INDIAN ETHOS AND VALUESDDE (January 2004 Examination)

Unit – IQuestion1. Define work ethos. How does organizational values and norms influence

work ethos?Ans. Ethical decisions serve as the primary basis for good corporate governance.What is required for this is not a theoretical analysis of how ethical decisions are made in corporate organizations but a road map providing guidance towards such ethical decision-makingTaking decisions in a corporate organization is a critical performance factor for a modern manager. More so, when such decision must appear, prima facie, as a ‘correct’ decision in the light of a strategic perspective. Managers confront ethical situations everyday, although seldom are the problems identified for them as ethical or moral Corporate organizations pose major problems for anyone who tries to apply moral standards to business activities.Values are one thing and Ethics are completely another. Values are socially acceptable rules of behavior. Ethics are absolute concepts of good or bad, acceptable or otherwise. For example Mahatma Gandhi said, “Most inhuman of Economic Laws is to buy cheap and sell dear”. This is ethics. Unless one ends up hoarding and falsely manipulating the market to buy unfairly cheap and sell unfairly dear, the issue of values does not arise. Within normal, socially acceptable business practices, it may be a sign of good values to make a normal profit in transaction. But still, it does remain unethical to make opportunistic profit from the inelasticity of the need of the buyer or the seller.Yourdictionary.com defines “Ethics” as, “Study of the general nature of morals and of the specific moral choices to be made by a person; moral philosophy.” Thus, ethics, especially corporate ethics, is a study of philosophy and not management.

The term ethics refer to rules and principles that define right and wrong conduct. Many decisions that mangers take require them to consider who may be affected-in terms of the results as well as process.

There are four different views of ethics i.e. Utilitarian view of ethics, Right view of ethics, Theory of justice vie of ethics, and Integrative social contrasts theory.

Utilitarian view of ethics says that ethical decisions are made solely on the basis of the outcomes or consequences. Utilitarian theory uses a quantitative method for making ethical decisions by looking at how to provide the greatest good for the greatest number. Utilitarianism encourages efficiency and productivity and is consistent with the goal of profit maximization.. However, it results in biased allocations of resources, especially when some of those affected by the decision lack representation or a voice in the decision.

Another ethical perspective is the rights view of ethics, which is concern with respecting an protecting individual liberties and privileges such as rights to privacy, freedom of conscience, free speech, life and safety. The positive side of right perspective is that it protects individuals’ basic rights, but it has a negative side for organizations. It can present obstacles to high productivity and efficiency by creating a work climate that is more concerned with protecting individual rights than with getting the job done.

The next view is the theory of justice view of Ethics. Under this Approach, Managers are to impose and enforce rule fairly and impartially and do so by following all legal rules and regulations. The managers would be using the theory o justice perspective by deceiving to

provide the same rate of salary to individuals who are similar in their level of skills, performance or responsibility and not basing that decision on arbitrary differences such are Gender, personality, race or personal favorite. Using standard of Justice also has pluses and minuses. It protects the interest of those stakeholders who may be under represented or lack power, but it can encourage a sense of entitlement that might make employees reduce risk taking, innovation and productivity.

The final ethics perspective, the integrative social contrast theory, proposes that ethical decision should be based on empirical (what is) and normative (what should be) factors. This view of ethics is based on the integration of “contracts” : the general social contracts that allows business to operate and defines the acceptable ground rules, and a more specific contracts among members of a community that address acceptable ways of behaving. This views of business ethics differ from the other three in that it suggest that managers need to look at existing ethical norms in industries and companies in order to determine what constitute right and wrong decisions and actions.

Most business people follow the utilitarian approach because it is consistence with business goals as efficiency, productivity and profits.

Ethics are necessary for business to ensure individual right, social justice and communal harmony.

