My Management Learnings.
My first attempt to share my learning. I Will Thank Proff. Mandi for this blog.
Tuesday, 27 August 2013
A free world-class education for anyone anywhere- KhanAcademy
Khan Academy : Evolution of Teaching
Salman Khan, who founded the
Khan academy, is harnessing the power of the internet to teach 100,000 pupils a
month from the comfort of their own home.
Pupils watch the lessons on
their computers and then get together in the classroom to work through exercises
and receive tutoring from their teacher.
Beginnings :
Khan Academy began in 2006 as
a tidy collection of math and science tutorial videos from its founder Salman
Khan, a hedge-fund analyst who had posted the material to help friends and
relatives. Its popularity snowballed, and in recent years Khan has beefed up
the software that sits behind and around the video lessons, delivering
interactive practice exercises and enabling conversation and remote teaching.
Organisation Structure :
From just two programmers at the beginning of
2011 and five programmers a year ago, Khan is up to 20 coders now, not counting
15 summer interns. It could use more engineers, but has deliberately slowed its
hiring to preserve its laid-back workplace culture, which includes group
outings for bowling, movies, and board games.
In many ways, Khan Academy
resembles a software startup more than a traditional nonprofit. Workers say the
pace of software development can be intense – “I am working as hard as I was at
Facebook, if not harder,” says Juan – and the salary is calibrated to match
that intensity.
“We compensate extremely well,
especially for this area,” says Ben Kamens, who quit Fog Creek, a well-regarded
New York software boutique, to join Khan as lead developer, bringing a
programmer coworker along with him. “Life here is pretty good and we wouldn’t
be able to hire the team we’ve hired if that wasn’t the case.”
Khan is constantly peppered
with unsolicited overtures from people interested in helping to improve the academy’s
code base, Kamens says, a wide spectrum of developers including the very
seasoned and very young. That’s partly because Khan invites contributions to
its source code, freely available on GitHub, but also because the organization
is at the center of the hot, fast-emerging online education movement.
How it works for students: Watch the video-
The Khan Advantage :
There are no textbooks and no
teacher lecturing. The students watch the Khan video for homework the night
before to learn a concept. Then, they come to class and do problem sets called
modules and they can get one-on-one help. There is less lecturing and more
interaction. What you think of as homework, you do at home, and what you would
normally do in the classroom, you do at home (they call it “flipping the
classroom”). You are able to rewind or pause the video if you miss something or
aren’t understanding something. Computer lab at the school is open until 10 PM.
In addition, the teacher can
help with the student’s progress. The teacher doesn’t have to assume that
everyone understands everything. She can see who needs help and how long each
student took on each problem with this software. The teacher then can have mini
workshops with those few students that need help in a certain area of math.
They are gathering data from these classrooms and those who are watching the
videos online. There have been 41 million visits in the past 18 months from
people in the United States alone.
It’s really neat to see how
the future of education is changing for the better because of technology,
specifically through Khan Academy. I think that I would’ve done much better in
math with this type of learning. It sounds like the software really helps the
teacher see what students need help and in what areas. That way the students
who are excelling can continue learning new material and the students who need
help can get one-on-one help from the teacher.
"A global classroom- A free world-class education for anyone anywhere."
For more information you can visit the website - https://www.khanacademy.org/
Fayol's Principles of Management
Henri Fayol (1841-1925), On
Theory of Administration
Henri Fayol was a French
mining engineer and director of mines. He developed a general theory of
business administration, known as “Fayolism”, which was independent of the
theory of Scientific Management. Fayol was one of the most influential
contributors to the modern concepts of management who stressed that the theory
of administration was equally applicable to all forms of organised human
cooperation. His major publication was Administration Industrielle et
Generale, 1916.
The 14 Principles of Management by Fayol:
1. Division of
Labor
- Henry Fayol has stressed on the
specialization of jobs.
- He recommended that work of all kinds
must be divided & subdivided and allotted to various persons
according to their expertise in a particular area.
- Subdivision of work makes it simpler and
results in efficiency.
- It also helps the individual in acquiring
speed, accuracy in his performance.
