Alignment of employees with the organisation : POM lecture 9.

Learning objectives:

Demonstrate and learn the principle of alignment of employees with an organisation with the help of a Magnet.

This time Dr. Mandi used a magnet to make his point. As the magnet induces the magnetic force in soft metals the same way a manager can influence the behaviour of its employees towards the organisation. It can be done by aligning them with the organisation. This alignment can happen in the following ways:

1.       Alignment of Roles

2.       Alignment of People

3.       Alignment of Goals

Alignment of roles is necessary to make a coherent organisation so that each position of responsibility play a strategic part. People must be aligned to generate, improve and retain skills and knowledge which is important for organisation.

Alignment of Goals is the most important part of alignment. It is a humanitarian aspect of management which is captured by Henry Fayol. Any organisation cannot reach to its full potential until individual interests of its employees are aligned with organisational interest.

It is not an exaggeration to say:

Goal attainment is equal to goal alignment

In the above figure, all the sphere are assumed to be the factors of production. In absence of magnetic field, all factors works hap hazardously according to their individual aspirations. But a good manager can have the magnetic influence and is able to align all the factors of production with the organisation. Dr. Mandi’s concept of teaching management by using just a simple magnet is very well taken by the students.

For aligning the goals, following three must be aligned:

Aspirations

Beliefs

Action

All in all, to integrate the employees in the organisation structure and to enjoy maximum productivity, all the individual aspirations, beliefs and Actions of Employees must be aligned with the goal of organisation.

demonstrating Taylor's claims using Navrang puzzle: POM Lesson 8.

Learning objective: learn the importance of process management by using a Navrang cube puzzle and critical examination of Taylor’s scientific management theory.

Navrang cube puzzle

It’s a practical demonstration of Taylor’s principle of Scientific Management. Taylor said to improve the productivity Replace working by "rule of thumb," or simple habit and common sense, and instead use the scientific method to study work and determine the most efficient way to perform specific tasks.

To check the gravity of Taylor’s argument, Dr. Mandi came up with this interesting new puzzle in which all students were challenged to arrange 27 cubes of 9 colours and make 1 big cube. The catch lied in the fact that each face should contain all the 9 colours.

Many students tried, performed well to an extent but the outcome was not satisfactory. There was no set process or procedure defined to arrange the cube. Every student had to spend a lot of time in thinking. It may not be a great hitch at individual level, but from an organization’s point of view it’s a disaster. If each individual worker/employee keep on spending so much of thinking time on the same job again and again it will never be productive. It calls for the need of standard operating procedure and deskilling of the process.

On the second phase of the puzzle, Dr. Mandi defined 9 simple steps to arrange the smaller cubes. The process was so simple and didn’t involve any mental work. Then students were invited once again to arrange the cubes and this time there was a drastic change in their productivity. Results were very conspicuous that process planning is the key to increase productivity. This is exactly the same that Taylor claimed. Dr. Mandi was again able to prove his point in his own strange way.

you can read more about Taylor's theory of scientific management from the below link:

http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMM_Taylor.htm

the Value addition by Amit Shah : Alum Talk 1

objective: capture the learning and take away from a brief discussion with Mr. Amit Shah.

Topic: Discussion was specifically centered around the topic that how one can add value to his/her existing skills and recognize & develop new competencies. 

Below is the current profile of Mr. Amit Shah coupled with a link to his Linkedin page:

Amit Shah 

Executive VP & Country Head, Corporate Branding, Marketing and Strategic Communication at YES Bank

http://in.linkedin.com/in/amitkshah

  

the best thing about the open house discussions is that the presenter himself doesn't know that where the discussion will lead to. It adds a special flavor to the discussion which is mostly induced by the audience itself. I call it a DEMOCRATIC discussions as it is driven by audience. the discussion which i am talking about is the democracy at its best because it led to lots of value creation. 

talking about humans:

We are not snakes that at once we will shed the old skin and will get a new avatar altogether, Our Habits Defines Our Capabilities.

Secret of success:

Competencies, Knowledge and Skills and Delivery are the wagons of success which are pulled by an engine of aspirations.

The theme of the text might give a misleading idea that one should contemplate and dig deep within himself for his real area of passions and must devote his heart and soul to satiate that desire. this might be correct for some great souls but here i am taking my bet on the majority of population who is not very much clear about its actual desires. you might be interested in reading it further if you happen to be in the later & major category of people.

there are good chances that here you will find some good ways to shine bright out of the corporate haystack and sell your credentials at benefits that you outline for yourself. 

 What You Can Do ? 

            What You Should Do ?

                 To break the clutter ??

before we move forward, the sole motive of anything you do should be the value addition. Well, of course one can't do much about his age, sex, looks, height and other outward characteristics but there is lot to be explored and polished.

Step 1: Evaluate yourself.

evaluating yourself is just the first step of the ladder, the purpose of evaluation should be to identify the areas where one is yet to develop a level of competency. having said that, it is needless to say that all the four areas are equally important because we are not talking about scientists, we are taking about managers. there can be some natural contradiction between influence and adaptability but logic is always there to bail you out.

<< click on the image to enlarge.

  

Step 2: Secrets of success.

knowledge and skills are generally thought to be the sufficient criteria for excellence. for managers, its a lie. As a manager or entrepreneur one has to leverage on the skills and knowledge of the people. in that case Competencies i.e the behavioral traits and delivery carries good gravity. at the same time knowledge and skills are also necessary to maintain the right balance and the most important credibility.

step 3: What B-school can provide you?

earlier we touched on value addition and a B-school provides you ample opportunities of evolution. things listed are self explanatory and don't require any explanation.

the gist of the discussion is :

Just play to a plan, a philosophy and to your Strengths…!!

I shall write more on such discussions. I am thankful to Dr. Mandi for arranging such sessions.