IIM-A's stirring story retold in new book

The rich history of the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM-A) will now be retold in an account that examines the institute's evolution, 'software' and culture.

By TNN | Jun 16, 2011, 09.09 AM IST

AHMEDABAD: The rich history of the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM-A) will now be retold in an account that examines the institute's evolution, 'software' and culture. A professor of finance and accounting at IIM-A, T T Ram Mohan, has written 'Brick by Red Brick: Ravi Matthai and the Making of IIM Ahmedabad'. The book tells the story of the genesis of the institute and the secret of its success. The book aims to help corporate leaders and organisational heads borrow from the institute's model.

Ram Mohan's book is expected to be released by the chairman of the Prime Minister's economic advisory council, Dr C Rangarajan, on June 20. Nearly 2 lakh IIM aspirants take the common admission test every year, of which around 400 make it to IIM-A.

As for the book,it highlights the efforts of Vikram Sarabhai and Ravi Matthai to create an institute modelled on the Harvard Business School. The two visionaries began pursuing their endeavour 50 years back. Ram Mohan says the book deals with the 'software' of the institute. "I always wondered how IIM-A, within just five years, took on IIM Calcutta (IIM-C) to become the best IIM in the country. This made me curious," said Ram Mohan. He is an alumnus of IIM-C and later joined IIM-A as a faculty, in 1998.

The book also dedicates a chapter to whether the Matthai model of IIM-A is relevant today, and addresses the long-drawn issue of more autonomy which IIMs have been pitching for. "IIMs have enough autonomy. Lack of autonomy is not the obstacle in the growth of IIMs," Ram Mohan said. "The government is an important stakeholder and has a critical role to play in maintaining accountability of the institute."

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