This book combines the wisdom in ancient Hindu texts on dharma, with the modern research on management to identify a set of principles that can aid business organizations in sustaining profitability. As businesses look to act more responsibly in response to the negative impact they have had on people, societies, and the environment, researchers are highlighting the changes that businesses must incorporate, with a particular focus on ethics and values. This book argues that a rapidly changing environment, a solid foundation to guide the organization, is critical. Dharma, a set of principles that holds things together or sustains life, offers such a foundation. Managing by Dharma provides business researchers with a framework to seamlessly evaluate and integrate the ethical and financial goals of business organizations.
Stories can be both entertaining and educative. They can also be insightful and illuminating, especially when they have travelled down the generations, through the centuries, taking on new meanings with each retelling. In this genre-bending book, the first of a series, Amish and Bhavna dive into the priceless treasure trove of the ancient Indian epics, as well as the vast and complex universe of Amish's Meluha (through his Shiva Trilogy and Ram Chandra Series), to explore some of the key concepts of Indian philosophy. What is the ideal interplay between thought and action, taking and giving, self-love and sacrifice? How can we tell right from wrong? What can we do to bring out the best in ourselves, and to live a life with purpose and meaning, not just one fuelled by the ego and material needs? The answers lie in these simple and wise interpretations of our favourite stories by a lovable cast of fictional characters whom you'll enjoy getting to know.
In the wake of financial meltdown and environmental disaster, employers increasingly demand that managers have an understanding of ethical decision making, corporate social responsibility and values-based management. Business ethics is therefore increasingly being taught in business schools and is a rapidly developing research topic. Managing Responsibly explores the limitations of the thinking that dominates Western corporate and business culture. Contributors then draw on non-Western traditions and experience to suggest workable inter-cultural models to enhance organizational effectiveness in an increasingly globalised environment. With chapters written by specialists in economics, management, ethics, health sciences and history, the editors - one a historian and one a management specialist - ensure a truly interdisciplinary overall approach. Part One highlights the acute need for less self-interested approaches to management if local and global communities and the environment are to escape on-going damage and exploitation. Part Two draws on values from Indian and Maori traditions to propose alternatives to Western models of business ethics. Part Three suggests ways of approaching the challenges of developing sustained ethical leadership in the contemporary globalised economy. This original addition to Gower's Corporate Social Responsibility Series will appeal to a wide range of teachers, researchers and higher level students of management, as well as practitioners participating in executive development programmes. It will also serve the needs of those with a more specialist interest in business ethics and in sustainable and responsible management.
This book combines the wisdom in ancient Hindu texts on dharma, with the modern research on management to identify a set of principles that can aid business organizations in sustaining profitability. As businesses look to act more responsibly in response to the negative impact they have had on people, societies, and the environment, researchers are highlighting the changes that businesses must incorporate, with a particular focus on ethics and values. This book argues that a rapidly changing environment, a solid foundation to guide the organization, is critical. Dharma, a set of principles that holds things together or sustains life, offers such a foundation. Managing by Dharma provides business researchers with a framework to seamlessly evaluate and integrate the ethical and financial goals of business organizations.
""The key questions for today's managers and leaders"", writes Jack Hawley, ""are no longer issues of task and structure, but questions of spirit....not religion, spirit"". We all yearn for spiritually rooted qualities at work - integrity, character, inspiration, belief, and even reverence - qualities that are key factors in an enterprise's success. Hawley provides a direct response to the widespread desire for spirituality at work, offering a practical vision of work permeated with ""dharma"" - deep integrity fusing spirit, character, human values, and decency. He shows how successful leaders or managers who are motivated by a spiritual vision liberate the best in people, and explains why all leadership is spiritual. He provides many examples of people actually living by their inner truth at work, and shows how such people can create an improved place to work and a better life as well as a more resilient, effective organization that is prepared to meet the challenges of the present and future.
"Prison activist and meditation teacher Fleet Maull shares his journey of transformation and service amidst the anger, violence, darkness and despair of a maximum security federal prison"--Back cover.
The word dharma, originally from the Sanskrit, refers to the inherent, unchanging nature of something – sugar’s dharma is to be sweet, water’s dharma is to be wet, and fire’s dharma is to emit heat and light. Dharma also refers to our natural duty. We humans have ordinary dharma and an ultimate dharma that relates to who we are at soul level. That dharma requires that we ask existential questions and then seek ultimate answers – questions such as Who am I? Why am I here? and What is my ultimate purpose? Dharma, the Way of Transcendence is a compilation of lectures on human dharma given by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in 1972 as he toured India. Here he teaches that the dharma of all humans and every other living embodied soul – is service. No one can exist for a moment without serving someone or something else, even if it’s only the mind and senses. So the question is, whom or what can we serve if we want to be truest to ourselves?
Deeply embedded in the practice of contemporary mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) are concepts drawn from the ancient wisdom of meditative traditions. The Dharma of Modern Mindfulness uncovers the essential Buddhist teachings at the heart of this powerful anti-stress program, enabling you to deepen your historical and spiritual understanding of MBSR and nourish your practice. Meditation and mindfulness are everywhere: in hospitals, clinics, and schools; in major medical, psychological, and scientific journals; on TV; and in popular publications—even on the cover of Time magazine. And thankfully so—since Jon Kabat-Zinn developed MBSR, a treatment blending meditation and yoga, it has been proven effective in treating conditions like chronic pain, stress, anxiety, and depression for sufferers around the world. Lesser known, however, are the deep philosophical roots of MBSR known as the Buddhist dharma, translated as “the teachings of the Buddha.” Although they form the very foundation underlying MBSR and other mindfulness-based interventions, they often remain hidden within modern mindfulness practices. The Dharma of Modern Mindfulness illuminates these cornerstones, communicating previously esoteric teachings with language that makes them easily accessible and applicable to your complex daily life. The book follows the structure of an eight-week MBSR class, paralleling the participant’s journey with that of the Buddha for the alleviation of suffering. With real-life examples, guided reflections, and practices throughout, this book will show you the connections between the ancient wisdom of Buddhism and contemporary MBSR. Regardless of your background, status, or education, and whether you’re a practitioner, teacher, or trainer, this invitation to explore the essential Buddhist teachings at the heart of modern mindfulness—such as the four noble truths, the noble eightfold path, and the four brahmaviharas: loving-kindness, compassion, empathetic joy, and equanimity—will expand your understanding and enhance your practice, and, in doing so, connect you with your inner wisdom and deepest humanity.
