Principles of Organisation and Management Course 2012 : 05/03/12

Concepts related to TEAMWORK

Team - High performance teams - Self managed teams - Leadership in team - Team formation stages - Team norms - Cohesiveness - Independent tasks - interdependent tasks - Outcome interdependence - Team members' roles - Competition and Coo petition - Authority in teamwork situations - Participative management- Flat teams

Assignment for you:

WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO IN THIS ASSIGNMENT ?

1. You need to execute this activity in physical terms. MUST.

2. Read the materials that are available on NET related to Team Work

3. You need to write Blog on your experience and understanding of team building.

While writing the Blog you must follow the sequence of presentation according to the questions given below.

1. Read the Cartoon given below carefully. This is the assignment for you in groups three members each. Task given to your group is to switch over from left side of the valley to the right side of the valley by taking the support of the pole as shown in the cartoon. Direct jumping and attempts are considered FATAL and not welcomed at all.

Your three friends acting as a team enact this task completely in the class room. Unless your group enacted it .. your group wont get the marks assigned. Management is not just knowing. Management is DOING and IMPLEMENTING and EXPERIENCING . Hence, doing is a must . OK.

2. Your group working together to complete the task ' AS IF CROSSING IS NOTHING BUT A CASUAL WALK ON GIVEN SIMPLE PLAIN LAND'. It is planned to enable the students to understand the teamwork and Organization and Management through experiencing this task.

2. Assignment evaluation :

2.1 Enacting the task..

2.2 Each of the students are assigned to write a blog on their learning related to crossing the valley.

3. Think like a manager and answer the following questions while writing the blog.

Is there any relevance of the GAP / Distance mentioned between two edges for the strategy of three people crossing the valley?
Design the effective roles for three people crossing the valley . Compare and contrast the three member roles ? For the differences, commonalities, difficulties, dependencies in carrying out the task . Narrate specific examples picked up from your and other group's experiences.
Set the Vision, Mission, Objectives, and Goals for crossing the valley that you want to lead ..
How do you motivate the group members ? Mention the slogans, punch words you use to motivate the groups members.
Analise the group development on the lines of team development stages 'Forming - Storming- Norming - Performing' mentioned in the book.
Is there any one / few members leaders in this cartoon ? Identify and make a mention.. on how what kind of leadership contributes for higher team performance.
Write ten important team norms for your team which will help your group to improve overall performance..
Check the figure given in Stoner book - Determinants of Work group effectiveness. Discuss the same with reference to your team performance. .
Develop stage ( 9 Stages ) wise Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for completing the task in the cartoon. Analise the cartoon and prepare a step by step ....TASK SHEET...
Interpret the concepts - Effectiveness and Efficiency and Excellence for the team work situation given in the cartoon.
How do you train the people for this task.. Develop a training module for the participants of this task.
List the the performance parameters for each of the people who are participating in the task ?
Discuss the possible conflicts among the team members quoting examples from your experience in the group..
Explain the concept Paradox of identity, Paradox of individuality, Paradox of regression, Paradox of Group life given in the Stoner book.
How you deal with those conflicts? Write your response for each of the above.
What is meant by Team Effectiveness ? List the team indicators ? How to achieve these ones ?
Explain team cohesiveness for your team? How can team cohesiveness be increased for your team?
Make a video clip of your team task and post it on the You Tube. Post at least FIVE pics as proof of your participation in the task. .
What is Social Loafing ? How it is addressed here in this assignment.
Effective organizations perform well, by defying the human deficiencies, egos, limitations.. How the system could address it ?
What is team cohesiveness ? How it is relevant ?
What is Sociometry ? How do you use it for high teamperformance ?

Three wise men Crossing the valley - Detailed task process

Persons	First Person	Second Person	Third person
Step	First Person	Second Person	Third person
1	Safe	Safe	Safe
2	Half Risky,
3	Full Risky,
4	Half Risky,	Half Risky,
5		Full Risky,
6		Half Risky,	Half Risky,
7			Full Risky,
8			Half Risky,
9	Safe	Safe	Safe

A. Safe - Both the legs of the person have full support

B. Half Risky – One leg in the air and the other leg has support

C. Full risky - Both the legs are in the air without any support

D. Half risky – One leg is in the air and the other leg has support

E. Safe - Both the legs have full support

Try to make use of all possible reference materials from sources like You Tube. and quote them for the audience.

This is the picture how your seniors have working on this assignment.. GOOD LUCK.

