A guide to corporate values and integrity<\/p>\n
Power through People and Principles, not Puppets and Prejudices
\nBy Vipen Kapur
\nPublished by McGraw-Hill, Singapore, 1999
\n305 pages
\nUS$18.50 or Rp 160,000<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Take a bit from Art Buchwald and mix it with
\nsome inspiring childhood stories about good repeatedly triumphing
\nover evil. Add to this a permanent student of management and
\nshake it all up with a lot of love for people. And voila! Who do
\nyou have before you but Vipen Kapur himself, the author of Power
\nthrough People and Principles-Not Puppets and Prejudices,
\nseducing his readers on how to run the kind of company that would
\nmake even God smile.<\/p>\n
A colorful career spanning more than three decades is now
\ncondensed into a book that can best be described as a humane
\nguide on corporate values and integrity. The book is also about
\nhow to lead a balanced life based not only on personal prosperity
\nbut also on respect for nature and genuine concern for the less
\nfortunate.<\/p>\n
A practicing manager, family man and one who is forever on the
\nlookout to enhance his own leadership qualities, Vipen is just
\nthe kind of voice one needs to hear at a time when the vacuum
\nleft by the defeat of corruption, collision and nepotism stands
\nlocked in a wide yawn. The author makes all the moralizing merry,
\nby conveying his message through numerous anecdotes, episodes
\nfrom corporate history peppered with self-penned verses and
\nlimericks.<\/p>\n
On the eve of starting his first job at Grindlays Bank in
\n1966, the author recalls his father saying to the 23-year-old
\nVipen, \"Son, in the banking profession, there will be many
\ntemptations to make money the wrong way. Don't ever compromise
\nyour integrity. You will never be sorry for being honest.\"<\/p>\n
A self-confessed believer in free enterprise, Vipen wishes
\nthat ways could be found of profiting without harming or cheating
\npeople or violating laws and regulations. But before brooding
\ngets the better of him he turns to humor for help. The intention
\nis to reflect on serious subjects without the need to maintain a
\nrelentlessly serious subject matter and style. \"Humor is welcome
\n-- as long as the joke is not on me!\" writes the cheeky man of
\ncommerce.<\/p>\n
As Group Managing Director at the Corporate office of Sinar
\nMas Group in Jakarta, Vipen's personal struggle has always been
\nto discover the human side of business. After being responsible
\nfor molding many a corporate culture and motivating countless
\nemployees, he concludes, \"while a corporate life or career or
\nprofession are vital aspects of our lives, we have to remind
\nourselves that these are not the only reasons why God put us on
\nthis planet. There has to be something more to life than just a
\nlivelihood\". Top bosses are advised therefore to encourage more
\nof the \"work smarter than harder\" ethic.<\/p>\n
Having said that, the author also confesses that it is not
\nvery easy to write on human relations and principles, and that it
\nis far more difficult to put these \"ideals\" into practice. Many
\nconcepts talked about in the book are not unknown. Yet it helps
\nto repeat them all over again if only to drive home a point,
\nparticularly at a time when not just Indonesia but the entire
\nworld is in the midst of rapid change. Human beings everywhere
\nseem confused and are caught in multiple ethical and moral
\ndilemmas, be it business, politics, international relations and
\neven family feuds.<\/p>\n
Improved telecommunications and traffic opportunities now
\nrequire people who can work through regional and cultural
\ndifferences, people who are able to enjoy the cross-cultural
\nfertilization of ideas, values and management styles.<\/p>\n
While basic values like fair play, integrity and respect for
\nhuman dignity remain constant, change is needed to match a style
\nthat will work with the new technologies. The inside story of how
\nperhaps the world's largest and most profitable plantation
\ncompany -- the Jakarta-based Sinar Mas Group -- is spreading the
\ninnovation fever and fervor under its \"Reaching the Sky\" program
\nmakes interesting reading.<\/p>\n
However, even more interesting is to wait and watch how Sinar
\nMas will fare in the future. Two of its core businesses -- real
\nestate and banking -- have been badly affected by the ongoing
\nmonetary crisis. The group's reputation remains somewhat tainted
\nfor having made easy profits largely due to the comfortable
\nculture of cronyism practiced during the Soeharto years.<\/p>\n
In the opinion of the author, Sinar Mas will emerge stronger
\nonce the smoke clears because the founding family has some fine
\nbusinesses and a great vision. The business continues to gain
\nstrength from outright concentration now on its two other
\nessential industries of pulp and paper and oil palm plantations
\nand refining.<\/p>\n
Respect for Vipen soars with his chosen subtitle on the
\nchapter on women: \"The Still Underutilized Resource\". Really,
\nwhat can one say about a world that utilizes only 10 percent of
\nthe potential of half of its population that is close to 50
\npercent of the workforce in certain countries? Except perhaps
\nthat we need more men like Vipen who believe that no leader can
\nafford to underestimate the tremendous source of women's economic
\nand social power.<\/p>\n
Apart from being an angelic missionary, Mother Teresa is seen
\nas one of the most successful CEOs of this century. Applauding
\nyet another diminutive woman, Master Cheng Yen, a Buddhist nun
\nfrom Taiwan whose Tzi Chi Foundation helps the needy in about 28
\ncountries, Vipen writes with awe that this great soul has won the
\ntrust, admiration and following of four million members, who all
\ndo voluntary service. The Taiwanese nun's \"power\" comes from love
\nand care; her principle is to give with compassion and wisdom
\nregardless of race, religion or nationality. In Vipen's belief,
\nthe above two women remain dramatic exceptions to the most fully
\nand beautifully utilized human resources in the world.<\/p>\n
And if seeing indeed is believing then Vipen tries to also
\npractice what he preaches. He has been seen holding his wife's
\nhand in public places on several occasion, even though he has
\nremained married to the same woman for 23 long years.<\/p>\n
-- Mehru Jaffer<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/a-guide-to-corporate-values-and-integrity-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }