Karna's Relevance to Strategic HR in Corporate Corridors

Findings show that good alignment between personal and corporate values or objectives usually results in beneficial consequences such as increased commitment and performance [2], an example of bad alignment is the mismatch of talent - i.e. placing a high-performing person in a situation that is not clear of his or her values or talents - which leads to disengagement, so-called underemployment or underutilisation of talents, and eventual loss of talents [3] [4]. The notion of loyalty that is usually hailed as a virtue among employees turns out to be a two-edged sword, as it brings about loyalty and determination, but it can also lead to unethical silence or maintenance of bad elements in the staff in an ill-conceived sense of duty [5]. Talking about these results, we use the story of Karna as a good metaphor to say that the HR leaders should strike a balance between thankfulness and loyalty, meritocratic alignment and ethical clarity.