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Case Article—GAP: A Humanitarian Initiative of Ramakrishna Mission for Underprivileged Children

Author

Listed:
  • Vinay Ramani

    (Industrial & Management Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh 208016, India)

  • Jyotirmoy Dalal

    (Decision Sciences Area, Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh 226013, India)

  • Swami Dayakarananda

    (Projects Gadadhar Abhyudaya Prakalpa, Ramakrishna Math & Ramakrishna Mission, Belur, West Bengal 711202, India)

Abstract

Conventional textbook models of profit-maximizing firms are generally unsuitable for understanding and modeling the objectives of a nonprofit organization. Closing this gap is especially important as nonprofits, regarded as the third pillar of the society, are increasingly prevalent along with the government and the for-profit businesses. GAP, a humanitarian project undertaken by Ramakrishna Mission (RKM), a large nonprofit organization in India, has been highlighted in our case. Our case serves three pedagogical objectives: (i) understanding the cost structure that is specific to the GAP project, (ii) applying break-even analysis, and (iii) quantitative modeling of the nonprofit’s decision-making problem using a simple spreadsheet modeling approach. The case has been tested across a diverse set of courses across different MBA programs at two public business schools in India. In all those courses, students found the case challenging but were appreciative of the hands-on experience gained by working on a real-life decision-making problem.

Suggested Citation

  • Vinay Ramani & Jyotirmoy Dalal & Swami Dayakarananda, 2023. "Case Article—GAP: A Humanitarian Initiative of Ramakrishna Mission for Underprivileged Children," INFORMS Transactions on Education, INFORMS, vol. 24(1), pages 70-75, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:orited:v:24:y:2023:i:1:p:70-75
    DOI: 10.1287/ited.2022.0273ca
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    References listed on IDEAS

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