Chapter 1

1.1. Introduction:
Organizations play an important role all over the world. Global competitiveness and leadership in any industry or organization requires having masters in the core professions of the industry. It is the organizations that meet the peoples needs and provide them with products, services or both. This organization study is aimed at gaining an understanding of the functioning of the organization as a whole, and also the various departments. The study helps to gain a realistic and factual knowledge about the functions of the organization. This report is based on the study done at The Kerala Minerals and Metals Ltd. The Kerala Minerals And Metals Limited was taken over by the state government in the year 1956. The forerunner of KMML was The F.X. Perira and Sons (Travancore) Pvt Ltd., established by a visionary private entrepreneur. The unit was subsequently converted as a limited company in 1972 by the name of The Kerala Minerals and Metals Ltd.. The following are the broad objectives of KMML: Optimum utilization of mineral wealth found along the sea coast of Kollam-Alappuzha Districts. Large scale generation of employment in the state in general. Overall growth and development of the local area in particular and the state in general.

KMML is one among the four producers of Titanium Dioxide in India. Titanium Dioxide is a pigment used in the production of various products like paints, medicines, cosmetics, printing inks, rubber, textiles, ceramics and paper. They also produce titanium tetra chloride, ilmenite, zircon, rutile, monazite, leucoxene, sillimanite and iron oxide bricks. KMML is the leading producer of Titanium Dioxide in Kerala.

1.2. Scope of the Study

The study is conducted at The Kerala Minerals and Metals Limited, Chavara, Kollam, which is a well reputed public sector undertaking in Kerala. The study is aimed to understand the functioning of an organization and its various departments. The study also helps to gather an

idea of the coordinated working of all the departments of the organization like the marketing, financing, human resource and the production departments.

1.3. Objectives of the Study

The objectives of this study undertaken is to Acquire knowledge about the various functional and managerial aspects of the organization. Learn the actual practices of the organization and compare with the theoretical knowledge. Find out the various departmental processes and its working. To understand the organizational profile, the structure of authority and different levels of management. To study the coordination among the various departments for the proper working of the organization.

1.4. Methodology
The two methodologies used for this study were primary and secondary data collection. The primary data were collected by interacting with the various department heads and other staffs. In-depth interviews with the managers of the various departments gave a clear idea about the respective department, its structure and its functions. The visit to the various departments of the organization also helped to understand the working of these departments. Hence observation method was also a technique used for data collection. The secondary data were collected from the newsletters and journals of the KMML, also the various websites including the website of KMML.

1.5. Limitation of the Study

Time constraint was a limitation to the study as the company allowed only three hours of study a day.

Due to the vast and complex structure of the organization, it was difficult to collect information Activities of the trade unions made it difficult to collect data.