ABM 611: ECONOMETRICS FOR AGRI BUSINESS (2+1)

AIM OF THIS COURSE

The course is mainly designed to solid data base analysis of market and policy variables to back up their business strategies. The emphasis will be given on application rather than theoretical details.

Course Outline

• Introduction: Correlation theory, Basic concept of regression analysis, assumptions of regression model, theory of OLS, properties of least square estimates, maximum likelihood, hypothesis testing, interval estimation, prediction in linear regression model.
• Heteroskedasticity and autocorrelation, multicollinearity, specification errors, selection of regressors, dummy variables, autoregressive and distributed models.
• Set of regression equations, causality and simultaneity: application
• Time series econometrics- stationarity, unit roots and co-integrassion, error- correction model, AR, MA, ARMA, ARIMA processes.
• Qualitative dependent variables – LPM, Logit and probit models.

ABM 612: RESEARCH METHODS- I (2+1)

AIM OF THIS COURSE

The objective of the course is to enable research scholars in developing the knowledge and skills required to specify, evaluate and utilise different types of unstructured and semi-unstructured information. They are required to develop competence in problem formulation, hypothesis generation and method of carrying scientific research in situations where research work plays a critical role. The course is practical in nature and students are expected to learn by doing live projects and studying the latest researches in different fields related to agri business.

COURSE OUTLINE

BLOCK 1: OVERVIEW OF RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

• UNIT 1: Translating problems to research issues: Selection of qualitative vs quantitative research definitions, objectives, research methodologies rationale, sample/sources of data, data collection techniques, Questionnaire designing: use of measurement and scaling techniques, reliability testing.
• UNIT 2: Fieldwork: Data collection, gaining access and entry, ethical considerations, identifying key informants, validation and evaluation of fieldwork, data preparation, field notes and recording
• UNIT 3: Hypothesis Development and Theoretical Modelling. Business Analytics, Business Intelligence,

BLOCK 2: INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS ANALYTICS

• UNIT 4: Types of Business Analytics, Introduction to predictive modelling/analytics. Linear programming, Contemporary applications of marketing research

ABM 613: AGRI INPUT & OUTPUT MARKETING 3(2+1)

AIM OF THIS COURSE

Agricultural Input & Output marketing is a dynamic and competitive field where lot is to be done looking to the gap in technology existing and possible. Changes are taking place in manifolds ranging from farming practices to trading in domestic and international markets. Presence of private players, infrastructure development, impact on prices, concept of e mandietc are becoming more important to understand in current scenario. Scholars will also study the researches and articles to understand interesting changes going on in this field.

COURSE OUTLINE

BLOCK 1: INTRODUCTION TO AGRI INPUT AND OUT MARKETING ENVIRONMENT

• UNIT 1: Agriculture input and output marketing environment-Current status, trends, market structure, infrastructure, competition, Government intervention in agricultural inputs and outputs marketing
• UNIT 2: Buyers/users behavior, Market Segmentation, Product and Pricing, Promotion and advancement in promotional strategies, Marketing Channels for different agri inputs and outputs

BLOCK 2: EVALUATION OF MARKETING COSTS AND EFFICIENCIES

• UNIT 3: Evaluation of marketing costs and efficiencies, WTO and Indian Agriculture, Case Studies- Competitive marketing strategies and advancements in agricultural marketing, International agri marketing practices

ABM 614: AGRI ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE (1+0)

AIM OF THIS COURSE

The course aims to make students understand the nature of entrepreneurship, and acquaint the students with challenges of starting new ventures and enable then to investigate, understand and internalize the process of setting up a business. Objective is also to enlighten them with the importance of Corporate Good Governance and Business Ethics.

COURSE OUTLINE

BLOCK 1: AGRI ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND FEASIBILITY STUDIES

• UNIT I: Nature of Entrepreneurship: Concept, knowledge, skills requirement and functions; characteristic of successful entrepreneurs;; scenario in India and Abroad, entrepreneurship process; factors impacting emergence of entrepreneurship; managerial vs. entrepreneurial approach and emergence of entrepreneurship, Risk Reduction strategies
• UNIT 2: Starting the venture: generating business idea – sources of new ideas, methods of generating ideas, SWOT Analysis, environmental scanning, competitor and industry analysis; feasibility study – market feasibility, technical/operational feasibility, financial feasibility; drawing business plan; preparing project report; presenting business plan to investors.
• UNIT 3: Functional plans: marketing plan – marketing research for the new venture, steps in preparing marketing plan, contingency planning; organizational plan – form of ownership, designing organization structure, job design, manpower planning; Financial plan – cash budget, working capital, proforma income statement, proforma cash flow, proforma balance sheet, break even analysis.
• UNIT 4: Sources of finance: debt or equity financing, commercial banks, venture capital; financial institutions supporting entrepreneurs, Government Grants and Subsidies, Entrepreneurship Promotion Schemes of Department of Industries (DIC), KVIC,SIDBI,NABARD, NSIC, APSFC, IFCI and IDBI etc. ; legal issues – intellectual property rights patents, trademarks, copy rights, trade secrets, licensing; franchising.

