Abstract
This article traces the evolutionary journey of the idea of Indian management 1960 onwards. It identifies four phases of development of Indian management ideas in terms of adopting a scientific approach (1960–1980), recognizing the influence of cultural approach through indigenous theories and concepts (1980–2000), movement towards Indian ideas in management through influences of new consciousness in a ‘New Age of modernity’ (2000 onwards) and the fourth phase beginning with 2010, wherein globalizing Indian thought is gathering momentum. This journey has led to seeding and gradual growth of the Indian management knowledge tree representing the coexistence of multiple paradigms primarily represented by five thought streams as five branches of the knowledge tree. The article also views this evolutionary journey and the growth of the Indian management knowledge tree, within the context of historical changes at the global and Indian society level and also in the context of four stages of Western management thought over the last 100 years. It suggests that more than 50 years of experiences in creating new knowledge are leading us towards the development of a new ‘body of original knowledge’ (BOOK), that could become a basis for globalizing Indian thought and Indian ideas in management. The article also presents a brief discussion on some of the management centres in India, involved in globalizing Indian thought through Indian Ideas in Management.
Keywords
Let noble thoughts come to us from all directions—Rigveda
Let noble thoughts go from us in all directions—Quantum Rope
The story of the emergence of ‘Indian management’ as a distinct discipline of study and an area of research is over 50 years old. With the establishment of Indian Institutes of Management at Ahmedabad and Calcutta in the 1960s and later at Bangalore, the idea of a ‘scientific approach’ to management in the form of ‘modern management’ was seeded in the Indian context. As the collaboration of IIM Ahmedabad and IIM Calcutta, came from Harvard Business School and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), these institutions were devoted to the task of transfer of management technology and management ideas from the US to India. During the initial decades, IIM Ahmedabad devoted considerable efforts in developing Indian cases and case studies. IIM Calcutta became known for its quantitative approach to management research. In 1974, IIM Bangalore was established and in 1984, IIM Lucknow was established. During these years, the focus of management thinkers, scholars and researchers in India was largely on the idea of the transfer of management tools and techniques developed in the Western context to Indian context and in the process some indigenous ideas were also developed. ‘Management in India’ with its focus on Western management ideas became the keynote of this experience of transferring management and leadership knowledge from the US to India.
In the backdrop of the above, it is interesting to note that during recent years there has been an international interest in Indian management, Indian spirituality (IS) and Indian ways of management. The book The India Way: How India’s Top Business Leaders Are Revolutionizing Management by Cappelli, Harbir, Jitendra and Michael (2010) generated interest in Indian management at the international level. Philip Goldberg’s (2010) book, American Veda: From Emerson and Beatles to Yoga & Meditation—How Indian Spirituality Changed the West, documents the impact of IS on developed nations particularly the USA. Yoga and meditation in one form or other also influenced the corporate world in the West. The book on new models by Nankervis, Cooke and Chatterjee (2012), New Models of HRM in China & India, provides a discussion on some of the Indian models of human resource management (HRM) rooted in Indian thought and Indian ideas. These influences are indicative of the beginning of globalization of Indian thought as reflected in Indian management, IS and Indian way of management.
Given the above general perspective on ‘management in India’, the objective of this article is to trace the development of the narrative of the idea of Indian management and its future potential for globalizing Indian thought. Accordingly, the discussion in this article is divided in following four sections:
Origin and Development of ‘Management in India’ Perspectives on Transitions in Societies Transitions in Indian Society 100 Years of Western Management Thought and Scope for Indian Thought
Section I: Origin and Development of ‘Management in India’
Broadly, we can identify following four overlapping and interconnected phases of origin and development of management in India:
Phase I: Adopting scientific approach to management Phase II: Recognizing the need for indigenous management thinking Phase III: Towards Indian ideas in management Phase IV: Towards globalization of Indian thought
In the subsequent discussion, we highlight the keynotes of each phase of evolution of management thinking in India.
Phase I: 1960–1980, Adopting Scientific Approach to Management
With the establishment of IIMs at Ahmedabad and Calcutta in the 1960s and IIM Bangalore in the 1970s, the idea of scientific approach as developed in the Western world was adopted. The focus was largely on transferring Western management and leadership concepts and building institutions based on these concepts with some adaptation to local conditions. IIM Lucknow established in the 1980s and other leading institutes of management in the private sector, established during this period, largely borrowed from the experiences of these institutions. Even other IIMs established subsequently in the 1990s such as IIM Kozhikode and IIM Indore also made use of this foundational work at earlier IIMs. As new IIMs established recently are being mentored by old IIMs, they also draw upon institution building experiences of earlier IIMs.
Phase II: 1980–2000, Recognizing the Need for Indigenous Management Thinking
Taking inspiration from ancient Indian wisdom and a clue from the Japanese management, spiritual gurus and scholars and researchers initiated work on indigenous management thinking. Beginning from the 1980s, the role of cultural context and national policy in meeting management and leadership challenges was recognized. Prominent scholars such as J.B.P. Sinha (1992) and Rajen Gupta (1991, 1994), in their articles, not only identified the need to move beyond American and Japanese models with respect to organization and management but also identified challenges for developing indigenous theories, concepts and models. These scholars recognized the need for developing indigenous management to suit the cultural context rather than blindly imitating Western theories to Indian context. Davis, Chatterjee and Heuers (eds), (2006), in their book, Management in India: Trends & Transitions, explore trends in Indian management, in the context of globalization.