- Specialization leads to efficiency &
economy in spheres of business.
2. Party of
Authority & Responsibility
- Authority & responsibility are
co-existing.
- If authority is given to a person, he
should also be made responsible.
- In a same way, if anyone is made
responsible for any job, he should also have concerned authority.
- Authority refers to the right of
superiors to get exactness from their sub-ordinates whereas
responsibility means obligation for the performance of the job assigned.
- There should be a balance between the two
i.e. they must go hand in hand.
- Authority without responsibility leads to
irresponsible behavior whereas responsibility without authority makes the
person ineffective.
3. Principle of One Boss
- A sub-ordinate should receive orders and
be accountable to one and only one boss at a time.
- In other words, a sub-ordinate should not
receive instructions from more than one person because -
- It
undermines authority
- Weakens discipline
- Divides loyalty
- Creates confusion
- Delays and chaos
- Escaping responsibilities
- Duplication of work
- Overlapping of efforts
- Weakens discipline
- Divides loyalty
- Creates confusion
- Delays and chaos
- Escaping responsibilities
- Duplication of work
- Overlapping of efforts
- Therefore, dual sub-ordination should be
avoided unless and until it is absolutely essential.
- Unity of command provides the enterprise
a disciplined, stable & orderly existence.
- It creates harmonious relationship
between superiors and sub-ordinates.
4. Unity of
Direction
- Fayol advocates one head one plan which
means that there should be one plan for a group of activities having
similar objectives.
- Related activities should be grouped
together. There should be one plan of action for them and they should be
under the charge of a particular manager.
- According to this principle, efforts of
all the members of the organization should be directed towards common
goal.
- Without unity of direction, unity of
action cannot be achieved.
- In fact, unity of command is not possible
without unity of direction.
Basis
|
Unity
of command
|
Unity
of direction
|
Meaning
|
It implies that a sub-ordinate should receive
orders & instructions from only one boss.
|
It means one head, one plan for a group of
activities having similar objectives.
|
Nature
|
It is related to the functioning of
personnel’s.
|
It is related to the functioning of
departments, or organization as a whole.
|
Necessity
|
It is necessary for fixing responsibility of
each subordinates.
|
It is necessary for sound organization.
|
Advantage
|
It avoids conflicts, confusion & chaos.
|
It avoids duplication of efforts and wastage
of resources.
|
Result
|
It leads to better superior sub-ordinate
relationship.
|
It leads to smooth running of the enterprise.
|
Therefore it is obvious that
they are different from each other but they are dependent on each other i.e.
unity of direction is a pre-requisite for unity of command. But it does not
automatically comes from the unity of direction.
5. Equity
- Equity means combination of fairness,
kindness & justice.
- The employees should be treated with
kindness & equity if devotion is expected of them.
- It implies that managers should be fair
and impartial while dealing with the subordinates.
- They should give similar treatment to
people of similar position.
- They should not discriminate with respect
to age, caste, sex, religion, relation etc.
- Equity is essential to create and
maintain cordial relations between the managers and sub-ordinate.
- But equity does not mean total absence of
harshness.
- Fayol was of opinion that, “at times
force and harshness might become necessary for the sake of equity”.
6. Order
- This principle is concerned with proper
& systematic arrangement of things and people.
- Arrangement of things is called material
order and placement of people is called social order.
- Material order- There should be safe,
appropriate and specific place for every article and every place to be
effectively used for specific activity and commodity.
- Social order- Selection and appointment
of most suitable person on the suitable job. There should be a specific
place for every one and everyone should have a specific place so that
they can easily be contacted whenever need arises.
7. Discipline
- According to Fayol, “Discipline means
sincerity, obedience, respect of authority & observance of rules and
regulations of the enterprise”.
- This principle applies that subordinate
should respect their superiors and obey their order.
- It is an important requisite for smooth
running of the enterprise.
- Discipline is not only required on path
of subordinates but also on the part of management.
- Discipline can be enforced if -
- There
are good superiors at all levels.
- There are clear & fair agreements with workers.
