The Blindfold Experiment

We already had a vague idea that we would be in for a treat for the second class as well. My prediction was right. Dr.T.Prasad entered the class with his armour of toys and knowledge. This time it was a tower building experiment. We were asked to predict the height of the tower with respect to the number of blocks that can be stacked one over the other. Many voices came up with different numbers and finally a count was fixed for both the following experiment. 

Experiment 1(Craft Management):

A student was asked to arrange the blocks one over the other. He took his time and skilfully stacked up the blocks. There were certain times where the tower suffered the risk of falling and finally the student was able to construct a 22 block tower.

Experiment 2(Modern Management):

Three students were called and they were given respective designations like CEO(S1), Manager(S2), Worker(S3). S1 gave the idea to S2 that what should be done. S2, in turn explained the work to S3. S3 was blindfolded. The job of S3 was to do the job as S2 gave instructions and build the tower. The team was able to manage a commendable 27 block tower.

My Learnings are tabulated as follows:

  

PARAMETER	CRAFT MANAGEMENT(Old School)	MODERN MANAGEMENT(New School)
WORK	Only one person does the work,  hence the work becomes highly  ambiguous	Many persons will do the work, hence the work becomes crystal clear
SATISFACTION	The satisfaction level will be high as he does the complete work on  his own.	The satisfaction level will be less as  the work gets divided and workers  working space becomes narrow.
TIME	Time taken will be more as he has the complete the work single  handedly	Time taken will be less as the work  is divided
SKILL	Since he does the work on his own,  skill set will be high	As a worker is restricted to a single  domain, his skill set will be less
PRODUCTIVITY	Productivity is less	Productivity is more

Hence, Modern Management overtakes Craft Management when the parameters are weighed on Time, Work, Productivity which plays a major role in the present scenario in any organization.

First Class: Introduction to Difference

I was told by many people that management education is all about “Experience”. I didn’t know what they meant then, but now, after a session in Dr.T.Prasad (Popularly known as Dr.Mandi) class I understand each and every letter of what that word means. This was one of the best classroom sessions for me till date. The moment, when he asked students to come forward and sit on the floor I understood that he had a very different approach to teaching. When I expected him to come to class with chalks, presentations and books, he surprised me by bringing a Newton’s cradle, a bird toy and globe rubber ball. I was very eager to understand the logic behind this approach.

NEWTON’S CRADLE

 He took out the Newton’s cradle and pulled away one ball which struck the first ball in the series. The opposite ball gains momentum and swings to a height almost to the height of the release of the first ball. The idea behind the experiment was to highlight the fact that business should have a continuity plan and buyer and seller should share a more or less same momentum while creating a value for a product. I used to play the Newton’s Cradle game application in iTouch but Dr.Mandi helped me to observe a product in a different perspective. Likewise, the physics behind a balancing bird was also explained.          

    

Dr.MANDI’S THOUGHTS

He shared an interesting fact that 4 Engineering students sold 5000 units of Newton’s Cradle toy to start their own company and also encouraged students to start their own company. He emphasized students to travel in a road less travelled and make a mark in the society.

 I always wanted to start my own company and with the help and guidance of Dr. Mandi I feel my job will be made easier.

   

“Aaj Ka Roti Aaj Hi Kamana” – “Earn your Bread Today Itself”

In class, he put forth a question asking how many of us resigned their jobs to join NITIE. Later, he made some interesting calculations and arrived at a figure of 2500 per day. He said our earnings were that much worth (adding NITIE fees) and we have to make up atleast 1% of what we were ought to earn. He further said that we have to use that money to buy your own food.

After the class, I googled Dr. Mandi and I was flooded with information about his sessions, ideas and thoughts. Click here http://www.youtube.com/user/nitieprasad1

I enjoyed the class thoroughly and looking forward to learn more from him.