My Digital CV...

Management by objectives (MBO)...

Management By Objective(MBO) was first introduced by Peter Drucker in 1954 in his book, the practice of Management, MBO is both a philosophy and an approach of management. It is a process in which superiors and subordinates sit together to identify the common objectives and set the goals which are to be achieved by the subordinates, assess the contribution of each individual and integrate individual objectives with those of the organisation so as to make best use of the available resources of the organisation.

The essence of an MBO system lies in the establishment of common goals by managers and their subordinates acting together. Each person's major areas of responsibility are clearly defined in terms of measurable expected results (objectives). These objectives are used by subordinates in planning their work and by both subordinates and their superiors for monitoring progress. Performance appraisals are conducted jointly on a continuing basis, with provisions for regular periodic reviews.

MBO as a Philosophy: MBO is a philosophy of management. It is more than a set of techniques. It emphasis on what is to achieve, not how to achieve. It suggests how the best use of available resources may be done to achieve the expected objectives. Peter Drucker writes, "MBO may properly be called a 'philosophy' of management because it rests on a concept of human action, behaviour, and motivation. Finally, it applies to every manager, whatever his level or function, and to every organisation, whether large or small."

MBO as an Approach: MBO is an approach to management. Approach refers to various tools or techniques used in order to achieve the objectives. MBO introduces several new techniques of management. It also enhances the relevance and utility of existing ones. It is thus, a joint application of a number of principles and techniques. It works as an integrating device. Many principles and techniques of planning and control are used in an organisation in the normal situation, but in MBO the focus is more on these techniques.

MBO programs have achieved considerable acceptance, even though they require a great deal of time and energy, because they appear to result in improved performance and higher morale. Today, MBO is used not only as a technique of goal setting but also as a total system of planning, motivation,performance appraisal and self-control.

Navarang...

Navrang:

A cube made of 27 smaller cubes of 9 different colors (3 of each type making 9*3=27). It was required s to assemble Navrang cube in such a way that each face will contain all the 9 colors. We started building the cube by combining the cubes randomly. We did not use any concept or process to complete the task. Then Dr. Mandi showed  a structured way to solve the cube problem.While we were making the cube we learnt another big management funda. Below is the video of the process followed to make the cube:

Learning from the Navarang exercise:

An organizational structure consists of activities such as task allocation, coordination and supervision, which are directed towards the achievement of organizational aims. It can also be considered as the viewing glass or perspective through which individuals see their organization and its environment.

An organization can be structured in many different ways, depending on their objectives. The structure of an organization will determine the modes in which it operates and performs.

Organizational structure allows the expressed allocation of responsibilities for different functions and processes to different entities such as the branch, department, workgroup and individual

Organizational structure affects organizational action in two big ways. First, it provides the foundation on which standard operating procedures and routines rest. Second, it determines which individuals get to participate in which decision-making processes, and thus to what extent their views shape the organization’s actions.

Example of organizational structure:

It is important to deal with structure early in the organization's development. Structural development can occur in proportion to other work the organization is doing, so that it does not crowd out that work. And it can occur in parallel with, at the same time as organization's growing accomplishments, so they take place in tandem, side by side. This means that one should think about structure from the beginning of organization's life. As group grows and changes, so should thinking on the group's structure.

Evolution of Management Theory...

Historical Background of Management

Management origin not clearly traced in history. However, it would not be wrong to say that it is as old as the origin of human beings.

    • Modern Management began in the late 19th c.

    • Organization were seeking ways to better satisfy customer needs.

    • Machinery was changing the way goods were produced.

    • Managers had to increase the efficiency of the worker-task mix.

    • Planning, organizing, leading and controlling became necessary.

Early Management Theories

    • Early Theories of Organization  merged mainly from military and Catholic Church. The symbol of the machine was dominant, where Organization are viewed as machines. Therefore, the organizational application was, since workers behave predictably, management knows what to expect, and workers operating outside expectations are replaced.

Modern mgt is the collaboration of people and machines to create value. In the early days of industrialization the innovators of machines and the innovators of organization and management were engineers. Engineers, after all, were the ones closest to the machines, and this fact placed them at the interaction of workers and machines. This certainly helps explain Frederick Taylor and his invention of "Scientific Management".

CLASSICAL MANAGEMENT THEORIES

      ▪ Emerged in the early part of the 20th c.

      ▪ Models were military and the Catholic Church.

      ▪ Features

        • Strict CONTROL of workers

        • Absolute CHAINS of COMMAND

        • PREDICTABILITY of behavior

        • UNIDIRECTIONAL downward influence

There are 3 well-established theories of classical mgt:

      • Taylor’s Theory of Scientific Management,

      • Fayol’s Administrative Theory,

      • Weber’s Theory of Bureaucracy.

