How to develop spiritual awareness in the organization : Lessons from the Indian yogic philosophy
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to propose a theoretical model that leverages the practical wisdom of the Panch-Kosa framework of yogic philosophy to develop an awareness of spirituality in the organization. It also provides quasi-quantitative empirical evidence to demonstrate its potential application.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey was designed and administered in four different organizations. Correlation, ANOVA and χ2 analysis were conducted to explore the applicability of the proposed framework.
Findings
The results indicate that values, as reflected in the physical aspects of an organization such as its logo, symbols and organizational elements characterized as “practice of Fair Governance” and “HR Effectiveness”, influence employee-related outcomes. Further, the study found that when there is a perfect “alignment” between an organization's intent to honor values and its corresponding actions, employees perceive the highest levels of holistic engagement.
Research limitations/implications
This study has an implication on how to leverage practical wisdom from Hindu philosophy to enable individuals and organizations to transform to a higher level of consciousness.
Originality/value
The paper has ventured into an uncharted territory of integrating the yogic framework of Panch-Kosa to the organizational elements and has provided preliminary support for its applicability in organizations. Moreover, it operationalizes the notion of alignment between organization's value-centric strategy and actions and its impact on employee-related outcomes.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This paper is a culmination of the efforts of a number of colleagues. The authors would like to thank Mr Arunav Banerjee for his able guidance and support through the entire process. Special thanks to Bianka Ray Choudhury, Rahul Chintamaneni and Sumit Kamra for their help with the statistical analysis. The industry partners need a special mention for allowing the authors to study the respective organizations. Most of all, this paper would not have been possible without the able assistance of the following colleagues: Garima Singh, Nupur Todi, Kritvi Kedia, Pallavi Tandon.
Citation
Shah, S. and Sachdev, A. (2014), "How to develop spiritual awareness in the organization : Lessons from the Indian yogic philosophy", Journal of Management Development, Vol. 33 No. 8/9, pp. 871-890. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMD-07-2013-0098
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2014, Emerald Group Publishing Limited