The Indian Manager in Search of a Style

Author(s): Arabinda Ray

Source: Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 2, No. 50 (December 23, 1967), pp. 2199-2203,
2205
Published by: Economic and Political Weekly
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/24478314
Accessed: 20-11-2016 06:09 UTC

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted
digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about
JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at
http://about.jstor.org/terms

Economic and Political Weekly is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to
Economic and Political Weekly

This content downloaded from 144.32.241.129 on Sun, 20 Nov 2016 06:09:33 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL WEEKLY December 23, 1967

so that a continuum of increasing used adequately, the rat

labour productivity is created" (p of agricultural production
226). However, these phases of deve- nitely be enhanced. Mor
lopment need not be strictly adhered needs continuous research at the ,, ,, ,,
to in the case of all developing coun- regional level if benefit is to be de- . oreover'
tries. rived from the new dynamism in- national agriculture
Mellor accepts the conventional fused in traditional agriculture. lve a^.
,
view capital
that, , . .is a. scarce
sound resourcepractical.
Mellor s analysis of The fear
the process in . , , that such
,, , . - , , . , , ' . .... , . , terminal educational programmes
in the context of low income coun- which stagnant traditional agricul- ,, , .,
, . rjBut
tries. + the
,, .more
. . ,important
* , , . scarce
, , T.ture
, will pull away
is transformed intoall rural youth
a technolo- , . , , T . seems
* , , .
, . , ,. ,, to be unfounded. In fact, such train
resources are: research in production gically dynamic agriculture encom- , . , ,
. v,
techniques, new, and
., - , ,forms
improved . . passes
, , the ing
field ofprovides
social change. Hetrained youth to agn
culture and also diverts a part of the
of physical inputs, services which refers to institutional changes rush to universities for higher edu
provide facilities in transportation (Chapter 10, p 185) only in the con cation. Nevertheless, there is a pos
and marketing of products, and edu- text of changes in the market mech- .. , . , ,, , ,,
.... . , , ,, . . , , . , . .. sibility that a part of the rural youth
cation to farmers to help them in amsm and related organisational , , , ..... ,
,.. . who do not have an inclination for
decision-making. Even scarcity of changes necessary for extensive cul- .., . , . ., , ,
,. . ,. ,, xi i u agriculture will take university edu
capital m its conventional form need tivation. He also emphasises the , ... , ,,
. _ , , . , . , . cation and thereby contribute to the
not deter development. For develop- role of education and extension ser- ecjucate(j
ment can be initiated by using vices which influence decision-mak
those forms of agricultural capital ing in various production processes. On the whole, the stud
in which labour is the primary re- However-, institutional changes im- tremely valuable. It abou
source. The author points out that, ply structural changes engulfing the practical suggestions for polic
if along with the traditional inputs, whole web of relationships which de- ers in low-income countries.
some new inputs such as improved termine the very nature of tradition- contains a number of suggestio
seeds, fertilisers, new techniques of al agriculture. The technological further research in various r
production with different combina- changes, unless supported by institu- fields. It is, therefore, a hel
tions of the traditional resources in tional changes, will have a very guide to students of agric
use, improved breeds of livestock, limited impact on the attitudes of economics, planners and adm
an d insecticides and herbicides are the people. It is in this context that tors.

SPECIAL ARTICLES

The Indian Manager in Search of a Style

Arabinda Ray

The great majority of Indian managers today are first generation businessmen. They operate
in a society in which business has not been honoured by tradition. So, while the scope for initiative
and the salaries have attracted talent into industry and while professionalism in management is on
the increase, the Indian manager is still in search of a style.
This is a critical juncture in the history of professional management in India because the styles
set today will determine the quality and fate of industry tomorrow.
The manager has first to believe in his cause and in the particular contribution he can make
to his country's development. But such belief will have to be sustained by distinct professionalism.
He will have to comprehend and use the tools of business management which make business today
far less hunch-based than before.
But even the efficient manager will not convince or be emulated unless he has his roots in
society. If the Indian manager sets himself up in an atmosphere distinctly alien to the average Indian,
he may earn distant admiration but will fail to convey his full message.