However, Fayol’s Administrative Theory and Weber’s Theory of Bureaucracy emphasize development of managerial principles rather than work methods.

SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT THEORY The search for efficiency started

with the study of how managers could improve person–task relationships to

increase efficiency. The concept of job specialization and division of labour

remains the basis for the design of work settings in modern organizations. New

developments like lean production and total quality management are often viewed

as advances on the early scientific management principles developed by Taylor

and the Gilbreths.

ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGEMENT THEORY 

Max Weber and Henri Fayol outlined principles of bureaucracy and administration that are as relevant

to managers today as when they were written at the turn of the twentieth century.

Much of modern management research refines these principles to suit

contemporary conditions. For example, the increasing interest in the use of crossdepartmental

teams and the empowerment of workers are issues that managers

also faced a century ago.

BEHAVIOURAL MANAGEMENT THEORY Researchers have described

many different approaches to managerial behaviour, including Theories X and Y.

Often, the managerial behaviour that researchers suggest reflects the context of

their own historical era and culture. Mary Parker Follett advocated managerial

behaviours that did not reflect accepted modes of managerial behaviour at the

time, but her work was largely ignored until conditions changed.

MANAGEMENT SCIENCE THEORY The various branches of management

science theory provide rigorous quantitative techniques that give managers

more control over their organization’s use of resources to produce goods

and services.

ORGANIZATIONAL ENVIRONMENT THEORY The importance of

studying the organization’s external environment became clear after the development

of open-systems theory and contingency theory during the 1960s. A main

focus of contemporary management research is to find methods to help managers

improve the way they utilize organizational resources and compete successfully in

the global environment. Strategic management and total quality management are

two important approaches intended to help managers make better use of organizational

resources.

Hawthorne effect: Observer effect

What is Hawthorne effect?

The Hawthorne effect is a psychological phenomenon that produces an improvement in human behavior or performance as a result of increased attention from superiors, clients or colleagues. In a collaborative effort, the effect can enhance results by creating a sense of teamwork and common purpose. In social networking, the effect may operate like peer pressure to improve the behavior of participants. 

The original effect was discovered by productivity researchers at the Hawthorne  Works of the Western Electric Company in the 1920's, who found that just about any intervention seemed to improve productivity, from minor changes in lighting to the kind of food provided. The researchers speculated that just being the focus of well-intentioned management efforts to improve their lot helped the workers’ morale (by leading them to trust management’s genuine concern for their welfare) and led to higher productivity. Or to put it another way, given the same set of laborers, the management model that involves paying more attention will do better. 

How can the Hawthorne Effect be used in Modern Business?

The Hawthorne Effect is also popular in modern business. By understanding how and why workers increase production under certain circumstances, managers can get the maximum return on labor costs and improve worker relations.

While the Hawthorne Effect can be a great way to increase production in the short term, it may be difficult to realize long term benefits. Over time, workers get use to the constant supervision. Their work eventually slows until production returns to normal levels. I experienced this first hand in my previous job working for a light manufacturing company. Our department had just gotten a new contract assembling parts for a local truck manufacturing plant. During the early stages of the project, we were constantly observed by management from both our company and the company who supplied the contract. Starting out, we were able to easily build 30-32 unites everyday. However, as weeks went by, we began to struggle to produce 28 units in a day regardless of how hard we tried. Management soon became frustrated and accused us of not working as hard as we did in the beginning. Within a year, nearly half of the workers in the department left the company because of tension between employees and management.

                                       http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJWPgYjhO9g

Another aspect of the Hawthorne Effect in modern business is the ability to improve worker morale. Many people take great pride in their work. There is a sense of accomplishment to achieve great milestones during the work day. By utilizing Hawthorne Effect methodology, managers can improve their employees sense of being and importance to the company. The key is for managers to be aware of the progress employees make each day and offer praise and gratitude for their hard work and accomplishments.

HOW TO CROSS THIS VALLEY ???

This time Dr.Mandi came up with new challenge, which was more of learning and enjoying in the class. The problem of crossing a valley by 3 persons with the help of a single rod. I will analyse the whole class discussion in this blog now.

Problem: We have a valley which has a gap and our objective is to cross that valley by 3 persons who only have themselves and a single rod to help them cross the valley.

Challenges: The main difficulty in crossing the valley is that the gap of the valley is greater than 1 step and less than 2 steps. So it is impossible for a single person to walk over this gap and land on the other side of the valley. Also all the 3 persons must be holding the rod simultaneously at all positions and the rod can never be put down.

 Solution: Even I felt the same but was eager to know how it could be done. The solution that was presented looked like this:

Execution and Analysis of the Solution: 

 There were three states which came up during the valley crossing which were as follows:

·                      Safe State: Safe state is the one in which both the feet of a person is on ground and he is in not in danger.

