While dominant management thinking is steered by profit maximisation, this paper proposes that sustained organisational growth can best be stimulated by attention to the common good and the capacity of corporate leaders to create commitment to the common good. The leadership thinking of Kautilya and Ashoka embodies this principle. Both offer a common good approach, emphasising the leader's moral and legal responsibility for people's welfare, the robust interaction between the business community and the state, and the importance of moral training (...) of leaders in identifying and promoting the common good. We argue that the complex process of re-orientating corporate priorities towards the common good requires alertness and concerted effort if both business and society are to truly benefit. As Ashoka said: ‘A good deed is a difficult thing’. (shrink)

Management is presently under intense scrutiny and criticism for its simplistic objective of enhancing shareholders’ wealth, and for lacking the ability of integrating plurality, inclusivity, and ethical conduct. Most western management principles are based on theoretically deducted cause-effect relationships, and on structured planning towards a single purpose, using relatively standardized frameworks, processes and ways of thinking. However, the complexities of management require cognition of interdependencies and the ability to deal with ambiguity, and thus needs a new paradigm that moves away (...) from the present reductionist doctrine towards an holistic framework that is adaptable and integrative. However, such a transformation requires a completely distinct ideology based on a heterodoxy that syncretises purpose-oriented approach with the present profit-oriented approach. This paper proposes that Hinduism is ideally positioned to offer such a heterodoxy. In Hinduism, the connotation for management is more a process of selection from amongst the myriad choices along multiple levels, based on inductive and supplemented by deductive logic, and mostly devoid of any absolutes or singularity in process. Under Hinduism's influence, the ‘Indian way’ is a hybrid of individualistic, collective and context sensitive ways of thinking, that sets it apart from other cultures, and thus is uniquely positioned to offer an alternative management paradigm for today’s world. This paper will present how the values and norms embedded in the philosophy and religious principles of Hinduism, evolved and continue to influence Indian management thinking and behaviour, and how the lessons from the ‘Indian way’ might contribute towards the development of an alternative management paradigm. (shrink)

Abstract:The present paper focuses on the linkage between two academic paradigms in the enquiry into business ethics: normative philosophy and empirical social sciences. The paper first reviews existing research pertaining to a normative-empirical dialogue. Further empirical data on the relationship between various standards of morality are discussed in relation to the normative frameworks of ethics. Lastly, future directions for such a dialogue in business ethics are suggested.

Abstract:The present paper focuses on the linkage between two academic paradigms in the enquiry into business ethics: normative philosophy and empirical social sciences. The paper first reviews existing research pertaining to a normative-empirical dialogue. Further empirical data on the relationship between various standards of morality are discussed in relation to the normative frameworks of ethics. Lastly, future directions for such a dialogue in business ethics are suggested.

The various forms of accounting practice have a long history. However, the focus of historical accounting scholarship examining premodern times has tended to be the genesis of double-entry book-keeping techniques. In particular, very few scholars have examined influences on the adoption of management accounting techniques in the ancient periods of India’s long history. We respond to this lacuna by examining management accounting at an organizational level within an ancient and economically successful society, namely the Mauryan period. The aim is to (...) explore management accounting practices implicated in the enforcement of economic and ethical behavior in the daily lives of Mauryan organizational actors. Drawing on a translation of original records in the form of a collection of texts known as the Arthasastra, this paper explores the intended uses of management accounting and, in particular, controls to persuade organizational actors to adapt the values and norms of wealth generation within the boundaries of socially acceptable roles. Our contribution is to highlight the society-oriented role of management accounting within Mauryan organizations. (shrink)