HONDA MOTOR CORPORATION

LESSONS LEARNED FROM 3 MONKS

          "It is often said that too many cook spoil the  Broth"  but I like to point out that  it is not the increased  number of  men who are responsible for the lack of productivity but the lack of management plays the key role .

A Chinese video depicts the scenario very well  and shows how the efficiency of any organisation is enhanced by creating a synergy . 1+1 is not 2 but 11 , if we can utilize all the resources available properly.
                           http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_V4PnqIkUc

In this video, we have seen 3 cases

CASE-1

A single monk is carrying water up the hill from pond. In this case , there is no internal disputes and the effort was solely made for own consumption.

This case is not desired because one remains aloof from the society and thus don't realize the potential of working together. 

CASE-2

As another  monk joins the temple , disputes which started arising .

These disputes were

1) Regarding division of work

2) Regarding distribution of benefits of labor.

Very important thing to note is that to solve the problem ,they finally formulated the right method i.e  they come up with standardized system to measure the efforts.

It was also important to see that both of them were involved in setting the standards.one was holding the scale and other was marking the length.This led to prevention of any biased bureaucracy.

CASE-3

In this case, the complication increases when the 3rd monk enters the temple.The disputes that arises was similar to that of earlier cases .

There was also an issue regarding division of labor and final distribution of resources. This creates a lower efficiency in the system and synergy was missing.

There was also a loss of mutual relationship among the monarch members.

The scenario changed when the fire break out in the temple and all the three monks started working together and saved the temple.

 It was important to note that the mutual participation and setting the same goal (i.e  saving the temple) helped to create a synergy.

As the monks arbitrated the issue among themselves ,they started finding the other ways to do  the work and thus " innovation"  was brought in to the work.

Innovation was  the result of synergy which generated by the mutual participation among the monks.

The final result was an improved living standard and better work planning.

 The table shows the analysis of the video

METHOD COMPARISON TABLE:

	Method I	Method II	Method III
Members	One Monk	Two Monks	Three Monks
Work tools and work method	Two baskets Long stick hanging two buckets  two ends of the long stick..	One basket Long stick hanging  one bucket in the middle	Three baskets Rope, Kuppe, and pulling water bucket on pulli
Input  - Effort by monks  ( Units in Jouls)  ( Esti..)	100 Jouls    by One person	50 Jouls by two persons together	Total effort together by the three monks in this method is almost                            ' INSIGNIFICANT'.
Output - Water	2 baskets	One basket	The output ( number of baskets of water )  that the method can fetch is almost   ' SO MUCH WATER'
Productivity Measure:            ( Input / Output)	100 J / 2 = 50 J per basket of water	50 J / 2 = 25 J per basket of water	Insignificant effort per basket of water
Nature of Member Roles	Independent	Somewhat  Interdependent	Very much Interdependent
Monks Life philosophy@ monastry	Life is misery and Death is the solution @ This is evident as shown  in the film the monk is physically exhausted and gets in to  sleep once he gets water from the pond.	Life some how can be managed to make it worth living ..  @ This is evident as shown in the film the monks engage in  more productive prayers. Monks are shown not sleeping as much as they  used to do earlier.	Life is Fun and even monks can have blissful life..  @ This is evident as shown in the film that the monks  are happy and blissful to work together.

Valley crossing –a team based organisation

Today we will discuss about the importance of team work and the valley crossing activity as a team activity but before we proceed further it is better to discuss what one of our eminent personality says about team work.

“Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.”

Friends team means a strongly bonded organisation. It is an absolute form of unity and it has its own spirit formed from the individual spirit . A life threatening situation like valley crossing requires something bigger than just an organisation .It requires a team spirit.

Let us look into some peculiarities of Team

        1)    Very high level of commitment among individuals towards the goal.

        2)     A high level of individual trust .

        3)    A very high level of communication required.

Life Cycle of the valley crossing Team

TEAM FORMATION : THE 1ST STEP 

When  the first person reaches the valley ,  it is important for that  person to realize his potential .  It is important for him to know that he alone can not cross the valley , he has to form a team to cross the valley.  When the second person joins both of them needs to assess the situation with the new joint perspectives . when the third person joins they have to realize the possibility of crossing the valley . They should be capable to evaluate the situation and visualize the possibility of the achievement of Goal.

TEAM PLANNING : THE 2ND STEP

 After the formation of team ,it is important to realize that what are the different ways to   
  valleys . Is it necessary to have any other stick or any other equipment requirement??.
  In what time he has to complete the valley crossing work??.      
what accidents can take place while performing the operation and  what preparation can be done for it                                                          

TEAM ORGANIZING : THE 3RD STEP

 After planning it is necessary to allot the resources .In this case ,we have to decide what kind of bureaucracy can be set to control the organisation.  Bureacracy is required to
 1)    To prevent the first person from leaving the job after he crossed the valley.
 2)  To prevent the third person from leaving the job when two person are still hanging in the valley.

TEAM LEADING : THE 4TH STEP

 After Organizing,it is necessary to maintain same level of commitment .In this case, it is necessary for someone to keep motivating the team members towards the goal and continuously igniting their passion to complete the valley crossing task.

TEAM CONTROLLING : THE 5TH STEP

 It is important to control activity.This includes

1) Continuous information sharing and informing proper movements.

2) To ensure that each one plays its role properly.

3) To set new goals for future venture.

                 
                                                                        



                                                                                                 

      
      

YES ONE MAN CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE(ABOUT KHAN ACADEMY)

“ Yes ,one man can make a difference “ that’s what I felt when I first landed on the khan academy site. Initiated by Salman Khan ( MIT graduate in electrical ,mathematics ,computer and also a Harvard graduate)the academy is like a revolution and changing  the traditional model  education system.

