Journal o\" Scien t i fic & I ndustrial Research
Vol. 5 X . J U lle I l)l)() , pp45-l--l5X
B OOK REVIEWS
Visions
How Science
Will Revolutionize
the Twentyfirst
by M i c h i o Kaku ( Ox ford U n i versity Press,
U K ) 1 00X, pp 350; Price : Not stated
[ IS B N 0 1 9 � 500X96 61
A s the twen t i e t h cent ury nears its end, it appears that
sc ience has by now lea rned " ru le s of t hc game" i n ana­
lyzing the i nterplay of matter, l i fe and i nte l l i gence. We
now k now . more or less. t he founding principles govern­
i ng t he evol u t i on and struct urc of mailer ( from subatomic
part ic le s to the U n i verse ) . We a l so know t he structure.
and to a Icsser extent. t he funct ional des ign of l i v ing
matter, and to a much lesser extent. the pri ncip les of
inte l l i gence. But k n ow i ng t he ru les i s a far cry fro m he i ng
masters of the game . We are now making a beg i n n i ng i n
try i n g to master t he ru les. to man ipulate a n d mou ld t he
forces of nat ure. The next centur y w i l l he t he t i me when
the human race w i l l make the t ran sit ion from be ing
pas s i ve observers o f nature t o he ing act i ve part icipants i n
t he choreography of mat ter a n d l i fe . I n t h i s e x c i t i n g look
at t he fronti ers of science, M ichio Kaku d i scusses how
t he ' Age of D i scovery i n Sc ience ' w i l l g i ve way to the
' A ge of M astery ' i n t he twenty-first centur y .
Centu ry,
Kaku con s i ders t hat mastery w i l l he ac h i eved a s a
res u l t llf t h ree ongo i ng scient i fic re volut ions : ( i ) the
' Quantu l ll Revo l u t i o n ' w h ic h will produce new energy
resources. al low t he fabric ation of materi a l s w i t h prac t i ­
cal ly any desired prope rty, a n d perhaps a l l ow for t h e
creat ion of n e w forms of matter; ( i i ) t he ' Computer
Revolut i on ' w h i c h w i l l i ncorporate i n te l l ige nce i nto a l l
o r (lU I' art i facts a s desired, and perm i t the creat ion o f
art i fic ial inte l l igence. which w i l l be comparable to or
beyond the hu man bra i n in capab i l i t ies, and ( i i i ) the
' B iomolecular Revolut i o n ' w h ic h w i l l g i ve us t he ahi l i t y
to man i pu l ate l i fe al most a t w i l l . al lowing for t he e l i m i ­
nat ion of al most a l l di sease ,lIld perhaps confe rring i m ­
mortal ity on human i t y .
T h e n e w era w i l l b e characteri zed b y a n intensely
dynamic synergistic re lationsh ip hetween t hese t h ree ar­
eas . When a see m i n g l y i n soluble d i fficulty is encounte red
in one field, it is sol ved by a development in another. An
example cou l d be g i ven of the wearisome job of gene
sequenc i n g bei ng made easy by t he e xponen t i a l i nc rease
in computer power, w i t h t he coro l l ary t h at t he l i mitations
i n s i l icon based computers may be overcome by DNA or
other organic molecules serv i ng as the base for a new
generat ion of c omputer chips. D i scoveries in one fi eld
w i l l nou ri s h t hose in another and the pace w i l l accelerate.
Kaku d i v ides t he forseeable future i nt o t h ree t i me­
frames: up t o 2020, from 2020 to 2050 and beyond 2050.
S i nce many of the i nventions w h i c h w i l l profoundly
i n fl uence l i fe i n t he twenty- fi rst century have a l ready
been i n it iated, it is possible to foresee t he l ikely c hanges.
at least for the fi rst few decades,
Up to about 2020, M oore ' s Law w i l l con t i n ue to
pre v a i l i n computers, t hough with i n creasing l i m i tation s
( T h e Moore ' s law states t ha t computer power , as repre­
sented by t he n um ber of computer e lements that can be
put on a c h i p w i l l double every two years ) . Th i s w i l l give
ever more Ubiquitous computer power, creat i ng "smart"
( i .e . i ncorporat i ng computer powe r) c l othes, TV , cars,
and most other app l i ance s , The I nternet w i l l w i re up the
e n t i re pla net and mak i n g ava i l able the c u m u l a t i ve w i s­
dom of t he hu man race to everyone who wants i t . The TV
and I n ternet w i l l merge, as w i l l most aspec ts of work and
e nterta i nment.
