BUSSINESS VALUES FOR 21 ST CENTURY Following needs serious considerations for a developing country like India;--High GNP say@7%.

High investment opportunities in the infrastructure sector. Faster innovation better products & services due to Global competition. Globalisation and liberalization of trade. Stake holders Expectations The citizen as a member of global, National, and local civil society, expecting total quality of life. The citizen as a consumer, expecting products & service quality & value for money The citizen as a worker expecting quality of work life. The citizen as a direct investor in equity and debt, and an indirect investor through

institutions expecting a choice of riskreturn tradeoffs. Dealers, vendors, small and medium business, expecting a mutually beneficial partnership with large national and transnational corporations. Government & agencies at local, National, Regional & global levels expecting a fine blend of commercial performance & social responsibility from business. Competitors expecting fair play & efforts to excel by Ethical means REQUISITE BUSINESS VALUES In order to exploit the above prospects, address the concerns and meet the stakeholders expectations, the following values from the age old Indian philosophical tradition, consistent with similar values from other civilizations, may be considered.

DHARMA (RIGHTEOUSNESS) For Individuals and institutions, including businesses, Indian tradition commends four objectives, in the following ethical order of priority. 1Dharma or the right path which will uphold the family, organizational and social fabric. 2Artha, the persuit, creation and acquisition of wealth. 3Kama, the fulfillment of all legitimate desires and enjoyment of all socially sanctioned pleasures. 4Moksha, seeking release, transcendence and liberation from mundane pursuits, and the repetitive cycles of pleasure and pain. As almost the entire adult population is drawn into the global workforce, it is important for businesses to follow dharma in the creation and sharing of wealth.

LOK SANGRAHA ( PUBLIC GOOD) Another important value is that powerful individuals and organizations should work not just for private gain, but also for public good. There are four possible positions in a spectrum. In increasing order of nobility. As businesses have become, especially in the post-cold war era, strategic institutions in all societies, the model is perhaps very relevant to them. 1. The meanest posture is persuit of swartha, (Self Centered) pure private profit 2. The next better stance is swarthaparartha (self plus others) while seeking ones own gain also catering to the welfare of others. 3. An even better perspective is parartha -swartha ( others plus self ) serving others and deriving deserved gains from such service.

4.

The noblest approach is parartha, pure service of others.

Even under ( 1 ), some social benefit will result. Similarly, even under ( 4 ), private gain will accrue to the business. Realistically the third stance may be recommended as a core business value, that of serving the external stakeholders, namely customers, investors, partners and the public, as a route to high rewards for the internal stakeholders, i.e. employees, managers and promoters. KAUSALAM ( EFFICACY ) The process of modern industrial revolution and economic growth, begun in Europe in the eighteenth century, is spreading to the whole of humanity. The process will continue well into the 21st century. As the large populations of Asia, Africa and south America seek even a fraction of the prosperity of the North, there will be a huge

strain on earths limited resources, especially the physical resources of land, water air minerals, etc. So it is critical that all businesses persue efficiency, productivity and resource optimization. Here again, businesses fall along a spectrum in their behavioural response. 1. Some conservative resources like Hydrocarbons and energy only in the face of legislative, pricing and tax penalties. 2. More conserve resources under threat of global competition, in order to survive. 3. A few seek continuous improvement in the use of resources in order to raise their margins, returns and market capitalization. 4. Very few internalize the value of efficacy in the best interest of preserving Mother Earth for future generations.

VIVIDHATA ( INNOVATION ) The rising expectations of the global population will strain all our institutions and capabilities. 1. As brought out by the human Development reports of the UNDP, in many countries, there are still serious problems of human survival, infant mortality, malnutrition, epidemics, droughts, famines, etc. 2. Beyond survival, there is the issue of the Physical Quality of life. 3. As population progress there is pursuit of a superior basket of satisfactions. If these expectations are not met, there could be social backlashes, deepening ethnic rivalries, separatism, terrorism, fundamentalism and protectionism. These will threaten or slow down our search for a new sustainable world order.

Government and academic research alone cannot find all the solutions. Business has to be the engine of innovation, constantly seeking more effective solutions to meet economic and social expectations. Such innovation is required in processes, products, materials, machines, organization, strategies, systems, and people. Business should innovate not only for beating competition, profits and market shares, but also for enabling civil society to raise and meet dynamically changing, realistic expectations. JIGYASA ( LEARNING ) The world is witnessing paradigm shifts. There will be positive and negative discontinuities. There are likely to be bouts of turbulence and stability. Change and continuity will coexist. Schumpeters creative gales of destruction or the Shiva principle will come back into play, with the global trading system. There are no

permanent solutions. There may be two anchors in the 21st century A pluralistic, elective, democratic political system. A broadly regulated social, market, global competitive economy. Business will be the key instrument to solve the problems of growth, employment, education, consumption, information, entertainment and quality of life. Business will have to keep learning from the feedback loop from society and also through internal processes of question, challenge, search, debates, sharing, training, monitoring, etc. The viability and health of nations, regional blocks and the global society will depend on the skills of learning and utilization of such learning by business. DictionParadigm- typical example, pattern, Model

of something Bout- a short period of illness or intense activity, boxing match gale-a strong wind, an outburst of laughter