Name of Program: Alternative Management Paradigm from Ancient Indian Wisdom
Program Director(s):
Prof. B Mahadevan and Prof. C Manohar Reddy
Dates: January 23 – 25, 2012
Introduction
The world is undergoing rapid changes. Businesses are facing challenges that range from managing
growth and profitability, environmental degradation, managing and motivating the work force and
ensuring long term survival of organizations. As a fall-out of these challenges, individuals in the
organizations at all levels are experiencing moral and ethical dilemmas and undergoing severe stresses.
Even while newer management theories and practices are being developed to address these problems,
still the need for a deeper understanding of the problems has not diminished.
Many executives who have been brought up in the Indian tradition and culture seem to be searching for
their roots and striving for a synthesis between the western management theories they have imbibed in
the business world and the management schools with the Indian world view, traditions and philosophy
that they have imbibed in the Indian society.
This program is designed to help the participants examine a set of ideas, tools and techniques rooted in
the Ancient Indian Wisdom which may have the potential to look at and deal with the problems of the
corporate world from a different perspective and in the process discover an integral world view that
may help the participants cope with their ethical dilemmas and stresses much more effectively.
Objectives
This programme aims to help participants explore some of the essential ideas, tools and techniques
from the ancient Indian tradition and how they could be of help to them in dealing with their business
related ethical dilemmas, in coping with the stresses of making difficult choices and in leading and
motivating people. The intention is not to provide a cook-book approach. This is an opportunity to
explore ideas, tools and techniques from the ancient Indian tradition and examine their relevance
today’s business world and society.
The specific objectives of the programme are:
To provoke the participants to examine their thinking process and mental models with a set of
ideas from the ancient Indian tradition and examine their relevance to today’s paradigm of the
business world
To sensitise the participants to look within and achieve a deeper understanding of themselves
and find ways of achieving a better integration between their roots and the world of business
where they spend most of their time
To introduce the notion of high performance and leadership as conceived in Ancient Indian
Wisdom
To explore alternative thoughts and ideas on learning and innovation that are critical for both
individuals and an organization
Contents/Methodology
In-class discussions on some of the well known texts such as Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads and other such
works and their relevance to today’s managers in enhancing their effectiveness will form one part of this
programme. Experience sharing and instructor lead discussions would be a critical component. In
addition, to enhance the participants’ effectiveness in coping with day-to-day stresses, an experiential
module based on Yoga Sutras, Upanishads and other the ancient traditions will also form an important
aspect of this programme.
Target Participant Profile
The target profile of the participants includes those with at least 15 years of experience in business
management. Heads of divisions and senior management who need to take up leadership role could
benefit from the sessions. A sense of openness and a general familiarity and overall appreciation of the
Ancient Indian Wisdom may be very beneficial.
Faculty Profile
B. Mahadevan
B. Mahadevan is a professor of operations management at the Indian Institute of Management
Bangalore, where he has been teaching since 1992. He is also the Dean (Administration) of the institute.
Professor Mahadevan has more than 20 years of wide-ranging experience in teaching, research,
consulting and academic administration at IIM Bangalore and other reputed institutions such as IIT Delhi
and XLRI, Jamshedpur. He was earlier Chief Editor of the IIMB Management Review, the premier Indian
journal for management educators, consultants and practitioners.
Professor Mahadevan received his M.Tech. and Ph.D. from the Industrial Engineering and Management
Division of IIT Madras. He holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering (production engineering) from the
College of Engineering, Guindy, Madras.
Professor Mahadevan was earlier the EADS–SMI Chair Professor for Sourcing and Supply Management
at IIM Bangalore. He was a visiting scholar at the Amos Tuck School of Business Administration,
Dartmouth College, New Hampshire, in 1999–2000. He was also a retainer consultant to Deloitte
Consulting LLP, USA, in 2001–2002. Professor Mahadevan is on the board of trustees of some NGOs
providing valuable community and social service.
Professor Mahadevan is a member of the editorial board of the Production and Operations Management
Journal and the International Journal of Business Excellence. He served in the editorial board of Six
Sigma and Competitive Advantage. Besides being on the advisory boards of several business schools and
management journals in India, Professor Mahadevan has published several of his research findings in
leading international journals such as the California Management Review, the European Journal of
Operational Research, the Production and Operations Management Journal, the International Journal of
Production Research, the International Journal of Technology Management and the Asian Journal of
Operations Management. He is a lifetime member of the Society of Operations Management and a
member of the Production and Operations Management Society.
Professor Mahadevan has been recognized for his excellence in teaching both at IIM Bangalore and
outside. He has been consistently rated among the top five professors in IIM Bangalore’s teaching and
executive education programmes. He was also conferred the ICFAI Best Teacher Award by the
Association of Indian Management Schools in 2005.
Apart from Operations Management: Theory and Practice, Professor Mahadevan is also the author of
The New Manufacturing Architecture, and has developed software that addresses issues in restructuring
manufacturing systems for competitive advantage. His research interests include supply chain
management issues in e-markets and e-auction.
Professor Mahadevan’s other interests include researching the possibility of using ancient Indian
wisdom to address contemporary concerns. He is active in inculcating these ideas among his students
and the youth through various forums and public lectures. Professor Mahadevan was also a member of
the Central Sanskrit Board, an advisory body to the Ministry of HRD, Dept. of Education on all Sanskrit
policy issues in the country.
C Manohar Reddy
C Manohar Reddy is a professor in Organisational Behaviour & Human Resources Management at the
Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, where he is being teaching from 1989. He has more than 20
years of wide-ranging experience in teaching, research, consulting and academic.
Professor C Manohar Reddy has received his FPM (Fellow Programme in Management), IIM Ahmedabad,
India Post Graduation in Industrial Engineering, NITIE, Mumbai, India B. Tech (Mechanical Engineering),
SV University, Tirupathi, India.
Prior to joining IIMB, he had worked as Deputy Manager, IFFCO, New Delhi, India, 1985- 1989, Industrial
Engineering, HMT Limited, India. He has been Accreditated as Facilitator and Process Consultant in the
conduct of Unstructured Learning Groups and Growth Labs.
Professor C Manohar Reddy’ consulting includes Indian Telephone Industries (facilitated the
organizational restructuring and turn-around process) Sandur Manganese (facilitated the organizational
restructuring and turn-around process) Karnataka Water Resources Development Board (Design of
appropriate structure for grass-roots participation (a world bank assisted project) in the management
and improvement of water resources SIEMENS, ITI, Murugappa Group, JK Group, Aviva (design and
conduct of Leadership and Management Development Programs for their Senior Management
personnel).