I n formation process ing w i l l become the domi nant ac­
t i v ity of t he economy. The low cost and o m n i presence of
computers w i l l mean that they w i l l move from bei ng the
center of atten t i on to its periphery : the des k top t ype PCs
w i l l be obso lete . Compute rs w i l l unobtrll s i vc l y keep t rack
o r t he i r jobs, and of us, w i t hou t bothei-i ng u s . Y ou r c l ot hes
or toi let w i l l Illon itor your hea l t h , your hrace let or ring
keeps trac k of your location w i t h i n a few meters, e nahl ing
rescue or e lllergency serv ices and commu n i cation, your
car w i II know where you want to go and wi II get you t here,
you r watch w i l l access w hatever database y ou need and
w i l l talk to you about the i n format ion, etc. A l most a l l
i ndustri a l processes w i l l be ru l ly automated .
BOOK REV I EWS
J SCI I ND RES VOL 5 R JUNE I l)l)l)
In the materials and quantum fields, ever-more prec ise
propert ies w i l l be engi neered , and microelectromolecu­
lar machines ( M EMS ) w i l l be made by the same micro­
fabricat i on techn i ques that at present bu i l d s i l icon c h ips.
Though not tru l y molecu lar mac h i nes as envi saged by
Eric Dre x ler and others i n the idea of nanotech nology,
MEMS w i l l be able to carry out an aston i s h i ng array of
tasks : complete b iological or c hemical laboratories on a
c h i p for medical d i agnos i s or pol lution contro l ; m i ­
cromin iaturi sed i n stru mentat i on for surgery a n d organ
repai r; mac h i nery, bu i ld i ngs and equ i pment that detect
and correct for stresses or damage and so on. In t he
biol11olecular fie l d , the ge netic sequences of many organ­
i sms, including humans w i l l have been decoded . M any
new transgenic plants and ani mals will have been c reated,
and medical pharmacopoe ia w i l l increas ingly come to
depend on tai lored plants and animals. Cloning will be
commonplace for anima l s , but the ethical considerat i ons
will pre vent i t from be i ng app l i ed to human s. Most forms
of d i sease and cancer w i l l y ield to therapeutic i ncluding
genetic measures. The entire genetic sequence of an
i nd ividual could be made avai lable on a CD, which can
be accessed to determ i ne whether you have or are suscep­
tible to any known genetically l i nked d i sease (cu rren tly
around 5000 are know n ) , enabling prec aut ions including
therapeutics to be taken years before any problem ari ses .
The down side , of course, would be that such test ing may
be made mandatory, w i th i mpl ications for personal free­
dom. Hu man doctors wi 11 perhaps become rare if not
ext inct. most d i agnos i s be ing made by expert systems,
and most surgery by m i n iature computer control led i n­
strumentation coupled w i t h scanning systems. There
may. of course, be a doctor in overa l l control . just as there
is a pi lot or driver in a plane or train, though even now
they could be fu l l y automated i f necessary . The computer
hol ogram act i n g as your doctor would have an attrac­
t i v e l y human screen appearance, and a pleasant " bedside
manner" and most pat ients w i l l fi nd that adequate .
From 2020 to 2050 also, it may be possi ble to consider
I hal project ions based on c urrent understanding could
prove 1 0 be real istic . A mong the advances foreseen are
i ncreas ing levels of art i ficial i ntel l i gence. True A I . i .e .. a
computer as powe rfu l as a human bra i n , processing i n for­
mat i on and reacting in the same manner as a human brain
may not be possible by 2020, i f ever, and quite probably
it w i l l not be needed . It may be rea l i zed that there are
many d i fferent \evels of i ntel l i gence, i ncluding leve l s of
consc iousness. H u man levels of i n te l l igence and con­
sc i ousness lie w i t h i n a spectrum of such qualities, and it
455
may be possible t o design systems t hat wou ld exceed
human capac ities i n , at least, a few l i m i ted areas. Robotic
v i s ion, as we l l as space and s k i l l s management would be
c ommonp l ace. But t he current approaches to comput ing
through s i l i con devices ( i ncluding optical computing )
w i l l soon reach natural l im i ts which may be overcome
through molecu l ar computers, using organi c molecules.
