Volume 5 • Number 2 • February 2012

STRATEGIC DECISION MAKING

Making Your Business Plan A Real One By Establishing Milestones

The main aim of any business is to maximize the profit and create wealth for a company. Customer satisfaction and cost of production are the two parameters which are to be dealt, in maximizing the profit and wealth. Cost of production is directly proportionate to the customer satisfaction. Higher the customer , the higher will be the cost. If the customer satisfaction is the main objective, then we may have to compromise on the cost of production and the customer satisfaction.To optimize the customer satisfaction and the cost of production, we have to fix a feasible target for the output of any organization, and then everyone in the organization has to chase and see that their target is attained. To reach these targets, everyone in the organization has to fix his own target and integrate it with that of the organization. This target or the objective of the organization is identified as the milestone of the organization in respect to the output. This paper makes a study in to the different aspects of fixing the target for the company and then passing it on to the different departments and to each activity of every department.

References
1. “3 Important Startup Milestones for Your Business Plan”, accessed on June 1st, 2009, http://businessplancritique.com/3-important-startup-milestones-for-your-business-plan.
2. Clayton Reeves, for Gaebler Ventures, “For Entrepreneurs - Why Should A Company Have A Mission Statement?” accessed on July 9th, 2011, http://www.gaebler.com/The-Importance-of-a-Mission-Statement.htm.
3. Dave Lavinsky, “Business Plan Milestones: How They Are Essential to Your Success”, accessed on November 10, 2009, http://www.growthink.com/content/business-plan-milestones-how-they-are-essential-your-success.
4. Frankel, “Term Milestones in Business Plan? Meaning?” , accessed on June 19th, 2011,
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071116081412AAqYleC.
5. Tim Berry, “Writing a Mission Statement”, accessed on June 5th, 2011, http://articles.bplans.com/writing-a-business-plan/writing-a-mission-statement.
6. Tim Berry,“Milestones Make Your Business Plan a Real Plan”, accessed on June 5th, 2011, http://articles.bplans.com/writing-a-business-plan/milestones-make-your-business-plan-a-real-plan/44.

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Nishkam Karma: The Path For Corporate Social Responsibility

CSR is a self-regulating mechanism, and is concerned with the inner voice of corporate masters. It is assumed that the teachings of The Gita, specifically the philosophy of Nishkam Karma, offer good direction in the discharge of responsibility towards “tetra bottom line” i.e. people, planet, profit and spirituality. There is no denying the fact that all the great scriptures of all the religions offer immense wisdom for inculcating values and ethical norms in the corporate world, which can be the basic ethical conduct of business. Literature dealing with the interplay between spirituality and business has been growing over the last many years. The prevailing studies on the subject delineate that researchers are doing a commendable research on the role of spirituality in the ethical governance of business. However, the present study is aimed at formulating and systematizing the intuitive wisdom of The Gita in the field of CSR. In this paper, an attempt has been made to study the concept of CSR from the Vedic perspective; to study CSR from the modern perspective; to evaluate the dilemma of CSR in the contemporary globalized regime; and to study the of philosophy of Nishkam Karma and its relevance to CSR practices and initiatives. The philosophy of Nishkam Karma demands freedom from i-me-my-mine syndrome and going beyond realities to sensitivity towards certain interdependent, shared spaces and values. This makes corporate mentors to realize that “beyond profits are more profits" .The research is mainly exploratory in nature and is based on qualitative research methodology, which is the interpretation of the teachings of The Gita and other ancient and spiritual literature.

