Ethics and Values

We do not necessarily need a degree from Harvard to realize the difference between right and wrong. The Moral Compass within us is capable of telling us if we are on the right path.

Human values form the inner core of our personalities. These keep nudging us to be good human beings.

If ‘Values’ are the cause, ‘Ethics’ are the effect. If our value system is in place, our outward behaviour and conduct shall be ethical. Same is true of organizations, where the underlying culture determines the response of its key managers to tough business situations.

A company which believes in human values would handle a separation differently. When ramping down a business, good performers could get helped to secure career opportunities elsewhere. A star performer who has made up her mind to leave would get treated with great respect, thereby making her a valuable brand ambassador for the company.

In the Mahabharata, this is how Yudhishtira responds to queries by Yaksha:

Yaksha:

Which enemy of man cannot be conquered?

                  What is man’s persistent frailty?

                  Which man can be called moral?

Yudhishtira:

Anger is the unconquered enemy of man.

                  Greed is the persistent frailty.

                  That man is moral who seeks the good of all.

Values and ethics happen to be a crucial component of our Spiritual Quotient.

(Source: The Mahabharata of Vyasa, Transcreation by P Lal)

(Excerpt from my book ‘Surviving in the Corporate Jungle’, which covers more than hundred topics of interest to managers of all hues, shapes and sizes)

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Designations

Designations are not important in cases where the external exposure of the employee is minimal. They form the psychological part of an employee’s compensation package.

For those whose role demands an external exposure, a higher sounding designation would improve the canvas of opportunities, enabling a faster realization of the company’s goals.

For employees who have outlived their core utility in companies which believe in firing people only when there is a disaster of a nuclear nature, an improvement in designation would be an invaluable tool in the company’s Human Resources arsenal.

(Excerpt from my book ‘Surviving in the Corporate Jungle’, which covers more than hundred topics of interest to managers of all hues, shapes and sizes)

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Ten of my favourite ‘not-quite-duet’ songs

Dustedoff

Sometime back, blog reader Anup remarked that some songs had a major singer not really doing much singing. Duets, he pointed out, where one singer does almost all the singing, while the other one just does a supportive ‘la-la-la-la’, or something along those lines. Anup suggested I compile a song list of duets like that. Of what I call ‘technically duets’: not songs in which both singers play an equal part in making the song what it is, but in which the ratio is somewhat skewed.

Then, only about a week after Anup made this suggestion, yet another blog reader, Bhagwan Thavrani, sent me an e-mail with pretty much the same suggestion. He was rather more precise: songs in which one singer only hummed, while the other did the singing.

Two readers, both requesting songs of the same basic type? I decided I had to take up the…

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Conflicts, Resolving

An executive fighting his boss

– when he feels the top dog is wrong – is a good sign.

Executives fighting between themselves in the boss’ presence is also the sure sign of a healthy work culture.

Seniors airing their difference of opinion or berating their colleagues is an unhealthy sign.

We all remember the fable of a monkey which mediated between two warring cats and gobbled up the entire piece of cheese at hand.

(Excerpt from my book ‘Surviving in the Corporate Jungle’)

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P.G. Wodehouse reading list: the Blandings stories

Residents of Plumsville, whether of the existing kind or the aspiring kind, would cherish this instructive post on the Blandings saga. Anyone who follows this shall never get lost in the sunlit valleys of the delightful world left behind for us by P G Wodehouse.

Plumtopia

Lord Emsworth breathed heavily. He had not supposed that in these degenerate days a family like this existed. The sister copped Angus McAllister on the shin with stones, the brother bit Constance in the leg . . . It was like listening to some grand saga of the exploits of heroes and demigods.

‘Lord Emsworth and the Girl Friend’

(Blandings Castle)

This piece is the third in a series of guides for readers wanting to discover the joys of P.G. Wodehouse — from the popular Jeeves and Wooster stories, and the Blandings series, to the wider world of Wodehouse ‘hidden gems’. Previous instalments in the series offered:

• an overview of Wodehouse’s work, with suggestions for new readers, and
• a reading list for the Bertie and Jeeves stories.

A reading list for the Blandings saga is offered below, followed by notes on the series.

A Blandings Reading List

• Something…

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Complacency

This is a malaise every workplace is stricken with. You may have a set of intelligent, obedient and relevant people working for you. But it is quite likely that half of them would have fallen into the trap of complacency. They would have become critical of the company/department, would be working in a comfort zone, and would be displaying a singular lack of initiative. They would no longer have the shine in their eyes and would surely not be operating on all four cylinders.

Your Human Resources honchos would be neglecting this lot at the company’s long-term peril. An antidote package could comprise a sustained program of employee engagement, elaborate mentorship, job rotation, sponsorships for advanced educational courses (either online or in the distance mode), and recreational breaks. Simply spicing up their work life would also help.

At the individual level, keep watching for signs of falling into the trap of complacency. Analyse, introspect, and then speak to your seniors the moment you notice the zeal gone. Or, become a rolling stone and gather no moss!

(Excerpt from my book ‘Surviving in the Corporate Jungle’)

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The element of Wisdom in Management: A seminar at Pondicherry

When it comes to achieving the heights of Corporate Excellence, the element of Wisdom plays a crucial role. Look at any organization which enjoys a strong brand equity and one is apt to discover the wiser ways in which it conducts its operations. Its initiatives lead to a sustainable growth of the business, giving back to society in ways which are imaginative as well as pragmatic. The common thread running through all such initiatives is that of the element of Wisdom, one of the four pillars of Integral Management, the three other pillars being Perfection, Harmony and Strength/Power.