This period also saw the emergence of the idea of Indian Ethos in Management (IEM) as a new movement initiated largely by spiritual gurus. This movement, based on ancient Indian wisdom, helped in recognizing the need for indigenous management thinking based on the spiritual heritage of India. In addition to these, social movements within India also offered opportunities for development of Indian ideas in management and leadership. Thus, three broad trends emerged, namely, cultural context of management ideas, social movements as sources for developing new management insights and spiritual heritage as a foundation for new ideas in management.
Phase III: Beyond 2000—Towards Indian Ideas in Management
The uniqueness of this period lies in emergence of a new consciousness with roots in creativity and spirituality reflecting a ‘New Age of modernity’. This period saw a huge expansion of management education beyond the existing IIMs. Postgraduate programme (PGP) intake in existing IIMs was increased, doctoral programmes were scaled up and new IIMs were established. Further, some 4,000 B schools emerged to meet the growing demand for managers for a growing economy with global connectivity. Some leading Indian B schools also established their campuses abroad.
This period saw some original management thinking from India and from management thinkers of Indian origin, who had earlier worked in India. It marked a new beginning for Indian ideas in management. The success of Indian companies within and outside India and the growth story of India contributed to this trend. The Indian IT industry emerged as a significant player and Indian knowledge workers made a global impact through their skills and business acumen. Many Indian managers proved their worth at the global level. Thinkers with Indian and Western education and with Indian and Western experiences such as C.K. Prahlad, S. Ghoshal, V. Govindrajan and P. Kaipa emerged at the global level contributing some original ideas such as bottom of the pyramid (Prahlad), world class in India (Ghoshal), reverse innovation (Govindrajan) and wise leadership (Kaipa). In formulating these new ideas, they were consciously or unconsciously influenced by their Indian experiences. Within India, new ideas given by some eminent Indian management thinkers, Professors S.K. Chakraborty, M.B. Athreya and Subhash Sharma, caught the imagination of scholars and by 2010; their ideas also received some global attention.
Under the leadership of Professor Krishna Kumar, former director, IIM Kozhikode, Strategic Management Forum (SMF) of India, some original thinking in the field of strategic thinking and strategic management was encouraged. Porus Munshi (2009) in his book, Making Breakthrough Innovation Happen: How 11 Indians Pulled off the Impossible, provides examples of breakthrough innovative thinking of Indian companies. Professor Subhash Sharma’s (2015) book, New Ideas in Strategic Thinking & Management: A Knowledge Tree of New Age Mantras, released at IIM Kozhikode in January 2015, provides several new ideas in strategic thinking and policy making, originating from India.
It may be indicated that the arrival of the knowledge era and a ‘New Age of modernity’, which took a positive view of tradition, as compared to earlier view that rejected tradition, and global success of Indian spiritual movements such as Art of Living, Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali Yogapeeth, Swami Vivekananda Yoga University (SVYASA), Bangalore Brahma Kumaries, Chinmaya Mission and Gayatri Parivar also contributed to some original thinking in management as these changes opened new consciousness corridors to management thinkers and scholars, within India and abroad. As mentioned earlier, Philip Goldberg’s (2010) book, American Veda, documents the impact of IS on the US. This period also saw the emerging significance of the ‘soft power idea’ and a new consciousness awakening in management and leadership. India’s soft power represented by its heritage of yoga, meditation and Indian spirituality (YMIS) found a new global recognition. Another source of India’s soft power, namely, Indian cinema, also achieved a new global success. Such developments also encouraged the development of Indian ideas in management. IIMs, both old and new ones, took a note of these monumental changes and incorporated discussions on the same, in one form or other, in their workshops, seminars, conferences, curriculum and classroom interactions. New consciousness also led to the development of new methodologies of teaching such as the ‘corporate rhymes’ approach to learning management and leadership concepts (Sharma, 2010). In general, this period saw intellectual acceptance of Indian ideas in management at the national and global levels. It may be indicated that cyber revolution has also contributed to the globalization of these ideas as these ideas are easily accessible through Google and other search engines.
Phase IV: Beyond 2010—Towards Globalization of Indian Thought
While the first phase (1960–1985) was largely based on the scientific approach, during the second phase (1985–2000), culture provided the backdrop for development of indigenous ideas and during the third phase, the idea of new consciousness with roots in creativity, spirituality and ‘New Age modernity’ (NAM) provided the backdrop for development of new management thinking from India. These three approaches, namely, scientific approach, cultural approach and new consciousness approach, are now leading us towards an integrative- holistic view of management thinking. In fact, as a result of these approaches to knowledge creation, we are moving towards a new ‘BOOK’ originating from India. It has taken more than 50 years of thought-provoking work of a large number of thinkers, scholars, researchers, teachers and practitioners to create this new partly written (explicit form) and partly unwritten (tacit form) book of Indian ideas in management. These efforts are now leading us towards the globalization of Indian thought through indigenous ideas in management and leadership.
