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Cited by 23Leadership and Management in OrganizationsEthics in Business and EducationJob Satisfaction and Organizational Behavior

Understanding Compassion from Practicing Managers’ Perspective: Vicious and Virtuous Forces in Business Organizations

Banker, Darshna V., Bhal, Kanika T.·2020·Global Business Review
DOI 10.1177/0972150917749279
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Abstract

This article examines how practicing managers construe the concept of compassion and the logics that they use to label their organizations as compassionate or otherwise. In-depth interviews of 10 middle and senior managers were conducted and analysed using grounded theory approach for the coding of the qualitative data into different themes. Data revealed two roles that respondents play while conceptualizing compassion. These roles are: receiver and giver; both having uniquely different views and perceptions. Based on these two views, we established an operational definition of compassion for business organizations. Further, this article identifies different organizational pressures and enablers that affect the level of compassion as presented in the form of vicious and virtuous cycles. It also depicts interlinks among factors and suggests interventions for increasing compassion in the organization. Among other issues, we propose, through this article, that excessive focus on short-term goals in an organization acts as a major pressure leading to low level of compassion, and these problems can be addressed through empathetic leadership practices.

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Crossref · 10.1177/0972150917749279

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55 of 55 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • Compassionate leadership is an interpersonal process involving the noticing, feeling, sense making, and acting by the giver in a way that alleviates the suffering of the receiver.

    “Compassionate leadership is an interpersonal process involving the noticing, feeling, sense making, and acting by the giver in a way that alleviates the suffering of the receiver (Banker and Bhal 2018).”

    From Whither compassionate leadership? A systematic review (2024) · cites this paper as Banker and Bhal 2018

  • Developing an organization as compassionate or non-compassionate requires critical assessment of the intent with which it operates, the kind of environment it operates within, and the availability of monetary or non-monetary resources it has for different organizational and social activities.

    “Developing an organization as compassionate or non-compassionate requires the critical assessment of: (a) the intent with which it operates, (b) the kind of environment it operates within, and (c) the availability of monetary or non-monetary resources it has for different organizational and social activities.”

    From Whither compassionate leadership? A systematic review (2024) · cites this paper as Banker and Bhal 2018

  • There is a need for education and training in leadership skills, particularly in compassionate leadership, including training in empathy, self-compassion, coaching, and emotional resilience.

    “Moreover, the implications provided in these studies in Table 8 also highlight the need for education and training in leadership skills, particularly in compassionate leadership. This includes training in empathy, self-compassion, coaching, and emotional resilience(Banker and Bhal 2018; de Zulueta 2016; Hougaard et al. 2020; König et al. 2020; Shuck et al. 2019; Tzortzaki 2019).”

    From Whither compassionate leadership? A systematic review (2024) · cites this paper as Banker and Bhal 2018

  • Organizations are prima facie profit-making entities rather than social entities.

    “Banker and Bhal (2018) remind us that organization prima facie is a profit-making entity than a social entity.”

    From Whither compassionate leadership? A systematic review (2024) · cites this paper as Banker and Bhal 2018

  • Even if any of the three elements (intent, environment, resources) are missing in an organization, the motivation for compassion can be infused by empathetic leadership practices.

    “Banker and Bhal (2018) are of the opinion that in spite of having any of the three elements “missing” in an organization, the motivation for compassion can be infused by the empathetic leadership practices.”

    From Whither compassionate leadership? A systematic review (2024) · cites this paper as Banker and Bhal 2018

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Authors
Banker, D. V., & Bhal, K. T.
Affiliations
Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IN)
Corresponding author
Banker, Darshna V.
ORCID
Venue
Global Business Review
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
2018-02-19
Volume
21
Issue
1
Pages
262-278
ISSN
  • 0972-1509 (ISSN-L)
  • 0973-0664
DOI
10.1177/0972150917749279
OpenAlex
W2787919853
Cited by
23
References
55
Citations by year
2026: 5 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 3 · 2020: 1
FWCI
0.42
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations
  • Global Business Review (publishedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • British Academy of Management
  • British Academy
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Strategy and Management › Leadership and Management in Organizations
  • Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Information Systems and Management › Ethics in Business and Education
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › Job Satisfaction and Organizational Behavior
Keywords
compassion, business organization, managers' perceptions, organizational compassion, organizational pressure, short-term goals, empathetic leadership

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