The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Focus on management

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, May 11, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Focus on management

Photo: M. Periasamy

Despite producing more than one lakh management graduates every year, next only to the US, India has no management expertise in critical areas like infrastructure, utilities and health, laments N.S. Ramaswami, Father of Management Movement in the country. A Padma Bhushan awardee and the founder director of the IIM, Bangalore, he has more than 55 years of experience as a Management Consultant. He was also appointed National Research Professor –Management, a very rare honour. The octogenarian talks to G. Satyamurty on the imperatives that could take the nation forward.

Management is an “all pervasive” term. It impacts every sphere of life.

But, of the more than 1,000 million people in India, only 400 million are workers. Of them too only 40 million are in the organised sector. Rest are “unorganised and non-organised” and do not benefit because of our management studies. Thus , despite having 1,500 management institutions of various hues, this education is relevant only to this 40 million workers. Of them too, 22 million are in the government sector and the rest in private sector.

“Unfortunately, critical areas like infrastructure, utilities and amenities do not absorb management graduates and the entire one lakh management graduates work in either private sector or public sector undertakings. Thus, the social relevance of management experts is only five per cent.”

Dr. Ramaswami is of the firm opinion that in the current scenario even if all the management institutions were to be wound up “nothing will happen” to the country. “Unless the government improves, country cannot improve. It is a sad truth that government is the most mismanaged and non-managed sector.” “We continue with the stupid old system meant only for administration but not for development. Administration is based on distrust, hierarchy and negativism. Management is based on trust.”

Government departments, local bodies and also health units are in terrible shape. The entire India acts according to what the 20 cities think. Nothing has improved in infrastructure like ports and railways after the British rule. Thanks to shoddy management, more than Rs. 1 lakh crores of grants and Rs. 1 lakh crores of subsidies do not reach the genuine beneficiaries.

India even now has 300 million illiterates and 200 million below poverty line people. More than on lakh schools have no black boards and 50,000 schools have no teachers. “Government should do what private sector does not do. It should take care of defence, law and order, judiciary, hygiene, poor feeding and poor housing.” The professor has a major grouse against the government for its inability to understand the importance of the livestock. “Though livestock contribute 7 per cent of the GNP and 30 million people are engaged in this sector, the budgetary allocation is just 0.3 per cent. Besides, they get no subsidy, no credit and there is hardly any management. Though 50 per cent of the cultivable area is still ploughed by bullocks, not even one rupee is given as credit or subsidy.”

The management expert slams the current Indian political system as “zero management” or “anti-people” and ‘adharma management’. The current principles of political system are “totally wrong”.

According to him, the British system that we have adopted will suit only the “mono” group but not the “plurality of India”. He laments that the political system is dividing the country and language, caste and religion are also dividing the country. “Elect a party to power not individuals,” he pleads. “Now we have more than 450 political parties. There are parties with just a handful of members. Our next Central government might have even 100 parties and thanks to this it will collapse.”

Government should govern and administer and need not become a manager or facilitator, he adds. He also has a very interesting theory. He espouses creation of smaller States and also the six major cities should be made States. Prof. Ramaswami pleads for introducing ethics, morals, values, spiritualism, religiosity, yoga and meditation in everyday life. “The management should be based on Indian concepts.”

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Tamil Nadu