- Sanctions (punishments) are judiciously applied.
- There are clear & fair agreements with workers.
- Sanctions (punishments) are judiciously applied.
8. Initiative
- Workers should be encouraged to take
initiative in the work assigned to them.
- It means eagerness to initiate actions
without being asked to do so.
- Fayol advised that management should
provide opportunity to its employees to suggest ideas, experiences&
new method of work.
- It helps in developing an atmosphere of
trust and understanding.
- People then enjoy working in the
organization because it adds to their zeal and energy.
- To suggest improvement in formulation
& implementation of place.
- They can be encouraged with the help of
monetary & non-monetary incentives.
9. Fair
Remuneration
- The quantum and method of remuneration to
be paid to the workers should be fair, reasonable, satisfactory &
rewarding of the efforts.
- As far as possible it should accord
satisfaction to both employer and the employees.
- Wages should be determined on the basis
of cost of living, work assigned, financial position of the business,
wage rate prevailing etc.
- Logical & appropriate wage rates and
methods of their payment reduce tension & differences between workers
& management creates harmonious relationship and pleasing atmosphere
of work.
- Fayol also recommended provision of other
benefits such as free education, medical & residential facilities to
workers.
10. Stability of Tenure
- Fayol emphasized that employees should
not be moved frequently from one job position to another i.e. the period
of service in a job should be fixed.
- Therefore employees should be appointed
after keeping in view principles of recruitment & selection but once
they are appointed their services should be served.
- According to Fayol. “Time is required for
an employee to get used to a new work & succeed to doing it well but
if he is removed before that he will not be able to render worthwhile
services”.
- As a result, the time, effort and money
spent on training the worker will go waste.
- Stability of job creates team spirit and
a sense of belongingness among workers which ultimately increase the
quality as well as quantity of work.
11. Scalar Chain
- Fayol defines scalar chain as ’The chain
of superiors ranging from the ultimate authority to the lowest”.
- Every orders, instructions, messages,
requests, explanation etc. has to pass through Scalar chain.
- But, for the sake of convenience &
urgency, this path can be cut shirt and this short cut is known as Gang
Plank.
- A Gang Plank is a temporary arrangement between two different points to facilitate quick & easy communication.
12. Sub-Ordination of Individual Interest
to General Interest
- An organization is much bigger than the
individual it constitutes therefore interest of the undertaking should
prevail in all circumstances.
- As far as possible, reconciliation should
be achieved between individual and group interests.
- But in case of conflict, individual must
sacrifice for bigger interests.
- In order to achieve this attitude, it is
essential that -
- Employees
should be honest & sincere.
- Proper & regular supervision of work.
- Reconciliation of mutual differences and clashes by mutual agreement. For example, for change of location of plant, for change of profit sharing ratio, etc.
- Proper & regular supervision of work.
- Reconciliation of mutual differences and clashes by mutual agreement. For example, for change of location of plant, for change of profit sharing ratio, etc.
13. Espirit De’ Corps (can be achieved
through unity of command)
- It refers to team spirit i.e. harmony in
the work groups and mutual understanding among the members.
- Spirit De’ Corps inspires workers to work
harder.
- Fayol cautioned the managers against
dividing the employees into competing groups because it might damage the
moral of the workers and interest of the undertaking in the long run.
- To inculcate Espirit De’ Corps following
steps should be undertaken -
- There should be proper co-ordination of
work at all levels
- Subordinates should be encouraged to
develop informal relations among themselves.
- Efforts should be made to create
enthusiasm and keenness among subordinates so that they can work to the
maximum ability.
- Efficient employees should be rewarded
and those who are not up to the mark should be given a chance to improve
their performance.
- Subordinates should be made conscious of
that whatever they are doing is of great importance to the business
& society.
- He also cautioned against the more use of
Britain communication to the subordinates i.e. face to face communication
should be developed. The managers should infuse team spirit &
belongingness. There should be no place for misunderstanding. People then
enjoy working in the organization & offer their best towards the
organization.
14. Centralization & De-Centralization
- Centralization means concentration of
authority at the top level. In other words, centralization is a situation
in which top management retains most of the decision making authority.
