New Age Management: Philosophy from Ancient India

V. Srinivasan

Description

Though management as a practice is very old, as a subject it has evolved in a big way only in the last fifty years. Today, there are a number of management gurus who have extensively studied this subject and evolved a number of theories relating to it. However, we do not find many ancient books that have codified thoughts pertaining to management. The Thirukural is an exception, despite being two thousand years old. Considered the Tamil Veda, the Thirukural is a treatise on the art of living. Its eternal and universal appeal lies in its secular character, clarity of thought, depth of understanding and penetrating insights into the fundamentals of human thought and behaviour. In this book, the author gives examples from his varied global experiences and explains how he has drawn inspiration from the Thirukural to deal with everyday business situations. In what is a fascinating analysis, the author also shows how the thoughts of contemporary management gurus compare with the timeless wisdom contained in the Thirukural. The book is an indispensable guide for managers, corporate executives, entrepreneurs, students of management and those who aspire to be leaders.

Sujets

• Gestion et management
• managers
• Entrepreneurship
• Corporate bond
• Tamil
• Economics
• Business
• Practice
• India
• Management
• Tamoul

Informations

• Publié par: Roli Books
• Date de parution: 01 octobre 2006
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9789351940142
• Langue: English

Extrait

About the Book
Though management as a practice is very old, as a subject it has evolved in a big way only in the last fifty years. Today, there are a number of management gurus who have extensively studied this subject and evolved a number of theories relating to it. However, we do not find many ancient books that have codified thoughts pertaining to management. The Thirukural is an exception, despite being two thousand years old. Considered the Tamil Veda, the Thirukural is a treatise on the art of living. Its eternal and universal appeal lies in its secular character, clarity of thought, depth of understanding and penetrating insights into the fundamentals of human thought and behaviour. In this book, the author gives examples from his varied global experiences and explains how he has drawn inspiration from the Thirukural to deal with everyday business situations. In what is a fascinating analysis, the author also shows how the thoughts of contemporary management gurus compare with the timeless wisdom contained in the Thirukural. The book is an indispensable guide for managers, corporate executives, entrepreneurs, students of management and those who aspire to be leaders.
About the Author
V. Srinivasan is the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of 3i Infotech Ltd. Within a span of just six years, he has turned 3i infotech into a global technology company with 2500 employees in forty countries across five continents. Having travelled widely around the world, he has a deep understanding of global business issues. He has also been on the board of several companies. Srinivasan combines a comprehensive mix of academic qualifications and professional experience. He is a graduate in mathematics from Madras University and secured the first rank in the university. Apart from being a rank holder in the chartered accountancy examination, he is also a qualified cost accountant and a company secretary. He has also attended the executive development programme at the Kellogg School of Management in Chicago, US, meant for aspiring top executives.

ROLI BOOKS
This digital edition published in 2014
First published in 2006 by The Lotus Collection An Imprint of Roli Books Pvt. Ltd M-75, Greater Kailash- II Market New Delhi 110 048 Phone: ++91 (011) 40682000 Email: [e-mail] Website: www.rolibooks.com
Copyright © V. Srinivasan 2006
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Cover design: Nitisha Mehta
eISBN: 978-93-5194-014-2
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NEW AGE MANAGEMENT PHILOSOPHY from ANCIENT INDIAN WISDOM
CONTENTS

Acknowledgements
Preface
Foreword
Introduction
The Thirukural and I
Applying the Thirukural Today
MANAGEMENT
Overview
Planning
Planning a venture: Aspects considered essential
Planning as contemplated in the Thirukural
Deliberation before action
Judgement of strength
Choosing the appropriate time
Judgement of place
Organising
Choosing the right people
Chief executive officer (CEO)
Chief operating officer (COO) and vice presidents (ministers)
Sales executives (ambassadors)
Selection of people for other positions
Conduct of Affairs
Key aspects
Supplementary aspects relating to conduct of affairs
Control
Management information system
The service of intelligence
LEADERSHIP
Overview
Personality Traits of a Leader
Qualifications of a leader (prince)
Learning and listening
Understanding
Abstention from sloth
Self-control
Ability to handle defeat
Abstaining from anger
Communication Skills
Eloquence
Inferring body language
Judging one’s audience
Credibility
Consistency raises credibility
Trust – hard-won but easily lost
Living the values
Truthfulness
Mercy earns loyalty
Reinforcing Important Kurals
References
Acknowledgements

