LALA LAJPATRAI COLLEGE

Topic:- Indian perspective of

business Ethics

Subject – Business Ethics

Submitted To – Prof. Linit Lewise

By : T.Y. BMS ‘B’

DECLARATION
We the students of ‘LALA LAJPAT RAI COLLEGE OF COMMERCE &
ECONOMICS’ T.Y.BMS Div ‘B’ hereby declare that we have
completed our project on ‘Indian perspective of business
Ethics’.

The information submitted is true and original to the best of our

knowledge’.

Group Members Roll No

Adesh Vanigota 891171

Angel Kothari 891205

Lavish Jain 891210

Kaivan Mehta 891206

Priyank Mehta 891174

Saunak Shah. 891162

 Acknowledgement

We sincerely thanks to Prof. Linit Lewise as she guided us

for successfully completing our project. We would like to thank my
fellow classmates who really helped us even at late nights. We
would like to thank the college staff for being so co-operative.
. Thank you Prof. Linit Lewise for giving us this project
because we came to know how does Ethics in India originated.
And lastly, it is only when one makes project that one
realizes the true power of MSWORD, from grammar checks to
replace-all. It is not simple without this software; this project
would not have been presented without Word. Thank you Mr. Bill
Gates and Microsoft Corp.
 INTRODUCTION – INDIAN MANAGEMENT

Nowadays, a remarkable change has been noticed.Management

consultants and visionary managers are getting interested and
focussing towards the ageless, wisdom oriented values and
ideologies contained in the Bhagwad Gita, the Upanishads or
the Ramayana. IIMs and other renowned institutions are
focussing to teach management based on Indian values. The
ideologies therein are attracting not only the Indian wisdom
managers but also the orientalists like Sir William Jones , Sir
Maxmuller , Sir Edwin Arnold etc. The American astronomer –
scientist Dr.Stromburg writes , “ The potential power of human
will is very great because it is part of cosmic will and re –
dramarizes our capacity for creation of good. When we pray we
are in communication with the cosmic mind in which our minds
are rooted.” This indicates that even scientists that there is
something over and above science and that we are part of the
cosmis wil i.e. part of energy which according to Indian Concepts
of Management is supreme soul.

More and more renowned organisations are trying to become

holistic, value oriented in their approach. They are focussed to
implement those values and ideals which remain eternal and are
as relevant today as they were five thousand years ago.
Nowadays, many foreigners ,renowned management consultants
and research scholars have realized the importance of Indian
philosophy and management concepts based on Indian
tradition,are doing research on these topics and accepting some
of them .there is nothing to be surprised!The sages or maharishis
of our country were quite thoughtful,wise-men who had in-depth
knowledge about management.They realized that t is only the
management based on the values that can ultimately lead to
sustainable development for a nation at the macro level.Today’s
organisations are gradually apprehending the importance of
value-based management and are quite intent to implement
those values and techniques thinking from long –term
perspective. Business consultants speak about six
sigma,TQM,Kaizen,to attain excellence.The principles to attain
excellence are always cherished and sought out even by our
forefathers although all these modern terms they did not use.

Today’s management thinkers discuss self-

actualization.According to Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Theory this is
highest order need.Tihs concept of self-realization was there in
the Indian philosophy since the very beginning.The need
hierarchy Theory ofMaslow depicts five types of needs.They are
shown in the following diagram.

Maslow’s Need Hierarchy

 Moksha Dharma

Artha Kama

The similar type of classification is there in Indian

scriptures.Indian philosophy emphasizes on four values
Artha,Kama,Dharma and Moksha.Out of these values Artha and
Kama are lower oder values and Maksha are higher order values
and ultimate objective of life is to attain Moksha orr
enlightenment and enjoy(bliss) orAnand.

Why people earn money?

They earn money to lead a happy and successful life.But

what is the situation today?All the n dividuals are struggling to
earn money but sacrificing their own happiness for sake of it.

If one is earning money sacrificing his conscience, his

moral,then he might have earned a lot of money but would turn
into a looser.He suffers from various ailments.Sleepless
nights,unhappy family life and guilty-feeling for not fulfilling the
demands of life affect his health.What is the use of that
money.one cannot enjoy?

What happen in today’s world is that ‘ego-driven’ people

sacrifice the best part of their life to raise their status in the
society and when they get it,they realise its hardly fulfilling.

Here come sthe importance of Indian management.It

teaches us how to earn money and be happy the same time.It
teaches us money is not the main criteria.It is an intermediate
point.It teaches us how to maintain a balance between our
personal and professional life.It teaches us how one is earning
money is an equally important factor.If not more,than how much
one is earning.

The Bhagwad Gita,the greatest book of Indian

management,emphasises to work for the well being of all.In that
book Lord Krishna has given the example of King Janaka who
attained perfection by doing self-less work for the benefit of all.He
is a Karmayogi.An ignorant man works for his own personal
benefits,fulfilling his own interest,whereas the enlightened soul
performs unattached work for the well-being of others.

