22 Work Ethics

1.      Learning Outcome

2.      Introduction

3.      Dimensions of work ethics

4.      Indian work ethics

5.      Key Indian ethics

6.      Methods to cultivate Indian ethos

7.      Principles of Indian ethics in management

8.      Work ethics and management

9.      Work ethics at various levels of management

10.  Summary

1.    Learning Outcome:

After completing this module, the students will be able to learn about the following:

• Dimensions of wok ethics Indian work ethics
• Methods to cultivate Indian ethos
• Principles of Indian ethics in management Work ethics and management
• Work ethics at various levels of management

2. Introduction

Work ethics are very important for the success of the business and for increasing the productivity of the people at the workplace for any business organisation. The work ethics and work ethos varies from one country to another and also from one organisation to another organisation. The work ethics plays a very significant role in increasing the efficiency of the business activities. Indian system of the business and management are based on the Indian values and traditions enshrined in or ancient scriptures. Indian philosophy considers work as worship and even the customers are treated as god. Work ethics have a very important place in the business organisations.

Ethos” is a Greek word which means “character” that is used to describe the guiding beliefs and ideals that characterise a community, nation and ideology. It is also distinguishing character, moral, or guiding beliefs of a person, group or institution.

Indian ethos is all about what can be termed as national ethos. The body of knowledge which derives the solutions from the rich and huge Indian system of ethics i.e. moral philosophy is known as Indian ethos in management. Indian ethos in management has its base in the cultural heritage of India. Indian culture has its roots in the religions. There are various religions practised in India like Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and many more. Indian ethos and ethics are also derived from the Vedas, Ramayana, Mahabharta, Bhagwad Gita, and various Upanishads. There are basic universal truths that are followed from the past and these are:

The essential infinitude and divinity of all souls.

The essential oneness and solidarity of universe and all life.

3.      Dimensions of work ethics

The main dimensions of the work ethics are as follows:

Rightful expectations from employees: Work ethics refers to the ethical attitude to work alone in the context of employment. In any organisation the efficient and diligent performance of duties is assigned to the employees. The employer gives opportunity career and status to the employee. The employee should give his best in the organisation. This is ethical demand of duty. The shrinking works, making excuse for poor performance, finding faults with organisation all are against the demand of work ethics. On the other hand employee also has the rightful expectations the employer.

Developing the sense of fraternity and belongingness: The worker should exhibit by his behaviour a sense of belongingness to the organisation. A feeling of respect should be given in the organisation and one should also try to maintain the good relationships with the peers and subordinates and they should be treated well.

Protecting the interest of the organisation: It must be the top priority of the organisation and the employees to protect the interest of the organisation against all the odds.

No adverse comment on the organisation in public: It is one of the great work ethics not to pass the adverse or demeaning comments about the organisation.

Sense of loyalty towards the organisation: All the workers and employees of the organisation are alive because the organisation is alive. Loyalty means safeguarding the interest of the organisation. It needs the sense of deviation and allegiance which is beyond the routine job requirements and the duties of the job. A loyal employee should not promote those personal interests which are competing the organisation at the cost of the organisation. He must act as faithful agent of the organisation and should also give highest priority to the organisational needs.

Sense of discipline: A great work ethic is that of maintaining discipline in the organisation. Every organisation and the work group must have their written rules and norms. The members and the employees have to follow them. There should be proper following of the hierarchy of power and authority at work. People at lower level are expected to follow orders directions and suggestions given by the superiors.

Protecting the interests of the society: Interest of the organisation must be high agenda and the top priority of the workers of the organisation. Their activities must focus on the protection of the interests of the organisation. The workers’ interests can be protected through proper communication and through higher productivity along with ensuring the quality of the organisation. They should make their best efforts in this regard.

Work ethics through appropriate system: Unambiguous policies, rules, and regulations are facilitative in establishing the work ethics. Clarity of these will make the work ethics more purposeful.

Work ethics in terms of proper communication system: A transparent communication system is said to be the lifeline of the organisation. Proper communication channel will promote work ethics in the organisation. Any misunderstanding may be eliminated through proper communication system.