Capitalism is still a going concern but surely every thinking individual will have already questioned its rapacious destruction of the environment and of the individual by generating and fulfilling an endless amount of desires. Capitalism is purely dominated by the profit motive. This is an amoral motive, which allows you to throw people out, to swallow smaller companies, to send your toxic waste into Third World countries, to patent nature's bounty, to overprice your product, to destroy the environment, and so on.As spiritual masters and teachers have also emphasized, we cannot afford to live like this any more. The futile chase after material possessions has reduced us to nervous wrecks, rubbish our values and self-esteem and destroyed relationships. Human society has never been in so much turmoil as in the present moment, and although all of it cannot be attributed to economics, much of it is. We need a system that uses the best of capitalism without the dangers of it. We need capitalism's free enterprise and communism's noble ends.So here's what. Substitute the profit motive with the service motive. What this means, in effect, is that we still do what we want to do, but we do it to serve society and not to make money. I have noticed time and again that no one works as hard as sevaks do. The efficient and orderly functioning of ashrams is a testimony to the power of the service motive.

Ques 2 “The need for TQM is becoming more important day – by – day”. Discuss the statement.

Ans. There’s an adage from the ‘Total Quality’ movement: “You can only improve that which you can measure.” And Buddha has said, “We become what we think.” Together, they mean that measures can focus what we think about in business, and where we can improve.When we focus on spiritual-based measures of a “bottom line,” we are more likely to stay uplifted in our vision. We are more likely to see beyond the profit motive, beyond even the self-interest of the organisation, and beyond even the welfare of society in material terms. We are likely to become embodiments of Spirit who can see what is eternally important and make sure

the time and energy we spend at work truly contributes to what’s ultimately important, day-to-day.

So ask yourself: Based on my spiritual context and its corresponding view of the purpose of business, what are the measures and activities that I can put into place in my work organisation that are aligned with this view?

Indian Insight: Only one power i.e. God is perfect. Hence whenever you seek perfection in your work, you seek God in your work.Since nothing is perfect, there is always a better way of doing things, better quality of goods etc. Hence TQM is an ongoing process.What you do is not important as all work is equal. God does not discriminate between any work. It is the dedication with what you do is important.

Unit - II

Ques 3 What is stress management? What is the significance of Human Values in stress management?

ANS. Stress is a dynamic condition in which an individual is confronted with an opportunity, constrains or demand related to what he or she desires and for which the outcome is perceived to be both uncertain an important.More typically, stress is associated with constrains and demand. The former prevent one from doing what one desire. The latter refers to the loss of something desired.Two conditions are necessary for potential stress to become actual stress. There must be uncertainty over the outcome and the outcome must be important. The stress is highest for individuals who perceive that they are uncertain as to whether they will win or lose and lowest for individuals who think that winning or losing is a certainty. But importance is also critical. If winning or losing is an unimportant outcome, there is no stress.

Three sets of factor (a) environmental, (b) organizational and (c) individual – that act as potential cause of stress. Whether they become actual stress depends on individual differences such as job experience and personality when stress is experienced an individual, its symptoms can surface as physiological, psychological and behavioral outcomes.

(a) Environmental factors – just as environmental uncertainty influences the design of anOrganization’s structure, it also changes in the business cycle create economicUncertainties. when company B is contractive, for example, people become increasingly anxious about their job security.Similarly political instability is a cause of stress. Political crisis like civil war, riots, hostilities with neighboring countries etc can lead to stress.Technology uncertainties are a third type of environmental factor that can cause stress. New innovations can make employee’s skills and experience obsolete in a very short time, computers, robotics, automation and similar forms of technology innovations are a threat to many people and cause them stress.

(b) Organizational factors – organizational factors that cause stress include task, role, andInterpersonal demands, organizational structure and organizational leadership.

Task demands are factors related to a person’s job. They include the design of individual’s job (autonomy task variety, degree of automation), working conditions and physical work layout.

Role demands relate to pressures placed on a person as a function of the particular role he or she plays in the organization. Role conflicts create expectations that may be hard to reconcile or satisfy. Role overload is experienced when the employee is expected to do more than time permits.

Interpersonal demands are pressures created by other employees, lack of social support from colleagues and poor interpersonal relationships can cause considerable stress, especially among employees with a high social needs.