Indian management teaches us to develop an attitude of

accepting each and everyone as an extension of our own self as
all of us are part of the supreme soul.The Bhagwad Gita calls this
equal vision or samadrti which maens seeing the same principle,
‘Brahman’ in things which are dissimilar.When an individual
identifies himself in others,he becomes empathetic towards all
and thus could become a successful manager.

Indian management always emphasises to shift the focus on

self-management.It emphasises to shift the focus from outside to
inside,to apprehend the true self of an individual:Who am I?

The British quitted India long back,but colonial hangover is still

there within us.We perceive that anything western is always good
whereas Indian is bad or not that attractive.Hence,most of the
management institutes till today are enphasising to learn the
styles of the western management instead of holistic approach to
management based on Indian ethos.

The result being, although standard of living of some people

have been improved,no perceptible iimprovement in the quality
iflife has been noticed.On the contrary a further deterioration is
noticeable in every aspect of life.More exploitation,more unethical
practices,more violence,drug and sex abuse are taking place
everywhere.The reason behind this is following western culture
blindly.

The way the American and Japanese organisations are

managing their business,an dwhich Indian companies are
following blindly is a matter of graey comcern.We should think
that what is the consequence of running the business in the
manner which leads to only external growth,and highprofit
making at the cost of inner peace,happiness and
bliss.Organisations have become dehumanised mechanical
entities.Corruption and exploitations are everywhere.Nature is
exploited.Fellow-beings are manipulated.thus although some of
the organisations are earning profit but what about the owner and
managers?thet are unhappy and living a disturbed,tormented
life.Western management focuses towards skill development and
upgradation of workers so that his productivity level improves.If
the productivity level of all the employees can be improved in
that manner,organisations would earn more profitwhich is the
ultimate motto from WM point of view.Thus employees are
treated not as human-beings but as the commodity.They are just
like cogs in the machine.Therefore,they are insecure,demotivated
and indifferent as far as overallorganisational goals are
concerned.They do not bother much about organisational
goals.They concentrate more to attain personal goals and
objectives,sometimes even at the cost of organisational goals.

The popular concept is that to earn profit,business

must be managedunethically and business organisations do not
have any obligation to fulfil social responsibility.But there are
examples where companies are earning profit,growing and at the
sametime fulfilling their responsibility to the society.they have
contributed to a great extent for social welfare.It is important to
note that if the organisations think fron long-term
prospective,they would understand how important it is to fulfil
social responsibilities,as that will attract all the stakeholders
towards the business.

At the same time all the business houses in India should

remember that while running the business on Indian soil,they
must develop their own management style based on Indian
cultural ethos.Organisations must earn profit and grow not at the
cost of others,but on the basis of co-operation,team spirit,and
service attitude.They need to be growth-oriented and prosper,but
not at the cost of internal growth and inner-turmoil!

In Indian organisations,many managers are working who are

of Indian origin.But although these so-called Indian managers are
quite knowledgeable about Maslow’s Need Hierarchy
Theory,theory X and Theory Y,Total Quality
Management,Restructuring ,six Sigma etc. i.e. all the concepts
related to western ethos;most of them are least concerned about
holistic approach of management,not aware of the concepts
based on ageless Vedas.In most of the Business
schools,curriculum or syllabus is based on western concepts and
techniques of management .Therefore, these trained students
from Business schools who become the managers afterwards, try
to follow those concepts in Indian Management which if an
organisation follow would do better from long-term perspective.If
required managers in india cann definitely combine Indian
concepts of management with some of the techniques and tools
of western management applicable in Indian culture and tradition.

Here we may add, in today’s world there is a huge search

for spiritually everywhere. Changes like liberalization
,globalization, medical revolution, privatization and consequently
blindly following western culture ,ultimateky gave birth to
stressful imbalanced life. Stress is everywhere, Too much work
pressure ,turn us into robots. We are earning a lot of money, but
ultimately what we are getting? Sleepless nights and unhappy
family life and guilty-feeling for not fulfilling all the demands of
life. Always there is inner turmoil, peace is most forever. We have
become helpless victims to our own demands, dreams and
wishes. We cannot control our thought process. Sometimes we
become angry with our own parents , with our peer – group even
with ourselves.

With the increasing trend to acquire large scale

destructive potentialities kind, the world is becoming only more
insecure. Various drastic changes are bound to take place. We
have to face those challenges boldy and move ahead. ‘where the
mind is without fear’ as the great poet Rabindranath Tagore has
written.

The youth should be trained to cultivate altruist

intentions and nurture a clear consciousness. The right kind of
education needs to be imparted which will be wisdom – oriented.
This can only be the path for global peace and we must
remember that even if we are genuinely altruistic without the
means to put into use, we remain ignorant.

Western Countries including US have to be realized that

the time has come when we need to have more spiritual power
than the power derived from other resources like latest
technologies and machines.India is having a rich and strong
cultural heritage. Application of a few of the Indian values and
philosophies will bring a transformational change in the
organisations.

