Tower Building Activity

Tower Building Activity

Introduction

Just after a few classes and some very good interactions with people from different parts of the nation, a glance at the time table said “Principles of Organization and Management” by Dr T Prasad. The lectures on the first few days were enriching in their own unique way, so I was looking forward to the class. I was astonished and spell bound by the way Dr Mandi (I will call Dr T Prasad as Dr Mandi) started the session. An introduction which included a lot of significant achievements literally swept me off my feet. 

Mr Mandi had initiated Mandi and Hamara Dhandha which had always appealed me. I had seen few seniors participating heavily in such events and coming out with flying colours. With each passing minute my goals in life got stronger and they suddenly had a purpose.

“Socho ... Becho ... Becho .... Seekho ... Seekho ... Socho” sums up the ideology of every individual hoping to create a name for himself. Everyone is capable of creating ideas but only a few have the courage to implement them. Dr Mandi encouraged everyone not to be a part of the herd but to have one’s own identity. He dreams his students become millionaires and have thousands of people working for them.

“Aaj ki roti aaj hi kamayenge” instilled in me the desire to think about my future from the first day itself. The general idea of “kar lenge” has to be shunned. We have to become self reliant as soon as possible. Dr Mandi showed us how money can be made from simple toys but with a larger meaning. A simple game of tic-tac can be converted into a number puzzle and can be sold for a significant amount of money. A lot of other applications of physics and maths can also be a good source of learning for the children (consumers) and at the same time be a source of income for the producers.

Pink Floyd - Another brick in the wall

The age old tradition of molding students in a similar cast is analogous to another brick in the wall. The out-of-touch education system is bent on producing compliant cogs in the societal wheel. We need to come out of the cocoon and create a name for our self. This mentality needs a turn around and an initiative by Pink Floyd was beautifully shown in the session. The video can be viewed at:

Are we doing enough to change all this ?
A serious thought has to be put in on the education system prevalent nowadays.

The video on Mandi showed the kind of effort put in by the students and Dr Mandi. Mandi was covered by well known media houses of the country.

It shows how money can be generated from innovative ideas and good implementations.

Tower Building Activity

The nuances of management were taught by Dr Mandi through a tower building activity. Small wooden cubes were used to create a single stack of as many cubes as possible. The risk taking ability of an individual was tested through an open auction. The auction resulted in only three people ready to pay money in case they fail to achieve the pre-defined target.

The 3 people selected were portraying the top management, manager and the worker. The audience were equivalent to consumers and they too had an important role to play.  Customers/consumers always expect producers to do well. They are always with the producers and are more interested than the competitors.

The top management was also providing inputs time and again on how to get the task done.  The manager made sure that the worker is always performing the task with perfection. He motivated the worker and always pushed him to give his 100%. The worker was tired and exhausted and at times also felt that the task at hand is too difficult but gradually as the activity went along, the seemingly difficult task of building 18 blocks seemed achievable. The audience provided the much needed motivation and after the task was completed, even the audience felt that the difficult task of 18 cubes in a single stack can be achieved by many which seemed impossible in the start.

SMART

The whole idea was summarized through the concept of SMART where Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely were perfectly understood through the activity. One has to be very clear with the task to be performed. Initially people were willing to build a stack of 30-35 blocks but eventually when the hurdles were explained a lot of them were not willing to do more than 20. The hurdles and uncertainties in the process of management was pictured and everyone has to be prepared to face them with perfection. The attainable figure of around 20 blocks seemed realistic to everyone as we moved along. The timely execution of the activity is also very important. 

We have to understand that the workers are very important and need to be taken care of. The management has to ensure that the workers are properly treated which would pave the way for a smoother process. During the activity, the worker was exhausted and he was on edge for most of the later part. But the support of the management as well as the consumers gave him the desired mental support and the activity was successfully completed.

Theory X and Theory Y

In terms of Theory X and Theory Y, the manager was Theory Y manager of situation 4. The worker liked his work and the manager also treated the worker as not lazy.
According to me, situation 4 is the best. The worker should enjoy his work and the manager should not find the worker lazy.
The dangerous situations would include where the manager assumes the worker is lazy or the worker dislikes his work. Even when the worker likes his work but the manager feels he is lazy the situation can be very bad.

One should understand the basics of management. If you cannot do it, it is not management.  Management includes  the participation of each and every individual. For instance, without the audience the achievements of M S Dhoni, the Indian Cricket captain would look very small. Audience is also a major part of any activity.

Summary

During my stint at TCS, there were a lot of instances during which we had to provide the deadlines for the project and there were cases when we had undermined the obstacles which could come in our way. We missed deadlines and that bought a bad name for the company. This is where management comes in. We need to weigh in all the possible cases and come up with a plan B in case the desired outcome is not achieved. One has to fetch for himself. There are no free lunches. The whole gist of the activity lies in the fact that the equal participation of every individual is important for the goal to be achieved.