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Foundational

Management Thought and Practice

The course provides insights into management schools of thought, organizational functions and business practices. It introduces the ideas and developments that form the basis for studying management as an academic discipline. Classical theories and modern approaches that enriched the art, science and craft of management are presented.

Code BSMS1204
Credits 4 Credits
Type Foundational
Prerequisites None
12-Week Roadmap

Course Structure & Syllabus

For details of standard term assessment timelines and exam structures, visit our Academics page.

Sl.No.1
Definition of Business
Sl.No.2
History of Management
Sl.No.3
Management Functions
Sl.No.4
Business Functions
Reading List

Prescribed Books & References

  • Andrea Gabor, The Capitalist Philosophers: The Geniuses of Modern Business, Three Rivers Press, New York, 2000.
  • John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge, The Company: A Short History of a Revolutionary Idea, Modern Library 2003.
  • Michael Jackson, Systems Thinking: Creative Holism for Managers, John Wiley ; Sons, 2003.
  • Robert Kreitner and Carlene Cassidy, Management (12E), South-Western, 2012.
  • Scott Fogler and Steven Leblanc, Strategies for Creative Problem Solving (3E), Pearson, 2013.
  • Morgen Witzel, A History of Management Thought, Routledge 2016.
  • Robbins Stephen and Coulter Mary, Management (13E), Pearson Education, 2017.
  • Archie Carroll, Jill Brown, and Ann Buchholtz, Business & Society: Ethics, Sustainability, and Stakeholder Management (10E), Cengage Learning, 2018.
  • Neel Burton, Hypersanity: Thinking Beyond Thinking, ‎ Acheron Press, 2019.
  • Roger Martin, A New Way to Think: Your Guide to Superior Management Effectiveness, Harvard Business Press, 2022.
Faculty & Experts

About the Instructors

Dr. L. Prakash Sai

Dr. L. Prakash Sai

Professor , Department of Management Studies , IIT Madras

Dr. Prakash Sai is a Professor of Strategy with Department of Management Studies, IIT Madras. He specializes in the broad domains of Technology Management & Innovation, Strategy & Policy Studies and Technopreneurship. In a career spanning three decades, he contributed to the growth, profitability and sustainability of several firms in public and private sectors through his consulting work and training programs. He served Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) for over a decade in various capacities as Management Consultant, Business Development Manager and Director (Strategic Planning), North America Operations having USD 1.5 billion revenue. He served as a Visiting Faculty at University of Applied Sciences, Hof, Germany and University of Passau, Germany, Nagaoka University of Technology, Japan, Harare Institute of Technology, Zimbabwe and University of Mauritius. He guided 15 Ph.D. theses and 9 MS theses; published research articles in international journals and co-authored a book, entitled: “Total Quality Management in Higher Education”. He holds B.Tech. Mechanical Engineering, M.Tech. Industrial Engineering, from Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati; and Ph.D. in Technology Management from IIT Madras.