It may be indicated that scientific, cultural and new consciousness approaches to knowledge creation use three different pathways to research, namely, quantitative, qualitative and creative–meditative. In the three phases of development of Indian management, we can observe the application of these three pathways by three types of scholars. Phase I was dominated by the quantitative path and quantitative empirical researchers. During Phase II, qualitative pathway and qualitative researchers found gradual acceptance. In this respect, Gupta and Awasthy (2015) document experiences of qualitative research by Indian researchers in developing new insights in management and leadership. In Phase III, the creative–meditative pathway emerged as a new path of management research and creative–meditative researchers found intellectual legitimacy and acceptance (Sharma, 2010). It may be indicated that the full potential of this path is yet to be realized. As we move into Phase IV, we can observe the emergence of new explicit knowledge, based on an integration and synthesis of India’s tryst and experience in learning and creating new ideas in management and leadership through various research pathways. These approaches broadly correspond to science, vigyan and gyan and their integration leading us towards pragyan (holistic-wisdom approach). This author has used the metaphors of ‘Western windows, Eastern doors and consciousness corridors’ to define and integrate in a holistic manner, scientific, cultural and new consciousness approaches to create a new architecture for a new house of knowledge and wisdom in management and leadership thought.
Four Lions Metaphor for Indian Ideas in Management
The above discussion on various phases of development of management thinking indicates that as the idea of management took deeper roots in India, new thoughts emerged from experiences of corporates, experiences of policy making by the government, implementing large projects and programmes, building strategic institutions at the national level, social movements and social entrepreneurship and spiritual heritage and spiritual movements. In this respect, new interpretations of four Ashokan lions suggested by Sharma (2012, 2013, 2015), representing the market (represented by corporates), state (represented by policy making), people (represented by social movements and social entrepreneurship) and self (represented by spirituality), provide us a foundational premise for four distinct sources of Indian ideas in management. In general, most researchers have focused on three visible lions representing the market, state and people to create new ideas in management. The hidden lion, representing self/spirituality, has received attention from researchers only recently, though spiritual gurus always focused on it. On surveying, in 2015, research on Indian ideas in management, we find that as a result of evolutionary journey of ‘management in India’, all four routes represented by the four lions metaphor have contributed to the development of Indian ideas in management. This also represents the uniqueness of research with respect to ‘management in India’. Figure 1 presents this metaphor indicating four ‘India ways’ to development of Indian ideas in management and leadership.
Five Thought Streams Emerging from Four-Phase Journey
It may be indicated that in the development of the indigenous ideas in management, India’s history and historical experiences also provided a backdrop to interaction of ideas transferred from the West and ideas with origin in Indian history, civilization, culture, consciousness and ethos. As a result, the following thought streams of ‘management in India’ emerged broadly reflecting the evolution, growth and development of management thinking in India, in consonance with four phases discussed above:
Integrative indigenization leading to new concepts development in Indian management. Grounded praxis approach to create knowledge about Indian management. Indian ethos, Indian culture and management Conceptualization from the ground. Integration and synthesis of Western and Eastern ideas on management and leadership: Western windows Eastern doors approach.
Over last five decades, scholarly efforts with respect to the above-indicated thought streams have led to the creation of a body of knowledge that can be referred to as a ‘knowledge tree of Indian management’ with following branches.
Branch I: Integrative Indigenization
Professor J.B.P. Sinha (1992) suggested the need to conceptualize Indian experiences through developing new ideas based on ‘integrative indigenization’. He cited the ‘Case of OB Research in India’ and reviewed contributions of several scholars. His own idea of the Nurturant Task model of leadership (1980) is widely quoted in national and international journals. This model is considered as a distinctive Indian contribution to the academic literature on leadership.
As observed by Professor Sinha, during the initial stage of development of management education and management thinking in India, many scholars were intuitively and consciously indigenizing Western models and ideas. For example, Professor Udai Pareek developed the concepts of extension motivation (1968), motivation for development (1968), OCTAPACE model (1981). In the 1970s, Professor Udai Pareek and Professor T.V. Rao introduced the concept of human resource development (HRD) in Indian organizations. Professor T.V. Rao, in collaboration with Khandwalla and others, also developed a 360-degree feedback system for leadership development based on feedback by known people. This system was referred to as ‘Developing Leadership through Feedback by Known People’ (DLFKP). Khandwalla (1983) also introduced the idea of ‘pioneering innovative’ (PI) motive. Thus, we find a number of conceptual contributions from leading scholars emerging from their efforts of integrative indigenization of management ideas and learning from the West.
Professor J.B.P. Sinha (2000) in his article ‘Integrative Indigenous Management in India’ takes another look at the developments with respect to integrative indigenous management and scholarly work in this direction and he also points out the future directions for the same in the context of globalization.
Branch II: Grounded Praxis
Indian managers were largely coached in Western and Japanese management theories and concepts. However, while dealing with field realities, they intuitively modified these theories through the grounded praxis approach. Most of this knowledge remained either in tacit form or at best in popular magazines. Though case research at IIMs and other leading institutions attempted to capture some aspects of this knowledge, a strong body of explicit knowledge was not created and tacit knowledge of Indian managers remained in a story line format largely inaccessible to academic community. The challenge before Indian management scholars is to tap this tacit knowledge and convert it into explicit form.
