The Mother
The morning sun peeped through the filigree of the small, dirty window and spread into her room. She had felt the sun even before she opened her eyes. The small window stood out in stark contrast with the other settings of the room. The iron mesh of the window was bent and crooked, with the iron bars mangled by many years. A number of insects including termite had made their way into the cleavages of the door and the window sills. Years of accumulated dust had faithfully made the window- sills their home, cobwebs at the corner added to their dignified existence. But she was used to all this. She should be. She had spent more than half her life there in this very room. As a young bride of seventeen, a woman looking after her household at twenty-five, a middle aged woman with her only son, a widow at fifty and finally old and helpless at seventy-five. Yes, she had lived her life. She had accepted as it came to her. She had made few changes, because she didn’t need to. All her life, she had no fears, but one, the fear of loneliness. She laughed at people when they said that they were afraid of death, of the unknown.
Indeed her fears were not baseless. For the last fifteen years of her life, she had lived a recluse, away from everybody—her husband, her son and everybody. Her husband and son were her sole possessions. Years ago she had made a pact with her husband to go together. Sadly, he left quietly, without saying a proper goodbye to her. But deep down, she never really wanted to go, she was afraid of losing her only son. Her son had been the centre of her life, all her life.
With the passing years, her memory played cruel games with her. In minutes her mind would waver back to the crystal clear image of past forgotten years. She would remember her ancestral home, the kind generous face of her mother, her father cycling down to the local market for groceries, her grandmother bent under her own weight chewing betel leaves. She would remember the great banyan that grew outside her courtyard, under whose shade her adolescence had glided past. The images came and went and then blurred her vision. The next moment she would forget everything. Her mind would be unable to conceive the meaning of the images that flashed a minute ago. It was so cruel and disheartening.
Suddenly a familiar stab of pain would attack her with extreme precision. She would return to the present. Her son. She had lost her son. Lost him to the city and its ugliness. Lost him the day he had told her of his decision to settle in the city.
She remembered how vehement she had been against his decision. But in the end, she had relented, knowing well, that his happiness was her own too. He had offered her to stay with him. But she had refused. She preferred to stay with the memories of her past. That was more than ten years ago. In those years, her son returned just twice. Once with his wife and the other time with his two sons. How happy she had been then! This time, she was ready to spend the rest of her life with them, but her son did not ask her to join him. She was disappointed, but careful enough not to show it. They stayed for four days or so and then left, leaving her again to a world of her, cocooned by her thoughts. She remembered she had felt the same when her husband had left her. But that was long, long ago or was it? Her past and present intermingled and the line of demarcation was fast blurring. Why did those painful memories never leave her? She wondered.
The grandfather clock in the adjacent room stuck eight. With a start she realised that she had been engrossed in her thoughts for more than an hour or so. She rose and went to the window looking out at the crowded street. It was filled with people going on with their daily chores. These were people who fought for wealth, space, love and understanding, only to lose them in end. How utterly demeaning life’s actions were, and yet life was beautiful! Still man wanted to live for eternity.
She went to the cupboard and opened the drawer that contained her son’s letters. She opened the dog-eared bundle and eagerly started reading. Then she noticed that they all looked the same. Except maybe the dates. Suddenly she wished she could meet her grandchildren. She missed them so much. She felt that God had created a bridge between her son and herself and had forbidden her to cross it. She felt so helpless and afraid then. Maybe they could visit her, this Diwali as they had last year. Alas! Last year they had not come and nor the previous year, not even the year before that. Her hopes had surged out and plunged at equal speed with tremendous pain in her heart. She finally settled down for the household chores. They day dragged on. Evening came and then night, she went on as usual.
Next morning, the sun shining with magnanimous brilliance entered the dark room through the window. Today, her eyes did not open to greet its brilliance. The milkman came and went. Later in the morning, Janaki Devi entered the courtyard calling out her name, but she did not answer. She could not. The eerie silence of the room underlined the deepest sadness that had engulfed and paralyzed her. She could not answer back to Janaki Devi. Although her spirit wanted to call out; her mortal remains did not allow her. She had gone to join her husband. She had remembered her promise. She decided it was time she fulfilled it.
