Management Sutra - 2

विज्ञानमयकोश Vigyanamaya Kosh (Intellect Layer/ Budhhi - Knowledge/ Ahankara- EGO)

A common man and a common organisation have everything that can be related to अन्नमयकोश Annamaya Kosh (Physical Layer / Physical Body) and प्राणमयकोश Pranamaya Kosh (Vitality Layer/ Pranic Body/ Life). A better person and a good organisation have elements explained within scope of मनोमयकोश Manomaya Kosh (Consciousness Layer/ Senses).

True success comes through the competencies built and developed by individuals. The knowledge often leads to EGO. Sigmund Freud has defined a structural model of the individual psyche. They consist of Id, ego and super-ego in terms of activity and interaction of mental life. According to this model of the psyche, the id is the set of uncoordinated instinctual trends; the ego is the organised, realistic part; and the super-ego plays the critical and moralising role. EGO perse may not be negative, unless the ego is used to undermine other's knowledge and/ or capability.
An organisation needs to build a set of competencies to succeed. This creates centres of excellence in the respective area of business. 3M, GE, Google are institution that has built competency and innovation management. Such organisations thrive on creating and exploiting their core competency for the benefits of Mankind, society and finally to the organisation. Ability to establish as Knowledge Leaders ( also known as Domain or Technology leaders) is key for success of organisations that have lasted long and spread themselves beyond their initial geography.
Competency is combination of Knowledge, Skill and Process Abilities (KSA). Often we also include attributes or behavioural aspects. However KSA is demonstrated through the behaviour of an individual. For example, an individual may have strong knowledge of Problem Solving techniques and also possesses skill and Abilities to do so. However, such KSA is useful only when they get demonstrated. In fact competency is regard as demonstrated behavioural performance in an area of interest.
The competency levels can be described in simplest form as Novice, Proficient, Expert and Master. If loosely compared with Freud's Model, it may look as below:

Sigmund Freud's Model	Competency Level
Id	Proficient
Ego	Expert
Super Ego	Master

EGO of an organisation can be dangerous if they fail to appreciate and understand the competitors strength. What we call as EGO TRIP is common among organisation who tend to ignore competitor's strength. This behaviour can be explained as Ostrich Management. Like Ostrich organisation is so deep inot its strength that it ignores the threat from competencies growth in competitors organisation (potential threat).

आनंदमयकोश Anandmaya Kosh (Blissful Layer / Ultimate Joy)

This is the final outcome that we all strive for. Be it philosophical need or materialistic need, the ultimate goal is same. This is common to both individuals as well as organisation. The life span of this stage is often short. Sustenance of this stage is rare and calls for excellence in every aspect of business organisation or individuals.

Yoga is all about planning, controlling and improving our body system at all stages.

About Maharishi Pathanjali

Before moving into the Patanjalis' Yogasutra and its interpretation for Management Science, a few words about Maharishi Patanjali himself.

A traditional prayer often chanted to remember Patanjali is

Yogena cittasya padena vacam
Malam sarirasya ca vaidyakena
Yo pakarottam pravaram muninam
Patanjalim pranjaliranato smi

 

I am a deep bow with hands folded to Patanjali,
The most excellent of sages, who removed
Impurity of consciousness through yoga
Impurity of speech through word (grammar) and
Impurity of the body through medicine (Ayurveda).

Maharishi Patanjali, believed to have lived sometime between 500 and 200 B.C. The life of Maharishi Patanjali is an enigma to modern historians. It is only with the help of legends that one can draw inferences about him. Maharishi Patanjali, universally accepted as "father of yoga," codified his thoughts and knowledge of yoga in "The Yoga Sutra of Patanjali." This compilation of 195 sutras is considered to be a blueprint for living an ideal life and also incorporating the science of yoga into one's life.
He is also the author of the Mahabhasya, a major commentary on Panini's Ashtadhyayi. 
According to one legend, Maharishi Patanjali was the avatar of Adi Shesha the Cosmic Serpent upon whom Lord Vishnu rests. While watching a dance by Lord Shiva, Adi Shesha found it unbearable to support the weight of Lord Vishnu. Amazed at this, he asked Lord Vishnu the reason for the same. Lord Vishnu said that this was because of his harmony with Lord Shiva's energy state, owing to the practice of Yoga. Realizing the value and benefits of Yoga, Adi Shesha wished to be born amongst humans, to teach them the great art.

In another popular legend, Patañjali was born to Atri (First of the Saptha Rishis) and his wife Anasuya (this would make him go back to the time of the creation by Brahma). According to this tradition, Anasuya had to go through a stern test of her chastity when the Trimurti (Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva) themselves came as Bhikshuks and asked her for Bhiksha. She passed their test by accepting them as her children and fed them. She got the boon where all the three Murtis will be born to them. They were SomaSkandan or Patañjali, Dattatreya, and Durvasa.


