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From B-School to BHARAT: Shiny, an Initiative for Sustainable Development

CASE STUDY, ENTREPRENEURSHIP & STARTUPS
ET CASES, 14 Pages
AUTHOR(S) : Prof. Ranjana Agarwal, Institute of Management Technology, IMT, Ghaziabad, India and Aviral Agrawal, PGDM student at IMT Ghaziabad

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From B-School to BHARAT: Shiny, an Initiative for Sustainable Development

INTRODUCTION

It was a pleasant Thursday morning in October 2019. The group of five management students from Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad (IMT-G) along with the Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) mentor, Mr. Adnan Usmani, reached Galand village in Dasna Area in Ghaziabad, in the state of Uttar Pradesh (U.P.), India. They were doing a project in partnership with Social and Development Action Group (SADRAG), an NGO. The project was part of their course curriculum. The students were pursuing their course in PGDM (Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management) programme.  Their main aim was empowering the women of a Self Help Group (SHG) associated with SADRAG by generating sustainable livelihood options through promotion of their products.

They had to identify a product which had the potential to generate sustainable livelihood option for the SHG of 13 women in the selected village of Galand in Dasna. Identifying the right product was a major challenge. After identifying the product, the students had the task of training of SHG women........

The Study Team from IMT Ghaziabad – Sustainability and Social Responsibility (SSR) Course

IMT-G launched a compulsory 3-credit course for its students on October 1st 2016 Sustainability & Social Responsibility (SSR) called SSR. Based on experiential learning, the course required the students to work on projects with NGOs, government agencies and social startups. 

These projects were spread across a wide range of areas including education, women empowerment, livelihood generation, skill development, waste management, e-waste recycling, ..................

Galand

Galand is a large village located in Hapur Tehsil of Ghaziabad district, Uttar Pradesh. Galand is located in Dasna in Ghaziabad District of Uttar Pradesh State, India.  It is located 19 KM towards East from District headquarters Ghaziabad, 7 KM from Dhaulana and is at a distance of 454 KM from State capital Lucknow. The villages has 1705 families . The total population is 9886, comprising 5239 males and 4647 females (census 2011)...........

SHG Profile and Expertise

The SHG comprised 13 women in the village of Galand. Every woman had a different skill set with some common skill sets like tailoring and cooking. There was lack of expertise among group members. The women worked in their spare time after doing their regular household works...............

Cotton Diya Batti: The ladies were into its production earlier, but it was found to be extremely time consuming and provided relatively lesser profit margins. Also, the production of cotton battis was seasonal where sales were high only during the festive period............

Attitude of Women

The student team was pleasantly surprised to see that despite the odds, the women had a sense of confidence and passion to do something meaningful and also make an earning out of it. They were not much aware about the market trends. Nevertheless, they were enthusiastic and had the zeal to learn. One of the ladies from the SHG even told the student group that, “Please do a market study and come next time, since we cannot travel much to the market. Suggest us products, and do show us videos that explain how to make them”..............

The student team began with the idea of making a laundry bag. They felt that laundry bags had a huge potential market in colleges. They procured material required to make laundry bags. However, spring steel wire was required to make the laundry bag which the team failed to procure. Hence the idea was dropped. The student team made a second version of laundry bag by using plastic thermo-col. It was a viable option to manufacture. The product was not liked by SHG women..............

After finalization of the surface cleaner, one complete visit of the student team was dedicated for discussion on manufacturing know-how and marketing and selling strategies. Once the group felt comfortable, the student team decided to move forward.

The students divided themselves into two teams. Team I took care of procurement and team II looked after lab testing and coordinating with the SHG. First the formula was iterated to achieve the required quality of cleaning on multiple surfaces like glass, car, computers, etc. After that it was given to the SHG for using and getting the feedback.................

Impact of the Project

The student team tried to create maximum value for the SHG and the NGO as a whole. They made a mark in the minds of those people and tried their best to touch their lives in the most efficient manner.

They did everything in their capacity to identify a sustainable livelihood option. They did research on the methodologies of making a household cleaner and formulated the product. They imparted training to the ladies of the SHG in making the product. The student team thus created a source of business for the ladies. The ladies of the SHG were trained to make this product in the future and market it, earning profits by selling the product (Refer to Annexure III). ..................

Goal 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth (Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all)

The student team discussed the alternative ideas and product viability with the SHG women. They tried to understand the problems that the women faced and made changes whenever required. Their goal was to make the women in the SHG
self-employable by providing them with ideas and training to develop new products, in alignment with UN’s SDG 8. Their goal was to try to provide a sustainable platform to the women where they could work to develop certain products and earn money................