- Decentralization means disposal of
decision making authority to all the levels of the organization. In other
words, sharing authority downwards is decentralization.
- According to Fayol, “Degree of
centralization or decentralization depends on no. of factors like size of
business, experience of superiors, dependability & ability of
subordinates etc.
- Anything which increases the role of
subordinate is decentralization & anything which decreases it is
centralization.
- Fayol suggested that absolute
centralization or decentralization is not feasible. An organization
should strike to achieve a lot between the two
Keep Following !!
Saturday, 10 August 2013
Top 7 Benefits of Organizational Structures !!
While there are many different structures that organizations can
adopt, depending upon the type of organization including whether it is a
service organization or a manufacturing organization, a well structured
organization has many benefits.
1. Proper Coordination:
It has a built-in system of “checks and balances” so that the
progress towards the attainment of objectives is evaluated along the way so
that any required adjustments can be made and any new decisions required can be
taken
2. Easier Communication:
Since the lines of communication and flow of authority are
clearly identified on the organizational chart, the intercommunication is both
clearer and easier and it eliminates ambiguity.
3. Minimum Conflicts:
Since each person is assigned a particular job to perform, the
responsibility of performing that job rests solely with him. It results in
traceability of outcomes and the work interdependency of that particular task
is reduced to a minimum.
4. Eliminates overlapping and duplication of work:
Duplication exists when work distribution is not clearly
identified and the work is performed in a haphazard and disorganized way. Since
a good organizational structure requires that the duties be clearly defined and
assigned, such duplication of work is eliminated.
5. Decreases likelihood of “run-arounds:”
The run-arounds occur when we do not know who is responsible for
what and we are not sent to the right people in the first instance for getting
some work done. However, in a well-organized company where the responsibilities
are clearly established, this does not occur.
6. Facilitates promotions of personnel:
Since the organizational chart clearly pinpoints the positions
of individuals relative to one another, it is easier to know as to which level
a person has reached at any given time in the organizational hierarchy.
Furthermore since each job is well described in terms of qualifications and
duties, the promotional stages can be more clearly established.
7. Effective Planning:
Since the goals are clearly established and resources clearly
identified, both short term as well as strategic planning becomes more focused
and realistic and such planning contains the provision to permit changes to be
made in the right direction including expansion and contraction of facilities,
operations and activities when it becomes necessary.
All about Organizational Structures !!
Objective
– To Share my learnings on Organizational Structure
Organizational
Structure is all about designed tasks, lines of authority, duties and
supervision in achieving organizational objectives. Organizational structure is
formed by how the organization is designed around these activities and lines of
authority so there can be various types of organizational structures according
to their needs. There are six major elements of organizational structure or
design.
Work Specialization
It means that your labour is specialized in
one task and they do that repeatedly and becomes expert of it. So organizations
have to decide what type of work force is required to perform the tasks. Work
specialization improves the efficiency and eventually employee productivity.
But there is also dark side of being work specialized, it creates monotonous and
employees get bored of repeating the same task gain and again. In contemporary
environment and organizational structure, managers keeping assigning variety of
tasks to employees and keep shifting their jobs to overcome the problems.
Departmentalization
Similar sort of activities are group and
performed under particular departments. Now it is to be decided that what types
of activities organization is involved in, and according to that departments
are created. There are various factors on the basis of which organizations may
create their departments in their organizational structure.
They may create Functional departments like
marketing, finance, HR, IT etc. One more type of departmentalization can be based on types of customers, like end consumers, business customers. Further Geography based departmentalization
includes creating departments according to different geographic regions the
business is operated. Then there is also product
departmentalization based on various product lines. Process departmentalization is based on different processes of
business for instance in textile sector ginning, weaving, dying, printing etc.
Chain of Command
Chain of command describes the line of
authority in the organization and answers the question that who reports to
whom? This element of organizational structure define lines of authority and
represents that how much authority is delegated down the line. Upper management
empowers employees so they can take decisions. It helps employees identifying
that whom they are answerable and from where orders would come.