That evening the bell rang at Rakesh’s high rise flat. Rakesh opened the door to the postman. With anxious mind he started to open the telegram. Did the deal break off? How sure he had been of it! It was worth eight lakhs. He could not let all this money leave his hands. God forbid. The telegram was short.
It read, “Come immediately. Ma has expired. Funeral tomorrow.”
-Lala Dhyanchand.
“Darling, what is it?” Rakesh’s wife called out from the bedroom.
“Nothing dear, only a telegram. Ma has expired.”
“So will you be leaving for Devipur?”
“Naina, who would miss Khanna’s party? Free booze, bets and all that. Won’t miss that for anything.”
“I guess I will send a money order. The village people can look after the funeral rites. Anything can be arranged with money”.
The evening sun had spread its celestial lights all over the funeral ground. The village folks had returned to their homes. The last bit of smoke coming out of the funeral pyre had reached the highest point in the sky. At last her journey was completed. In the heaven above, there was rejoicing. The mother had returned. Back to her loved ones!
Tuesday, 10 February 2009
Saturday, 7 February 2009
Reflections on the MBA journey-Concluding Part
The road ahead:
There’s much to look ahead now that I will go back to the school of life. Needless to say, even the rigours of business school come nowhere close to real business. It would be interesting to apply the knowledge that I have acquired in management school to real life business situations and to compare how different the results can be.
The MBA has taught me so much more than textbook principles. There is no ‘one way’ or ideal solution to a problem. Sometimes the mind needs to open up to a different perspective. I feel I have stopped taking things for granted and begun to question more and tried to see beyond the obvious.
However, it’s not just the MBA of the things in the past seven months that is going to add to my life’s experiences. Living the life of a student in UK has been an experience altogether. It’s great to be a student, carefree and irresponsible except for a few assignment deadlines. Swansea University is vibrant with so many cultural activities being held regularly and the best thing of all, with such a beautiful campus.
Even as I sit back and think of what I want in my career now, my needs seem to have changed over the past few years. More than a high flying career, I would be inclined towards a position which adheres to my internal need for achievement and involvement. Equipped with the degree, I will be more ready to take up challenges or face uncertainties if need be. My MBA has helped me gather friends from all over the world and I feel networking is a crucial aspect of a manager’s life. Apart from the fact that it is a prestigious degree, the MBA experience has been truly enriching.
And to sum it all, it hasn’t been easy to learn the skills to complete the MBA. As Calvin begins to realise here:
References:
Anonymous, Viewpoint; Development and Learning in Organizations, Vol. 17, No. 3, Year 2003, pp. 23-26.
Bland, M.; “Training managers to communicate effectively, Industrial and Commercial Training, Vol. 30, No. 4, 1998, pp. 131–136.
Crotty, P. and Soule, A.; “Executive education: yesterday and today, with a look at tomorrow”, Journal of Management Development, Vol. 16 No. 1, 1997, pp. 4-21.
Elsayed-Elkhouly, S., Lazarus, H., Forsythe, V.; “Why is a third of your time wasted in meetings?”, Journal of Management Development, Vol. 16 No. 9, 1997, pp. 672-676.
Fisher, S., Macrosson, W., Sharp, G.; “Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory”, Personnel Review, 1996, Vol. 25, Issue 2, pp 61 – 67.
Gentry, W., Lauren S., Harris, Becca A. Baker, Jean Brittain Leslie; “Managerial Skills: what has changed since the late 1980s”, Leadership & Organization Development Journal; 2008, Vol. 29, Issue 2.
Margerison, C., and McCann, D., “Five skills to improve performance”, Team Performance Management; 1996, Vol. 2 Issue 1.
Shivers-Blackwell, S.; “Reactions to outdoor teambuilding initiatives in MBA education”, Journal of Management Development, 2004, Vol. 23, Issue 7.
Tengblad, S., "Is there a ‘new managerial work’? A comparison with Henry Mintzberg's classic study 30 years later", Journal of Management Studies, Vol. 43, 2006 pp.1437-61.
There’s much to look ahead now that I will go back to the school of life. Needless to say, even the rigours of business school come nowhere close to real business. It would be interesting to apply the knowledge that I have acquired in management school to real life business situations and to compare how different the results can be.