Organizational structure defines the level of differentiation in the organization, the degree of rules and regulation and where decisions are made. Excessive rules and lack of participation in decisions that might be potential sources of stress.

Organizational leadership represents the managerial style of the organization’s senior managers. One chief executive officer creates a cultural characterized by tension, fear and anxiety. They establish unrealistic pressures to perform in the short run, impose excessively tight controls, and routinely fire employees for poor – performance.

(c) Individual factors - Primarily, these factors are family issues, personal economic;Problems and inherent personality characteristics. People hold family and personal relationships dear. Marital difficulties, the Breaking off of a relationship and discipline troubles with children are examples of Relationship problems hat create stress for employees. Economic problems created by individuals overextending their financialResources is another set of personal troubles that can create stress for employeesAnd distract their attention from their work. Some people may have an inherent tendency to accentuate negative aspect of the world in general i.e. stress symptoms expressed on the job may actually Originate in the person’s personality. Stress Management strategy can be sub – divided into Individual Approaches and organizational approaches.

Individual Approaches: Individual Approaches that have proven effective included timeManagement techniques, increasing physical exercises, relaxation techniques and expanding the social support network.The well-organized employee can often accomplish twice as much as the person who is only organized. So an understanding and utilization of time management principles can help individuals better cope with tensions created by Job demands.Non-competitive physical exercise such as aerobics, walking, jogging, swimming and riding a bicycle has long been recommended as a way to deal with excessive stress levels. These forms of physical exercise heart capacity lower the at rest heart rate and provide a mental diversions from work pressure.Individuals can teach themselves to reduce through relaxation techniques such mediations, hypnosis and biofeedback. Deep relaxation for about 15 –20 minutes a day release tensions and provides a person with a pronounced sense of peacefulness. Importantly, significant changes in heart rate, blood pressure and other physiological factors result from achieving the condition of deep relaxation.Having friends, family or work colleagues to talk to provide an outlet when stress levels become excessive. It provides someone to hear your problems and to offer a more objective perspective on the situations.

Organizational Approaches: Several of the factors that cause stress – particularly task and role demands and organizational structure – are controlled by management. As such , they can be modified or changed, strategies that management might want to consider include improved personnel selection and Job placement, training, use & realistic goal setting., redesigning of Jobs, increased employee involvement, improved organizational communication and establishment of corporate wellness programs.Certain jobs are more stressful than others. Individuals with little experience or external loans of control tend to be more prone to stress. Selection and placement decisions should take these facts into consideration. Similarly, training can increase individual’s self – efficacy and thus lesser job strain.Individuals perform better when they have specific and challenging goals and receive feedback on how well they are progressive towards these goals. The use of goals can reduce stress as well as provide motivation.Redesigning Jobs to give employees more responsibility, more meaningful work, more autonomy and increased feedback can reduce stress because these factors give dependence on others.Role stress is detrimental to a large extend because employees feel uncertain about goals, expectations, how they’ll be evaluated and the like. By giving the employees a voice in decisions that directly affect their job performance, managers can increase employee control and reduce this role stress. So managers should consider increasing employee involvement in decision-making.Increasing formal organizational communication with employees reduces uncertainty by lessening role ambiguity and role conflict. Given the importance that perceptions play in moderating the stress – response relationship, management can also use effective communications as a means to shape employee perception.