Eventual ly this will lead to the merging or mind and the
mac h i ne . The beg i n n i ngs i n this fie l d may be made by a
project to determine the w i ring off the human brain by an
effort analogous to t he human genome project. The proc­
ess may not yet produce cyborgs or art i fi c i al beings i n
t h i s t i me- frame, but t h i s m a y n o t be far d i stant. A
corol lary would be t he e l i m ination of most forms of
neuropathological disab i l i t ies. I n t he biomolecu lar field,
i nc reasing understanding w i l l made of the process of
organ regenerat ion, e l i m i n ation of a l l physical and most
mental d i seases, and a substan t i al e x tension of human
I ifespan, through the slow-down and control of the aging
proce ss. I n the mechanical field, i ncreasing progress w i l l
b e made towards true nano- technology, control o f ther­
monuc lear fusion, and room temperature superconductiv­
ity ( which perhaps m i ght be ach ie ved even earl ier).
Beyond 2050, the v i s i on w i l l necessari l y be more
specu lative. Among the advances seen are i mmortal ity,
suspended an imation, fu l l i n tegrati on of man and ma­
c h i ne , analysis and man ipUlat i on of gene c lusters to create
organ isms i nclud i ng humans with new abi l i ties and con­
trol over the hereditary and evolutionary processes. But
Kaku i s more interested i n specul at i ng upon t he ulti mate
destiny of humanity. For this he uses a scheme originally
devel oped by the Russian scientist Nicolai Kardashev in
the early 1 960s . Kardashev considered energy use as a
surrogate for total capab i l i t y , and di vided c i v i l i zations
i nto three groups, Type I which uses the total energy
avai lable on a planet, Type I I which uses t he energy
equi valent to the output of a star, and Type I I I which u ses
energy equivalent to the output of a gal axy. The energy
u se of each Kardashev c i v i l ization type is roughly ten
b i l l ion t i mes more than the prev ious type . We are at
present at a stage which may be characterized as Type 0,
a precursor to the Kardashev levels. The main sou rce of
energy at present are fos s i l fue l s and nuclear power to a
l i mi ted extent. We are also d i v ided by many confl icts, and
vul nerable to many types of soc ial ,environmental and
cosmic di sasters. The next century wi II see our evolution
to type I status, w i th completely i ntegrated pl anetary
economic and soc ial systems, with i nstantaneous com­
munications and erasure of most national barriers. There
.I S C I I :" ! ) RES
VOI.. :'iX
w i l l he i ncrea s i ng space t ra ve l and allempts to c o l on i se
{lther p l an e t s i n t he so l a r system, but the hu l k or h u man it y
w i l l s t i l l be conce n t ra ted on t he Earth , and ni lnerah l e t o
cosmic d i sasters s u c h a s astero i d a l s t r i k l's or i c c ages. I n
ahout one t housand years , we may achil' \'e Type I I status ,
w i t h con t rol over t h e total re sources or t hl' solar system,
with prohes to nea rhy solar systems and perhaps l i m i ted
cllilln ies, c o n t ro l over I i kspans nearing i m mort a l i t y , and
merg i n g or m i nd and mac h i ne, and i n ni l ne rahi l i t y t o
a l most a l l n a t u ra l d i sasters, i nc l ud i n g astL'ro i d a l i m pac t s .
i c c ages, and nearby supernova e x p l os i o n s . I n seve ra l
t housands o r years w e s h a l l c l a i m Ty pe I I I status, w i t h
near Glld l i ke powers ( fu l l i m mort a l i t y , con t ro l o f most
rorills o r malleI' and e nergy , and i n terslL'l Iar t rave l ) .
Kaku has accompl i shed a tou r dl' rorl'e o f t hl' i lllasi­
nat i o n . I n his i n t ri gu i ng \' i s ion, a l ong with pru j l' c t i o n s
fro i1l l'x i s t i ng k n O W l ed ge, he h ; I S round space ror man)'
i ntL'rL'st i ng quest i o n s : whether t i me t ra \'el and Lister t han
l i ght v c \ oc i t ies ;Ire pos s i b l e , \v hethl'r t herl' w i l l be a
Thl'ory ( l r Every t h i ng , whether ro rce ri e l ds and rep l ica­
t ms (a l a Star Tre k al1ll naotec h n o l ogy ) ;Ire poss i b k , arc
t ll l're i n t e l l i ge n t e x t rate rre s t r i a l he i n gs, etl'.
