is short, the vanities of the world are transient, but they alone live who live for others, the rest are more dead than alive.”

This incident took place in 1895. The place was London. Swami Vivekananda was to give a public lecture and he had come to London with Swami Saradananda. When it was time to stand up and speak, Swami Vivekananda suddenly announced that Swami Saradananda would deliver the speech instead of him. Though taken by surprise, Saradananda did an excellent job that day, and thereafter too. Swami Vivekananda had realized that all Saradananda needed was a little push to bolster his self-confidence. This incident in isolation may not say much, but we need to see it from the perspective of the leadership and management style of Swami Vivekananda.

Swamiji was not only an inspirational leader, but was also a very pragmatic one. He not only believed in ‘Servant-based Leadership’ but constantly endeavored to empower all those around him. In dealing with his brother-disciples and followers, he evoked what is today popularly known in the management world as the ‘Pygmalion Effect’. Management expert J. Sterling Livingston describes it as the effect of enabling subordinates to excel in response to the leader’s expectation of them. Swami Vivekananda had a high expectation of his followers and he communicated that to them clearly, thus eliciting a high level of performance. Leaders empower their followers by believing in them, and they rise to greatness as a result. The leaders make themselves larger by enlarging others. The leader constantly aims at moving people around him from dependence to independence to the state of inter-dependence. Swami Vivekananda had chosen ’empower and facilitate’ philosophy over ‘command and control’ long before modern management realized its potential. Trust plays an important part in the process. If the leader does not trust his followers, he will use control instead of empowerment. Swami Vivekananda while exhorting his disciples to the highest levels of work had the fullest trust in them and their abilities. His urge to motivate people around him to aspire for higher levels of performance can be seen from this letter of his to his direct disciple Swami Shuddhananda in 1897. He writes, “…Lastly, you must remember i expect more from my children than from my brethren (his brother disciples). I want each one of my children to be a hundred times greater than i could ever be. Every one of you must be a giant – must, this is my word. Obedience, readiness, and love for the cause – if you have these three, nothing can hold you back.”

This also shows Swamiji’s interpersonal skills and the ability to motivate and develop people. One can even say that Swamiji’s call, “Arise, Awake and stop not till the goal is reached” was nothing but an attempt to empower people en-masse. J Carla Nortcutt had once said, “The goal of many leaders is to get people to think more highly of the leader. The goal of a great leader is to help people to think more highly of themselves.” This is perhaps the best description of Swami Vivekananda, the greatest leader of our times.

Managerial Functions and Bhagavad Gita

1. Planning
2. Organizing
3. Staffing
4. Directing
5. Controlling

Planning

Planning is the basic function of every organization. Formulate strategies to achieve them.

Bhagavad Gita guide for developing managerial efficiency and effectiveness to achieve the desired results.

Organising

The process of defining and grouping the activities of the enterprise. Bhagavad Gita turns human beings weaknesses into strengths and shares the responsibilities among the people.

Staffing

The selection and training of individual for specific job functions. In Bhagavad Gita selecting right set of individuals in the team. Selecting the right managers who motivate to group members.

Directing

Directing includes framework an effective work climate and creating opportunity for motivation, supervising, scheduling and discipline.

When Arjun reached the battle field he lost his courage to fight when he saw his young and old relatives as his opponents and feeling that he will have to kill them. He resisted to fight and dropped his arms. That time Lord Krishna directed him and said that you should focus on your goal.

Controlling

Controlling means the power to control how something is managed or done.

Controlling an army of 1.53 million soldiers and warriors to action against a bigger army was not an easy task. The 1.53 million soliders were divided in 7 divisions led by a commander each further controlled by a supreme commander.

Lessons from Bhagavad Gita

1. Stick on A Goal

Fix a goal and achieve them.

2. Utilization of Available Resources

Proper utilization of scare resources effectively.

3. Attitudes towards the Work

To develop the visionary perspective in the work we do.

4. Work Commitment

A popular verse of the Gita advises detachment from the fruits or results of actions performed in the course of one’s duty. Detach yourself from the end rewards and concentrate on the work itself. Being dedicated work has to mean working for the sake of work, generating excellence for its own sake.

5. Work Results

The Gita explains the theory of “detachment” from the extrinsic rewards of work:

• If the result of sincere effort is a success, the entire credit should not be appropriated by the man of action alone.
• If the result of sincere effort is a failure, then the entire blame does not accrue to the man of action

6. Motivation

Motivation plays a critical role in achieving goals and business objectives.

Lord Krishna said: you have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of action. Never consider yourself the cause of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty.

