they are really concentrating on what is most important.

A rec-
ommended read for anyone concerned with strategy develop-
ment and deployment!

Barry Hopewell
Strategy Consultant, UK

PII: S 0 0 2 4 - 6 3 0 1 ( 9 9 ) 0 0 1 0 8 - 9

Values and Ethics for Organizations: Theory and

Practice, S. K. Chakraborty
Oxford University Press, Delhi, India (1998), 262 pp., Rs 475.00

In his numerous earlier books Professor Chakraborty has pro-

vided a systematic conceptual and empirical presentation of
Vedantic (true `Brahminhood') and allied principles relevant to
management. This volume continues this theme and also
employs a number of case studies to demonstrate the practical
application of these ideas to the real world of business. The
approach taken by Chakraborty attempts to integrate both
Western and Indian perspectives.
Professor Chakraborty is a recognized and well-respected
authority on the subject of ethics and he is the Founder Direc-
tor of the Management Centre for Human Values at the Indian
Institute of Management, Calcutta. Prior to establishing the
Centre several years ago, Professor Chakraborty was a well-
known authority on accountancy, at least on the Indian sub-
continent. He has authored 23 books including most recently,
in the subject area of ethics: Human Values for Managers
(Wheeler Publishing Company, 1995), Ethics in Management
(Oxford University Press, Delhi, India, 1995), Managerial
Transformation by Values: A Corporate Pilgrimage (Sage, India,
1993), Human Resource Development (Wiley Eastern, 1990),
and Managerial Effectiveness and Quality of Work Life: Indian
Insights (Tata McGraw-Hill, 1987).
In the ®rst section of this volume Chakraborty highlights the
importance of `the human values foundation' in attaining econ-
omic prosperity and total quality. The second section discusses
an analysis of managerial and student responses to human
values and their application in India. The ®nal section con-
siders a series of case studies that illustrate the dilemmas and
choices confronting managers in today's work environment.
These dilemmas involve dealing with such practical issues as
rewards, overtime, transfers, personal growth, and debt man-
agement; all are analysed using essentially what the author con-
siders to be Indian-based theories and concepts of ethical
development. Professor Chakraborty comes to very similar con-
clusions to those obtained in other parts of the world, such as

Long Range Planning, vol 33 2000 147

 the Royal Society of Arts' sponsored study Tomorrow's Com-
pany and the US-based study by James C. Collins and Jerry I.
Porras, Built to Last (Century, 1996). In essence the message is
that organizations that wish to be both globally competitive
and locally effective must cultivate and embed a deep sense of
practical ethics that are driven at all levels by sound human
values.
The basic message is clear, and fully in line with that heard
increasingly in other parts of the world. But the style and con-
tent of Professor Chakraborty's approach is, as far as I know,
unique. It is remarkable for the diversity of its sources and the
inherent wisdom of the words as they ¯ow off the page. The
material used has been gathered from a lifetime of deep invol-
vement in the subject, with sources ranging widely from Toyn-
bee's view of the Greeks and Kanter's view of organizational
culture, to Fromm's view of freedom.
But how far have the ethics of sustainability expounded by
Swami Vivekananda, one of the Management Centre for
Human Values' four `patrons', changed from when he main-
tained, many years ago: ``While the Western man tries to
measure how much it is possible for him to possess and to
enjoy, the Eastern seems to measure how little of material pos-
sessions he can do with''? Can the two motivations be brought
together?
The book itself is based on the premise that `ethics-in-prac-
tice' derives and ¯ows from `values-in-the-being'. Hence while
argument, logic and reason all play a role, they do so only up
to a point. The key issues are: what is that point? How is its
position determined? And how will potential areas of con¯ict
be resolved?
At the core of the argument is the view that, when human
values are nurtured in the `right' integrated way within the pro-
cess of human development, then ethical behaviour is likely to
become natural, spontaneousÐalmost instinctive. The use of
cognitive rationality itself is directed or in¯uenced by the qual-
ity of the human values embedded within the decision-maker,
whether individually or collectively. But the book could have
included more discussion of how we all learn, or unlearn, our
ethical values, and how these in¯uence at all levels the character
necessary to give the subject of values/ethics the priority it
deserves. I found it surprising to see no mention of the words
`corruption' or `learning' in the index. However, the extensive
referencing of each chapter re¯ects the thorough academic tra-
dition of the author.
Part one of the book (with six chapters) focuses on the
theoretical aspects of values. Chakraborty starts with a critical
review of the gospel of `constant change' and its ethical/moral
implications. He argues the counter thesis of the `unchanging'
as the basis of all change. The analysis draws extensively on
Indian-based concepts and traditions, including the need to
keep the perspective of nihshreysa (transcendence) in front,
while pursuing abhyudaya (prosperity), and the view that the