Stress is a disease of modern times. It afflicts people regardless of their station in life. Stress is present in the lives of the rich and poor, literate and illiterate, men and women. Stress is, however, more evident and is probably more widespread in technologically advanced countries, and is common among highly qualified professionals. Stress is of various kinds — physical, emotional and intellectual, and it is characterised by a feeling of being burdened; of being unable to cope. At a physical level modern technology and facilities have actually increased workloads and decreased relaxation. Mobile phones and laptops have made it easy to carry the office to the home. Emotional stress increases when there is disharmony and friction in relationships. Unfortunately, the trend today is to take the easy way out — people prefer to break away from relationships rather than repair them. Philosophical and intellectual tensions also add to the stress factor. The answer to stress can be found in the very letters of the word, ‘stress’: ‘S’ stands for strength: Physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual. Physical and emotional weakness leads to irritability. A strong, healthy body developed through proper diet, exercise and pranayama techniques helps reduce stress at the physical level. Through satsang and appropriate learning gained therein, the mind can be strengthened. Love, compassion and friendship are valuable strength-givers that help us cope with stress. The scriptures say that knowledge of the Self cannot be gained without inner strength. Rabindranath Tagore, in a poem, prays to the Lord not to remove all obstacles, but instead, he asks for strength to bear them. Before the start of the Mahabharata war Arjun was seized with a bout of emotional weakness and he

refused to fight the war. Lord Krishna rescued him by giving him emotional strength. ‘T’ stands for traffic control. We need to regulate and control our thoughts. We can cope with stress best if our thoughts are orderly and methodical. Unnecessary accumulation leads to clogging of the mind. The key lies in being able to live one moment at a time. Eat while eating, work while working, leave the home at home and the office in the office. Remember, however long we have to travel we can only take one step at a time. Worrying only reduces efficiency and then even simple tasks cannot be completed correctly and in time. ‘R’ is for re-design. We tend to view life and ourselves through our own philosophy. A readjustment or reorientation in this philosophy increases our capacity to bear heavier loads. ‘E’ stands for erase: The ego, anger, fear and jealousy are negative emotions that reduce efficiency, leading to mental weakness, causing stress. Too much emphasis on the ego, or abrogation of doership is responsible for increasing stress. Sri Rama asked Sri Hanuman how he was able to cause so much havoc in Lanka and yet return unscathed. Hanuman disclaimed all responsibility. He said, “I did not do it, you did it through me”. There is a higher power or strength working through us. ‘S’ is for sharing: Share your wealth, knowledge, workload or anything else you have. By and large people do not know how to share or delegate. Lord Vishnu as the manager of the world is the best example of delegation of work. Everything happens under his stewardship but he remains free and at ease. The last but most important is the ‘S’ which stands for surrender to the Lord. Free your mind from the weight of worries and become an instrument, adopting an attitude of service. This attitude will ensure efficiency, success, and freedom from stress.

Ques 4. Why is ethics necessary in business? Discuss the various sources of learning ethical and unethical behaviour

Ans. The term ethics refer to rules and principles that define right and wrong conduct. Many decisions that mangers take require them to consider who may be affected-in terms of the results as well as process.

There are four different views of ethics i.e. Utilitarian view of ethics, Right view of ethics, Theory of justice vie of ethics, and Integrative social contrasts theory.

Utilitarian view of ethics says that ethical decisions are made solely on the basis of the outcomes or consequences. Utilitarian theory uses a quantitative method for making ethical decisions by looking at how to provide the greatest good for the greatest number. Utilitarianism encourages efficiency and productivity and is consistent with the goal of profit maximization.. However, it results in biased allocations of resources, especially when some of those affected by the decision lack representation or a voice in the decision.

Another ethical perspective is the rights view of ethics, which is concern with respecting an protecting individual liberties and privileges such as rights to privacy, freedom of conscience, free speech, life and safety. The positive side of right perspective is that it protects individuals’ basic rights, but it has a negative side for organizations. It can present obstacles to high

productivity and efficiency by creating a work climate that is more concerned with protecting individual rights than with getting the job done.

The next view is the theory of justice view of Ethics. Under this Approach, Managers are to impose and enforce rule fairly and impartially and do so by following all legal rules and regulations. The managers would be using the theory o justice perspective by deceiving to provide the same rate of salary to individuals who are similar in their level of skills, performance or responsibility and not basing that decision on arbitrary differences such are Gender, personality, race or personal favorite. Using standard of Justice also has pluses and minuses. It protects the interest of those stakeholders who may be under represented or lack power, but it can encourage a sense of entitlement that might make employees reduce risk taking, innovation and productivity.

