Indian Ethos - An Overview

 Meaning
 Features
 Need
 History
 Relevance
 Principles practiced by Indian Companies
 Requisites
 Elements
 Role of Indian Ethos in Managerial Practices. Brain Stilling

Meaning
"Ethos" is a Greek Word which means "Character". It also can be defined as the set of beliefs of
community of a region. Hence Indian Ethos is a set of Indian beliefs that guides the individual. The
simple meaning of 'Ethos' is, the guiding principles of a person, group or of an organization. "Ethos'
is a set of beliefs, ideas, etc., about social behaviour and relationship of a person or group. Indian
ethos can be regarded as "ethos of the nation". It is mainly the philosophy of managing as well as
governing the self and the society. It focuses upon discipline and wisdom as expressed in the holy
books and ancient scriptures like Vedas, Gita, Upanishads, Mahabharata, Quran and Bible.

Features
 Divinity of all souls: Human existence as the ultimate truth of life the human soul should be
given the utmost importance
 Equilibrium or Balance: Refers to stability Perfect stability between desire and lack of desire,
religious and secular thoughts, materialistic and spiritual world etc.
 Balance between Personal and Professional Life: IE believes that the world is good for those
who are good themselves. For this reason, a person should manage and maintain a perfect
work-life balance.
 Whole-Man Approach the ideas of Puranas, Upnishads and Gita are reflected in IE Indian
thought believes in this idea which consists of knowledge of cosmos, creation and
interrelationship between materialistic and spiritual life.
 Pure or Cosmic Consciousness: IE focuses on the belief that every individual has a
Divine element which belongs to the pure or consciousness. This encourages values like co-
operation, mutual trust, universal brotherhood and common welfare
 Significance to Character: IE considers the character to be more important than knowledge.
It is the ultimate wealth and power
 Work is Worship: IE believes in the philosophy of "work is worship". It considers all work as
valuable and respectable
 Duty and responsibility: IE does not focuses on rights and privileges. It is mainly interested
responsibilities and duties in individuals'
 Knowledge: Knowledge of the creator. Knowledge of the creation.
  Excellence at work: IE believes that quality can be maintained by ensuring excellence in the
workplace. Possible with the help of self-development and self- motivation

Needs/Requisites of Indian Ethos

1. Holistic Management Attitude

2. Humanising the Organization

3. Interiorising Management

4. Self-Introspection

5. Brain-Stilling

6. Stepping-Back

7. Self-Dynamiting Meditation

8. Role of Intuition

1. Holistic Management Attitude

An attitude of holistic management which is driven by values should be adopted by every
organisation. It believes in generating profits by offering services and satisfying the stakeholders;
workers, society, customers or suppliers. Hence it is vital to fulfil the social responsibility towards all
the stakeholders.

2. Humanising the Organization

It revolve around three aspects, viz. Inter-personal relations, man-machine equation and inner
management. Inter-personal relations - i.e. among individuals and People. Man-machine equation -
i.e. Relation between man and machine/equipment, where man is the prime concern. Inner
management - that ensures mental and spiritual growth.

3. Interiorising Management
It refers to managing the self or management through consciousness. Only through the proper
integration and management of body, mind heart and intellect; the internal conflicts in the humans
can be resolved. Its ultimate aim to know oneself first before knowing others.

4. Self-Introspection
It starts with studying and analysing the self, followed by criticism o identify conflicts and
disharmonies. It is possible only through examining the feelings, emotions, passions and thoughts of
self

5. Brain Stilling
The mind should be in the state of absolute stability and silence while making rational decisions. One
of the most effective ways to resolve problems is brain-stilling or meditative silence. The problems
which are difficult to be tackled through reasoning can be handled by this process.

6. Stepping Back
It is important to step back and think for a while before speaking, doing or deciding anything. This
helps in mastering and gaining control over situation.

7. Self-Dynamising Meditation
The act of turning lower consciousness into higher consciousness. It is also known as transforming
meditation. Meditation renders a situation of silence and calm mind where one is able to attain a
level of higher consciousness that directs their intuitions to handle a number of problems of life.

8. Role of Intuition
A state where one is able to attain certainty or direct knowledge without any logical explanation. It
refers to immediate cognition of inner-self and when fully developed, it helps an individual in taking
prompt and efficient decisions. Such skill helps in tackling the inconsistent and haphazard situations
with confidence. Faith is a preliminary condition required for developing and realising intuitive
power

History
• According to Swami Vivekananda, "Indian ethos serves ideas of honesty, integrity and morality".
Indian ethos basically are based on our social structure, culture and religions.

