Role of management education in adapting the Indian public sector to market-based economic reforms
Management education; New public management; Public administration; Public sector reform
Purpose: In 1991, India embarked on market-based economic reforms initiatives pillared on liberalization, privatization and globalization (LPG). The reforms exposed the public sector enterprises to competitive market forces, raising the need to identify and develop the competencies necessary for survival. Executive training programs were initiated to prepare public enterprises for the market-based reforms. Three decades later, the reforms especially privatization is witnessing renewed interest under the current administration. In this context, the article takes a closer look at the structure of management education provided to public sector officers in India. The article also identifies barriers for implementing the learnings from the management courses in the workplaces and suggests approaches for closing the gap. Design/methodology/approach: The study follows a thematic approach based on unstructured interviews of senior executives of Indian public sector enterprises covering oil and gas, aeronautical, power and transportation sectors. New public management (NPM) is used as a yardstick of business-like characteristics of public sector enterprises. Findings: Despite heavy investment, trainings have had only partial success in implementing the core objective of NPM, i.e. to provide quality services in a professional manner to meet citizen requirements. The study found that though concepts of NPM are introduced at multiple management training programs, thepublic enterprises lag in the implementation of NPM. The ingrained hierarchical and procedural culture of the enterprises was often highlighted as the challenge to its implementation. Practical implications: The study will be of significance to Indian policymakers in designing management education programs to public sector employees. It brings out (1) various models of management education provided to public servants across industries, (2) provide evidence on the extent of NPM implementation, (3) identify barriers for transitioning the learnings from the management courses to workplace and (4) suggest changes for improving effectiveness. Originality/value: The existing research on LPG in India covers the economic transformation post-implementation and the factors contributing to the success of its implementation. This study adds to the limited literature available on the management education of public servants in the country. 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited.
International Journal of Public Sector Management, Vol-36, No. 45781, pp. 315-332.
https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPSM-01-2022-0003 https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85153345282&doi=10.1108%2fIJPSM-01-2022-0003&partnerID=40&md5=183c26f796add328c56d6d0674a76efc
Prakash N., Symbiosis Institute of Business Management (SIBM), Symbiosis International (Deemed University) (SIU), Bengaluru, India; Hawaldar A., School of Business and Management, Christ University, Bengaluru, India