4.      Indian work ethics

The main features of the Indian work ethics are as follows:

• Indian work ethics focuses on the existence of the human beings as a truth. There is nothing more perfect than the supreme soul.
• Indian ethics focuses on the principle that if you are good then the whole world is good.
• Indian ethics are derived from the Bhagwad Gita, Puranas and Upanishads.
• In accordance with the work ethics, one must successfully strive a balance between the spiritual values and secular values so that the even a rich person can lead a life of materialism and spirituality together.
• Indian ethos places greater emphasis on the values and ethics. Money is not power and in fact, knowledge, good health and sound character impart the real power.
• Indian ethos places emphasis on the inner resources. Inner resources are much more powerful than the outer resources.
• The main ethos and ethics that can improve the work culture in the organisation are as follows:
• All work is an opportunity for doing good deeds in the world, thus gaining the materially and spiritually in our work.
• One who delivers the duties in a calm mind; he achieves the most in the work. Thus, one must concentrate on the work so as to achieve the best results.
• Strength and cooperation for excelling in work are bestowed by the divine. All human beings enjoy the highest good by mutual cooperation and respect.

5.      Key Indian ethics

Even the modern science has accepted that in the holistic universe all the minds and matters are interconnected at the deeper level. The basic unity of the life cannot be broken. On the basis of this holistic vision, Indians have developed work ethics of life. We have developed the mental, managerial and administrative all work has to be directed towards the single purpose. These Indian ethoses are needed all over the world in the present business scenario so that the management of the business and industry could be done efficiently and effectively. Some of these Indian ethics are as follows:

Vedantic view of karma: In Indian philosophy, Karma is supreme. We should all perform the karma and leave the result on the almighty. Karma is a manifestation of the divinity and hence the karma must be pure, honest and sincere. Indian philosophy also teaches us the manner to perform the work without having any attachment to the results, as the results do not fall under the jurisdiction of the doer. Such thinking and understanding will change the attitude of the doer.

Self as the source of all power: Self is the microcosm of the God and God is the source of all power. Considering the motivations as internal, every human being has the same divine atman with the immense potentials within. Vedas brings the infinite expansion of the mind, brakes down all the barriers and brings the God in man. Motivation should be internal and not external. Such motivation involves the inner beauty and does not promote the greed in an individual to have more and more in return of his work.

Welfare of all: Indian ethics have welfare orientation. Vedas teaches to perform all the activities. It teaches us to serve the personal interest but do not forget the others. Sankaracharya has also given the concept to gain the perfection in the individual life and also the welfare of the world.

Unique work culture: It is often said that the work is worship. Work is always considered as the worship or duty or sadhna and there is no difference in the karma i.e. work and dharma i.e. religion. The term dharma does not indicate any particular religion. Dharma is the duty to be performed in any given situation. Thus, dharma is possible only with the karma.

Skill in action and evenness of mind: Skill in action and evenness of the minds means undisturbed mind and skilled action that leads to the higher productivity. Integrated human personality of self-developed manager can assure the best and competent management of any enterprise, involving the collective efforts and work. It will help in achieving the perfection or excellence in the work. We shall achieve the peace, harmony and prosperity within and without the internal and external world simultaneously.

Means are equally important as the ends: It is not only ends that are important but also the means are more important in the organisation.

6. Methods to cultivate Indian ethos

Indian ethics are needed to make the Indian management system more humane and value based. Indian ethics are more demanding which leads to the understanding of the following:

Management  attitude:  Top  management  should  have  firm  belief  in  the  value orientation holistic management. Profit is earned through service and satisfaction of all stakeholders, i.e. employees, customers, shareholders and citizens. There should also be ensurement made on the behalf of the management with regard to the social responsibility.

Humanising the organisation: Emphasis should be made on the three mian humane aspects such as inter personal relations, man machine equation and inner management. The man machine relations should be made the prime concern and the inner management should be done through mental and spiritual growth of the organisation.

Interiorising management: Self management is the management by the consciousness and it should be properly promoted. When the soul manages the other four human being, namely, mind, body, intellect and heart then the conflict amongst these four is resolved. This is management by consciousness. The main objective of self management is first to know and manage oneself and then manage others.