The MBA has taught me so much more than textbook principles. There is no ‘one way’ or ideal solution to a problem. Sometimes the mind needs to open up to a different perspective. I feel I have stopped taking things for granted and begun to question more and tried to see beyond the obvious.
However, it’s not just the MBA of the things in the past seven months that is going to add to my life’s experiences. Living the life of a student in UK has been an experience altogether. It’s great to be a student, carefree and irresponsible except for a few assignment deadlines. Swansea University is vibrant with so many cultural activities being held regularly and the best thing of all, with such a beautiful campus.
Even as I sit back and think of what I want in my career now, my needs seem to have changed over the past few years. More than a high flying career, I would be inclined towards a position which adheres to my internal need for achievement and involvement. Equipped with the degree, I will be more ready to take up challenges or face uncertainties if need be. My MBA has helped me gather friends from all over the world and I feel networking is a crucial aspect of a manager’s life. Apart from the fact that it is a prestigious degree, the MBA experience has been truly enriching.
And to sum it all, it hasn’t been easy to learn the skills to complete the MBA. As Calvin begins to realise here:
References:
Anonymous, Viewpoint; Development and Learning in Organizations, Vol. 17, No. 3, Year 2003, pp. 23-26.
Bland, M.; “Training managers to communicate effectively, Industrial and Commercial Training, Vol. 30, No. 4, 1998, pp. 131–136.
Crotty, P. and Soule, A.; “Executive education: yesterday and today, with a look at tomorrow”, Journal of Management Development, Vol. 16 No. 1, 1997, pp. 4-21.
Elsayed-Elkhouly, S., Lazarus, H., Forsythe, V.; “Why is a third of your time wasted in meetings?”, Journal of Management Development, Vol. 16 No. 9, 1997, pp. 672-676.
Fisher, S., Macrosson, W., Sharp, G.; “Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory”, Personnel Review, 1996, Vol. 25, Issue 2, pp 61 – 67.
Gentry, W., Lauren S., Harris, Becca A. Baker, Jean Brittain Leslie; “Managerial Skills: what has changed since the late 1980s”, Leadership & Organization Development Journal; 2008, Vol. 29, Issue 2.
Margerison, C., and McCann, D., “Five skills to improve performance”, Team Performance Management; 1996, Vol. 2 Issue 1.
Shivers-Blackwell, S.; “Reactions to outdoor teambuilding initiatives in MBA education”, Journal of Management Development, 2004, Vol. 23, Issue 7.
Tengblad, S., "Is there a ‘new managerial work’? A comparison with Henry Mintzberg's classic study 30 years later", Journal of Management Studies, Vol. 43, 2006 pp.1437-61.
Friday, 6 February 2009
Reflections on the MBA journey- part 5
I think working in the teams has helped me address many issues. It was a good thing that I realised right at the start that the whole purpose of a team is to capitalise on the synergic effects rather than working individually and collating to present the final output. In one of my group projects, I had been the group leader and although we came out with good results, I feel I had not done the delegating well. Fortunately I had the wonderful chance to learn from one of my team-members who was made the de facto leader for the next project. Let me illustrate to the reader how I gained from this very capable team member, who I feel has great qualities for being an effective manager.
It was through him that I learnt the importance of keeping team-members well informed about progress of a project and if any course of action needed to be taken.
Managers often make the mistake of not communicating properly and assuming that certain things are understood implicitly. That is when problems begin to occur; as people working under them feel that little information is being passed on to them and they are being asked to deliver with half-baked knowledge. So it pays to enunciate and give directives to some people who may not be comfortable trying to do things on their own initiative. Although this may be seen as common knowledge, I hadn’t been adhering to this and that led to some misunderstanding amongst members with regard to what needed to be delivered by them.
Another aspect of managing that I learnt from my team-mate was appreciating team-members and motivating them to perform better. I noticed that in e-mails he wrote to us, he would refer to the urgency of a deadline and mention that just a bit more work from us and we would finish the project and then we could go for a night out! He would always motivate us by mentioning any good work that any of us had done.
I noticed that things like these fostered a spirit of caring and togetherness amongst our group members and I am proud to say that a new member from a dissolved team who was welcomed in our group felt the same.