148 Book Reviews and Review Briefs

change agents adopt the process of nishkam karma (detached
involvement); without an integrated approach to these forces,
material prosperity will only be achieved at the expense of
values and ethics. There is growing evidence to suggest that any
signi®cant trade-off in this area is not likely to produce sustain-
able material development over the longer term.
Chapter three develops a framework for `wisdom leadership'.
The concept of wisdom is grounded in holistic subjective realiz-
ation, as opposed to knowledge, which is considered as frag-
mented objective data. The author's de®nition of `wise
leadership' re¯ects his deep-seated roots in Indian culture and
civilization, which considers the ultimate form to be rishi con-
sciousnessÐall-perceiving and all-penetrating. Chapter four
maintains that TQM (total quality management) is ultimately
dependent upon a `total quality mind'; essentially a subjective
variable, but also another concept ®rmly rooted in the tra-
ditions of Indian civilization. In every area of life India has an
extensive tradition that uniquely combines re¯ective thinking
with appropriate action in the area of values/ethicsÐa tradition
that urgently needs to be more widely understood and
respected in other parts of the world. The ®nal two chapters of
the theoretical framework cover issues such as `the ethical pro-
blems of competition and the theory of Oneness' and the con-
trast between the ego-centric (swarthasangrahaÐself-serving)
and ego-transcending (lokasangrahaÐuniversal welfare)
approaches.
The second part of the book explores the issues of `ethics in
application'. This part concludes with a discussion of the need
to integrate the twentieth-century experience of runaway tech-
nology with the slower-moving development of human con-
sciousness, although many would argue that the latter is more
a matter of re-learning old (lost?) `truths', knowledge or wis-
dom, rather than discovering anything that can in any way be
de®ned as `new'. Chapter eight discusses the concept and role
of the co-operative movement which, according to Chakra-
borty, ``should be intrinsically more ethical than competitive
models of success.'' There is certainly much truth in this com-
ment, in theory at least, but where is the empirical evidence
that this can be converted into widely acceptable performance
preferences? Perhaps this is a potentially highly fertile area for
researchers.
The ®nal chapters in this section include material obtained
from various aspects of the programmes run at the Centre.
This includes a content analysis of the views of participants at
Human Value Workshops and the extent to which there were
signi®cant differences that could be attributed to the Moslem,
Christian, Sikh or Hindu background of those involved. (The
®rst chapter in this section discusses some of the similarities
and differences between the rhetoric and reality of the religions
of the world.) In all the Management by Values Workshops
run by the Centre, a core theme is to emphasize that the pro-
cess of change, or enlightenment, begins with the individual

