Management Dilemma: A Philosophical Perspective
Written by Arvind Nag K, IIM Indore (batch of 2010) Thursday, 13 August 2009 00:00
While the debate whether Management is an art or a science continues, it is interesting to look at the thought processes that go into making Management a unique subset of Philosophy. This article doesn’t claim that the modern day principles have been copied or anything close to that, it just brings out some amazing coincidences which actually enhance this claim.
There is no better example to start off, than by concentrating on the Maslow’s theory of hierarchy. We’ll just take a look at what it says. When the needs of a human being are classified, it forms a pyramid, starting with the lowest end where the physiological needs are satisfied, followed by safety, love/belonging, self-esteem and self-actualization. It is also known, that Maslow proposed a next level of hierarchy later on, which is the self-transcendence. For a moment, let us assume that Maslow meant a deeper meaning for each of the levels and not just take them on face value. This will open us to a world of an interesting interpretation. The hierarchy is shown in the figure form below.
Maslow’s Theory of Hierarchy
The physiological needs can all be put under the bodily requirements. Whether it comes to food, water, breathing, clothing etc, these all are the needs to fulfill the bodily requirements, which form the bottom most part of the body and the soul put together. So, this could be called the sheath at the lowest level.
The next level is about satisfying the needs of security and protection, both from the physical and the emotional harm. Even here, the mind is not involved to a great extent, and these needs are still associated with the body. The next level talks about satisfying the need for affection, belongingness, acceptance, which deal with the mind to a large extent, while the fourth stage is more about the intellectual ability satisfying the need for self-respect, autonomy and achievement. The fifth and the final stage, is the self-actualization, the goal of becoming what one aspires to, or one’s capable of, leading to happiness.
Now, take a look at the following figure. The interpretation follows next.
The Five Sheaths which are a part of the Soul
This figure is taken from the Tattva Bodha (Knowledge of Truth) by Sri Sankaracharya. He describes this model, while figuring out what the Atma (Soul) is. Here, the concept of negation is followed immaculately, where the components, which do not include the soul (Anatma) are explained, which gives a thorough clarity before proceeding towards understanding the soul. So, in that process of negation, He says that the soul is neither the sareera traya (the triumvirate of bodies), nor the avastha traya (the triumvirate of the experience states), nor the pancha kosa (the five sheaths). The first two are out of the scope of the article, so we look at the pancha kosa or the five sheaths. The Atma comprises of these five sheaths, but they alone do not constitute the Atma, He says. So what are they?
- The basic level is the Annamaya kosa, or the food sheath, which is born out of the food, grown by the food, and merges back into the earth in the form of food. So, the gross body present is known as the food sheath.
- The next is the Pranamaya kosa, or the vital air sheath. All the functions of the body, such as the respiration, evacuation, circulation are performed in this sheath. Also, the letting out of emotions such as tears of joy and sorrow, belong to this sheath.
- The third level is the Manomaya kosa, or the mental sheath, which concerns with the mind, along with the physical and the sensory body. This is the seat of emotions, which means that the need for affection, belongingness etc. arise from this sheath.
- The fourth level is the Vijnanamaya kosa, or the intellectual sheath, which is responsible for the intellect, the thinking process, and the main player behind all the decisions we take. Functioning of this layer is responsible for the progress professionally as well as in the society.
- The final level is the Anandamaya kosa, or the sheath of bliss, which is attained by either the complete knowledge, or complete ignorance. At this stage, man would have achieved what he was capable of, and is in a state of bliss. But, all these five sheaths do not constitute the Atma, although the Atma comprises all of them.
Our point of discussion is not to deliberate about the Atma/Anatma, the attempt is to bring out the wonderful coincidence that the two models show. Although the theories are not related at all: one theory talks about the needs of a man while the other aims to divide the human mind into various stages, the approach is strikingly similar. Both the models divide the problem into 5 stages, and offer explanation for all of them. The final point in this comparison though is something noteworthy. Maslow had proposed another level, known as the self transcendence, which means that at the level of self-actualization, man tries to go beyond himself, and that’s exactly what the Tattva Bodha concentrates on, realizing the true nature of the human soul. Now when this line of thought coincides with the philosophic thought, the results that come out are amazing, for there is a crystal clear understanding on the issue being discussed.
Philosophy is a wonderful area to explore and understand the human nature, for even if the end results of the theories cannot be agreed by everyone, the means towards achieving them are great lessons to learn. It is because studying the analysis of any situation under philosophy provide insights into the amazing thought processes that have gone into, which take the discussions to a higher level. Now, having developed this line of thought, if it is applied to any other field, and especially Management, the results are usually phenomenal, as seen in the example above. This theory has probably received a passive approval from a particular set of writers from Adam Smith to George Soros, who have coated their books with a heavy tinge of Philosophy, but have created masterpieces, which are sure to remain for years to come.
Is Management a Science or an Art? Well, Hume defines Philosophy as “A system of thought based on or involving such inquiry”, while Aristotle was so indulged in it that this is what he said of it “The acquisition of wisdom is pleasant; all men feel at home in philosophy and wish to spend time on it, leaving all other things aside”.
I hope I did not add to the confusion.
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