The Parable of the Sadhu

Presented By
Abhishek Mudiganti U110124
Akankshit Kanungo U110126
Ansuman Pradhan U110128
Siddharth Panda U110167
Sumit Mishra U110174
Case Facts
Based on a real life incident that happened
with Bowen H. McCoy, MD of Morgan Stanley
Participated in the sabbatical program of
six months
On a trip to Himalaya for 60 days
Met with people from other countries


Encounter with Sadhu
One of the New Zealander found an Indian Sadhu
The Sadhu was shivering & suffering from
Hypothermia
Everybody has contributed in reviving the Sadhu
However, nobody took complete responsibility for
the Sadhus well being

Stephens Arguments
Each did their bit as long as it was convenient,
then passed on the buck to others.

Ponders about how different the action would
have been - Had the person been a well
dressed Asian or a Western Woman

McCoys Views
At first, McCoy was defensive to Stephens arguments.

Things like Stress, Once in a lifetime opportunity were
his excuses

But later on, he realized how they had walked by an
ethical dilemma without appropriate action

Ethical Dilemma
Individual Ethics Vs Group Ethics
Applicability of Rule based Ethical Theory
Implementing Ethics in Corporate World
Individual Vs Group
Every person did their bit for the Sadhu
However, no one ensured the ultimate well
being of the Sadhu
Where does the ethical responsibility of an
individual end
Is there something called collective or
institutional responsibility?


Ethics in Workplace
How to ensure collaborative effort towards
end goal
Synchronizing individual efforts with collective
vision
Reaching consensus and selecting a leader in
crunch situation
How to ensure groups support?

Applicability of Rule Based Theories
Deontology
Utilitarianism
Distributive justice
Deontological Analysis
Action is moral if the action is universalizable
and reversible
In the case, the actions are universalizable
Reversibility is also justifiable
However, the end result is not satisfactory

Utilitarian Analysis
Maximum benefits for the maximum no of
people
No person was harmed in the case
Sadhu was benefited from their actions
However, the final result is still unsatisfactory

Distributive Justice
Tenets are
- Maximum freedom for all
- Inequities to be tolerated only when the
weakest are benefited
The case satisfies the necessary tenets for
distributive justice
However the end doesnt seem satisfactory


Teleological Analysis
End justifies the means
What is the end.completing once in a life
time trip or saving the Sadhu?
It doesnt specify the ends
Hence teleological analysis is not satisfactory
in this case
Virtue Theory
Morally good habits developed through
training and repetition
Moral virtues are the traits that enable us to
live well
Virtues are not rules to be followed, but habits
to be cultivated


Virtue Theory Vs Rule Based Theory
Rule based theories are threshold theories
whereas virtue theory is an optimization
theory
Rule based theory specifies the minimum
requirement for any action
Virtue theory aims at excellence

Failure Of Rule Based Theories
What should the moral theories do?
Justify McCoys conclusion that the hikers actions
were blameworthy

Explain the relevance of the story to the corporate
world

Offer sound alternatives to the moral failures that
the story cites

Relevance to Corporate World
None of them explain the relevance
Corporate World People have individual values based
on a set of shared goals.
Similarly in the story - the hikers want to take care of the
Sadhu, they want to finish and enjoy the hike
Rule based analysis looks at a moral question in analysis
totally context-free
character-free
person gets his or her moral clues only from his or her
innate faculty of reason.





Coming Back to the Story
Rule base theories can distinguish only between actions that
are morally permissible or justifiable and actions that are not.

Surely the actions of the hikers were permissible.

Distinction in Sadhus Case
is not between actions that are right and those that are wrong, but
between actions that are merely okay and those that are excellent
between those that are merely justifiable and those that are actually
praiseworthy.

The Sadhu parable brings into relief our notions, about the
different moral characters of persons, rather than our
justifications of the moral worth of actions.



As moral persons we have an obligation to expect the most from ourselves and from
others, and that is the way we and they behave well.

McCoy regrets, not that he and other group members acted impermissibly, but that
they acted merely permissibly.

That they acted only as anyone would be expected to act, and not as a good person
would be expected to act.

McCoy and his fellow hikers were given one of lifes rare opportunities to be heroes,
and they let it pass unmet.

The hikers actions, then, were blameworthy, because they were merely justifiable in
a situation which actually called for heroism and sacrifice.

Lessons of the Sadhu
Pose questions to oneself in terms of excellences of character, to facilitate
good habits of moral thinking.

See these good moral habits as the dose of prevention that will help keep
business persons out of moral jams in the first place, and will help them sail
heroically through those situations in which they might otherwise be tempted
by the vices.
In a complex business situation, the individual requires & deserves the
support of the group

If such support is provided, a person has a stake in the success of the group

It will also direct & focus each member of the team & benefit the group as a
whole.

Thank You