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The purpose of this paper is to assess the role of management gurus in a contemporary society.

To further understanding about the specific atmosphere favorable to the production and consumption of the guruesque ideas the paper draws on the work of Goffman and MacIntyre about the performance‐like quality of organizational life.

It is argued that the management guru is well at home in a social world in which presentation is a central theme. Hence, we portray the guru not as the messenger who brings indisputable truths to the managerial masses, but as a person who succeeds in presenting him or herself as a “tastemaker”.

The concept of tastemaker is still in need of more development and therefore this paper suggests three lines of further research.

This paper may help managers, as important consumers of guruesque ideas, to better understand the management guru phenomenon and to reflect on their value in daily praxis.

The paper provides more insight into the, albeit contested, role of (dis)taste, an issue that received scant attention in discussions about management fashion and guruism.

This paper offers a critical reappraisal of the nature and significance of guru theory. Noting that critical scholars of management have sought to dismiss guru theory as an insubstantial and ephemeral body of knowledge, dedicated to the production of fads, which are said to obscure the reality of management, the paper attempts to encourage academics and practitioners to reconsider the implications of the fad motif. Offering six objections to the fad motif in management scholarship, which variously discuss the realities of managerial toil and the nature of management scholarship, the paper argues that so‐called faddish developments in management knowledge actually offer persuasive and substantial representations of reality. However, the paper concludes that while guru theory may be substantial, it is also flawed because it offers a self‐privileging form of analysis, which obscures the many realities of organizing and managing, which might otherwise be subject to serious inquiry.

This paper offers a critical analysis of recent developments in management knowledge. Observing that detractors have sought to “brand” developments in management knowledge as faddish and insubstantial distortions of the nature of management and the realities of organization, the paper offers a distinctive analysis, which exploits ambiguities in the term “branding” to argue that management fads, so‐called, should be subject to a form of critical analysis, which goes beyond debunking. Dismissing the notion that recent developments in management are faddish and insubstantial, the paper suggests that contemporary developments in management knowledge are, in fact, worthy of a sustained, critical analysis because they have the capacity to shape our understanding of ourselves and our circumstances, and so offer workers and managers new ways to be at work. Focusing attention on the consumption of management knowledge, the paper suggests that we should alter our understanding of the “branding” of management knowledge to acknowledge the similarities between recent developments in management knowledge and “branded” goods such as those produced by Nike.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced us not only to think but also to pause and objectively reflect on how to deal with the situation that has arisen and how to develop well-being and resilience strategies for the welfare of humanity at large. We long to be in those vicinities where we want to calm our minds in the quest for a deeper meaning of one existence. It can be a nature-based destination, a pilgrim destination or a part of a religious tour depending on one's faith, belief and orientation towards spirituality and bliss. The abundance of natural resources available in nature is the prime source of overall wellness in all parts of the world, as are the traditional Indian practices of Yoga, Ayurveda and the practices suggested by traditional holy scriptures. This chapter attempts to see the wave of spiritual gurus boosting the wellness sector associated with travelling. Gurus like Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Sadguru Vasudev Jaggi and HH Dalai Lama are some of the international gurus who have influenced spiritual and wellness tourism to a large extent. The discourse analysis revealed that people long for spirituality for peace and wellness. It also reveals being spiritual has no fixed dimension; it varies from person to person.

Pricing, digital marketing, marketing management and strategic marketing.

The case can be used for pricing or digital marketing courses as well as marketing management courses to MBA students and/or for management development programmes.

