What if Sutras, Upanishads, Geeta would be guiding the world management theories instead of Taylor,
After reading once more the Kata Upanishad, I had a moment of reflection, thinking about everything we are trying to do in my company and how we used to work in the past. Suddenly I noticed that, somehow, some of the principles of transformational management we want to implement, the ones based on Laloux book*, Wholeness, Evolutionary Purpose, Self Management, are nothing more than the principles of Quantum management, Danah Zohar book Quantum Leader – and BOTH are nothing more than a revival of old scriptures of India – the world most hidden and wise life-science books….
Where the world is evolving to, is to the most ancient wisdom – ALL human beings are capable of anything, provided that they are a whole with themselves and with everything that surrounds him/her! If the human being is given the right environment, his/her highest motivation will be his/her own pursuit for meaning and self realization. All basic material needs being provided, they will look for a meaning and this will be the most powerful motivation tool than any other material incentive.
So why we, as humanity, have arrived where we are today? Believing that other human beings are only motivated by material incentive, that they are not deeply spiritual, that they will not come to work for something bigger than just for a pay check?
My insight was coming back to my days of Quantum Leader workshop – all the western management theories were based on the Newtonian science, believing that the knowing the parts and being able to perfect each part separately, you can make a better whole. While we know in quantum physics, and in any Indian ancient scripture, that if we will perfect one part alone you will create a completely different whole, and maybe destroy the whole. In order to be able to tackle an issue you have to see it as a whole, if you look parts of it you will never perfect it at its maximum potential…
So the fragmentation of Medicine, Management, and all other theories is purely fruit of newtonian theory – which brought us to believe that to understand the whole we have to separate the parts. Bringing to the belief that, we are individuals separated from each others, cities separated, states, countries, and each one wants to have the maximum for ourselves, destroying the whole. But we would be able to get much more if we would see ourselves as a whole…
Well, let us come back to management theories and compare what would be the world today, if we would have been guided by the Indian ancient scriptures!!
Let’s take a look on the “old management theory”, where the search was to “fragment the management” and to control the productivity through the control of human being, transforming it in Human Resource… Goals and clear objectives were crucial, as they could not see the whole and take decisions by themselves, also motivation would be low, finally THIS human being from Newton’s belief, would never come to work for his/her own purpose, but for material incentive, so you better have a good compensation system, not matter the why of your company!
For all to review the business class theories:
Taylors principle of scientific management:
· Science, not rule-of-thumb; · Scientific selection of the worker · Management and labour cooperation rather than conflict · Scientific training of workers
Weber’s bureaucratic approach:
Structure Specialization Predictability and stability Rationality Democracy
Fayol’s principle of management: administrative theory
· Division of work (specialization) · Authority and responsibility · Discipline · Unity of command · Unity of direction · Subordination of individual interest · Remuneration of personnel · Centralization · Scalar chain · Order · Equity · Stability of tenure of personnel · Initiative · Esprit de corps · The concept of line and staff · Committees · Functions of management – planning – organizing – training – commanding – coordinating
Check here for a thorough view of these theories (http://www.fao.org/3/w7503e/w7503e03.htm)
But what are the modern books telling us???
