Know Your Enemy Within Bridging Knowledge and Practice of Management

About the Book

The disconnect between knowledge and performance is a continuing debate. This book attempts to unravel the criticality of complimentary individual factors over academic credentials in determining success. An endeavour to bridge the void between formal knowledge and real-world demands on practice of management, the book exposes chinks in application of management knowledge in isolation and the need to recognise the accelerating obsolescence of management theories. The intent is to sensitise management students and practitioners on nurturing an open mind on continuous learning, challenging, and application of knowledge with contextual sensitivity. Our educational system fails to address the critical elements essential to effectively put into practice the formal knowledge from an undergraduate /graduate program. Gaps between formal education and real-world practice are filled by a mentor/coach on the job, who interprets situations in the context of theories to carve a judicious just-in-time amalgam of concepts to apply and interpret outcomes. This book is expected to be such a coach or mentor—not a lecturer on theory, not a replacement for text books, but a guide and a companion. I hope readers will find value, help supplement the content, and educate the author from their own experiences and views.

About the Author

Dr. Kooveli Madom, an engineer and fellow in management, carries more than three decades of diverse experience in engineering, management consulting, training, management education, and academic support for management students. His interests include employability of the professionally qualified, present educational system, and the void between theory, knowledge, and practice of management. He possesses a unique blend of engineering and management consulting experience in the infrastructure, utility and energy sector, investment planning, feasibility analysis, working jointly with technical consultants on several externally funded techno economic feasibility studies. Key roles include group leader for management consulting for the government sector, leading a government online project for the government of Mauritius, an organisational transformation assignment for the Indian Space Research Organisation, several financial feasibility analysis / privatisation assignments in the water sector, macro sector studies, strategic planning, assignments in development sector funded by the UN, World bank, EU, OECF, training assignments on reforms for government officers. He was responsible for business development, client relationships, contract management and program management for IT projects in the governments sector. His strengths include handling diversity, seamlessly cutting across hierarchical levels, functional areas, handling unstructured situations, evolving strategies under complexity, management training for technical personnel, adopting systems approach and implementation monitoring. His training related experience spans programs for consulting professionals and in-service engineers in water utilities; planning organising, coordinating and conducting training programs in the government sector. He has conducted training on negotiation skills for senior managers in a large PSU, systems approach for engineers, project management for irrigation engineers. Also led a two year post graduate infrastructure management (MBA) program for engineers. In consulting, he has worked on strategy, policy analysis, project formulation and implementation, financial analysis, capacity building, organizational alignment and process reengineering, contract management, governmental systems, e-governance, stakeholder consultation and consensus building. His dissertation for the doctoral program in Management was on organisational effectiveness in the implementation of renewable energy program.