An MBA can be quite intensive and taxing for most people and there are times when one goes through unpleasantness while disagreeing on issues or when one needs to confront someone’s non participation in group work. Many dread such occasions and try their most to avoid being confrontational. However the real working world is different and effective managers must deal with such situations well. Moreover it has been estimated that over 65 percent of performance issues are not affected by lack of skill or motivation but from conflict caused through strained relationship amongst workers (Viewpoint 2003). Managers by the virtue of being in a senior position should step in as a mediator if such conflict occurs between team members. I found that some of my batch-mates could deal with such situations better while some shunned dealing with conflict.
Another interesting aspect of working with groups was the issue of time management. At times meetings that were called were far from fruitful and there was a lot of preoccupation with what needed to be done but very little implementation took place. The MBA program was structured to teach us the importance of meetings and this was implemented through the Minutes that needed to be submitted for the group projects.
Elsayed-Elkhouly et al (1997) argue that meetings are a microcosm of management. They say that an effective meeting must have a clearly defined agenda stating the objectives and the results must be summarised in writing.
The reality of life however is different and many business meetings can be a complete waste. A classic slice of life scene from any business organisation is reflected in another of Dilbert’s cartoon:
It was through him that I learnt the importance of keeping team-members well informed about progress of a project and if any course of action needed to be taken.
Managers often make the mistake of not communicating properly and assuming that certain things are understood implicitly. That is when problems begin to occur; as people working under them feel that little information is being passed on to them and they are being asked to deliver with half-baked knowledge. So it pays to enunciate and give directives to some people who may not be comfortable trying to do things on their own initiative. Although this may be seen as common knowledge, I hadn’t been adhering to this and that led to some misunderstanding amongst members with regard to what needed to be delivered by them.
Another aspect of managing that I learnt from my team-mate was appreciating team-members and motivating them to perform better. I noticed that in e-mails he wrote to us, he would refer to the urgency of a deadline and mention that just a bit more work from us and we would finish the project and then we could go for a night out! He would always motivate us by mentioning any good work that any of us had done.
I noticed that things like these fostered a spirit of caring and togetherness amongst our group members and I am proud to say that a new member from a dissolved team who was welcomed in our group felt the same.
An MBA can be quite intensive and taxing for most people and there are times when one goes through unpleasantness while disagreeing on issues or when one needs to confront someone’s non participation in group work. Many dread such occasions and try their most to avoid being confrontational. However the real working world is different and effective managers must deal with such situations well. Moreover it has been estimated that over 65 percent of performance issues are not affected by lack of skill or motivation but from conflict caused through strained relationship amongst workers (Viewpoint 2003). Managers by the virtue of being in a senior position should step in as a mediator if such conflict occurs between team members. I found that some of my batch-mates could deal with such situations better while some shunned dealing with conflict.
Another interesting aspect of working with groups was the issue of time management. At times meetings that were called were far from fruitful and there was a lot of preoccupation with what needed to be done but very little implementation took place. The MBA program was structured to teach us the importance of meetings and this was implemented through the Minutes that needed to be submitted for the group projects.
Elsayed-Elkhouly et al (1997) argue that meetings are a microcosm of management. They say that an effective meeting must have a clearly defined agenda stating the objectives and the results must be summarised in writing.
The reality of life however is different and many business meetings can be a complete waste. A classic slice of life scene from any business organisation is reflected in another of Dilbert’s cartoon:
Wednesday, 4 February 2009
Reflections on the MBA journey- part 4
The importance given to team-building in the MBA program was not misplaced. Teambuilding is vital towards building team effectiveness within a group.
As an initiative the MBA cohort was taken to Abercrave for an outdoor challenge training. Such activities are supposed to enhance leadership and self concept and promote trust and understanding within the work groups (Buller et al., 1995; 1991, p. 7 cited in Shivers-Blackwell 2004).
A corporate training organisation known as Call of the Wild had many interesting activities in store for us, which we all thoroughly enjoyed. This was the time when we were trying to know each other and with people from different corners of the world, remembering names was itself a task. Initially divided into smaller groups of six or seven, we fought aggressively to win challenges that involved problem solving, brainstorming, creative thinking, decision making and a lot of physical activities like trekking. Working together in tough conditions brought the group members together with a lot of competitive spirit amongst the members. In the end, the whole class was brought together for one last Herculean challenge and the sudden sense of belonging as one whole unit helped us perform well (See Appendix).