References
1. A.C. Fernando (2006), “Corporate Governance - Principles, Policies And Practice”, Dorling Kindersley (India) Pvt. Ltd. , Pearson Education South Asia, New-Delhi.
2. Agarwal Satya P. (1993), “Social Role of the Gita- How & Why”, Urmila Agarwal, Delhi.
3. Bahadur K.P. (1983), “The Wisdom Of Vedanta”, Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd., New-Delhi.
4. Bandyopadhyaya Narayan Chandra (1927), “Kautilya or An Exposition of His Social Ideal & Political Theory”, R. Cambray &Company.
5. Chatterjee B.K. (2004), “Organization Behaviour and Beyond”, Asian Books Pvt. Ltd., New-Delhi.
6. Chatterjee R.K. (1987), “The Gita and its Culture”, Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd., New-Delhi.
7.Dr. Choubey U.D. (2011), “Mandatory CSR- Must for Corporates”, Kaleidoscope, Vol.30, No.10 (March 2011), pp. 10-11.
8. Dr. Pandey Devender Prasad (2009), “Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) & Trusteeship Doctrine of Mahatma Gandhi In Present Context”, Gandhi Prasang, Vol. 11, No. 2, pp. 45-58.
9. The Times of India, “Giving Away 99% of Wealth...... there can't be a More Powerful Message”, March 25, 2011, p.17.
10. Jackers Julian (2010), “Business Ethics & Spirituality- Back to Basics”, Salesian- Philosophy & Contemporary Living, Vol.1, No.2 (December 2010), Salesian Publication, Darjeeling, WB. pp. 76-92.
11. Khandelwal Kanika Aggarwal & Mohendra Nishtha (2010), “Espoused Organisational Values, Vision, & Corporate Social Responsibility: Does it Matters to the Organisational Members”, Vikalpa: The Journal For Decision Makers, Vol.35, No. 3 (July-September 2010) , pp.19-36.
12. Khaten Parmeshwari Prasad (Edt.) (2008), “The Bhagavad Gita”, Sri Aurobindo Divine Life Trust, Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan.
13. Knapp Stephen (1999), “The Secret Teachings of the Vedas”, Jaico Publishing House, Mumbai.
14. N. Balasubramania (2010), “Corporate Governance and Stewardship”, Tata McGraw Hill Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi.
15. The Economic Times, “No Mandatory CSR” Editorial, February 19, 2011, p. 6.
16. Sastry Alladi Mahadeva (1981), “The Bhagavad Gita”, Samta Book Madaras, 1981.
17. Shah Shashank, (2011), “ CSR at WIPRO Ltd. -A Case Study”, Prabandhan : Indian Journal Of Management, Volume 4, Number 8 (August, 2011), p. 5.
18. Sivananda Sri Swami (1983), “The Principal Upanishads”, The Divine Life Society Tehri-Garhwal, UP.
19. Verma Satvic. “Coercive Social Responsibility”, The Economic Times, February 18, 2011, p.12.
20. Viswanathan S. “Media Support Crusade against corruption”, The Hindu, April 18, 2011, p.7.
21. Upadhaya Kashi Nath (1971), “Early Budhism & The Bhagavad Gita”, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi.
22. Upadhyaya R.B. (1976), “Social Responsibility of Business and the Trusteeship theory of Mahatma Gandhi”, Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd.
23. Unnithan T. K. (1979), “Gandhi And Social Change”, Rawat Publication, Jaipur, pp. 31-36.
24. Yogananda Sri Sri Paramahansa (2007), “The Bhagavad Gita”, Vol.1 & 2, YSS of India , Dakshineswar, Kolkata.

ECONOMICS

Production Efficiency Of The Selected Agro Industries In Punjab

Punjab agriculture has reached a stage where its viability and sustainability is in doubt. The green revolution led to a dramatic increase in agricultural production, but in the years following green revolution, high rates of productivity growth have been sustained at the cost of underground water table depletion and heavy doses of fertilizers with diminishing growth in the yields of major crops. Scholars have advocated for the development of agro-based industries in the state to offer a possible solution to the problem. However, the development of agro industries in an imprecise way will not offer any solution. The present study attempts to find out the efficient agro industries and suggests policy implications for the development of the agro based industries in the state.