Branch III: Indian Ethos, Indian Culture and Management
Interest in Indian ethos, Indian culture and management started in the 1980s and many spiritual gurus and management scholars contributed to development of this branch. By the 1990s, there was a visible movement in the form of ‘Indian Ethos in Management’. Spiritual gurus and practitioners of Indian concepts, who provided intellectual leadership in this respect include Swami Jitatmananda, Swami Someswarananda, Swami Bodhananda, G. Narayana and others. From 1988 onwards, Dr M.B. Athreya, a pioneer in the Indian management movement, organized around 15 national conferences on shastras and management, which generated considerable interest. While the material was brought out in conference proceedings, now this rich material on Indian ethos and Indian management is not easily accessible as the proceedings were not published.
Several management scholars from leading institutions such as IIMs, Management Development Institute (MDI), Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and other B schools from India and abroad also focused on ‘Indian culture and management’. Prominent scholars from India include Professors S.K. Chakraborty, J.B.P. Sinha, M.B. Athreya, Subhash Sharma, Rajen Gupta, B.R. Virmani and Vinayshil Gautam. International scholars such as B. Gustavsson, Swedish Business School, Sweden, Kalburgi Srinivas, University of Regina, Canada, Samir Chatterjee, Curtin University, Australia, Charles Savage, Knowledge Era Enterprises Inc., Munich, Germany, also contributed significantly to this stream of thinking. Thus, thought-level contributions came not only from India but also from abroad.
Many other scholars who made important contributions include Panduranga Bhatta, G.P. Rao, Debashis Chatterjee, Radha Sharma, Sunita Singh-Sengupta, Sanjoy Mukherjee, Venkat Krishnan, Nalini Dave, R.P. Bannerjee, Pawan Kumar Singh, R. Parthasarthy, Biswajit Satpathy, Ashish Pandey, Nishigandha Bhuyan, Hasmukh Adhia, Surya Prakash Rao and others. Another group of scholars who have been interacting for more than a decade in invited workshops, discussion sessions and annual conferences at IBA Bangalore and Greater Noida, include, besides Professors Subhash Sharma and Ananta Giri, who have co-organized and co-nurtured several workshops and discussion sessions, Professors K.B. Akhilesh, Siddharth Shastri, Mala Kapadia, Meera Chakraborty, Maitreyi Kollegal, Sangeetha Menon, Daniel Albuquerque, Shiv Tripathi, Sorab Sadri, B.V.K. Sastry and others.
Specific contributions of the above-mentioned scholars to theory building and knowledge creation are available in their articles and books and can also be accessed through a Google search. This large list of scholars is indicative of the critical mass that has been achieved in the development of new insights rooted in indigenous approaches to the development of new ideas in management and leadership. While their contributions are available in books, journal articles and popular articles, there is also a need for achieving a meta-synthesis of these contributions. This is a task for future scholars in the field of Indian ethos, Indian culture and Indian theories of management and leadership.
Scholars, for example, S.K. Chakraborty and Subhash Sharma, also offered a critique of Western ideas and offered a new expanded vision for management and leadership. It was observed that intellectual foundations of Western paradigm are narrowly focused as it is rooted in ideas of self-interest (Adam Smith), survival of the fittest (Darwin) and self-actualization (Maslow). The Indian paradigm provides a more expansive vision rooted in ADM (Artha, Dharma, Moksha) vision of life to create conditions for peaceful enjoyment (Kama) through positive actions (Karma). This vision suggested the need to go beyond Adam Smith, Darwin and Maslow through following thought shifts from ADM to ADM, to create a sacro-civic society (Sharma, 1999):
From Adam Smith to Artha view: The Artha view suggests the adoption of the shubh-labh perspective in wealth creation and its management. From Darwin to Dharma: From ‘survival of the fittest to leave behind the rest’ to ‘duty of the fittest’, coupled with the message from Gita, ‘arrival of the best to lead the rest’. From Maslow to Moksha: From self-actualization to self-realization (Raman Maharshi), representing a spiritual vision of self.
Such critique helped in identifying the intellectual gaps that can potentially be filled by Indian thought and Indian management ideas.
Abinash Panda and Rajen K. Gupta (2007), in their paper, Call for Developing Organizational Theories in India: Setting Agenda for Future, provide a meta-review of organizational research in India since 1960 and argue in favour of developing organizational theories based on the Indian cultural context and Indian experiences. They also provide lists of intellectual leads developed by academic scholars from India. Table 1 provides their list of intellectual leads from indigenous knowledge base. It may be observed that these intellectual insights are rooted in qualitative and creative–meditative research approaches to knowledge creation and have become part of the received knowledge on Indian insights in management and leadership.
Chatterjee and Nankervis (2007) in their work on Asian Management in Transition have discussed some emerging themes and refer to new ideas on management, emerging from Asian countries, and include Indian ideas in their discussions.
A List of Insights/Intellectual Leads by Academic Scholars Rooted in Indigenous Knowledge Base
Chakraborty and Chakraborty (2007) present a discussion on leadership and motivation in terms of cultural comparisons between the East and West. In this respect, they provide Indian insights on leadership and motivation.