Assignment Questions

I.        Identifying the right product for manufacturing by SHG women was a challenge. Why?
II.        What are the benefits of doing such real life projects  for........
III...........
IV.............

Mandatory Readings

  • Prahlad , C. K.(2004): Fortune at the bottom of the pyramid: Eradicating poverty through profits, Wharton School Publication.

Exhibit:

Exhibit I: Ways in which the Management Students Could Help

Exhibit II: Problems Faced by the Ladies of the SHG

Exhibit III: Factors which led to the Selection of Surface Cleaner

Exhibit IV: Economics for Making 100 Bottles

Exhibit V: Per-unit Margins

Annexure I: Timeline of Events of Product Development

Annexure II: Picture of Bottles of Surface Cleaner ‘Shiny’

Annexure III: Student Team Working with an SHG member on Surface Cleaner

Teaching Note Preview

From B-School to BHARAT: Shiny, an Initiative for Sustainable Development

Synopsis

Today, several business schools are incorporating courses related to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Sustainability and Ethics, in their curriculum. IMT Ghaziabad (IMT-G), a business school in the National Capital Region (NCR), also has a course related to Sustainability and Social Responsibility (SSR) in its PGDM (Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management) programme. Based on experiential learning, students are required to work with Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), government agencies and social start-ups.

This case study discusses one of the projects of management students of IMT-G, which was a part of their SSR course. The project was carried out in collaboration with an NGO named SADRAG. It was for the rural women of a Self Help Group (SHG) associated with SADRAG, in Galand Village in Dasna of Ghaziabad District, in U.P. The case outlines how students underwent the process of finding a suitable product named ‘Shiny’ for sustainable livelihood generation for rural women and imparted training to them in making the product. The student team also had to find marketing solutions for the same.  The case also discusses the application of MBA learning for sustainable development. It highlights learning for management students through such social projects. It is accompanied by a 5 minutes video which shows how students went about doing the project. The case also discusses the challenges and issues that had to be addressed to achieve the objective of sustainable livelihood for women.

Prerequisite Conceptual Understanding/Before the Classroom Exercise/Reading

  • Prahlad , C. K.(2004): Fortune at the bottom of the pyramid: Eradicating poverty through profits, Wharton School Publication.

Case Positioning and Setting

This case study is designed to be used by academia, industry, marketing agencies, NGOs and other development agencies. It can be used for teaching courses in Management, Social Sciences and Development Studies. It is suitable for graduate, MBA and Executive MBA level of education. In management schools, the case can be used for teaching courses in Business, Government and Society. It can also be used in rural marketing, sustainable development, entrepreneurship, social responsibility, policy making and development issue related courses.

This case is intended as an opportunity for students to discuss the importance of taking effective decisions for choosing the right product for developing livelihood options for marginal sections of society. It also explores the importance of training and skill development. The case highlights challenges and constraints faced in marketing activities for sustainable livelihood. It throws light on how problems can be dealt with by the synergy of management education and NGOs.

Pedagogical Objectives

  • To familiarize students with issues of livelihood sustainability for marginalized sections of population such as rural women
  • To analyze how business students can help NGOs in solving problems of communities that the NGOs work with
  • To understand how social entrepreneurship can be created from products made by SHG women
  • To study the issues regarding choosing the right kind of product
  • To understand the learnings gained by management students by being associated with NGOs
  • To find out the marketing issues involved in products made by NGOs

Assignment Questions

I. Identifying the right product for manufacturing by SHG women was a challenge. Why?

II. What are benefits of doing such real life projects for:

III..............

IV.............

Preamble to the Case Analysis

The instructor or facilitator should focus on the key issues of the case. Selection of the right product for manufacturing is the key to creating a livelihood option. A product should be chosen which can be easily made by the beneficiaries. It should be such that the art of making the product can be easily learnt by ladies. The product should be marketable with sufficient margins. To create livelihood options, choosing the right product has to be supplemented with marketing activities. The students need to understand that they have to be innovative in the process of choosing the right product keeping in mind the socio-economic status of women and their financial constraints. The classroom discussion can be orchestrated accordingly [Exhibit (TN)-I]. .............

.....................

Case Analysis  

 I.          Identifying the right product for manufacturing by SHG women was a challenge. Why?

The ladies had already manufactured and tried their hands on many products, but couldn’t continue with them. Most of the ladies were well informed and had ideas on products. But all products were faced with the problem of finding a sustainable market. Most of the products developed earlier were not sold and inventory was becoming a burden.