OF the many changes currently tak- loped, industrialised countries ment cadre. This is almost always
ing place in India, by no means in- both for its sophistication and for the westernised Indian class. Th
significant is the change that is tak- the degree of general uncynical ac- term 'westernisation' does not neces
ing place in the field of professional ceptance. sarily connote acceptance of Euro
management. It is perhaps true to At the same time, not enough has pean values in social life, but rathe
say that the spread and intensiveness been done to study the impact of the the acceptance of a modern outlook
of management education in this spread of professional management in industry and commerce, a propen
country would be a matter of consi- on the level of society which provides sity towards the internationalisatio
derable satisfaction in many deve- the bulk of entrants to the manage- of business experience, a sacrific
2199

This content downloaded from 144.32.241.129 on Sun, 20 Nov 2016 06:09:33 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
December 23, 1967 ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL WEEKLY

very often of traditional values money can buy. It is significant that, elements of truth in it. Very often,
which conflict with the greater inte- when the national movement first intellectually and emotionally un
rests of business. The common de- started in India for liberation from prepared, the young man entering
nominator of this westernisation is the British rule, mass sympathy was an established British managing
almost always the use of the Eng- sought to be won by the repeated agency found himself getting more
lish language in business and indeed emphasis on the fact that the ap- money than the once-prized ICS
in life outside the family, the trans- parently mighty British had first arr- officer had got at a corresponding
cending of narrow communal or re- ived in this country as suppliant stage in his career. At the same
gional barriers in daily contacts, and traders and were a nation of shop- time the firm would be so over
unflagging admiration for the stand- keepers. staffed and have such an inverted
ards of efficiency achieved by west- ^ -.-ljciatmn that Rr-itich ,-tnmin conception of management that the
er or Japanese industry. ancfcod onlTbe ItfaS b "ig their tabulons
A lot has been written about this adoption of industry seemed to have falane,s found themselves spending
community as a whole, about the im- dawned fairly early in this century, the whole day checking petty cash
pact of modernity on its tradition, although resources and men of vi- vouchers or sending routine acknow
Not so much is talked about the sion were to limited to give full ledgement letters. Those of them
transitional pangs of that community shaPe to the realisation. However, who had the sense to enquire whe
in its path towards self-realisation. respectability for such entrepreneurs ther this was what they were paid
was still to be won, and it is to the or were often told that training
First Generation Businessmen credit of Gandhiji that he, himself a dad 1 begin at the bottom, that
The great maioritv of nersons in Vaishya> publicly befriended Indian oae should not be impatient, and
managerial positions today are first industrialists at the height of the in- that away from work t0 a man
ma ager ai positions today are first d d movement and made the had to be an ambassador of his
generation businessmen. The wide aepenaence movement ana maae ine ,
growth of Drofessional management general public aware of the fact that company. In the circum
g ow p o ess onal management , more to industry than the considerable amount of
