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3846 items in total found

Working Papers | 1994

Group in Organizations

Bhatnagar Jyotsna and Singh J P

This note deals with the basics of Group Dynamics. It discusses the nature and types of groups in organization and elaborates on the need to study group behavior as well as why individuals join groups. The note also discusses the underlying processes in Group Behavior. Here the Interdependence between the group and the individual is discussed. The note also focuses on the distinction between what happens in a group (the content) and the way it happens (the process). It describes various stages of group development and discusses issues relating group structure and cohesiveness. The final section focuses on analysis of Group Interaction and the advantage and disadvantages of groups in organizational setting.

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Working Papers | 1994

The Conquest of Self? Intimacy and the Overcoming of Boundaries

Giri Ananta

The present paper looks at the changes taking place at present in the realm of intimacy and human sexuality in Europe and North America. The paper presents the description of such changes as offered by Anthony Giddens, an engaging sociologist of our times, in his recent book. The Transformation of Intimacy. It questions some of the assumptions that are taken for granted in the dominant discourse on this subject today such as the celebration of boundaries in the exploration and practice of intimacy, the delinking of sexuality from reproduction, and the irrelevance of the question of purity of purpose and intention in the work of so-called "pure relationship" where every one is free to enter and free to exit. The paper presents ethnographic work on American culture today, mainly on anti-abortion and pro-life movements, to argue that even in contemporary American society there are women who question the delinking of sexuality from motherhood and see in this devaluation the eclipse of the self-sacrificing aspect of culture itself. The paper argues that sexuality can itself be a field of "renewal of spirituality:" and intimacy can overcome boundaries rather than helplessly reproduce these.

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Working Papers | 1994

Restrictive Trade Practices in India, 1969-71 Experience of Control and Agenda for Further Work

Sandesara J C

This paper purports to apprise principally the experience of control of Restrictive Trade Practices (RTP) in India by the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices (MRTP) Commission under the MRTP Act, 1969. This experience is examined by the Commission since the enactment of this legislation till 1991 to which the latest published information relates. Among the major findings are: 1. Of the 3,474 RTP inquiries instituted during 1972-91, only 2 (0.05 per cent) were instituted upon reference from government, and 171 (5 per cent) from trade/consumer associations, etc. The principal burden of initiating inquiries has fallen on the Director-General and the Commission with 2,186 and 1.115 inquiries (63 and 32 per cent) respectively to their credit. 2. Of the 3,033 inquiries disposed of during 1972-91, 1,125 (37 per cent) were found by the Commission to prejudicial to public interest and subjected to cease/desist or consent order, and 1,908 (63 per cent) were disposed of otherwise. 3. Of the different types of RTP in the inquiries disposed of during 1982-91, 1,328 out of a total of 3,415 (39 per cent) were found by the Commission to be prejudicial to public interest, and subjected to cease/desist or consent order, and 2,087 (61 per cent) were disposed of otherwise. 4. Thus, the number of inquiries in, and of RTP against, which prejudice to public interest was found were each small, nearly two-fifths of the respective totals. Based on this experience, as a second objective, this paper also presents an agenda for further work in this area. The major points which emerge in that context are: 1. The 1984 and the 1991 amendments to the MRTP Act necessitate a new preamble or a major change in the existing preamble. Two alternative draft preambles are suggested in the paper. 2. For further and better particulars on the inquiries disposed of, the present pro-forma in which the information is given needs to be modified as per the details given in the paper. 3. Specific studies relating to the composition of RTP inquiries disposed of, the efficacy of RTP control, and the general effects on the public interest of certain RTP as such as also with reference to some products/services are called for to increase our knowledge on this subject and also for their possible policy value. 4. The evidence on the arguments for a change in favour of per se approach are not yet sufficiently persuasive, so it is as well that the present rule-of-reason approach continues.

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Working Papers | 1994

Sharing Costs and Sharing Revenue: The Proportional Solutions

Lahiri Somdeb

Consider a group of people who have just been awarded a sum of money to undertake a consultancy for a research project. The problem that now confronts them is to share the revenue as well as the costs of the overheads involved in undertaking the project. In this paper we propose a proportional solution to this problem, prove the existence of such a solution (in a special case) and establish its optimality.

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Working Papers | 1994

IIMA Today - A Case of Depleted Networth

Ragunathan V

Institution building is only one phase of the institutional life cycle. After an institution is built, it must grow, and mature with a healthy long life. Thus, aspects of institution maintenance, and arresting of institution erosion, and institution decay for sustained excellence become increasingly more important as an institution grows older. How is IIMA shaping in the regard? Is it being successful in elongating the growth and maturity phase of its life cycle? Does it show the symptoms of emulating, even if to a limited extent, its more long lasting internationally reputed cousins? Is it maintaining its cherished values, norms and practices-in short, the institutional culture-dreamt and built assiduously in the past by its founding fathers with some care and concern? This paper attempts to provide some perspectives in this direction.

