This book combines the wisdom in ancient Hindu texts on dharma, with the modern research on management to identify a set of principles that can aid business organizations in sustaining profitability. As businesses look to act more responsibly in response to the negative impact they have had on people, societies, and the environment, researchers are highlighting the changes that businesses must incorporate, with a particular focus on ethics and values. This book argues that a rapidly changing environment, a solid foundation to guide the organization, is critical. Dharma, a set of principles that holds things together or sustains life, offers such a foundation. Managing by Dharma provides business researchers with a framework to seamlessly evaluate and integrate the ethical and financial goals of business organizations.

""The key questions for today's managers and leaders"", writes Jack Hawley, ""are no longer issues of task and structure, but questions of spirit....not religion, spirit"". We all yearn for spiritually rooted qualities at work - integrity, character, inspiration, belief, and even reverence - qualities that are key factors in an enterprise's success. Hawley provides a direct response to the widespread desire for spirituality at work, offering a practical vision of work permeated with ""dharma"" - deep integrity fusing spirit, character, human values, and decency. He shows how successful leaders or managers who are motivated by a spiritual vision liberate the best in people, and explains why all leadership is spiritual. He provides many examples of people actually living by their inner truth at work, and shows how such people can create an improved place to work and a better life as well as a more resilient, effective organization that is prepared to meet the challenges of the present and future.

In the wake of financial meltdown and environmental disaster, employers increasingly demand that managers have an understanding of ethical decision making, corporate social responsibility and values-based management. Business ethics is therefore increasingly being taught in business schools and is a rapidly developing research topic. Managing Responsibly explores the limitations of the thinking that dominates Western corporate and business culture. Contributors then draw on non-Western traditions and experience to suggest workable inter-cultural models to enhance organizational effectiveness in an increasingly globalised environment. With chapters written by specialists in economics, management, ethics, health sciences and history, the editors - one a historian and one a management specialist - ensure a truly interdisciplinary overall approach. Part One highlights the acute need for less self-interested approaches to management if local and global communities and the environment are to escape on-going damage and exploitation. Part Two draws on values from Indian and Maori traditions to propose alternatives to Western models of business ethics. Part Three suggests ways of approaching the challenges of developing sustained ethical leadership in the contemporary globalised economy. This original addition to Gower's Corporate Social Responsibility Series will appeal to a wide range of teachers, researchers and higher level students of management, as well as practitioners participating in executive development programmes. It will also serve the needs of those with a more specialist interest in business ethics and in sustainable and responsible management.

Folk stories found in the Mahabharata are related to present business environment to discover similarities that are used to propose useful management leadership techniques

Drawing upon the timeless wisdom of the Bhagavad Gītā, a philosophical-spiritual world classic, this professional book highlights the spiritual and moral dimensions of management using an inside-out leadership development approach. It interprets the Bhagavad Gītā’s teachings on the personality types and psychological makeup of managers and employees; self-knowledge and self-mastery; and the leadership concepts of vision, motivation, and empowerment. This book covers topics such as training of the mind, ethical leadership, communication, stress management, and corporate social responsibility (CSR). Collectively, the enclosed contributions provide managers with an enhanced outlook on management functions such as leading, planning, organizing, and controlling in today’s organizations, particularly those run by knowledge workers. Management research in the 20th century has mainly focused on the industrial paradigm characterized by a hierarchical structure of authority and responsibility with an individualistic focus on the personality of the manager. However, this traditional paradigm cannot solve many of the problems that confront leaders and mangers today. Recent studies have shown that values traditionally associated with spirituality—such as integrity, honesty, trust, kindness, caring, fairness, and humility—have a demonstrable effect on managerial effectiveness and success. Although traditionally interpreted as a religious-spiritual text, the Bhagavad Gītā teaches these values which can be extrapolated and applied to practical management lessons in today’s corporate boardrooms. Applying the text of the Bhagavad Gītā to the context of management, this book views the manager as an “enlightened sage” who operates from higher stance, guided by self-knowledge and self-mastery. It demonstrates how character is the key ingredient for effective management and leadership. This book is therefore applicable to all managers, from first-line to CEOs, in their management and leadership roles in organizations.

Management is a very important study. Comparing it to most organizations, apart from basic administrative functions, Buddhism has its own characteristics with regard to management, particularly in managing people and the mind. The Dharma has significant substance regarding management. Speaking of management with the Dharma, every teaching in the Dharma is a study of management. For instance, Buddhism talks about compassion and compassion is the Dharma; it talks about patience and patience is the Dharma; it talks about wisdom and wisdom is the Dharma. Buddhism teaches non-attachment, within non-attachment is skillfulness, flexibility, and reasonableness, that is the Dharma.