Span of Control
Span of control defines that how many
employees are working under one manager. It also identifies the levels of
management in organizational structure. Based on the number of employees under
one managers, span of control can be termed as narrow or wider. In narrow span
of control manager has less number of employees to supervise. It brings closer
supervision but increases the cost since company has to hire number of managers
with high salaries. Whereas in wider span of control, there are large number of
employees under one manager, in this case efficiency is improved and cost is
reduced. Wider span of control is best suitable im situation when managers are
experienced and skilled, workers are skilled too and organization is not
geographically dispersed.
Centralization/Decentralization
These elements of organizational design
decides on how much decision making authority is to be delegated down the line
into the hierarchy. Centralization refers to that decision making is done at
the higher levels of organization. In such organizational structure, top
management considers it wiser to be decision maker rather authorizing employees
to do this. Decentralization is opposite of it as it allows giving authority to
the employees to make decisions in different scenarios. This helps workers be
more efficient and respond to queries and problems immediately.
Formalization
Formalization refers to the extent of rules and
regulations being implemented in an organization. Nowadays organizational
structures tend to be less formalized with less rules and regulations and more
flexible towards employee's timings, policies of working hours, dress codes,
attendances and holidays.Tuesday, 23 July 2013
SKY-WALK - Learn more on TEAM WORK
Objective: To learn the concepts of TEAM-WORK through a
simple looking SKY-WALK (Valley Crossing) exercise.
When Proff. Mandi asked us to go through his blog on Sky Walk exercise, my first reaction after looking at the picture of the exercise was ITS EASY. But you should also look the exercise first-
As shown in the figure above, 3 people
have to cross the valley which is more than 1 step long but less than 2 steps
long. Also they have to carry the rod along with them.. When the first person
will come exactly on the top of the valley, he will be hanging and other 2 will
be holding them. Similarly it will happen for the other two people when they
will come exactly at the top of the valley. All the three members have
interchanging roles in the completion of the task .If we look closely at the
table of the steps of the exercise we would notice that the here friends have
equal distribution of Safe, Half Safe, Risky.
I hope you all also found it easy but
believe me it is not!!
This is how it was demonstrated in the
class-
Image- Three batch-mates performing the activity
The risk and safe zones for each of the
different 9 steps in order of performing the activity can be better understood by this-
It
is clear that each member of the team has
equal distribution of different
kinds of situation:
- SAFE- 6 times
- HALF SAFE- 2 times
- RISKY- 1 times
- All three members have the same role in terms of effort and risk. Nobody was overloaded or relaxed.
- Every member is indispensable in completing the task.
- There were equal instances when one needed each other.
My learning and the take away from this
exercise –
Planning- A major learning of this exercise is
that proper planning. A high skill level is required as the all the movement
must be synchronized for completing this task.
Communication: All the three members should communicate
and coordinate with each other properly otherwise the performance of the team
will be effected and can also be fatal.
Leadership: As for any team, the role of a leader
is very important in giving direction and motivation to the team. But in this
exercise, when asked who will be the leader, the general response was that the
first person who takes the first step is most important and should be
considered as a leader. But what about the role of the last person or the
second person. Are they not important? They are, and, in fact very important.
So it emphasizes that roles of all team
member are very important and distributed equally and a clear leader cannot be established.
Now here I should talk about a new concept of leadership
which was discussed –
Distributed leadership is primarily concerned with mobilizing leadership at all
levels in the organisation not just relying on leadership from the top.
Distributed
leadership is not delegation
Distributed leadership is an organisational condition
Distributed
leadership does not mean everybody leads
Distributed
leadership has many organisational configuration
While
creating teams, a common misunderstanding is that we assume that distributed
leadership means delegating certain tasks. Not so. It does not cover the
functional distribution, rather it describes a process where leaders are a by-product
of shared activity, discussion or dialogue rather than the routine handing out
of tasks.
Cohesiveness- The feet
movements of each person must be synchronized. All the efforts of the team
members must be in perfect sync for the achievement of the common goal.
Do write a feedback. Keep learning-Keep Sharing !!!
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