The final ethics perspective, the integrative social contrast theory, proposes that ethical decision should be based on empirical (what is) and normative (what should be) factors. This view of ethics is based on the integration of “contracts” : the general social contracts that allows business to operate and defines the acceptable ground rules, and a more specific contracts among members of a community that address acceptable ways of behaving. This views of business ethics differ from the other three in that it suggest that managers need to look at existing ethical norms in industries and companies in order to determine what constitute right and wrong decisions and actions.

Most business people follow the utilitarian approach because it is consistence with business goals as efficiency, productivity and profits.

Ethics are necessary for business to ensure individual right, social justice and communal harmony.

UNIT – III

Ques 5. What do you mean by values? What is their importance for managers?

Ans. The word “value” comes from the Latin verb “ valere ,” which means “to be worth” and “to be strong.” Spiritual values reflect what is important to us from a spiritual perspective. They are also natural, spiritual strengths that we can draw upon in our life and work. We like to say that they’re built into our DNA – “Divine Natural Attributes” – as they are the basis of a happy, healthy, and whole human being.Spiritual values are qualities that you already ARE . They are your natural strengths that you can draw from in the most challenging situations. For example, Ken Bertaccini, the Chief Quality Officer of AT&T Consumer Products was given the monumental task of turning around one of their least profitable divisions within two years, or else, he was told, the business would be abandoned. His overall strategy included a training programme focused on values such as truthfulness and right action – called "Project Miracles."Ken continually brought forth his personal spiritual value of love throughout the renewal process. Later when he became CEO of his division, he altered the business's statement of values to include the word, "Love.” As he told his employees:

I think we're ready to legitimise the "L word" and put love in our business... Love in the context of love your neighbour as you love yourself, and treating others as you would like to be treated. Putting love in our Shared Values Pyramid sends a message to our people and to everybody, inside and outside AT&T, that we really do care.

By applying his most natural spiritual strength of love, Ken Bertaccini’s division became one of the most profitable in AT&T within two years, and had the highest morale as well.As we’ve studied spiritual texts from many religions, we’ve consistently found five common values that define human nature at its highest: truth, right conduct, peace, love, and non-violence. For example:Bhagavad-Gita 16:1-3:

Be sincere and truthful; give freely and control the senses; be fearless and equanimous; be loving and show goodwill to all; don’t harm any living creature.

Jesus said:The Truth shall make you free… Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness… Peace be with you… Love one another… Love your enemies. (John 8:32, Matthew 5:6, Luke 24:36, John 13:34, Matthew 5:44)

Sayings of Muhammad, #173:When you speak, speak the truth. Perform what you promise. Keep your heart free from malice towards anyone. Love your fellow-beings first. Withhold your hand from striking.

These spiritual values are fundamentally important to work success:

Truth can open lines of communication, leading to more informed, wise decisions.

Right action can ensure that agreements are kept, building trustworthiness.

Peace can foster proactive rather than reactive responses, and focus on resolving issues rather than blaming.

Love can generate sincere caring that results in a more aligned teamwork among employees.

Non-violence can provide an uplifting spirit of collaboration and respect for people, resources and the environment.

When we are sincere about working by our spiritual values, even those who don’t consider themselves spiritual can appreciate them. For example William once conducted an exercise (which you might also want to try) with school bus drivers, focusing on their values at work. He asked them to (1) List the top ten things that are important to you; (2) select the top three; (3) name one that you would like to see more of in your workplace. One person was rather resistant to this “values stuff,” and was rather rough in his language. But when the group was reporting the top values they’d selected, everyone’s head turned in surprise when he said, “Love.”  He explained, “Isn’t that what life is about? Loving yourself and each other the best you can.”Drawing from your spiritual context and purpose, take a few moments to reflect and see what spiritual values come most naturally for you.Using your list of spiritual values, identify ways in which you can actively express them as strengths in your work.

Ques 6. Write a detailed note on holistic approach for managers in decision making?

