Teachings of Bhagavad Gita for Marketing

Abstract

Contrary to the Indian philosophy of “Vasudhaiv Kutumbkam”, western design of management is based upon the Darwin's principle of the survival of the fittest which promoted the philosophy of 'dog eats dog'. Bulkiness of the bottom line of the balance sheet became the yardstick of the success of an organization and ethics, values and lifelong emotional bonding with people are pushed to the peripheral level where customers became 'consumer' and workers a 'hirable and replaceable commodity' and management professionals as 'tools to improvise the bottom line' without realizing that profit is not the sole motto as the purpose of organization is to create values to the society and profit is just a byproduct. Ethics and values are different from rules/regulations because it provides criteria for evaluating action based upon certain desirable norms but has no legal binding. The management is expected to follow the highest ethical standards as management is not just accountable to shareholders but also responsible towards stake holders and responsibility of management professionals from public work cannot be veiled behind the professionalism. Moreover, the great organization cannot be created without values and ethics. Only those organizations can survive till eternity that follow highest standard of ethics, moral values and create values for the society. It is difficult to accept that an organization follows highest standard of ethics, values and emotions in its internal management but can afford to remain low in ethical standards with customers. Organizations have realized the importance of ethics in marketing for the benefits in long term. Adoptions of ethical practices in marketing create positive energy in the organization and generate interest of the customer in products/ services, develop customer confidence in organization's brand and leads to loyalty. A loyal and satisfied customer and organization's brand value gives pride among employees who develops a sense of satisfaction and loyalty towards the organization which can be understood by the following flow chart: Ethical marketing behavior Satisfied customer and Brand loyalty Strong Citizen Brand Spiritually pure Business and Profit Positive energy in the organization Spiritually connected employees develops pride in organization Daivisampat employees (faithful and honest) Works hard to continue to have satisfied and loyal customers Organization able to sustain leadership