EXCELLENCE OF INDIAN SOIL

I believe most of you have watched the movie ‘Lagan’ . It is all

about motivation, team spirit , and leadership. The leader Bhuvan
who developed the cricket team, did not know about western
management , did not have any idea about TQM, or ISO but he
developed the team- spirit , united all the villagers , motivated
them and ultimately attained the objective i.e. won the match
against the British.

Again ‘Chak de India’ is the story of a coach’s fight of

making his team India – by overcoming their diverse backgrounds
, by learning to use everything that life hurls on them as a secret
weapon. Its a story about honesty , sincerity and integrity. The
girls have never known the thrilling energy of being Team India ,
of giving their all to see their county’s name on a trophy. But
Kabir Khan, once a captain , now forgotten ,does .He knows what
it takes to get there and what is means to return empty handed.
As a coach of the girl’s team , this time, he wants to make sure
that it’s different .He knows there is no second chance. Despite
his past, he believes that if only the girls played as one, anything
would be possible .Kabir Khan believes that it is not we can’t win.
Its just that we have never believed we can.

Once again, consider the service of dubblewallas in

Mumbai. They do not have time about ‘ Just in Time’, ‘Customer
Delight’ ,’Customer Relationship Management’ but what kind of
service are they providing. They always reach on time to provide
food in lunch break. Whether it is nariman point, Vasai or Virar
they reach on time to provide food. This is what we mean by
quality service .They have not studied in B schools and most of
them are uneducated but they have reached the six sigma level
of quality, this an example of excellent management . They are
Indians attaining excellence in action.

Consider the milkman, or bakery boy or the sweeper,

everyday at the same time early in the morning , they are
providing us what we require at our doorstep. Once again
consider the filmmaker whose film Shwas went for the Oscar
nomination and was praised. Although language was different and
the people were understanding only through subtitle.
 Consider the actors like Aamir Khan and Amitabh
Bachhan, while acting, they do just act but they become the
particular role itself while acting and it leads to achieve the level
of excellence. Aamir Khan became Mangal Pandey in the movie ,’
Mangal Pandey’ .He internalised the role which the movie was
shot.Again there is great personnel like Gopinath .He is an Indian
who at the age of 17 is the youngest CEO in the world managing
an IT firm Global Inc.

Infosys, Aditya Birla Group, Tatas, Mittal Group are the

organisations that we have attained the level of excellence and
we know the owners are Indians. Thus excellence can be attained
if one is honest, dedicated and work with a sense of purpose.
 ROLE OF CHANAKYA

Chanakya was a shrewd person and a diplomat during the reign of

Chandragupta Maurya. He was a visionary and the most strategist
person of all time to come. He was a fluent speaker and was
known for his speech. He use to talk whatever he thought was
right and so he was also called as a “Pioneer economist of the
world”. His views are not only followed in India but are also
followed by western management researchers. He has written two
renowned books:-

1. CHANAKYA NITI.

2. KAUTILYA’S ARTHASHASTRA.

In his ‘NITISHASHTRA’ he discusses about

1. How the state should be managed?

2. How an individual should lead his life in society?

He emphasized a lot to go deep into the root of the problem and

eradicate that problem once and for all. He contributed a lot as
far as foreign policies are concerned. Many universities added
those policies in their syllabus. When there is enmity between two
states sometimes it happens that individuals from the opponent
country accused falsely and even get killed. Chanakya
emphasized to follow this practice long back in 3rd century BC. It
indicates that his principles are applicable even now. Even today
agricultural activity is considered to be the most important and
main activity for our livelihood as Chanakya mentioned long back.
“Chanakya emphasized that as we seek fragrance in flower, oil in
sesame seed, fire in wood, ghee in milk and jaggery in sugarcane,
in the same manner we should seek the spirit that is inside the
body”.
According to him people should be moral and ethical in their
behaviour. They need to be patient, merciful, righteous and
truthful.

Indian management always emphasized to look at things and

situations from macro perspective. Therefore Chanakya wrote to
leave a member for the sake of the family, a family for sake of the
village, a village for a country and like today’s individuals he
wrote to leave a country for the sake of oneself.

He wrote to respect Vedic wisdom, to manage lifestyle effective

by following shastras and not to ridicule or disdain men of
peaceful temperament. He emphasized that those who do not
follow these principles face grief in life.

He reminds individuals through his writing that a man has come

to earth alone and will go back to heaven or hell alone, and
depending on his Kama only he experiences good or bad
consequences in life. From this it may be indicated that everyone
should work thinking about the consequences although he has not
mentioned that. This is the essence of Indian ethos.

In Chanakyaniti the author depicted to get up at the right moment

fight boldly to distribute. He emphasized on being happy and
satisfied with little or nothing. He even said that the change is
going to happen in dynamic society and those who are not ready
for change will face problems.

He emphasized to collect tax but at a low rate otherwise people

would escape tax. He emphasized on self control. In Chanakyaniti
it is written that individuals having complete control over their
senses can become great leaders.

According to Chanakyaniti communication is of utmost

importance. Therefore Chanakya writes that the one who speaks
politely and pleasantly, makes no enemies. He says that the best
ornament is humbleness.

Materialistic life is void as compared to spiritual life. Individuals

should take interest in their spiritual life. This is one of the basic
principles of Indian ethos.