Sri Aurobindo Center for Advanced Research (SACAR) recently organized a one day seminar on the topic of ‘The Element of Wisdom in Management’. The event was a part of a series of seminars organized by SACAR over the past two years as a part of its endeavour to explore the relevance of some key spiritual tenets to the realm of management.

Wisdom in Organizations

A talk by yours truly covered the diverse ways in which Wisdom manifests itself in strategic as well as in tactical decision-making by organizations. It quoted real life examples of business houses using Wisdom in such managerial functions as Marketing, Finance, HR, and the like. Business houses like Tatas, Nestle India, HCL, Infosys and Wipro were covered.

Wisdom in managing People and Production

Mr. K. Nagaraja Kumar, Head-Marketing, L&T Corporate Technical, Chennai, explained the elements of Wisdom which can come in handy to managers responsible for handling people and production. With the help of light-hearted illustrations, he conveyed some profound messages to the participants. He presented a case study wherein a detailed road map was used to turn around the fortunes of an ailing manufacturing unit by engaging meaningfully with relevant stakeholders.

Balancing Intelligence and Intuition

Dr. Narendra Joshi, Principal, Agnel Technical College, Mumbai, highlighted the necessity of balancing intelligence and intuition in the realm of Product Life Cycle Management. He cited the examples of companies like Sony, Xerox, Matsushita and Nestle which introduced innovative products which were much ahead of their times. Analytical tools like Teboul’s model, Kano’s model and the Fritz approach were quoted by him. So was the necessity for a quiet mind for reaping the benefits of one’s intuitive powers.

The Age of the Spiritual Manager

Dr Ananda Reddy, Director, SACAR, spoke of the fact that Wisdom is far above and beyond the realm of the thinking mind. It is about understanding and effectively using the underlying algorithms which open up the vast vistas of miraculous knowledge and infinite possibilities for managements to decide long-term business strategies and frame policies which ensure profitable as well as sustainable operations. He shared his perception that the age of the Spiritual Manager is already upon us and management professionals would do well to equip themselves with spiritual tools to succeed in their career and life objectives.

The Wisdom of Human Values

Prof G P Rao, a doyen in the field of management education, spoke of SPANDAN, a NGO founded by him, which espouses the Wisdom of running business enterprises based on human values and ethics.

Empirical evidence of Integral Management

Prof Kisholoy Gupta, Acharya Institute of Business Management, Bangalore, presented the empirical results of an insightful study done by him to gauge the perception and reality of the Four Pillars of Integral Management – Perfection, Harmony, Strength and Wisdom – by practicing HR seniors in the Indian industry. The results showed that there is already some awareness of the constituents of Integral Management, though the nomenclature arouses a curiosity and a desire amongst management practitioners to understand and adopt this new paradigm in their day-to-day working.

Wisdom at the personal level

What does Wisdom mean to a practicing manager? Mr Ganesh Babu, Founder & CEO, Winning Minds Solutions, Puducherry, came up with a heart-warming presentation on the dimensions and utility of Wisdom in the mundane life of a working manager. The talk explored different dimensions of Wisdom in all spheres of one’s life – professional, social as well as personal.

Leaders with equanimity

Dr. Debabrata Sahani, Surgeon, Optholmologist, Bhuvaneshwar, touched upon the importance of an inner connection for business leaders. Wise are those who enjoy a tranquility and calmness within themselves. Their decision-making is based on balanced, well-considered and holistic view of the facts of the case. They do not manage crises in business with knee-jerk reactions. They deal with people according to their nature and with occurrences in the business environment according to their force and the truth or hard reality they represent. Impartial they are. Detached they are. Compassionate they happen to be, but never at the cost of their innate wisdom and truth.

Wisdom for an Indian citizenMr Hariharan Subramaniam, Director, Indian Institute of Governance, Chennai, touched upon the Wisdom of not only connecting to one’s inner self, but also the need for an Indian to contribute towards restoration of the old glory of her country. India has a special role to play in the comity of nations and the need of the hour is to train value-based politicians and administrators who would steer the country in the decades to come. He spoke of the vision of kick-starting his dream project, the Indian Institute of Governance, which would serve this purpose. His opinion was that one’s wisdom was directly proportional to one’s inner growth.

The seminar was well attended by practicing managers, management academicians and research scholars. Its conduct marked another milestone in SACAR’s efforts to propagate the concept of Integral Management, the Four Pillars of which happen to be Perfection, Harmony, Power and Wisdom.

The Age of the Spiritual Manager is already upon us. The time has come for management professionals to consider and adopt Integral Management – an Indian paradigm to understand and refine our managerial processes.

(Related Posts:

https://ashokbhatia.wordpress.com/2015/03/17/an-inner-approach-to-leadership-and-management-note-on-a-seminar

https://ashokbhatia.wordpress.com/2015/10/06/managerial-perfection-notes-from-a-seminar-at-pondicherry-india

https://ashokbhatia.wordpress.com/2016/03/26/harmony-in-management-a-seminar-at-pondicherry-india

https://ashokbhatia.wordpress.com/2016/08/30/power-in-management-a-seminar-at-puducherry-india)

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