is entirely a post-war phenomenon, there was more to industry than the
t>fn.0 tv, Wo- ceaseless pursuit of money making. negan to De paid to social grace,
War, opportunities for which in the post-War India of im
Indian managers did not exist in s was nly after 19 7 that the t
Rri+icii nwnoH mmmorn movement spread its roots far and port controis an
British-owned commerce and indus- * only hard drinking in the same
try which dominated the scene, and w e' tight circles Conventions eve
Indian establishments generally re- Opening of Doors of wearing dinner jackets
served their prize positions for mem- It was the openjng Gf ^e doors night film shows. The vast m
bers of the family of the entrepre- 0| British firms in India just prior of Indians outside the
neurs a system whose total elimi- to independence that suddenly privileged westernised cl
nation is still a long way off. The created the possibility of a career excluded as they had a
best Indian talents chose the admini- outside the professional fields to from trade and comme
strative services of the Government, which talented and privileged In- vied the successor 'bro
law, medicine, pure research and djan youth had earlier looked. This and the good fortune th
teaching. Some prospects existed for alg0 happened around the time the Independence had bro
technical managers, but supply from indian civil Service, the career Even in the 1960s Naipa
the engineering colleges pitifully dream of the Indian youth, end- ing about the 'Jamshed
small though it was, compared to to- ed> and its successor, the Indi- turned 'Jimmies'. In t
day s output far exceeded de- an Administrative Service, was was possible to be fun
mand, and the spillover had to satis- manifestly underrated. Neverthe- early 1950s all this wa
fy itself in the public works depart- jess> the earlier entrants into considered necessary for
ment and ordnance factories. the firms were usually picked K was not long before t
Business in India was not honour- ^or their connections and less 0f change began to blow, a
ed by tradition in society. The usually for their Army service, sel- from industry transform
Muslims had concentrated on the dom for any objective intellectual merce. Engineers had belonged to
governance of the country and left merit. Vague stories were to circu- a class, whose recruitme
trade in the hands of Hindu mer- *a*e that birth conditioned recruit- and iarge guided by cons
chants. This itself gave business a ment, and that hard drinking and 0f qualification and com
low status. Added to this was the the personality of the wife paved rather than of connectio
fact that in the Hindu caste hierar- the way to success. Indian maga- were suffered for their special
chy the businessman's place was z^nes md films gave glimpses of but generally confined to t
low. There was no tradition of a way t bfe which was totally roles; very few made the grade
free cities in India which had made unfamiliar to the average educated -to general management unless there
trade respectable in Europe; there Indian, who still sighed and con- were other incidental considerations
was no tradition of Quaker austerity; fined himself to seeking careers in which guided the selection of non
no tradition of adventurous inroads 'aw' medicine, engineering, teach- technical staff. This was a reflec
into the wild West demanding great and Government administration, tion of the British attitude of the
personal courage all of which had While such a depiction was gross- time. A British social club in Cal
been rewarded by money and what ly unrealistic, there were basic cutta which welcomed the public

