Corporate World, listen to Anna Hazare, but don’t forget Liu Xiaobo for #Sustainability Leadership
Bajaj Industries – Corporate Sustainability Leadership
Jamnalal Bajaj (4 November 1884 – 11 February 1942) was a Rajasthani industrialist, a philanthropist, and Indian independence fighter. He was also a close associate and follower of Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi is known to have adopted him as his son. Several institutions in India bears his name, including the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies. He founded the Bajaj group of companies in the 30s. The group now has 24 companies, including 6 listed companies. Besides Bajaj Auto Ltd, the other major companies in the group include Mukand Ltd, Bajaj Electricals Ltd and Bajaj Hindustan Ltd. One of his grandsons, Rahul Bajaj, runs the family flagship company, Bajaj Auto. A small suburb in Andheri (part of Bombay), JB Nagar, is named after him. [from wikipedia]
In November 2010 Rahul Bajaj, grandson of Jamanlal Bajaj had occasion to comment: Quote: “Big corporate houses would find it easier not to be corrupt than small ones, but they still give money to get their jobs done, Bajaj Auto Chairman Rahul Bajaj said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum’s India edition, adding “They (corporate houses) should not.”
“Nobody asked me (for bribe). They don’t have the guts to ask. They know me, my family background,” he said within a day of Tata Group Supremo stating that he did not want to bribe Rs 15 crore to a minister, as had been suggested by an industrialist, to start an airline in India. Asserting that corruption was all pervasive in India, Bajaj said: “Bigger firms should have the guts not to give money.” [http://bit.ly/hIBdop] UNQUOTE
That’s Sustainability Leadership of United Nations Global Compact of UNGC 10 Principles: It is the Sustainability of Values, that Rahul Bajaj could carry on even today.
Fasting for 12 hours:
I tweeted thus: “As a solidarity w Anna Hazare I, with very many of people from my place at Kodai & Attuampatti – Padmini who is running a free school to the village children, the lady teachers of the school, Mark Antrobus my good British friend now an Indian, Rajkumar and very many of Kodai people will be fasting between 6am and 6pm on Friday 8th April, w/o any fanfare doing our daily routine sipping water when thirsty. I call upon others wherever they are around the globe to go on a fast for 12 hrs during daytime, voluntarily and willingly. India the land of Mahatma Gandhi, has been ravaged by Corruption beyond redemption. Anna hazare’s indefinite fast is a reminder to our nation, the biggest employer of poverty on this planet, that we will not keep quiet. This call is not necessarily restricted to India but global request for anyone from any religion who wants to feel how and what Mahatma Gandhi stood for and made use of the greatest weapon. Feel free for a noble cause. Pray for Anna Hazare by fasting for a day.”
Ladies are joining the fasting. Padmini emailed me: “Yes Mr. Jayaraman, we are all with Anna Hazare may his fight and fast against corruption echo in every corner of India to root out immoral and dishonest people. Let us all fast at-least on one day to show solidarity with this great man. Padmini Mani”
12 hours of Mahatma Gandhi on United Nations Global Compact:
1. Mahatma Gandhi is the most quoted person in the internet. Give your 12 hours between 6 am and 6 pm on Friday 8th April 2011, doing your routine work, sipping nothing but water when thirsty, and feel how Gandhi brought down the British Empire at its zenith. Realize how being part of Corporate Social Responsibility group in a company is tougher than getting through West Point.
2. SAP: SAP’s Sustainability Leadership truly leads from the front by getting a Ranking of 5 in Principle 10 of UNGC. Every person of SAP, please spend the 12 hours on Friday and shall take the vow to make your suppliers and customers to get the same ranking as you have got. Be proud of what you have achieved but let not the laurels delay your ethical responsibility.
3. Obama: You are influenced by Gandhi. How long Liu Xiaobo be incarcerated? Take 12 hours on Friday sipping nothing but water, doing your daily routine. Watch Anna Hazare, if the indefinite fast goes beyond Monday the 11th April, in the Richter scale. Baptism by fire of the “Experiments with truth”.
4. Wise men of Corporate India: You wrote to GoI on Governance Deficit in January 2011, isn’t it? You and all your officers please spend 12 hours on Friday sipping nothing but water, to contemplate as to how Corporate India ran literally to fetch the 2G licenses. Follow the Sustainability Leadership of SAP and apply UNGC, all the 10 Principles to Corporate India to every one of them without fail. Let Corporate India be made up of Rahul Bajajs and let us see how many Rajas can keep coming and ruling us.
5. Government of India: Ratify UNCAC in-toto, Article 13 Public Participation, Article 10 Public Reporting, Article 8 – Codes of Conduct for Public Officials, Article 9 – Public Procurement and Management of Public Finances and Article 6 – Preventive anti-corruption body or bodies – read with the Supreme Court judgement on Thomas, “All these provisions indicate that CVC is an integrity institution. The HPC has, therefore, to take into consideration the values independence and impartiality of the Institution.” Why you have not ratified UNCAC Treaty having signed it in 2003? Please remember: Anna Hazare’s efforts will not go waste.
Jayaraman Rajah Iyer
Kodaikanal, 6th March 2011
Very interesting post. I find your comment about SAP particularly thought-provoking. You’re absolutely right when you say that the responsibility of businesses such as SAP goes beyond the boundaries of their own company. With nearly 100000 customers and the ambition to help them being “best-run” businesses, SAP must place at the center of its strategy some initiatives that will make them “most-sustainable” businesses. It can seem quite challenging when it comes about topics other than process or energy efficiency, topics such as human rights, labour and ethics for example. Dialogue with stakeholders is necessary to promote the values you are describing in the post. Sustainabiity without values is just public relations.
Thank you. If companies like SAP, Intel, IBM that are run profitably could give meaning to Sustainable Leadership the future world economy is in safe hands. CSR as a group of dedicated people within the company has a major responsibility. Such companies must come forward.
A humble request to the elective members of the country. Kindly see, think and work for the bettermen of citizens as per the day to day changing situation and not to stick with one point ie. your dignity. Regular changes are the principle of Almighty / nature we have to live accordingly.