The Culture Of Integral Management M.s. Srinivasan (this Article Is

THE CULTURE OF INTEGRAL MANAGEMENT M.S. Srinivasan (This article is an introduction to the E-magazine on Management: DimensionInc: Towards Integral Management thttp://fdi.sriaurobindosociety.org.in/cms/index.php)

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The Present Condition The corporate world is in turmoil, which can be an opportunity for radical change or a quantum leap in evolution. The scams, meltdowns and bankruptcies have triggered a rethinking on capitalism and Marxism, which when pursued with insight and wisdom can lead to a higher synthesis. These are the best of times and the worst of times. Business and Management is going through an evolutionary transition. Globalization of business has added new complexities and problems which require a fresh synthesis. Ethics, values, ecology, quality, customer satisfaction, innovation, balancing the need of local cultures with the global realities are some of the difficult issues facing multinational business. In the human dimension, an increasing number of people in the corporate world, especially the creative and talented, are seeking for something more than money and career, for an inner fulfillment in the mental, moral or spiritual spheres. The well-known management guru Peter Drucker, in one of his definitions of Management, says: ‘Management… deals with people, their values, their growth, and development, social structure, the community and even with spiritual concerns’. This gives an indication of the main factors which will shape global business and management of the future…people, values, growth and development or evolution and spirituality. In fact, all these factors are already emerging in business and management. This is the context which determines the main objective of this e-magazine, which is to clarify, augment and reinforce this higher aspiration emerging in business and management with enriching perspectives from an integral spiritual vision. The Need for a Holistic Approach But in our present globalized world, which is becoming increasingly aware of its unity and interdependence, business cannot remain isolated from the larger whole of society, culture and the environment of which it is a part or in which it functions. So, though our primary focus will be on business and management, other related issues like human growth and wellbeing, economic and social progress, culture, national development, ecological sustainability, the contours of the future world, and above all the higher aims and values of human and terrestial life, will be part of our corporate review. For we believe that the highest aims of Management must be in sync with the highest destiny of human and terrestial evolution. Infact, this is the ancient Indian Ideal for all sciences and all human activities, embodied in the concept of the Shastra. If we accept this ideal, we cannot shy away from philosophical and existential questions in management. Interestingly two Mckinsey consultants, Craig R. Nickman and Michael A. Silva in their book Creating Excellence state ‘The visionary executive

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frequently talks about philosophy, the corporate direction and values he thinks will keep the company successful. The non-visionary executive never talks about philosophy, and in fact does not appear to have one. “I’m too busy to fool around with abstractions and fantasies,” he says’. The Integral Ideal Our ideal is to create an enduring culture of integral management which will lead to a better quality of the corporate life. Such a culture cannot be created by mere systems, techniques and skills. It can be built only by developing the ideal mind, ethical and aesthetic refinement and spiritual growth. Uplifting Philosophy, inspiring Values and long-term Vision are the pillars which will support the temple of this higher culture. An integral inner and outer Discipline which can concretize the ideals of philosophy in the consciousness of people and materialize them in the outer life is the Priest who will install and enliven the Diety in the temple. This is how all great cultures which made lasting contributions to human progress, like the Indian, Chinese, Greek, were built. The other feature or core competence of such a creative culture will be the ability to think in the long-term, foreseeing and invoking the possibilities and potentialities of the Future, and actively preparing for this future in the present. The modern corporate world, especially global business, has a great potential for making a lasting contribution to human evolution. But to realize this potential it has to build an uplifting corporate culture on the lines we have indicated earlier. Our explorations in integral management will be guided and inspired by three fundamental perceptions related to the nature of human being, evolution and yoga. The human organism, individual and collective, is a four-fold being made of body, life, mind and soul or a physical, vital, mental and spiritual dimension. The ideal of human development is to develop fully all the potentialities of this four-fold being in man and integrate them harmoniously around the spiritual center of the human organism, the Fourth Dimension in Man. This ideal has to be reached through a path of progressive evolution of consciousness. And the process, which will steer this evolution is the science of Yoga. Our effort will be to capture this endeavour in the management sphere through the magazine. So our approach to management is not exclusively spiritual but integral and evolutionary. The Fourth dimension has to be reached not by discarding or neglecting the other three dimensions-physical, vital and mental-but by a progressive sublimation of their motives and potentialities. The spiritual growth has to be achieved not by an arbitrary imposition of a spiritual ideal on the individual or the organization, but through a process of mental, moral and aesthetic refinement of the present motives and ideals of management. The integral approach will take the corporate world as it is in its present condition, identify its higher aspirations, indicate the still higher potentialities which remains unmanifest at present and which will help the corporate soul to take the next higher step in its evolution.

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