Ancient Economic Policy: Kautilya, Arthashastra, Strategy, Modern Management, Organisational Development

About the Book

Nothing vindicates belief better than reality. Two thousand four hundred years ago, Kautilya compiled the Arthashastra and with it he proved to be a kingmaker as he enabled the inception of the Gupta dynasty. The Arthashastra endured the test of time and it has since withstood the test of credibility. When a thinker demonstrates vision and foresights it is crucial and extremely useful to understand the elements of this thought that has present applicability. This has been our objective and the culmination of this effort is for all to see. We will be enriching ourselves if we learn and grasp even a fraction of the wisdom that Kautilya embodied. Those involved in the project certainly feel enriched, and as our work demonstrates, this is a treatise that encapsulates in many ways even the complexity of our current world. The problems that existed then persist in a more widespread and magnified manner in the contemporary world. Herein begins the relevance of studying the Arthashastra. Kautilya demonstrated an extremely vital imperative: governance, polity, politics and progress have to be linked to the welfare of the people. Interestingly, closer to recent times, Abraham Lincoln said, Democracy is for the people, by the people and of the people." The Arthashastra's resonant theme holds even truer today and it is the upholding of this principle that stands at the core of attaining development. In the following we give a summary of each chapter along with a pr cis of the various points of contemporary relevance that the Arthashastra embodies. Effective Strategy for Organisational Development: With Reference to Kautilya's Arthashastra (economic policy) Kautilya, Arthashastra, Strategy, Modern Management, Organisational Development Kautilya the minister, scholar and strategist, belongs to 3rd century BC has authored a magnificent treaty which is known as Arthashastra. It is commanded even by modern scholars as magnum opus of multiple disciplines such as economics, administration, management, strategic affairs, sociology and moral sciences? It is rich treasure of knowledge and wisdom. However most of the current research in these areas has been general in nature and not in depth, as there is still a great tendency to research more on the western management philosophy and its application in ancient context. We was dominated by the theories and concepts of modern management from west. The dominance is due to the colonization and the widespread use of English knowledge. However, a careful analysis of many of the western management theories and concepts reveals that it has been in practice in Asian countries especially in India for centuries. These practices were not in the context of organizational management but in the context of state or political governance form the perspectives of author, management is culture specific. The Indian civilization, with recorded history of more than 5000 years is one of the oldest civilization in the world and the contribution of India and Indians to this world enormous in various fields of knowledge, several Indian classic literatures such as the Valmiki Ramayana, The Mahabaratha, Bagavad Gita and last but not the least our Kautilya's Arthashastra etc., offers several management lessons which can be useful even in the modern context many of these literatures are more than 5000 years ago and were written in the language of Sanskrit. In this paper the Arthashastra by Kautilya, Chanakya or vishnugupta is explored in context of contemporary of organizational Management.