The Indian business leader: An exploration of religious and cultural impact on organisational dynamics

Prabhakar, Guru Prakash; Hancock, C.

Abstract

In recent years a number of very public scandals involving the leadership of large international organisations and the ethical and moral stance adopted by business leaders have attracted media frenzy. Collins (2001) suggests that successful leaders are those that are able to combine humility and will. Our research explores the extent to which religion and culture impact on the leadership mindset, behaviour and business landscape. By way of interviews with Indian Business leaders and utilising dialogical interaction analysis, a method of analysing discussion developed by Mead and Bakhtin, we consider the ways in which religion and culture are more prone to be outwardly manifest in business leadership.

This paper is a part of a larger CEO study conducted in India, studying leadership behaviour in the Indian context. Approximately fifteen interviews were utilised for this paper. Each of these interviews lasted for about an hour investigating leadership behaviour, personal and organisational strengths & weaknesses, philosophy of management and organizational change etc.

Citation

Prabhakar, G. P., & Hancock, C. (2014, June). The Indian business leader: An exploration of religious and cultural impact on organisational dynamics. Presented at Academic Council of the United Nations System (ACUNS) 2014 Annual Meeting – Global Governance: Engaging New Norms and Emerging Challenges, Kadir Has University, Istanbul, Turkey

• Presentation Conference Type: Lecture
• Conference Name: Academic Council of the United Nations System (ACUNS) 2014 Annual Meeting – Global Governance: Engaging New Norms and Emerging Challenges
• Start Date: Jun 19, 2014
• End Date: Jun 21, 2014
• Publication Date: Jun 19, 2014
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Keywords: India, religion, culture
• Publisher URL: http://acuns.org/am2014/
• Additional Information: Title of Conference or Conference Proceedings : Academic Council of the United Nations System (ACUNS) 2014 Annual Meeting – Global Governance: Engaging New Norms and Emerging Challenges