Pandit, scholar breaks new ground in provocative book

 Dr Glenville Ashby

glenvilleashby@gmail.com

Dr Mahin Gosine’s prolific and brilliant authorship is undeniable, with some 20 books to his credit and counting. 

He is also a university lecturer who has graced many institutions in New York—his discourses in anthropology, ever engaging. But beyond his professorial role, he is a social critic and thinker. And with the pervasive stench of institutional corruption and ineptitude, this eminent academic has a lot to fret about in his most recent literary endeavour—Leadership in the New Millennium—Avoiding the Culture of Corruption.

The theme weighs heavily toward organisational theory and behaviour, as it defines the teachings of the classicists—Max Weber, Machiavelli, Hobbes; and contemporary theorists, such as Joseph Nye. But the author goes further, injecting enough humanism into the subject, to create a template for institutional revolution around our innate goodness.

The reader should not be unduly surprised. Dr Gosine is also resident pandit at the Govinda Mandir in Queens, New York. This explains the trails of spirituality that run through his work. His business though is reconfiguring our institutions—contextualising and employing the teachings of giants—Krishna, Jesus, Muhammad, Gandhi, Calvin, and King. It's a work of veritable insight.

His socio-political diagnosis is sweeping. Business professionals, the clergy, and politicians, have betrayed the trust of others—soiling the sanctity of the work ethic.

Arrogance, greed, hubris, distrust, and selfishness have usurped the Calvinist approach upon which US capitalism was built.

Where is the humility, the empathy, the accountability, the transparency, the fair play? Why aren’t schools teaching ethics? Why is tertiary education void of this “living word?”

And oh, how the mighty have, and will continue to fall if they continue to sideline enduring truths. Sadly, there is no paucity of transgressors here. And the good doctor is not abashed to identify them. At this juncture, we understand the magnitude of this social recklessness and arrogance. In challenging American society, the author has challenged to world.

Dr Gosine attributes the US economic implosion to a business sector that has forsaken the code of ethics and moral responsibility. How else can you explain the sub -prime loan debacle, the crippling effects of insider trading, and the disappearing acts of some Wall Street darlings (institutions)? The Madoff scandal he argues is emblematic of this pathology.

But why? Why do men who have it all, go that extra yard to derail their achievements—playing Russian Roulette with their character? Are they victims of capitalism’s naked dog-eat-dog competitiveness?

If corporate edginess explains this madness, what excuses do politicians and clergymen have for their unsavory behaviour?

According to the author, such improprieties and criminal acts are inexcusable and symptomatic of social values gone array. He writes in one of his special commentaries placed at the end of every chapter: “In life, thinking about what is right is not good enough. Ethical behaviour must be lived, not talked about. And this is when we know that equity and true transparency are true concerns of the leader.”

A proponent of the “rugged individualism concept,” Dr Gosine argues that we are all faced with decisions —that we calculate and choose a path —either to our peril or elevation.

Of the fallen, he writes: “No one else put them in these positions but themselves. They made rational choices to do what they did, based on free will, and they ended up paying the price. Character is the core of our existence, and losing it means that is gone forever.”

The publication is comprehensive in scope and deliberate in authorship—synchronising the work of organisational theorists with the edicts and maxims of religionists and ethicists. It’s a delicate undertaking but Dr Gosine proves his worth.

In the end he establishes the blueprint for a success without compromising productivity, and more importantly, the dignity and character of the leader. He builds a team drawing upon human, social and cultural capital. Uniformity of values, he asserts is a marker for success. But there is another determinant of equal significance—the humanistic element. He debunks the belief that “using organisational language that includes words like humanism, spirituality, caring and compassion would be damaging” to the careers of leaders.

Instead, he advocates altruism and service. His is an organisational theory that touts “holistic leadership.”

The question remains: “Is Dr Gosine’s blueprint applicable?” Sure it is.

But as he said himself, “an organisation does not operate in a vacuum.”

Sadly, institutional corruption is a manifestation of a global scourge—with victims of equal culpability. As a tree sprouts on fertile soil, so is evil injected and grows only in the heart of the impure. This is a metaphysical subject—within the gambit of this work, and of which Dr Gosine is more than capable of exploring. He preferred not to.

Unquestionably, Leadership in the New Millennium—Avoiding the Culture of Corruption is a captivating book, but I cannot help thinking that the horse has already left the barn.

Dr Glenville Ashby

New York correspondent

The Guardian Media Group

****: Highly Recommended

Leadership in the New Millenium: Avoiding The Culture of Corruption by Dr Mahine Gosine

2011, Pearson Learning Solutions, Boston, MA

ISBN 13:978-1-256-09557-6

www.pearsoned.com