Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay

Introduction

Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, established in 1958 with foreign assistance, IIT Bombay is one of India's premier technical universities. It received UNESCO funds from the Soviet Union and was designated an 'Institute of National Importance' by Parliament in 1961. Known globally for excellence in engineering education and research, IIT Bombay attracts top-tier students for its undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral programs. Its renowned faculty drives research and academics, forging collaborations with national and international peers. Alumni excel in various fields, contributing to industry, academia, research, and more. The institute offers innovative short-term courses, continuing education, and distance learning. Faculty members have received prestigious awards, including the Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar and Padma honors. Located in Mumbai's Powai, the campus blends urban access with natural beauty, providing a fully residential experience with hostels, dining, sports, and recreational facilities.

Shailesh J. Mehta School of Management promote interdisciplinary learning and to keep up with the changing environment, IIT Bombay established its management school in 1995 with the objective of transforming professionals with technological background to "Renaissance Leaders" of tomorrow. In the year 2000, the school was renamed as Shailesh J Mehta School of Management, in honor of Dr. Shailesh J. Mehta, a distinguished alumnus of IIT Bombay and a generous contributor to the school. The School Of Management already leads the way in preparing its Graduates to respond to the new challenges by drawing on the varied intellectual resources of IIT Bombay and providing an outstanding and innovative program in management education.

Conference 

Conference on Indian Knowledge System in Management

July 4, 5 and 6, 2024

Introduction

In last three decades, India's rapid economic growth has made its place in the leading economies of the world. Marching on the path of liberalization, globalization and by promoting innovation and economic inclusion programs India is poised for rapid growth and development. Growing middle class, its huge population and $3.5 trillion economy-means its actions will have a major global impact. From world trade to climate change to democratization, India now matters. 

India matters not only for the economic and the political reasons of current times. It matters for its wisdom traditions; the world views and ideals of human life expounded therein, its diversity which is unparalleled in the world, its propensity to embrace traditional and contemporary at the time and nonetheless its unique challenges and unique solutions to those challenges.

Indian Knowledge System (IKS) is one of the focus areas of National Education Policy (NEP). Research and pedagogy in IKS are receiving increasing attention of academia and policy makers.

Management scholarship is context sensitive in nature and has to be informed by the social realities. There is growing concern for producing useful and credible knowledge that addresses problems important to business and society. An initiative for Responsible Research lead by 10 past presidents of Academy of Management, the most reputed and largest body representing management academics and practitioners calls for both basic and applied research contributions valuing plurality and multidisciplinary collaboration with stakeholder Involvement for service to society and impact on stakeholders. 

India is a unique social and cultural setting because of its diversity, large population, a living culture of more than three thousand years, huge social and economic divide and one of the fastest growing large economies in the world. It is high time we examine the management concepts and theories which are working in Indian context or which have the basis in Indian traditional wisdom and can initiate alternative theorizing in the various field of management. We call it Indian Management hereafter for the proposed volume. 

Major Themes of Conference

The aim of the confluence of Indian Management is three-fold. First, to identify and recognize the insights in traditional wisdom and culture that can contribute to modern organizational psychology and management in terms of theoretical models, practical applications, and avenues for future research. Second, to present the grounded research about Indian culture its expression at workplace, peculiar features of Indian business systems, financial and economic system and institutions and their implication on management. Third, pedagogical aspects of Indian management. In this stream we aim to include the articles about successful experiments of incorporating Indian perspective in management education and innovative pedagogies to familiarize the students about unique features of India and relevance and impact of including contemplative practices originated in India in management education. 

Theme 1: Indian Management: Insights from Traditional Wisdom

Theory and practice in social domains tend to be self-fulfilling (Gergen, 1973). Ghoshal (2004) explained that unlike a theory in natural sciences like the theory about subatomic particles or of the universe right or wrong does not change the behaviours of those particles or of the universe. If a theory holds wrong assumptions it does not change the phenomenon as such. In contrary to that, if a management theory is subscribed and adopted by the student or followers of the field that changes their behaviours and they start behaving in accordance with the theory. For an example a theory that assumes that leadership is amoral and it is about power and influence and less of responsibility and nurturance will promote applying power and influence amongst its subscribers and followers.  Similarly, if a theory assumes that motivation is a drive to satisfy individual needs that will promote the behaviour directed to satisfy one individual needs one after another. Whereas if a theory assumes that human life is bound with being responsible to all other life forms and thus, we have sacred obligations to the other life forms that will promote duty and gratitude-oriented behaviour. This stream in the proposed confluence is conceived based on this perspective that many tenets of the Indian wisdom tradition have the potential to generate new or alternate conceptual and theoretical models in the field of management.

There are many such constructs proposed and explained based on the Indian traditional wisdom which are and can enrich the management scholarship. 

Giving model of motivation, Rajarshi model of leadership, Loksangrah as a Indian model of leadership, Sattvik leadership, Wholesome leadership, Karm Yoga, Spiritual climate, Karta model of leadership are few examples of alternative propositions of contemporary management constructs. 

Theme 2: Grounded Research in Indian Context

Next section of the proposed confluence will be focused on the grounded research on how Indians think, feel and behave, societal culture of India and its implication on management, culture in Indian organization, the nature and functioning of the institutions in India, peculiar practices in Indian organizations or the Indian subsidiaries of MNCs. Sinha (2014) explains that the most salient feature of the primordial Indian mind-set is a pluralistic worldview that allows adding new ideas and influences to the old ones and thus Indians accumulate paradoxical beliefs, values, norms and practices. They smoothly navigate back and forth between them. Article/s on Indian Mindset and the conditions that provoke them is one of the most well researched grounded work on Indian management and must be part of this section. 

In this stream the participants will delve into interaction of culture, institutions and practices in the business system and organizations in India. 

3.3: Pedagogy in Indian Management: Challenges and Experiments

Management is an applied field of knowledge and research outcome in Indian management needs to be imparted to the management students. There have been some interesting experiments conducted in several management schools in India to impart the insights of Indian wisdom traditions in management and making the students familiar to peculiar features of Indian society, Indian business or financial system. 

References:

Gergen, K. J. (1973). Social psychology as history. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology., 26 (2), 309–320.

Ghoshal, S. (2005). Bad management theories are destroying good management practices. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 4 (1), 75–91.

Sinha, J. B. (2014). Psycho-social analysis of the Indian mindset. Springer India.

Organising Team:

Prof S.V.D. Nageswara Rao, SJM School of Management

Prof. Varadraj Bapat, SJM School of Management

Prof. Ashish Pandey, SJM School of Management

Prof Trupti Mishra, SJM School of Management 

Prof. Rohan Chinchwadkar, SJM School of Management