"Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other"
This quote summarizes my thoughts while making the video below:
Having prepared my digital CV , I have got valuable feedback from the professor as well as my peers.
Some of the take always for me are:
1. No video is a benchmark. Use your own creativity to prepare a good Digital CV
2. Rather than going on about your achievements, focus more on how they will be useful to the target audience(the employer)
3.Work on bringing out the X-factor of your personality in an implicit manner through the video.
4. Its better to do something unconventional (obviously not digress from the purpose ie CV) like one of the peers started with a guitar in his hand and demonstrated his managerial skills using an analogy to the harmony produced by music.
I look forward to the next round of my digital CV preparation and will ensure incorporation of right nonverbal communication and demonstration of my unique persona in an improved manner.
"Irrespective of your present condition : good ,bad or ugly.. you will get ample opportunities in your life"
This statement made by an esteemed alumnus when he visited the campus had all the ingredients for making a person feel optimistic.
Google up "Amit Shah , Yes Bank" and you will find coveted terms like "EVP" and "country head , corporate branding"( I did it prior to his talk).What he said was pure common sense .. but that part of it ..which is very uncommon .
The most important take away for me was to start working on three traits simultaneously which he stressed upon during the talk:
Knowledge and skills
Competency
Delivery and Execution
If I want to get into finance , for instance, I should be
thorough with everything(theoretical and practical) about finance , but I must
understand and be well aware of trends in other functional domains as well.
In order to culminate into a talented professional,
knowledge and skills are mandatory, but not sufficient. One should also have the desired competency.
For instance, being a professional from IT based service company,
I can very well say that our team had a
lot of developers who will write defect free codes. But their work was given the
direction by that project leads who were able to conceptualize as to what the
final finished product must do in order to satisfy the client requirement.
Project lead understands the software code but the real job is to conceptualize
what the client wants.
Be proactive and don't wait too long to start working
As we move up the corporate ladder, the competencies
required keep on changing. For instance , 2 years from now, when I join an
organization, I may not need a lot of organizational leadership, but even then
personal leadership will be very critical(Execute the project I time , work in
teams etc.). These are not prescriptive abilities. Rather, they will need proper
grooming and will come with time, provided I put in the desired efforts.
Apart from knowledge and competency, one very important requirement is delivery.
I need to build the ability to deliver. Work in teams efficiently. It Is very
important to move away from the procrastination and make conscious efforts to
improve.
In the end: Just ask..
Every one should ask just one question " What do I aspire for ".Someone may want to be an entrepreneur, another person may have a passion to make money("50 lakhs at the end of this year") and someone else may aspire for recognition.
In my case, it is to start a venture of my own and i have started working towards it.
An apt video to show the importance of focus and hard work can be seen below. Just look at it and keep improving!!
"Innovation is the central issue in economic prosperity"
This quote by Michael Porter, an well renowned name in
academic circles and corporate world, reflects the importance of innovation in
each sphere of life.
A brief overview of some important innovations is enough to mesmerize
us and makes us understand the relevance of these innovations in achieving
seemingly dream like objectives..
First , lets have a look at these Innovations…
Genetic sequencing:
Want to know where you come from and what makes you
tick?This is a look at the history of life with a vision to improve its future.
The Internet
All of the world's ideas, increasingly made searchable,
accessible and useful, and all offered up with infrastructure designed to
survive attacks of any kind
Semiconductors:
Nothing has ever so steadily, consistently, and continuously
helped human beings do more with less over time than this incredible idea.
Can we compare a mobile of today with a super computer of
1960’s…
Vaccines and antibiotics
This innovation saved a million lives. The worth of each
life : I wont trade mine for a million dollars
Now , a Question: Is innovation applicable to business??
The Answer : yes!!
The concept of limited liability in business is itself an innovation.
If you have the courage and can take the risk , then start a business. If you succeed, you can make a fortune. But, if you fail, you don't go to jail. One can imagine the effect on the mindset of the entrepreneur , if she knows that she is starting a limited liability business.
