management lessons from history

8/6/2019 Management Lessons From History

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/management-lessons-from-history 1/3

Management Lessons from History-A Look at Emperor Akbars Managerial Style

In times when businesses have acquired the status of being capable of doing more harm than good,

value based management has become a buzz word. That India has a rich and varied historical, cultural

and philosophical heritage is a well acknowledged fact. Indian managers have access to a wealth of

wisdom from ancient Indian texts and can apply the same to contemporary times.

The creation of authentic, humane and responsive organizations requires a foundation of principles and

theories that are consistent with a countrys own ethos. Years of colonial rule followed by an overdose

of American ideology have somewhere down the line made us forget our literature that has ample

perennial content and is relevant even today.

Indian history is replete with examples of some brilliant leaders. A study of them would prove to be

invaluable in developing managerial and leadership styles that are in sync with Indian organizations in

this day and age and can contribute towards making them socially conscious and responsive.

As students of history Emperors and Kings have been the subject matter of study of all school students.

This article is an attempt to look at a Monarch as an administrator and manager. Emperor Akbar (1542-

1605), ruled what history describes as the greatest Mughal Empire. Illiterate and handicapped by

learning disabilities, yet blessed with curious intellect Akbar was known as the greatest of the six great

Mughal emperors.

The Right Man for the Right Job

The principle of Division of Labour and Specialisation propounded by Henri Fayol, considered to be the

Father of Administrative Management, was evident in the court of Akbar. His was a bejeweled court

with some of the greatest talents from different fields. His primary support group, the Nine Gems or

Nava-ratnas were experts in their respective fields.

Selecting the very best people for his inner circle could by no means be described as an easy task. Yet

Akbar managed to pick the right man for the right job. Artists, painters, calligraphers, poets,

philosophers, administrators, financiers, warriors, chroniclers and mathematicians, the Nine Gems gave

their rich experience that facilitated administration of Akbars empire.



Raja Birbal, trusted advisor and minister is known for his wit and the interactions between Akbar and

him are popular even today due to their thought provoking, entertaining and educational content.

Participative decision making was followed by seeking advice from these experts.

Keeping a Close Watch

Akbar was particular about keeping a close watch on happenings in his empire and did this very

successfully by means of a roaming camp. This was preceded by an unsuccessful attempt at setting up

his court at Fatehpur Sikri near Agra. When it proved to a shaky option he decided to use the aforesaid

method of control.

Relationship Management

Akbar ruled over a majority of the Indian population numbering around 140 million at the end of the

sixteenth century. He controlled a large chunk of the Indian populace who resided in the area between

the Himalayas and the Deccan Plateau. In comparison the populace of England was five million and

Western Europe was forty million then.

A clever strategist he suspended jizya taxes that were imposed on non-Muslims and issued strict

orders against extortion by tax collectors won popular favor among his subjects. As a diplomat he had

the powerful Rajputs on his side as most of them were related to him by marriage.

He facilitated the development of trade and commerce by doing away with religious restrictions on

trade between Muslims and Hindus. He was appreciative of other religions and often assembled

religious leaders of other religions in his court and would listen to them.

As an administrator he demonstrated the importance of accepting differences and co-existing in this

respect. Akbar led by example and it is no wonder then that his reign is regarded to have been a period

of political stability in India.

Good Leadership

Military conquests met with success but Akbar was not in favour of initiating a battle unless his

neighbours rose against him. Each province that was conquered by him was headed by a Governor who

had to function under his authority, an illustration of the managerial principle of unity of command.



REFORMER & WEALTH CREATOR:

Akbars tax reforms deserve to be mentioned as they were a great improvement on the earlier land tax

systems which levied taxes as a share of the harvest. His officials prepared a detailed an accurate

system in terms of the soil quality, water access, etc of each piece of land and converted them in to

money by taking in to account the crop prices that were prevalent in each region of his empire. In fact

these reforms inspired Chinese rulers to implement a similar system and helped him build huge wealth

reserves for his empire.

PATRON OF LITERATURE & ARTS:

A connoisseur of art and music he initiated a considerable amount of literature prominent among which

are the biographical Akbar-nama and the Ain-i-Akbari. The Akbar-nama in particular highlights the

monarchs administrative finesse.

To conclude, Indian history is an absolute treasure trove of lessons in management and administration.

The Indian freedom struggle was headed by an excellent set of leaders. The fact of the matter is the

monarchs who ruled over the Indian sub-continent much before India came under colonial rule were

able administrators and leaders. They had a practical approach to managing people and motivating

them while countering their enemies from outside their empires and restraining internal conflicts and

corruption. They also paid attention to the creation of economic and social wealth. It may be argued

that business in those times was a different ball game altogether. This of course is an undeniable fact,

but people today are still the same. It is said that without history one cannot understand the present

and envision the future. What Indian managers need to do is look back and imbibe the values and

principles of team building and strategies followed by monarchs like Emperor Akbar to create our very

own managerial principles and theories that are true to Indian ethos. Post independence this has been

one of the major lacunae that India has faced. Despite having made progress industrially there has been

an excessive reliance on Western styles of management. The need of the hour is to evolve a truly Indian

style of management and all we need to do is shake off the dust from our history books and uncover

some invaluable lessons.

management lessons from history

Documents