·                     Half Safe: Half Safe is the state in which one leg of the man is in air and the other one on ground.

·                     Full Risky: Full risky is the state in which both the legs of the man is in air and his body weight is supported by the other two men.

1) At the first instance, the first person would take a step forward and would have one feet in the air while the other one is on the ground. (Half Safe).

2 )  In the second step the first person would be fully in air and his weight would be supported by the rest of the two persons.

3) In the next step , the second person would be have his front leg in air while the back leg on ground whereas the first person would have his front leg on ground and the back leg in air ( Both in half safe state) .

4) After this step, 2nd person would have both the legs in the air while the 1st person would have reached the other side of the valley and would be safe by now.

5) In the next step , the 2nd person would be in half risky state as one of his leg would be in air while the other one on ground and also the 3rd person would be in the same state.

6) In the subsequent step 2nd person would land on the ground on the other side of the valley whereas the 3rd person would be completely off the ground and his body weight would be on 1st and 2nd person.

7) Following that the 3rd person would now be in half safe state as he puts one of his legs on ground while keeping the other one in air.

8) Finally the 3rd person would also land both his feet on the ground and would be in safe position as would be the other two.

 Learning from this valley crossing:

1.                   Faith:  The single most important factor for their success was the faith factor. Trust was necessary for them because when somebody was in full risky state all of his hope was on the other two and if any of the two failed then he could have fallen into the valley. But he kept on the faith and made it to the other side of the valley. Similarly even in commercial level we need to trust others. We need to trust other people and have faith in their talent and capability.

     2. Load Sharing:  At all the positions while crossing everyone shared equal load. At no time was any person more responsible for a success/failure than the other one and this defines why they had success in the end. They showed great responsibility while carrying each other. Similarly in our business world we need to share and take responsibility. Unless we take it ourselves nothing would be beneficial for us. Once we start taking it and execute it properly we will see results showing good in our favor as well.

3. COORDINATION : Nothing would have been possible unless there was coordination at place. If they had lost a single bit of coordination  at any point then the whole idea would have failed. Similarly in our business world we need to coordinate things properly. If not done well the whole thing could go haywire resulting in utter failure of the concept in spite of hard work. This coordination should be there all throughout the hierarchy of the organization.

     
      4 . FOCUS :  Focus was one thing that they did not lose. Until they had reached their goal they did not even shifted their focus for a single bit. This defines a true quality of an entrepreneur. One should never lose focus till one has reached where he had aspired for.

Smart goals...

SMART is a mnemonic used to set objectives, often called Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), for example for project management, employee performance management and personal development.

The acronym letters broadly conform to the following parameters :

• Specific
• Measurable
• Attainable
• Relevant
• Time bound

Developing goals upon these parameters :

1. Specific :

The first term stresses the need for a specific goal over and against a more general one. This means the goal is clear and unambiguous; without vagaries and platitudes. To make goals specific, they must tell a team exactly what is expected, why is it important, who’s involved, where is it going to happen and which attributes are important.

2. Measurable :

The second term stresses the need for concrete criteria for measuring progress toward the attainment of the goal. The thought behind this is that if a goal is not measurable, it is not possible to know whether a team is making progress toward successful completion. Measuring progress is supposed to help a team stay on track, reach its target dates, and experience the exhilaration of achievement that spurs it on to continued effort required to reach the ultimate goal.

3. Achievable :

The third term stresses the importance of goals that are realistic and attainable. While an attainable goal may stretch a team in order to achieve it, the goal is not extreme. That is, the goals are neither out of reach nor below standard performance, as these may be considered meaningless. When you identify goals that are most important to you, you begin to figure out ways you can make them come true. You develop the attitudes, abilities, skills, and financial capacity to reach them. The theory states that an attainable goal may cause goal-setters to identify previously overlooked opportunities to bring themselves closer to the achievement of their goals.

4. Relevant :

The fourth term stresses the importance of choosing goals that matter. A Bank Manager's goal to "Make 50 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches by 2:00pm." may be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, and Time-Bound, but lacks Relevance. Many times you will need support to accomplish a goal: resources, a champion voice, someone to knock down obstacles. Goals that are relevant to your boss, your team, your organization will receive that needed support.

Relevant goals (when met) drive the team, department, and organization forward. A goal that supports or is in alignment with other goals would be considered a relevant goal.

5. Time-bound :

The fifth term stresses the importance of grounding goals within a time frame, giving them a target date. A commitment to a deadline helps a team focus their efforts on completion of the goal on or before the due date. This part of the S.M.A.R.T. goal criteria is intended to prevent goals from being overtaken by the day-to-day crises that invariably arise in an organization. A time-bound goal is intended to establish a sense of urgency.