The Parable of the Sadhu - Assignment Example

 The Parable of the Sadhu Introduction Morality in leadership and abiding by business ethics seem to be the most challenging aspect in contemporary corporate world. Although conventionally, these philosophies have been greatly emphasized in most of the famous events of history and in all philosophies of economics, psychology, and religion, their application in the present corporate world seems to be solely limited to defining policies and designing models/structures of organizational behavior. For example, Gini (2004) had pointed at a New York Times/CBS News poll which was conducted in American corporate organizations, that it revealed more than half of the corporate executives were dishonest. Another report indicated that most of the corporate executives considered ethics as an impeding threat to their career growth. In fact, evidences of unethical business practices being adopted by the giant corporates also exist in recent literature. Nevertheless, extensive surveys and research have indicated the requirement of continuous commitment, enforcement, and modeling of leadership along with defined policies of ethical, legal, and sociocultural conduct can reinforce morality and ethics to a large extent. McCoy’s (1983) contemplation on the ethical dilemma experienced during his travel to Nepal and the Himalayas, along with a group of travelers belonging to different nationalities and cultures, draws attention to the reasons and causes that influence human behavior during different situations and different places with similar situations. Although organizations attempt, by large, to define expected codes of conduct in ethical, legal and sociocultural perspectives and specific to the nature of organizational business, in general ethics cannot be defined. As rightly pointed by Dewey, ethics is not confined to only ‘doing the right thing,’ and is a ‘reflective conduct.’ McCoy’s (1983) dilemma expressed in this narration is also on similar grounds, encompassing different leadership behaviors and reasons shaping these specific behaviors. Based on individual behaviors, the three-dimensional leadership theory was proposed, and each style was defined based on the traits exhibited by the leaders. The 3 leadership styles include autocratic, democratic and Laissez-faire leaderships. Applying autocratic leadership style in the context of the abandoned Sadhu in Himalayas, if one traveler assumed the role of autocratic leader, he could have made decisions on his own as to how best the Sadhu could have been taken care of. This leader would have inherently had the power/charisma to attract fellow travelers to follow the decisions made through simple directions of what tasks to be performed by each of the members of the group. Instead, adopting a democratic style of leadership by one member could have helped in eliciting participation from each member, and courses of action could have been determined together. In this case, each of the leaders could have encouraged the members to take up responsibilities based on their individual strengths, sources available and level of interest. However, these being time-consuming activities, this style could have distracted the members through different opinions and arguments, and/or delayed the courses of immediate action that the situation demanded. Thirdly, if at all one leader assumed laissez-Faire style, all decisions would have been taken by the members of the group with minimal or no involvement by the leader. This could create confusion, lack of interest and lack of focus; the outcome of the present situation can be precisely compared with this style of leadership. In this scenario, had there been a true leader, autocratic leadership could have provided clear direction to the group in terms of courses of action to be performed. Factors such as nature of situation, availability of time and resources, and physical and mental state of members of the group necessitate quick decision making, informal and dynamic planning, and personalized control over other members. If democratic style or laissez-faire was used, low commitment and motivation of group members would have least impact on the collective decisions made and would have required more time to arrive at courses of action. In the McCoy’s (1983) narration, all members of that group contributed their bit to help the Sadhu. However, his acquaintance, Stephen can be considered as the one that stands out in the group for three reasons: attempt to take ownership, showing concern with humility and attempting to involve other group members in all possible ways to help the Sadhu to maximum extent. Sarros, Cooper and Santora (2005) have outlined these attributes, along with others such as mutual respect, morality, courage, passion and compassion to desired character of a leader. For instance, as soon as he learnt about the ailing Sadhu, he along with other companions clothed the Sadhu without wasting much time and the Japanese gave him food to eat. This depicts quick decision making and action. Noticing Japanese had horses, Stephen tried to involve the Japanese people in the act of helping Sadhu by asking them to transport the Sadhu down to the village on their horse. After they refused, and the Pasang left, Stephen was the last one to leave the Sadhu. After realizing that he could no longer help the Sadhu further due to the constraints, Stephen left the Sadhu to find his own way out. If Stephen were to be satisfied with the help he could render to the Sadhu, he should have initiated a dialogue with each of the members, and explained how each one can contribute to help the Sadhu reach a safer place. For this, he would require an understanding of each member’s cultural background that shape their behavior and expectations. Cross-cultural research on leadership competencies have been explained by many researchers and in various contexts. A