After listening and followed by leaders order Arjun recovered and decided to fight in the war against his enemies. This is the outcomes of Krishna’s motivation to

Arjun.

7. Work Culture

An effective work culture is about active and rigorous efforts in pursuit of given or chosen tasks. Sri Krishna elaborates on two types of work culture daivi sampat or divine work culture and asuri sampat or demonic work culture.

Daivi work culture- Daivi work culture involves fearlessness, self-control, sacrifice, straight forwardness.

Asuri work culture- Asuri work culture involves egoism, personal desires, and improper performance.

Crate Daivi sampat work culture to become a world class enterprise to tap the potential avenues.

8. Surrender to the Supreme

Lord Krishna asked Arjuna to surrender him to lord; you should not have doubts on the existence of the lord. Look for the bigger and harmonious picture, put yourself egos aside. Spirituality leads to social harmony and realize ultimate destiny of human beings as a result self-assessment and self-determination.

9. Power of Science and Wisdom

Gita says “Science can be understood by our senses i.e. mouth speaks and understands various issues through eyes, ears and other senses. Wisdom will create inner feeling (intuition), it will make power of your intentions very strong, which can be transformed into introspection, after series of inner understanding if your mind says yes it becomes intentions”. Intentions starts with inner feelings then transform into intuitions and travel as introspection and ably supported by wisdom becomes an action plan and your expressions and through science it becomes success formula.

10. Steadiness of Mind

Krishna tells in the midst of the battlefield that one should practice steadiness of mind him by yoga. Life is like

Mahabharata wherein have battle being fought daily in the mind. Lesson: With steadiness of mind one can calm the emotions and increase his/her Viveka or Buddhi with vichikshana.

11. Surrender to the Supreme

Lord Krishna asked Arjuna to surrender him to lord, you should not have doubts on the existence of the lord. Look for the bigger and harmonious picture, put yourself egos aside. Spirituality leads to social harmony and realize ultimate destiny of human beings as a result self-assessment and self-determination.

12. In Action to Action

Krishna’s response to the despondency of Arjuna on the battlefield wad that “This is not the behavior of a great warrior” Individuals and organizations are straggling to move ahead with different obstacles. Intent towards action not on its fruits.

13. Intensions Are Your Expressions

Gita says “your intentions should be clear, practical and achievable and should differentiate you from others. Power of intention is the success mantra for attaining any desired task.

14. Anger Management

Lord Krishna Said, desire for sense objects comes from attachment to them, and anger comes from unfulfilled desires” Modern psychoanalysis revealed that anger is a manifestation of repressed and suppressed desires. The purpose of life, our responsibilities, our goals and most importantly, peaceful co-existence with fellow human beings.

15. Transformational Leadership

Transformational leaders (HR managers) exhibit charisma, encourage followers to do their own way and treat followers differently but equitably based on follower need. Today’s HR managers and consultants can benefit from the philosophy of Bhagavad-Gita, which can serve as a guide in HRM. Mere reflection of western HRM approaches may not be appropriate in the Indian (Asian) context due to differences in the cultural environment. Many new recent HRM approaches will continue to emerge, however the Bhagavad-Gita has remained and will remain to be applicable and continue to contribute to HRM for many centuries to come.

Arthashastra, the treatise on Economic Administration was written by Kautilya in the 4th century before Christ. It consists of 15 chapter, 380 Shlokas and 4968 Sutras. In all probability, this treatise is the first ever book written on Practice of Management. It is essentially on the art of governance and has an instructional tone.

Kautilya wrote this treatise for his swamy (the king) Chandragupta Maurya and stated in its preface that it has been written as a guide for “those who govern”. Kautilya was interested in establishment and operation of the machinery through which the king preserves the integrity and solidarity of the State and generates power.

It is astonishing to observe that several concepts of present day management theories have been explicitly explained by Kautilya in his work. As in the present day management, the importance of vision, mission and motivation was captured in Arthashastra. Kautilya advise his swamy to rule through Prabhu Shakti (vision), Mantra Shakti (mission) and Utsah Sahkti (motivation). Kautilya’s concept of the objectives of a king seem to be virtually adopted by Peter Drucker in his book, Managing for Results. Drucker proposed Economic Performance as corporate objective and highlighted the constituents of Economic Performance as:

• Making present business effective;
• Identifying the potential and realizing it; and
• Making it a different business for a different future.

