The fee cut at IIM has drawn too much of response from the general public. There are many who whole heartedly welcome the drastic cut, while many disagree to the fee cut. Disparity will continue either which way.

Interestingly, this whole debate has brought us (atleast me), the kind of people who aren't so accustomed to the managerial reading to read a lot about the role and interests of the B-School Don. The Editorial of Star of Mysore, a local newspaper of Mysore, spoke of the ways our B-School Dons.

Mr. N.R.Narayana Murthy was quizzed on the elitism of the faculty of IIM's. He was told that the IIM readers and professors produced little or nothing of note. Most of their research papers were esoteric and had little or no use to the public. Worse, although we pay their salaries, neither the public nor the Press had access to it. Mr. Murthy, of course, denies the charge.

Going further, the editor, introduces the readers to a particular Don of B-Schools of the US of A. Ofcourse, all bench marks are done only with Uncle Sam's kids. After all they are the people with the attitude of "been there done that" right? Let me introduce you to this interesting personality, a professor of management, who has indulged in, surveys which are to a great extent uplifting, not just enlightning ur knowledge but also your mood. As you read through the kind of work this simple man has done, it will surely lighten ur spirit, make u smile and nod your head in agreement. Becoz, am sure, at some point of time even you would have been just like his subjects of study. [Don't worry he does not do any study on Gorilla's...;-)]

Prof. Trinkaus, 87, is a professor emeritus at the Zicklin School of Business in New York City. He takes enormous pride in producing work that is simple and interesting, and which the common man can relate to. his studies explain the mysteries of Human-Behaviour? What percentage of car drivers come almost - but not completely - to a stop at a traffic sign? What percentage of commuters carry brief cases equipped with locks? What is the average waiting time in a doctor's clinic?

So far so good, read this:

What is the usual response of people in a lift when asked 'is this car going up' or 'is this car going down'? What is the percentage of people who wear their caps inverted, with the beak at the back? What is the percentage of people who use 'absolutely' or 'exactly' instead of using the far simpler 'yes' when asked a question? Studied violations of hadicapped parking space at a shopping mall to determine the ratio of expensive to inexpensive vehicles in improper parking spaces. (The result suggested that parking violations are more a function of prevailing cultural norms than of automobile purchase prices.) A Study was also conducted to see the trends of people "Wearing Baseball-Type Caps", 'Drop-In Chapel Attendance", Color Preference in Sport Shoes, Changing Multiple-Choice Test Answers

Prof. Trinkaus has produced 87 such papers so far, each a page or two long. If you think this is a crazy don, then ur wrong. When quizzed on why he undertakes such study, he said.

"First, to make people smile, especially folks in the ivory tower, who tend to be serious about everything all the time. Second, to send a signal to fresh PhDs that all academic research doesn't have to appear to be formidable and overpowering. Third, to provide information about people's behaviour that probably translates into what they do in the workplace."

It did make interesting reading(to me atleast) and also provoked me to read more about Prof TrinKaus. the ever relaible google led me to a few pages, which made me build this post for today. Read more about him at http://www.improb.com/airchives/paperair/volume9/v9i3/trinkaus0.html

All I would say is, each one his desire. Guess each and every individual have their core area of study, but what underlines the point is that, when so much of money is taken from the tax payer, there must be someway he will also have to benefit from it. A strategy can be made from these haigly acclaimed professors, who would for sure know all kinds of management...