Indian businesses must combine enterprise philosophy with societal service

Enterprises of all kinds are the oxygen of any economy. India has about 65 million of them, according to records. Of those only 5,000 are listed. Just 250 firms account for about two-thirds of aggregate market value. India’s enterprise canvas is a vast array of small units with just a handful of significant companies. What we need is, maybe, 10,000 actively traded enterprises in manufacturing and services, and 100,000 medium and small enterprises with sdistinct capabilities in a global context. 

 

For a developed India, many vectors must be activated, and India is on this trail. However, we need far more urgency, focus, and passion: An “Indian enterprise charter”, almost like the Indian Constitution, may help focus. It must be a living document with a deep sense of enterprise morality and one that is adaptive and evolving in line with our cultural ethos. What is the strategic role that enterprises should play? What kind of enterprises does India wish to foster? What is their desired behaviour and approach to nation-building? How will the central and state governments play an enabling role for them? Just like the preamble to the Constitution, the charter requires its own preamble, a value-based philosophy.

 

The Constitution was enriched by ideas from diverse segments of the population, and its preamble is a brief statement that outlines its core values and philosophy. 

 

Likewise, the charter’s preamble should enshrine core values and a philosophy for enterprise promotion, distinct from procedures and rules.

 

Enterprises add strategic strength by conforming to attributes such as: (i) following laws; (ii) not constantly staying mired in controversy; (iii) thinking and adapting for the long term; (iv) focusing on research and development, innovation, capital investment and strategy rather than reinforcing political connections; (v) working and earning for societal benefit; (vi) following exemplary standards of governance; and (vii) spreading the social good by creating employment, inculcating skills, caring for employees and associates, and adapting to changing market imperatives.

 

Crises in societies can be attributed to inequality. Their manifestations are:

 

> Inequality of economic being: The Gini index and perceptibly yawning gaps between the rich and poor, between communities and within communities;

 

> Inequality in social conditions: The widespread prevalence of inequality due to prejudices stemming from race, religion, and caste despite laws against such practices;

 

> Inequality of communicating abilities: The polarisation of society has created segments of “hearing-challenged” leaders. Nobody listens to others because the other is assumed to have a less informed perspective.

 

> Inequality of institutions: So­ciety has traditionally attempted to maintain order through upgrading public institutions of and for fair and orderly governance. Traditional institutions of governance are eroding in an atmosphere of “winner takes all” competitiveness.

 

> Imbalance in public morality and ethics: The civic background of candidates in politics is hardly an example to the people of various nations.

 

The government too has an important role. The year 1991 eliminated things like licensing, monopolies and restrictive trade practices, capital controls, and the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act. Apart from crafting an enterprise charter, the government must unleash a 1991-style liberalisation. It is incredibly difficult to run an enterprise in India. It is tough to get speedy justice in commercial disputes. As many as half the commercial disputes have the government as a party.

 

China has an engineer-led culture  — 80 per cent of its governors, mayors, and party secretaries are technocrats.  America is a lawyer-led culture — 50 per cent of the members of Congress are lawyers. India is a politician-led culture, and among politicians few can claim to be technocrats. As demonstrated by some southern states, bureaucrats can do a decent job if they are left somewhat alone by their political masters.

 

A new mindset is called for — enterprises that conform to the philosophy of enterprise and societal service. This idea is at the core of India’s civilisational heritage. India must develop a superstructure of excellent management practices learnt from the West by building those skills on top of its civilisational heritage. It is worthwhile to recall lessons from the Upanishads and from Swami Vivekananda’s philosophy, which has not been sufficiently reinterpreted for the modern mind.

 

Philosophically, India’s enterprise preamble and charter should call on entrepreneurs to treat humanity as one, the earth as their home, and to live in peace despite differences. The Upanishadic injunction vasudhaiva kutumbakam (the world is one) says it succinctly and has been quoted by political leaders from Jawaharlal Nehru to Atal Bihari Vajpayee to Narendra Modi.

 

The author’s latest book, JAMSETJI Tata — Powerful Learnings for Corporate Success, is coauthored with Harish Bhat

 

rgopal@themindworks.me