BLOCK 2: INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS ETHICS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

• UNIT 5: Necessity for Business Ethics- Salient Issues in Ethics and Commerce- Shadow Economy – Basic Principles in Ethics –Corporate Climate and corporate climate audits – Political Issues – Nature and theory of Ethics, Corporate Governance- Historical perspective and issues of Corporate Governance –Corporate Governance mechanisms – Corporate Governance Models, – The confederation of Indian Industry’s initiative.; Corporate Social Responsibility

ABM 615: COMMUNICATION FOR MANAGEMENT TEACHERS (0+2)

AIM OF THIS COURSE

Communication in management education is not limited to classroom teaching. There are lot of innovative techniques to make teaching and learning interesting, practical and effective. There are various researches are done for methodological and effectiveness aspects. This course will be dealt understanding all the methods of communication for management teaching in learning by doing method and presenting the various researches done in this field.

COURSE OUTLINE

BLOCK 1: MANAGEMENT EDUCATION

• UNIT 1: Management education: Action gaps in education and latest developments and required skills

BLOCK 2: THEORY AND TECHNIQUES OF COMMUNICATION IN MANAGEMENT

• UNIT 2: Communication: Active listening, group communication, Language process, Presentation on readings- recorded and graded: Oral presentation & computer assisted presentations
• UNIT 3: Theory and techniques: Didacticism, Group work & discussion method, Simulation, facilitation skills and styles for experiential learning. Emotional perspective in teaching
• UNIT 4: Learning in management education: Experiential learning, Action Learning, Group learning, Simulation and games, Role Play, Teaching and learning through Electronic Media

BLOCK 3: CASE TEACHING AND WRITING

• UNIT 5: Case method of teaching: Writing a case and teaching note, Critiquing a research article

ABM 621: RESEARCH METHOD- II 3 (2+1)

AIM OF THIS COURSE

Once the students are equipped with the information required for interpretive research, RM II will train the students with advanced analytical tools and their uses.

COURSE OUTLINE

BLOCK 1: HYPOTHESIS TESTING

• UNIT 1: Hypothesis testing, Analysis of variance and covariance, Correlation and regression, Discriminant and Logit analysis, Factor analysis, Cluster analysis, Multidimensional scaling and conjoint analysis

BLOCK 2: DATA MINING

• UNIT 2: Data Mining, Data Mining Methods—Data Dredging, Data Fishing, Data Snooping and Process Mining—Business Process Discovery, Conformance Checking and Model Enhancement. Arena Modelling

BLOCK 3: APPLICATIONS OF STATISTICAL SOFTWARE

• UNIT 3: Applications of Statistical Softwares like SAS, Modelling with statistical softwares. Report preparation and presentation, International Marketing Research

ABM 622: NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (2+0)

AIM OF THIS COURSE

The course on Natural Resource Management will provide indepth knowledge to the participants to look for ways to make responsible natural resource management decisions which will have an impact on all stakeholders.

COURSE OUTLINE

BLOCK 1: INTRODUCTION TO NATURAL RESOURCES

• UNIT I: Natural resources: Types and classification of natural resource, concept of Economic value, relevance of environmental economics, ecosystems services, direct and indirect economic benefit from – forest ecosystems, mountain ecosystems, mineral and water resources, ecotourism. Valuation and accounting: Supply and demand, conservation and management, cost / benefit analysis, methods of costing, cost criteria, evaluating alternative projects, operational vs. total costs, determining benefiting vs. comprehensive stakeholders Application of resource accounting Methods of pricing resources- example forest and mineral resources.
• UNIT II: Economic resource theory and applications: Concept of CPR, open access, Ecological economics-methodology, economic valuation of non market benefits, environmental accounting, population resources and the environment, command and control vs. emission trading, emission trading vs. exposure trading, hotelling principle, future strategies for mineral resources.

BLOCK 2: OVERVIEW OF NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

• UNIT III :Natural Resource Management: Initial concept of market and marketing, NRM sectors product marketing and their roles, promoting NRM products- NTFPs, livestock, watershed, fisheries, agriculture and medicinal plants and ecotourism, Role of national and international organizations in the promotion of sustainable natural resource use and management.
• UNIT IV: Concept of environmental services: Definitions, ecotourism, alternative examples, development of ecotourism in India and outside. Threats due to large scale ecotourism. Payment for Ecosystem Services, the ecotourism dilemmas: High value may also be high impact, bulk ecotourism and problems, stakeholder challenges, tourist carrying capacity. Ecotourism Policy and practices, national policy frame work, example – Madhya Pradesh & Uttarakhand State case. Successful ecotourism initiative, Criteria and Indicators for sustainable Ecotourism.