Kautilya reminds his swamy that his objectives for his rule are:

• Acquire power; (Making present business effective)
• Consolidate what has been acquired; (Making present business effective)
• Expand what has been acquired; (Identify potential and realize it)
• Enjoy what has been acquired. (Making it a different business for a different future)

Kautilya is aware that for efficient running of the State, elaborate machinery has to be established. He is equally clear on the organizational aspects, human dimensions of an organization as well as the leadership requirement of an organization.

On the organizational aspects, Kautilya evolves an elaborate hierarchy under the king. The king appoints Amatya, the Prime Minister. Amatya operates the day-to-day machinery of the State through a council of officials consisting of Mantris, the Ministers, Senapati, the warlord or the Defence Minister, Purohit, the Chief Justice and Yuvaraj, the Heir Apparent or identified successor to the throne. Kautilya weaves a design of a tall hierarchy for governance going down to the level of village through his concept of Mandalas. Gram Panchayats and Panchayati Raj set up that was adopted by the Government of India can be considered as a logical derivative of Kautilya’s attempt to bring administration to the lowest appropriate level in the machinery of State.

It is indeed interesting to note that Kautilya, having woven an elaborate organization, moves to set up policies and procedures i.e. business processes. Arthashashtra has detailed policies for the society, individual industries, labor and employment, calamities and control of vices. At this stage, he shows the depth of his knowledge of the major element of effective and efficient implementation of business processes, namely, the human aspect of management. He observes that the State, as an organization, is a social organization with economic aim. Here again, Peter Drucker and Kautilya go hand in hand as Drucker defines an organization as having ‘social dimension and economic objective’. Kautilya at this stage, reminds his Swamy that sound knowledge of complex human nature is essential in effective, efficient and honest running of the State machinery. He warns of two undesirable attitudes of human nature, Pramada, meaning excess and Alasya, meaning inactivity, to be watched for and avoided. This is where, according to Kautilya, the leadership counts.

The essence of leadership, he stresses, lies in its acceptance by the subjects. He therefore, advises the Swamy never to forget the two pillars of the art of governance: Nyay, the justice and Dharma, the ethics. He also decries autocratic behavior as a leader is visible and people follow the leader. Hence he advises the Swamy to introspect to identify his atma doshas, i.e. deficiencies to improve or develop himself. He further advises his Swamy to study deficiencies of his cabinet members and take steps to improve upon them. He states that Mantris could be incompetent, Senapati could be over ambitious, Purohit may not consider the present day practices or traditions while enacting laws or justice, which might lead to injustice. As regards Yuvaraj, he advises specific training to prepare him for the eventual succession. He states that the Yuvaraj should be trained in three specific areas: Arthashastra (economic administration), Nitishastra (foreign affairs) and Dandaniti (political science).

Kautilya seems to have given a lot of thought to human resource development for the government machinery. He is specific about the qualities Mantris must possess. He writes about these qualities as qualifying standards for appointment as a Mantri. These qualities are: Drudhachitta (power of concentration), Shilavan (character), Pragna (thinking capability), Vangmi (communication skills) and Daksha (observation / vigilance). In addition, he highlights the competencies that a Mantri must possess. These competencies are the same as the competencies advocated by the management gurus of the present times, namely, Knowledge, Skills and Attitude.

Kautilya’s knowledge about human behavior is really astounding. He advises his Swamy about six emotional devils which he should avoid and ensure that his cabinet members also avoid. He makes it amply clear that times six emotional devils do not allow appropriate decision making in any operation. The emotional devils identified by Kautilya are: Kama (lust), Krodha (anger), Lobha (greed), Mana (vanity), Mada (haughtiness) and Harsh (overjoy).

Having looked at the key areas of an efficient and effective organization, Kautilya looks at external realities that the government machinery would face. He starts systematically studying what he calls ‘the essentials’ of an organized State. He identifies the essentials as the territory of the kingdom, the population of the kingdom, the organization through which the kingdom is being run and last but not the least, the unity within the kingdom. According to Kautilya, the essentials of the State should be taken care of through ‘constituents of the State’ identified by him. These constituents are: Swamy (King), Amatya (Prime Minister), Janapada (populated territory), Durga (fort), Ksha (treasury), Bala (force / army) and Mitra (ally). His choice of Mitra as a constituent of the State is interesting. He thinks of a network of allies to fortify a kingdom. Mitra is a king who would come to the support of Swamy, if Swamy’s kingdom is attacked by another king. It will also be the duty of the Swamy to extend all help if the Mitra is attacked by another king. In today’s world of globalization, the same concept is applied when corporates form alliances to fortify their territories from external dangers such as cheap imports and the entry of strong competitors.

