POM Exam

This was a very different morning in NITIE. I sensed a nervous which was similar to which I used experienced till 4 years before. I had entered NITIE’s exam hall to give my very first POM exam. This was an exam in which I had to answer on my experiences rather along with just studies. Secondly when its related to Dr.Mandi you can always expect surprises. I got even more nervous when I saw my friend Rahul Ghosh Roy sitting beside me.He was the most tensed person in the class.

The paper was distributed to each one of us.Finally the paper landed in my hands and a quick glance brought a smile to my face. I had studied the syllabus and was happy to see most of the questions in my zone.
Time management was not a major worry for a lot of people as everyone was well prepared. The major issue in an exam is the preparation and the time management. Since most of the people had read the concepts well, so the other factor was not a big issue.
We had to share the examination hall with Section C who had their Financial Accounting Mid-Term but unlike us they had the issue of time management. The paper was a little lengthy as they say and they found it difficult to finish it in time.

We as students were writing answers , not from the books, but from the engaging discussions we had inside the classroom as well as the brainstorming we have to do in our blogs, and the learnings from the quiz. In my opinion exams are a means of testing knowledge as well as a rigorous test of our managing skills too, be it time management, pressure handling, of a test of knowledge, exams push us to our limits.  

The paper had a variety of questions almost engulfing the whole syllabus. From managerial skills to Hawthorne experiments, the paper had everything taught in the classes. Everyone took less than 1 hour to finish the paper and we could all see smiling faces post exam. They had this satisfaction that the hard work put in the preparation has finally reaped benefits.

Theory X and Theory Y

Douglas McGregor, a  management professor , first talked about two theories called Theory X and Theory Y. He identified an approach of creating an environment within which employees are motivated via authoritative, direction and control or integration and self-control, and called it Theory X and Theory Y.

THEORY X
Theory X is something which emphasizes on productivity. It says that “management must counteract an inherent human tendency to avoid work”. Theory X is a style that changed the way of looking at the business.

The managers who assume that the people working under them are lazy and are bound to avoid work if they get a chance. The only way to make people work is by threat and use of power. More often than not this theory does not allow employees to gel amongst themselves and know each other.

Following are the assumption made by Theory X style of management :

·                     An average employee intrinsically does not like work and tries to escape it whenever possible

·                     The employee does not want to work, and hence ,he must be persuaded, compelled, or warned with punishment so as to achieve organizational goals.

·                     Many employees rank job security on top, and do not have much aspiration/ ambition

·                     Employees generally do not take responsibilities

·                     Employees resist change

·                     An average employee needs a direction from his superior

THEORY Y

Theory Y is an optimistic management which “assumes that people will exercise self-direction and self-control towards the achievement of organizational objectives to the level that they are committed to those objectives.

This management style assumes that the employees are self motivated and are ambitious. A Theory Y manager believes that, given the right conditions, most people will want to do well at work. This allows employees to learn from one another and have a positive attitude towards work.

 Following are the assumptions made by Theory Y style of management:

·                     Employees can perceive their job as relaxing and normal. They exercise their physical and mental efforts in an inherent manner in their jobs

·                     Employees may not require only threat, external control and coercion to work, but they can use self-direction and self-control if they are dedicated and sincere to achieve the organizational objectives

·                     If the job is rewarding and satisfying, then it will result in employees’ loyalty and commitment to organization

·                     An average employee can learn to admit and recognize the responsibility. In fact, he can even learn to obtain responsibility

·                     The employees have skills and capabilities. Their logical capabilities should be fully utilized. In other words, the creativity, resourcefulness and innovative potentiality of the employees can be utilized to solve organizational problems

Though these theories are very basic in nature, they provide a platform for future generations of management theorists and practitioners to understand the changing dynamics of human behavior. Taken too literally, Theories X and Y seem to represent unrealistic extremes. Most employees (including managers) fall somewhere in between these poles.

The Three Monks

The Story

A young monk lives a simple life in a temple on top of a hill. He has one daily task of hauling two buckets of water up the hill. Then one day another monk joins him. He tries to share the job with another monk, but the carry pole is only long enough for one bucket.So they both share the load. The arrival of a third monk prompts everyone to expect that someone else will take on the chore. Consequently, no one fetches water though everybody is thirsty. At night, a rat comes to scrounge and then knocks the candleholder, leading to a devastating fire in the temple. The three monks finally unite together and make a concerted effort to put out the fire. Since then they understand the old saying "unity is strength" and device a method which leads to equal load sharing between the three of them and they begin to live a harmonious life. The temple never lacks water again.
Analyzing the story

First Case

In the first situation as shown the task is being done only by one monk and understandably the task is bound to have lower efficiency as the team consists of only one member which can prove to be a bottleneck in face of any crisis. Moreover any innovation in the method of getting water may require more manpower and hence cannot be applied in this situation.
Learning
The presence of a single member contributes to the unity of direction in doing the job which is also a vital factor in any organization.

