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Globalisation
of Indian management philosophy
Mohan
Babu K analyses how the introspective nature of Indian
management philosophy is being advocated in the West.
Indian
managers are going global, especially as the world continues
to flatten—apologies Tom Friedman—and in the process, executives
are taking along with them their distinctly Indian management
style and “philosophy”, in a trend that is now being closely
observed by global leaders and management thinkers. With the
globalisation of Indian managers, the spiritual dimension
of balancing the yin-yang of professional and personal lives
is coming to the attention of management thinkers and business-school
professors, a trend that a Business Week article calls “Karma
Capitalism”. [Business
Week
Special Report, Oct. 30, 2006]
Globalisation
of Indian managers is not restricted to the much hyped software
services arena where project managers and programmers routinely
crisscross the globe. Stories of Indian-born managers breaking
through the glass ceiling in multinational organisations—Pepsi’s
Indra Noori or Rajat Gupta at McKinsey—are almost ‘routine
news.’ What is more significant is the next chapter in evolution
of Indian managers, taking Indian corporations global. Examples
in several sectors abound; whether it is about managers from
Tata Steel plotting the multi-billion-dollar growth of a “Made
in India” global steel conglomerate with the takeover of Corus,
or that of executives from Dr Reddy’s Lab aspiring to take
on global pharma giants by patenting Indian drugs, and fighting
for a niche in the global generic drugs segment.
Export
of philosophy
Export
of Indian management philosophy perhaps started with the “brain
drain” generation a few decades ago when Indian technologists
and graduates would routinely aspire to migrate West seeking
rewards and a ‘better life’ in return for their skills and
talent. The generation of technologists, doctors and professors
that migrated to the US in the sixties and seventies imported
a part of the management ‘culture’ along with aspects of the
Indian values, rituals and spiritualism.
Western
business leaders are taking note of the ability of Indian
managers and business leaders to maintain a work-life balance,
even while effortlessly assimilating into the global melting
pot. Also noticeable is the yearning for the spiritual side
among migrant managers. For many, a few minutes of worship,
meditation or reflection helps get a sense of mooring in a
fast changing world.
The
broader purpose
It
is obvious to most observers that the “Indian philosophy”
is not a uniform theme; and although the term is interchangeably
used with that of “Hindu philosophy,” religion is just one
part of the thinking. Similarly, Indian management philosophy
has very little to do with Hindu philosophy and religion.
This said, a theme that seems to permeate across a cross-section
of Indian managers and leaders is the quest of a “broader
purpose” of life and work. In a sense, it is a conviction
that executives should be motivated by broader goals than
just making money: for themselves and their companies. Case
in point is the feature on Ratan Tata by The Economist magazine
[Jan 11th 2007 “The shy architect”] where the author says
Tata “does not seem to be motivated by money, and talks constantly
about fairness and doing the right thing,” and goes on to
quote Tata saying, “I want to be able to go to bed at night
and say that I haven’t hurt anybody.” Now, isn’t this exactly
the kind of viewpoint that leaders in scandal-ridden corporate
America and the West are trying hard to reflect on?
While
up-and-coming managers may find the urge to make money a key
motivator, many of their peers are beginning to question if
there is something beyond just monetary goals. Western managers,
who have for a generation or two been blindly following the
mantra of “maximising shareholder wealth, at any cost” are
beginning to see the futility of just following better Return
on Investment (RoI), perhaps looking to take a leaf out of
Ram Charan’s viewpoint. Ram Charan, a coach to CEOs including
GE’s Jeffrey R Immelt, is preaching how good leaders are selfless,
take initiative, and focus on their duty rather than obsessing
over outcomes or financial gain. In an interview, he was quoted
stating how it is important “... to put purpose before self.”
The
introspective nature of Indian management philosophy is gaining
prominence; as the Business Week article adds “while it used
to be hip in management circles to quote from the sixth century
BC Chinese classic ‘The Art of War’, the trendy ancient Eastern
text today is the more introspective ‘Bhagavad Gita’.”
It
is interesting how Indian born academics, strategists and
management gurus in the West have caught on to this trend,
living and demonstrating it to Western managers. The Business
Week article, quotes Prof Dipak C Jain, Dean of the Kellogg
School observing, “When senior executives come to Kellogg,
Wharton, Harvard, or [Dartmouth’s] Tuck, they are exposed
to Indian values that are reflected in the way we think and
articulate.”
It
is anyone’s guess if this new-found interest in Indian management
philosophy is a passing fad or a trend towards “inclusive
capitalism,” as the management guru CK Prahalad likes to call
it. While some wonder if a stakeholder-focussed approach will
replace the dictum of “maximise shareholder wealth” of corporate
America, one thing is certain, as Indian managers go global,
this is not the last one will hear of the Indian management
philosophy.
Note: This Article was originally published in Express
Computers (some spellings are as edited in Indian-English)
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