\V h i k based rirmly on rac t s , Kaku ' s hook i � good
e";I IHple or t he t ru i s m t hat to ru l l y appreciate Llcts, one
Il1USI gll beY(lnd t h e m . An e " t rl' mely rl' \vard i n g bOllk,
\\'h idl w i l l be an asset t o anyone i n tere sted i n the progrl'ss
l l r sc il'nce.
S ,
: 1 0 1 1 ,\ i\
\: : l l ioll:i\ 1 1l .' l i l l l l c o r SL·iL' I lL·C. TL'L' h l l o l ( l � y alld /)c' l' I 0 ( 1Illl'1l1
S l l i d i c s . / ) 1· K S K ri,hll:1I1 f\ 1 :ir�. N L' W Dclhi 1 1 0 0 1 2 . I ll d i a
E n t repreneu rship and I n novation -l\1odels for De­
velopment edi ll'd hy Rahi ndra N Kanu n go ( S age Pu h l i ­
cat ion I n d i a Pri vate Lt d , G reatl'r K ;l i la sh L N e w ( )l' l h i
1 1 0 ( )-+ � ) p p 2()(), Pricc: R s 4t)) ( c i l lt h )
I I S R N � I 7m() 7-+) X ( I n d i a - h h ) I
" E n t repre neurs h i p and I n no\'a t i o n " t he topic or t h i s h(l(lk
is \ L'r)' i m p(lrt a n t in t h i s pos t - i ndustrial sOl' i e t y , wllL' re
l' n t re prl'neurs h i p equ;d l y su pportl'd hy the i n novat ion
m i g h t re vo l u t i on i ze t he h u man h e i n s s . The hook i s cate­
gllri Zl'd u nder Sage ' s su h-topic "Organ i/ational B L'llav­
iour;d Sc iences ( O B S ) " 1'01' S o c i a l t ra n s for m a t ion, which,
i n rac l. encompa s se s aroll nd t he rields of a pp l ied psychol­
ogy . i n d u s t r i a l soc i llillgy, heh a v i oural sciencl', organ i za­
t i on;d he h a v i our, organ i zat ion de\'Clopme n t . and among
lll iler organ i /.at i l l n a l t lll' ory . A s I l an'art! scllool dc l'i nes
t hat "entrepre n e ur s h i p compri ses pu rposL' l't1 l act i v i t y t hat
i n i t iates, m a i n t a i n s or devc\ opes profi t-orien ted husi ne.� s
Jl I � E I I)I)!)
BOOK R E V I EWS
i n i n terac t i o n w i t h i n te rn a l s i t u a t i on o r t h e busi ness o r
w i t h ec o n o m i c . pol i t i c a l , a n d s oc i a l c i rc u m s t an c e s
around the hu s i ne ss " . A rter t h i s t he re a r c many s c i e n t i s t
w h o re defined t he t e r m " e n t repreneur s h i p " , s u c h as
Ll' i henst e i n ( I \)()X ) and K i rzner ( 1 979 ) . But i t i s quite
dear rrolll t he a ho ve dcl'i n i t i on o r H a rv a rd school t hat
how i t could he connected w i t h t hose who want t o pursue
p ro ri t - oriented, people-friend l y , a s we l l a s market- ori­
en ted business. I n n o vat i o n , t he t w i n topic o r t h i s boo k ,
on the o t h e r h a n d , i s ' new comhi nat i o n ' o f t he process of
deve l opmenl . Accord i n g t o S c h u m peter ( 1 (49 ) , who fi rst
advocated t he idea of e n t repreneurs h i p, t he concept of
i n lH)\'at ion re vol ves around ri ve fu nct i o n s : i n t roduct ion
llf a new market. i n t rod uc t i on of a new method o f p ro­
duct i o n , ope n i n g u p o f new m a rk e t s , conquest o f a new
source o r s u p p l y o f raw matL'r i a l s , and c arry i n g out a new
organ izat ion o r any i nd u s t r y .
Thl' hook i s we l l - orga n i zed and d i v ided i n to fou r part s .
