Indian railways scope and opportunities for research B.V.L.Narayana Railway staff college

Introduction Restricted to research in management Restricted to research in management Management Management Young growing field Young growing field Research Research Fragmented Fragmented Dispersed Dispersed Disaggregated Disaggregated Pluralistic Pluralistic Positivist dominated Positivist dominated

Management research Management research Management research Started with studies in public domain Started with studies in public domain More focus on private domain More focus on private domain Western oriented—US dominant Western oriented—US dominant New focus on orient/ east New focus on orient/ east Is a function of Is a function of Volume of business activities Volume of business activities Variation in business activities Variation in business activities

Indian railways Large organization Large organization Geographical spread Geographical spread Multiple sub contexts within common context Multiple sub contexts within common context Large number of systems Large number of systems High volume of variation in activities High volume of variation in activities In public domain, service orientation In public domain, service orientation mix of oriental and western culture mix of oriental and western culture Great history of achievements Great history of achievements Old organization Old organization Human resource dominant yet technology dependent Human resource dominant yet technology dependent

GIGANTIC DIMENSIONS OF IR 63,500 ROUTE KILOMETERS 63,500 ROUTE KILOMETERS 48,000 COACHING VEHICLES 48,000 COACHING VEHICLES 7,900 LOCOMOTIVES 7,900 LOCOMOTIVES 2.22 LAKH WAGONS 2.22 LAKH WAGONS 7133 BLOCK STATIONS 7133 BLOCK STATIONS LAKH WORK FORCE LAKH WORK FORCE RS. 618 MILLION EXPENDITURE ON STAFF PER DAY RS. 618 MILLION EXPENDITURE ON STAFF PER DAY RS MILLION REVENUE EXPENDITURE DAILY RS MILLION REVENUE EXPENDITURE DAILY

Scope for research Management research Management research Needs accumulation, integration of theory Needs accumulation, integration of theory Cross discipline research Cross discipline research Three streams likely (Volberda and Elfring 2003) Three streams likely (Volberda and Elfring 2003) Organization level Organization level Boundary conditions Boundary conditions Configurations Configurations Routines Routines culture culture Individual level Individual level Capabilities Capabilities Motivation Motivation Community level Community level Communities of practice Communities of practice

Boundary conditions Organizational forms Organizational forms Wide variation in organizational forms seen Wide variation in organizational forms seen Consistency of main organizational structure Consistency of main organizational structure Matrix organization– mixed M form Matrix organization– mixed M form Other forms Other forms Evolution of forms Evolution of forms Organizational culture Organizational culture Flexibility Flexibility

Capabilities Resource allocation Resource allocation RAP model RAP model strategy as iterative resource allocation strategy as iterative resource allocation Strategic resource/ factors Strategic resource/ factors Technology evolution Technology evolution Technology adaptation Technology adaptation Models of capability development Models of capability development Dynamic capabilities Dynamic capabilities Learning Learning Strategy as learning Strategy as learning

Configurations Organizational performance Organizational performance Strategy implementation Strategy implementation Frame works Frame works Process models Process models Implementation capabilities as SCA Implementation capabilities as SCA As systems As systems Autopoietic systems Autopoietic systems Self generation Self generation adaptability adaptability

Configurations Learning systems Learning systems Absorptive capacity Absorptive capacity Knowledge management Knowledge management Frameworks Frameworks Link with performance Link with performance Cognitive architectures Cognitive architectures Stake holder theory Stake holder theory Stewardship Stewardship OCB or Public service motivation OCB or Public service motivation

Strategy as time Time Time an important variable in research an important variable in research Part of processual studies Part of processual studies Railways Railways Consistent performance over 150 years Consistent performance over 150 years Research on Research on SCA SCA Implementation Implementation Evolution of forms Evolution of forms Learning Learning

Individual level Work place conditions Work place conditions Interaction between work place and family conditions Interaction between work place and family conditions Motivation Motivation Linkage to performance Linkage to performance Transfer of training Transfer of training Individual level learning Individual level learning

Scope for research Scope in railways Scope in railways LARGE LARGE Huge variation in topics Huge variation in topics Large repository of data Large repository of data Conducive to quantitative and qualitative methods Conducive to quantitative and qualitative methods Ideal for processual studies Ideal for processual studies Organizational need for research Organizational need for research Easy access Easy access Collaborative effort possible Collaborative effort possible

Community level Do railway men form a community? Do railway men form a community? If yes –how If yes –how How does it impact How does it impact Transfer of skills, capabilities, learning Transfer of skills, capabilities, learning Creation of social capital Creation of social capital Formation of networks and their working Formation of networks and their working

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