7th PAN-IIM World Management Conference

The 7th Pan-IIM World Management Conference was organised by the Indian Institute of Management, Rohtak in collaboration with MHRD at United Service Institution of India, New Delhi from 11th to 14th December. The theme for the conference was “Public Policy & Management: Emerging Issues”, which will aid in practical application of management thinking, evidence-based and analytical solutions to achieve result-oriented policy formulation.
The conference touched upon multitude of topics related to critical burning issues in public policy that can be researched and solved under managerial education. The conference witnessed over 1400 papers presentation on public policy from 11 different countries. The slowing economic growth of India in the last few quarters and the policies that can be implemented to put India back on the high growth rate path discussed by the panels. IIM Rohtak partnered with 7 leading and renowned journals for publication of selected papers and cases in their regular or special issues. These journals are European journal of international management (EJIM), Emerging economies case journal (EECJ), International Journal of Society systems science (IJSSS), International journal of Information systems and social change (IJISSC), International journal of management practice (IJMP), International journal of global business and competitiveness (IJGBC) and Journal of Indian business research (JIBR).

The conference witnessed discussion about the Sports Policy in India and questioned the viability of a Sports Ministry of India to bring in a paradigm change needed in the sports culture in the country. The Haryana model of sports development which has put many athletes on the world map was studied. Citing policies of countries such as the US and China which are the best performers in the Olympics, the conference highlighted the sharp contrast between the two models adopted by these countries. From a solution-oriented perspective, the panel suggested to end political interference and reiterated the need for independence of sports in our nation.
Experts agreed that citizens need to involve themselves in public policy as owners and not as customers”. The concept of ‘Customer Centricity’ can be incorporated in public policy as citizen participation is the quintessence of public policy execution.
The panel recalled how in the times of cold war the western nations used media to influence the public imagination in communist countries that ultimately led to the fall of communism. After the advent of the internet, the role and influence of social media have increased manifold. Social media is so much overwhelmed by marketing companies that in real sense consumer sovereignty has become a myth in the present world. The role of the marketer has become so pervasive in defining the product and services that it violates the privacy of individuals.
Elaborating on the predicament of a sports authority, the conference pointed out how the inefficiency of the sports culture in India is an issue of mindset stemming from a bureaucratic structure spread across sports federations. Sports is a state subject and thus Centre control becomes a constitutional issue. The status of “second class citizens” accorded to athletes and sports players in comparison to mainstream sports has also been one of the reasons for the lack of athletic culture in India.
Role of data and analytics in public policy formulation and implementation was also highlighted at the conference. The panels talked about the role that data science can play in development of public policy science. Data can help in developing deeper understanding of the problem entrenched in the policy domain.
Directors from 17 IIMS joined this conference and discussed about the role of IIMs in the public policy and various initiatives taken up by all the IIMs to help the Government in the same. This includes initiatives like training CRPF by IIM Rohtak and school of public policy by IIM Ahmedabad.
Eminent personalities such as Dr. Subramanian Swamy, Captain Abhimanyu, Mr. Hemant Dua, Mr. Vivek Agnihotri , Arvind Saxena ( UPSC Chairman) attended the conference. The chief guest for the closing ceremony was Hon’ble Chief Minister of Haryana Mr. Manohar Lal Khattar. In his closing address, he highlighted the need for the educational institutions to rise up to the challenge and conduct research in the field of public policy that serves the local needs. The PAN-IIM World Management conference was conducted successfully as the conference was able to invigorate the debate on role of management in public policy formulation. General V. K. Singh, PVSM, AVSM, YSM, ADC, MP, Hon’ble Minister of State for Road Transport and Highway attended the valediction and award ceremony.