Page 46 - IMDR - Journal of Management Development and Research - March2019-20

the reality at workplace or society is that an individual delegates authority up to super-

ordinates (taken as superiors!) and then it is delegated downwards. At workplace, an
employee authorises higher ups to supervise, monitor, support, disciple, promote or

sack him. Especially in owner driven SMEs, the concept of authority is extremely
powerful. This is often not the case in larger organizations and MNCs where an

individual gets more flexibility and freedom. For a typical Indian, authority is not an
absolute or mystical power bur a rational instrument to help us focus on and work

towards the primary purpose of work organisation, society, government, family and

social institutions.
The point is that self-actualisation is a struggle when legitimate and moral authority of

the self is denied by individual and the society.

It is interesting to note that two of the needs in Maslow’s need hierarchy are generally
not highlighted in management text books on the theme of motivation; 1 Need for

freedom of inquiry and expression, social conditions that permit free speech,
encourage justice, fairness and honesty and 2 Need for curiosity, learning,

philosophising, and experimenting.
Needless to say, need for free expression, which is basis of political democracy, is

also an essential condition for human development. This point gets critical importance

in the contemporary Indian and global context.
In the present climate of racism, communalism, jingoism at global and national levels,

it is difficult to maintain humanist beliefs of actualisation of nobler self of man.
Human history is full of examples of degeneration human potential due to social,

cultural and political repression. Postmodern world has witnessed both elevation and
dehumanisation of human potential. We do have stalwarts like Steve Jobs, Baba

Amte, Laurie Baker , Anil Avachat and also many other men and women who have

utilised their potential and made extraordinary things in their ordinary lives . Mr
Subrato Bagchi, CEO, MindTree,(4) had described how his high school educated ,

blind mother inspired him due to her selfless life and relatedness with family ,

neighbourhood and nature .
Nonetheless, we do experience de-humanisation at societal level due to

communalism, racism and jingoism all over the world. The violence of the
contemporary world would frighten even ferocious animals. Animals kill other

animals only for prey and only when they are hungry. In contrast, man kills other men
even though he does not consume what he kills. And this is done in the name of

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