Lecture – 02
With the learning’s from the previous class, the second
lecture went on to a group activity designed by Dr. Mandi to exemplify, on a
simplified level, the importance of relationships between people at different
positions in an organisation. The activity consisted of building a tower of cubical
blocks. A simple enough activity it seemed at first, but it grew more
complicated when Dr. Mandi told us that it will involve 3 people. One person
would be blindfolded and do the stacking. The second person, who is not allowed
to touch the first person or the blocks, would give instructions for stacking.
The third person would be a distant observer and would intervene only if it was
very necessary.
People were not first told that the person building the
block tower would be blindfolded and were asked to give their estimates about
how many blocks would stand over one another which people guessed to be, as
many as, 40. But, after revealing that the block builder would be blindfolded
the estimates were revised to between 15 to 20 by the majority.
This helped us learn how we should set goals for ourselves
and revise them as and when we encounter information and constraints.
Learning’s from the
activity:
The first person symbolized the manufacturing workforce of
any organisation. The workforce is the core driver in the working of any
organisation, in the sense that the workmen are the ones who physically execute
the core function of the organisation. Yet, the blindfold on the first person
symbolizes the fact that though the workforce is the main executing body of the
organisation, it has to be closely and continuously supervised and it requires
clear and precise instruction on how to do the work that is expected from it,
mainly because the workmen of an organisation do not (and cannot be expected)
to perceive the higher importance of the company’s core functions or understand
the bigger picture of the organisation as a whole.
The second person symbolizes the manager or supervisor who
is not the one who does the work, but is the one who gets the work done. It is
his job to guide, instruct and supervise the people who work. He is expected to
keep track of the progress of the workforce as well as manage all inputs needed
to be provided to it. He basically runs the organisation, at a level higher
than the actual workforce.
The third person symbolizes the top management of an
organisation whose job is to be a leader who represents the organisation in the
society and intervenes in the inner workings of the organisation as and when
the need arises.
Summary:
The activity helped us imagine and understand how important
it is for there to be good relations between these three levels in any
organisation. It is essential for the organisation to become a good contributor
to society and stakeholders.
