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Chapter 7
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-61350-332-4.ch007
Dennis P. Heaton
Maharishi University of Management, USA
Ravi Subramaniam
Maharishi University of Management, USA
An Eastern Approach
to the Global Challenge
of Corruptibility
ABSTRACT
Achieving ethical performance in global business depends, at its basis, on the development of personal
character which will resist opportunities for selfsh gain through fraud, theft, or poor corporate citizen-
ship. The word “incorruptibility” has been defned as a frm resistance to all the enormous temptations
of power, a continuing and infexible dedication to the public good rather than benefts for oneself or
one’s group. This chapter explores cutting edge research in developmental psychology and neuroscience
which suggests that increasing incorruptibility of character and greater integration of brain functioning
are both associated with systematic experiences of a state of consciousness in which one gains a inner
sense of self-knowledge that is completely self-referential and independent of outer circumstances. This
fundamental approach of development of individual consciousness complements the more superfcial
efforts of corporations, governments, and international organizations to fortify ethical standards through
regulation, codes of professional conduct, the cultivation of ethical cultures, and the adoption of global
principles of responsible management.
This chapter analyzes the notion of corruptibility and its relation to recent high profle cases of corpo-
rate corruption and the development of corporate codes of conduct. It proceeds to develop a foundation
for corporate ethical codes based on a model derived from the model of Indian Vedic philosophy and
psychology. An Eastern psychology of ethics is captured in certain depictions from the Bhagavad-Gita
such as balanced in success and failure, independent of possessions, and steady intellect.