Tower Building Exercise

In our very first class of Principles of Management, we had a tower building exercise. In which students were asked to build a tower with the help of square blocks, by putting one above the other to obtain the maximum height till the tower fell down.




After explanation of the game, we were asked to set target i.e. maximum number of blocks by which tower can be built. Various responses were collected from students having range from 10 to 30. After that a student was randomly chosen from the class and we came to know that he had set the target of 10 blocks for himself. Then he was asked to perform the exercise. Surprisingly he built the tower with 17 blocks, which was 7 more then the target which he had set for himself.


Here is the picture of the student who performed this exercise:

So from this exercise we learned following lessons:


Lesson 1: Students who set their target more than 17 blocks were over ambitious, where target is more then achievable goal. The target set by them is variable. It changes from person to person as everyone is not on the same level.




Lesson 2: Students who set their target lower than 17 blocks were ambitious, but not over ambitious. They set their goal according to the situation and that target was achieved. Now if they get another chance they might increase their target and might achieve it also. Because if a person has done an exercise before and has achieved the previous target then next time if they get a chance they will increase their target and they will put their best efforts to achieve it.




Now this target was achieved by a person who performed this exercise open eyed. Then we were asked that what if this exercise was performed by a person who is blind folded and two other open eyed persons are helping him by giving directions verbally. We were asked what target we would have set if we had performed this exercise. Three kind of observations were obtained:




Observation 1: Some students lowered their targets from previous targets. This attitude is not preferred as in organisations target should not be lowered. We should always try to achieve more targets.




Observation 2: Some students kept their targets as it is. This attitude is preferable as in organisations people work towards the set target and try to achieve it.




Observation 3: Some students increased their targets from the previous one. This attitude is mostly preferred as organisations like to grow over the time and achieve higher targets. 




My Learning: From this exercise I learned that any goal can be achieved by effective goal setting. One has to push himself beyond his limit, take some risk to achieve the desired goal. That is what is management all about. One should be SMART enough to perform such task and achieve the desired goal. SMART means...


          S            Specific
         M           Measurable
         A            Achievable
         R            Realistic
         T            Timely


Thus, tower building exercise helped us in understanding one of the major principle of management i.e. GOAL SETTING.

Theory X & Y

In our second lecture of Principles of Management, we studied about Theory X & Y. Theory X is authoritarian management style, whereas theory Y is participative management style. These theories are basically meant for Managers, not for Employees.


First we will discuss what is Theory X and Theory Y.


Theory X: Person with Theory X attitude will always avoid work that has been given to him/her. Such kind of person will avoid responsibility and will always look for security.


Theory Y: Person with Theory Y attitude is hardworking and dedicated towards the work that has been given to him/her. Such kind of person usually asks for responsibility. And if this person is committed to a work then will give his/her 100% towards that work.


As we know, there are two kind of people in organisations:


 1) Managers,
 2) Employees.


Together they can make any organisation successful. They can take any organisation to new heights of success. Also they can bring down any organisation from a well established state to nowhere. And this is dependent on their behavior, their attitude, their dedication towards their work. Now, there are two kind of employees in any organisation:


  1) Lazy,
  2) Hardworking.


There are four combination of such kind of managers and employees:
 a) Lazy Employees and Theory X Managers,
 b) Hardworking Employees and Theory X Managers,
 c) Lazy Employees and Theory Y Managers,
 d) Hardworking Employees and Theory Y Managers.


A) Lazy Employees and Theory X Managers:
      In such combination, employees are lazy and managers are also having negative attitude towards their work. Manager assumes that his/her employees are lazy. So as a result, if these people are not motivated or threatened to work then they will lead their organisation towards failure. The growth of their organisation will be limited to one extent and it will come down.

 B) Hardworking Employees and Theory X Managers:

      In this combination, employees are hardworking but manager is having negative attitude.  So manager assumes that employees are lazy. As a result hardworking and skillful employees will be demotivated. Manager will always underestimate them and employees will be unsatisfied. Such kind of combination is very dangerous for any organisation because unsatisfied employees will leave the organisation in search of an organisation where their skills can be utilized.

 C) Lazy Employees and Theory Y Managers:

       In this case, employees are lazy whereas manager is having positive attitude. So he/she will always think that his/her employees are hardworking. As a result he/she will always motivate employees to work hard and achieve better results. Such organisation will not perform well because of negative attitude of employees. But in the later stage, its performance will improve significantly and will achieve greater heights.

 D) Hardworking Employees and Theory Y Managers:

       Such kind of combination is ideal combination for any organisation in the world. Here employees are hardworking and manager is also having positive attitude. So manager will also think that employees are not lazy. So manager will always motivate his/her employees to work hard towards the desired goal. Also the bonding between managers and employees will be very strong. So as a result, organisation will have continuous growth and will reach new heights of success.


My Learning:
       From this lecture I have learned that organisations having first three combinations will always face difficulties in achieving their desired goals. Whereas organisation having combination 4 will easily achieve all the desired goals. Also, organisations having first three combinations should work towards achieving the combination 4, which will help them to grow rapidly and will also help in the growth of the employees and managers.

Excellence = Efficiency x Effectiveness

The one who drive organizations are Humans. Their performance and contribution will make organizations to achieve Excellence. But organizations need to be managed properly in order to pursue Excellence. If they are mismanaged, then the damage caused is much worse than that caused by individual humans.

Now let’s understand the meaning of Excellence. 

 Excellence is the defined as the quality of being excellent or state of possessing good qualities in an eminent degree or we can say that superiority in virtue.

Excellence comprises two important entities and relation is depicted as:

Excellence = Efficiency X Effectiveness

Efficiency in general describes the extent to which time or effort is well used for the intended task or purpose. It is often used with the specific purpose of relaying the capability of a specific application of effort to produce a specific outcome effectively with a minimum amount or quantity of waste, expense, or unnecessary effort.

Effectiveness is the capability to produce a desired result. When something is considered effective, it is meant to produce a deep vivid impression. Effectiveness involves achieving your goals that support your vision and mission.

Though both the terms are sometimes used interchangeably or used as synonyms, they both are different from each other but are mutually dependent on each other. In general, Efficiency is measurable concept while Effectiveness is non-measurable concept involving achieving objectives. In simple, efficiency is about doing things right and effectiveness is about doing the right things. Both if pursued separately leads to failure and but if used together, they lead to Excellence.

Management is based on these two entities i.e. Efficiency and Effectiveness, the combination of which leads to Excellence for an organization. Both give direction and support to each other on the path that leads to success. Efficient and Effective management helps in producing products or services which carry excellent value and quality and ensure excellent customer satisfaction. Japanese automobile makers are prime examples when it comes to achieving excellence through these two principles.

Efficiency in organizations consists of performing a series of steps in order to produce an output. When alone, efficiency doesn’t make any sense. Any organization is always guided by vision and mission which are main components of Effectiveness. So when the steps are performed (Efficiency) in order to fulfil the desired goals and objectives (Effectiveness), then the organization produces Excellence.