Notes
1. See Chadha (1999), Singh (1999), Shergill and Singh (2001), Kansra (2002), Sidhu (1999, 2002) and Singh (2004).
2. The new National Industrial Classification 1998, which is pretty wide-ranging, at the 5 digit level, has not been found to be comparable with the NIC 1987. Moreover, the NIC 1998 has only 16 industries falling under the gamut of agro industries, whereas there were 45 industries in NIC 1987.

References
1. Chadha, S. K. (1999), “Prospects of Agro Food Processed Industries”, Political Economy Journal of India, Vol. 8, Nos. 3 and 4, pp. 124-131.
2. Chatterjee, A (1992), “Entrepreneurship development programme and self-employment”, Yojana, Vol. 36, No. 16, pp. 12-15.
3. FAO (1997), The State of Food and Agriculture 1997, FAO Agriculture Series, No. 30, Rome.
4. Farrell, M. J. (1957), “The Measurement of Productive Efficiency”, Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Series A, Vol.120, Part 3, pp. 253-290.
5. Fei, J. C. H. and G. Ranis (1961), “A Theory of Economic Development”, American Economic Review, Vol. L1, No. 4, pp. 533-565.
6. Goldar, B.N. (1985), “Unit Size and Economic Efficiency in Small Scale Washing Soap Industry in India”, Artha Vijnana, Vol. 27, No. 1, pp. 21-40.
7. Goyal, S. K. (1993), “Policies towards development of agro-industries in India” working paper no. WP1993/01, Institute for Studies in Industrial Development, September.
8. Hansen, S and Cranfield, J. (2009), “Building the political case for agro-industries and agribusiness in developing countries” in Da Silva Carlos A, Doyle Baker, Andrew Shepherd, Chakib Jenane and Sergio Miranda-da-Cruz (ed.) Agro Industries for Development, The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and The United Nations Industrial Development Organization Publications, Rome, p.10.
9. Kansra, S. L. (2002), “Looking Closely at the Various Segments of Modern Food Processing Industry in India”, Political Economy Journal of India, Vol. 11, Nos. 1 and 2, pp. 15-21.
10. Sarkar, Anandita (2011), “Socio-economic implications of depleting groundwater resource in Punjab: a comparative analysis of different irrigation systems” Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. XLVI, No 7, February, pp. 59-66.
11. Shergill, H.S. and Gurmail Singh (2001), Scope of Agro-Processing Industries in Punjab, Institute for Development and Communication, Chandigarh, Ajanta Publishers.
12. Sidhu, H. S. (1996), “Development of Agro-Industries in an Agrarian Economy (A Case Study of Punjab)”, International Journal of Punjab Studies, Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 109-150.
13. Singh Navchetan (1999), Agro - Based Industries in Punjab - A Comparative Study, Unpublished M.Sc (Hons.) Dissertation, Punjab School of Economics, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar.
14. Singh, Sant Surinder Pal (2004), Linkages between Agriculture And Industry - A Case Study of Punjab, Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, Department of Economics, Punjabi University, Patiala.

Dr. Rajiv Khosla
Associate Professor and Head,
Chandigarh Business School, Gharuan
Mohali, Punjab.
rajivkhosla78@gmail.com

TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT

Information Technology : The Change Agent For Paradigm Of Education - With Special Reference To Indian Conditions

