Human Values in Management -Indian perspective.

Akhil Kapoor Roll no:04

The basic principles of Excellence

1. A Basis for Action. How much time do you spend talking about work and actually doing the work? Make a quick tally of how many hours per week are spent in meetings which achieve little or nothing. 2. Close to the Customer. One of the great tenets to which we all think achievement this all. Are your products or services what your customer really wants? Do they do what they are supposed to do? Do you deliver them when your customer wants them?

3. Autonomy and Entrepreneurship. Do you give your employees, supervisors and managers the latitude to truly effect change, to call the shots in achieving the corporate mission? 4. Productivity through People. I would venture to guess that head count reduction is near the top of the list of cost cutting measures when times get rough. Salary freezes or rollbacks are probably not far behind. In Search of Excellence 2 times are good, how much of the benefit actually reaches those that made it happen? This is another area of endless lip service, but at the end of the day, people tend to be very expendable. In fact, in this age of extensive corporate downsizing, for those still employed the mantra may not be In Search of Excellence, but unfortunately rather In Search of Good Enough.

5. Hands-on, Value-Driven. Senior manager, when was the last time you had an extended conversation with a manufacturing operator, a retail clerk, anyone three or four levels below you on the corporate food chain? When did you talk with them about issues they are facing to meet corporate goals? How does your mission statement fare while you are trying to get quarterly earnings time?

6. Simple Form, Lean Staff. Who is using a matrix organization structure? What has the rash of corporate downsizing done to your executive ranks? they have not adjusted proportionately to the rank and file. 7. Simultaneous Loose-Tight Properties. How are the mavericks within the organization viewed? Not the troublemakers, but those committed to the corporate goals, yet unconventional in the approach to achieving them? Or better yet, do you even have any mavericks? Have you released them from their services to pursue other opportunities? So much for thinking outside the box.

Human Values in Management

THERE are many ways in which the basic human values-

Truth, Peace, Love and Non-violence-can be practised in the day-to-day conduct of business. There are different aspects of management such as marketing, finance, industrial relations, etc., but the most important aspect is "man-management." Each country has its own historical and cultural background and Indian managers should not mechanically copy practices imported from abroad but should keep in mind the India atmosfare and our national ethos. There is specific need for MBA students to infuse management practices in India with the cardinal values of Sathya, Dharma, Santhi, Prema and Ahinsa. All the values are interrelated.

Honesty in business is a form of social service

With regards to Truth, it is often said that to be truthful in business

will result in loss. This is not so. Though initially there may be some difficulty, in course of time integrity and honesty will bring their own reward. The MBA students must convince their chiefs in their respective firms how truth in accounts and audit helps to raise the image of the firm. They should be content with reasonable profit margins. Even if this policy does not pay in the beginning, in the long run it will be most rewarding. This is the way to inspire confidence. Running a business honestly must be regarded as a form of social service and spiritual sadhana. In the practice of Dharma, marketing practices should be fair to the consumers and there should be justice in the dealings with the workers. In the observance of peace, the MBA students should realise that they should not get ruffled be any kind of difficult situation. They have to maintain their calmness and try to pour oil on troubled waters. They should use the weapon of love in such situations.

Fraternal relations bring industrial harmony

Prema must express itself in the business world by the executives developing the feeling that all engaged in the business--managers, workers and others--are members of one family. They must develop fraternal feelings towards all. With mutual love and regard, industrial harmony can be achieved. As regards Ahimsa, in the context of industrial management, it has a wider social meaning than merely avoiding causing harm to others. The avoidance of pollution of the atmosphere or of natural resources like rivers is one of the ways in which an enterprise practises Ahimsa. In these different ways, a great deal of good can be done to our people and nation by business managers who adhere to basic human values and who adopt a spiritual approach to the tasks of the business world. MBA students should develop firm faith in God and carry out their duties in the businesses in which they may be employed with a sense of dedication to the business and a spirit of service to the community.