The paper discusses in detail the guidelines for valuebased management as elicited from the Valmiki Ramayana, an epic scripture of India. The guidelines are discussed under the various aspects of valuebased management namely, organization philosophy, valuebased leadership, organization culture, stakeholder policies and valuebased decision making. The paper shows the timeless relevance of the Indian scripture for providing guidelines for valuebased management even in the current times.
Business
organizations can play an important role in the growth, development and welfare
of the society. According to the late J R D Tata, the doyen of Indian Industry,
`industrial enterprise whether in the private or public sector can do much within
their means to improve the conditions of life of the surrounding population, relieve
distress where it exists, help find work of the unemployed and extend a helping
hand to those who need it'.
However,
according to Clinard, with the growth of business and a concomitant growth in
its power to do social good, it has been ironically found out that, business,
instead of developing its ability to do social good has rather developed a potential
for social harm. This is illustrated in the large number of violations of law
and ethical codes by business organizations. Thus again Tata has stated `while
in our business or professional lives, while integrity, respect for the law, and
fair dealings continue to be praised and propagated, resort to tax evasion, black
money operations, illegal practices and corruption are becoming a normal part
of Indian life'.
Steiner
and Steiner criticize business for abusing its power, for profiteering in its
self interest at the expense of society and for not meeting the demands of society.
The lack of ethics and social responsibility in business can be directly traced
to the deterioration in the moral, ethical and human values in business. As Tata
opines, `it is in the monetary (economic) sector that the decline in ethical value
has been most marked'. |