Some of the bonds we made with our friends at that time have had a lasting impact until now. This was also a time when we could get an idea of the team dynamics that would establish once we were formalised into groups. It has been found that outdoor trainings increase students’ learning during coursework and lessen any interpersonal problems that may crop up in subsequent teams (Elkin 1991 cited in Shivers-Blackwell 2004).
Abraham Maslow, the proponent of the self actualisation theory describes it as
“What a man can be, he must be. This need we call self-actualization”. Indeed there is such beauty in this statement. As individuals we must aspire to reach what we can and are meant to. Would it be correct to compare an academic degree of MBA to something so philosophical in life? It may not be. However I feel the MBA has added extensively to my experience and will help me chart my path to self realisation. Whether I am able to reach the stage of self actualisation is something that time will tell.
Along with the academic structure of the degree with electives that are meant to develop competencies, it has been the interaction with my fellow batch-mates that have influenced me a lot. Prior to my MBA days, I had been a person who has happy being left aside at work and preferred to do things on my own. In fact the Belbin Character Profile mentions that I am better placed in a job where ‘she is left undisturbed and allowed to get on with it’. It also says that ‘there is some risk that she will become pre-occupied with her project work’.
As mentioned earlier, working in teams may soon become a norm in most organisations and teams must be cohesive in order to produce the best results. It can be a difficult world for loners and people who produce results best when they are left on their own. As Calvin from the famous Calvin and Hobbes series gets preached on teamwork from his father here:
As an initiative the MBA cohort was taken to Abercrave for an outdoor challenge training. Such activities are supposed to enhance leadership and self concept and promote trust and understanding within the work groups (Buller et al., 1995; 1991, p. 7 cited in Shivers-Blackwell 2004).
A corporate training organisation known as Call of the Wild had many interesting activities in store for us, which we all thoroughly enjoyed. This was the time when we were trying to know each other and with people from different corners of the world, remembering names was itself a task. Initially divided into smaller groups of six or seven, we fought aggressively to win challenges that involved problem solving, brainstorming, creative thinking, decision making and a lot of physical activities like trekking. Working together in tough conditions brought the group members together with a lot of competitive spirit amongst the members. In the end, the whole class was brought together for one last Herculean challenge and the sudden sense of belonging as one whole unit helped us perform well (See Appendix).
Some of the bonds we made with our friends at that time have had a lasting impact until now. This was also a time when we could get an idea of the team dynamics that would establish once we were formalised into groups. It has been found that outdoor trainings increase students’ learning during coursework and lessen any interpersonal problems that may crop up in subsequent teams (Elkin 1991 cited in Shivers-Blackwell 2004).
Abraham Maslow, the proponent of the self actualisation theory describes it as
“What a man can be, he must be. This need we call self-actualization”. Indeed there is such beauty in this statement. As individuals we must aspire to reach what we can and are meant to. Would it be correct to compare an academic degree of MBA to something so philosophical in life? It may not be. However I feel the MBA has added extensively to my experience and will help me chart my path to self realisation. Whether I am able to reach the stage of self actualisation is something that time will tell.
Along with the academic structure of the degree with electives that are meant to develop competencies, it has been the interaction with my fellow batch-mates that have influenced me a lot. Prior to my MBA days, I had been a person who has happy being left aside at work and preferred to do things on my own. In fact the Belbin Character Profile mentions that I am better placed in a job where ‘she is left undisturbed and allowed to get on with it’. It also says that ‘there is some risk that she will become pre-occupied with her project work’.
As mentioned earlier, working in teams may soon become a norm in most organisations and teams must be cohesive in order to produce the best results. It can be a difficult world for loners and people who produce results best when they are left on their own. As Calvin from the famous Calvin and Hobbes series gets preached on teamwork from his father here:
Tuesday, 3 February 2009
Reflections on the MBA journey- part 3
With organisations realising the importance of high performing teams rather than high performing individuals, a lot of effort is put in developing the spirit de corps in the teams. The core philosophy behind it is open and effective communication.
