The evolution of management practices in line with the challenges faced on various fronts of business is a never-ending phenomenon giving rise to enormous scope for research by scholars across the globe. Realizing the spirit of technological advancement on the one hand, and harnessing the human capital on the other, the path laid by the new generation enterprising community is certainly significant in terms of understanding the efficacy of managerial practices. A new configuration that has emerged in achieving a dependent relationship between sound management principles, otherwise known as control systems, and the organizational performance towards sustainable growth and development, is the breakthrough developments that have taken place in the service industry in recent years. A clear articulation of business strategy stimulated by augmented human resource strategy in the backdrop of clearly manifested technological developments is found to be the order of the day, and no firm can afford to lose the spirit of this proposition. In anticipation of a glorious path ahead for the modern-day firms that have adopted this methodology for their constant success, the current issue features some interesting papers on the experiments carried out in this direction.

The arena of Management Control Systems (MCSs) in the vicinity of deep-rooted cultural practices by some companies found in countries like Italy and Morocco is inspiring the scholars to make similar studies on other countries as well. The work behavior of an employee certainly depends to a large extent on the national culture wherein the firm’s operations are located, sometimes posing a threat to the ideology of management clan located in some other country. This becomes so in the case of subsidiary kind of business wherein the clash of two predominant cultures (one representing the parent company/country and the other relating to the country where the subsidiary is located) becomes evident if we explore deeply into the subject. An interesting study relating to two Italian companies and their MCSs designed in the light of national culture of the region where the subsidiary operations are located, is done in the paper, “The Importance of National Culture in the Design of Management Control Systems: Evidence from Morocco and Italy”, by Mouhcine Tallaki and Enrico Bracci. Implying the magnitude of the deep-rooted thought process required in the name of MCSs which can operate across the boundaries and cultures, the paper offers wide-ranging arguments in favor of achieving sensitivity towards both the sides.

A debate on the relevance of strategizing Human Resource (HR) systems and practices in the changed scenario post globalization brings forth the issues related to the complexity of the subject. One among them is the authenticity of strategy mapping process wherein the required stakeholders like HR find no prominent presence, which according to many has been the outcome of visionary thinking of boardroom intellectuals. Admittedly, the growing relevance of HR-specific strategies in terms of improving business performance by the knowledge-intensive firms in general, and banking industry in particular, is a growing concern for managerial class. Given the facts relating to this trend, many confess that the failure to reap the benefit out of business strategy execution is nothing but a sheer neglect of HR perspective of the domain. Highlighting this vital element, in the paper, “The Influence of HR Practices on Business Strategy and Firm Performance: The Case of Banking Industry in Iran”, the authors, Azhdar Karami, Samira Sahebalzamani and Babak Sarabi, go a long way in articulating a new agenda in terms of synchronizing HR practices and business priorities within a strategic framework.

The FMCG sector, the fourth largest in the Indian economy, has progressed phenomenally post the 1990s contributing significantly to the GDP and also leaving scope for much more improvement. Falling in line with the spirit of economic liberalization, most of the Indian FMCG companies have been able to benefit immensely in terms of foreign investments as evident from their balance sheets. Noting this appreciable performance by Indian FMCG companies in the paper, “Financial Performance of Select FMCG Companies in India During the Post-Liberalization Period: A Study”, the authors, Kaushik Chakraborty and Debasish Sur, track the entire success story from a new angle.

The right way of bridging the gap between theory and practice in the realm of management is still an unfinished task. Many attempts have been made in the direction involving myriad thought processes and procedural experiments by firms and intellectuals alike. The legacy in this redirection is truly found in the context of C K Prahalad, a veteran management scholar of modern times, whose pioneering contributions have been admired by many corporate practitioners and philosophers as reflected in the book, C K Prahalad: The Mind of the Futurist – Rare Insights on Life, Leadership and Strategy, written by Benedict Paramanand. The review of this book by A J Sebastian sdb, is a rich tribute to him as it, without doubt, pinpoints the true facets of C K Prahalad’s ideological commitment and professional acumen.

-- Radha Mohan Chebolu
Consulting Editor