Managing Social Organisations: Lessons from World’s largest pilgrimage center

Dr N. Ravichandran

Professor Ravichandran earned his Ph D in Mathematics from IIT Madras in 1980. He served as a faculty at IIM A from 1980 to 2018. He served as the Director of IIM Indore from 2009 to 2014.

Dr S Venkataramanaiah

Prof Venkataramaniah teaches Operations Management at IIM Lucknow. He earned his Ph. D from Anna University, Chennai. He was a Fulbright Scholar at W P Carey Business School, Arizona State University, USA and a Postdoctoral Research fellow at Singapore MIT Alliance (SMA) Program, Singapore. He is a recipient of Nelson Mandela Leadership award and Jagatik Ayurvigyan Samman Award.

“Managing Social Organisations: Lessons from the World’s Largest Pilgrimage Center” is a book that provides a detailed account of the management of the Tirupati Balaji Temple, one of the most important temples for Hindus and the most popular pilgrimage center in the world. The book explores the macro and micro aspects of managing the temple, which includes managing high volumes of pilgrims on a consistent basis. The book chronicles the evolution of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) from a religious institution to a social organisation. The surplus generated by the temple is invested in several social initiatives like education, healthcare, sanitation, and other charities to help the needy and the poor. The book also highlights the significant challenge of managing the environment (water, air, noise, and waste) due to the heavy influx of pilgrims to Tirumala. The book is a valuable resource for those interested in the management of social organisations and provides insights into the management of a large-scale religious institution that has evolved into a social organisation.