Title: Lokasamgraha: philosophical foundations of workplace spirituality and organisational citizenship behaviours

Authors: Shibani Belwalkar; Veena Vohra

Addresses: School of Business Management, NMIMS, VL Mehta Road, Vile Parle West, Mumbai – 56, Maharashtra, India ' School of Business Management, NMIMS, VL Mehta Road, Vile Parle West, Mumbai – 56, Maharashtra, India

Abstract: Workplace environments which recognise employees as human beings, and not just mere resources, tend to foster behavioural patterns which create significant benefits for the organisation. Encouraging workplaces to cultivate such environments requires sturdy contextual crafting, elaborating systematically, the underlying assumptions as well as the rationale. A study of literature on prominent traditional philosophies which point to the necessity and benefits of creating such responsible workplaces also becomes imminent. This article is an exploration on the convergence of thoughts on workplace spirituality and organisational citizenship behaviours, from the revered 'Lokasamgraha' concept of the Bhagwad Gita. After analysing the principal conceptual dimensions of workplace spirituality, and organisational citizenship behaviours, particular emphasis is placed upon Lokasamgraha as the most elaborate and inclusive framework for justifying workplace spirituality and organisational citizenship behaviours. It places both concepts in the larger context of Lokasamgraha and outlines the associated research and its implications. The purpose is to allow for a deeper insightful understanding of these concepts through the development of Lokasamgraha, as an inquiry field, subsequently contributing to the successful application in organisational theories.

Keywords: Lokasamgraha; workplace spirituality; organisational citizenship behaviour; OCB; philosophy.

DOI: 10.1504/IJICBM.2016.074479

International Journal of Indian Culture and Business Management, 2016 Vol.12 No.2, pp.155 - 178

Received: 17 Dec 2014
Accepted: 27 Jan 2015
Published online: 31 Jan 2016 *

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