Daniel Albuquerque (2009) explores the principles of consciousness as expounded by Sri Aurobindo and applies it to business management training and practice. Mala Kapadia (2009) explores the application of heart skills in management and leadership. Shiv Tripathi (2009) draws lessons from the Gita for human values-oriented ethical management. Sangeetha Menon (2010) explores the concepts of being and well-being from Upanishadic tradition and explores its implications for leadership. Meera Chakraborty (2011) explores the application of ‘colours of mind’ to management and society.
Hasmukh Adhia (2010) explores the impact of yoga way of life on organizational performance. Research in this stream of knowledge, linking yoga and management is being promoted by the SVYASA University, Bangalore. Professor C. Manohar Reddy from IIM Bangalore has also been researching on yoga and meditation for self-growth.
Pratima Verma (2011), in her article ‘Two Gurus Shaping Indian Management: Lessons of LCM-SEED’, has documented significant contributions of Professor S.K. Chakraborty and Professor Subhash Sharma to development of Indian management thought. Isha Gamlath (2011), in her article ‘Identity of Subhashism in Indian Business and Indian Management’, has reviewed the work of Professor Subhash Sharma in terms of its distinctive approach and distinctive contributions to the field of Indian management.
Bindlish, Dutt and Pardasani (2012) in their article on growing convergence of spirituality and leadership extend the work of Panda and Gupta (2007) and provide an updated and comprehensive summary of Indian models of leadership developed by Indian scholars based on ancient Indian wisdom, Indian ethos, Indian culture, Indian Spirituality and Indian management styles. This summary is provided in Table 2.
Indian Models of Leadership
It may be indicated that during recent years, International Journal of Indian Culture and Business Management has also helped in globalizing Indian thought with respect to Indian management and leadership.
Work with respect to this thought stream of knowledge based on Indian ethos, culture and management can be divided into following three sub-streams represented by mythology, history and contemporary context:
Many practicing managers and scholars have drawn management lessons from mythology, particularly, Puranas, Ramayana, Mahabharata (PRM) and other ancient literature and have contributed popular articles in press and other media. Devdatt Pattnaik has written extensively about mythology and management. Ramnath Narayanswami from IIM Bangalore has used Mahabharat episodes in leadership lessons and leadership development. This stream also represents the popular side of Indian management even though some scholars because of their academic bias towards Western ideas have expressed doubts, in the name of empirical evidence. While mythological sources represent one stream of consciousness that is influencing the idea of Indian management, history is another source for linking Indian civilization, culture and consciousness with management. Historical figures such as Kautilaya from ancient times and Vivekananda, Gandhi and Aurobindo from recent times have deeply influenced the mind of many Indian managers and leaders and their thoughts are reflected in Indian management in one form or other. As thoughts and story lines of Kautilaya, Vivekananda, Gandhi and Aurobindo represent a civilizational and practical approach, they have a great appeal to scholars and intellectuals attempting to create Indian concepts in management, leadership and strategy. Radhakrishnan Pillai, Department of Philosophy, Mumbai University, published a book under the title Corporate Chankaya. It has become a popular book among Indian managers and leaders. Professor S.K. Chakraborty’s pioneering work on human values in management and leadership draws from the writings of Vivekananda, Gandhi, Aurobindo and Rabindranath Tagore. Professor M.J. Xavier, former director, IIM Ranchi, has also used the thoughts from ancient Indian wisdom in his talks and presentations. In popular terms, he has referred to it as a paradigm shift from Western ‘goal orientation’ to Eastern ‘soul orientation’. Professor R. Ravi Kumar from IIM Bangalore has advocated drawing upon popular sayings of saints and sages to develop insights for leadership lessons. The third approach to Indian culture is in terms of contemporary realities manifested through an ‘India blend’ resulting from varying contemporary and historical influences. As India is the largest democracy, a natural blending is occurring through democratic discourse and dialectical tensions that we observe in Indian society, institutions and corporate organizations. This is also leading to a new creativity and new creative interpretations of mythology, history and contemporary culture. In the context of management and leadership, it is giving rise to new concepts development through New-Age mantras and New-Age yantras that draw upon both tradition and modernity and its creative blend in the form of ‘NAM’.
Branch IV: Conceptualization from the Ground
The success of many Indian organizations deeply rooted in ground realities such as Dabbwallahs, Amul, SEWA, Lizzat Papad and many other capillary action organizations that have sprung up from the grassroots has led to the development of new catch phrases and management concepts that represent the idea of conceptualization from the ground. Scholars studying such organizations have provided some new insights about management and entrepreneurship in India. Catch phrases such as GE: Gujarati Entrepreneurship, GRAM: Grassroots Action and Management, Jugaad, Padta system and Corporate Karmayogis are illustrative of the same. The Gujarat model, now globally known, is another illustration of conceptualization from the ground.
It may be indicated that in conceptualization from the ground, studies on social movements have also been a rich source for Indian management ideas. For example, Maitreyi Kollegal (1992) studied ecological movements to identify strategies for conflict management around natural resources. The study of such movements has led to the idea of strategic management in the development context in contrast to traditional idea of strategic management in market context.