Ans. One of the questions we love to ask spiritual-based executives is, “How do you define business success?” While their answers are as unique and diverse as their personalities, invariably they have the same theme: to promote the inner happiness and fulfilment of everyone involved, and to sincerely make a positive contribution.

With this theme, each of these leaders has been extremely successful in growing their organisations and generating financial prosperity. They are clearly demonstrating that it’s possible to keep their attention on serving others and fostering spiritual fulfilment while being successful in worldly endeavours. The principles they’re following seem to correlate

with the wisdom we have found in the ancient Indian Vedas. These scriptures describe four goals of a “successful life”: dharma – living in harmony with creation and contributing to the well-being of society artha –generating the wealth of good education, health, money, and character kama – satisfying desires through a life of comfort, health, enjoyment, and status for oneself and one’s family moksha – attaining spiritual fulfilment

Most importantly these scriptures tell us how to balance these four priorities in order to attain true success: Generating wealth ( artha ) is to be pursued within the larger priority of contributing to the well-being of society ( dharma ). Satisfying desires ( kama ) is to be pursued within the larger priority of spiritual fulfilment ( moksha ).

In accord with the wisdom of these spiritual teachings, we can see that business success naturally emphasises contribution to society and spiritual fulfilment . When traditional measures of business success – shareholder return, market share, industry power, and so on – are subordinate to these higher priorities, wealth can be generated and desires can be satisfied while naturally promoting well-being rather than harm, service rather than greed, and an uplifted spirit rather than unscrupulous competition.

But are these priorities really practical in a business? Consider the example of the Hard Rock Café chain of restaurants, founded by Isaac Tigrett when he was less than 20 years old. He was living in London when he noticed…

In England in those days, the social classes were still completely separated. There was literally no place in London where a baker and a banker could meet to talk. I wanted to break that system.

He opened an “absolutely classless” restaurant in the ultra-fancy Mayfair district. His timing, concept and location clicked from the word go: bakers and bankers, labourers and Labour politicians were all standing in line from the very first day. The rest is popular history of traditional success, as his chain of restaurants grew to become a world-wide phenomenon. But was this the only way Tigrett defined business success? No.

Success for him was making a positive contribution to society – “breaking the class system” – plus the spiritual upliftment of employees and customers. While on a spiritual pilgrimage in India he heard the saying, "Love All, Serve All.” To him, it embodied the ultimate spiritual goal of life: to love people and to serve from that place. That became the spiritual source of the company culture:All I did was put spirit and business together in that big mixing bowl and add love. I didn’t care about anything but people... just cherish them, look after them, and be sensitive to them and their lives.

An important conclusion we have drawn from all of this is that if we look to the worldly definitions of success – and thus pursue wealth and desires by themselves – we will continue the current cycles of greed, corruption and disparity of wealth that are now so prevalent in our world today. However, if we turn to the wisdom of our spiritual basis, we can indeed foster business success that produces harmony, wealth, satisfaction, and spiritual fulfilment.

Muhammad and Confucius sum it up well:

Wealth properly employed is a blessing, and a man may lawfully endeavour to increase it by honest means. (Sayings of Muhammad) Virtue is the root. Wealth is the result. The Great Teaching. (Confucius)

UNIT IV

Ques 7. Explain human values and their effect on organisational behaviour.Ans. All religions are unanimous in denouncing the amassing of wealth. The Bible declares: Easier indeed it is for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven. “Wealth undoes a man” — artham anartham , said Adi Sankaracharya. Fakiri, meaning voluntary poverty, is a way of life highly commended by the Sufi saints. Aparigraha, non-possession, is a value emphasized by the Bhagavad Gita.