As mentioned in Chanakyaniti Nasti-ahankar, Samah satru. It

emphasizes that the most terrifying enemy of an individual is our
own ego.

Chanakya wrote that happiness and misery will come and go in a

cyclic order in life. Chanakya wrote that even from a nectar
poison can be taken out, one can receive highest knowledge even
from a person of low caste.

Indian Ethos
Before probing deep into Indian ethos,we should first understand
the meanind of ‘ethos’. Ethos is related to the part of the psyche
of the community. It is related to the behaviour that is normal,
spontaneous and unplanned. Sometimes when we are blindly
wearing the western clothes or following their life-style that is not
ethos. Many of us dance in their tune without internalizing it that
does not mean we follow western ethos. But when we are
imbibing something in the deepest region og our heart it becomes
a part of our ethos.

Ethos results from the lessons,beliefs,values that are there within

individuals. It results from various kinds of experiences they are
facing in their day-to-day life. Ethos is an important factor as far
as the management is concerned. Management is related to
managing people. People behave and respond according to their
ethos. If the managers in MNC’s understand the ethos of a
particular nation and manage accordingly,the result will be
tremendous with a stress-free more productive work force.

Ethos is not ethics. Ethics is based on what is right or wrong but

ethos is based on customs and traditions. In India many customs
are there which may sound unethical but that is Indian ethos. For
eg:-if one considers these customs taking dowry from the father
of the bride or sati-system are unethical but these are part of
Indian culture. In India some mergers and acquisitions have failed
because the top management has failed to understand the Indian
ethos. They could not understand the customs and traditions of
India.

India is a land of diversity. It is a multi-lingual, multi-cultural

country where since time immemorial, various sects and
communities are living together. Thus the people in India have
different cultural norms. Indian management concepts are based
on the Vedas,the Upanishads and the Bhagwad Gita which depict
the true essence of Indian ethos. One point needs to be clear that
Indian ethos is not a religion. India is a secular country that
believes in unity in diversity. Many cultures and traditions have
been merged in the indain culture and become part of it.

Principles of Indian ethos

• Who are you?

The relationship of the world to the lord:
The figure of the Fire:- just as the one fire, the world having
entered becomes corresponding to every object. Just so the one
self of all things existing appears with like form and is outside
also.

Ayam Atma Brahma- This self is Brahman

All of us are part of the one self “Param Brahma” or Supreme

Consciousness. Therefore all of us are having divine qualities like
integrity, patience, loyalty etc.

• Individual Development
Indian management always emphasis on individual development.
Human beings need to be developed although all of them are part
of supreme consiousness. As they are part of the Param Brahma
they are having immense potential to become good-like.
Everyone must take only some initiative to inculcate these
qualities. If human beings take some steps in that direction there
would not be any stress and life would be balanced.

As far as western concepts of management is concerned it is

more focused to develop only the skills of the manager. The
management’s intention is how to make him a more effective and
efficient manager so that the organization can earn more profits.
Indian concept of management is focused not merely to develop
him as a better employee but to transform him as a better human
being. Management is not only getting things done but also about
compassion and personal development. To transform an
individual in an effective worker and excellent human being his
personality, his character needs to be developed.

Indian ethos also emphasis on mutual trust, co-operation,

teamwork, living and working for others and all these can be
attained through managing oneself effectively. The individual
must be able to manage himself first before he manages and
controls others and be an effective manager. He must know
himself first his strengths and weaknesses.

• Self management and self development

Indian ethos lays much stress on self management and self
development. Self management deals with human conduct which
is voluntary and not forced by persons or circumstances.
Mahatma Gandhi said several things that destroy us. Here they
are:

“Wealth without Work

Pleasure without Convenience

Knowledge without Character

Commerce without Morality

Science without Humanity

Religion without Sacrifice

Politics without Principle”

To get rid of all these deadly means and to manage our life in an
excellent manner what we require is self management.

• Indian Ethos emphasizes on Holistic Approach

To life
Indian management points out that individuals need to have
system approach towards organization, towards life: “Aneka basin
darvkra netra”

It emphasizes that there is some kind of interconnection among

all of us, all of us are part of the whole. So there should not be
any kind of disharmony and conflict among fellow beings. We
must see ourselves in otherselves. We should look at things from
other’s perspective. We should behave in the same way we are
expecting from others.

This will generate co-operation and team spirit and consequently

positive synergy will be created which will ultimately lead to
efficiency and effectiveness.