Long Range Planning, vol 33 2000 149

 and not the group, or `others'. This approach is the key to con-
tributing to better teamwork and meeting the needs of others.
Chapter ten reproduces entries from the diaries of two sets of
postgraduate management students (MBAs)Ð Indian and
European. This exercise was part of the Centre's programme on
`Managerial Effectiveness and Human Values'. The general con-
clusion was that, ``beneath the gloss and shine of information
technology and much else, the mismatch between strong skills
and weak values often produces alarming consequences.''
[It should be noted that, in addition to conferences and
workshops, the Centre for Human Values undertakes an exten-
sive research programme itself, which is partly based on offer-
ing facilities to resident scholars from other parts of the world.
The results of this work have included the monographs:
Human Values in Indian Local Government and the Contempor-
ary Global Context by David J. Andrews; Human Values in
Industrial Organizations: The Feminine Perspective by G. P. Rao;
Human Values in the Engineering Profession by A. N. Tripathi;
Transition or Transcendence? A Study of Indian Managerial
Values by Bengt Gustavsson; Work Ethic: A Cross-cultural Study
of India and Singapore by Elizabeth Nair; and Work Related
Value Orientations of Indian Managers: An Empirical Investi-
gation by Samir Ranjan Chatterjee. The Centre is also respon-
sible for editing The Journal for Human Values, published by
Sage in India and now in its third year. In addition, there is a
number of published conference papers. Another relevant book
produced in that part of the world is Ethical Choices in Business
by R. C. Sekhar (Sage Publications, 1997, 265 pp., Rs 225.00).]
The ®nal section of the book contains a collection of ®fteen
cases or vignettes (three not compiled by the author) in the
area of values/ethics. Overall, Professor Chakraborty not only
presents a powerful case for the subject of values/ethics, but
also rightly argues that the contribution to theory and practice
in the Indian subcontinent should be studied more closely and
taken more seriously world-wide.
The most critical part of the debate and the greatest chal-
lenge for the future, both in theory and practiceÐthe role of
values/ethics in our organizations in particular and in society
in generalÐarises in a global context, through the potential
clash of cultures frequently driven by differing religious per-
spectives. Any positive contribution in this area is to be wel-
comed. In the work of Professor Chakraborty and his
colleagues at the Management Centre for Human Values, there
are many valuable contributions to thinking in this area that
deserve to be much more widely recognized.
It is dif®cult to disagree with the conclusion: ``Holism, holi-
ness and ethicabilty need to march together during the twenty-
®rst century and further on.'' Although Chakraborty is well
aware of the limitations of the methodology and of his sample
size, this book is a most impressive piece of work which, while
published in India, deserves to be widely read globally as a use-
ful contribution to a debate that is daily becoming more urgent.

150 Book Reviews and Review Briefs

 Chakraborty's presentation of his arguments is closely
reasoned and, perhaps unfortunately, more focused on academic
rigour than is perhaps likely to appeal to a busy managerial
audience (although the passion behind his convictions should
not be underestimated). The combination of detailed theoretical
analysis and the extensive use of practical examples still leaves
to the reader the responsibility of reinterpreting the material in
such a way that it can be of practical use to the operational
manager. In addition, Western readers might ®nd the language
used challenging at times, though that does not detract from
the importance of the underlying messages for us all.
I would not claim to be able to evaluate the detail of the
arguments used. In fact, I would be surprised if many people
are capable of undertaking an authoritative criticism of this
work, which is probably unique in the depth and breadth of its
analysis of the subject. I cannot recall any other volume that
explores the cross-cultural issues at the core of the values/ethics
debate with greater rigour, passion and authority. It is a
remarkable book, written by a remarkable man, directing a
remarkable Centre. All three deserve to be much more widely
known.

Note
The reviewer personally experienced the work of the Centre for
Human Values in Calcutta by attending a workshop on
`Applied Ethics in Management' (19±21 February 1998).

Bruce Lloyd
Principal Lecturer in Strategy, South Bank University,
London, UK

PII: S 0 0 2 4 - 6 3 0 1 ( 9 9 ) 0 0 1 0 9 - 0

New Thinking for the New Millennium, Edward de

Bono
Viking (1999), 289 pp., £16.99
No book by Edward de Bono can be taken other than seriously.
His principal themes are the value of design thinking, serious
creativity and innovation and genuine, no-holds-barred orig-
inality, which de Bono contrasts with the rigid, rock-like pro-
cess of Western logic which proceeds from cause to effect
without a sideways (or lateral) glance, but many a backwards
look. That kind of logic is concerned with what is and what
was, but not with what might be.
De Bono has argued all his professional life that a more crea-
tive approach to life's many problems would not only solve

Long Range Planning, vol 33 2000 151