What about capital markets!!
Allowing
individuals to take risks, try their ideas, and work to fashion “progress” as
they see it.
Throughout history innovation has shaped the way we look at present and imagine our future. It is much more than improvement. It is about realizing that unrealistic is not that unreal and looking at the impossible with a fresh perspective:
"Effective Management is all about managing in the short term,
while developing the plans for long term"
Jack Welch
Ever since the Management theories came into practical existence
for the purpose of enlisting a set of comprehensive principles to create and
sustain an organization, one key player has emerged to be the focal point of
organizational strategy: The Manager
Ever since the Management theories came into practical existence
for the purpose of enlisting a set of comprehensive principles to create and
sustain an organization, one key player has emerged to be the focal point of
organizational strategy: The Manager
ALIGN AND ELEVATE
Just like a magnet uses alignment of its atoms to induce the
desired alignment in other materials, a manager uses a set of objectives (stated
as well as inferred) to align the individuals to work towards the organization’s
mission and vision in a coordinated manner .
No Conflict.. A manager’s Paradise???
An organization without any conflict is too ideal to be true
and multiple theories that have come up in the recent past (starting with
contingency theory all the way down to Marxist and neo Marxist theories) have shed
light upon this grey area.
In the face of such conflicts, the manager should have the
conviction to maintain harmonious relationships within the organization using
clear communication and giving reverence to the human aspect of management.
Management by Objectives: WE discuss, We analyze and We
perform
The “We” part of this process demands that the manager use
participative goal setting and involve the employees in choosing the course of
action to be followed by them. Once such a framework is established , they are
more likely to fulfill their responsibilities.
Are the objectives clear?? BE CAREFUL!!
“Management by Objectives works-if you know the objectives. Ninety
percent of the times you don’t”
This quote by Peter Drucker, who himself popularized the
term in his book” The practice of management reflects the importance of having
a systematic view to ensure that objectives of the subordinates are linked to
the organization's objectives.
Last and Most Important: ALIGN THE SKILLSETS
Incorrect
alignment causes magnetic objects to repel each other. The same observations
are made in the world of organizations. While a harmonious alignment blossoms
like a Navrang cube, an improper alignment is doomed to end in bitterness(take ,
for instance , in the world of sports where the best players
don’t necessarily gel together in terms of skill : A serve and volley by
Professor Mandi that scratched our brains!!)
"An organization's ability to learn, and translate that
learning into action rapidly, is the ultimate competitive advantage"
This quote by Jack Welch summarizes the need for any organization to adapt to changing environment and the same need was the trigger for development of various management theories
Why management
theories
Major changes occurred
between late 80s and 1920 that demanded changes to informal and individualistic
approaches to social organization.
Population of urban areas increased due to large scale rural
immigration which was triggered by declining agricultural work. Consequently
large factories and industrial organizations arose andthere was a need for principles that enabled
proper implementation of organizational structure.
Relationship between
theories
Classical theory of organization was a combination of three
fields: scientific management, bureaucratic theory and administrative theory.
Workers were considered as a cog in the wheel and an organization was assumed
to act in accordance with rationality.
Systematic scientific enquiry was used to find out one best
way to do the task and money was considered to be the only source of
motivation.
Neo classical theories emerged out of the critique to the
lack of humaneness of people within organization as per classical theory of
organization. Neo classical theory did not develop any comprehensive theory of
their own. Rather, they borrowed from many fields and did not attach itself to
the notion that it was universally acceptable
Features people miss
in the theories
Classical
theories are criticized for their reductionist approach and it is assumed that
they were too simplistic. However, given the complexity of the organizations
that existed between 1880s to 1920s, the theorists acted as pioneers who
understood the changing work environment and formed the basis of most of the
organizations that look for comprehensive principles to be incorporated in
organizational structure and vision
Classical
theories are criticized for their reductionist approach and it is assumed that
they were too simplistic. However, given the complexity of the organizations
that existed between 1880s to 1920s, the theorists acted as pioneers who
understood the changing work environment and formed the basis of most of the
organizations that look for comprehensive principles to be incorporated in
organizational structure and vision.
