Modern Reflections on Event Management and Leadership Practices from Ancient India
ABSTRACT
Event management and leadership practices of modern times have been explored with their roots from the ancient scriptures, beginning from its origin and development. The etymology of the word event and its classification along with nature has been found from Bhagawad Gita which forms a part of Mahabharata in which every possible event of life is presented. Accordingly, the anticipation of modern thinking on leadership qualities including communication, negotiation, conflict resolution, and crises management has been studied. Further a typical case study relating to a cultural event is selected and all elements involved in the celebration are chronologically codified and analyzed. Various components, starting from conception of the idea, to invitations, food, and accommodation, and extending even up to the closing ceremony are found in the scripture which reflecting on the modern practices.
The requisite skills of an event organizer – task management and people management skills are drawn from the epic Ramayana which have been explored and analyzed. These studies go on to show that the underlying principles for achieving the goal of effective event management are sentimental fervour, personal touch and emotional integration. Further these perceptions explore the consensus and complementarily of ancient practices with modern thinking, from the genesis of the concept of an event to its completion. This research paves the way for evolving the subject of event management to be a distinct discipline.
Keywords: Event Management, Ancient, Scriptures, Leadership qualities, Task Management, People Management.
Introduction
The etymology of the word event shows that it has roots in Latin and carried the original meaning outcome. However, modern thinkers defined an event [1] as a sociological process borne out of human life with actions and activities of persons who are behaviourally highly unpredictable. Kotler et al [2] while advancing the Newman’s idea added that these specific actions and activities of people are always related to a specific place and time giving rise to an outcome. The statement indicates that an event is invariably inseparable from a place where it happens, anchoring all related activities leading to an event to that place. This has led several authors – David Weaver [3], Chris Cooper [4], and Pat Schumann [5] – to deal specifically with such as those activities related to destination and its management.
Management is perceived as the art of getting things done by the people [6] through formally organized groups which facilitate the performance of an event in the most professional manner. However, management guru Henry Fayol [7] says that appropriate role allocation for the individual and the team makes the mission successful by getting the desired results. Further elaborating on the management process, James Stoner et al [8] opined that it is a process of planning, organizing, leading and controlling the work of organization members. He further clarified that management is a speciality in dealing with matters of time and human relationships as they arise, to reach organizational goals by using all available resources. The opinions and ideas formulated by different authors that contributed to the emerging subject of event and its management are analyzed and presented in Table-1.
Table 1: Components & Concepts of Event and its Management proposed by different Authors
| S.No | Constituents of Event Management | Proposed Author | Concepts proposed by the Author | Meaning and Functionality | |
| Meaning (Oxford English Dictionary) | Functionality | ||||
| 1 | Event (Happening) | Newman (1950) | Combination of Human living and activity. | A thing that happens | Giving rise to an outcome |
| Kotler (2003) | Specific act of people at a specific time and place. | ||||
| 2 | Destination (Place) | David Weaver (2000) | Destination region is a geographical component of tourism system. | A place someone is going or something is being sent for the happening | A place where the happening is destined |
| Chris Cooper (2005) | Destinations are amalgams of tourism products, facilities and services. | ||||
| Pat Schaumann (2005) | A particular place to support client needs. | ||||
| 3 | Management (Managing People & Place) | Koontz (1980) | Art of getting things done by the people. | The art of running or The act of controlling happenings | Towards planning , organizing, leading and controlling |
| Fayol (1949) | Role allocation makes mission successful | ||||
| James Stoner (2006) | Process of planning, organizing, leading and controlling the work. | ||||
| 4 | Event Management/ Destination Management | Terry (1968) | Goal oriented multidisciplinary group activity. | Project Management (festivals, events and conferences) | Management of Happenings related to a place |
| McFarland (1979) | Co-operative human effort. | ||||
| Getz (1997) | An opportunity for social experience | ||||
| Goldblatt (1997) | A ceremony and a ritual to satisfy human needs. | ||||
It can be observed from the table that while carrying forward these management concepts, Terry [9] explained that event management is an intangible, dynamic, goal-oriented multi-disciplinary group activity involving the intelligent and judicious use of human capital and resources for accomplishing the a given objectives or task. Accordingly, McFarland [10] summarized these ideas by denoting event management as a cooperative human effort to create, direct, maintain and operate purposive organizations.
However, Sigmund Freud [11] the father of psychology opined that the ‘one and only’ one objective of a person in life is the attainment of happiness through fulfilment of whatever assignment he takes up. Further Life skills are observed to be essential abilities of individuals for attaining the happiness [12] by dealing effectively with the varied and differential demands and challenges of everyday life. Extending and strengthening these concepts for organizational success, Wagen and Carlos [13] stated that the leadership qualities will pave the way through task management and people management. Modern thinkers during later part of the 20th century focused more vividly on ancient sources of knowledge in search of tools and techniques for successful accomplishment of their goals. All these references prompted the author to look deeply into the ancient scriptures, Ramayana and Mahabharata, which are termed as Itihasa (history) to delineate the various practices of event management and leadership.