Reconceptualizing Profit-Orientation in Management: A Karmic View on ‘Return on Investment’ Calculations

Abstract

From the perspective of the present day, Puritan-inspired capitalism seems to have succeeded globally, including in India. Connected to this, short-term profit-orientation in management seems to constrain the scope of different management approaches in a tight ideological corset. This article discusses the possibility of replacing this Puritan doctrine with the crucial elements of Indian philosophy: Karma and samsara. In doing so, the possibility of revising the guiding principles in capitalist management becomes conceivable, namely the monetary focus of profit-orientation and its short-term orientation. This perspective allows a detachment of the concept of profit from the realm of money, as the seemingly only objectifiable measure of profit. Furthermore it allows a removal of the expectation that every Binvestment^has to directly Bpay off^. A karmic view offers management a possible facility for being more caring about the needs and fates of other stakeholders, as profit-orientation would no longer be attached as a factual constraint to merely accumulate money.

An Integrated Psycho-Sociological Perspective on Public Employees’ Motivation and Performance

“…High commitment HR practices have been associated with the perceptions generated by the social exchange relationship, namely perceived organizational support and a sense of job security, increased job satisfaction and commitment towards the organization (Kurtessis et al, 2017; Khoreva and Wechtler, 2018). A karmic approach of HRM offers managers the possibility to be more caring about the needs and fates of employees (Kollen, 2016).…”

Do Forwarders Improve Sustainability Efficiency? Evidence from a European DEA Malmquist Index Calculation

“…Therein the established corporate perspective of economic viability and success ("profit" perspective) is widely acknowledged and aim of many research and management science optimization quests [66][67][68]. One of the main questions still quite unanswered in this context is the question of an adequate timeline horizon for economic planning and evaluation; does economic sustainability therefore mean a profit perspective for one, five, 10, or 50 years or even more [69][70][71][72]? It may be recognized as a sideways glance that, with an increasing timeline perspective to be established in this dimension, the areas of economic and environmental sustainability are increasingly merging as, for example, the problem of resource availability and affordability will play a crucial role in any business case for a horizon of, say, 50 years.…”