NAVRANG PUZZLE

NAVRANG PUZZLE

 “Navrang Puzzle” as the name suggests it is a cube having 9 different colors on each of the face.. NAVRANG CUBE is a simple playing cube composed of 27 identical cubes of 9 different colors (3 cubes of same color). The cube has hole in 5 sides and a connector in one side so as to hold on the other cube. When seen, it resembles like the Rubic cube but is very different in nature and composition. All the 27 cubes in this can be disassembled. The main motive of this cube is to make a bigger cube with no two same colored cubes in same side of face.

Professor Mandi brought what appeared to be a Rubik’s cube. Later he explained that it is called a Navrang puzzle and one has to get all of its 9 colors on all the six sides. Now, unlike a a Rubik’s cube, this puzzle could be dismantled and re-assembled. 

We spent few desperate moments on the cube, trying to figure out an algorithm to re-assemble the cube in order, but all in vain. Finally, Dr. Mandi solved the puzzle using a 3 step algorithm. He demonstrated the solution of the puzzle by first segregating the blocks in 3 each (each having same color). Thus total nine groups of colors were formed. He then arranged these groups into a cube

Principles of Management

• Each Problem can be solved by systematic thinking
• Each Block represents an entity (Labour, Machine etc) in an organization and is to be assembled in a structured and hierarchical way like the above process, so efficiency is maximum
• Two blocks of the same colour may represent people who don't gel well with each other. And hence while forming a team, a structured approach is necessary

The end - result of all these structures is Unity of Objective. The structures are created in such a manner that every person works to achieve the vision & mission of the organisation.

Setting Unrealistic Goals (Tower Building)

The Beginning

Much to my surprise the class began with no presentations stuff , no book reading  but pure intellect coupled with a very good interactive session where Dr Mandi discussed the loop holes in the current education system and motivated us to be involved in entrepreneurship ventures and showed how small concepts can make up to big business which was really very exciting to see .


Tower Building Exercise

In the next lecture of POM we were told about effective goal settings and we had a very exciting exercise for understanding it , namely the Tower Building exercise.
Dr. Mandi asked us to build a tower by placing a square block dice over one another and asked everyone in the class about the maximum height which can be reached ,the student came up with varied responses ranging from 8-30 cubes which can be inferred as their Ambitious Goals in which mine was 22, the professor then came up with a twist and asked what can be the maximum height attained if this exercise needs to be done being blind folded but with the help of a guiding partner and told us that the Historical performance was 17 Cubes after which some students lowered their targets including me while some retained the original targets.
I myself went ahead with the exercise by setting my goal equal to the Historical performance thinking that it will be Ambitious and Realistic as well but in the end managed one more than it.

Learning's 

Seeing that my Potential before performance moved beyond my Potential afterwards  what I learned through this exercise is that

·                     There are no Realistic goals and even the unrealistic can be achieved

·                     One should have a Risk appetite in support for the goal setting.

·                     We should aim for Unrealistic Goals

KHAN Academy – Transforming Classrooms

Everyone has a dream. For Salman Khan, it was of a Global Classroom where a child from Kolkata can interact with the one in Los Angeles – irrespective of the economical state of either of them. In order to make this happen, Khan Academy was established. A graduate from MIT and Harvard Business School who had been working as a Hedge Fund Manager had an inclination towards socialization which inspired him to do something for the society.

Things always happen for a reason. This is true for Mr Khan, who first created you tube videos for his cousins, just to make them understand the basic concepts.  But after getting the positive feedback from them, he tried sharing the video which got a good feedback from people. Taking it as an opportunity, he started working on the videos, reaching out to millions of students of all ages, across the globe with the sole purpose of making teaching more interactive and fun.   

Gradually, Khan Academy was a vital hit and became prominent in online education industry. Now, after getting the first steps right, there was a need for expanding the service in a better way. So, he started working on Technological advances which made the programm more teachers friendly where they could analyse the efficiency of each student and start working with them in the classrooms. So, here is the innovation of a person who transformed the classrooms from a mere silent to interactive and learning sessions.

Salman Khan showcases all qualities of a Y manager. “Dare to Think” is the what he inspires me the most. How things get started in a small scale and in order to reach to each and every person, how expansion took place with the help of Internet. Moreover, keeping the software easy to use, every student can make the most out it sitting in any place around the world.  

Leadership Vs Motivation

Leadership

“A leader is a dealer in hope” is a famous quote by Napoleon Bonaparte. When we hear the word 'leader', the images that flashes through our minds are of Mahatma Gandhi, Abraham Lincon, Martin Luthar King, Nelson Mandela etc. Although managers are seldom called on to be leaders in the heroic mold of a Gandhi or a Mandela, their leadership abilities and skills play a major role in their organisation's success or failure.

Wikipedia defines leadership as “a process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task”. Simply put, leadership is the process of directing and influencing the activities of people.

Motivation 

Organisational goals are unattainable without the enduring commitment of members of the organisation. Motivation contributes to a person's degree of commitment. Wikipedia defines motivation as “the psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal and elicits, controls, and sustains certain goal directed behaviors”. In simple words, motivation is a set of factors that cause, channel and sustain an individual's behaviour. 

Difference between Leadership and Motivation

Leadership and motivation are synonymous with each other and are used interchangeably. But we must know that there is a fine line distinguishing the two. These are two inter-related but distinct traits that can or cannot be possessed by a single individual. Leaders aim at achieving work excellence for each task while motivation aims at achieving personal excellence for each group member. Both work in unison to achieve overall organisational excellence.

