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Working Papers | 1996

Technology Development in the Indian Textile Industry: Interaction Between Government Policy, Firms and Cooperative Research Associations

Chaudhari Shekhar

This study presents the findings of a study of technology development in the Indian textile industry undertaken by the author as part of a larger international study led by The World Bank. The study methodology included a field survey of 18 firms size, technological dynamism and location; interviews with 4 relevant technology institutions catering to the technology related needs of the textile industry; a questionnaire survey mailed to randomly selected firms to facilitate generalisation of findings as well as a study of relevant published materials. The industry is characterized by a large number of firms, mostly small and technologically backward and some fairly large and technologically dynamic. Compared with countries competing in international markets, productivity levels and growth rates are lower in India. There is also considerable variation in productivity between mills in the country. According to published research, ineffective management, inability to buy the right type of cotton at the right time and price, lower machine utilization, poor working conditions, lack of standardization, ineffective financial management are the main reasons for low productivity. These in turn are influenced by factors that are external as well as internal to the firm; lack of plant modernization, lack of timely availability of spare parts, capacity imbalance between stages of the manufacturing value chain, power shortage, lack of proper maintenance, and worker absenteeism. The survey results indicated that firms in the industry spent very small amounts on R&D and technical training. However, the interviews indicated that firms did carry out some product and process changes. The majority of these technological changes were implemented by the firms themselves without the support of technology institutions (TIs). Though lacking in technological dynamism, textile firms showed evidence of accumulated technical expertise to undertake technical changes in product and process within the boundaries of the existing knowledge base. Wherever external support was required firms took the help of cooperative research associations (TIs) in the country rather than foreign collaborators. Standards/testing, information, problem solving/trouble shooting, and education/training were the most used services by the firms.

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Working Papers | 1996

Structure, Conduct and Performance of Small Scale Chemical Industry in Gujarat

Gupta G S and Rathi A K A

This is an empirical study based on the primary data from the sample of 208 small scale chemical units in Gujarat for the years 1986 through 1990. The details on the various dimensions of the structure, conduct and performance are presented, and the nexus among them is examined. The findings suggest no unique relationship among structure, conduct and performance. However, it may be concluded that each of the middle age, partnership form of organization, and location in Baroda/Ahmedabad districts has, in general, proved a beneficial structural feature from the point of view of the performance. For maximizing the government revenue mobilization, firms should be encouraged to produce inorganic chemicals, and resins and allied products.

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Working Papers | 1996

An Axiomatic Characterization of the Constrained Equal Awards Solution for Rationing Problems

Lahiri Somdeb

In this paper we propose two different, yet related axiomatic characterizations of the Constrained Equal Award Solution for rationing problems. The solution itself and its implications are studied in the context of an item in the common minimum programme of the United Front government (which assumed office on June 1st 1996) viz. its decision to supply essential commodities to consumers in the lower income group at halt the market price.

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Working Papers | 1996

Leadership in Family Owned Organizations

Parikh Indira J and Rath Laura

The main focus of the study is on the role of entrepreneurs, progenitors, patriarchs and leaders in the family owned organizations. The family ownership and membership, being the family history relational dynamics, familial structure and the role processes into the organization. The role of the leader or owner in an organization is influenced by the family dynamics in the social setting as well as by the issue of inheritance and succession. This paper focuses on two kinds of leadership roles in family owned organizations: 1. The progenitor who has two or more generation of family ownership/leadership succeeding him and 2. First generation professional entrepreneurs and leaders who founded the organization in the last one and a half decade in the beginning 1980s. The data used for the study has been collected through open ended interviews and from people who have been associated with the organization for the past 20-30 years and have been in association with the leaders. The open ended interviews were conducted on the leaders who may be first, second or third generation, owners/inheritors and successors heading the organization. The conclusions drawn from the study were that: 1. From the first generation of individualized personal charismatic leadership there is a movement to a concept of collective leadership of the organization. The Organization has grown from small to medium to large and mammoth and global. There are also those organizations and leaders who have become stagnant, decayed and disintegrated at the second generation. 2. From a homogeneous social ethnic group several generations have flowed in with a diverse heterogeneous group of people with diametrically different expectations, ambitions and aspirations from the self, others and the system. A dynamic leader and an organization has created coherence and convergence amongst groups of people to evolve a collectivity in the organization. Those organizations which have not evolved a coherent community experience attention either in the older group of experienced loyal people or younger generation of professionally trained people. 3. Structural change and redesign: From a personalized structural leadership based on ownership and larger than life identity of the individual subsuming the organization identity there is move to a design of formal structure with corporate structure, roles and processes. Structural redesign is followed by management and business systems with boundaries, linkages, responsibility, authority and accountability. In the absence of the relevant processes with the newly designed structure there is confusion between organization and the individual and the rest are only doers and implementations with the total accountability in only one person at the top. 4. Leadership, vision and values: From a family owned and managed organization there is a distinct and perceivable move to professionalization of leadership, management practices and managerial roles. The organization invests in the development of human resources in the organization to upgrade management knowledge, attitudes and skills. In the absence of this investment many organizations continue the mediocre or poor performance and eventually loose out on challenges and opportunities of growth. 5. Institution building and organization growth: Organization which has grown from business acumen of one person with socio-cultural familial organization culture now moves with the times to respond to global challenges and opportunities. The traditional culture is added innovation and creativity anchored in performance and excellence. Institution building processes are introduced anchored in philosophy and values so that simultaneity of idealism and progeniatism, belonging and excellence, and human concern with performance are focused upon.

