Organizing a complex system

What do the Commonwealth Games in Delhi have in common with the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS)? A problem of organization. And a problem of implementation. Preparations for the Games in Delhi have slipped behind schedules. The international Commonwealth Games Organization has proposed to install its own monitor in Delhi to oversee progress. The country has been embarrassed. The ICDS is a long-running scheme in the country, and perhaps the largest programme in the world focused on the care of children. However, results are not proportionate with efforts and expenditures. Malnutrition continues to hover at around 45% of India’s children—one of the highest levels in the world, in spite of the country’s overall economic progress and reduction of poverty levels.

Illustration: Jayachandran / Mint

Problems of organization and implementation extend to other areas, too. The country must progress much faster towards its human development goals. It is not for lack of trying. For every problem there is a scheme, often massively funded: the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, the Rajiv Awas Yojana, etc. Most major schemes to address national problems are “central schemes” so that solutions can be properly managed (and adequately funded) by the Centre rather than leaving them to the states, where, it is feared, they will not be well managed. However, the states have essential roles in the implementation of even “central” schemes, and therefore the Centre’s problem is to get the states to perform.

Problems of coordination and control of large programmes that involve many agencies beset large multinational corporations, too. A survey of 2,000 chief executive officers and executives of multinational corporations around the world revealed that the principal organizational challenge they faced was “coordination”. They wanted less “centralization”, so that appropriate solutions could be found locally. They also wanted less “decentralization”: to avoid duplication of efforts and improve efficiency. “Think local, act global”, or the other way round, “Think global, act local”, were the mantras they were repeating. What they wanted were practical concepts and tools to manage their organizations accordingly.