2200

This content downloaded from 144.32.241.129 on Sun, 20 Nov 2016 06:09:33 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL WEEKLY December 23, 1967

school boy in his first month at of professional management in had something to offer which would
Calcutta would turn down the can- India came in the mid-1950s when enable them to use to the full, in
didature of the works manager or it began to be abundantly clear that, an emergent India, the training of
engineer of a well-established indus- industry had forged ahead and was mind which school and college edu
trial organisation. able to make rapid strides with in- cation had given them.
With the adoption of industry for digenous management. At the same These are imDo
national progress and the mounting time, the wave of management edu- SdThen
mdustrial pace in the country, the cation originating in Britain and fessional managem
shortage of technical management America reached our shores. Ex- what it means to be
staff became so acute that jobs be- patriates and Indians returning tion businessman, wi
gan to be available to the increasing from Harvard or Henley spread the at all industry an
numbers of engineering graduates, message around. This saw the growth not readily app
from simple middle-class family cir- of management associations in the businessman having p
cles, at salaries far higher than major cities and the laying of foun- t0|d ad through his
their parents had expected when dations of management education the misery of India
they sent their sons to engineering courses. Even the established orga- years of British rule m
colleges. The success of these men nisations of trade and commerce, himself working
in their own spheres of manage- the managing agencies, began to b0SSi reWarding a s
ment encouraged industries to look take active interest in management Britain with the fruit
again for qualifications for entrance. education and began to revise the iabour. Having been br
In this they were also influenced values looked for in applications for an atmosphere wh
by the fact that managing agencies managerial positions. business as serving sel
were still able to attract the limited What about the young men of terests he finds himself devoting all
output of the few public schools, the period? The opening of this new his talents and the best years of his
Oxbridge returned candidates, and channel of employment created a life to promoting the cause of such
the sons of ICS officers. Candidates tremendous impetus to seek jobs in allegedly selfish interests. Having
from this category usually sought industry. Families, which for gene- been brought up to believe that all
jobs in a single-purpose industrial rations had looked at law, medicine, men should be treated with humane
organisation only when a reputed teaching and Government for values he has to deal ruthlessly
managing agency failed to make careers, suddenly found their sons with stupidity, unreasonableness,
available a "covenanted" job. joining industry at salaries which and indiscipline. Yet his admission
did not quite fit in with the notion into business is itself an indicator
Meritocracy of "clerks" which was all they asso- that, captains of business feel busi
Meritocracy, as it came to deve- ciated with employment in the pri- ness can no longer be mana
lop in industry, thus dawned in vate sector. There was a scramble men like themselves who ha
such single-purpose establishments. from all graduatesthe first class believed basic school educa
Years ago, the Indian Civil Service honours men and the pass degree be adequate training, that t
had built up a superb tradition of holdersfor admission as trainees. dern age demands a far h
selection which almost guaranteed The Indian Administrative Service level of education in indust
success on the job, by concentrating seemed unremunerative, unsuitable commerce,
on the academic excellence of an fr the daring, and incapable of giv- Critical Juncture
aspirant and developing the requi- mg intellectual satisfaction to the
site competence on the job through independent mind. Industry appear- This is a critical juncture
training. If a boy from a village, who ed to provide all the stimulation a history of Indian professiona
had managed to pay for his college young man needed after the rigours nagement because styles are b
education in a city purely through of school and college education. ^ today which will determi
scholarships, qualified for the ICS, It has been necesssary for me to duality ol intake *n the y
he would be nut through the same dweU fit such length Qn the back_ come. The pattern of direct tax
university in Britain and given the ground of recruitment into manage- has already eroded the real v
same training on the job as his ment cadres to emphasise that the the considerably higher sala
tramer had been. Rapport was estab- bulk of entrants were first genera- which were an attraction Th
lished by the pre-acceptance of a on businessmen, that they began Quisites, which still rate hig
common intellectual level, and one to be attracted into industry as a not escaPed the searchlight
could predict with a reasonable de- Qew gnd highly remUnerative adven- cessive Finance Ministers and
gree of accuracy how the officer ture which had been denied to their as one can see, the process
would react in given circumstances orefathers. xhey were attracted by tinue- Business, moreover, ha
confronted with the same type of prospects of rapid success because to be established m the eyes
problems. The lesson of the ICS ^ careers Qf the few who were average man in the country as
had not been learned by older estab- lucky tQ have joine(J industry al ing a basic function in th
lished trading houses, where intel- an early stage of its development mic development of the cou
lectual levels were widely disparate. bad sboWn a meteoric rise. Above Two years ago, there w
The greatest revolution of the era all, they somehow felt that industry cern in the United St
2201

This content downloaded from 144.32.241.129 on Sun, 20 Nov 2016 06:09:33 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
 December 23, 1967 ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL WEEKLY

