FROM THE DIRECTOR GENERAL'S DESK

MANAGEMENT OF INDIA INC.
GRAND ASCENT TO THE COMMANDING HEIGHTS

Prof. Vijay Page, Director General - MET Institute of Management

The high hopes and faith placed on India Inc. by one of the most leading and respected management thought leaders, have a prophetic ring in it. Through an incisive analysis of developing economies, Prof. C. K. Prahlad has brought about a paradigm shift by redefining good business practice, focusing on consumers at the Bottom Of the Pyramid (BOP). Local and international players seem to be responding to his finely crafted symphony, leading to a higher plateau of investor confidence, which is rapidly climbing to double-digit growth in our GDP. The high growth rates achieved by ICE sectors seem to be overtaken by high performing retail, aviation, pharma, banking and insurance sectors only to be matched by significant expansion of the core sectors of steel, cement, energy as well as infrastructure.

Historically speaking, the poor and the underprivileged lying at the BOP were rarely the chosen subject or object of study of the corporate world. Since the licence raj driven market economy always evolved around the subset of consumers who had the “will and the capacity to pay”, a vast majority lay beyond the corporate reach. Unheard and unsung they continued to slip into the abyss, hoping for some State or Charity to rescue them from the depths. Through CSR or deep commitment, the Tatas, the Birlas, the Kirloskars, the Walchands and a few more did reach out beyond the pale, but the majority were shoving for space and dominance in the narrow habitats of the haves. Emboldened and facilitated by the opening of the economy and liberalisation, now there is an increasing awareness and movement in the corporate sector to reach out to the BOP spectrum. Globally, the journey of the affluent society to BOP took a century of management thought and practice, while we covered it in a few decades. Welcome to the world of the underprivileged beyond the widening chasm, the knowledge divide.

India Inc. has risen to the global challenge through companies like Infosys, Wipro and TCS, who have shown maturity and world-class performance. The world's steel, auto and metal players are busy hedging the deep impact of the India factor. Through mergers and acquisitions spree worldwide, the phrase 'Bangalored', is sending tremors through the spines of many other industry players. The Indian professional is viewed globally, with an ever-growing respect and admiration both as a techie and a multi-tasking linguist. The Indian flavour and colour are visible at the global peace/trade/nuclear conclaves of Jo'burg/Doha/Geneva. From Davos to Mount Titlis, the Indian customer is greeted with ethnic cuisine and music with familiar Bollywood faces adorning the choice billboards. Take a bow, the metamorphosed Indian has arrived at the global theatre!

However to sustain the high growth rates, there is an urgent need for strategic retooling, strengthening and realignment of the hardware and software as well as facilitators of our dynamic economy. By adopting policies of open economy and globalisation, the state and regulatory mechanism are poised to deliver proactive and constructive inputs. The rising aspirational levels of both the rich and poor, as well as the competitive forces, are poised to build a platform of meritocracy and high-performing learning society. Undoubtedly, they are buried in the mass of the poor and the underprivileged occupying the BOP space as graphically presented by Prof. C. K. Prahlad. They offer the ultimate challenge to the architects and players of our economy who are seeking to convert their poverty into an opportunity for sustaining business and commerce.

Now our economy is poised at the crossroads where a crisis situation is fast developing, offering harsh options of growth or chaos. As the spearhead of economic revival, India Inc. will have to accept the gauntlet and lead by example and build an inclusive society by addressing the BOP segment at multiple levels. With the rise of GDP and quickening of the growth of the industry the entire society is in a state of flux with sectoral booms and bursts resulting in a roller coaster ride while increasing jobs and wages. Statistically the percentage of people below the poverty line has decreased but due to demographic pressures number is still very high - almost 300 million, roughly equaling the middle class consumers. A continuous study and analysis of both these segments i.e. the middle and the BOP groups is vital to identify goods, products and services which will engage and bring them in the main stream of our economy. This is possible mainly through developing sensitivity to social causes and concerns among the management professionals and all the stakeholders of the corporate sector.

We at MET have been pursuing this approach so as to develop familiarity of our students to the underprivileged sections of our society, through the UN (ECOSOC) programmes involving students and faculty to find out innovative ways for poverty alleviation. We have been granted Special Consultative Status by UN (ECOSOC), New York for our contribution to “Paperless Committee Project” at UN wherein we have contributed over 36 interns to implement the project. The students are also implementing Project TRUTH - a Holisitic Development programme for tribal relief in Thane District. Last year we have launched Vidya Setu - Knowledge Bridge for Societal Bonding, to reach out to the underprivileged as to mark the 150 years completion of the University of Mumbai. Over 2000 families living in the periphery of MET have been reached. Besides we have been offering yoga and Indian value system based inputs, so as to help management of stress and build positivity among the students.  

But we believe that it may be necessary to engage the students more proactively with the BOP community, both in the content and delivery of the MBA curriculum so that they develop a thorough understanding of this segment. Internships with BOP related activities similar to the industry internship programme will also help the management professionals to develop a deeper understanding of this segment. Eventually the MBAs may need to be re-tooled as MBSAs  Masters of Business and Societal Administration, since this will help unravel the opportunity trapped in that space. Simultaneously,  the corporate world also needs to roll out new products and services which will engage the BOP segment productively, using technology and cyber space to reach out to them.

Unless every management professional and the corporate sector develop positive mindset and reach out to the BOP segment, there is a danger of derailing our progress towards attainment of the commanding heights which we set out to reach decades ago. The future of business and trade has to be unlocked from the BOP space by developing sensitivity to their causes coupled with enriching their mind and thought processes with our value system.

By breaking away from the past and inverting the pyramid as it were, we must reach out to them or else the prophetic words of John F. Kennedy ring out loud and clear,

If you enter into a quarrel between the past and the present, you are in danger of losing the FUTURE.

Prof. Vijay Page
Director General
MET IOM

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