Part I roc uses o n "Conceptua l M od e l s for E n t repre neur­
s h i p " , carril's out five ch apters, w h i c h t h row l i ght on
m u l t id i s c i pi i n a ry perspect i ve on e n t repreneursh ips and
i n novat i o n s . Bes ides, it a l s o h i g h l i g h t s the phenomenon
o r l' n t n:prl' nl'ur s h i p, pro v i des a t y p o l ogy for t heory de­
\·c \ opmen l . and d i scu sses the re l a t i o n s h i p among t ill'
v a r i o u s l' \ c m e n t s t h a t d e sc r i he t h e p roce s s o r e n ­
t reprl'nl'urs h i p. C u l t ur a l as we l l as b m i n e s s e n v i ro n ment
ro l e i n t he e n t repre neur s h i p i s a l s o d i sc u s sed. Thel1ll' o r
Part :2 i s " Focus on E n t repreneu rs" and i t a g a i n con t a i n s
ri ve c h a pters dea l i n g w i t h various t o p i c s . C h a pters under
t h i s part roc u s on e n t repre neurs as a per son . Under­
stand i n g the ro l e or e n t re preneuri a l i n te n t i o n s and mot i ­
v a t i o n arc g i ve n priori t y . O t h e r at t rac t i o n s o f Part 2 a re :
d i scuss ion o n t he pro b l e m s and pros pec t s or women
e n t re preneurs in the context or soc i a l - economic soc i e t y
and neglected i ssues or e n t re preneur' s e t h i c a l conduc t .
I n Part � , foc us o f a n a l y s i s i s s h i rted to " Focus o n
l �n lL'rpri sL' ' ' . I n t h i s part , rou r d i ffere n t c h apters a re cov­
l' I'L'l1 . Out o r t hese fou r, t wo c hapters o r t h i s part e x c I u ­
s i w l y d e a l w i t h e n t repreneur as a person t o s ma l l a n d
rura l e nter p r i ses, show i ng e n t re prene u r i a l and i n novat ion
s k i l l s . De l v i ng into the i ssues o r pri vate, p u b l ic, as we l l
a s t h i rd sec tor i s another at t ract i on o f one o r t he c h apter
i nc luded i n t h i s parI . I n no v a t i o n with spec i ric app l i c a t i o n
to sma l l entc rpri ses i n t he deve l o p i n g count ries a rc t he
othl' r topics covcred under the l a st c h apter o f t h i s part .
Part -+ , wh idl have t h ree c h a pters u nd er i t u m h re l la ,
d i g s i n t o det a i l t h e " m anageme nt s k i l l s ror s m a l l h u s i ness
l' nl L' rpr i se " . Chapter s i n t h i s part g i ve s o l u t ion t o how
.. ,
BOOK R E V I E W S
J SCI I r\ D R ES VOI . 'i X .I l 1 " 1 : I ')')')
banks and fi nanc i a l i n st i t u t ions cou ld he l p sma l l busi ness
e n t repreneurs t o i m prove t h e i r day-to-day bu s i ne s s .
Other h i g h l ights arc : t o s pe l l ou t t he s i l l s requ i res t o
i mprove market s and i t s opera t i o n . t o l i n k t he d y n a m i c s
and d i men s ions of rural enterp r i ses t o t he des i g n . conten t .
a n d focu s o n educat i on a l i nterven t i on s .
smal l enterprises.
Conce i ved from a two y e a r re search project on ru ra l
entrepreneu rs h i p conducted i n Kera l a ( I n d i a ) . t h e book i s
a neck lace o f seventeen beads t h readed on one s t ri ng. i .e . .