cause the new generation of gra- sources for reasonably quick results. However, pride in ones vocation
duates is far less attracted to a The guiding force was a missionary cannot be aroused and sustained
career in business than were fhe zeal and a great sense of conviction merely by the nobility of the cause,
generations till as recently as 10 in one's actions. They displayed all A soldier gives of his best in the
years ago. This reluctance is attri- the qualities of management, even defence of his fatherland, but his
buted not so much to direct hosti- though the word may not have been pride in his vocation stems from the
lity as to plain indifference, arising coined and its modern sophistication specific training he has received in
from the failure of business to live was still a far cry. the skills of his tradethe use of
up to intellectual challenges and In the 'mixed economy' which weapons, the application of strategy,
provide opportunities for meaningful India has adopted, opportunities and the disciplining and leading of men.
leadership. the need to display managerial qua- For a similar pride to be evoked
lities are bound to come to count- and sustained in today's Indian
This is a real danger in the path jesg people Qn the skill and discre- manager, his beli
of India, and one of which the coun- tlon Qf these countless people in tion to national deve
try must take cognisance today. In utilising the resources of men, suffice. It must b
a developing country like ours, yet money; markets, materials and ma- distinct professiona
so rich in talent, there is even chines will depend the future deve- acceptance in the
greater need to attract the best. The i0pment of the country. The coun- organisation as
process of development will be try mus(; iearn to sprint before it ment to national
slowed down if mediocrities replace has even learnt to walk. One cannot sation has to
the best in business. Already there stand stin any more, and the tech- favourable clima
are disturbing signs even in India n0i0gicai and economic gap between out which econom
of the more intelligent under- the advanced and the advancing is a mixed economy w
graduate feeling disinclined to join widening all the time Never be_ sible to achieve.
business as journalism and teach- fore in the history of human deve_
mg become more remunerative lopment was so much expected of The Sessiona
than in the past. Bram drain claims & profession; neVer before in the n the social r
the manager as such as it does the history of social progress was a task business much has b
scientist, the doctor or the techno- given to so many common people said in recent ye
loglst in so well-defined a manner. do not Propose to deal with this sub
TI ... , , , , ject here. Suffice it to say that there
Economic Development Through wlU thls challenge be taken. ,g
Management The flrst requisite is to firmly be- requir
lieve that such a role has to be fui- s eq 're? .m
The term 'development' is the fined. No man can give his best un- app
by-word of the day. Even a child' til he believes in the cause: 'pro
at school hears it in its pure or patria mori'. The manager in busi- ^
prefixed form. The average man ness must be proud in the beli
often confuses development with that it has been given to him to A
the fruits of development. People serve India in a vital sphere at a na
admire western standards of living, critical juncture of history. One tirely
Japanese proficiency in industry, often meets the young manager
Russia's gigantic technological confessing a sense of uneasiness at m
strides, without giving a thought his relatively affluent position in
to the process by which these coun- life in relation to his more meritori-
tries reached their present stage of ous college friend who shoulders the to
developmentthe austerity of the task of managing a district at a h
Puritans in saving for tomorrow's fraction of his own salary. The dist-
increased production what could be rict magistrate is considered to be
consumed today; the spirit of ad- dedicated to a national cause, while m
venture in developing new sources the manager is living in a small, tr
of supply in lands far beyond the selfish world of comfort. The first aide
seas; the creation of a social climate requisite is to dispel such feelings, to b
where traditional values were selec- be equally proud of contribution to
tively sacrificed in order to preach a national cause, the cause of eco-
the message of productivity and nomic development, the greatest m
innovation without which an in- priority in the country today. Above
dustrial revolution was deemed im- all, let him feel that he is a pioneer
possible; the brutal denial of basic blazing a new trail, setting new be
comforts to the masses so that their precedents, whereas the path of the h
children may hold their heads high district magistrate is a beaten one kers
in the world. But all these actions begun a hundred years ago when th
were based on one fundamental pre- Satyendra Nath Tagore entered the
cept the greatest utilisation of re- Indian Civil Service. line a
2202

This content downloaded from 144.32.241.129 on Sun, 20 Nov 2016 06:09:33 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
 ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL WEEKLY December 23, 1967