• Seva or service Attitude

One of the managers of Wipro after returning from weekend at a
spiritual centre said “seva” should be the “mantra” in the
business organization. As he said: “The occasion was the seminar
attended by lecturers from across the world and we were taken
care of a real sense of love. Early morning the sevaks would wake
us up with bed-tea and later light a wood-fire to heat water in an
old fashioned boiler. Until all of us had our baths, one or two of
them would stay with us swapping life stories and experiences.
There were ‘sevakar’ to cook, serve food, to wash up and also to
give us spiritual counsel. The hours were long and the work was
arduous but there was an unfaltering smile on all the faces. Why?
Love for the guru explained one, if this sense of service, attitude
he can inculcate a great change would be noticed in every aspect
of our life.” Organizations can do anything and everything for the
country instead of profit orientation they should be service
oriented. They should provide best service to all their stake
holders, to all their customers- internal and external. Indian Ethos
always focuses on this service attitude

• Self sacrifice
Value oriented Indian management emphasizes on spirit of
sacrifice and renunciation; profit sharing and at the same time
fulfilling social responsibility. All the individuals must be ready to
sacrifice for the sake of others. In today’s tough competitive
scenario when western management is declaring that survival of
the fittest is only possible and when many Indian corporate are
ready to blindly follow the western principles. We the Indian are
facing tough time with too much work pressure and consequently
high level of stress.

To create an excellent organization individuals should be ever-

ready to accept their faults and not to blame others. They need to
look at things from other’s perspective. All the individuals are
inter-related being part of the Param-Brahma. Therefore in a team
effort if success doesn’t come then everyone should be ready to
be accountable for that.

• Team spirit
During Vedic era people used to perform yajna. Yajna was a ritual
where all the members of the community gathered together and
worshipped the fire to attain some designed goals. They used to
chant vedic hymns and offer various materialistic things which
they possessed and were valuable for them symbolizing;
community wealth.

In today’s scenario, in every successful organization that yajna

spirit is there which helps to generate the high team spirit and the
healthy organization culture result being tremendous profitability
and growth

Team Spirit

Healthy Working
atmosphere

Quality Service

Higher Productivity
Level

High Rate of Growth, Higher

Profitability will automatically
follow
• Present moment
Indian Ethos emphasizes to concentrate only on the present
moment. Even one second back that has taken place that is
past at this moment. Consider the acrobatics of the trapeze,
artists swinging from one bar to another. Consider the group
ballad. How do they perform so excellently, so smoothly? It is
because, fully involved, focused and engrossed at present.
They put all the hard work, effort and initiative together and
remain totally engrossed to the present. If they divert their
concentration towards the past failures of future happenings,
they would fall and might die also. Therefore one should think
only about the present moment.

Work would be just like a play to the workers without any

anxiety or stress, and then only they would be excited to do
the job. They should enjoy thoroughly while working.

• Perfection in work
Indian ethos emphasizes on excellence in work. All of us have
to work with perfection, whether we are doing a peon’s job or a
general manager’s we should do it whole heartedly. We should
be focused and give our best effort so that we can attain
perfection. At the same time we must ask ourselves – is it
beneficial to our society? If the answer is yes then definitely we
are moving forward to attain excellence.

 “Niskama Karma”; Indian value system emphasizes on

Niskama Karma.

Karmani ava adhikarstha ma phaleshu kabachana

Ma karma-phala hetwebhu ma te sangaha astuswakarmani

This verse emphasizes individuals have the right to do their

duty but never have the right on the outcomes of their actions.
 They should work for the sake of work itself. They should never
expect fruits of action. The y should not get attached to past
actions.

• SELF MOTIVATION
Indian management emphasizes that to perform the work in the best possible
manner, one need to be a self motivated person. No external motivating factor can
motivate a person for long, nothing can satisfy a man unless he himself feels in
that manner.

An individual has to motivate himself and that is possible only when he

would love his work , when there would not be any difference between who he is
and what he is doing. If one loves HR function, he should dothat , if he is
fascinated with marketing must do that only.

Work should be like worship. One should work with total devotion and firm
determination i.e. he has to love his work and perform it wholeheartedly. Work
itself should be a kind of fulfillment for him, it will bring inner happiness and
bliss.

• DIGNITY OF WORK
Dignity of work is very much important as far as Indian ethos is
concerned. No work is great or small. Management based on Indian ethos lays
stress on Sarvabhutastha ‘Atmanam Sarvabhutani chatmani’ which means to treat
all as equals.

Each work weather it is a peon’s job or General Managers job, is of equal

importance, worthy and honourable. There is nothing to be ashamed of while doing
a sweepers job or a cobblers job. What is important is to see how the sweeper and
the cobbler are performing. They are also providing good services to the society.
Imagine what would happen if the maid-servant who is coming everyday to your
flat is not coming for five days or the BMC workers who carry all the garbage in
your locality are on strike for one month!

Therefore, to become an effective organization, management must focus

on dignity.

• Ends Do Not Justify Means

Ends indicate profit making and means are the methods and processes one is
following while managing the business. Indian ethos has never said earning profit
is not permissible. Arjuna has said in Shanti Parvas, Mahabharat that poverty is a
sin. When a businessman runs the business and earns profit there is nothing wrong
in that. But while making profit he should be very cautious that he is making it
ethically, not doing injustice to any of the stakeholders, providing best quality
service to them and fulfills other social responsibilities as well. Then it would be
the highest form of management creating an atmosphere of ‘anand’ or bliss.