vast number of studies have identified differences in managerial attitudes, values, behaviors, and efficacies exhibited across different national cultures (Budhawar, 2004). These similarities and differences were first identified by Hofstede through different dimensions like individualistic-collectivistic, low-high context cultures etc (Hofstede & Usunier, 2003). From these perspectives, Hamilton (2007) explains that people from the United States are individualistic and respond to individual norms and values than to group norms and values. On the other hand, Asian cultures, like the Japanese behave collectivistic emphasizing group functioning and values. Individualistic cultures tend to be problem-oriented and collectivistic cultures relationship oriented. Hamilton also points at differences that crop up in the ways the two cultures communicate, expect and reciprocate to other members and/or situations. These differences will impact the way people respond to situations and the decisions they are required to make. Although their understanding of ethical obligations remains, more or less, similar, their decisions and actions are greatly dependent upon perceptions and understanding of relationships determined by culture; their understanding of individual and collective mission and desired behaviors (Meyers, 2007). Besides these, Kerr’s (1975) research identifies that ethical actions are shaped by desired behaviors, which vary according to the rewards associated with these behaviors. This research reinforced the fact that people tend to accept specific behaviors as desirable only if these behaviors satisfy their personal interests; else, these behaviors are followed only as a norm if imposed. For example, if organizations reward individual and group achievements that enhance organizational profits without much emphasis on overall effectiveness, employees will tend to chase their individual and collective goals with less attention to the way these goals are achieved; i.e. emphasis on team work, attitude, interpersonal relationships, innovation etc will be given least importance because they are not quantifiable and are not rewarding. Applying this philosophy to the present situation, individuals’ goal of crossing the mountains would reward them with achieving the desired goal; but, staying back with the ailing human was no way in line with this desired reward. The phenomenon of leadership is greatly loaded with ethical dilemmas that challenge leaders in every situation. Gini (2004; p.32) defines leadership as a power-and-value laden relationship between leaders and followers/constituents who intend real changes that reflect their mutual purposes and goals. Leader attributes, behavior, status and influence that shape leadership style are significantly impacted by cultural forces. Dorfman and House’s (2004) study outlines various approaches adopted by managers/leaders in different countries. For example, individualistic cultures of the West encourage participation whereas collectivistic East adopts more reserved leadership style. Paternalistic leadership is seen in Asian managers; The US and Australian leadership is known to be more inclined to motivation and team-building than to managerial functions such as short-term planning and establishing control systems. Conversely, sensitivity towards national differences and avoiding spontaneous decisions where appropriate, are highly regarded as central to managerial effectiveness by German executives. These variations in leadership are assumed to be adopted from the inherent national culture that had been deeply rooted in their values (Connell, Cross & Parry, n.d). Conclusion McCoy’s (1983) parable attempts to explain to the people of corporate world and to outsiders that people in the leadership role, specifically by virtue of their position, are faced with ethical dilemmas on a regular basis. Ethics cannot be defined by any organization or individual; however the most desired behavior tends to get acceptance by majority of people either because the behavior is attached to some form of rewards or because it becomes normative. Adhering to these moral obligations seems to be the rule followed by majority; however, oppositions to these obligations do exist which are usually raised by reasonable people, in other words true leaders. Besides this, cultures significantly impact individual functions and are a source of conflicts in societies and organizations. Cultural mechanisms can undermine and also support the objective of the group or organization. Cultural differences are manifested in the form of basic assumptions, values or ideology and artifacts. Amidst these challenges and dilemmas, it becomes extremely difficult for leaders to make the right choice; in this case, the ‘right’ thing itself cannot be pointed, as illustrated in the parable of the Sadhu. References Books: Budhawar, P. (2004). Managing human resources in Asia-Pacific. London: Routledge. Dorfman, P.W and House, R.J. (2004). Cultural Influences on Organizational Leadership In House’s (Ed.) Culture, leadership, and organizations: the GLOBE study of 62 societies. U.S.A: SAGE. Gini, A. (2004). Moral Leadership and Business Ethics. Ciulla, J.B. (Ed.) Ethics, the heart of leadership. 2nd Ed. U.S.A: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2004. Hamilton, C. (2007). Communicating for Results: A Guide for Business and the Professions. U.S.A: Cengage Learning. Hofstede, G and Usunier, J. (2003). Hofstede’s Dimensions of Culture and their Influence on International Business Negotiations. In Ghauri, P, N and Usunier, J’s International business negotiations. U.K: Emerald Group Publishing. Journals: Connell, J, Cross, B & Parry, K. Leadership in the 21st Century, where is it leading us? International Journal of Organizational Behavior, Vol.5, No.2, pp 139-149. Kerr, S. (1975, December). 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