Buddha's management 3 principles

by J.F. Ranjith Perera

Modern management experts who came up with theories in the 20th century for achieving efficiency in management and increasing productivity would be perhaps astonished to know that the Buddha propounded these identical principles of management in the sixth century BC, incorporating them in the Viyaggapajja Sutta, preached by Him.

The ultimate objective of the teachings of the Buddha was to enable human beings to give up their desires or cravings and achieve a state of mind, which would enable them to end suffering by attaining the bliss of Nibbana. Thereupon he or she will not be reborn among living beings or even in the heavens.

However, to achieve or develop this state of mind the Buddha did not expect or encourage all human beings to give up lay life and lead a priestly life. Instead, the Buddha realised and acknowledged the need to procreate for the continued existence of the human race, and the need for the majority of the people to lead a lay life, so that they could engage in all the activities needed for their continued existence. Hence, He acknowledged the importance of the farmers engaging in producing food for consumption and technicians engaging in producing the industrial requirements of the people.

Certain people may think that it is advantageous to live a retired life in a quiet place away from noise and disturbances. But it is certainly more praiseworthy and courageous to practise Buddhism, living among your fellow beings, helping them and being of service to them.

Life in solitude

It may perhaps be useful in some cases for a man to live in retirement for some time, to develop his mind and character, as preliminary moral, spiritual and intellectual training, to be adequately strong and capable to come out later and help others. But if a man lives all his life in solitude, thinking only of his happiness and salvation, without caring for his fellows, this surely is not in keeping with the Buddha's teaching which is based on love, compassion, and service to others.

One might now wonder, if a man can practise Buddhism while leading the life of an ordinary layman, why was the order of monks, the Sangha, established by the Buddha? The order provides the opportunity for those who are willing to devote their lives not only to their own spiritual and intellectual development, but also to provide services to others.

An ordinary layman with a family cannot be expected to devote his whole life to the service of others, whereas a bhikkhu, who has no family commitments or any other worldly ties, is in a position to devote his whole life "for the good of the many for the happiness of the many", according to the Buddha's advice.

Accordingly, it is evident that the Buddha acknowledged the need for the majority of the people to lead a lay life .

The Buddha made it known that, in the sojourn through Samsara, it is a rare opportunity for a living being to be born a human being.

Hence the Buddha, the Enlightened One, considered it necessary to look into every aspect of human life, and embodied in His preachings, how they could achieve optimum success in life, which would be beneficial to themselves as well as to others.

Economic importance

One of the important matters affecting lay life which drew the attention of the Buddha was, in the modern sense, a matter of economic importance, namely the ways of achieving efficiency in management and increasing productivity. The Buddha embodied these principles in the Viyaggapajja Sutta which He preached in the sixth century BC which was 25 centuries prior to what was expounded by the modern management experts who will no doubt be stunned to hear of this revelation.

The Buddha possessed the rare and remarkable ability of foresight, which enabled Him to foretell or forecast things and truths which are relevant and applicable even in the modern world, as He was the Sarvaggna or the one who knew everything.

The following are the five principles to be adopted to achieve efficiency in management and enhancing productivity which the Buddha embodied in the Viyaggapajja Sutta preached by Him.

The first principle is that the head or the manager in charge of any enterprise should be a person with specialised knowledge in that activity, whether agricultural or industrial, undertaken by the enterprise.

It is a basic principle in modern management that for the success of any organisation, the manager or managers who are heading those enterprises should possess expert knowledge and skills in the respective activities whether agricultural, industrial or business undertaken by those enterprises.

This is the reason which has prompted enterprises in the modern world to consider investment in human resource development to be as important as investment in developing technology. It is rather strange but true that the Buddha realised the need to acquire specialisation as an important requirement for the success of any enterprise.

Sense of dedication

The second principle enunciated by the Buddha for the success of any enterprise is that the managers and the employees should be active and should work or perform with a sense of dedication without being lazy and lethargic. If the employees of an enterprise tend to lack interest and adopt a lethargic attitude, it is not likely to achieve success, despite any improvements effected for its development.

Particularly in the moderm economic systems in which there is severe competition, it is necessary to achieve optimum productivity by way of active participation of its personnel either through self-motivation or through some motivation schemes introduced by its management. Hence it is evident that the viable and continued existence of any production organisation depends among other things on the active participation of its employees in its production process.

It is evident that this principle enunciated by the Buddha is relevant and applicable even in the modern world, without which success in any venture cannot be achieved.

The third principle enunciated by the Buddha is that any entrepreneur should possess a high sense of alertness. He should be alert in identifying the changing needs of the consumers and the need to adjust the production process to conform and comply with the customer needs.

He should be alert to the type and the nature of the competition offered to his product/s. He should be alert to the price adjustments to stay competitive in the market, relating to his range of products. The entrepreneur should also be alert to the development of new technology relating to his industry. Even though this principle of alertness sounds very modern, these are perhaps what the Buddha understood and preached for the betterment of the human beings.

The fourth principle enunciated by the Buddha is the need to perform and to attend to things at the most appropriate time. In other words, it means that nothing should be postponed unless there is a valid or strong reason for doing so. To take advantage of an opportunity, you should proceed to take advantage of it without postponement. Following what the Buddha had preached, many wise men have stated that "a lost opportunity is no opportunity".

This is perhaps a good lesson to the younger generation, which tend to postpone most matters in many instances without any valid reason or reasons. This has resulted among other things in retarding their progress. This could be sometimes due to their reluctance to heed the advice of the elders and due to the false notion that they themselves should experiment, to face the outcome or the result of any action.

Considering the production process, the delay in taking the right decision at the appropriate time could result in tremulous setbacks and losses sometimes to the level of extinction.

Working to a plan

The fifth management principle enunciated by the Buddha was the need to work according to a plan.

In the modern world, particularly due to the scarcity of the factors of production, development is inconceivable without planning. Planning is, in simple terms, the process of effective thinking and formulating a program of work to achieve the desired objectives and targets within a stipulated period of time by utilising the skills of entrepreneurship, to formulate the right combination of the scarce factors of production (land, labour and capital). This is particularly the reason for emphasising the need to plan, when launching micro or macro industrial or agricultural projects whether initiated by the State or by the private sector.

The factors of production as envisaged in the modern world, may not have been scare or important at the time the Buddha lived 25 centuries ago. However, even to proceed with a project in a rudimentary form with the type of resources which were available at the time, the Buddha realised the need for planning with the knowledge available at the time, to achieve the desired objectives.

However planning has become a very significant principle in management and a highly specialised field of study in the modern world.

It is incredible but true that the Buddha expounded the theories of management, when He preached the Viyaggapajja Sutta. He possessed this incomparable mental capacity to foretell or forecast as He was the Sarvaggna (the one who knew everything) by virtue of being the Enlightened One.

No other person or persons possessed this mental power during the Buddha's lifetime or in any period thereafter. Accordingly, the modern management experts need not be stunned to know that the Buddha preceded them to a period not less than 25 centuries, in expounding the principles of management, which were similar to the theories and the principles propounded by them in the 20th Century.