MISSION OF IIMS
 

The major thrust of India's development strategy after Independence, was modernisation and industrialisation.

The first Five Year Plan of 1951 said:

"One comes inevitably to the conclusion that a rapid expansion of the economic and social responsibilities of the State will alone be capable of satisfying the legitimate expectations of the people. This need not involve complete nationalisation of the means of production or

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elimination of private agencies in agriculture or business or industry. It does mean, however, a progressive widening of the public sector and a reorientation of the private sector to the needs of a planned economy".

The commanding heights were given to the public sector and controls introduced to reorient the private sector to fit a centralised, planned economy. It is, therefore, not surprising that in conceiving the Institutes of Management, especially the first two, in Ahmedabad and Calcutta, the Mission statement in the Memorandum of Association stated:

* To provide for training in management and related subjects for persons from, industry institutions and bodies and associations connected with Industry and commerce.

* To meet the needs of Indian industry and commerce in respect of upto date information on management through research and publication of Indian management literature with particular reference to programmes of business enterprises in the country.

The Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, which was established a decade later, in 1972, also defined its objectives as above. IIM-Lucknow, however, mentions "----connected with industry, public service, utilities and selected institution".

It is, therefore, clear that, the mission of the Indian Institutes of' Management as defined in their Memorandum was primarily to serve the needs of industry and Commerce; to train young men and women for careers in management connected with industry, commerce and business enterprises; to undertake research and other activities to promote the effective management of such enterprises.

It was in the decade of the 80s, the so called lost decade, in terms of economic growth for most developing countries, that concerns were expressed about the direction of planning and development, about capital intensive strategies, poverty and unemployment, equity issues, the under-developed and Under-managed sectors of education health, welfare etc. The existing paradigms of development were questioned and greater attention to issues of poverty, unemployment, rural development were emphasised. It was in the context of these concerns that questions began to be raised as to whether IIMs (and IITs) were serving the purpose for which they were established. Questions were also raised, as to wily government should sub-sidise the 'elites', and why dependence on government finances should not be reduced if the large majority of graduates opt for private sector and multinational jobs?

It may be useful to remind ourselves that the economic decline in the decade of the eighties was part of a wider problem of the international economic order where developing countries continued to find themselves enmeshed in external debts, extensive and growing protectionism and fluctuations of commodity prices in favour of the industrialised countries of the North. President Hurtado of Mexico, a member of the South Commission, voicing the concern of the third world leaders said:

"The 1980s not only represent lost time in terms of growth but backward steps have unhappily been taken. The South has been kept out of the economic decisions that most concern it. Our raw materials are bought at prices that are less and less remunerative while products with higher value added find their access blocked by artificial obstacles with political overtones"

Issues of excellence., equity and elitism, autonomy and accountability are deeply enmeshed with complex social and political concerns. In raising these issues in the limited context of

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management education we are raising broader issues of the transformation of society, of the need for a social movement with strong social commitment. Policies and paradigms of development need to be questioned and reappraised in this context. The IIMs alone cannot compensate for the infirmities of development policies in general and this needs to be kept in mind in evaluating their performance.