Examples of Sadhu and Sisyphus Stories in Business - Essay Example

What is Sadhu about? The Sadhu is a moral story that illustrates how groups of people climbing the Himalayas treated a certain Indian man. The groups consisted of people of different cultures with New Zealanders, Americans, Japanese, and Swiss. The four groups of individuals were strangers to each other, but were on a similar journey. Their determination to cross the Himalayas was only a rare opportunity and they were all focused on utilizing it. The New Zealanders found the Sadhu who was a critical health situation after being in an ice covered region for a long time.

Moreover, the Sadhu lacked warm clothing that could have prevented him from the adverse effects of the ice. The one of the New Zealanders carried the man down until he met the narrators and his companion. The narrator determined that the Sadhu was suffering from Hypothermia. Stephen, the narrator’s companion and the guides donated warm clothing to the man. Although it was evident that the man needed care, the narrator chose to continue with his journey he was unwilling to let the predicament of the Sadhu serve as a barrier to his journey.

Stephen made the efforts of helping the man, but only managed to get the guys carry him down and give him food and water (McCoy 54). What is Sisyphus about?The myth of Sisyphus is a story published in 1942 in which the author depicted the contrast of happiness and of the absurd. The title of the myth reflects the name, Sisyphus, who was a hero struggling with the fate of performing a similar task in his entire life in the underworld. He was compelled to push a stone up the mountain watch it roll back, but he had to push it again.

The myth describes the thought process of Sisyphus as he performed this task. A close analysis reveals that his fate was a hopeless torture because he was well aware that he was compelled to that task to time indefinite. Although he had a desire for the earth and the joys experienced on the earth, he had no hope that he would be able to experience that again. However, the reader is expected to imagine that Sisyphus would at some point be happy if his thought process allowed such happiness (Manning and Curtis 158).

Reconciliation of the Scenarios to Commonalities The story of the Sadhu highlights the ethical dilemmas faced by people when making decisions in corporate organizations. Each of the individual presented in the story was well aware that the Sadhu needed a level of care and attention. However, none of them was willing to exhibit the level of commitment needed to deliver such care to the man. Since they were all focused on their journey, they only exhibited minimal efforts and assumed that others would take the responsibility (McCoy 60).

Individuals are constantly under the pressure to make ethical decisions, especially in situations whereby the pursuit of something seems to be a priority. For example, leaders of organizations face the compulsion of facing critical decisions during critical times. It becomes a challenge to demonstrate an ethical conviction and considerations of the situations when an individual is under pressure. Unless an organization has strong values, and is willing to render support to each individual, it proves difficult to make value based decisions.

Notably, the significance of a leader who understands the relevant values and is willing to reinforce them is critical (McCoy 54). On the other hand, the myth of Sisyphus reflects the absurdity in the world. Each individual is involved in a continuous search for happiness and contentment in life. However, the world seems to make it impossible for an individual to achieve that. Although the daily struggle may seem to be meaningless, just as in the case of Sisyphus, there is a need for individuals to change their perspective of viewing the situation.

The Sisyphus’ author highlights that Sisyphus should be happy at the thought of the daily struggles. This should motivate human beings to find happiness in their daily struggles. Therefore, an individual must be committed to confront the absurdity in each day (Manning and Curtis 159).Work CitedManning, George, and Kent Curtis. Ethics At Work : Fire In A Dark World / George Manning, Kent Curtis. n.p.: Cincinnati, Ohio : VistaSystems, c1988., 1988. OhioLINK Library Catalog – LR. Web. 9 Sept. 2014.McCoy, Bowen H.

"The Parable Of The Sadhu." Harvard Business Review 75.3 (1997): 54-64. Business Source Complete. Web. 9 Sept. 2014.