"entrepreneurs h i p a n d I n novat i on " . The aut hors o f t hese
research papers a rc we l l e x perienceu in t h e i r respec t i ve
fil' l d s and be long t he bat te ry o f we l l establ i s hed nat i ona I
as we l l as i nternat i o n a l organ i zat i o n . Fe w o f them i n­
c l ude : I nd i an I n s t i tutes o f M an agement ( Ahe mdabad and
Bangalore ) : McG i l l U n i ve rs i t y . Canad a : U n i vers i t y llf
Kl'rala . I nd i a : Lahore U n i versity o f M a nagement . Pa k i ­
stan : Pu b l i c A ffa i rs Centre . Bangalore. I n d i a : Eco l e des
Hautes Etudes Commerc i ales, M o n t rca l . Canada: Ad­
m i n i strat i ve S t a ll Col l ege o f I n d i a, H yderabad : Centre
for M a nageme n t De v e l opment. Tri v a n d ru m , Kera la :
Manc hester B u s i ness S c hoo l ; and Nol t i ngham B u s i ness
School . the U K . The i r areas o f i n terest are : organ i zat iona I
re-design and de\'elopment strategy : perfo rmance stand­
ards i n pu h l i c serv ices and governess: conlmu n i t y n u t r i ­
t i o n . e d u c a t i o n , a n d w o m e n c n t re p re n e u r s h i p
dCVL'l opmen t : cross-nat i o n a l and compa rat i ve stud ies of
entreprenc ursh i p and managl'lllent of smal l husi ness:
educational and susta i n able de\'elopmc nt : ur!!an i /.;lt ional
st ralL'gy and hu i l d i ng urgan izat i o n a l capah i l i t y fur i n nll­
\'at ions: women and de\·e l op me n t . educat ion and g l obal­
i sa t i oll. and cllll i'l ict res o l u t i o n : cdul·atioll. suc i a l i /.at iun.
and dl' \'clopme n t : work al t i t udes. i n tent ions and cogll i ­
t i \'l' pn ll'essi n!! o f i n furmat i o n : urg; l n i zational leadLTs h i p
and wmk Illot i va t i o n : c n t repre ncur s h i p deVL'lopment and
tccllll il' ; t i i lln ovat ion i n smal l husi ness: l'n t repreneurial
d i sposit ions, sma l l busi ness and puhl ic sector mana!!l' ­
ment : human resource management i n t he context o f thc
dC\'d oping cou n t rics and bu s i ncss e t h i c s : managemcnt o f
tcc hnology i n novation i n l arge fi rm s : l' n t repreneurs h i p
t ra i n i ng a n d slll a l l bu s i ness dcvclllpme n t : o rgan i zation
sol i darity and managemcnt of tec h n o l ogy and i n novat i o n :
man;lge ment o f R & D : orga n i l.a t i on a l t heory , strate!!)'
.and pol icy manage me n t : e n t repre neursh ip thellry and
pract ice: strategic Illanagcment and i nternational hu s i ­
ness: rural mark c t i ng. contemporary market i ng. compe \ i ­
t i VL' strategy a n d Illarket i ng for sma l l enlL' rprises: sma l l
busi ness he haviour a n d manageme n t llfconri ict : bu s i ness
pol icy in entrepreneurial Vl' n t ur e s : l'Ilect i \'c Illanage llll'nt
and strategy prnces s : and fi n a l ly hus i ness fi nanc i n!! for
hy A ru n Wak h l u ( Response
Books. A D i v i s ion o f S A G E Pu bl i c at ions I nd i a p\'t Ltd.
New De l h i 1 1 ( 04 8 ) 1 999. p p . 240, Price: 245/- ( paper)
[ I S B N 8 1 7OJ6 768 9 ( ph ) 1
Ma nagc ment i s not a western d i scovery . Many great
i n s t i t u t i o n s and even emp i res h a ve been managed dfi ­
c ic n t l y i n a l l soc i e t ies a ! t h rough h i story and t he re were
part icu larl y remarkable examples i n I n d i a , The I mperial
Service was we l l estab l i s hed in C h i na centuries be fore
t he B r i t i s h i n t roduccd t he I n d i an C i v i l Service. The t ra­
d i t i o n a l eastern methods of management were often d i s ­
t i n gu i shed hy spec i a l re s pect shown for age. fam i l y
hac kgrnund. loyalty. and re l ig i o u s se nt i ments. I n the
mode ls prn a l e n t t oday in the West. part i c u larl y the U S .
t he re i s () vLTw h e i m i n g emphasis on bet ter e lli c iency.
output. q u a l i t y . and favour a b l e persona l i ty t ra i t s .
K LA!.
!'\al i(]n;iI I nslilule o r Science. Technolo�y and Deyelopmenl
SluLi i c \ . Dr K S K ri s h nan M ar�. New Delhi 1 1 0 0 1 2 . I ndia
M a naging from the Heart - U nfolding
S p i rit i n
People a n d Organizations.
