MANAGEMENT ADVICE IN THE THIRUKKURAL

MANAGEMENT ADVICE IN THE THIRUKKURAL

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THIRUKKURAL is the masterpiece of Tamil literature in the form of couplets (two line poems) expounding various aspects of life. It was composed by Thiruvalluvar, who is believed to have been born in 30 B.C.

The first poem says that only after full consideration of an official should responsibility be delegated to him/her. In spite of this universal first principle cases abound of managers interfering in delegated duties leading to project failure.

The second poem says it is not correct to reach final opinion about an official's capabilities without deep consideration: Nor is it correct to entertain doubts about a person selected with full care. These attitudes will only lead to irreversible difficulties. In his drama "Dara Shukoh", Gopal Gandhi refers to the history of Moorat Dara who was reputed to have been tolerant of all religions of India. This had led him to save from the gallows Malik Juvan, an Afgan chief. However when Dara himself sought refuge from Malik, the latter betrays Tara to Aurangzeb. Thus blind faith in some person makes Dara to lose not only his royal position as also his life.

The last poem stresses the need for proper training before positioning of new entrants in suitable posts. This is an obvious need. In "Troilus & Cressida" and "Henry V", Shakespeare refers to the division of labour in a bee-hive. The hexagonal pattern itself of the hive shows that it is selected as the best one for the purpose of all possible patterns. But it is an unfortunate situation in India that responsibility in many cases flows upwards from workers to the managers!  

We have been reading in the Corporate Documents (CD) section of the Economic Times a series articles on "Management &  Mythology". The present post is a sample  of such management principles derived from a secular/non-sectarian Tamil poetic "dharma sastra" (which is in the form of aphorisms.)