• Moreover, our Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas, Bhagwad Gita and Ramayana have also contributed to
create and develop the holistic and value added aspects in the Indian Ethos.

• Bhagwad Gita focuses on doing our provided duty. We should use our judgment and conduct our
duties with highest attention. Gita tell us that, we should do our jobs without thinking of the reward
in return. That means, perform our work diligently for the organization and results will follow

Relevance of Indian Ethos

Maintaining Holistic Universe:
All minds and materials are considered to be deeply interconnected. Sacrifice and love are
considered to be the only ways to lead a purposeful life. Aims at living a meaningful life and making
the best of it.

Elucidating (Explaining) Motivation:

Describe the idea of motivation in a holistic manner. Considers motivation as an integral element of
all beings.

General Welfare
Which means that human should not only consider their interest but also the interests of others and
the society.

Unique Work Culture

The concept of work can be regarded as sadhana or worship; and dharma and karma are considered
to be the same. Dharma refers to performing the duty and no specific religion as such. Therefore,
karma' is required to achieve 'dharma'. Dharma is a Sanskrit word that means law or judgment.
Karma is the sum of all of a person's actions through all of his lives, past and present. These actions
are considered in relation to that person's dharma, and whether or not that person fulfilled the
duties dictated by his dharma.

Evenness of Mind
It can be achieve through the IE. According to this philosophy, the means and ends hold the same
importance. Self-Development those managers who believe in self-development and hold an
integrated personality can effectively manage the enterprise through collaboration and teamwork.
A holistic attitude in this regard can be adopted by developing a higher consciousness which will help
in bringing forth the divinity in humans. It also helps in ensuring excellent and perfect results at the
workplace.

Promotes Concentration
The mind can be controlled by means preached by Vedanta. This results in increasing the levels of
productivity, efficiency and concentrations in individuals. It has nothing to do with renouncement.
The Gita rightly reflects this philosophy. As per it, "you have to be a man of action, so do not run
away from your action or Karma but the same should be done according to your Dharma".

Establishing Value System

Most of the social vices have emerged due to our deteriorating value system. Conventional values
have taken a back seat in this technology oriented modern world of competition and globalisation.
Therefore, there is an immediate need to re adopt the ancient sanatan system of cooperation,
integrity, honesty, harmony, non-violence and truth. The philosophy of 'sarva-dharm-sambhav'
which involves a secular ethos need to be promoted.

Principles practiced by Indian companies:

1. Honesty the quality of being honest, someone or something that is truthful, trustworthy or
genuine

2. Transparency, in a business or governance context, is honesty and openness.

2. Accountability and Responsibility - Accountability is the obligation to explain, justify, and take
responsibility for one's actions.

4. Equal treatment The principle of equal treatment establishes that all people and in the context of
the workplace, all workers have the right to receive the same treatment and not to be discriminated
against on the basis of criteria such as age, disability, nationality, race and religion.

5. Harmony a state of agreement or of peaceful existence together. Agreement in feeling, action,

ideas, interests, etc.; peaceable or friendly relations.

6. Fairness-treating people equally or according to the law, rules, etc.

7. Integrity-the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles, the state of being united
or undivided

8. Dignity of Work The dignity of labour is the philosophy that all types of jobs are respected equally,
and no occupation is considered superior and none of the jobs should be discriminated on any basis.
Regardless of whether one's occupation involves physical work or mental labour, it is held that the
job deserves respect. Social reformers such as Basava and his contemporary Sharanas, as well as
Mahatma Gandhi, were prominent advocates of the dignity of labour.

9. Holistic Approach a holistic approach: Means to provide support that looks at the whole person,
not just their mental health needs. The support should also consider their physical, emotional, social
and spiritual wellbeing. A holistic approach focuses on a person's wellness and not just their illness
or condition. An example of holistic is health care that focuses on the health of the entire body and
mind and not just parts of the body.

10. Co-operation working together with somebody else to achieve something, help that you give by
doing what somebody asks you to do.

Purpose of Indian Ethos

1. Developing Proper Management: Helps in establishing a proper system of management at the
workplace. Management system which is formed on the age-old principles of discipline and wisdom
can help in running an organization smoothly.

