_{It
is of the view that despite of having some of the best B-schools in the world,
most of the Indian companies have not been able to make their mark globally
[1]. One of the reasons behind it is that our management style does not revolve
around our cultural roots. A plant cannot flourish if it is not attached to its
root. Similarly, Indian managers are finding it difficult to adapt themselves
into the job environment provided by the West. Thus there is dire need of one’s
‘own’ management system [2].}

_{A
management system can be effective only if it is rooted in the cultural soil of
the country where it is implemented. Now many countries are trying to discover
the basic management system of their countries.}Indian civilization is considered as the oldest civilization and has a treasure of knowledge of various fields like medicine, science, economics, management etc. It still has a lot to deliver to the world. When we think about the ancient Indian Management System, the first name, which comes to our mind, is of Chanakya - The great Indian Economist, Management expert, politician and above all an ideal teacher. The need and desire to discover country’s own management system has given rise to extensive research on Chanakya and his creations. Chanakya had portrayed the political set up and administration principles for the King, assisting him how to run the kingdom in his manifestations in ancient times that are quite similar to the practices followed by managers to run an organization these days. In this paper, the creations of Chanakya, originally written in Sanskrit, are explored in context with the modern management system.

2. A QUICK GLANCE AT CHANAKYA’S LIFE

Chanakya also known as Kautilya or Vishnugupta, is considered as one of the most intelligent people in the Indian history. He was born in 370 BC at Patliputra, the capital of Magadha. In modern days, Patliputra is known as Patna, the capital of Bihar, India. He was born in a Brahmin family. It is said that Chanakya had a full set of teeth at the time of his birth. In ancient times, it was considered as a sign of becoming a king. However, being a Brahmin, he could never become the Emperor. But, he was destined to rule the world one day and he really did. He was very shrewd and blunt right from his childhood.

Chanakya’s father Rishi Chanak was a teacher. Chanakya’s education was pursued at Takshashila University. He started studying Vedas at a very young age. He memorized all the Vedas. He studied religion, politics and economics in great detail. Later Chanakya served as a professor in Takshashila University. Chanakya was a very intelligent person and role model for his students. His students were very dedicated towards him and were ready to do anything on his orders. Later, Chanakya left the university to make a mark in the politics of Patliputra. Dhanananda, the king of Patliputra, introduced him in the committee of charity and made him its president later on. However, the king started disliking him due to his ugly looks and blunt nature. Chanakya never used to praise the king and always speak rudely. So, the king removed him from his post. Chanakya decided to take the revenge. Once he met Chandragupta and decided to get him to kingship. Then started the great saga of Chandragupta and Chanakya. Chanakya became the heart and soul of Magadha kingdom. He not only made Chandragupta an ultimate king but also surprised the world by his poltical, economics and management knowledge. His creations ‘Arthshastra’ and ‘Nitishastra’ are considered as masterpieces. Chanakya used to add a little poison to Chandargupta’s food without his knowledge to make him immune to poison. Chandargupta once gave some of his food to his pregnant wife who died on the spot. However, Chanakya managed to save the child named ‘Bindusara’ who later became Emperor of Magdha. Bindusara’s minister Subandhu did not like Chanakya. It is said that Subandhu killed Chanakya around 283 BC.

3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The research methodology used for writing this paper is Hermeneutics. Hermeneutics refers to interpreting and understanding ancient literature and religious texts. Some people also define it as the art of interpreting. Extensive study of the existing literature has been carried out during this research. ‘Arthshastra’ and ‘Nitishastra’ were written in Sanskrit and this language is not grasped by most of the people these days. So, translated versions of these creations in the form of books have been studied thoroughly. Text related to Ancient Indian Management as well as Contemporary Management is reviewed for this research. Various scholars and experts from the field of management have also been interviewed during the study.

4. REVIEW OF LITERATURE

According to Jha and Jha, Chanakya was a great scholar [3]. He was the only person behind the success of Mauryan Empire. The growth and stability of Maurya Empire was just due to him. His strong administration and efficient fiscal management flourished the kingdom and made Chandargupta one of the most successful kings in the Indian history. Sarkar stated that Chanakya maintained a balance between the benefit of the king and benefit of people [4]. He said that the king should work hard for the welfare of people and should not have a rigid attitude towards the people. A king can be successful only if he keeps the people happy. He was of the view that a kingdom can be strong only if it has wealth to maintain army and other resources. Only then, he can be in a position to protect people against invaders. Thanawala defined ‘Arthasastra’ as the science of wealth [5]. Arthasastra consists of two Sanskrit words ‘Artha’ and ‘Sastra’. Artha means wealth and Sastra means science. As mentioned in Arthasastra, Chanakya was concerned with the wealth of the nation and not with the wealth of individuals. He put a great stress on profit making for the kingdom. Chanakya identified major factors that influence the wealth of the nation. These factors include political, administrative and military aspects of the state. According to Rao, Chanakya was in favour of the situational approach rather than adopting a particular concept for management [6]. He said that there was no single universal law for successful management. As conditions change with time, so one law, which is successful today may not be successful tomorrow. A decision should be taken after analyzing the situation and the decision should vary according to the demand of varying conditions. Shamasastry said that Chanakya also explained the soft side of a king in his creation Arthasastra [7]. Chanakya firmly believed that a king has some duties towards the weaker sections of the society. He said that a king should pay special attention towards the orphans, handicapped, helpless women etc. A king should give them some sort of maintenance allowance so that they could live a comfortable life According to Ambirajan, Chanakya said that human life is based on four things: Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha [8]. Dharma means righteous living, following religion and spirituality. Kama means enjoyment of sensual things. Artha means materialistic things. Moksha means achieving freedom from the cycle of birth and death. So, Chanakya termed Artha as one of the most important things in the life of a human being.