tarily the fruits of a successful capital equipment fieldshould have are a vital 20 per cent because they
year, and as long as recruitment sufficient opportunity to use his include the opinion-moulders and
policy for management staff ope- knowledge of economics in his the pace-setters. They are capable
rates within a palisade of birth day-to-day work with as much a of responding to personal examples
and social grace, the professional- sense of achievement as his friend with depth and feeling,
ism that management educators talk employed by the Planning Commis
about will remain a distant goal. sion or the National Council of Top management has many per
The engineer in industry operates Applied Economic Research. What sonal examples to set before
from a well-defined professional is equally important is that he must Indian population. Its first function
base, the accountant's trade is re- feel this fact strongly enough to ls to breed professionalism; and
cognised and respected for its dis- want to talk about it so that the d0 this it must be basically equipped
cipline. The areas of marketing, pro- economics students of the day may ' understand the languag
duction, personnel and even general see possibilities for themselves in the specialists in the new sciences
management, now have a sufficient business. It is a sad reflection on emerging in business. The natural
body of knowledge which needs to the state of business in India that corollary to this in today's rapidly
be imbibed and digested if the prac- a discussion with the students in one moving world is to guard against
titioner is to operate successfully in of the country's foremost post- obsolescence. Management has to
the 1970s and 80s. Only through the graduate economics teaching insti- generate an intellectual atmosphere
process of acquisition of this know- tution indicates that not one is m which the organisation thrives,
ledge will professionalism arrive in thinking seriously of joining indus- where leisure is not taken up by
the world of management. try as an economist. company small chat but by men
tally rewarding pursuits. Manage
It is no use dismissing the mes- The ^ew Mati tr ment needs to establish a dial
sage of management education as between industry and the univer
being merely the fashion of the day, The lead in intellectualism in
full of woolly thinking expressed m,._t _f nrqitv rmr, frnm
in jargon. Every science was deve- ^ nds f laderS'
loped by explaining, what was con- top manageme
sidered obvious, in terms of theories consciousness of
considered nebulous at the time. But satisfactory im
with time apparently disparate situa- tion hl]t thiq
tions were woven together. Even TooiTT
coming nearer in time and content business but not
pLntS1I.eSS' bv,0dy demeS thataC: ship' which
countancy, which was once a subject totally unnec
finpTa r!r1Sh3 h T iS n0t relevant to brln
ed sc pline today, which needs son with British a
tutored 'practice^ What^ s required anagement bec
pract e. What is required these socleties are dif
is for management education to be West> the inst
for hnnhnmi "p* f reputatlon but the changes w
? 4 t a far greater em- brought about o
the
the Lhlil ' of
establishment th fethat
the fact TTtTt dcnniAtv
pmuith nf n0t or**
arise
o , T fr0m
, , f , , , ... growth or society, they are a deli- tles These impressed the Indian
body o knowledge which berate creation along lines which neoDle but rarely wer
cannot be skirted around but has to SUCCess elsewhere has shown to be ampies greedily accepted
e assi uously studied if one is go- the sine qua non of development, diate application bec
the India6 of th^los Tnd ^Os bUt Which Indian SOCiety Can nly alien to Indian life wer
and 80s. achieve by constant effort under t0 have contributed to th
Recruitment conscious leadership. The leader of yes jf the Indian manager
big business has as much a part sejj up jn isolation from his p
The men capable of absorbing to play in this as any important and surrounds himself
such knowledge must continue to figure in Government or any other distinctly alien to a
be attracted into industry. The walk of public life. The lives of a thinking, then he will
young Indian student of today must sizeable proportion of men in urban from a distance for hi
be made to regard business as an society are conditioned by the cir- and intellect, but his
intellectually and morally rewarding cumstances which businessmen pro- wdi be ]ost.
vocation as it is known to be financ- vide. They are inspired by their good
ially. The modern corporation can- examples, repelled by signs of im- This then is the style for which
not operate in isolation from econo- morality in business. Such men in the Indian manager must reach. It
mics. The economist who is employ- urban Indian society may not be is admittedly a very demanding bill
ed in a large manufacturing con- more than 20 per cent of the adult but it has to be exacting compared
cernbe it in the consumer goods or population of the country, but they to that of his counterparts in the a

- 2203

This content downloaded from 144.32.241.129 on Sun, 20 Nov 2016 06:09:33 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL WEEKLY December 23, 1967

vanced countries, because he has a the opinion of his countrymen about suit of efficiency and higher pro
vocation which is more than ma- business and he has to mould the ductivity he must add a leavening
naging business. He has to mould style of that business. To the pur- of intellect and social dedication

