Tower Building

No I am not a CIVIL ENGINEER and no I have not built any tower for that matter. But yes when you are in prof Mandi's class u get to build tower- from small cubes. Yes there are some rules too- U have to place the cubes one above the other so as to build the highest tower and tower is not allowed to take any support.

This task is done in different forms-

1. Individually
2. In team
3. In team with the person building the tower is blind folded.

This exercise has a lot to offer to anyone who is looking to setup an organization or one who is part of an organization. It helped us in understanding the importance of goal setting. In any organization, effective goal setting is an essential ingredient for the professional well-being of the employees. It is rightly said that “Most of the employees don’t leave a company but they leave their managers”.  An organization consists of two different entities: Employees and Managers. Effective goal setting done by the managers, taking into consideration the needs of the employees, will go a long way in maintaining a good bonding of the employees with their company.
Some of the findings when the exercise was done in different form was -
1. When done individually the person was able to build higher tower as compared to the team - This means that it is relatively difficult to work in team. The performance of the team can be improved only when their is good coordination among the team members.
2. The expectations fell when the team with blind folded person started the exercise - This is human tendency, that they tends to expect very less in case of negative circumstances.

These exercise also helped us learn how important it is to set the right goals for an individual so that he remains always motivated. The equation for goal setting is -

Goal set >Goal achieved >= Goal achieved historically 

This is the basic principle which should always be followed.

Three Monks!!

You might have heard about Gandhiji k teen bandar each of them signifies some meaning - bura mat dekho, bura mat socho and bura mat suno. Likewise we have chineese version - Three monks.

Three Monks is a Chinese animated feature film that highlights the importance of teamwork. It make us understand how people react in real life situations where there are conflicts. Thus, it aimed at bringing home the value of team work and co-operation. This was yet another example of the off-the-beaten-track learning methodologies being applied in POM.


The film is based on the ancient Chinese proverb "One monk will shoulder two buckets of water, two monks will share the load, but add a third and no one will want to fetch water." A noticeable point is that the film does not contain any dialogues, allowing it to be watched by any culture.


Plot
A teenage 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. He tries to share the job with another monk who had recently joined the monastery, but the carry pole is only long enough for one bucket. 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 combined effort to put out the fire. Since then they understand the old saying "unity is strength" and begin to live a harmonious life. The temple never lacks water again.


Observations
#1 Disagreements will arise when people work together due to difference in viewpoints.
#2 Work needs to be divided scientifically and objectively.
#3 The solution should be conceptual.
#4 When multiple parties with differing opinions are involved, what is required is Participative Management.
#5 The last scene of using a pulley to get water says that for success, one has to go for disruptive methods that have the power to change the game.


Productivity
Does team work increase productivity or decrease it? Rather than answering in a straight yes or no, lets go step by step. 

• Initially, a single monk could get 2 pails of water daily. High effort, high output. 
• When the second monk joins, they get 1 pail of water everyday. Now, the effort as well as output has become 1/2 of original (for a team of two). 
• The work comes almost to a standstill when the third monk comes, nobody bothers to get the water himself as all of them leave it on the other person to take care of the chore. Originally, this behavior was called “social loafing,” a term coined by a French professor, Max Ringelmann in the 1890s.

Then how can the management ensure high productivity in an interconnected and interdependent environment?

• Availability of adequate support systems and resources for teams
• High degree of instantaneous feedback and communication
• Rigorous accountability systems for teams
• Synergistic work environment will increase the productivity manifolds for a team

Thus, team work can actually increase the productivity exponentially, given that above features are incorporated in the work culture laid out by the management.

Learning
The story of the three monks teaches us that everyone is capable of being selfish and working individually, but doing so diminishes our ability to cooperate with one another.

A thought on Team Work- "If its not efficiently effective then its not useful."

Need No Education !!

Have you ever listened to "We dont need no education" by Pink Flyod? Some of you might have. But I ask you guys again- Have you done headbanging in your class while faculty in your class?? I bet you - you have't unless and until you have attended Prof Mandi's class. Yes, I attended his class and that too my first class of my PGDIM course here at NITIE...what else I can think of?? It was a grand start of my new journey.

The lecture was way unusual - no one can think of. He was carrying some interesting objects with him.

• Couple of soft balls having global map imprinted.
• Some plastic toys in the shape of butterflies which can explain some concepts of physics.

He passed on these toys to us and asked us to rotate after having a look. We started throwing the ball here and there - in process we targeted some guys in the class with balls. It was a great fun. In the meantime, Prof started his unique way of teaching and believe me it was the most unique and very interesting. I had only 5 hours of sleep during night and was not able to have breakfast- feeling sleepy and hungry at the same time. Still, Prof was able to drive energy out of me. 

Lively environment in the class

Coming to some of the lessons that he taught -

1. Socho becho,becho seekho, seekho socho - This is one of the basics of management. We have to think, look into each and every  perspective to sell a product. In this process we get to learn a lot of things. Think again whatever we have learnt and apply it back. This is a cyclic process.
2. Aaj ki roti aaj hi kamani hai - He made us realize the importance of hard working. Most of us have came here after quitting our jobs and paying the fees for the course. That money amounts to 15-16 lacs over time period of 2 years - roughly around 2500 daily. We need to think in a way such that we are able to earn a part of this expenditure daily.
3. Spread the education to one and all - He follows the vision of spreading the education across the globe by any means (one of them is internet platform) so that any one can learn without joining the conventional classroom and that is how the song from Pink Floyd fits in very well.
   
   This was my first experience of Prof. Mandi's class. Eagerly waiting for more fun. I hope you all have enjoyed reading it, but not as much as I have enjoyed the class :P