Indira Management Review

Abstract

Rural India is a difficult business location. Transport, electric power, and information infrastructure are inadequate. Business practices are underdeveloped or outdated. Lack of access to modern resources has resulted in an undertrained workforce. Rural society is structured around subsistence and is unprepared for modern products and services. These constraints, along with many others, have discouraged most companies from taking on the challenge of rural commerce.

Yet the sheer size and magnitude of rural inhabitants have had every marketer hooked to the opportunity of turning gold by being able to sell to the rural fraternity. This engagement can serve a dual agenda: bridging rural isolation and the resulting disparities o f education and economic opportunity, while at the same time creating a potentially large profit opportunity for the organization willing to tackle the inefficiencies. The key question is how to deploy modern resources and methods to profitably overcome rural constraints? Also important are the social impacts of such an engagement.

This paper will focus on how the businesses can associate rural people in production-distribution chain to profit and improve their incomes with a goal to "Create Customers" - A Case Study Approach.

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Abstract

"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." -Nelson Mandela

The competitive business Environment of the 21st century will be characterized by factors such as dynamic workforce, extensive use of technology, increasing global competition in almost every sector of the economy.

Such strategies not only require Innovation, quality enhancement, optimum utilization of funds and resources but at a larger end a sustainable model to gain competitive advantage.

As every economy becomes global, a nation's most important competitive asset becomes the knowledge, skill and ability of its workforce- the intellectual capital. The society has entrusted the present system of developing managers to management education. The management education is not just a social function but a competitive tertiary industry in its own right which in turn fuels the growth and development of other sectors of the world.

To date, management education has been largely pre-occupied and fascinated by 'past' experiences and orientation rather than the concerns for the 'present' or a vision of the 'future'. The conceptualization of the past experiences reflects the Enlightenment Tradition in management that promotes the belief and reliance on 'rationality'. Ironically, though management practices themselves perpetuate vision, planning, forecasting etc when it comes to planning and decision making for management education itself, the emphasis has always been on objectivity that is one desirable outcome that can be scientifically researched. This cannot be the right approach since there are so many intangibles and variables in management education that cannot be quantified.

This leads to a wider perspective on management education which preaches to acquire an understanding of areas beyond the definable and quantifiable. Management needs to adopt a more holistic stance which imparts values, intuitions, emotions, rationality, passion, logical thinking and a good physical and mental health all woven in a single thread of ethics.

This demand can only be promoted and fulfilled by program which promotes reflection and wisdom as well as intellectual bhiliance among its products. Students who are not only the future managers but also who will be the leaders with greater sense of commitment, dedication and innovativeness which will lead us towards sustainable development for the economy

This paper shall focus on growth of management education, SCOT (Strengths, Constraints, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis of the present system and a 91' model to make management education as a driving force for a sustainable economy.

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