The ladies of the SHG had limited skill set. There were only three ladies who could actually do stitching for intricate designs..........

................

As described in the case study, the SHG women wanted to make and sell a product,

  • in which none of the members faced a problem and could be made easily as per their competency level and little training in less time
  • that had demand throughout the year and could be marketed and sold easily
  • which had high profit margins to increase profit per individual in a month

................

b.      Management students got first-hand exposure to the problems of Bharat. With the help of learnings from this project, they would be able to solve the real-time problems of the country. This approach would also amplify their learnings by applying the concepts and learnings from the curriculum. This approach would be a win-win situation for both the management students and the rural women of the country...........

The learning for the students from the SHG women was that it doesn't matter where do you come from and what education you hold. If you have the willingness to learn wherein the sky is the limit. Quite often, the definition of innovation and creativity is restricted to English-speaking population in India, while there is so much to learn from Bharat. Management students often relate adapting, learning and excellence only to education. The project showed that even without education, adapting, learning and excellence can be achieved as was seen in the case of SHG women.............

They also applied their knowledge about economic factors such as

  • Demand
  • Seller quotations
  • Cost
  • Labor Involved

Making the product cost-effective became possible by negotiating and getting raw materials at very reasonable prices........

Wrapping Up/Debriefing

The last 10 minutes of the classroom session can be spent on summarizing the discussion and creating a plan for sustainability of selling product ‘Shiny’ and continuous livelihood for SHG women.

Big Picture

Globalisation has created multi-fold benefits for the society. At the same time, inequalities have been increasing. The reforms of Indian economy in 1991 brought about a change which saw the beginning of an era of increasing role of private sector. In this situation, where government role has reduced, the role of the voluntary sector has also become increasingly important in addressing the inequalities in the society....................

Path Ahead

There are more 3000 B-Schools in our India. Even if 1% of the country's B-Schools for initiating CSR projects are involved, there will be 300 B-schools to work with. Groups of 5 students each can be formed at each B-School which will help create at least 50 groups from each college. .............

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Abstract

Today, several business schools are incorporating courses related to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Sustainability and Ethics, in their curriculum. IMT Ghaziabad (IMT-G), a business school in the National Capital Region (NCR), also has a course related to Sustainability and Social Responsibility (SSR) in its PGDM (Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management) programme. In this course, students are required to work with Non-Governmental Oraganizations (NGOs), government agencies and social startups.

This case study discusses one of the projects of management students of IMT-G, which was a part of their SSR course. The project was carried out in collaboration with an NGO named SADRAG. It was for the rural women of a Self Help Group (SHG) associated with SADRAG, in Galand village of Ghaziabad District, in U.P. The case outlines how students underwent the process of finding a suitable product named ‘Shiny’ for sustainable livelihood generation for rural women, and imparted training to them in making the product. The student team also had to find marketing solutions for the same. The case also discusses the application of MBA learning for sustainable development. It highlights learning for management students through such social projects. It is accompanied by a 5 minutes video[1] which shows how students went about doing the project. The case also discusses the challenges and issues that had to be addressed to achieve the objective of sustainable livelihood for women.

Pedagogical Objectives

  • To familiarize students with issues of livelihood sustainability for marginalized sections of population such as rural women
  • To analyze how business students can help NGOs in solving problems of communities that the NGOs work with 
  • To understand how social entrepreneurship can be created from products made by SHG women
  • To study the issues regarding choosing the right kind of product
  • To understand the learnings gained by management students by being associated with NGOs
  • To find out the marketing issues involved in products made by NGOs

Case Positioning and Setting

This case study is designed to be used by academia, industry, marketing agencies, NGOs and other development agencies. It can be used for teaching courses in Management, Social Sciences and Development Studies. It is suitable for graduate, MBA and Executive MBA level of education. In management schools, the case can be used for teaching courses in Business, Government and Society. It can also be used in rural marketing, sustainable development, entrepreneurship, social responsibility, policy making and development issue related courses.

This case is intended as an opportunity for students to discuss the importance of taking effective decisions for choosing the right product for developing livelihood options for marginal sections of society. It also explores the importance of training and skill development. The case highlights challenges and constraints faced in marketing activities for sustainable livelihood. It throws light on how problems can be dealt with by the synergy of management education and NGOs. Principles of Management



[1]        Video can be watched at https://www.facebook.com/aviral91/videos/pcb.2145982772135242/2145941722139347/?type=3&theate



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