I dedicate this book to my father N. Venkatraman, chartered accountant, with whom I worked for the first three years of my career as a chartered accountant. He taught me the following extremely valuable management and leadership mantras, which help me even today: Do not come back saying that the door is locked. Doors will open only if you persistently knock at them. Try to pull an elephant even by tying a hair to its tail. If you succeed you will get the elephant. If you fail what you lose is the hair. Nothing is impossible. Everything will be possible within the four rules of Sama, Dhana, Bheda and Danda in that order . These Sanskrit words refer to: Sama – Peaceful and soft approach. Dhana – Giving some gift or benefit. Bheda – Being firm. Danda – Using the stick. Further, in the commercial world, it will be possible to find solutions to most problems with Sama and Dhana only. Give and take. You can never take and give.
I thank my mother Alamelu Venkatraman for moulding my initial years and my wife Mythili Srinivasan for all her support (including in the preparation of this book), encouragement and understanding.
I thank N. Vaghul, chairman of ICICI Bank and K.V. Kamath, managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) of ICICI Bank, who helped shape my thoughts and are instrumental in my reaching the position I have today.
Most of the English translations of the kurals in this book have been taken from the English translation by V.V.S. Aiyar. My sincere thanks also to the publishers of that book, Sri Ramakrishna Tapovana.
I thank M. B. Battliwala, who helped a great deal in bringing out this book. I also thank Shashi Bhagnari, Ajay Pillai, Vijayalakshmi Seshadri, M.S. Seshadri and my sons Kaushik and Arvind, who helped me in preparing this book.
I would also like to thank my editors, Amit Agarwal and Nivedita Mishra, for their work on the book.
Preface

A s a young boy I read a short story which left a deep impact on me at that time, even though I did not understand its full significance. The story was about a Pauranika (a person who gives religious discourses), who was considered to be an expert with regard to discourses on the Bhagavatha. He approached the king of Benaras, which was then considered to be the highest seat of learning, and told him that while he had given discourses in several courts, he had one desire left, that of giving a discourse in the Benaras king’s court. The king was very pleased, but got down from his throne and, with folded hands, told him how it would be a great honour for him to listen to him but could the Pauranika please read the Bhagavatha once more before starting his discourse? The Pauranika was angry but as his anger would be of little avail in the presence of the king, he had no option but to go back and read the epic once again. As he did so, he found deeper meanings in the various passages. His anger evaporated as he realised that the king had good reason to make the suggestion that he did. After completing his reading he once again approached the king with the same request, only to be told by the king to read the epic once more before starting his discourse. Dejected, he came back home and plunged into reading the Bhagavatha once again. As he delved deep into it, he found that he was getting gradually transformed. His sense of ego left him and the desire to display his prowess before the king also disappeared. He read and re-read the book many times. Realising that the Pauranika was not going to return, the king rushed to his home, prostrated himself, and requested the Pauranika to begin the discourse as he had at last found a worthy teacher.
I was introduced to the Thirukural at the very young age of seven. I was staying with my maternal uncle and used to accompany him in the evenings to the house of a Tamil scholar who was an authority on the Thirukural. His exposition of several of the kurals inspired me to read and understand the text in its entirety. As a young boy it was possible for me to grasp only the superficial meaning of the book, but that was adequate enough for me to regulate my conduct in a meaningful way. As I persisted in my learning process, I found that the very same kural which conveyed a particular meaning to me as a young boy seemed to shed an entirely different light as I grew up. When I was barely fourteen, I remember asking my teacher why the Thirukural dealt with only three aspects of life, that is, virtue , wealth creation and enjoyment of life, and excluded the fourth aspect – that of achieving enlightenment. I did not get a very satisfactory answer at that time. It was only when I turned sixty that I realised that every one of these kural s dealt with the aspect of enlightenment and in view of this, a separate treatment of the subject was redundant.
The limited success I have been able to achieve in my life and career is largely influenced by the teachings of Valluvar. I made a genuine and deliberate attempt to apply the teachings of this great saint both in my life and career. Therefore, on receiving a request from Srinivasan to write a preface to his book on management philosophy as embodied in the Thirukural , I found myself in sync with his thought process. I read his book with considerable interest, given my familiarity with the subject, and was delighted with the way in which he was able to organise and summarise the various teachings of the great saint and articulate their relevance in the current context. I particularly enjoyed his comparison of the kingdom with the