Need for management: Open Eyed and Blindfold approach

Every successful organization today, boasts of its sound management system. But have we come to realize as to why did the need for management arise in the first place?

This can be easily explained with the help of a simple activity which was carried out in Dr. Mandi's lecture.
An ideal situation was presented where one had to build a tower by piling small cubes on top of each other. A bidding was done on the maximum number of cubes that could be used to build this tower until it falls. The highest bidder came up with a number of 14 and was instantly put to the task of building the tower. This bidder went on to use a total of 22 cubes before the tower collapsed. Since the stakes were kept low, the bidder obviously got his money back.

Video for Open Eyed approach

Now, in another situation, this task was to be repeated, where the person building the tower would be blindfolded. A team was made consisting of a CEO, a Manager and a simple worker. The job of the worker was to build this tower (with a blindfold). However, he would have assistance from his Manager who would in turn work on a plan put in place by the CEO. Since, the stakes were very high, it was very difficult to find volunteers for this task, but finally we found our team. The bid was made on a tower of 20 blocks. The final result was 23 blocks, with a blindfold.

The first approach of building the tower is symbolic of the old way of running the organization. Here, the bidder was the sole person carrying out the task with all of his options open. He had few or no challenges associated with this task. Also, he had the flexibility of deciding as to how he should use his skill set in carrying out the activity. Dr. Mandi drew an analogy and compared this bidder to a bidi maker who does all the hardwork, alone and without the need of any guidance and management. The nature of work becomes ambiguous since the worker is supposed to take a lot of decisions on his own. Further, the skill set required is massive as one person is carrying out all the work. Also, more time required to carry out this activity.

However, in the second approach, the decision making responsibility is shifted to the manager and the CEO. The worker works with improved productivity since he doesn't have to worry about taking decisions. The onus of performance now lies on the shoulders of the manager who in turn is answerable to the CEO. Also, lesser time is required in this case since the work process is enlarged from Work -> Job -> Activities -> Task -> Elements. When a worker is required to work on the Elements portion of the workspace, he obviously needs a lower skillset.
This is the new approach which is followed in organizations today, around the globe. Since the work process is enlarged in this case, the organizations go in for Management Systems to manage these processes.These sound Management Systems bring out results which are better than the old way and certainly more controllable with lesser dependence on a single individual.

First Day of POM : My two cents

Two days into the B-School life, I enter the hall to attend my first lecture on Principles of Organization and Management. A few minutes later, my professor enters the hall and asks all the students to leave their seats and sit with him on the floor. Though surprised, we follow him and within no time we find him explaining the intricacies of the course, in a non-conventional manner. Giving us some time to settle down, our prof, famous as Prof. Mandi on the campus, went on to explain the idea of 'Earning by Learning and Earning for Learning'.

'Earning by Learning '

Until now, I had this misconception that one could never go on to create something new and earn from it, while one is still in the process of learning. But as rightly quoted by Prof. Mandi, we as humans are always in the process of learning. If we were to sit back and spend our time on learning only, our entire education and the experiences associated with it, would find their way to the trash can. In short, nothing would be ever accomplished.Thus, knowledge is of no use until it is put to test in the real world.

To add a monetary angle to it, one hasn't utilized his education worth lakhs of rupees if he hasn't earned a rupee while gaining it.


'Earning for Learning'

While I was still pondering over this thought, Prof. Mandi dug deep into his jute bag and pulled out a couple of very basic toys. These toys, though ordinary, were great tools for spreading education. Prof. Mandi went on to tell us how these toys were developed by our college alumnus while they were still facing the wrath of the B-School schedule.

                                     The Newton's cradle: One of the education oriented toys

On selling these toys, not only did our seniors promote education and earn money, but also went on to use the dynamics and principles of management for their assignments.

At the end of the session, I felt enlightened. I am thankful to Dr. Mandi for changing my perception about education and also giving me this opportunity to write about it.