For a management culture of non-violence
Wednesday, 7 April 2010
Shajahan Bhuiya
Viewed critically, violence is the anti-thesis of human development and wisdom. Why? Because, we are told that any relationship of domination, exploitation, suppression and oppression is a violence which tends to dehumanise people. Looking more deeply, we find that our modern management organisations/institutions are run with principles and practices which are based on the values and relationships that unleash violence and dehumanise every one in the hierarchic organisational structures that are in place for most of our production and marketing pursuits.
Can there be production and marketing organisations that can create and maintain a management culture of non-violence contributing toward more creativity and productivity in the given reality of substantive inequality of capital and labour and the resulting hierarchic structure in the organisations? We know that culture is the software consisting of values, norms, standards, beliefs, education, etc. that shape our thinking and behaviour as well as influence our collective actions.
When developed on the values, beliefs and norms of domination, exploitation and various other coercive means, management culture creates an internal environment where the managed are dehumanised and the management finds an apparent ground to assume that the managed have the inherent disliking of work and avoid it if they can. Out of them, a microscopic few become sycophants who have no work other than pleasing the authority and get benefits for which they do not contribute anything.
The assumptions about human nature in his theory X, Douglas McGregor says that most of the management people believe that people dislike work and want to avoid it when they get the chance. So, traditional management is apt to use the hard sticks. In his theory Y, he suggests that the expenditure of mental and physical efforts in work is as natural as play and rest. Organisations can have additional mileage in creativity and productivity when the management creates an enabling environment to bring unity of the management and the managed by pursuing a strategy built around theory Y.
Here positive motivation takes away the toxicity due to adversarial relationships between the management and the managed. In the West under the influence of unitary paradigm, the adversarial relations between the management and the managed have evaporated, and the smart workers align themselves with the interest of the management.
The broader principles of justice, equity, equality, participation, unity, integrity, sustainability and so on cannot be applied in management for industrial peace, creativity and enhanced productivity without altering the pronounced and visible relationships of the management and the managed based on domination, exploitation, coercion and many other attributes of authoritarian leadership and management. Management culture of non-violence has the potential to pay more than the conventional principles and practices of authoritarian management style. This culture has values, beliefs and worldview based on human dignity and respect as well as emancipation from the forced submission and surrender at the altar of authority arising out of the capital under the institution of private property. The management upholding non-violence has to be guided by knowledge and inspired by love for the people who are collectively striving under a leader to achieve the organisation's objectives and creation of wealth for all. A few examples of this type of management are here and there in our country, creating good precedence to be followed by others in our management culture.
Professor Dr. Abul Barkat, Chairman of Janata Bank, wrote a letter to the CEO and Managing Director of the bank at the time of his joining the organisation and advised him, among other things, to reduce the influence of the sycophants and arrange a chair for him which is similar to those of other Directors.
There should not be any chair which resembles a throne. We know that absolute power corrupts absolutely and is misused and abused. The sycophants surround the absolute power holders to take advantage from them and often misguide the authoritarian leaders. Sometimes ago, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina asked the organisers of a function to remove such a chair they placed for her.
These are the precedence created for a management culture of non-violence to be followed at other levels and replicated in other organisations for re-establishing values and norms for human development in our production and marketing organisations. This paradigm shift to culture of non-violence will help all -- both the management and the managed -- to escape the curse of dehumanisation and develop harmonious industrial relations and peace which is necessary for creativity and enhanced productivity.
E-mail: shajahanbhuiya@yahoo.com
Viewed critically, violence is the anti-thesis of human development and wisdom. Why? Because, we are told that any relationship of domination, exploitation, suppression and oppression is a violence which tends to dehumanise people. Looking more deeply, we find that our modern management organisations/institutions are run with principles and practices which are based on the values and relationships that unleash violence and dehumanise every one in the hierarchic organisational structures that are in place for most of our production and marketing pursuits.
Can there be production and marketing organisations that can create and maintain a management culture of non-violence contributing toward more creativity and productivity in the given reality of substantive inequality of capital and labour and the resulting hierarchic structure in the organisations? We know that culture is the software consisting of values, norms, standards, beliefs, education, etc. that shape our thinking and behaviour as well as influence our collective actions.
When developed on the values, beliefs and norms of domination, exploitation and various other coercive means, management culture creates an internal environment where the managed are dehumanised and the management finds an apparent ground to assume that the managed have the inherent disliking of work and avoid it if they can. Out of them, a microscopic few become sycophants who have no work other than pleasing the authority and get benefits for which they do not contribute anything.
The assumptions about human nature in his theory X, Douglas McGregor says that most of the management people believe that people dislike work and want to avoid it when they get the chance. So, traditional management is apt to use the hard sticks. In his theory Y, he suggests that the expenditure of mental and physical efforts in work is as natural as play and rest. Organisations can have additional mileage in creativity and productivity when the management creates an enabling environment to bring unity of the management and the managed by pursuing a strategy built around theory Y.
Here positive motivation takes away the toxicity due to adversarial relationships between the management and the managed. In the West under the influence of unitary paradigm, the adversarial relations between the management and the managed have evaporated, and the smart workers align themselves with the interest of the management.
The broader principles of justice, equity, equality, participation, unity, integrity, sustainability and so on cannot be applied in management for industrial peace, creativity and enhanced productivity without altering the pronounced and visible relationships of the management and the managed based on domination, exploitation, coercion and many other attributes of authoritarian leadership and management. Management culture of non-violence has the potential to pay more than the conventional principles and practices of authoritarian management style. This culture has values, beliefs and worldview based on human dignity and respect as well as emancipation from the forced submission and surrender at the altar of authority arising out of the capital under the institution of private property. The management upholding non-violence has to be guided by knowledge and inspired by love for the people who are collectively striving under a leader to achieve the organisation's objectives and creation of wealth for all. A few examples of this type of management are here and there in our country, creating good precedence to be followed by others in our management culture.
Professor Dr. Abul Barkat, Chairman of Janata Bank, wrote a letter to the CEO and Managing Director of the bank at the time of his joining the organisation and advised him, among other things, to reduce the influence of the sycophants and arrange a chair for him which is similar to those of other Directors.
There should not be any chair which resembles a throne. We know that absolute power corrupts absolutely and is misused and abused. The sycophants surround the absolute power holders to take advantage from them and often misguide the authoritarian leaders. Sometimes ago, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina asked the organisers of a function to remove such a chair they placed for her.
These are the precedence created for a management culture of non-violence to be followed at other levels and replicated in other organisations for re-establishing values and norms for human development in our production and marketing organisations. This paradigm shift to culture of non-violence will help all -- both the management and the managed -- to escape the curse of dehumanisation and develop harmonious industrial relations and peace which is necessary for creativity and enhanced productivity.
E-mail: shajahanbhuiya@yahoo.com