Corporate Gita : Lessons for Management, Administration

and Leadership
There is a radical shift happening in todays business environment , Organizations needs to
cater to the changing needs of all the stakeholders involved, in such a dynamic environment
Bhagwat gita principles act as a guide to deal difficult business conundrums. The paper
discusses about the sacro-civic society and the 4 major management themes and
subthemes which are of greater interest in todays business environment. The major
corporate application of Gita include in the form of Stress-Management, psycho-
spiritual improvement in the work environment; business ethics, human values; and
enlightened leadership. Gita aids in exploration of self and provides profound insight
into self-development. Gita idea of Manas-Vacchah-Karma dwells into direct
connection between thoughts and actions, Synonymous to Management Walk the
Talk. Gita focuses more on the mental state or soundness of the decision maker
whereas Conventional management literature focusses on the decision making
rather than the mental state. t. The basic tenet of Gita is lokasangraha which means
ones deeds should be for a greater good. Shri Krishna had shown path to Arjuna to
establish peace over his self-interest. Hence in the perspective of Corporates, the
corporate behavior should be for the greater social interest rather than fulfilling
selfish motives , Companies shouldnt neglect their responsibilities towards the
society and follow ethical practices. Parasparam bhavayantaha which means
Mutality and Interdependence entails the importance of mutual cooperation and
avoidance of conflict for the better performance of the Organization. Gita
emphasizes on Nishkam karma , not dwelling too much on the fruits reaped from
action but giving utmost commitment towards the work/action this will inculcate the
Ethical facet in decision making for Organizations. Enlightened Leadership by
showing path to others by setting standards and benchmarks and being a visionary
is given utmost priority in Gita which is what is required in todays business
environment Companies like GE,IBM,3M are doing. Gita professes 4-stage model for
self-development namely student or the learning phase which is devoted to learning
life skills and values ; In secular phase one strives for materialistic pursuits ; In
sacro-secular phase transformation beyond the materialistic pursuits happen and
finally spiritual-phase leads to self discovery vivid examples of Vivekananda can be
explained through these life stages. In Corporate context, there are empirical
applications of Gita concepts tested on Organization development, work-life balance
and Managerial Effectiveness. The Idea of mutuality and interdependence has been
helpful in removing the silos within the organization and promote team work,
mutual cooperation and synergy across different stakeholder in an Organization.
Yoga as a tool for providing equilibrium and even mindedness which is seen as a
virtue for sound decision making makes its way into the organizational culture with
many organizations opting for stress busting sessions like yoga.In Mahabharata,
Duryodhana chose Sri Krishna army whereas Arjuna opted for the wisdom of Shri
Krishna which is a classical epitome how organisations can stay afloat even when
there is a scarcity of resources but by the proper utilization of available resources
here even though Arjuna was short on resources , he utilized Shri Krishnas wisdom
to win the battle.

Conclusion : Hence with the problems of substandard ethical standards,

resource crunch, cut throat competition prevalent in corporate
environment leading to unethical practices, Gita principles and learnings
provides virtuous direction to the Organizations by teaching self
development, commitment, effective utilization of resources, efficient
management and sound decision making ability