Indian Institute Of Management , Ahmedabad Research Articles

Self-Renewal of Adult Education Programmes Through Evaluation : A Case Study

The continuous appraisal or evaluation of adult education programmes by external agencies has been an integral part of the design of this programme since the time the Ministry of Education stepped up adult education in the late seventies. Several faculty members of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA) have partici pated in these evaluations since 1979. The State of Rajasthan was assigned for such an evaluation by the IIMA faculty. In the first five evaluation studies conducted, attempts were made to continuously improve the methodology of evaluation from study to study. This article is an attempt to present the evaluation methodologies used in these studies. This presentation is followed by a critical examination of the extent to which such evaluation studies will help in the self-renewal of adult education programmes. Finally some suggestions are made for using the evaluation studies of these programmes for self-renewal and development.

Decentralised computing for rural development

In most developing countries, the number of micro-computers in use in the field is still very small. For example, only 10–15 micros are in use in district administration in India, whereas each of the 30 departments in the 412 districts in India could profitably use one. Since the expenditure on rural development programmes in India is large, pay off from using computers can be immense. The paper draws upon work done at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA) to emphasize the need to provide access to micro-computers at the district level. In addition to large cost savings, there would be other benefits, such as improved quality of data, capability for spatial and model based analysis, and good monitoring and control.

Public Sector: Its Genesis and its Managers

This article is based on four lectures that the author delivered at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, in December, 1974. Part I of the article deals with the various reasons for the emergence of the public sector in different countries, different ways in which social control can be exercised, and the raison d'etre for the public sector in India in the background of the Avadi Resolution. Starting with an overview of the status of professional management in the country. Part II traces the Indian manager's origin from the days of the East India Company, highlights the coexistence of professionalism with internationalism, and concludes that the Indian manager should be not only well versed in the universal principles of management, but also be trained in how to deal with environmental constraints —especially the resistance to change. Part III analyses the problems of the public sectorambivalent attitude, absence of clear‐cut goals, accountability in retrospect, administrative culture, monopoly or semimonopoly situation, and poor labour-management relations—and suggests that a new breed of managers will emerge in the public sector possessing skills and flexibility to work through environmental challenges and through the altogether new testing situations in which they are often placed. Part IV examines the available choices—mixed economy as it is, a state and a joint sector, a state sector with a private ancillary sector around it, or a total state sector—and concludes by suggesting a nine-point strategy for the success of public sector in India.