Margerison and McCann (1996) have suggested five other skills that can improve communication in a team. They list them as:
(1)Enquiring: Being able to ask the most relevant questions and being able to listen actively
(2) Diagnosing: Being able to judge and assess the ‘goodness’ of the information
(3) Summarizing: Being able to convey one’s understanding of an issue to others
(4) Proposing: Being able to develop and present suggestions, recommendations and options on an issue
(5) Directing: Being able to make a particular choice rather than sit on a fence, confusing oneself and others.
There are a lot of other skills that fall within the fold of the very generic Communication Skills. These are presentation skills, interpersonal skills and internal communication within an organisation. An MBA programme without presentations and impromptu speeches is not worth its salt and it was no different for us too. According to Michael Bland, a trainer in communications:
“.....the best trainers will not focus too heavily on techniques. Rather they will take the innate natural communicator that is in all of us and help to bring it out” (1998:132)
One can’t emphasize enough on how managers must have good communication skills in order to manage well. Unfortunately in reality, many managers lack even the basic skills. Sample this from the world famous Dilbert series:
Sunday, 1 February 2009
Reflections on the MBA journey- part 2
My initial research led me to selecting five universities offering the MBA in which Swansea was one of them. Once I had the opportunity to speak to a University representative, I was all the more convinced of Swansea being the right place for me. The university has been getting better year by year, it has a substantial international students’ population and the MBA program is accredited by AMBA.
I am glad I chose to pursue my MBA in Swansea and now that the program draws to a close in a few months, it is time to contemplate and reflect on what I have learnt as a person and how it can help me grow.
Having interacted with the MBA cohort over the past eight months has allowed me to assess the skills I have developed since I started the course. If I were to analyse myself critically on my pre MBA days, I would like to believe that I have been a willing learner, who doesn’t shy hard work and enjoys to some extent crunch times when one needs to come up with good results at work. I would say that I have good communication skills and can develop rapport with people pretty fast.
I have been good with time management and decision making and consider myself creative. In terms of weaknesses, I would say that I have always found it difficult to delegate tasks and been weak in leadership capabilities. I had also been told by my colleagues at work that I tend to expect a lot more from them and can be a bit too harsh if that is not delivered. I see that as a weakness because managers must be patient and empathetic rather than speak their mind too often expecting the same level of commitment and performance from all.
I believe that every aspect and element of the Swansea MBA programme had some significance which would give a holistic touch to building managerial abilities for the students. At the start of the course, we made a self evaluation of our abilities and personality traits through the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory (BTRSPI).
Organisations these days are realising the importance of work being done in teams and emphasise useful skills like good team-working skills which will be of great demand and almost a prerequisite for any job in the future. The importance of BTRSPI has been on the rise (Fisher et al 1996). My profile revealed to me that I was a mix of Completer Finisher and Plant. On reflection, I would say that the profiling has been quite accurate. A weakness for Plant is that they can be too preoccupied with own thoughts to communicate effectively. For Completer Finisher, it is reluctance to let others into own job. True enough, these are exactly what I end up doing.
The MBA program gave a lot of importance to developing management skills- importance given to hard skills like quantitative analysis and the softer skills like team building and communicating effectively. Is there any reason why so much on these subjects were talked about?
In hindsight, I would say that there was enough reason for the faculty to believe that these two core aspects of a manager’s job may be the most important that is needed for better managing.
Managerial skills can be broadly classified as conceptual, human and technical. Most of these skills are acquired through education and experience. A lot of premium is given to the latter- since many things in life are best learnt through experience. I had always been a people’s person and felt my interpersonal skills had been good but having been thrown in a melting pot of such diverse cultures in the MBA cohort, my skills were to be really tested.
Many researchers have studied the world of managers and managing of organisations. Notably among them are Henri Fayol and Henry Mintzberg. However, most of their findings are quite dated. The last twenty odd years have brought enormous changes in the workplace. Technology and globalisation have been major propellants of this change. The internet as a medium of communication and commerce has allowed managers to interact in a different way. Work patterns have changed, flexibility and tele-working have become a common reality (Gentry et al 2008). These dynamism at the workplaces have resulted into a greater need for better communication, coordination, improved performance, team monitoring, and more interdependence and trust (Gentry at al 2008 in Salas et al., 2004, 2005; Zaccaro et al., 2004).Organization’s environment becoming more reactive and fast paced makes one think if the importance of different skills that managers of today need may have changed.