“khan Academy” is today one of its own kind of tutorial with over 3200 videos. It is extensively used world wide with free accessibility and covered a diverse Area ,with topics ranging from mathematics to History .

Khan Academy proves that “ Something  are above money and profits “.Khan not only gave up his lucrative Job as Hedge fund manager but also financed the Project from his own pocket in its initial years. He also stopped the advertising money once he started receiving money in the form of Donation from leading business heads. This shows how khan put ethics always before money.  Ethics was not just limited to Books for him but beyond tha the implemented  in his real life too.

 I was inquisitive about  what made salman khan leave his Job ?? why his lectures succeed inspite of the presence of 1000 other videos in you tube ?? what he did differently or what were his strengths that he was able to generate such an influence??

I started my search to answer this questions  and was fruitless until I came across this video  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1C7FH7El35w&feature=relmf

.In this video khan shared his feelings  on what was his motivation for this project . what was going through his mind when he was leaving his job.(In b/w  1:14:00 to 1:16:0)

 I also read the viewers comments on few of his random sample videos to find what were his strengths  of videos compared to other videos.

Few points which I came up were:-

1)      Salman khan knowledge in computers(graduation from MIT) helped him to design his education system better .He was always able to use his knowledge  to modify his interaction and manage his deliveries better (He confesses it at the start of video).

I learned that knowledge of the system is as important as the matter itself because how it is communicated is ensured by the system.

2)      His delivery style was different .He was not present in front of video instead he was delivering his lecture in background. There is an interesting point why Salman did this .He explained while he was tutoring  his Cousin Nadia .He accidentally used this method .In the next lecture when he tried to present in a conventional way to his cousin ,his cousin asked Salman  to present it the earlier way  because it was more friendly.

Hence forth, Salman continue presenting  with dark background and being not visible himself.

3)      His way of teaching was more casual and more friendlier voice that encouraged  the young  school boys to like him. It was not a lecturer voice that was teaching them but a friend who was guiding them.

4)      Salman covered a topic  in a very systematic way .He discussed its merit in the video.

Thus Khan Academy not only teaches one about subjects but also about How a mix of Motivation and concentrating on smaller details can make a big difference and can play a huge role on your success.

Lecture 1

We all came for another morning class and started searching for the most convenient  seat and finally positioned  ourself  in those comfortable chairs and were waiting for another long  lecture to be delivered and our pens waiting for one more gruelling exercise .

An elderly  person but more energetic than any other in our class entered and introduce himself “I am like any other sarkari aadmi and and would appreciate if somebody can share a little more information about me”. It was a blunt and frank introduction and what was completely different from what one can think.

Life is all about different approaches and breaking  traditional learning ,with this note our class begun. We are told about importance of practical learning and that an idea is valuable only when we can sell it.

                                “Socho becho

                                 Becho sikho

                                 Sikho socho” 

Was the mantra which set the tone of our 1^st lecture in Principles of Management .

Dr. Mandi(as he wanted to be named)led us to his world ,where ideas were not just limited to textbooks but  makes money .what  followed was a set of   examples  ranging from toys displaying  scientific priciples to the big corporate giants who made the future by selling their ideas.  “Aaaj ki roti aaj hi Kamana “ is   the primary aim of a manager and the better hi does it better it is for the country and him.

Lecture -2(Practical situation faced in the work environment ,SMART goals, Theory X and Theory Y)

The second lecture was more about setting  the achievable goals and practicle situation faced by a manager at his work environment . He  has to set SMART goals(specific , Measurable ,achievable ,Reasonable and time Bound goals ). He should be willing to take risk and think the tough situation as an opportunity to show his Skills.

“There is nothing impossible under the sun “ he emphasized  with a practical example of making a tower of cubes just “if we change our attitude about a particular situation “.

He further  stressed on the importance of attitude with his Theory X and Theory Y  .

Let us assume, X and Y are two types of managers where X is negative, thinks his employees are lazy and inefficient whereas manager Y is very positive and believes his workers are not lazy and very effective.

Hence, there are four situations in this scenario:

Employee is lazy and X think they are lazy

In this situation employees are lazy and the manager assumes them to be lazy. So this kind of scenario is harmful for the organisation and is neither going to help the organization nor the employees. The manager himself so negative will always create an unhealthy work environment in the organization. He will never encourage his lazy employees to change the scenario and think positive.

Employee is not lazy but X think they are lazy

 In this situation employees are not lazy but the manager assumes them to be lazy. So this situation is very harmful and demotivates the employees who want to excel and do well. This stops the employees to do justice to their talent and make them inefficient. The management underestimates the employees and ultimately hamper the growth of the employees and company.

 Employee is lazy but Y believes they are not lazy

 In this situation employees are lazy and the manager assumes them to be efficient and hard working. A lazy employee can be a problem for any organization but he needs to be dealt properly so that output may be maximized. So managers motivate these employees with compliments followed by constructive criticism, this sometimes creates positive impact on the employee. They feel more motivated to do well. Also, when people are given responsibility, they tend to work harder. If this kind of positives steps are taken, there can be significant change.

Employee is not lazy and Y think they are not lazy

In this situation employees are not lazy and the manager also assumes them to be efficient and hard working. This is the most appropriate situation in any organization. Hard working dedicated employees are constantly motivated by the managers and the growth of the company along with employees sails off in a very efficient way. Target set by the managers are easily achieved with high level of accuracy. The organization starts growing rapidly in all respects in this kind of ideal situation.