ABM 623: VALUE CHAIN MANAGEMENT IN AGRIBUSINESS (2+0)

AIM OF THE COURSE

To recognize the characteristics of Global Food Systems, the multiple variables impacting Global Food Systems, to identify value chain thinking and how it differs from supply chain thinking, the characteristics of agri-food markets, what influences their supply and demand, and what sets them apart from other markets, the role played by external factors such as population and income growth, globalization, climate change, technology, and international tradein global food systems, agribusiness and value chains, to recognize the role the consumer plays in the food system, markets, and value chains

COURSE OUTLINE

• UNIT 1: GLOBAL FOOD SYSTEMS AND VALUE CHAINS:
  • Characteristics of global food systems; identify the variables impacting global food systems; identify value chain thinking and how it differs from supply chain thinking; identify the role that external factors (for example, population and income growth, globalisation, climate change, technology and international trade) play on global food systems, agribusiness and value chains; and identify the actors in, and characteristics of, value chains, demonstrated with the building of a value chain model.
• UNIT 2: AGRIBUSINESS MARKET DYNAMICS:
  • Characteristics of agri-food markets, what influences their supply and demand, and what sets them apart from other markets; identify the role that external factors, such as population and income growth, globalisation, climate change, technology and international trade, play on agri-food markets; interpret the key elements of supply and demand; andrecognise the basic characteristics of supply and demand curves.
• UNIT 3: THE ROLE OF THE CONSUMER
  • Role the consumer plays in the food system, markets and value chains; recognise the consumer characteristics, trends and behaviours that influence value chains; and recognise some of the techniques used in market and consumer researchto better understand consumer behaviour.

ABM 624: KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT (2+0)

AIM OF THIS COURSE

The objective of the course is to provide the basics of the emerging area of Knowledge Management to students. This course throws light on few important concepts as Knowledge management and Information Technology, Knowledge process, etc.

COURSE OUTLINE

BLOCK 1: INTRODUCTION TO KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT

• UNIT 1: The Knowledge Economy:
  • Leveraging Knowledge, Data-Information-knowledge-Wisdom relationship, organizational knowledge, characteristics and components of organizational knowledge –Building knowledge societies- Measures for meeting the challenges of implementing, KM programmes.
• UNIT 2: Knowledge Management and Information Technology:
  • Role Information Technology in Knowledge Management Systems, Knowledge Management tools,Creative effective Knowledge Management Systems through Information Technology, ERP and BPR, Data Warehousing and Data Mining.

BLOCK 2: FUTURE OF KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVE

• UNIT 3: Future of Knowledge Management and Industry perspective:
  • Companies on the road to knowledge management, Knowledge Management in Manufacturing and service industry, challenges and future of Knowledge Management.
• UNIT 4: The Knowledge Process:
  • Universal appeal, Stages of KM Process, Knowledge Capital vs physical capital, Customer Relationship Management, Business Ethics And KM, The Promise of Internet and the Imperatives of the new age.
• UNIT 5: Implementation of Knowledge Management:
  • Discussion on Roadblocks to success, Business Intelligence and Internet platforms, web Portals, Information Architecture: A three-way Balancing Act, KM, the Indian experience, Net Banking in India. –Role of knowledge Management in Organisational Restructuring. -The Mystique of a Learning Organisation.

ABM 625: INTERNATIONAL FOOD and AGRI BUSINESS (2+0)

AIM OF THIS COURSE

The objective of the paper is to acquaint the students with the fundamentals of international business, its environment and complexities. The paper provides exposure to multiple dimensions of the field and imparts international perspective to business decisions.

COURSE OUTLINE

BLOCK 1: GLOBAL TRENDS IN INTERNATIONAL TRADE

• UNIT I: Global trends in international trade and finance; dimensions and modes of IB; structure of IB environment; risk in IB; organizational structure for IB; world trading system and impact of WTO; exchange rate systems; global financial system; barriers to IB; international business information and communication.
• UNIT II: Foreign market entry strategies; country evaluation and selection; factors affecting foreign investment decisions; impact of FDI on home and host countries; types and motives for foreign collaboration; control mechanisms in IB.

BLOCK 2: GLOBAL MANUFACTURING AND MATERIAL MANAGEMENT

• UNIT III: Decisions concerning global manufacturing and material management; outsourcing factors; managing global supply chain; International product life cycle, product and branding decisions; managing distribution channels; international promotion mix and pricing decisions; counter trade practices; mechanism of international trade transactions. EXIM policy of India. Export costing and pricing, Export procedures and export documentation. Export assistance and incentives in India.
• UNIT IV: Harmonizing accounting difference across countries; currency translation methods for consolidating financial statements; the LESSARD-LORANGE Model; cross cultural challenges in IB; international staffing decisions; compensation and performance appraisal of expatriate staff; ethical dilemmas and social responsibility issues.