Leadership Theories

    

·                     Attribute pattern approach

·                     Behavioral and style theories

·                     Situational and contingency theories

·                     Functional theory

·                     Integrated psychological theory

·                     Transactional and transformational theories

·                     Emotions

·                     Neo-emergent theory

Motivation Theories

·                     Incentive theory

·                     Escape-seeking dichotomy mode

·                     Cognitive dissonance theory

·                     Need hierarchy theory

·                     Herzberg's two-factor theory

·                     Alderfer's ERG theory

·                     Self-determination theory

·                     Goal-setting theory

·                     Models of behavior change

·                     Unconscious motivation

·                     Intrinsic motivation and the 16 basic desires theory

My Learnings

Managers are people who do things right, while leaders are people who do the right thing. Motivation is what makes people go to work every morning, it is what makes people seek out guidance and it is why people persist until they accomplish what they have set out to do. A leader who is not motivated himself, cannot motivate others. A leader must first be motivated from within in order to inspire others to action.

Smart goals:

We can say that the whole human endeavor is geared towards setting and achieving goals. Goals are part of every aspect of life: how you conduct your relationships, what you want to achieve at work, the way you use your spare time... Everything comes down to priorities, and what you would like to accomplish in every aspect – whether you make a conscious choice or go with subconscious preferences.

What is SMART goal setting?

SMART goal setting brings structure and trackability into your goals and objectives. Instead of vague resolutions, SMART goal setting creates verifiable trajectories towards a certain objective, with clear milestones and an estimation of the goal's attainabililty. Every goal or objective, from intermediary step to overarching objective, can be made S.M.A.R.T. and as such, brought closer to reality.

In corporate life, SMART goal setting is one of the most effective and yet least used tools for achieving goals. Once you've charted to outlines of your project, it's time to set specific intermediary goals. With the SMART checklist, you can evaluate your objectives. SMART goal setting also creates transparency throughout the company. It clarifies the way goals came into existence, and the criteria their realisation will conform to.

The Question :
How do design a SMART learning goal?

A different perspective of Smart Goals:

SMART+ goals

Another thing that's very important when setting SMART goals, is formulating it POSITIVELY. Remember that what you focus on, increases. So when you focus on NOT doing something, all you think about is that thing. And it will increase. So don't 'stop procrastinating', but 'achieve a daily discipline'.

Understanding Theory X & Theory Y:

Management style is strongly influenced by your beliefs and assumptions about what motivates members of your team: If you believe that team members dislike work, you will tend towards an authoritarian style of management; On the other hand, if you assume that employees take pride in doing a good job, you will tend to adopt a more participative style.

Theory X

Theory X assumes that employees are naturally unmotivated and dislike working, and this encourages an authoritarian style of management. According to this view, management must actively intervene to get things done. This style of management assumes that workers:

·         Dislike working.

·         Avoid responsibility and need to be directed.

·         Have to be controlled, forced, and threatened to deliver what's needed.

·         Need to be supervised at every step, with controls put in place.

·         Need to be enticed to produce results; otherwise they have no ambition or incentive to work.

X-Type organizations tend to be top heavy, with managers and supervisors required at every step to control workers. There is little delegation of authority and control remains firmly centralized.

 Theory Y

Theory Y expounds a participative style of management that is de-centralized. It assumes that employees are happy to work, are self-motivated and creative, and enjoy working with greater responsibility. It assumes that workers:

·         Take responsibility and are motivated to fulfill the goals they are given.

·         Seek and accept responsibility and do not need much direction.

·         Consider work as a natural part of life and solve work problems imaginatively.

This more participative management style tends to be more widely applicable. In Y-Type organizations, people at lower levels of the organization are involved extensively in decision making 

Application

Although Theory X management style is widely accepted as inferior to others, it has its place in large scale production operation and unskilled production-line work. Many of the principles of Theory Y are widely adopted by types of organization that value and encourage participation. Theory Y-style management is suited to knowledge work and professional services. Professional service organizations naturally evolve Theory Y-type practices by the nature of their work;  Even highly structure knowledge work, such as call center operations, can benefits from Theory Y principles to encourage knowledge sharing and continuous improvement

CROSSING THE VALLEY :

About Team Work:

The process of working collaboratively with a group of people in order to achieve a goal.

Teamwork is often a crucial part of a business, as it is often necessary for colleagues to work well together, trying their best in any circumstance. Teamwork means that people will try to cooperate, using their individual skills and providing constructive feedback, despite any personal conflict between individuals.

                          

Crossing the valley with trust among team !!!!

Valley crossing is a task the amount of trust, team work and communication between the team. The task it to cross a valley , there are 3 people who have  to cross valley with the help of stick .The job for every 3 of them is to cross the valley safely. The distance between the cliffs is more than 1 step and less than 2 steps. Hence this will ensure that every person is in the air( in danger) once. The team has to make sure that they reach the other end safely.

                                                 

Lessons Learnt from the Activity:

This activity has a lot of lessons of management

·         Working in a Team

The activity requires the three people to be in absolute sync with each other, and work towards a common self-less goal. The situation is similar to that of an organization is a group of people and if it has to reach heights it requires sincere and coordinated effort among all employees, management, owners and others like suppliers.

·         Co-ordination Within a Team

Every step in this activity should be planned out well in advance, theorized and perfected before the actual work can start. One mistake and the lives of three people can be in danger.

·         Importance of Leadership

Of the three people involved in the activity, not all might be able to look at the task with the same eye. It might be daunting to a one (mostly a newbie) and yet another day at work for some one other person. This is where I believe that the role of a leader comes into place. The leader can emerge within the three people or we might have a new leader altogether. But this definitely needs a leader who can drive the team to success. Co-ordinate them, encourage them, review the plan and do everything possible to re-assure his team members.