 | XIMB Fellow Programme in Management (Doctoral Level) |
| FPM Scholars [none] | Development Management Guide: Latha Ravindran About Development Management Development management is an area that has attracted and sustained research in the field of social development. This is an area that is enriched with concepts, approaches and models, keeping the interests of the researchers alive. Yet, there are a number of social and developmental problems that remain unresolved and under-researched. One of the major issues is the forced or involuntary displacement due to development projects. It has continued to provoke controversies and remain as a major challenge to the planners, policy makers, administrators, and enterprises in the corporate sector. The domain is so large that it can draw concepts from anthropology, sociology, economics, ecology, public policy, public administration, corporate social responsibility, law and governance, ethics, entrepreneurship, gender studies, and so on, necessitating a multi-disciplinary approach. Development projects are being initiated and implemented in order to fight against poverty and economic stagnation. Projects such as creation and up-gradation of infrastructure such as power, transport, mines, and industries are indisputably needed for economic development of a country. They improve many people's lives, provide employment, and supply better services. Implementation of various development projects, while attempting to bring benefits to people, also cause social disruptions such as the forced displacement of people. Compulsory displacements that occur for development reasons embody a perverse and intrinsic contradiction in the context of development. They raise major ethical questions because they reflect an inequitable distribution of development's benefits and losses. This raises major issues of social justice and equity. The principle of the "greater good for the larger numbers," routinely invoked to rationalize forced displacements, is, in fact, often abused and turned into an unwarranted justification for tolerating ills that are avoidable. The outcome is an unjustifiable repartition of development's costs and benefits: Some people enjoy the gains of development, while others bear its pains. Few specific topics where research is contemporary: (a) Research on policies pertaining to resettlement and rehabilitation, which is at present in a rudimentary stage, (b) Impoverishment risks analysis model of Michael Cernea, (c) From welfare to development: A conceptual framework for the analysis of displaced people, (d) Methodological issues in identifying displaced persons and project affected persons, (e) Environmental impact assessment in mining projects, and (f) People's movements and their impact on curtailing or minimizing displacements. Resources Downing, Theodore E. (1996). "Mitigating Social Impoverishment when People are Involuntarily Displaced." In C. McDowell (Ed.). Understanding Impoverishment. Providence, Oxford: Berghahn Books. Cernea, Michael M. (1999). "Development's Painful Social Costs," Introductory Study in S. Parasuraman. The Development Dilemma: Displacement in India. McMillan Press and ISS. Cernea, Michael M. (1999). "The Need for Economic Analysis of Resettlement: A Sociologist's View." In Michael M. Cernea (ed.). The Economics of Involuntary Resettlement: Questions and Challenges. Washington, DC: The World Bank. Cernea, Michael M. (1995). Social Integration and Population Displacement: The Contribution Of Social Science. International Social Science Journal, 143, 1, 91-112. Behura, N. K. & Nayak, P. K. (1993). Involuntary Displacement and the Changing Frontiers of Kinship: A Study of Resettlement in Orissa. In M. Cernea & S. Guggenheim (eds). Anthropological Approaches to Resettlement: Policy, Practice, Theory. Colorado, Boulder: Westview Press. Fernandes, Walter. (1991). Power and Powerlessness: Development Projects and Displacement of Tribals. Social Action, 41, 3, 243-270. Expected Profile The research would involve both basic and applied or empirical research. Candidates with a proven good academic record in any discipline are desirable. Besides the academic qualification it is expected that the candidates should be tenacious for carrying out field studies in tribal areas and in rough terrains, where displacement is usually found to happen. It is preferred that one has good command over written and verbal communication skills in English. |
FPM Cell Xavier Institute of Management Xavier Square, Bhubaneswar 751013, INDIA email: dean@ximb.ac.in |