According to another legend, he fell (pata) into the hands of a woman, as an offering (anjali), thus giving him the name Patanjali. Maharishi Patanjali's Jeeva Samadhi is within the precincts of Sri Brahmapureeswarar Temple, near Trichy in Tamilnadu, India. (visit http://www.brahmatemple.org/brahma_YogiPatanjali.htm) 


A stamp on him was released by Government of India is 2009



We will explore the Sutras from next issue onward.


 

 

Management Sutra - Part 1

अन्नमयकोश Annamaya Kosh (Physical Layer / Physical Body) is related to the basic and physical entities of any Business Organisation. The physical aspects of organisation (namely Men, Machine and Material) by itself cannot create products and services as required by the customers. It is difficult to imagine our body as a shape, which is made up of material alone.

प्राणमयकोश Pranamaya Kosh (Vitality Layer/ Pranic Body/ Life)

The प्राणमयकोश Pranamaya Kosh (Vitality Layer/ Pranic Body/ Life) takes the physical system to a functional system.

The body requires certain vital system to be called as living organism. Existence and continuity of life depends upon Respiratory System and Blood Circulation System. While there are several other systems that support our body, these two are vital. For example, failure to digestive takes longer time for the life to come to an end; Reproductive system’s absence has no impact in ones’ life.

We know from our current day’s knowledge of science that you can keep the hope of a patient recovering as long as you can ensure blood is circulated and respiratory functions are on. One of basic understanding of these two system tells us that they are together responsible

1. To provide positive energy which is vital for all organs to carry out their task/ function.
2. To remove negative energy which can choke the functions of organs.

The ABC concept in First Aid guides to check and focus on Airway, Breathing and Circulation aspects in any victim. If these are taken care during golden hour of medical emergency, the life can always be saved.

In any organisation, these vital parts can be equated to “Process or FLOW” that enables use of the physical resources. The processes within the system are necessary. Non adherence to process flow leads to scenarios of Medical Emergency in the organisation. While organisations may have generic or unique processes, they cannot survive in absence of a process (formal or informal).

“Process Flow in Organisation is what ABC is in First Aid”

मनोमयकोश Manomaya Kosh (Consciousness Layer/ Senses)

Medical science has established over a period of time that the Central Nervous System (CNS) is possibly most important to make our life meaningful. Even though the functioning of the CNS requires the same ABC, the direction to the organs and its function is controlled by the Nervous System. The key components of CNS are Brain and Spinal Chord. Through which the entire body system and organ is managed and controlled. It is CNS that enables us to use our senses.

The brain has three levels of consciousness.

• Conscious
• Unconscious
• Subconscious

Business Organisation requires similar system to enable the Processes and Resource to give desired outputs. The Policy and Goals drive the organisations resources to do what the Think Tank within organisation wants the organisation to achieve.

The think tank (brain equivalent of organisation) decides what need to achieved. Policies and Goal are defined and drilled through a chain of systems and processes to each part (organs) of the organisation. The alignment of the goals of each part with the larger picture is critical to success. Absence of that leads to organisational problems similar to Psycho-Motor disorders in Human System.

Like our Brain the Think Tank of Organisation is available at different levels. Think tank works on to create

• Vision/ Mission
•  Strategy
• Values System 

Excellent organisation need to provide support and maintain प्राणमयकोश Pranamaya Kosh (Vitality Layer/ Pranic Body/ Life) and मनोमयकोश Manomaya Kosh (Consciousness Layer/ Senses) in good shape all the time.

I will continue with other Koshas in next issue.

Management Sutra - Preamble

Human race has always led a life that required efforts in Managing the environment in which he lived. Though all other living system has its own mechanism to manage its environment, mankind was unique in many ways.  The word environment is used here in much larger context. Human was probably the most expressive and thoughtful product of nature. The method of expression and language used may have changed over a period of time. The essence have remain by and large same.

I am personally a curious reader of this such literatures as close to its original form as possible. I attempt to seek relevance of the Practices explained in the books of History and Religion including Mythology in current context. While many may ridicule the mythology or may look at them only a passion of "devouts", I see them as a way of communicating "Best Practices".

I intend to share some insights, through these books of past, on current days Management Practices and Concepts. Some may even label it as Old Wine in New Bottle. I cannot disagree with them. That is why the Old Wine are precious and we should not loose them in oblivion of disbelief or modernism.

I intend to share some insights from the books of past on current days Management Practices and Concepts. Some may even label it as Old Wine in New Bottle. I cannot disagree with them. That is why the Old Wine are precious and we should not loose them in oblivion of disbelief or modernism.

In the current series I have chosen Maharishi Patanjali's Yoga Sutra. This is a Hindu Scripture and foundation of Yoga. It forms part of Sutra literature dating to India's Mauryan period. This period also gave us famous Kautilya Shastra which is even today a reference book on Management and Economy. 