2. Ensuring All-round Development: Helps in ensuring overall growth, development and prosperity
of the organization. Can help in Increasing profitability, marketability and productivity of the
organization

3. Art of working sincerely:

4. Believes in the philosophy that if an individual is working sincerely for nature, society or
organization, then he/she will be surely blessed with prosperity, peace and happiness.

5. Increasing Human Productivity: Considers the capabilities of the humans to be more importance
than capabilities of the organization.

Role of Indian Ethos in Management Practice

 Planning
 Recruitment & Selection.
 Healthy Relations.
 Responsibility & Accountability.
 Training & Development.
 Performance Appraisal.
 Workers Participation in Management.
1. Grievance Redressal - Grievance or, Employee Grievance is a formal complaint raised by an
employee against a fellow employee or manager, or even against the employer. Employees
usually file grievances for workplace harassment, discrimination, nepotism, concerns
regarding team management or regarding terms of the employment.
2. Promotes Harmonious work culture A good and harmonious working environment is one
where all workers are treated with dignity and respect, and where no worker is subjected to
harassment by conduct that is related to religious belief or political opinion

3. Creates Strong Relation: Indian ethos puts a lot of emphasis on human values and the
development of human beings. Therefore an organization which subscribes to Indian ethos
will have a people- centric approach. Such organizations would maintain relationships with
their employees as well as external stakeholders like vendors, suppliers, etc.
• This improves the brand image of the organizations and also augments their
communication objective in the positive direction.
• Balanced Values: The Indian ethos strives to strike a balance between materialism
and spirituality.
• It places equal importance on both.
4. Improves Performance: The IE leads to an increase in the performance of the corporate. This
is because it teaches that the individual benefit should be ignored for the greater good of
the society and mankind. The emphasis is always on sustainability and long term benefits
instead of instant and short-term gains.
5. Inward Considerations: The Indian ethos looks at individuals. It believes that entire world
can be good once individuals are good. An ethical and unique organization can be
established by adopting the above principle. The productivity of such an organization will
definitely be high.
6. Avoids Unethical Aspects: The Indian ethos has its roots in holy texts like the Gita,
Upanishads, and Vedas, etc. These texts and scriptures abhor all practices that are based on
unethical means.
7. Develops Self Reliability: Indian ethos gives much importance to the internal resources
rather than external resources. It, therefore, tends to make the organization more self-
reliant as it makes the best use of its available resources. The performance of the business
also improves as it makes the best utilization of its existing resources. The decision making is
also not influenced by the external factors.
8. Helps in Problem Solving: Indian ethos makes the organization more capable of managing
environmental change and making the best use of available challenges and opportunities.
9. Improves Quality: Self-development and self- motivation along with TQM, resulting in the
development of the business.
10. Organizations following, Indian ethos consider humanity as supreme. This provides a strong
bond with internal as well as external customers, resulting in improved performance.
11. Indian ethos focuses on, if a person is good, then the whole world is good. Any organization
which follows the above ethical thought automatically gets converted into an ethical
organization, with less conflicts and hindrances. Indian ethos impacts the performance of
business while sacrificing individual desires.
12. Self-motivation and self-development helps a lot in the development of business and its
quality. Indian ethos helps in problem solving and develops self-reliability.
13. The process of management involves four aspects: maximum utilization of resources, leading
with efficiency, materializing the organizational goals towards effectiveness and value
addition to the world through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). All these aspects are
possible only in a healthy environment. Ethics and ethical behaviour are the main
ingredients of healthy management.
 14. Our ancient wisdom literature in the Vedas, Vedanta, Upanishads, Ramayana, Mahabharata
Bhagawad Gita or the Arthashastra are a storehouse of comprehensive and powerful
philosophy to be applied in all ages for the benefit of mankind.
15. Since Indian Philosophy extols unity amidst all diversities, belief in tolerance, quest for
freedom, we can become better performers by imbibing knowledge from these scriptures on
the art of management.

Elements of Indian Ethos

 Ego sublimation.
 Sacrificing spirit.
 Team achievement.
 Spiritual attainment.
 Self-control.
 Concept of Duties.
 Yielding rather than Dominating.
 Respect & Search for Truth.
 Emphasis on Permanence
 Quest for Perfection
 Joy in doing duty