At this stage, Kautilya refers to diplomacy as an important element in Nitishastra (foreign affairs). His clarity of thought is evident from the identification off six attributes of diplomacy. The attributes he talks about are: intelligence, Memory, Cleverness of Speech, Knowledge of Politics, Morals and Readiness to Provide resources. Though he is not shy of launching an attack as an external strategy, he also advises the use of diplomacy as a useful strategy to be explored showing his pragmatic approach to the external realities. He identifies the external threats as the superiority of strengths of other kingdoms as well as ambitions of other kingdoms. If one replaces the word ‘kingdom’ with ‘corporate’, Kautilya’s advice makes sense in today’s corporate turf battles.

The origin of management in the organized way can be traced as back as the origin of human beings. They earned their livelihood by hunting that was carried out in groups. Later possession of land mass became important hence there a rose conflict between the groups. Local conflicts were resolved by power using primitive weapon system. Management practices were undertaken in a scientific way early 18th century when industrial revolution took place. World War I saw a marked development in evolution of management concepts. In India management practices were in existence in Ramayana and Mahabharata periods. People were administered by the state and their needs fulfilled. The king was considered to be the master. Proper executive, judicial, and state affairs were managed in a very disciplined way. Every individual was morally responsible to the master (king/ruler) for the task assigned to him. Chanakya was a pioneer in evolving principles of economics and warfare in particular and efficient administration of the state in general. Various systems evolved in those days can be seen even today. Water supply system to Aurangabad introduced by King Aurangazeb is even visible today. Management of education, eradication of social evils and various religious systems are evidence of existence of proper management. Management as a field of study was considered early 20th century. Management principles like delegation of authority, empowerment, leadership, scalar chain, unity of command and motivation were clearly demonstrated in Roman Umpire and their ability to organize can be seen from its expansion. Shivaji demonstrated above principles in 17th century.

People have displayed tremendous amount of ability and skill in planning, organising, and directing people as to what is to be done, how it is to be done and anticipating future plans. They also evolved various models of controlling the planned work being executed properly. Various wars have been fought where use of human resources, heavy weapon system, its procurement and use and shifting it to various theatres of war based on threat perceptions are the examples of management. Great war of Mahabharata between Pandavas and Kauravas is an example of managing power, confllict situations, human resource training and development and an art of generalship had been practiced in the most scientific manner. Egyptian piramids, Great Wall of China are the tangible examples where hundreds of thousand of people were involved in construction activity over a protracted period of time. Every individual had a chain of command. He knew as to what is to be done, how it is to be done and the time frame within which it is to be

completed. These examples indicate that organizations have been in exixtence for thousands of years and management was being practiced ever since. However, in the past several years, the management has undergone systematic investigation, acquired common body of knowledge, formulated various models to deal with various phenomenon like handling conflict or managing stress and thus became a formal discipline for study. Two landmarks are most important in the Management study. One, publication of classical economic doctrines by Adam Smith in 1776 tittled “Wealth of Nations” in which Smith has argued that the economic advantages the organizations and societies would gain from the concepts are: 1) division of labour that promoted 2) skill development. 3) specialised task allotment. 4) time measurement in relation to the quantum of work performed. Smith concluded that, division of work would benefit in higher quality of work and higher productivity. Two. Indudtrisl revolution of eighteenth century, advent of machine power and subsequent development of infrastructural facilities of rail road transportation, communication network, formation of corporations worldwide promoted requirement of people having increased manegerial skills and formalised management practices, which gave birth to the formal theories of management in early 1900s. The concept of management was not clear till about mid of 20th century. There was a contrast between the thinkers. However, Classical approach of management which propogated Scientific Management and General Administrative Theory was a fabulous development. This followed an intensive research work undertaken by Elton Mayo which is known as Howthrone studies. It was followed by more recent concepts of Operatons Research, process management, systems approach, total quality management and last but not the least the contingency approach. In this chapter let us study various theories as the management progressed.