Yoga is defined (as sourced from web)

1.       A Hindu spiritual and ascetic discipline, a part of which, including breath control, simple meditation, and the adoption of specific bodily postures, is widely practiced for health and relaxation

2.       Hindu discipline aimed at training the consciousness for a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquillity that is achieved through the three paths of actions and knowledge and devotion

3.       A system of exercises practiced as part of the Hindu discipline to promote control of the body and mind

4.       Yoga (Sanskrit, Pāli) refers to traditional physical and mental disciplines originating in India. The word is associated with meditative practices in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.

Wikipedia link on Yoga (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoga) describes it further as below:

Major branches of yoga in Hindu philosophy include Rāja Yoga, Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, and Hatha Yoga. Yoga based on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, comprises one of the six main Hindu schools of philosophy (darshanas), together with Kapila's Samkhya, Gautama's Nyaya, Kanada's Vaisheshika, Jaimini's Purva Mimamsa, and Badarayana's Uttara Mimamsa or Vedanta. Many other Hindu texts discuss aspects of yoga, including the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, the Shiva Samhita and various Tantras.

The Sanskrit word yoga has many meanings and is derived from the Sanskrit root "yuj," meaning "to control," "to yoke" or "to unite."  Translations include "joining," "uniting," "union," "conjunction," and "means."

The word yoga may also derive from the root "yujir samadhau," which means "contemplation" or "absorption".

The attempt to define the term Yoga is more to do with the market of Yoga as mean to gain control over mind and body. In the process, the strength of Yoga in wholesome is lost. Yoga has become a Packaged Product like any other Premium FMCG product in the market. Like any other product and services, it attempts to capture the attention through something that is Sulabha (easy). The wholistic approach of Yoga is explained in Patanjali Yoga Sutras and several other texts.

Our body system is made up of a system called panchakosha पंचकोश, which literally means - five layers of existence; Kosh means layers of existence.

The existence of human beings has been described having five layers (Tattiriyopanishad). This is the primary Upanishad for Krishna Yajurveda. The five koshas are -

1. अन्नमयकोश Annamaya Kosh (Physical Layer / Physical Body)
2. प्राणमयकोश Pranamaya Kosh (Vitality Layer/ Pranic Body/ Life)
3. मनोमयकोश Manomaya Kosh (Consciousness Layer/ Senses)
4. विज्ञानमयकोश Vigyanamaya Kosh (Intellect Layer/ Budhhi - Knowledge/ Ahankara- EGO)
5. आनंदमयकोश Anandmaya Kosh (Blissful Layer / Ultimate Joy)

The existence of a business organisation can be depicted as below:

The outer layer represents the अन्नमयकोश Annamaya Kosh. They are physical in nature. They decay. They change. They get revived, renewed, lost, discovered etc. Most organisations that have lived long enough would realise that their products & services have gone through changes in form and content through the period. Some of these changes may be driven by external or internal needs. The new Body makes way for new Body. Windows and Apple made DOS based system redundant. The market segment undergoes change. Rural Market that was once considered “Not”worth has become “Note”worthy for most marketing professionals.

अन्नमयकोश Annamaya Kosh from organisation perspective can be shown physically in form of Men, Machineries, Materials in various forms, Infrastructures. Each of these undergoes change over period of time. Let us look at the change that has happened to each of them. These changes made the science and art of management challenging.

Men

 Men (here indicated workforce without any bias to a specific gender) has undergone significant change in its intellect (Knowledge), ability to perform (Skill) and behaviour (Attributes).

 At a basic level we correlate knowledge to education level (though that may not be always true). One cannot fail to notice the increase in number of qualified people in almost every field. If one want to ignore the qualification, the understanding and vastness in knowledge that the next generation demonstrates is far from imagination. While the early men were also good at reasoning and thinking, which is the base for “knowledge”, the number of such people has increased.

“Ability to Perform” refers to one’s ability to do or perform a task. The advancement in technology has enabled even ordinary people to perform extraordinary both in terms of quality and quantity. In today’s job market if an organisation wants a hire an accountant who may not know how to use accounting software is next to impossible. Stephen Hawking (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Hawking) is an example of how technology can enable people to achieve feats that are unimaginable earlier. With advancement in office automation, the role of secretaries is disappearing.

Behaviour (Attribute) of job seekers and Job providers has also changed. Job Seekers are more open to path less travelled. Job Providers are now moving from industry specific experience to generic skill background. The traditional employment process driven by “apprenticeship” associated individuals to an industry or trade. A “papermaker” was “papermaker” for life. Today people migration from one industry to another and one function to another function is order of the day. 

Machineries

Machineries have changed that way home or factory used to operate. They have influenced people’s ability to work. Many have become obsolete. For example it extremely difficult to locate a convention printing press. It is not possible for one to now use statistical machines that were used in colleges earlier for large scale computing.

Material

Material in almost all area have either already become rare or on the verge of becoming one. The conservation of material is the key. Most struggles between countries today can be traced to a desire to gain control over Material.

Infrastructures

The change in infrastructure need not be highlighted. Almost every form of infrastructure has undergone change since mankind discovered wheel. Thinking Global and Acting Local is feasible only because of reduction in the geographical boundaries.

I will continue with other Koshas in next issue.