Wa k h l u ' s hook dedicated to " d e a r Heart ' approaches
t h l' S U hjl'l·t ll f Management kel' p i ng in v i e w SOIllL' t rad i ­
t i onal I nd i a n \';ti ues. He a i llls a t assign i n g to heart Sllille
ro le in t hc t rad i t ional Ill i nd- d r i ve n Illanagellle n t . The
h.ook in !!reat liL'al descr i hes ahout se l f i ll lprove lllent and
it i ns p i res !!\l(ld t hou!!hts. It \V i i i cert a i n l y hc l p upl i ft t he
realkr i f n\lt h i s organ isat ion. as we i \ .
Thl' h(l(lk has recl' i \'l'd good comments frolll some wl' l l
pl ;ll'l'd rl'ade rs . SOllle salll p l e s : i t w i l l show man agl'rs
how t(l 1'L'l' ngi neer the i r l i \·es . . . . . . a u sdu l g u i de to tllOsl'
", ho ha\'e ;1 c ur i o u s m i nd and u rge for se l f i m provelllent.
it i s ah(lut hringing i ntegr i t y . i n s p i rat i o n , spontane i t y j oy .
11L'acl' . l't L'.. at wor k p l ace . . . . . . dee p l y st i m u l a t i ng. etL'. etc.
Yet t he realkT i s Idt with a fee l i ng t h at perhaps t he book
is lIlore ahout i nd i v idua l ' s u p l i fl menl rat her t han orga n i ­
sation c hange. Of course. Illore e n l i ghtened i n d i v i d u a l s
can create a heuer organ isat i o n . T h e a u t h o r c l a i ms t hat
t he I nd i a n heri tage is the hel i cf t hat hU lllan a ffa i rs. i n c l ud­
i ng managelllent. should go e \'en beyond Ill i nd and the
i n tL' l kct and i nv o l w t he SllU \ . The tex\. perhaps because
o f t h i s . o ftcn strays deep i nt o some peri pheri a l s topics
such as s p i r i t ua l i t y . Illed i ta t i o n . peace. love. nature. etc .
The autllllr has allelllpted to draw ideas frolll authent ic
a n c i l'nt w i sdolll to present a new parad i g lll o f Illanage­
lIle n t . A rter an i n t rod uct i (ln w h i c h desc r i bes ' work ' eS­
sl' n t i a l l y as · p l a y ' . he t a k e s the reader t h ro u g h t h c
458
J SCI
IND RES VOL. 5 8
fol lowing themes in successive chapters. Heart, Joyful
Living, Thinking, Communicating, Acting, Learning,
Teamwork, Leadership, and finally Networking and In­
tegration. Some of the chapters are excellent, e.g., Ch. 5
on communicating, Ch. 8 Teamwork, and Ch. 9 on Lead­
ership.
In the body of the text there are very interesting and
readable sections on the subjects of value system, free
flow communication, blocks to listening, benefits of lis­
tening, action ideas, learning assertiveness, origin of ob­
jecti ves, value of time, etc. However, the author often
tries to give too many so- called practical tips. For en­
hancement of learning there are 32 tips for the indi vidual
and 24 for the organi sation. No doubt, there are some very
good ideas in these.
The books lists characteristics of a good leader. This
helps awareness but perhaps one cannot become a good
leader reading the list only.
The author describes the leader as a bit of a paradox
because he has to make things happen and yet stay aloof
while facilitating a group doing things. The leader has to
JUNE 1 999
BOOK REV I EWS
be soft and feminine and at the same time hard and
bus i nessl ike. Somehow one sees in the book more em­
phasis on softness.
The book has many quotations and interesting bits of
information. One example: 'If the technology of cars was
to grow at the same rate in terms of technology and
performance as computers have grown, then you could
buy a Mercedes car for less than ten dollars and it will
travel at the speed of sound for 600 miles on a tea spoon
full of petrol ' .
The auto industry has still made good progress because
it rests on hard technology. Management science, being
involved with mind and heart, cannot move fast because
there are soft i ssues. Wakhlu is obviously optimistic that
hearts and mind can change. All young people should
read this book and share Wakhlu ' s optimism. That will
be a step in the right direction.
H S RAY
Direclor
Regional Research Lahoralory
Bhuhancswar 7 5 1 () I ) , I ndia
,
)