Japanese expert to help create ‘visionary' managers

Senior managers in companies such as TVS Motors, Tata Motors, T.I Cycles and Ashok Leyland will get training in quality management with a Japanese touch.

The programme to create “visionary leaders” in the Indian manufacturing sector will kick off on April 21 in Mahabalipuram and is being conducted by Padma Shree awardee and Japanese management expert, Prof Shijo Shiba.

Under the aegis of the Confederation of Indian Industry, the National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council and the Japanese Government, the programme has been designed by Indian Institute of Technology, Madras and Kanpur as well as the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, to create a band of 1,000 young visionary leaders in manufacturing. It covers all the rungs of managements in big, small and medium enterprises.

“So far, 511 managers have already undergone training,” Prof Shiba told newspersons here on Tuesday.

A follower of Buddhism, 79-year-old Prof Shiba said that India now needed a new management paradigm. “My next effort will be to create a new set of managers with focus on the bottom of the pyramid (BoP). In manufacturing, the focus needs to shift from growth to sustainability,” he added.

He said he planned to create BoP management centre in India, as it needed a different kind of management ethos to cater to this segment.

Taking a mild dig at the Indian style of management, Prof Shiba said, “While there are many good aspects, there is a tendency to pass the buck. Managers need to take responsibility. The mindset needs to change,” he said.

Before Chennai, the programme trained managers in Pune, Gurgaon and Parwanoo in Himachal Pradesh.