Management is not new to India. The present perception that Management was introduced by the Westerners is wrong. Management has been described and displayed long back in our epics. Ramayana, Mahabharata and Bhagavad Gita are the greatest contributions to the Indian Management. Few examples from these epics are Lord Rama‟s team building to win over Ravana, Sugreeva making alliance with Rama to get back his kingdom, Lord Krishna‟s preaching Arjuna to be detached while performing duties, etc. As we all know, the irst quality any manager should have is “one must try to manage oneself”. Bhagavad Gita gives the best way to make you perfect. Gita also enlightens us on almost everything that is there in Western Management Thought like – vision, leadership, motivation, excellence in work, achieving goals, giving work meaning, decision-making and planning. But unlike the Western thoughts which are materialistic, Gita‟s thoughts are more at human thinking level. Coming to Ramayana, Lord Rama in Ramayana clariies Vibhishana‟s doubt by saying, strength lies in the clear vision and cause for the ight, but not on the number of soldiers. This clearly states the importance of having vision. He also enlists the weapons – knowledge, strategy, intelligence, skill, commitment and restraint of ego, which help you win the battle. This list gives the importance of strategy and human-resource management for performing any activity. HBR‟s statement which is in line with Lord Rama‟s saying is “you need not analyze and complicate things”. The examples quoted are just a sample of many such available in the great epic. Mahabharata, one of the longest epic in the world also taught us some beautiful lessons of management like beneits of networking, logistics, proper organization, etc. All these are clearly depicted by the way Pandavas had managed to assemble a large army of seven divisions even though they were not in power for 13 years and were also living in exile in the forest for 12 years. The logistics and arrangements were so perfect that today‟s modern military still follows the basic principles laid down by the managers of Mahabharata war.

Be it business or human activity, the act of bringing people together, popularly known as ‘management’, is broadly defined by five functions—Planning, Organizing, Leading, Organizing, and Coordinating.

Management books and journals may appear to be an en vogue trend. However, the actuality of the same finds its roots in eras that epically existed ages ago. Seers like Tulsidas and Valmiki through Ramayana brought sure-shot management lessons to fore for all and sundry in the contemporary entrepreneurial era.

1. Provide a concrete vision to followers

Like Rama, it is important for all the employers to set and share vision with the followers. This would enable motivation in them to perform because there would be clarity of goals. Even Rama shared vision of bringing Sita back home and for the same he delegated various responsibilities; he sent some as search parties and asked some others to work on the bridge construction.

2. Believe in the ability of subordinates to achieve an aim and inspire them to do so

Against the sophisticated army of Ravana that had vanquished many kings and celebrated a past of defeating devtas, Rama led a multitude of aboriginal tribes which could not be called anything more than a rag-tag army. Even after the constant mocking and jeering, Rama instilled confidence and sustained faith in his troops against the seemingly impossible-to-defeat demonic fleet of Ravana. A leader’s trust in his team is paramount.

3. Treat all people equally

Unlike many princes of that time, Rama mingled with everyone alike regardless of the prevalent norms of lower and upper strata. The untouchability issue never touched him and this helped him strike associations among fishermen and tribal folks as well; this brings us to a very important learner tip: Equality results in loyalty.

4. Stand courageously in the face of great adversity

Following Sita’s kidnap, Rama wandered penniless in the forest. Ramayana speaks of pretty vivid details of Rama’s sadness in Sita’s absence. However, this did not stop him from forging ties with Sugriv and others even in the face of a dilemma when the enemy was unknown.

5. Stand for morality but do not engage in judgmental posturing

Well known for his moral code, Rama endeavored to stand forth for the values he projected. But nowhere in Ramayana, was he depicted as a blind puritan who only wanted his code of conduct in place and rest all be banished. No! Rama was a person of resolve. He chose to suspend judgment at all times. His value systems were different even from his father; Rama had one wife while many other kings including his own father had several. A leader who gives way to creativity as an open field to his team mates is revered more as ‘suspending judgements’ is still the way to go!

6. Consult subordinates on important matters and allow them to give their opinions freely

When Vibhishan ratted out on Ravana, Rama vowed to protect him. He consulted his army chiefs and many suggested Rama that a demon is not to be trusted especially when he is the brother to the culprit. Instead of chiding or rebuking their ideas, Rama neutralized their incredulity and convinced them in his favor. This brings out a very important lesson as everybody felt heard. He empowered his subordinates. Reducing the power differential between an employer and an employee can work wonders.

7. Follow a code of ethics and be ready to sacrifice to follow it

Underpinning the Utopic way of life, Rama chose ethical decision making process in all areas of his life. Many-a-leader build credibility first with sacrifice first to resort to unethical means later. The generation that fought for the nation’s independence degenerated into wheelers and dealers after acquisition of power. The political leaders now continue to speak of their glorious ancestral past while seeking votes. Under the surface of that vote appeal, they always seek to hoodwink the multitude in the name of past sacrifices. Rama never did so. The overconfident Ravana on day one was disarmed by Rama’s chivalry but he was allowed to return safely to his citadel unharmed because Rama believed that an unarmed individual must not be attacked.