Ancient Fables,
Modern Impact

Bauer College Executive DBA candidate Srividhya Vaidyanathan is combining her two passions of decision making and literature into one research project.  

In her paper “Timeless Tales, Timely Lessons: Debiasing Organizational Decision-Makers Through Structured Narrative Engagements,” she draws inspiration from the ancient Indian Panchatantra fables to investigate how stories can improve business decision-making. 

Vaidyanathan will present her research at the 2025 Engaged Management Scholarship (EMS) Conference this fall. The EMS Conference is presented every year by the Executive DBA Council, an organization that connects executive doctoral degree programs worldwide.  

Vaidyanathan is the Global Supply Chain Process Architect at Shell and has 25 years of experience in the energy industry. However, she considers herself a novice researcher. She said she was hesitant to submit her abstract to the conference, but it was her dissertation advisor, Bauer Associate Dean of Research Vanessa Patrick-Ralhan, who encouraged her.  

“I believe in seizing good opportunities when they arise,” Patrick-Ralhan said. “In Sri’s case, with her promising research agenda, applying for EMS was simply making the most of such an opportunity. If it worked out, as it did, fantastic! If it did not, she’d gain valuable feedback and work to make her research even stronger. Fortunately, it was the former, and now we’re headed to Malibu!”  

Vaidyanathan said she has always had a deep appreciation for stories, especially ancient literature that incorporates larger moral lessons. When reading the Panchatantra, she found in its five interwoven fables lessons on ways to be a better leader. She approached her research under the same logic and framework of the Panchatantra. 

“We’re all influenced by story,” Vaidyanathan said. “What I find fascinating is the wisdom imparted through them. These stories stick with you, and it’s a form of providing instructions in a manner that is non-threatening.” 

Maybe the reader recognizes some of their own behaviors or challenges of a character within the story, she explained. Therefore, they may be influenced by the choices of said character and choose a different course they did not previously consider.  

In the world of business, people often rely on a more analytical approach, she said. However, decision making also requires human judgement. 

“It’s probably even more important now more than ever with the narrative around AI,” she said. “Making decisions can’t be automated. It requires a human being with good judgment.” 

In this narrative approach, she said she hopes to harness the knowledge and insights from ancient literature and apply it to relevant modern corporations for leaders to use as a tool.  

The impact of a good story has become increasingly more important in the corporate world, she said.  

One of her hopes, she said, is to have her research situated in a broader concept of leadership and decision-making. She believes her work is applicable to anyone who wants to improve their decision-making ability and become a better leader.  

Vaidyanathan added that she thinks it can be applied to academic curriculum to help young people in transitionary periods of their lives when they’re making decisions that will impact their futures.  

“We all make thousands of decisions every single day,” she said. “I think if you look at the story of our lives, it’s always marked by choices that we made at certain points that are extremely consequential. I’d like to situate within the public discourse on how one can become a stronger decision-maker.” 

By presenting her research on an international scale at the 2025 EMS Conference, she said she wants to influence the way people think as leaders by applying a narrative approach to it and turning to stories for guidance.