Second case

In second case the work load has been divided into two equal parts but one important factor to be considered here is the coordination between the two members in the team. The root cause for their difference of opinion is that there is no 'standards' or rules for completing the task in a coordinated manner. This is later sorted out when the first monk draws a scale and makes a fair ruling.
Learning
This principle is also very important with regards to any organization as there is a need to a unity of direction and proper distribution of work for the organization to march towards its goals.Another thing which needs to be highlighted is that the increase in manpower leads to increase in efficiency as the work-load on one person is reduced.

Third Case

Intially noone gets water and all of though they are feeling thirst. But finally the fire induces a need to get the water and out of the need arises unity and and they work together and get water quickly with less efforts.
Learning
In this particular case is a perfect example of social loafing in an organization where people start exerting less effort to achieve a goal when they work in a group than when they work alone. Moreover the lack of proper coordination between the members in the team results in complete organizational failure.

Finally we see that how the work-load is reduced with the help implementation of innovative methods and proper coordination. Thus the management of any company should focus on technological advancement so as to increase efficiency.

Valley Crossing and and Human Tower Exercises

A new day, new lecture, and all of us in the same sleepy mode. But then, shortly arrived our very dear Dr.Mandi. The 'Socho becho' professor made us switch to socho mode without even speaking a single word. Known for his unconventional way of teaching, this time he had entered a class with a bamboo in his hand. We then went to brain storming mode wondering what would we do with it.And finally he revealed what actually had to be with that bamboo. We had to cross a "valley".

Valley Crossing Activity

The task is to cross a deep valley. Now this may seem exciting and adventurous, but this feeling would change after realizing that there are no ropes to cross the valley. It has to be done using a bamboo. Now enters a different parameter her called ‘risk’ and it seems a difficult and dangerous task to begin with.
There are three main protagonists who have a bamboo strong enough to take the weight of each of them at a time. The three Protagonists devise a plan. They stand in a straight line, resting the bamboo on their shoulders. Step by step they negotiate the hurdles coming their way. Helping each other out in the times of need and finally conquering the valley.

Human Tower Exercise

Then, there was another exercise was more dynamic than the Valley crossing exercise where number of persons crossing the valley was kept constant. This activity was also excercised in class by 5 guys. They pushed the limit and built a human tower with 5 people, and made sure that load was distributed as evenly as possible among the participating members - this was very important learning from this exercise.

We all had fun while there activities were being performed, but the actual fun was in the learning from these activities. The biggest learing was "Teamwork".Having a talented individual can produce results only partly. For a complete solution/success, we need strong teams. That is why Organisations prefer a Team worker to an individual contributor with no team spirit even if the latter one is much more talented. Even if one person is so capable that he can perform all the tasks individually, an Organisation should not let him, because it will reduce reliability, flexibility and sustainability.

The first benefit I observed out of the exercise is that even if the task was very difficult if done alone, in a team everyone supports everybody else and if done effectively it could be made very smooth (increasing efficiency) hence achieving excellence. Distribution of load among the team members is another advantage. Valley in the exercise could represent difficult stage in one’s life; two persons at the two ends of the valley could represent friends and family. Similar analogy could be drawn to one’s professional career.

Team work is the main cornerstone on which this exercise stands. Each and every team member is in a position of danger when he/she is in the middle of the valley. That is when the other member shows confidence in you and takes you to safety.  This is how the organisation works in a nutshell. They cooperate with each other in order to achieve the desired goal.

When a team is selected for a project in a company, manager puts utmost focus on the assignment of the task; this is important keeping in mind that everyone has different skill sets. This is also applicable when a new person is assimilated in the team, in the beginning other team members would have to bear more load just like two persons at the two ends of valley had to bear more load when the middle person was crossing the valley. Risk minimization is another major outcome out of teamwork. We as humans are prone to making mistakes, and mistakes can be minimized when working in a team. Why a new person joins a company, he/she is assigned a mentor/supervisor to due to this reason.

With team effort, we can overcome all the hurdles and all the difficulties. Together we work and together we share the victory.

Its a fact that it is easier to capture learning in brain from pictures in mind than from words. And then there here we are having learning through activities, that won't let us forget these things for a long time.Thank you Dr. Mandi for teaching us in such innovative manners.