Try to read and understand the concepts given at the end of the chapter:

Team Excellence : Result and performance which mesmerizes one and all is Excellence. Excellence can be witnessed by the amazement people feel by looking at the results ; Claps people give for the result.

Interlocking roles: Roles which are connected one to the other is interlocked. Here in this exercise, member roles for crossing the vallye are interlocked. It is the ability of the management to think the roles in such a way. Team success comes with designing and executing the same.

Social Loafing: Some team members may loafer compared to the others. Loafers are UNDER PERFORM. They see a benefit by undermining. this is called social loafing. All team situations will have loafing of members . But team roles need to be designed in such a way that team members

Efficiency: How well the team members could achieve the results is reflected. Lesser effort they put in, lesser time spend with in which they could achieve their goal is an indication of efficiency.

Effectiveness: Doing right thing is effectiveness. Here three members crossing the valley, if universally people hail this as the best method then it is called effectiveness. a method of working which is HAVING THE right reason is called effectiveness. Because it is amazing to see three people so convincingly crossed the valley..

Team Vision: Team wants to cross the valley in such way that the whole world will appreciate their work.

Mission : Crossing the valley with the support of a pole and taking all three people minimum effort.

Cooperation : Help and effort each of the members contributed to team.

Coordination: Members cooperation are put in systematic way so that the result of crossing the valley is achieved. Cordi nation is not cooperation. It is one more thing in addition to the cooperation. Management is more concerned with coordinating the cooperation of the individuals so that over all result is achieved.

Conceptual Skills: Imagining the way how to cross the valley is the conceptual skill. It may seem to be simple but the issue in management is IMAGINING which is highly demanded skill which is called CONCEPTUAL skill.

Crossing the Valley - Cartoon as a case for learning management lessons

Dr Mandi, Professor of Dhandha @ NITIE Mumbai

Introduction

This pictorial is - ambiguous, invokes thinking, allows to open up the thought process. This can be used as good learning material. Dr Mandi used this as a learnign material. He developed a framework on how to interpret this pictorial.

Cartoon Theme : Three member crossing the valley

Anonymous cartoon, author states that it is not created by him and not knows who made it, but only using as a prop for creating learning

Three members crossing the valley

Pictorial cartoon is give above. As shown in the cartoon, it was a deep valley and THREE people have to cross the valley from left side of the valley to right side. Shortest distance between two sides of the valley was little more than one step for a person but less than two steps’. Cartoon indirectly hints that with the simple act of jumping it is impossible to cross the valley without fatal consequences. As depicted in the cartoon, three people with the support of a straight pole cross the valley.

Challenge in the cartoon is :

You are the MANAGER assumed the task of helping the three people in crossing the valley. You need to come out with a well conceived management plan for this to happen. Try to answer the following questions:

1. Design the step by step process of crossing the valley ?

- Sketch is given in the next page -

	C - B - A Positions and Task	C	B	A
1	^^^ ___	1C Safe	1B Safe	1A Safe
2	_^^^___	2C Pull Down	2B Fulcrum	2A Half Safe
2	_^^^___
3		3C Pull Down	3B Fulcrum	3A Hanging - UNSAFE
3
4		4C	4B Fulcrum & Halfsafe	4A Half Safe Pull down
4
5		5C Carry	5B Hanging- UNSAFE	5A Carry
5
6		6C Half safe	6B Fulcrum & Half Safe	6A Pull Down
6
7		7C Hanging- UNSAFE	7B Fulcrum	7A Pull Down
8		8C Half Safe	8B Fulcrum	8A Pull Down
9		9C	9B	9A
9		Safe	Safe	Safe

2. Illustrate the 8 Step work process that is involved in crossing the river. Develop systematic task processes that are involved.

- 8 step crossing process

- Tasks and roles - Three people take variety of roles as they cross the valley. They change their roles in tandem with given accuracy.

- Technical arrangements needed - Strength of the pole, creating the markings on the pole to help the persons to know where to catch the pole

- People Competencies that are needed - Skill and competencies than the will and way to do.

- Traning inputs that are needed

Physical drill, Cooperation and coordination,

Motivating the people right kind of slogans

- Principles that need to be kept in mind :

The factors viz., ‘Physical stamina’,

Need for extra infrastructure for crossing the valley are made irrelevant.

Three people crossing the valley practice at NITIE Mumbai

3. Illustrate the task roles for THREE people in crossing the valley

4. Compare and contrast the three member roles - A Vs. B Vs. C .

Job of Person A: Jobber A is the first person who undertakes the work. And other two will follow him / her. Being the first person to undertake the job he may be called ‘ DISCOVERER’ who is said to be assuming additional effort in assuming the work.

