Parallels between Traditional Indian Philosophy and Contemporary Japanese Management

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to explain some significant parallels between traditional Indian philosophy found in The Gita and modern Japanese management practices. Philosophy is a theory or attitude that acts as a guiding principle for behaviour. Thus, to the extent that management is part of life, philosophy can be expected to influence management behaviour. Further, to the extent that Buddhism is a significant part of modern Japanese life, it can be expected that since Buddhism has its origins in India, traditional Indian philosophy has an influence on modern Japanese management behaviour. This paper is groundbreaking because there does not seem to be any other published work dealing with this cross cultural topic.