Self-introspection: Get on the self study, self analysis and self criticism in locating the areas of friction and disharmony, a self examination of one’s own thoughts, feelings, emotions, sensations and passions and a desire to reduce the ego.

Brain stilling: For rational and enduring the decisions, silent mind is a necessity. A perfect calm mind enjoying tranquillity is necessary. Brain stilling and meditative silence is the most reliable method to discover solutions to problems and difficulties which seems to be difficult to be tackled be reason and intellect because through this one can come into contact with the inner mind or consciousness.

Stepping back for a while: Never decide anything, never speak a word, and never throw yourself into action without stepping back. The stepping back from the situation for a while enables one to control and master a situation.

Self dynamising meditation: A dynamic meditation is meditation of transformation of lower consciousness into higher consciousness and hence is known as transforming meditation. Through meditation, in a silent and calm mind, one reaches the higher level of consciousness which offers the guidance in the form of intuitions to tackle the multitude of problems.

Role of intuition: Intuition is  the act  of knowing  the  direct  knowledge  without reasoning  or  interfering.  It  is  immediate  cognition  by  the  inner  mind  and  fully developed, is efficient and effective for taking prompt and sound decisions. Intuition skills enable one to cope with confidence the fluctuating environment and rapid changes. Faith is a prerequisite to develop and realise the power of intuition.

7.   Principles of Indian ethics in management

There are main six principles of Indian ethics in management. These are as follows:

Purpose behind doing work: Work should be done for the personal growth and also for the welfare of the world. It is followed by the purity of the mind and heart. It is done to become wise and to provide public benefit. That should be the main objective of doing the work.

Spirit behind doing the work: Work is to be done with the spirit of Yagna, i.e. team work and selflessness. The spirit behind doing the work should be to nurture each other. It is a form of yagna, sacrifice and worship of the divine.

For whom work should be done: Work should be done to nurture each other, i.e. win-win approach. It should be done for the mutual benefit.

Working in true spirit: The spirit behind the work should be to serve others and to sacrifice yourself. Give your best for the good of others. With the spirit of renunciation and to serve others without self interest.

How much work should be done: The excellence in action is yoga. Excellence in work should be the way of doing work.

Resources during work: The main resources which have to be looked while doing work are as follows:

• Sukshma or the subtle sub objective, intangible factors are equally important than the main, gross, and tangible factors.
• Karma-kshetra: It implies that one should treat the workplace as sacred and keep it clean and bring in orderliness and cleanliness.

8.   Work ethics and management

Work ethics and management goes side by side. A healthy work environment system has a healthy ethics, ethos and values. Ethics is the branch of philosophy that addresses questions about the morality i.e. concepts such as good and evil, right or wrong, etc. ethics can also be characterised as Indian rules of conduct recognised in the respect of particular class of human actions or a particular group or culture. Making ethical decisions may not always be feel good or bad or they may benefit you but are the right choices to be made. These are universal golden rules like do not hurt anyone, do not steal, do not dishonest and do not lie.

The need of ethics in the business management comes from the following factors:

From internal customer’s point of view: Customers want business to follow ethical approach in their business operations. It improves the atmosphere and ambience at work and facilitates by motivating the employees. The ethical behaviour of management sets a good example for the employees it evokes the sense of pride for the company and improves the image in the eyes of the employees and establishes a sense of loyalty.

From external customer’s point of view: External customers rate a company on the basis of ethical standards that it follows. It develops the public image of the company and also adds to the overall development of the ethical behaviour of the company in the society. There have been various discussions on the ethics, law and morality.

From the organisation’s point of view, there must not be transgress in the boundaries of the law. An employee may not always follow law sometimes he must listen to his ethics but one should always have the answer of breaking the law. Thus, work ethics or work culture refers to the certain norms of behaviour governing the conduct of workers involved in the work situations to achieve the certain desired objectives.