Goldfinch Mobile Solutions, a Hong-Kong based value added services (VAS) and gaming platform provider, had an exclusive tie up with Bharti Airtel in India for providing value added voice applications on an interactive voice response system (IVRS) platform. The Goldfinch flagship service is “Guru Ki Bani” which may be subscribed to by dialing the short code 58282. This “58282” service has a repository of all Sikh religion daily prayers, religious songs, teachings, stories from Guru's life and similar information that is derived from the Sikh Holy book Guru Granth Sahib Ji. As per mutual agreement between Goldfinch Mobile Solutions and Bharti Airtel, the telecom operator had the responsibility to promote Goldfinch's Guru Ki Bani service amongst its subscriber base through its below the line (BTL) promotional channels such as short messaging service (SMS), outbound calls, cell information, notification SMS after call and above the line (ATL) activities such as posters, leaflets, print, promoters, regional TV, outdoors, etc. The revenue sharing arrangement between Airtel and Golfinch was in the ratio of 75 percent and 25 percent. However, with recent changes in the policies of Telephone Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), promotional marketing used by telecom operators has been constrained. Declining customer share, decreasing profits (after Bharti Airtel halted promotions) and increasing organization cost per customer have made MD and CEO Mr Newton Bubber think of various options including low-cost marketing initiatives besides digital marketing to promote Guru Ki Bani services. Value communication to its huge potential customer base, i.e. 184.19 million Bharti Airtel subscribers was another challenge facing Mr Newton and his marketing team at Goldfinch.

The case enables students to learn the concepts and application of value creation, effective value communication, price waterfall analysis, importance of costing parameters in pricing decisions, low-cost marketing strategies and digital marketing.

Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

This paper offers a critical analysis of X‐engineering – an approach to management, which it is claimed refines and extends business process reengineering (BPR) to offer sustainable benefits to business and to the various communities, which constitute modern business organizations. Noting that academic critiques of guru theorising in general and academic critiques of BPR in particular have done little to exercise the minds of practitioners, the paper offers two critical accounts of X‐engineering. The first follows a familiar concern with the production of X‐engineering as it seeks to debunk the ideas and concepts, which constitute this body of knowledge. The second offers an alternative account of guru theorising, which focuses upon the nature of managerial work and on the consumption of management knowledge as it attempts to develop a line of critique, which can reflect and yet intrude upon the complexities of managerial work. Building upon this analysis of the consumption of guru theorising, the paper seeks to provide counter‐arguments and analysis for the constituencies, which can be expected to bear the brunt of X‐engineering.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the ethical and leadership challenges arising from revelations of child sexual abuse in the 1970s and 1980s at an Australian Satyananda Yoga ashram. This paper responds to the Royal Commission’s exposition of child abuse at an Australian yoga ashram and was the first such investigation involving a faith-based organisation outside the churches.

This paper provides a critical cultural analysis of the findings of the Australian Government Royal Commission into child abuse in relation to Satyananda Yoga. Particular practices and values associated with Satyananda Yoga may have served to foster and mask widespread abuse.

This paper should generate discourse within the yoga community at both the grassroots level and within the upper hierarchy. It outlines the importance of critical awareness among teachers and students. It is hoped that the paper will help to catalyse a reparation process for survivors of child sexual abuse. It is also suggested that yoga academies re-evaluate practices and values that have been used to justify abuse.

Satyananda Yoga’s ethical and leadership challenges warrant broader research than was undertaken for this paper. The still unresolved matter of reparations for survivors of abuse needs urgent consideration.

This chapter examines the problem of teacher education as it unfolds in the Indian context. It focuses on the historical and cultural context in which teachers’ attitudes and identities develop. Attention is particularly paid to contextual factors that frame teachers’ actions beyond individual intentions. Possibilities for breaking these frames and engaging in new alternatives for action are imagined. An historical approach is employed to understand teachers’ current pedagogical beliefs and action, and its future orientation.

The case presents an insight into the Guru Shishya Parampara. It is presents the outcome of a dialogue the case writers had with Rajvaidya Dhanshankarji G Pandit (Vaidyaji), a practitioner of Ayurveda system of medicine using NadiNidan–pulse diagnosis. The case presents Vaidyaji's family background, initial learning, and the admission process and describes the various stages of his learning and improvisation. It also explores the attributes of Guru and Shishya, acceptance of the Shishya by the Guru, processes of learning and evaluation, graduation, and revisit and renewal of learning.