Life of krishna and relevance to the modern management

Abstract

Shri Krishna is a multifaceted character and his life and actions can be interpreted in various ways. One such interpretation is from management point of view. This research studies depiction of Krishna chiefly from Mahabharata and also relies upon Harivansham and Bhagawat Purana. Krishna is one of the central characters of Mahabharata. Krishna s first appearance in Mahabharata is as a young person. The research, therefore, also relies on Harivansham and Bhagvat Purana for some episodes which are not depicted in Mahabharata in a detailed manner. The research evaluates character of Krishna excluding Bhagwat Gita as there is ample research already available on it. The research discusses the acts of Krishna and they are evaluated to study contemporary management theories. In this exploratory study, conceptual analysis has been carried out on descriptive and narrative based method. The aim is to evaluate whether the acts of Krishna are relevant to the modern management theories or not. Situation managed by Krishna through conflict resolution techniques to address conflicts like interpersonal conflicts, intrapersonal conflicts, intergroup conflicts and intragroup conflicts are studied. For studying the people management, aspects like delegation, communication and servant leadership are examined. For studying the self-management point of view, emotion management, self-awareness and evolution and transformation as a leader are scrutinized. Krishna s unique practice of management styles like management by humility, acceptance of limitations, management by dharmaand nitis, possession of de facto power and denial of de jure power are discussed and for this various acts are discussed to prove that this was an effective management tool used by Krishna effectively and profusely.