Branch V: Integration and Synthesis of Western and Eastern Ideas on Management and Leadership: Western Windows Eastern Doors
Professor Subhash Sharma’s book Western Windows Eastern Doors (WWED), published in 1996, opened new vistas of research in Indian management. The focus of this research is on development of new ideas, new jargons, new mantras and new yantras through a new creative synthesis of the Western and Eastern knowledge traditions and experiences of building institutions and organizations of national and international significance. This creative synthesis has led to many new concepts that have become part of the ‘received knowledge’ of Indian management, through academic acknowledgement by scholars and practitioners. The ideas presented in the book WWED also became foundational ideas for innovative institutions of management, namely, Indian Institute of Plantation Management, Bangalore, Women’s Institute for Studies in Development Oriented Management (WISDOM) at Banasthali University, Banasthali, Rajasthan and Indus Business Academy (IBA) at Bangalore and Greater Noida.
Ideas presented in WWED and related writings of Professor Subhash Sharma, such as, Quantum Rope: Science, Mysticism and Management (1999), New Mantras in Corporate Corridors (2007), New Earth Sastra (2012), Wisdom & Consciousness from the East (2013) and New Ideas in Strategic Thinking & Management (2015), provided many new concepts in management with roots in Indian thought and Indian experiences. These include insights, ideas and models such as Basket of needs, Economic chapatti making, theory K of management, corporate Rishi model of leadership, ‘MBA’ (Manas Buddhi Ahankar) model of decision making, negergy synergy grid of management and leadership styles, human quality development (HQD) and human quality quotient (HQQ) and theory O of consciousness.
The above-mentioned work has received global acknowledgement. The book WWED is part of the resource material of United Nations—Principles of Responsible Management Education (PRME) reading material on the Anti-Corruption Toolkit (2012). The book by Nankervis et al. (2012) on new HRM models from China and India includes the ‘basket of needs’ model from WWED. New Mantras in Corporate Corridors was released in 2008 at the India Trade Conference at Los Angeles. The French version of Wisdom & Consciousness from the East (translated by Pascal Papillon) was released in France in 2013. These ideas have also received acknowledgement in German and French languages, for example, Michael Zirkler (2014) of Zurich University and Decorde Yan Erik and Pascal Papillon (2014), Alsace Rhindia, quote these ideas in their writings. These acknowledgments and citations are indicative of globalization of Indian ideas in management.
It may further be indicated that Dr Subhash Sharma’s ideas, from his article ‘Newton to Nirvana: Science, Vigyan and Gyan’, were quoted by Honourable Judges of the Supreme Court of India in a supreme court judgment of 3 July 2013 (Maharshi Mahesh Yogi Vedic Vishwavidyalaya vs. State of M.P. & Ors. [Civil Appeal No.6736 of 2004]. Fakkir Mohamed Ibrahim Kalifulla, J. 1., accessible on
At WISDOM, Banasthali University, Banasthali, Rajasthan, a number of scholars have undertaken research using the WWED approach, which aims at creative synthesis of Western and Indian ideas. ‘Wisdom scholars’ in this tradition include Ipshita Bansal, Harsh Purohit, Neetu Jain, Pratima Verma, Divya Kirti Gupta, Jaya Srivastava, Aruna Dasgupta, Nidhi Maheshwari, Priti Hingorani, Sowmya Rao, Hema D, Gauri Anand and others.
Seeding of the above-mentioned knowledge tree of Indian management with its several branches and sub-branches should be seen in the global context and global-level thought changes. In the discussion below, we provide some overarching views to understand various perspectives that are influencing the idea of Indian management.
Section II: Perspectives on Transitions in Societies
To appreciate the emergence of ‘Indian ideas in management’, we also need to take a look at various perspectives on transitions in societies. Drawing upon the quantum changes in human societies, Sharma (2005), in his article, ‘A Brief History of History: Lessons for Management & Leadership’ and related writings, develops four perspectives on transitions in societies that are helpful to us in understanding their implications for management and leadership thought. Four perspectives on the same are as follows:
In a metaphorical sense, the fall of an apple witnessed by Newton led to a shift in human thinking from religion rooted in God (G) to science rooted in cause and effect represented by gravity (g). Darwin challenged creation theories of religion and provided a scientific view of evolution. While religion focused on God and faith, science provided a new perspective. However, its focus was on the external. The need to shift the focus to the inner self led to the emergence of the idea of spirituality. In the twenty-first century, we are observing a convergence of the science and spirituality for overall well-being of humanity. The acceptance of the idea of spirituality in management has opened new doors for the Indian thought in the field of management and leadership, because Indian thought over centuries has been acknowledged for its distinctive understanding and contributions to spirituality through the route of inner search. We also observe transitions in societies from tradition to modernity to postmodernity to transmodernity and now towards NAM. NAM integrates heritage, modernity and traditional knowledge to create new ideas and new perspectives, taking us beyond the rigidities of ‘Western modernity’. NAM provides legitimacy to traditional knowledge, in contrast to modernity that rejected traditional knowledge as unscientific. NAM has also opened new doors, in addition to Indian Spirituality, for India’s traditional knowledge with respect to business and entrepreneurship leading to development of new ideas with roots in Indian thought. For example, Ayurveda has found new market and new business opportunities at the global level. Transitions in societies can also be viewed in terms of transition from religions to nation states to corporations to globalization and now New-Age concerns and consciousness about social responsibility, spiritual responsibility, environment, ethics and values, well-being, etc. The transition to New-Age consciousness has opened new gates for Indian thought and Indian concepts to influence management and leadership ideas. The transition from kingdom to nation state to corporations to new global consciousness can also be captured through the idea of commandments to constitution to codes of conduct to consciousness. Nation states need constitution, corporations need codes of conduct (for good corporate governance) and new concerns of environment, well-being and spiritual development of human beings require a new global consciousness. Indian thought with its focus on holistic thinking and consciousness is immensely suited for to the new global consciousness. This is also reflected in terms of popularity of YMIS at the global level. The emergence of the idea of ‘conscious capitalism’ (Mackey & Sisodia, 2013), wherein capitalism is reimagined through the lens of higher consciousness, is illustrative of the impact of spirituality on business.
The above four perspectives of changes in human society at the global level provide us some new insights for the role Indian thought can play in meeting new challenges of the humanity, nations and the world. For this, we also need to have a perspective on Indian history with a view to draw upon Indian experiences of new knowledge creation.
Section III: Transitions in Indian Society
Sharma (2005, 2007, 2013) taking a creativity view of Indian history provides a framework of Indian history in terms of the following four periods:
Vedika period Hindika period Indika period India and Indiapuras period
In this framework, the ancient period is referred to as Vedika because of the influence of Vedas and Upanishads on Indian thought. During the medieval period, India became known as Hind. Hence, this period is referred to as Hindika and the most significant influence of this period is the Bhakti movement that brought out the significance of the heart in human conduct. During the modern period, the freedom movement played a significant role in liberation of India and as a consequence, liberation of many nations from colonialism. This period is referred to as the Indika period. After India’s independence in 1947, a new era of Indian history started, which can be referred to as the India and Indipuras period, based on the evocative phrase, ‘India as an Idea’. India as an idea extends beyond physical boundaries of India through the Indian diaspora in many nations leading to emergence of Indiapuras (‘mini-Indias’) across the world. Thus, this period saw the transition of India from Saptsindhu (seven rivers) to Saptsindhu (seven seas). During this period, Indian thought also reached many places, not only through the efforts of Indian spiritual Gurus but also through non-resident Indians and persons of Indian origin and others interested in Indian thought. Today, Indian thought with roots in ‘India as an idea’ is represented by the idea of ‘extended India’ through the concept of India as extended nation-state civilization (ENSC). Indian ideas, particularly, YMIS, have found a global expression and Indiapuras have played a significant role in popularizing these ideas.
Section IV: 100 Years of Western Management Thought and Scope for Indian Thought
The need for indigenous development of management theory and practice and emergence of the idea of Indian management should be seen in the context of the above perspectives related to global historical changes as well as transitions in Indian society. With the spread of India and Indian thought through ‘extended India’ (Indiapuras/mini-Indias representing many Indias), there is a greater interaction of Indian thought with global changes. Further, the globalization of Indian thought in the context of management and leadership should also be seen with respect to evolution of Western management thought. In the discussion below, we provide an overview of the Western evolution of management thought over the last 100 years through four stages of its evolution. These stages are presented below and it is pointed out that the fourth stage offers Indian ideas in management, a potential opportunity at the global level.
100 Years of Western Management Thought (this Part of the Paper Draws upon Sharma, 2013b)
Hundred years of the journey of Western management thought can be viewed in terms of a start from science in management (SIM) to movement towards spirituality in management (SIM). This journey can also be referred to as transition from Taylor to transcendence. We can classify this journey in terms of four stages, namely, scientific management, human side of management, ethics and values in management and SIM.
These evolutionary stages developed as a result of imperatives of the times. From 1900 to the 1950s, scientific management played a dominant role. From the 1960s to the 1990s, human side acquired importance. From the 1990s, ethics and values became important imperatives for good governance of corporations and after 2000, SIM started emerging as a new paradigm as a result of imperatives of environmental concerns, spiritual responsibility, well-being, meaning and purpose of existence, etc.
The development of the idea of spiritual quotient (SQ) by Donah Zohar and Marshall Ian (2001) coincided with these concerns. It may be indicated that in formulating this concept, they were also influenced by Eastern thought. Ashish Pandey and Rajen K. Gupta (2008), in their article ‘Spirituality in Management: A Review of Contemporary and Traditional Thoughts and Agenda for Research’, explore the importance of spirituality for management and leadership. It may be indicated that the initial entry of YMIS was largely through the route of stress management and now it has acquired a wider appeal for the well-being of the organization and thereby acquired a mainstream relevance.
During each stage of development of management thought, different disciplines impacted the field of management. During the scientific era, engineering and economics played a dominant role as the major concerns were productivity and cost. Hence, associated tools and techniques, such as, time and motion studies, were largely rooted in task focus and production focus.
During the human side period, discipline of psychology acquired dominance and concern for people became an important concern. This was also reflected in human-dimension-related concepts and tools and techniques such as Management by Objectives (MBO), Blake and Mouton Grid and Transformational Leadership.