Labour Inputs, Wages and Productivity

on Indian Farms
Harpal Singh

This paper examines the relationship between labour inputs, wages and productivity and the
impact which availability of family labour has on the use of labour in farming.
The analysis, based on data from the Farm Management Studies, indicates that because of the
high family-labour content of total labour input, difference between marginal productivity and wage
rates does not fully explain differences in labour input.
The difference between marginal productivity and prevailing wage rates is relevant in deter
mining the use of hired labour whereas use of family labour is mainly governed by its availability.
Yet, though use of family-labour is governed by its overall availability, a part of family labour
is actually withheld from entering the production process because the low marginal productivity
does not fully justify the sacrifice involved in working.
Increased employment of unutilised family labour, thus, depends on increase in marginal pro
ductivity of labour through improved techniques of production which are labour intensive.
[The author is grateful to M R Dohare for valuable help in computation of data from the
Studies in Economics of Farm Management. The views expressed are, however, the author's own.]

THE OBJECTIVE of this paper is Whether these differences in labour this, under small-scale farming, is
to examine the kind of relationship inputs bear any relationship to lab- influenced more by the availability
that exists between labour inputs, our productivity and wages in the of family labour etc than by the
wages and productivity, and the im- respective zones can be seen from marginal value productivity and out
pact, if any, which family labour Table 1. put. A fuller discussion of this re
availability has on labour inputs in Table 1 is indeed revealing. In latio
farming. the wheat zone of up and Punjab> ever, in section III of this paper.
The relationship between labour labour inPuts Per acre are biSher Table 1 further shows th
inputs, wages and productivity has in UP but the waSe rate lower as ^age rates in Puniab a
been analysed at the regional level, compared to Punjab. Value of out- ed with ower MVP and
For this purpose four States, viz, Put Per unit of labour input is also "nlJ f ^bo,ur mput, a
Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, UP and hi8b in UP as compared to Punjab. Jo UP- ParhaPs tbis d
Punjab have been considered. These As regards the resource product!- higher cost of hired lab
four States have been grouped into vity> the marginal productivity of of the competing demand
two pairs. Andhra Pradesh and labour in UP is higher as compared non-agricultural sector
Orissa with paddy as one of the to Punjab. In both States there ap- shws that higher mput
most important crops formed one pears to be a direct relationship 111 . a!j cmpare
pair, and UP and Punjab, with hetween the labour inputs, on the associated with lower wa
wheat as the dominant crop, another. one hand> and marginal producti- A11 thls tends to cast dou
Studies conducted into the econo- vity and output per unit of labour relevance of a simplif
mics of farm management1 in these 011 tbe other. A clear tendency is s JP 1C assumes a
States provided extensive data on discernible of increase in labour in- sociation hetween high
the subject under examination in Puts beinS accompanied by an in- productivity, high wage
this paper. And these are the only crease in factor productivity. This low labour inputs, un
data analysed here. kind of relationship does not hold conditions.
good for wage rates. Higher margi- In the paddy zone, on the other
n nal productivity and output per unit hand, higher labour inputs are as
Variation in Labour Inputs, Wages of labour inputs have been found to sociated with higher wage rates,
and Productivity be associated with lower wage rates, higher value of output per unit of
In the wheat zone, the input of and vice versa. This may indicate labour input, and higher MVP in
labour days per acre is 64 in UP that, the marginal value producti- Andhra Pradesh3 as compared to
and 45 in Punjab. In the paddy zone, vity and gross output of labour is Orissa. Orissa in fact presents a
labour days per acre were 43 in affected by the wage rate less than picture of depressed agriculture
Orissa and 67 in Andhra Pradesh, by the level of labour inputs and where labour input per acre, wage

2205

This content downloaded from 144.32.241.129 on Sun, 20 Nov 2016 06:09:33 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms