Management Lessons from THREE MONKS

THREE MONK STORY

"One monk will shoulder two buckets of water; two monks will share the load, but add a third and no one will want to fetch water" is the basis behind this film.

This movie is dialogue less.

It doesn’t have any conversation.  

Each monk is presented by a different music.

PLOT:

A young monk lives a simple life in a temple on top of a hill. He has one daily task of hauling two buckets of water up the hill. He tries to share the job with another monk, but the carry pole is only long enough for one bucket. The arrival of a third monk prompts everyone to expect that someone else will take on the chore. Consequently, no one fetches water though everybody is thirsty. At night, a rat comes to scrounge and then knocks the candleholder, leading to a devastating fire in the temple. The three monks finally unite together and make a concerted effort to put out the fire. Since then they understand the old saying "unity is strength" and begin to live a harmonious life. The temple never lacks water again.

LESSONS LEARNED FROM AWARD WINNING STORY:

   1.   CONFLICT RESOLUTION:  Complex Problems, Simple Solutions - This is the motto of decision making for any manager or team member in an organization. When the first two monks were trying to push the weight of the bucket towards each other, we in the class were asked to give a possible solution to the problem. And well, a simple solution was suggested by one of the student that they should mark the middle of the stick so that they do not fight. For marking purpose, they should use the standard scale so that, there is  no any conflicts remaining.

There were a lot of other possible alternative solutions given by others too like:

One person getting water one day

Two persons more bucket

Two sticks, four buckets

Divide the work in half

Get a motor and connect a pipe

Attitude problem - Brain wash

But in an organization, the above mentioned alternates cannot be applied. We have to think rationally and not in a bounded territory.

   2.   ORGANISATION AND TEAM WORK SHOULD HAVE HIGH PRIORITY OVER INDIVIDUAL GOALS: Teamwork can lead to better decisions, products, or services. The quality of teamwork may be measured by analyzing the following six components of collaboration among team members: communication, coordination, balance of member contributions, mutual support, effort, and cohesion. Teamwork quality as measured in this manner correlated with team performance in the areas of effectiveness (i.e., producing high quality work) and efficiency (i.e., meeting schedules and budgets).

 

  3.   TEAM MEMBERS ATTITUDE PLAYS IMPORTANT ROLE IN SUCCESS OF TASK:  When the two monks were trying to divide the load of the bucket equally, the taller monk used his bigger hands to show that the bucket should be hung closer to the first monk, but the presence of a measuring instrument helped them get the exact centre and resolved the problem. Hence it is important for a team and a manger to have the right attitude.

CONCLUSION:

    1. One monk carrying water every day will become boring after a while but two

    monks carrying water will not be boring and productivity will not be   hampered.

         2. Disputes and conflicts are bound to arise but they need to be minimized so as to make the most out of the available resources.

   3. Team work and coordination is the key to success.

                  "Solution comes from problem and experience."

Goal Settings and Pygmalion Effect

Hi All,

Another Session started with the concept of SMART Goals. Here we made aware of the following parameters to be considered before goal setting :

1) Goal Set

2) Goal Achieved

3) Goal ( Historical )

4) Potential

Here we understood that Goal Set > Potential > Goal Achieved > Goal ( Historical ).

Here SMART is an abbreviation which can have many meanings. I would be listing a few to get an idea.

S - Specific, Simple, Sensible

M - Measurable, Motivating

A - Achievable, Ambitious

R - Rational, Realistic

T - Time Bound, Tangible

Goal setting is something which manifests itself  in so many ways in our lives. On a personal level, setting goals helps people work towards their own objectives—most commonly with financial or career-based goals.For Complex Organizations, Management by Objectives, or MBO , is a concept expressed by Peter Drucker more than 50 years ago. This strategy for managing people, which focuses on managing teams based on their ability to complete individual and team goals. Talking about the goals Drucker suggested that they should be SMART i.e. Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time bound.

       PERFORMANCE = SMART GOAL SET X SMART GOAL ACHIEVED.

The Pygmalion effect was discussed extensively in the lecture. I have done some internet research on the same and here are some of my opinions about the Pygmalion effect.

Pygmalion basically refers to the phenomenon where an individual raises his bar when he is expected to do well by his mentors/teachers. This is one of the common scenarios in Schools/ colleges. Teacher expects a lot from their favourite students and the student delivers par or above expectation. It is because the expectation instils confidence in the individual and also makes him aware of his responsibilities which always keep him on his toes. Here, it teaches that every person is special and it is just a matter of realising his/her potential.

For example, Suppose there is an international football match between England and Brazil being played in England. England would play well above their potential because they have their fans backing them all the time. The support and expectation of the fans create a positive vibe amongst the England players and help them perform better. Take one more example of Indian cricket Team. They finally became the world champions in 2011 on their home turf because the expectation was such. The same thing applies to any other sport like tennis, hockey, athletics etc

The Pygmalion effect also explains the teaching culture in the top colleges of World. They develop an atmosphere where expecting a lot out of the student becomes a norm. I am in support of such culture and I feel that miracles do happen in life its only about believing in it.

               "With higher expectations, people perform well."