Theories came in a particular sequence ! Is there any logic for
this!
The theories were result of existing demands of the society
in different periods.
Classical theories were a response to changing work
environment that marked immigration towards cities due to decreased
agricultural work and consequent need for comprehensive principles to sustain
factories and organizations being established to employ the immigrants
Neo Classical theories were anatural follower as they emphasized the need
for giving due consideration to human tendencies of employees which was not
visible in classical theories
Relevance to the
organizations:
Despite the appeal to adopt neo classical theory in
addressing the human need to control one’s work and motivate oneself, classical
theory is still applicable to organizations since the hierarchical structure
determines that the most important decisions are made at the top of the
organizations and the remaining employees are given limited freedom in terms of
contributing to the strategic decision making.
Organizations are largely shaped by classical approach but
there is continual tension between classical and neoclassical approach. For
instance, an organization may claim to be employee friendly but employees may
complain about unnecessary supervision and control.
Understanding the tension between these theories is key to
creating a responsible organization capable of addressing the needs of modern
society and realize the fact that too often existing theories are recycled and
promoted as being innovative principles in organizational management
Salient Features of
Various Theories:
Taylor’s Scientific Management
Weber’s Bureaucratic Theory
Fayol’s Administrative Theroy
Focussed on
individual worker and use of close supervision
Focussed on organizations and developing technical knowledge
about the job
Focussed on administration
Developed time and
motion studies
Most influential
work in the field of bureaucracy
Attached itself to
the idea that it was universally acceptable
Assumed that close
supervision , rewards and power are key to increased productivity
Emphasized the need for hierarchy and power
Defined 5 Management functions namely: planning, organizing,
commanding, coordinating and controlling
Relevant for the
organizations in which employee satisfaction takes the backseat
This theory
expands on Taylor’s work as it does not dismiss the vision for task
specialization
Highly
prescriptive and gave 14 management principles based on classical theory of
organization
"Alone we can do so little ; together we can do so much"
This quote by an eminent author and political activist who became the first deaf blind person to earn Bachelor of Arts Degree named Helen Keller stresses the importance of teamwork in completing complex tasks effectively.
Is team work really that important??
Is it all about team or is it about work??
Lets begin Sir:
This time the professor uses a valley crossing exercise to help us scratch our brains and think about teamwork.
The task:
The task requires 3 people to cross a valley which is wide enough so that an individual can't jump to the other side.
The task seems complex if an individual tries it alone.
Can team work help complete the task?
Team:
The three people form a team and go through the five stages of group development(Bruce Tuckman):
Forming: Individuals roles unclear Storming: Different ideas compete for consideration. Norming: team comes to a mutual plan Performing:team members get the job done effectively. Adjourning : Completing the task and breaking up the team
Their state belongs to one of the following categories at each instance in the task:
Safe: Both feet on the ground
Half Risky: One foot in air andother on the ground
Full Risky: Both feet in air
The image on the right depicts their state at different instances:
The three members use a pole to cross the valley and work cohesively as a team .
Each member is neither overloaded nor idol at any time during the task.
A clear communication is established between members for efficient work
What did I learn??
Team work is not just team and not just work.
It is breaking down the complex work in such a manner that the team can complete the work effectively and efficiently.
Team work has multiple advantages which can be observed in a tabular form as below:
PARAMETER
Team Work
Individual
Purpose
Common purpose first
Individual benefit first
Detection of flaws
High chances of flaw detection and removal owing to storming
Less chances compared to teamwork
Perspectives
Multiple perspectives and more efficient outcomes are expected
Limited to individuals thought process
Scale of work
Complicated work is organized and broken down by team for completing the task effectively
This quote summarizes my thoughts while making the video below:
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