By the 1990s, concern for good governance and ethics and values became important and thereby the discipline of philosophy as a foundation for ethics and values impacted the field of management. Concern for human values also acquired significance. These developments also led to the emergence of new concepts such as management by higher objectives (MBHO) and principle-centred leadership.
After 2000, new concerns such as environmental issues, sustainability, well-being and search for purpose and meaning in work and life became important, paving the way for the idea of SIM. Ideas from the field of consciousness studies started impacting the management thought. Books such as Tao of Physics (Capra, 1976), The Turning Point (Capra, 1992), Management by Consciousness (Gupta, 1994), Seven Spiritual Laws of Success (Chopra, 2002), Integral Psychology: Consciousness, Spirit, Psychology, Therapy (Wilber, 2002) and Monk Who Sold his Ferrari (Robin Sharma, 1999) widely influenced the corporate leaders. As a result of such influences, new concepts such as triple bottom line, spiritual leadership, wisdom leadership and leadership by consciousness and transcendent organizations (Gustavsson, 1992) became part of the discussion, dialogue and discourse in management thought. This stage, which is also referred to as a ‘New Age of management’ (New Age management), offers immense opportunities for Indian thought to play a significant role in influencing the future of management thought because of the worldwide recognition of Indian Spirituality (IS) and Indian Thought (IT) and its focus on higher self and higher consciousness.
It may be indicated that tools and techniques developed during different stages of development of management thought arose from the meta-vision and meta-perspectives of management thinking during that period. As new thoughts emerged, new tools and techniques were developed. Four stages led to four sides of management, namely, technical side, human side, ethics side and spiritual side. Now the new house of management with all the four walls is leading us towards a holistic vision of the concept of management. This holistic vision represents the future of management thought and Indian thought provides us some new pillars in creating new extensions to this house of management. Table 3 provides a summary of above discussion.
Discussions presented so far indicate that there is considerable scope for Indian thought and Indian management to provide a new thought leadership in management and related disciplines. A holistic understanding of various thought streams of ‘management in India’ referred in this paper as ‘Indian management knowledge tree’ presented earlier could help in the process of globalizing Indian thought and Indian ideas in management.
Evolutionary Journey of Management Thought
It may be indicated that several centres have sprung up in India in the last two decades that are now working in the direction of globalizing the Indian thought and Indian management concepts and ideas. A community of scholars has also emerged over the last 30 years and they are now contributing significantly to create the necessary knowledge base for globalization of Indian thought through Indian ideas in management. They include the following:
Management Center for Human Values, IIM Calcutta: Established in 1992, by Professor S.K. Chakraborty, this centre has played a pioneering role in spreading Indian thought through its various activities including management development programmes (MDPs) and its well-known Journal of Human Values. WISDOM, Banasthali University, Banasthali, Rajasthan: WISDOM was established in 1996 at Banasthali University, Banasthali, Rajasthan. Since its establishment, it has played pioneering role in researching and spreading the IEM and has emerged as a leading centre for spread of Indian management ideas. Several PhD theses deal with Indian ethos and Indian management concepts and it has also published some books on Indian ethos and Indian ideas in management. Indus Business Academy (IBA), Bangalore and Greater Noida: Established in 2001 and 2006, IBA, Bangalore and Greater Noida, have emerged as centres for research on Indian business and Indian management. It has also initiated the new concept of C school, wherein C refers to consciousness. It has published a number of books dealing with Indian ideas in management. Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Kozhikode: Established in 1996, globalizing Indian thought has now become its keynote. This is also reflected in its campus and cultural ambience. Its former Directors, Professor Krishna Kumar and Debashis Chatterjee, strived in the direction of institutionalizing the idea of globalizing Indian thought. A formal evaluation of the research undertaken by management institutions in India with respect to Indian ideas in management will be useful in assessing their distinctive contributions to the development of the different branches of the Indian management knowledge tree.
Concluding Comment: Future Research Agenda for New Ideas in Management
The framework of the four phases of development of ‘management in India’ and five thought streams or branches of ‘Indian management knowledge tree’, in the backdrop of four perspectives of changes in human societies and four periods view of Indian history, can provide us a foundational basis for future research in Indian ethos, Indian management and globalization of Indian thought through new Indian ideas in management. These developments have also been linked with the Indian four lions metaphor and also with four stages of development of management thought in the West. While several institutions mentioned in this article have contributed significantly to the seeding of the Indian management knowledge tree, there is a strong need to nurture this tree further so that it gets strengthened and starts bearing fruit. For this, we need to strengthen quality research in Indian management and create a new generation of scholars, researchers and authors who will carry forward the written (explicit knowledge) and unwritten (tacit knowledge) parts of the Indian management ideas book and thereby contribute to globalization of Indian thought, Indian ideas and Indian management. It implies opening new windows, new doors and new corridors of knowledge creation through scientific, cultural and new consciousness approaches. This could be facilitated through three research pathways to knowledge creation, namely, quantitative, qualitative and creative–meditative. Because of their experience and location in India, Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), both old and new, and other B schools in India have a ‘natural strategic advantage’ in becoming new centres for the global spread of Indian ideas in management.