5. SIMILARITY BETWEEN CHANAKYA’S PRINCIPLES AND MODERN MANAGEMENT CONCEPTS

The modern management experts gave various principles to successfully run the organizations. These principles are quite similar to the guidelines issued by Chanakya to Chandragupta for efficient administration of Patliputra. The similarities between the principles of Ancient and modern management Gurus are as under:

5.1 Planning

Planning has been given the utmost importance in modern management. In scientific management, we study planning as the process that involves thinking before doing. It is concerned with what to do, when to do, how to do, who will do it. Taylor advocated the need of a separate planning department in each organization. Chanakya also laid great stress on the need of planning in management. He considered planning as the base of good administration. He stated that before starting some work it should be planned properly. The objective behind performing some task should be clear to you. Therefore, you should know in advance, why you are going to do this job. Also, calculate the probability of the outcomes of the job. If you think that the task is going to be fruitful then just go for it.

5.2 Organization

In Arthshatra, Chanakya clearly defined the role of each and every person in the administration of the state. He elaborated the duties and responsibilities of every person in the hierarchy of political setup of the state. He clearly mentioned “dos and don’ts” for the ministers, state officials and even for the king. His opinion is somewhat similar to one of the Fayol’s fourteen principles of management. Fayol was in favour of division of the total task into subtasks and assigning them to different people in such a way that can lighten each one’s burden and promote specialisation [9]. The concept of organisation is also similar to the Chanakya’s theory of political setup. According to Allen, "Organisation is the process of identifying and grouping the work to be performed, defining and delegating responsibility and authority, and establishing relationship for the purpose of enabling people to work most effectively together in accomplishing objectives” [10].

5.3 Discipline

Chanakya emphasized on the need of strict discipline among authorities for good governance. He recommended a strict code of conduct for the king, ministers and other state officials. It has also been stated that discipline is essential for successfully running an organization [9]. He defined discipline as obedience, respect of authority and following the established rules and regulations. So, discipline is a common mantra of success in ancient Indian as well as modern management.

5.4 Espirit De Corps

Chanakya stated that an official should take extreme decisions only in case of unavoidable circumstances and in a situation where no other alternative is available. But at the same time, things should be controlled and we should not let them go their way. Such situations should be handled taking soft actions first and taking harsh actions in extreme case. Chanakya termed soft actions as ‘Sam Dam’ and harsh actions as ‘Dand Bhed’. In modern management, concept of Esprit De Corps and controlling are concerned with the above stated principle given by Chanakya. Esprit De Corps is one of the 14 principles given by Fayol. It states that management should encourage good feelings among employees and avoid abuse of written communication.

5.5 Motivation

Chanakya introduced the concept of motivation centuries back which still rules the management world. He recommended rewards for the officials who perform their duties brilliantly as well as penalties for those who perform their duties insincerely and whose negligence cause losses to the kingdom. Today also, organizations implement the same concept as negative and positive motivation. The workers are offered incentives for achieving the desired goals. They may be in the shape of hike in salary, promotion etc. This policy is known as positive motivation. Negative motivation is based on fear of punishment. Fear causes the employee to act in a certain way and if he does not, then he may be punished in the form of demotion, etc. Carrot and Stick approach is one the most important theories of motivation, which is being studied by management students with keen interest [11]. It alludes to an approach of offering a blend of prizes and punishments to actuate right conduct among employees. The name of this theory has been derived from a cart driver dangling a carrot before a donkey and keeping a stick behind it. The donkey would move towards the carrot since it needs the reward for the work done, while additionally moving far from the stick behind in order to avoid the pain of punishment. In this way, drawing the cart in a forward direction.

5.6 Controlling

Chanakya was of the view that controlling is necessary for successful running of a kingdom. In his creation Arthshastra, he recommended that work of the public servants should be examined on a daily basis, as human beings tend to be lazy. So, it is necessary to keep a check on the performance of people and see whether desired results are being achieved or not. Thus, he authorized a Head of each department, also known as ‘Adhikarana’, to monitor the performance of people working in his department and take suitable actions wherever necessary. Therefore, Chanakya implemented two concepts of today’s management in the administration of Magadha. These concepts are performance appraisal and controlling. Fayol also understood the importance of controlling and stated that the best plan may also fail in absence of proper control. The very first definition of control was given by him. He expressed that control comprises of monitoring if everything is going on as per prior planning and standards set up. The purpose of controlling is to highlight the shortcomings and loopholes so as to correct them. Mockler exhibited even more extensive meaning of administrative control [12]. He illustrated that Management control can be characterized as a planned attempt by management to monitor the actual performance in light of desired performance, predetermined plans and end goals in order to figure out if output is up to the mark or there is a need to take remedial action in case any deviation in performance is observed. Performance appraisal implies taking a feedback of the performance of employees in order to determine if it is as per the predetermined standards or not. It is a deliberate and time based process that evaluates a worker's performance and efficiency in light of some pre-decided criteria and goals of the organization.