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Working Papers | 1996

Organization Development Interventions in Indian Organizations

Parikh Indira J

The growth of an organization pulls people to change. Those who plan and initiate change grow. Those who do not, remain frozen in their roles and location. Organization Development and Design is a process decision which an organization makes to actively give shape and direction to the organization. This paper focuses on the leaders and top management making a choice for an OD intervention. This choice then leads to 1. Consultant's brief and scope of the intervention, 2. Methodology of the intervention, diagnostic study, presentation of the study, proposed action interventions and implementations and review and follow up. The paper then explores the significant dimensions of an OD exercise which consists of looking at History of growth and its impact on the current organization culture, impact of leadership profile, redesigning of organization structure and people interface, people profile, emergent organizational and managerial issues and strengths and limitations of the organization. Further exploration is done on the choices an organization can make for future directions. These choices are at the level of institutional, organizational, leadership, corporate, managerial roles, workers and organizational renewal and learning.

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Working Papers | 1996

Need for and Possibility of Integrating Solar Desalination with Polyhouse in Arid Areas like Kutch

Girja Sharan and Kumar Sanjay

Development of agriculture in arid areas like Kutch is impeded because of widespread salinity and scarcity of good quality water. In view of this and the fact that insolation is high, we examine in this paper the possibility of integrating solar stills with greenhouse. Distillate yield on one hand and water demand from plants on the other are both driven by intensity of radiation. This feature makes the still appealing as a partial source. But, requirement of large evaporation area is a deterrent. Some investigators have reported that one would need a still of same (basin) area as the crop or even more to meet the water demand. This would appear to be true. A considerable reduction in the required evaporation area is therefore needed to make such a scheme feasible. This matter has been examined here a little more closely than found in literature. In particular, possible reduction by use of blending the distillate with groundwater is analysed. Analysis suggests that if distillate is blended with local water to reduce its salinity to the tolerance threshold of the crop, size of the still can be reduced significantly. Climatic conditions of Bhuj (Kutch) have been used in analysis. Tomato and beet have been used for illustration. Although, blending offers considerable scope, it is necessary to explore further avenues of reducing the required still size. Use of enclosures (polyhouse for instance) to reduce the crop water demand is suggested as a further important means of this.

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Working Papers | 1996

Corporate Strategy Revisited: Towards Developing a Dynamic Framework

Ramachandran K and Ray Sougata

Corporate strategy has become a major area of research especially in recent years. Strategy research has off-late shifted from the industrial organization paradigm of the 80s to the resources based view with the core competence arguments at the centre. Environmental turbulence has also resulted in several corporate restructuring (as part of consolidation and down sizing) strategies. These streams of research do not seem to have been integrated in a dynamic sense. This paper attempts to fill that gap. We have developed a new framework which enables analysts to understand the various generic strategies of a corporation without disturbing the dynamic nature of the environment and dynamism in the resource structure of a corporation. We argue that interaction among the basic resources which can be reflected in the competences and capabilities of an organization. The framework developed is tentative and needs to be refined further.

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Working Papers | 1996

An Algorithm for the Min-Max Loss Rule for Claims Problems

Lahiri Somdeb

In this paper we provide an algorithm which gives us the unique solution to the problem of minimizing the maximum loss (where loss is measured by unsatisfied demands) for a claims problem. The answer lies crucially on the structure of the problem.

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Working Papers | 1996

A Reduced Game Property for the Proportional Solution for Claims Problems

Lahiri Somdeb

The problem we discuss in this paper is one of allocating a homogeneous, divisible good among a group of claimants in a way that is perceived as just or fair. A solution to such a problem is allocating the good in proportion to the claims. We use a reduced game property to axiomatically characterize this solution. The model is interpreted as a distributor allocating a good amongst several retailers when demand exceeds supply.

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Working Papers | 1996

Impact of Economic Liberalisation on the Growth of Indian Agriculture

Dholakia Bakul H

An attempt has been made in this paper to examine the impact of economic liberalization on the growth of Indian agriculture on the basis of a detailed comparison of the growth experience during the pre-liberalisation period and the post-liberalisation period. The specific aspects of the growth of Indian agriculture covered in this study are: comparative GDP growth of agricultural and non-agricultural sectors, comparative trend in sectoral value-added proportion, sources of growth of net output, behaviour of agricultural and non-agricultural prices and growth of agricultural and non-agricultural exports.

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