Job of Person B: Jobber B follows his fore walker i.e/. Jobber A hence Jobber B is follower. Comparatively, Jobber B’s job is less risky compared to Jobber A and more risky compared to Jobber A.

Job of Person C: Similar to Jobber B, Jobber C will follow his / her fore walkers in crossing the valley. Comparatively , Jobber C’s job is less risky compared to Jobber B and Jobber A.

5. What are the salient features of the above action plan ?

While drawing the above action plan two important principles are kept in mind for the safety of the people crossing the valley in an excellent manner.

ONE - If one carefully observe the designing of crossing the valley plan, all the time, TWO full persons equivalent are involved in crossing. Third person does not have role at any given time.

Further, work process is so designed that at max. ONLY ONE person equivalent at any given time was not steadily ( RISKY) based on.

Further, work process is so designed that at any given time FOUR legs are bearing the load of one person. Designing such a plan is most efficient and effective given the situation. It is providing enough safety for the people to cross the valley .

TWO - Overall, each of the three persons were undertaking equal and similar work without any variation / difference. Equal work and Similar work is the NORM that is followed in designing the work process in this case..

However, important point to be noted is that all though same and equal work is being done by the three people, the sequence of the same work varies among the same three persons. This variation in distribution of work has its own implications for the individuals.

THREE: Making the physical stamina of people irrelevant in crossing the valley : Focus of the work design used here was to develop a work system where people’s stamina is not important.

6. Similarity and differences of Roles of three people

Category of tasks	Similar Cluster of TASKS	Role Defination
Safe	1A, 1B, 1C 9A, 9B, 9C
Half safe	2A, 6C … 4A,
Hanging & Unsafe	3A, 5B, 7C	- No Effort; Depends on other members -
Fulcrum & Half safe	4B,6B	- Effort is needed to maintain fulcrum ; Depends on others
Pull down		- Others depend on

7. What is the plan to allocate the tasks among the three people?

Overall, sum total of total tasks, burdens and responsibilities that are shared by the three people is equal. However, there are variations among the roles of A, B and C in assuming the roles. Accordingly roles are assigned.

8. What kind of training you think is needed to prepare the three people to assume and enact their roles as enunciated in the action plan. Design a training plan for the same.

- Understanding the nature of people’s contributions - Cooperation - for crossing the valley

- Persons contribute their cooperations for the completion of task

- Understanding the need for synchronization - Coordination of cooperation

- Practicing the synchronization of their efforts (equi-length steps and eqi-speed steps and steps in tandem ) through physical drill

- Practicising each of the steps by the three people separately and together

9. Illustrate the importance of Conceptual - Human - Technical skills in completing the task.

Conceptual skills - Imagining the ‘ Unimaginable as Imaginable’. Contributes immensely towards EXCELLENCE

Human skills - Influencing, communicating to people .. Makes it possible to realize what is possible.

Technical skills - Task planning,

10. Is there any role for the subject called ‘MANAGEMENT’ in completion of this task? What is that role envisage it?

There involves the Management which brings in the vitality in the present case. Management may include the following

- Visualizing the impossible to be possible

- Make happen the impossible a possible

- Detailed and meticulous planning of the task and roles

- Allocating the tasks and training the people

- Motivating the people to take up the task and achievement of excellence

11. Describe the MANAGERIAL EXCELLENCE with reference to the task given.

Managerial Excellence = Managerial Efficiency X Managerial Effectiveness

Excellence is a combination of three words - Effective Grand Surprise. Three people crossing the valley satisfies the three words ‘ Effective Grand Surprise’.

12. Identify the limitations a typical MANAGER face in undertaking the task.

· Fatal nature of the task

· Resource constraints

· People limitations

13. Write an appropriate caption for Crossing the Valley cartoon

SKY WALK -

People in general walk on a plain and safe land. It is unimaginable to think people can walk in the sky without any grounding. The plan drawn for this cartoon makes the fatal task into a cake walk. Hence it is labeled as SKY WALK.

14. Try to suggest suitable alternate methods ( with the given limitations) for crossing the valley

15. ? ?

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Thursday, May 3, 2012

POM Course 2012 Assignment No. I - Crossing the Valley

Assignment I : Crossing the Valley - Teamwork

Concepts related to TEAMWORK

Assignment for you: