My learning from POM course taught by Dr.Mandi

The video below shows the learning I got from the subject "principles of management" . ENJOY!!

The Mysterious Rings

Last week Prasad Sir showed us a strange looking contraption hanging from the ceiling on the Teacher's Terrace, and we were supposed to identify the problem and then solve it.

A true manager is one who can not only solve the problem presented to him, but can also identify the problem that might not be so obvious, or even anticipate the problem before it comes into being.

I believe that is the main purpose of the MBA course I am pursuing at NITIE.

So, we were taken to the terrace and asked to look around and to everyone's surprise, people saw a hanging wooden toy from a distance.

A child might enjoy playing around with it, but Prasad Sir tries to find teaching in everything. So we were told there's a  hidden problem to be figured out.

Being a class of bright students, one of us quickly suggested that we try to take the ring off the toy.

And then the fun part began. People did try, got bored and went off. This was the case with me as well. But I went back later and solved it.

Here's how I did it. To remove the ring:

·                     Raise the ring as high as it would go and hold it there.

·                     Move one of the wooden squares to the other side by passing it through the slit in the top part.

·                     Bring both the squares together by moving the thread.

·                     One of the balls will still remain stuck after its square block is taken to other side.

·                     Lower the ring, tilt it and remove through the slit and the ball.

And to assemble the toy back:

·         Pass the ring through the slit back onto the square

                                     

·         Raise the ring as high as possible.

·         Pass one of the wooden squares through the slit and to its correct side.

So it can be said that it's not only important to be good at problem solving, but to be excellent at identifying the problem as well.

TATA STEEL - India's most Ethical company.

Company Profile:

Established in 1907, Tata Steel is among the top ten global steel companies with an annual crude steel capacity of over 28 million tonnes per annum (mtpa).

The Tata Steel Group, with a turnover of US$ 22.8 billion in FY '10, has over 80,000 employees across five continents and is a Fortune 500 company.

Tata Steel’s vision is to be the world’s steel industry benchmark through the excellence of its people, its innovative approach and overall conduct. Underpinning this vision is a performance culture committed to aspiration targets, safety and social responsibility, continuous improvement, openness and transparency.

   

Operating companies within the Group include Tata Steel Limited (India), Tata Steel Europe Limited (formerly Corus), NatSteel, and Tata Steel Thailand (formerly Millennium Steel).

Vision:

The vision of TATA STEEL is "to be the global steel industry benchmark for value creation and corporate citizenship."

Milestones

1929	Discovered manganese in India
1949	Discovered chrome in India
1958	FAP Joda set up as the first plant of its kind in India
1960	Chrome mining started at Sukinda-First Chromite Mine in India
1982	Mechanization of Sukinda Chromite Mine
1988	FeCr Conversion - First Conversion Model in India
1989-90	FAMD enters the export market in a major way
1990	COBP Commissioned – First Beneficiation plant in India
1991	FAP Bamnipal acquired with a production capacity of 50000 tpa
1991	FAMD carved out for greater focus in Chrome & Manganese
1991-92	Introduced new product like Chrome concentrate etc.
1991	First overseas representative office at Japan
1994	First Overseas Office at Hong Kong – First in Industry/India
1993-94	ISO 9002 Certification
1993-94	FAMD established long-term business relationship with premier stainless steel mills worldwide and expanded business
1995-96	Introduced low Titanium ferro chrome in the world market.
1997-98	- Introduced customized chrome concentrate for refractory and chemical sectors. - Developed more customized products for high charge Ferro Chrome consumers.
1999-00	ISO 14001 Certification
2000	Introduced low Phosphorus ferro chrome (P<0.018%) in the world market – patent for low phosphorus ferro chrome.
2000	First Office in Shanghai
2001-02	Introduction of Total Operational Performance (TOP) task force to reduce cost
2003-04	ERP implementation(E Biz Frame) at Sukinda Chromite Mines
2004-05	- ERP implementation(E Biz Frame) at Bamnipal Ferro Chrome Mines - Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) kicked off at all units - OHSAS, SA-8000 Certification
2006	Rawmet acquired with a production capacity of 50,000 tpa
2008	TSKZN Operation Started- First Overseas Greenfield Project of Tata Steel
2008	FAMD implements SAP across all locations
2009	First Tata Steel SBU to set up overseas warehouse in Korea
2010	- SAP implemented in Gomardih Dolomite Mines - Introduction of Kar Vijay Har Shikhar initiative along with McKinsey &Co for    breakthrough, sustainable improvements in EBITA. - Introduction of Udaan project with BCG to accelerate change in growth trajectory    and value creation - Launch of new  Ferro  alloy  plant projects at Gopalpur and Nayagarh - Rawmet 100% subsidiary of Tata Steel Ltd renamed as TS Alloys

Products

Chrome Alloys:

1)Ferro Chrome

2)Charge Chrome

Manganese Alloys:

1)Ferro Manganese

2)Silico Manganese.

Chrome Concentrate

Fluxes:

1)Dolomite

2)Pyroxenite.

Manganese Oxide.

Manganese Di-Oxide.

Major projects:

Major expansion projects planned by Tata Steel include:

1) 6 million tonne plant in Orissa, India: Tata steel is setting up 6 million tonne per annum capacity plant at Kalinganagar.

2) 10 million tonne in Jharkhand, India: The capacity of Jamshedpur steel plant has already been increased to 6.8 MTPA. It is expected that its capacity will increase by 10 MPTA in near future.

3) 5 million tonne in Chhattisgarh, India:Tata steel signed MOU with Chhattisgarh government in 2005 for setting up 5 MTPA plant. But, it is facing strong protest from tribal people.

4) 3-million tonne plant in Iran

5) 2.4-million tonne plant in Bangladesh

6) 10.5 million tonne plant in Vietnam (feasibility studies underway)

7) Tata Steel signed up an EoI to set up a 6 MTPA plant in Haveri district of Karnataka.

8) Tata Steel to invest $5 billion in setting up a steel factory in Vietnam. Negotiations with the government are in process.

Market Sectors:

Tata Steel serves customers in these market sectors globally:

Automotive

Construction

Consumer goods

Engineering

Packaging

Lifting and Excavation

Energy and Power

Aerospace

Shipbuilding

Rail

Defence and Security.

Corporate Social Responsibility

• Urban Services, development and management of utilities as well as road infrastructure
• Rural Services, including the creation of sustainable livelihoods
• Sports and Youth Welfare
• Education & Employability Training
• Healthcare Facilities and Services
• Conservation and promotion of traditional Culture & Heritage
• Environment Conservation and Preservation of Biodiversity
• Employability Training
• Disaster Management
• Support to non-profit organisations.

THE STORY OF 3 MONKS - UNDERSTANDING TEAMWORK

Three Monks is a Chinese animated feature film which was screened in the POM class to make students realise the importance of “TEAMWORK”.

Plot

The first monk takes all the burden on himself, for there is no one to fall back upon. He fetches two cans of water at a time and runs a self sufficient system. Another monk joins the monastery and now the burden of fetching two buckets of water is shared. But eventually, differences set in and there is a heated argument between the two.

Then a third monk arrives. He is plump and drains all of the water. When the time comes to refill the water, he relents. Now the other two monks who have been doing their work religiously start fighting too and everything comes to a standstill. In the quest of claiming their superiority, the result is all three of them are deprived of water. 

One night, a rat accidently knocks the candleholder, leading to a devastating fire in the temple. In this time of crisis, the three monks finally unite together and make a combined effort to put out the fire. This makes them realize that "unity is strength" and thus they chalk out a plan to distribute the work equally in fetching buckets of water. Thereafter, the temple never lacks water again.

Below is the video of the above narrated story:

Important lessons from the above story:

#1 Altercation will arise when people work together due to difference of opinion.

#2 Work needs to be distributed equally and effectively.

#3 certain standards have to be set and rules should be laid.

#4 Team work increases productivity by leaps and bounds which is the main objective of any team.

3 Idiots crossing the valley

Crossing  the valley:

The activity below shows a group of three individuals, connected only by a pole, attempting to cross a valley.

The activity has three participants who are given a long rod which is carried by them on their shoulders, and then they have to cross a small crater as a group. There each person gets to be in motion for a few seconds without using their legs. The burden of the person in air is borne by the other two participants.
This activity has a lot of lessons of management which are discussed below.

Team Work:

The activity requires the three people to be in absolute sync with each other, and work towards a common self-less goal. The situation is similar to that of an organization is a group of people and if it has to reach heights it requires sincere and co-ordinated effort among all employees, management, owners and others like suppliers etc

Planning and co-ordination: 

Every step in this activity should be planned out well in advance, theorized and perfected before the actual work can start. One mistake and the lives of three people can be in danger.

Importance Of Leadership:

Of the three people involved in the activity, not all might be able to look at the task with the same eye. It might be daunting to a one (mostly a newbie) and yet another day at work for some one other person. This is where I believe that the role of a leader comes into place. The leader can emerge within the three people or we might have a new leader altogether. But this definitely needs a leader who can drive the team to success. Co-ordinate them, encourage them, review the plan and do everything possible to re-assure his team members. 

Conclusion:

This particular exercise taught us that in a corporate scenario one would be times when we have to look out for others and the favor surely does not get over looked and once in a while people take care of us also. It’s the trust of a person that we have to win and we should be able to adjust well in an interdependent scenario.

Every organization strives to reach excellence which is a product of efficiency and effectiveness i.e.

Excellence (EXE) = Efficiency (E) X Effectiveness (E)

Now, efficiency is the technological or engineering part of the organization and effectiveness is the management part of firm and can be improved by applying proper management techniques.