Goals Setting

Goal setting is essential to help people work towards their common objective. Goals set need to be concrete in order to have a clear vision and subsequently strive to achieve them.

Thus our goals need to be S.M.A.R.T.

o   S – Specific

·         The goals need to have all the specification related to the task. This ensures that we have our destination in place i.e. we know where we have to be in the end.

o   M – Measurable

·         This is more or less like a ruler for measuring our performance.

o   A – Attainable

·         The attainable aspect deals with taking into consideration our own strengths and weaknesses when setting our goals.

o   R – Relevant

·         The relevant aspects focus on the now. The goals that are set now might not be relevant tomorrow as the business environment is continuously changing.

o   T – Time Bound

·         The time bound aspect deals with the deadline that needs to be set as that an optimal performance is guaranteed. This not only saves time and resources but also ensures that efforts are directed accordingly.

Apart from being an acronym for something this is actually a smart concept. This doesn’t leave the goals that are to be achieved up to interpretation.

Is goal setting enough?

                Goals setting however is not enough to ensure that they are actually met. Pygmalion effect come in picture at this juncture. It is not fair on the potential of the employee to be just handed a target to meet, rather it should be emphasized that he has that capability required to meet the said target. Thus in a line – “If manager’s expectation is high it leads to higher results”.  

Relation between Goals set, achieved and potential

                From the above curve, we can clearly observe that:

·         The history (past performances) should be the base to build upon.

·         Goals set need to be set as above as possible of the Potential.

·         Although not always true but an ideal goal can bring out only so much in us, thus we assume that goals achieved are lower than the set target.

Thus appreciating the importance of goals in Potential realization is essential in organizations. 

The Human Pillar

This is a simple experiment to understand the difference between the new management and the old style of management. The task is to make a pillar with cubes provided. The only rule is that the cubes have to be placed one on top of the other and also that cubes have to be placed one after another.

Scenario 1:

In this a person has to first make an estimate of how tall he can construct the pillar and then go on to build the same.

Scenario 2:

In this case two persons will do the same job but one person will be blindfolded and will do the job and the other person will assist him in the same.

To every ones amazement the single person was able to make a pillar of 22 blocks and the two people were able to make a pillar of 24 blocks.

The learning from this activity as illustrated below that provide a clear-cut distinction between the two schools of management.

Parameter	Old School Of Management	New School Of Management
Work	The entire work is done by just one individual.	Work is shared between two persons. The physical work is done still the one individual but the work/effort in terms of strategy to place the blocks, directions for placing the block etc is transferred to the other person.
Division of Work	One person is loaded with the entire work.	The technical and the functional work are separated.
Skill	If a single person is performing the activity, a high level of skill is required from him.	When two people are performing the job low skill if required effectively from each individual.
Innovation	Innovation can come from just one individual.	Innovation can come from the “performer” as well as the “supervisor”.
Productivity	Productivity is low.	Productivity is high.

Thus finally we can see that the new school of management, the segregation of the technical and the functional aspects make it easier for management to help the organization/business in the following manner:

1.       Productivity is improved.

2.       Innovation can be channeled and segmented.

3.       Crystal clear definition of roles and responsibilities of the employees.

4.       Top down approach followed.

5.       Standards process can be put in place.

6.       Since each step is divided into Activity à Task à Element , it is easy for analysis.

A delightful start (Learning starts at NITIE)

After some grueling two 2 hours long sessions on subjects like Business Statistics and Marketing Management , some refueling and I was all set for another such session by Prof Prasad. All formalities were chucked out of the class room from the second Prof Prasad entered the class. Making everyone sit on the floor and engaging the class in Hindi seemed like something to create an awe and shock effect and impress the class. I was a bit skeptical initially. However the thoughts that were being presented by him were totally relevant to me. What has the current educational system provided to me in the form of skillsets that I can use in the real world? Surely I’ve been worked on and had to challenge my brain to grasp and process more and more information which is more complex for the layman to understand.

                My taking from Prof Prasad’s class was very clear. As an engineer, it is very critical to market one’s talents for the benefit of the society. This doesn’t mean that we show people more than we are for our benefit rather we showcase our technical talents for the world to help in the progress of society. Also the process of marketing also caters to us asking some crucial questions like what does the market need?, where are we lacking right now? What needs to come out in us and so on. Not all of us can start a company or excel in investment banks, but it is vital for us to understand our strengths and weaknesses and visualize a career path for ourselves that is sustainable for both the self and the society. Another important takeaway from the class has been confirmation to my long held belief that one should never respect someone to such an extent so as not be able to question that person. So for all the engineers out there I just wish to emphasize that respect your teachers but also expect something from them other than just knowledge to pass the exam.

                Having spent 24 years of my life mostly learning and not having played with a simple physics toy as , I feel that somewhere something is wrong in the system. However not is not the time for repenting but for learning to be smart enough to make a decent buck not just for oneself but for the actual learning process. Right now as a future manager being in a prestigious place like NITIE, it is vital to gather the maximum knowledge from all the sources available but the next class by Prof Prasad is highly anticipated. Wish to update more on this blog soon.