Webster’s Dictionary defines self-realization as the ethical theory that the highest good for man consists in realizing or fulfilling himself usually on the assumption that he has certain in born abilities constituting his real or ideal self.
As Saint Shankara of Indian origin says that the knowledge of self cannot spring up by any other means than the inquiry –‘Who am I?’ And no matter what context the individual may be in, his search for solutions, and the coherence of their answer must always be embedded in the back of his minds.
To understand how can an individual’s search for himself/herself be quenched, one has to understand the essence of the modern enterprise, and the various possibilities it in stores for its greatest resource-it’s people. An enterprise is a business developed by the people of the country rather than the government; the word itself is an adjective, which describes the capacity of an individual or a group of individuals to implement the creativity, and innovation that is inherent in them. An enterprise is simply the analogy of the politics of democracy, which claims to be by the people, for the people and of the people. That is the kind of power people have in an enterprise!
Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely!
So, what is that keeps a check on the corruption predicted by the above adage?? Is it the hierarchy of a tall organizational structure? Or is it the fear of punishment-centered beurocracy?
To the surprise of everyone the new forms of enterprises are far from beurocracy in their organizational behavior. The more popular form of the modern enterprise is ‘organic’- A flat structure that is large enough to be resourceful and small enough to foster creativity and innovation. Here the prime emphasis is on the parity of people and judicious use of their energies. Implementing the goal of the enterprise rather than paying for the beurocratic costs and complexities of a multi-tiered organization is the prime emphasis of such an organizational structure.
But in such organizations, who checks the potential threats caused by free power and who is answerable to the abrupt and exploitative use of resources?
The answer to this lies in the art of self-realization, or in terms of modern jargon called the “people centered approach towards management”. In this approach, organizations treat people both as the means and ends of running the organization. From being the basic resource to processing of these resources, then leading, criticizing and appreciating to finally succeeding in achieving the enterprises’ goal – people are THE all and END all of the organization. With their brain and unique characteristics they form the heart of the enterprise, constantly molding themselves to the changing environment, adopting and recreating organizational culture and answering the science of change in real time.
People in the modern enterprise are the biggest resource; they are the basis of creativity and innovation that the modern organization boasts of. Without them the enterprise would become a Robot, who would just do as much as it is programmed to do. It is thus the onus of the enterprise not to mechanize its employees to become robots, and for this they have to implement the well-known tool of self-realization- perfecting it to their context and environment. Such perfection in self-realization will imbue in the employees a spirit of creativity, and the so-called jobs will no longer be jobs but an implementation of every individual’s unique capability.
Creativity is priceless and so is the creator.
An enterprise’s respect towards its creators is thus another factor that fosters the concept of people as a resource for their organization. Since time immemorial, creators have faced the problem of demotivation and demoralization. There was a time when character of strength (in order to avoid getting demotivated) was a prerequisite for being at the helm of innovation. Those who exhibited this prerequisite succeeded in creating while the others got lost in the oblivion of trying. Edison succeeded in making the electric bulb after a thousand failures, but for every such Edison that we know there must have been thousand others who gave up midway. Learning from history, such that the modern enterprise ensures innovation, constant motivation and imbuement of a strong character in its employees is of utmost importance.
Man is nature’s machine and none can compete with nature’s creativity.
Technology might be the buzzword and also the source of cutting down on the number of people in an organization, but no matter how advanced technology gets it may never be able to undermine the role of people in an enterprise. One might argue that advances in technology are challenging the human intellect, but the argument falls flat if we take into account that not more than 20% of the human brain is functional in a given period of time. So as the lesser mortals offend the human brain’s capability vis-à-vis modern technology, one must consider that advances in human technology would accompany advances in machine technology. Thus the gap between technology and humans shall pervade even with science showing remarkable success.
Technology is only an aid for processing information and can never undermine the vast human capability of processing variegated information. The enterprise is thus responsible for not only exploiting this unique capability of the humans but also to make its people feel confident that as long as they are not brain dead, they are the soul of the organization and technology can only support this soul and not challenge its essence.
Monitoring is a very fundamental way of attaining discipline
How often a class of fifth graders is seen turn into hooligans in the absence of the ‘class monitor’. But comparing fifth graders to people in organizations is not fair, for they are not just grown-ups but as per human nature are big protestors of a sword hanging on their neck. This sword may take different faces in an organization-bosses, deadlines, resource constraints, bounded rationality in decision-making. These contribute to potential impediments in pursuing creativity, which is the fuel of an enterprise. To avoid such impediments monitoring the ‘self’ becomes very crucial. Adopting the organic structure and removing the position and need of a boss is the answer to fostering a culture of innovation. The lack of bosses not only eliminates fear but create a search for a boss within the self. The advantage of this internal boss is that apart from dictating it also acts like a mentor- criticizing, appreciating, applauding and encouraging the individual to earn further laurels for himself. Also the voice of the boss from within ensures that the individual and the people around him/her are protected from making any moral compromises or hazards.
Jay Earley says, “Each of us has a special function to perform in the world, based on our unique talents and personal qualities, our lifetime learnings, and our heartfelt concerns and passions. When you discover these gifts within yourself and create or uncover your purpose in life, you will have found the key to a meaningful, happy life and to making your greatest contribution to healing our planet.”
As per Jay Earley’s concept of self-realization: the modern enterprise is a platform for performing a special function that has been assigned to one. To guide people in doing this there is no external mentor but one’s talent, personal qualities, lifetime learnings and heartfelt concerns and passions. It is this process of using one’s self to perform special functions that discovers the gifts within an individual and uncover’s his/her purpose in life. This is indeed the path to a meaningful and happy living both for the self and for the enterprise.
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