5.7 Departmentation

Departmentation is one of the concepts of modern management policy implemented by Chanakya for efficient and effective work in the kingdom of Magadha. His administrative setup consisted of various departments. Each department had a person designated as Head, who was answerable for the performance of that particular department. He was expected to be a good leader and guide his team towards the achievement of goals of the department. The ultimate Head of the kingdom was the King. The king had an advisory panel which consisted of ministers and other officials. Chanakya appointed 34 head of departments after examining their character, capabilities and leadership qualities. Nowadays departmentation is implemented in every small and big organization. Every organization whether it is industrial or educational has various departments like marketing, production, finance etc. Each department performs activities based on one particular field only. Koontz and O’ Donnel defined a department as a distinct area, division or branch of an enterprise over which a manager has authority for the performance of specified activities [13]. Chanakya had also a similar perception about departments as Koontz had. He divided the administration set up of Magadha in 34 departments and appointed Heads for each of the department. Each Head of the department was given both authority as well as responsibility of his department.

5.8 Promotion

Chanakya also introduced the trend of promotion in ancient Indian Management. He was of the view that officials should be promoted on basis of their performance, merit and suitability. He advocated the need of a fair and transparent promotion policy in administration. He said that deserving employees should be moved upward in the hierarchy. Today also, the concept of promotion is followed in every organization whether it is commercial, educational or industrial. People are more attracted to those organizations where chances of promotion are brighter. It is one of the greatest human needs to reach to a higher position. The companies, which do not provide opportunities for promotion, loose talented and competent employees. The second thing is that if fair promotion policy is not adopted and any discrimination is there while promoting people, then it will cause grievance among other employees. So Chanakya’s principles of promotion are followed today also.

5.9 Centralization

Chanakya was in favour of the concept of centralization. In Magadha, the ultimate Head of the kingdom was the King. Therefore, there was power concentration in the hands of one person that was the King of the State. Usually there is a Head in the private owned companies who takes all decisions and makes policies for the organization. The organizational hierarchy has been divided into three levels of management - Top level or Strategic Level, Middle level or Tactical level and low level or Operational Level. The top-level management formulates all the plans, policies, guidelines and strategies. The other two levels just implement the strategies and put effort to achieve the goal set by top-level management. So, now also power concentration is in the hands of a few.

6. CONCLUSIONS

Though Chanakya has described the political set up and administration principles for the King helping him how to run his kingdom in his creations, but they are quite similar to the practices followed by managers to run an organization these days. This indicates what a great vision Chanakya had. He implemented the principles and rules in ancient times in India, which we are implementing today. Chanakya has given a lot of knowledge to the management world, but there is still more to learn from him. The result of this research justifies that Indian Management System can become unbeatable if an attempt is made to make it a blend of Modern Management concepts and Ancient Management Concepts given by Chanakya.

7. REFERENCE

1. Chaudhuri, Theory “I” management leadership success multiplier model. Retrieved from http://www. arindamchaudhuri.com/theory.htm, 2003.

2. Sharma GD. Management and the indian ethos. Rupa and Company, New Delhi. 2001.

3. Jha KH and Jha LK. Chanakya: The pioneer economist. APH Publishing Corporation, New Delhi. 1997: 3-4.

4. Sarkar S. Kautilyan economics: an analysis and interpretation. Indian Economic Journal. 47(4); 2000:62.

5. Thanawala K. Kautilya’s arthasastra: a neglected work in the history of economic thought. Ancient Economic Thought.1;1997:43-58.

6. Rao MVK. Studies in kautilya. Munshi Ram Manohar Lal, New Delhi. 1958: 202.

7. Shamasastry R. Kautilya’s arthasastra.Mysore Printing and Publishing House, Mysore; 1961: 47.

8. Ambirajan S. The concepts of happiness, ethics, and economic values. Ancient Economic Thought, edited by BB Price. London: Rutledge. 1997: 19-41.

9. Fayol H. General and industrial management. Pitman Publishing, New York. 1949: 107-109.

10. Allen L. Management and organization. McGraw Hill, New York. 1958: 57.

11. Brians P. “carrot on a stick” vs. “the carrot or the stick”. Informally published manuscript, Department of English, Washington State University, Retrieved from http://public.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/carrot.html, 2003.

12. Mockler RJ. Readings in management control, Appleton-Century-Crofts and Fleschner Publishing Company, 1970.

13. Koontz H and O'Donnell C. Principles of management: an analysis of managerial functions. McGraw Hill, New York. 1964.

Received on 08.03.2017 Modified on 14.04.2017

Asian J. Management; 2017; 8(3):424-428.

DOI: 10.5958/2321-5763.2017.00067.1