Information Technology is a great driver of change and re-engineering. With IT, unchartered territories can be covered and new heights scaled. Increased communication, speed in transactions, accuracy in administrative tasks and collaboration amongst team members are the obvious advantages. The implementation of IT has gone much, much beyond – E-learning, virtual classrooms, IP Cameras enabling archives of surveillance; global connectivity of classrooms in case of guest lectures are only some of the initiatives.
This study traces evolution and implementation of IT. It also studies the difficulties faced and solutions worked out till optimum scenarios are reached. It also emphasizes on the changing teaching-learning pedagogies and the impact IT-enabled processes has on the students. Both advantages and fallouts are discussed, and it poses to the readers the question of an optimum mix of IT enabled and traditional academics.
Security aspects were another area of concern, be it intellectual and copyrights of professors when they upload their lectures on the intranet or integrity of databases.
The paper traces the impact IT is having on the teaching-learning scenarios across the world, with special reference to India. The areas of inequality of acceptance and use are discussed, especially the parameters of gender, culture and physical inabilities.
Various tools of IT implementation such as blogs, podcasts, weblogs, discussion forums have been studied. Again, emerging trends such as Virtual Learning Environments, Weblogs, edutainment, learning ware, group ware, Group Support Systems, etc. are highlighted. It also tries to understand the barriers faced by educators, students and administrators in acceptance of IT enabled teaching - learning platforms. The essential balance between content and technology has to be maintained. Certain educational, economical and technical pre-requisites are mulled upon.

Keywords: ICT (Information and Communication Technology), VLE(Virtual Learning Environments), e-learning, web 2.0, education 3.0, podcasts, video-conferencing, course management systems, collaboration, virtual classrooms, discussion boards

References
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27) McGee, P.A. & Diaz, V.M. (2008), 'Finding the Good Fit: Faculty Members, Instruction, Evidence, and Technology', paper presented at EDUCAUSE 2008, Orlando, 28-31 October, 2008.
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COMPETITIVE DECISION MAKING

Factors Affecting the Selection of Health Insurance: An Empirical Study

There is a dire need to study the state of health insurance as well as factors affecting the selection of health insurance by an individual. The reason is attributable to the fact that, firstly; this is one of the growing businesses and secondly; it is the need of the hour. Human beings can manage to live without good education…without a splendid car…without an opulent house…, but no one can manage to live without good and excellent health, that too when he/she is living below the poverty line. One of the solutions to this is to take a health insurance scheme which is a widely recognized mechanism to finance health care of an individual, because he/she has to just make gradual contribution towards the premium of the insurance and he/ she can get rid of health worries. So, the present study is an effort in the field of health insurance - to investigate and to examine the various factors affecting the selection of health insurance by an individual. For this, a sample of 180 respondents has been considered from the Amritsar district of Punjab. Thereafter, the use of Factor Analysis has been made, which shows that there are seven key factors (by clubbing the related variables), which widely affect and govern the selection of health insurance by an individual. These key factors are namely: Ease with which the services can be obtained; Minimum Consideration; Availability of Funds (whether in hand or from outside); Intermediaries’ Outreach and Capabilities; Multiplicity of Benefits with Extensive Promotional Activities; Goodwill and Linkage of the Company with Third Party Administrators (TPAs); and Operating with Customers’ Oriented Modern Technology.

Keywords : Health Insurance; Governing factors; and Individuals

References
1) Asgary, A., Willis, K., Taghvaei, A. A. and Rafeian, M. (2004). “Estimating Rural Households' Willingness to Pay for Health Insurance”, European Journal of Health Economics, Vol. 5, No. 3, pp. 209-215.
2) Dror, M.D. (2006). “Health Insurance for the Poor: Myths and Realities”, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 41, No. 43 & 44, pp. 4541-4544.
3) Dror, M.D. (2007). “Why “one-size-fits-all” health insurance products are unsuitable for low-income persons in the informal economy in India”, The Asian Economic Review, Vol. 49, No. 4.
4) Gupta, I. (2002). “Private Health Insurance and Health Costs Results from a Delhi Study”, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 37, No. 27, pp. 2795-2802.
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6) Kipp, R. and Snook, T. (2008). “Designing New Health Insurance Products Technical Consideration”, IRDA Journal, Vol. 6, No.2, pp. 17-24.
7) Matthies, S. and Cahill. R. K. (2004). “How India Can Break Barriers to Develop Health Insurance”, IRDA Journal, Vol. II, No. 11, pp. 7-12.
8) Malhotra .N.K. (2007) “Marketing Research An Applied Orientation” , 5th Edition, Pearson Publications, New Delhi.
9) Ramani, K.V. and Mavalankar, D. (2006). “DEBATE AND DISCUSSION Health System in India: opportunities and challenges for improvements”, Journal of Health Organization and Management, Vol.20, No.6, pp. 560-572.
10) Sanyal, K.S. (1996). “Household Financing of Health Care,” Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 31, No. 20, pp. 1216-1222.
11) Sodani, P.R. (2001). “Potential of the Health Insurance Market for the Informal Sector: A pilot study”, Journal of Health Management, Volume 3, pp. 283-308.
12) Swarup, A. (2008). “Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana: Providing health insurance covers to the poor”, International Labour Organization, pp. 19-20.
 

ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR

Maslow’s Eupsychian Management

The paper introduces Maslow’s utopian vision of managing people at work. Drawing upon the notion of self-actualization, Maslow coined the term ‘Eupsychia’. It refers to an ideal culture that might be created under the most favourable circumstances. Maslow thought that such an ideal culture would facilitate self-actualization of people. He saw Eupsychian Management as a managerial philosophy that would create an environment in which people could achieve self-actualization though their work. Maslow believed that the work life of people were the main ingredient of achieving self-actualization. Maslow has done more to change our view of human nature and human possibilities than any other psychologist. His influence, both direct and indirect, continues to grow, especially in the fields of health, education, and management theory, and in the personal and social lives of the individuals. In this paper, the author has tried to elaborate on the key implication of Maslow’s ideas on managing people and organizations and how these principles have been applied in the work context.

Key Words: Self-Actualization, Eupsychian Management, Motivation, Enlightened Management.

References
1. Avolio, B. J., Gardner, W. L., Walumbwa, F. O., Luthans, F. & May, D. R. (2004), "Unlocking The Mask: A Look At The Process By Which Authentic Leaders' Impact Follower Attitudes And Behaviors", The Leadership Quarterly, Volume 15, pp. 801-823.
2. Brown, R. B. (2003), "Organizational spirituality: The skeptic's version", Organization , Volume 10, No. 2, pp. 393-400.
3. Cacioppe, R. (2000) , "Creating spirit at work: Re-visioning organization development and leadership - Part II", Leadership and Organization Development Journal, Volume 21,No. 2, pp. 110-119.
4. Cameron, K. S., Bright, D. & Caza, A. (2004), "Exploring the relationships between organizational virtuousness and performance", The American Behavioral Scientist, Volume 47,No. 6, pp. 766-790.
5. Deluga, R. J. (1994), "Supervisor trust building, leader-member exchange and organizational citizenship behavior", Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, Volume 67, pp. 315-326.
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ORGANIZATIONAL MANAGEMENT

Managing Diversity At The Workplace In A Global Economy: Challenges & Opportunities

Diversity is a very sensitive topic and is discussed under such labels as civil rights, affirmative action, reverse discrimination, quotas, racism, and sexism. All human organizations have "differences". People are different not only in gender, culture, race, social and psychological characteristics, but also in their perspectives and prejudices. As the world continues the process of globalization, workplace diversity is becoming a common phenomenon. Managing diversity is an on-going process that unleashes the various talents and capabilities which a diverse population brings to an organization, community or society, so as to create a wholesome, inclusive environment, that is “safe for differences”, enables people to “reject rejection” , celebrates diversity, and maximizes the full potential of all, in a cultural context where everyone benefits. Some studies suggest that it means approaching diversity at three levels simultaneously: individual, interpersonal, and organizational. The traditional focus has been on interpersonal and individual aspects alone. At its best, it means getting from employees not only everything you have a right to expect, but everything they have to offer (R. Roosevelt Thomas).
The Objectives of the paper are:
1) To explain the concept of diversity and the reasons for its emergence.
2) To examine the impact of diversity on the business performance and to analyze the factors influencing the impact of diversity.
3) To highlight the various business strategies for managing diversity in the workplace.

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