--By TC Correspondent

 

Management Association of Nepal (MAN) was established in 1979 as the apex body of management professionals with active support of the corporate sector. As a national-level non-profit and non-partisan membership-based professional organization, MAN has been an important forum for developing management professionalism and for fostering a performance-oriented and socially responsible work culture in the country. It has a strong membership base of over 1,700 individuals and 180 institutions that are associated with various disciplines and sectors of Nepali economy and society.

 

MAN is one of the founding members of the Asian Association of Management Organizations (AAMO). It has close links with a number of well-known professional bodies like the American Management Association (AMA) and All India Management Association (AIMA). These linkages provide MAN access to information on best management practices and techniques available in the other parts of the world. Experts have increasingly stressed that the ongoing processes of state’s restructuring and transformation in Nepal should follow management development process for effectiveness and sustainability

 

Organisational structure of MAN

The General Assembly is the supreme body in MAN’s organizational structure and is responsible for providing policy guidelines and directives. It elects an executive committee in every two years. The executive committee implements policies, approves programs and provides guidelines to the secretariat. A secretariat, headed by the Executive Director is responsible for the organization’s day-to-day administration and management. MAN develops and delivers its services through active participation of its members.

 

Current MAN executive committee

There are 19 members in the incumbent executive committee of MAN with Janak Raj Shah as its president, Uttar Kumar Shrestha as the first vice president, Gosal KC second vice president, Sushil Kumar Aryal as secretary general, and Shanti Laxmi Shakya as the treasurer. The remaining 13 members are Arjun Kumar Gautam, Dilip Raj Paudel, Prof. Dr Fatta Bahadur KC, Jeevan Devi Kansakar, Krishna Gyawali, Pratap Kumar Pathak, Pratik Adhikari, Rajiv Pokharel, Rameshwor Prasad Khanal, Saroj Kumar Pradhan, Dr.Som Prasad Pudasaini, Tikajit Rai, and Sushil Bhatta. Kaji Bahadur Dahal has been acting as the executive director of this association. 

 

Awards

Management Association of Nepal (MAN) started the MAN Manager of the Year Award in 1987 with an aim to promote development of management skills and to recognize best management practitioners. In 2002, the association also started felicitating outstanding Women managers with the Women Manager Recognition Award. In some exceptional case, the association also felicitates people who have made outstandingcontribution to management sector with its prestigious ‘Outstanding Management Award.’

 

In its earlier days, the association focused on financial sector as the recipient of its awards, but later on, it increased outreach and scope of the award to other sectors like hospital, music, education, corporates etc. The association is planning to felicitate civil servants from this year by introducing Civil Servant Award this year. “We will select one of the government employees after proper analysis and confirmations from various sources,” said MAN executive director Kaji Bahadur Dahal. 

 

Annual activities 

Management Association of Nepal focuses on research, training, and education sector. “Apart from research and training programmes we have our own management college where we try to produce more efficient management student,” said Dahal. According to him, pre budget discussion programmes and monetary policy advisory preparation are some of the annual programmes done by the MAN. “Most of our programmes are organized in association with international agencies,” he said.

 

One of the core activities of MAN is conducting different management trainings programmes for various levels, covering critical and emerging areas. It organizes around 100 training and workshop programmes, as required or requested. 

 

Current activity

This year, MAN is preparing to organizeManagement Development Scenario 2013 as part of its 33rd National Management Convention. Highlights of the programme include paper presentation on ‘Political Management: A case of Nepal’, presentation and discussion on ‘Management Development Scenario’ and will announce recipients of ‘Manager of the Year Award’ and ‘Woman Manager Recognition Award’. 

 

SWOT Analysis of MAN

 

Strengths

•Expertise of members

•Strong knowledge base

•Good recognition in international level since it is affiliated to many organizations across the world

•Has high level government as well as public enterprises executives as its members

 

Weaknesses

•Unable to engage members from diverse sector

•Majority of the members are government officials

•Lack of sufficient products to sell

•Knowledge as the only saleable product but unable to sell it to generate profits

•Financially stable but not strong

•Discontinuation of membership 

•Members not able to give enough time to the Association

•Insufficient infrastructure

 

Opportunities

•Access and reach on both private and public sector

•Growing demand for management research 

•Growing popularity, though slowly, among public and private sector managers

•Emergence of modern corporate sector

•The organisation’s college has a potential to start MPhil and PhD classes

•Possibility to launch faculty development programmes related to management education

•The Association can be developed as an authority on management issues for the country

 

Threats

•Possible formation of organisations of similar nature

•Emergence of competitors in research and educational services 

•Perception as an organisation only for the government officials