• Creator and Creation

Indian Ethos emphasizes that subjectivity and objectivity are of equal
importance. Creator i.e. God is subjective whom we cannot see, we cannot touch,
but we feel that He exists. Creation i.e. our body, senses, intellect etc. are
objective. Human and ethical values or qualities like courage, integrity,
foresightedness, patience, forbearance, integrity, intuition, etc. are subjective
qualities, they are intangible. Whereas the inputs or resources required for
production are tangible and objective; and can create a harmonious blending
between the two, that would be the highest form of management.

• Day To Day Life – A Balanced Life

 We, the Indians are materialistic, profit-oriented. We are interested to earn
more and more just like the individuals from other countries. But at the same time
we are spiritualistic. Indian ethos believes that there is a close inter- relation
between spiritual and material life of human beings. In Mahabharata, it is
mentioned that without profit and wealth both virtue and desire cannot be won.

Basically spiritually is a refined state of mind. It helps us to go beyond

ourselves treating everyone equally, paying proper respect to others. Meditation,
prayer are various forms of spirituality within us. Each one of us is having a
Spiritual Centre within us i.e. our inner core being the source of wisdom which
influences us to deal with others with compassions. Love, Understanding and
empathy. Reflection within our own self with a tranquil mind, helps in drawing out
solutions from within. Such inner guidance helps the wisdom manager to sort out
the problem in a creative manner.

The ‘Bhagvadgita’ also emphasis on this principle. We, Indians go to

missions or ‘ashrams’ to learn about spiritual life. We do bhajan in the trains while
commuting from Borivli to Churchgate or read scriptures, and we also think what
we should do to attract the customer. This is our culture. We are learning new
management concepts, techniques and tools and if required we are going for
downsizing or rightsizing or restructuring etc. and then wherever try to help those
people who have been sached for the sake of organization.

• Bliss (Ananda)
The concept of ‘bliss’or ananda goes beyond happiness. It means
attainment of eternal happiness. When one becomes equanimous, he accepts life’s
happiness and misery, pleasure and pain in the same manner.
Dharma(Righteousness), Artha (Wealth), Kama (Sense Pleasure) and
Moksha(freedom from bondage i.e. becoming an enlightened soul) are the four
Purushartha of life. It indicates one can earn money, enjoy all materialistic pleasure
but while making money he should be righteous and his ultimate objective should
be to attain Moksha, to reach the state of blissfulness. But what happens practically
is majority of us forget Dharma and Moksha and crave for more money and all
materialistic pleasures.

CORRUPTION AND INDIAN PHILOSOPHY

 People become corrupt because of greed (lobha) and self centeredness.

 Corruptness makes poor people suffer.

 Economy also suffers as money gets concentrated to some self centered

people.

 Indian tradition says that one should not think of ‘preyas’ or temporary
pleasures which are gained by being corrupt.

 Indian concepts like ‘ends do not justify means’, dharma, selfless work,
sattvik guna, etc helps us to overcome corruption is the Indian philosophy.

The fact is that even a corrupt person desires to have name and fame in the society.
He is interested in maintain a good public image. If any wants to maintain his
public image he should not follow unethical path. Real respect comes from within
and that comes only for those who are honest in their dealings.

Indian Culture
 Culture is “the integral sum of values which an individual , group of
individuals and the society at large concieve and practice”.

 Our culture is based on ancient scriptures like the VEDAS, the

UPANISHADS, epics like RAMAYANA, the MAHABHARATA and the
KORAN.
 Western culture is different than Indian culture.

 They believe in total independence, freedom, non-interference.

 Elders do not interfere in young ones life.

 Hence there is a great difference.

DIFFERNCE BETWEEN INDIAN AND WESTERN

CULTURE

Indian Culture Western Culture

1. Emphasis on personal Emphasis on professional

relationship. relationship

2. It believes in joint It emphasizes on nuclear

family. family.

3. A unique combination of More materialistic in its

materialism and approach.
spiritualism.

4. Balance between profit Profit maximization is the

making and social ultimate goal.
welfare.
 5. It believes in TYAGA, It believes in survival of the
team spirit, co- fittest.
operation, integrity.

A Comparative Study Of Value System

In order to understand the members of a particular society, it is required to have
some idea of their daily lives , their tradition , their beliefs , their way of looking at
the world , their value system. Values determine what is right and what is wrong
for an individual , for a group of people ,for the people living in a particular nation.
Individual’s value system decide the dos and the don’ts in their life. It forms the
foundations of their characters. Depending on their value system , in a given
situation they behave in a particular manner.

The culture of various countries differ. There may be some similarity, but they are
not the same. The values, beliefs and notions of Japan differ that of America,
china or India. An organization is a part of the society . therefore, as far as an
organization in a particular nation is concerned, its value system also differs from
another organization situated in some other country.

A comparison of the value system of Japan, china , America and India are given
below:

Japan
DEDICATED TO SERVICE:
Japanese believe in hard work being totally dedicated and thus providing best
quality products to the customers. It indicates that like Indians they treat work as
worship. They believe in kaizen i.e. continuous, small improvements.

MACRO VISION:
Japanese value system is such that they are more oriented to look at things from
macro perspective . Japanese are patriots by nature. They love their country and are
honest and dedicated towards it .therefore, when a Japanese joins an organization
he is totally dedicated and gives his best output because he knows this output will
help in nation building, will contribute in economic growth and development of
nation. Thus individual priority, goals and objectives become the second criteria
for the Japanese.

Emphasizes spiritualism:
Another characteristic of Japanese is that they are inclined towards spirituality.
They practice meditation, attend lectures on spiritualism, believe in intuition and
six sense. Thus they lead a peaceful life which enhances their productivity level.

Professional life kept away from personal life:

Japanese also believe not to carry office work at home and external problems at
home. They follow a custom. Before entering their home, they keep their shoes
outside and enter inside bare footed to indicate that external stress and strain
should be kept outside. External disturbances should not create disharmony in their
personal life.

Business ethics:
Japanese believe in business ethics. They provide products and services to the
customers and never ready to cheat them. Thus they provide service to the
community and fulfill social responsibility. They do business fairly. They earn
profit but not at the cost of quality.

Team spirit:
Japanese value system emphasizes on team spirit. In an organization or in society
team spirit needs to be developed. It creates harmony and positive synergy.
Therefore, team output becomes better compared to individual output. They
believe in joint dicision making. It means employees should be involved in the
decision making process along with management. Sometimes they might know
better than management. Therefore, joint decision making will lead to better
decision.

Holistic approach:
Japanese are ever ready to spend on the training of the employees, as they believe
that the employees will be with the organization for the long time. They have
holistic concern for employees.

Self management:
Japanese culture also give importance on self discipline and self control. The
individuals are expected to control their ego, anger, hatred, greediness and
maintain service attitude. It emphasizes more to give then to take from professional
life.

Japanese value system:

They are courteous and generous people. Japanese value system emphasizes not to
express one’s opinion directly. Japanese have 2 concepts about the opinion,

One is ‘honne’ (real opinion) and other is ‘tatemae’ (public opinion). It is flexible
in approach and emphasizes in agreeing with people around as much as possible.

Non interruptions:
Japanese also insist to avoid interrupting when someone is thinking or speaking.
They do not believe in using mobile phones in trains unless it is allowed to do so as
it disturbs the fellow passengers.

Informal relationships:
People in Japan believe in informal relationships. For example, in an organization
employees can communicate directly with higher authorities.

Long term relationships:

Japanese look at things from long term perspective. They give the best service not
only to nation but also the whole world. They provide best quality service to the
customer. They believe in continuous improvement and ever ready to work hard
with sincerity and dedication. They know due to this attitude, customers will be
loyal to them. They employees also feel that they are not mere employees, but a
part of organization and work accordingly.

America:
Materialistic:
As compared to Japan, American value system differs to great extent. American
are more materialistic in their approach as compared to Japanese. Now a days
many Americans are getting attracted towards spiritualism, because they have
realized the emptiness of mere materialism. Generally Americans are focused to
earn more and more money and enjoy all the luxuries in life. They are achievement
oriented, interested to attain challenging goals, ambitious and hard working.

Relationship based in give and take:

American culture believes in developing relationship of give and take in work life.
They regard that relationship should be mutually beneficial. They believe the
relationship to be formal in professional life.

Believe in non-interference:
Americans are not much inclined to the family. After becoming adult, individuals
can take the decision on their own without bothering about their parents.

Equity and co-operation:

They believe in equity and co-operation. They are focused in building the team
spirit to attain organization goals and objectives. But while encouraging the team
spirit, individual’s performance is also rewarded.

Generally preferred top-down approach:

As far as decision making is concerned, generally major decisions are taken at the
top and communicated at the lower level to take action.

No job security:
Americans believe that if today, an employee’s performance is good, he must be
rewarded, if tomorrow he is not required or his performance is not up to the mark
he need to be sacked. It indicates they do value job security unlike Japanese

Loyal to the profession:

Americans are more loyal not to the organization but to the profession. If they get
better opportunity they will leave the organization and join somewhere else.

China:
Chinese value system that emphasizes that people should be truthful, generous,
sincere, kind hearted and selfless by nature.

Thought counts:
One short story will help us to understand Chinese culture. Once upon a time a
man went on a long journey to visit his friend with a swan as a gift. On the way the
swan escaped and the man tried to catch it. But in his efforts he got hold of nothing
but a feather. He reached his destination and gifted his friend that feather and told
him what happened. His friend became moved by the story and his sincerity. For
him it was a priceless gift. The saying in Chinese is ‘The gift is nothing much, but
it is the thought that counts and spreads everywhere.’ In business world Chinese
people emphasizes on punctuality.

Jen and yi:

Chinese are keen to use the words, Jen and yi. Jean means love and friendship
whereas yi means righteousness. These two qualities should be there in the people.
They emphasize to maintain a life full of love, harmony and peace. Chinese culture
believes in wu wei. It means doing without forcing. It emphasizes on accepting and
harmonizing with the flow.

Emphasize on gunaxi:
Guanxi or relationship is an important Chinese business element. It helps to
minimize the risk, frustration and disappointments. It will help in insuring that
business will be successful. It will help in determining the competitive standing of
an organization in the long run. Unlike western culture, Chinese prefer to deal with
people they know and trust. Trustworthiness is a very important component in
Chinese tradition.

India:
Co-operation:
Indian philosophy instead of killer instinct and tough competition focuses more
towards co-operation. Think about Narayan Murthy, ex ceo of Infosys. He has
been having very good relationship with Azim Premji of Wipro though they were
competitors.

Family oriented, more emotional:

The value system of India is oriented towards family. Even grown ups while taking
any decision consult with seniors. Indian ethos emphasizes to respect the elders
specially the parent and teachers

Humility and respect for others:

Indian ethos emphasizes on humility and respect for others. Therefore, getting
passes Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar commented ‘Heroes are heroes forever,
you cannot really get passed them’. This in Indian value system.

Respect to others:
It focuses to show respect to others. Others means not only the fellow human
beings but objects as well.

Self management:
Indian Ethos believe that self management is the essence of management. Before
managing others effectively, a person should know how to manage himself. Then
only he can manage others effectively.

Indian Corporate Governance

Corporate governance leads to corporate excellence, it must be structured
according to the principles of Vedas, aligned with natural law.
In the Indian context, Corporate Governance can be drawn from the
following age-old ‘mulyas’ (values):
(a) Lok Sangraham — public good which means greatest possible good of all;
(b) Dhanam — creation of wealth through competence (kaushalam) and
productivity (utpadakta);
(c) Swatantra — autonomy and independence, in business decisions;
(d) Vishwastata —trusteeship, implying that management is a trustee of
stakeholders;
(e) Dharm yudh — fair battle, providing a level playing field to all and ensuring
fair competition.
(f) Vividhata — variety or innovation ensuring flexibility in approach.
It is important to be genuine in purpose. Straight forward in execution and
learn not to repeat mistakes. Corporate governance means being true to own belief
and it constantly teaches the value of understanding the stakeholders. It builds
enduring bonds with shareholders, employees, investors, depositors, borrowers,
suppliers, customers and business constituents.
 In developing countries like India, the major emphasis of Organisation of
Economic Co-operative & Development (OECD) principles of corporate
governance is on protection of shareholders’ rights, protection of stakeholders’
rights and timely and accurate disclosure on all material matters, including the
ownership and governance. Regarding the protection of stakeholders’ rights, the
OECD principles emphasize that the corporate governance framework should
assure that the rights of stakeholders that are protected by law are respected and
stakeholders have the opportunity to obtain effective redress for violation of their
rights.

In India, a small beginning was made by the Confederation of ndian Industry (CII)
followed by the professional bodies like the Institute of Company Secretaries of
India (ICSI) during the years 1996-97 to focus the attention of Indian corporate
sector on the imperative need to evolve new norms of governance to sustain and
develop Indian industry on healthy lines.
To promote and raise standards of corporate governance in respect of public
listed Indian companies (including the banks), the Kumar Mangalam Birla
Committee Report (clause 49 of the Listing Agreement) provides both mandatory
and recommendatory ways, which include board structure, processes and
disclosure on material matters. Regarding shareholders’ rights, most of the
suggestions of the committee are recommendatory in nature. While some more
efforts are required to protect the stakeholders’ rights.
The Government of India constituted Naresh Chandra Committee to look into
various aspects of Auditor-company relationship and regulating auditors. The
major aspects of terms of reference of the committee were (i) rotation of
auditors/auditing partners, restrictions on non audit fee/work, procedures for
appointment of auditors and determination of audit fees, etc. ; (ii) examine
measures required to ensure that the management and auditors actually present the
true and fair statement of the affairs of companies, such as personal certification by
directors, random scrutiny of accounts etc.; (iii) examine if the present system of
regulation of the profession of Chartered Accountants, Company Secretaries and
Cost Accountants is sufficient and has served well the concerned stakeholders,
especially the small investors and whether there is advantage in setting up an
independent regulator and (iv) examine the role of independent directors, and how
their independence and effectiveness can be ensured.
 CONCLUSION

Business ethics and corporate governance are interlinked with one another.
During a period of transition from a controlled to market driven economy, basic
fundamental and philosophical and structural changes take place. Business ethics
provides philosophical base, vision, mission of an organization, whereas corporate
governance is a shared way of corporate functioning and not just a set of rules. It
implies a wide acceptance within, of a code of governance, which is transparent
and is perceived as such. Corporate action needs to conform to letter and spirit in
which society allows corporates to function. Such a society as ours has plenty of
rules and regulations, but its adherence to the rules that decides the issue. Our
corporate bodies need to be perceived as adhering to established norms.
Corporates have to be ultimately good corporate citizens. Professionalism helps
the corporation to achieve its desired goal. It is being increasingly recognized that
being a responsible corporate citizen is important in ensuring long-term success of
a company. India’s corporate sector has a new tryst with destiny. To face the
formidable challenges of the future, the corporate sector has to be empowered with
a new vision, dynamic mission and a new mandate to follow best practices of
governance.