9.      Work ethics at various levels of management

Work ethics are different at different levels of management. It can be distinguished as the following:

At basic level: Work ethics at the basic level includes: o Discipline

• Consistent maintenance of punctuality
• Appropriate and cordial demeanour with superior, colleagues and subordinates o No personal work or wastage of time during working hours
• Consistent substance of ethically and morally sound actions

At top level: At the top level of management, work ethics involves the delivering the work as per commitment, being accountable for errors, feeling responsible for the task assigned to an individual. Some of the main factors that forms the main part of the work ethics at the top level are as follows:

Type of work culture: Good work culture means one is fully dedicated towards the work and has high morale and job satisfaction. Poor work culture results in high rate of wastage, poor quality of work and low productivity.

Level of loyalty: Work culture is also concerned with the loyalty of the worker and his sense of belongingness to the organisation. One should protect the interest of the organisation at all times

Level of commitment and responsibility: Every man should work like a master, not like a slave employees should assume complete responsibility for the task assigned to them and employ the utmost efforts to attain the targets expected from them.

Feeling of belongingness: The worker should exhibit by his behaviour a sense of belongingness to the organisation. A sense of respect should be demonstrated for the organisation. One should maintain the cordial relationship with the peers and subordinates and should always treat them well.

Protection of interests of the organisation: Employees should strive to protect the interests of the organisation and should never compromise on this aspect.

10.  Summary

Work ethics are very important for the success of the business and for increasing the productivity of the people at the workplace for any business organisation. The work ethics and work ethos varies from one country to another and also from one organisation to another organisation. The work ethics plays a very significant role in increasing the efficiency of the business activities. Indian system of the business and management are based on the Indian values and traditions enshrined in or ancient scriptures. Indian philosophy considers work as worship and even the customers are treated as god. Work ethics have a very important place in the business organisations. Ethos” is a Greek word which means “character” that is used to describe the guiding beliefs and ideals that characterise a community, nation and ideology. It is also distinguishing character, moral, or guiding beliefs of a person, group or institution. Indian ethos is all about what can be termed as national ethos. The body of knowledge which derives the solutions from the rich and huge Indian system of ethics i.e. moral philosophy is known as Indian ethos in management. Indian ethos in management has its base in the cultural heritage of India. Indian culture has its roots in the religions. There are various religions practised in India like Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and many more. Indian ethos and ethics are also derived from the Vedas, Ramayana, Mahabharta, Bhagwad Gita, and various Upanishads. Work ethics refers to the ethical attitude to work alone in the context of employment. In any organisation the efficient and diligent performance of duties is assigned to the employees. The employer gives opportunity career and status to the employee. The employee should give his best in the organisation. This is ethical demand of duty. The shrinking works, making excuse for poor performance, finding faults with organisation all are against the demand of work ethics. On the other hand employee also has the rightful expectations the employer. Even the modern science has accepted that in the holistic universe all the minds and matters are interconnected at the deeper level. The basic unity of the life cannot be broken. On the basis of this holistic vision, Indians have developed work ethics of life. We have developed the mental, managerial and administrative all work has to be directed towards the single purpose. These Indian ethoses are needed all over the world in the present business scenario so that the management of the business and industry could be done efficiently and effectively. Work ethics and management goes side by side. A healthy work environment system has a healthy ethics, ethos and values. Ethics is the branch of philosophy that addresses questions about the morality i.e. concepts such as good and evil, right or wrong, etc. ethics can also be characterised as Indian rules of conduct recognised in the respect of particular class of human actions or a particular group or culture. Making ethical decisions may not always be feel good or bad or they may benefit you but are the right choices to be made. These are universal golden rules like do not hurt anyone, do not steal, do not dishonest and do not lie.

Suggested readings and references

• Pramod Sharma, “Business Ethics and Corporate Values: An Indian Perspective”,Ravintanaya Publications, Shimla
• S.K. Bhatia, “Business Ethics and Corporate Governance” Deep & Deep Publications,New Delhi
• A.C. Fernando, “Business Ethics and Corporate Governance” Pearson Publications
• SB Gogate, “Human Values & Professional Ethics”, Vikas Publishing House, NewDelhi.
• Harris & Hartman, “Organizational Behavior” Jaico Publication House, 2002