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Working Papers | 1994

Motivation, Leadership, and Human Performance

Kanungo R N and Misra Sasi B

This review critically examines and integrates the vast and diverse research on motivation and leadership in organizations during the past decade (1983-1993). The review prepared for the ICSSR sponsored Fourth Survey of Psychology primarily focuses on research in the Indian context. The main conclusions drawn are: (i) research in the area of work motivation and leadership in organizations in order to be meaningful must be theory driven (ii) programmatic as contrasted to fragmented research in these areas must be initiated (iii) research dealing with measurement of variables must demonstrate construct and criterion related validities and finally (iv) indigenous approaches to problems and measuring instruments developed in the Indian context are necessary.

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Working Papers | 1994

State, Private Sector and Labour: The Political Economy of Jute Industry Modernization, West Bengal, 1986-90

Chowdhury Supriya Roy

In the decades since independence, the jute industry underwent a sharp eclipse as exports and profits declined, technology remained stagnant, mills closed and workers were thrown out in large numbers. In 1986 a Jute Modernization Fund was created by the central government in order to revive the industry. Additionally, the government sought to sustain and expand domestic demand for jute by making jute packaging compulsory for certain sectors such as cement, sugar, etc. Almost all of jute manufacturing takes place in West Bengal. The Left Front government has been in power in West Bengal since 1977. As leader of the leftist coalition, the CPI(M), in order to reinvigorate West Bengal's ailing industrial scene, has sought to encourage private business in general and to some extent, neutralize labor. This paper examines the state's relationship to jute mill owners and to the industry's workforce in the context of the attempted restructuring of the jute industry. The paper does not present an economic analysis of jute restructuring: it locates the halting pace of jute industry modernization in the emerging presence of raw jute traders in the industry, and in the state's vulnerabilities both to mill owners and to workers. The dynamics of these relationships set the limits to the restructuring efforts that had begun in the mid 1980s. In the context of these findings, the paper ends with some reflections on received theories of the developmental state.

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Working Papers | 1994

Indian Economic Forecast: Post Budget Analysis - April 1994

Rastogi A B

The collective impact of a battery of reforms coming hard on the heels of one another, is still being felt in boardrooms and chaupals. The credibility of the reform dictates that consistent liberalisation policies should be followed. The last budget has introduced the changes in tax structure which are consistent with the liberalisation process. We are forecasting a growth rate of around 6% in 1994-95 and underlying rate of inflation of around 8% as unwinding of many administered prices take place in the first quarter of 1994-95. Current account may post a small surplus in the current fiscal year. Exports would rise by as much as 15% in dollar terms. Improving world trade volume and low crude oil prices are expected to give positive supply shock to the world economy which would benefit Indian exports. Total import value may not rise more than 5% in dollar terms due to a lower value of imports of petroleum products. Dumping of 'exit policy' plans has put industrial restructuring process in the slow land and therefore, generation of large number of permanent jobs in organised sector has got a set back for some time to come.

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Working Papers | 1994

A Note on Cost Monotonic Group Decision Mechanisms

Lahiri Somdeb

In this paper we study the problem of project selection as a group decision making problem and obtain a characterization of cost monotonic group decision mechanism. We furnish two examples of cost monotonic group decision mechanisms – the egalitarian mechanism and the egalitarian equivalent mechanism. The latter is shown to belong to the core of the group decision making problem. In the process of defining an egalitarian equivalent mechanisms we invoke the concept of a composite public good.

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Working Papers | 1994

Financial Sector Reform: Institutional and Technological Imperatives

Samir K. Barua and Jayanth R. Varma

This paper takes the view that financial sector reform is not only a matter of jettisoning old regulations nor even merely a matter of prudential regulation accompanying structural deregulation; it is intimately bound up with institutional and technological issues. On the basis of a detailed analysis of the stock market, debt market and the banking system the paper demonstrates the need for major institutional and technological changes in the Indian financial sector in order to face the challenges posed by liberalization and rapid growth. In our view, the government and regulatory authorities have an important role in facilitating this modernization. Not only should regulatory hindrances be removed, but there should be a positive bias in favour of change. We do believe that changes would take place even without regulatory support, but we also believe that regulatory intervention could hasten the process and make it less painful. This is because the technology is characterized by large externalities and often requires action at the industry level.

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