Mahatma Gandhi understood that it was futile to strive for a world order which eliminates commerce altogether. He knew also that business and industry cannot be conducted without involving ownership of property.Gandhi was equally concerned about social justice. Even today there are millions of households where parents have to send their children to sleep on empty or half-fed bellies. Gandhi believed that there never is any ‘absolute’ shortage of food. God creates food for all; and it is the unjust, man-made patterns of possession that have created social inequality. He said: “Nature provides for mankind’s need, not for his greed.”Socialists came up with a solution: Forcefully dispossess the rich and distribute their wealth among the poor. Such a solution, based on violence, could never be acceptable to Gandhi for whom means were as important as ends. He felt that any good wrought through violence cannot be stable.The opening verse of the Isa Upanishad provided Gandhi with the first breakthrough: Tyakten bhunjita — ‘renounce and enjoy!’ Don’t cling to your wealth. Possess wealth, but don’t be possessive towards your possessions. Narrow-minded possessiveness leads to fear of many sorts. Fear turns enjoyment sour. In time, your riches become the very cause for your sorrow and moral misery.In respect of trade and industry, how can one renounce and enjoy? Can one simply let go of all that one has raised through years of hard work and labour? Should one simply abdicate the seat of power and move to the woods? Supposing you do so, will not someone else grab your position, create chaos and possibly jeopardise the livelihood of all who may be employed in your industry?Gandhi’s doctrine of trusteeship does not propose abdication. He only seeks an attitudinal change in the captains of commerce. “Not all of your wealth belongs to you; it belongs to the community: understand this”, says Gandhi. Give up the binding thought of proprietorship. Transform your position of ownership into that of a managing trustee.This will give rise to a ‘disinterested commitment’. This is not the same as dilution of interest; to have a ‘disinterested commitment’ only implies a transmutation of self-interest into corporate interest; of selfish concern into social concern.You continue to retain stewardship over the business you have raised — but for serving also the larger social interest. You become a leader in the truest sense. Gandhi believed that when the doctrine of trusteeship begins to be practiced, philanthropy as a separate activity will become redundant.Under the doctrine of trusteeship does the managing director of a concern earn the same as, say, his peon? No. Gandhi does not propose a flat form of equality. His principle is from each according to his caliber; to each according to his true need. He, therefore, emphasises equity rather than equality.Regarding succession, Gandhi is in favour of a member of the family succeeding the managing trustee, but he stipulates that this must be subject to the employees accepting the successor; else the new trustee must come to office through election.

A critical factor in good management is the quality of managers. In Ranmayan, Rama asks Bharata whether he has appointed courageous, knowledgeable, strong-willed men with a high emotional quotient as his ministers, because quality advice is the key to effective governance. The emphasis is

on competence and confidentiality. Rama's advice to Bharata is to take a decision on a complex issue neither unilaterally nor in consultation with too many people. There should be an efficient core group.A good administrator can ensure high returns from minimum investments. Rama tells Bharata to prefer one wise man to a thousand fools as it is the wise who can ensure prosperity during an economic crisis. Even if there is one minister who is really effective, the king will gain immensely. Appointing tested men of noble lineage and integrity for strategic positions is the key to successful management. Rama wants Bharata to treat his soldiers well and pay their legitimate wages on time. Similarly, workers in the organisation should be treated fairly. Delays in payment of wages and other allowances can lead to dangerous consequences.

Protecting the forests and maintaining livestock have also been dealt with as important aspects of effective governance. In fact, the vision of the Ramayana has eternal relevance. It is the responsibility of any organisation to preserve the natural resources and use them judicially. Equal oppourtinity for growth and justice for all and business, corruption framing of innocents for monetary gains, injustice to the poor are all prohibited.

Ques 8. Describe the lessons learnt by academicians from ancient Indian education system

Ans. In ancient Indian education system i.e. Gurucul system, the stress was to laid on moral values as against materialism in modern education system. Pupil living under the guidance of their guru use to do all the work of the Gurucul irrespective of their class or status i.e. Gurucul system use to stress on classless society. Pupil irrespective of their castes or status use to study together under the same guru. According to ancient education system, class was to be divided on the basis of work done and not on the basis of birth. Gurugul system use to preach selfless and ego less service.

Imparting education was considered a social service and not a business in ancient India. After completing their education, pupil used to give Guru-Dakshina as per their ability.