BOOK REVIEW by Prof.

M V Monica Title: Management of Management Department, A Road to Excellence Chief Editor: Prof Bholanath Dutta Publishers: MTC Global Trust Price: INR 425.00 Published: 2012 Pages: 579

This book makes for enlightening reading with extensive coverage. There are a few observations on the approach, models and treatment of topics. The setting of the book is a traditional essay model with seven chapters dealing on different aspects of reaching excellence in the Management of Management Department. A timely gesture in view of proliferation of MBA colleges or Departments in every nook and corner of the nation definitely serve a dire need. Teaching & Learning Processes, Faculty Excellence, Student Excellence, Fostering Learning Environment, Industry-Academic Partnership, Values & Ethics, and Managing Ahead are the chapter titles progressing in that order. The opening chapter has seven essays covering pedagogy, curricular activities, cocurricular activities, application of ICT among other things. The first essay by Brig Retd Ganesh Pogula, VSM describes management as a discipline footed in Vedas. The institutionalization of Guru-Teacher system of Learning & Teaching from the traditional Sravana, Manana, and Nidyasana to modern internet era takes the reader to the complexities of current management education system providing the much needed indianaisation. He quotes Gandhis talisman in a modified form .(page 7). The next one is noteworthy for its research content on different pedagogies of 21st century. The Chapter II consists of seven essays detailing multiple roles of the faculty member like FDP, MDP, Research, Organising Conferences etc and Governance. It ends with description of duties of Faculty Members, HODs & Directors. Here I want to differ with the authors for not distinctively differentiating the professional skills for a). Counselling & Problem solving, b). Softskilling and c). Academic work including Learning & Teaching, Organisation Development and Research. When mass production in a complex environment is at the heart of the theme, bifurcation of skills required and institutionalization of those skills are left untouched. The next chapter dwells upon student excellence covering admission process, placement grooming and soft skilling.

The fourth chapter is about fostering a learning environment ie .. managing the common psyche of the community of students, teachers and supporting staff and maintaining the infrastructure required for these goals. However the essay on impact of mechanization on farm productivity by Dr Pranab K Bhattacharya appears to be an odd one among the other essays on the central theme. Probably, if it had an introduction as how a research paper should be written could have justified its inclusion. The following chapter deals with Industry-Academia partnership. Ultimately the students who undergo the campus processes lands at the industry; the research that faculty member does may or may not have a bearing on the industry. So the industry-academia partnership is inevitable. The chapter VI dealt upon values and ethics. In fact every management department derives its vision and mission from that of the institution it is part of. So this could be of consequences to every college not only the MBA departments or Schools. An Indian touch to the core values & ethics in imparting managerial learning could be appropriately build into processes on campuses to make it differentiated from the western materialistic philosophies. The last chapter titled Moving Ahead has got only single essay on emerging challenges and moving forward by Prof K Tharu Benny with a title Marching Ahead. Any quality management system is good to the extent it is practiced. Today several are ISO 9000 certified and many aspire for global accreditations beyond that of the national regulatory body. Reminding the need to maintain quality of the processes on the campus it gives a fitting tailpiece to the treatise on management of management department.