Skills that have become vitally important to survive and compete in a brutally competitive environment that empower employees to perform and orchestrate their own success may have changed from the skills believed to be important years ago.
However, it seems they haven’t changed much. A lot may have changed in the workplace, very little has for the manager, as managerial work has in effect remained the same (Tengblad 2006).
The importance given to certain skills twenty years back is still the same today. Communication skills, that involves communicating a piece of information, idea or concept effectively is still held as important today as it was before. However relationship building as a skill has gained greater importance today than ever. Managers these days are giving emphasis to working with associates in groups than in isolation.
Advancements in the use of communication such as e-mail with a globalised workforce have required managers to put more effort in building and maintaining relationships (Gentry et al 2008). To reiterate, studies indicate that managers need to focus more on communication and relationship building (within a team) and decision making in their pursuit for effective management.
I am glad I chose to pursue my MBA in Swansea and now that the program draws to a close in a few months, it is time to contemplate and reflect on what I have learnt as a person and how it can help me grow.
Having interacted with the MBA cohort over the past eight months has allowed me to assess the skills I have developed since I started the course. If I were to analyse myself critically on my pre MBA days, I would like to believe that I have been a willing learner, who doesn’t shy hard work and enjoys to some extent crunch times when one needs to come up with good results at work. I would say that I have good communication skills and can develop rapport with people pretty fast.
I have been good with time management and decision making and consider myself creative. In terms of weaknesses, I would say that I have always found it difficult to delegate tasks and been weak in leadership capabilities. I had also been told by my colleagues at work that I tend to expect a lot more from them and can be a bit too harsh if that is not delivered. I see that as a weakness because managers must be patient and empathetic rather than speak their mind too often expecting the same level of commitment and performance from all.
I believe that every aspect and element of the Swansea MBA programme had some significance which would give a holistic touch to building managerial abilities for the students. At the start of the course, we made a self evaluation of our abilities and personality traits through the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory (BTRSPI).
Organisations these days are realising the importance of work being done in teams and emphasise useful skills like good team-working skills which will be of great demand and almost a prerequisite for any job in the future. The importance of BTRSPI has been on the rise (Fisher et al 1996). My profile revealed to me that I was a mix of Completer Finisher and Plant. On reflection, I would say that the profiling has been quite accurate. A weakness for Plant is that they can be too preoccupied with own thoughts to communicate effectively. For Completer Finisher, it is reluctance to let others into own job. True enough, these are exactly what I end up doing.
The MBA program gave a lot of importance to developing management skills- importance given to hard skills like quantitative analysis and the softer skills like team building and communicating effectively. Is there any reason why so much on these subjects were talked about?
In hindsight, I would say that there was enough reason for the faculty to believe that these two core aspects of a manager’s job may be the most important that is needed for better managing.
Managerial skills can be broadly classified as conceptual, human and technical. Most of these skills are acquired through education and experience. A lot of premium is given to the latter- since many things in life are best learnt through experience. I had always been a people’s person and felt my interpersonal skills had been good but having been thrown in a melting pot of such diverse cultures in the MBA cohort, my skills were to be really tested.
Many researchers have studied the world of managers and managing of organisations. Notably among them are Henri Fayol and Henry Mintzberg. However, most of their findings are quite dated. The last twenty odd years have brought enormous changes in the workplace. Technology and globalisation have been major propellants of this change. The internet as a medium of communication and commerce has allowed managers to interact in a different way. Work patterns have changed, flexibility and tele-working have become a common reality (Gentry et al 2008). These dynamism at the workplaces have resulted into a greater need for better communication, coordination, improved performance, team monitoring, and more interdependence and trust (Gentry at al 2008 in Salas et al., 2004, 2005; Zaccaro et al., 2004).Organization’s environment becoming more reactive and fast paced makes one think if the importance of different skills that managers of today need may have changed.
Skills that have become vitally important to survive and compete in a brutally competitive environment that empower employees to perform and orchestrate their own success may have changed from the skills believed to be important years ago.
However, it seems they haven’t changed much. A lot may have changed in the workplace, very little has for the manager, as managerial work has in effect remained the same (Tengblad 2006).
The importance given to certain skills twenty years back is still the same today. Communication skills, that involves communicating a piece of information, idea or concept effectively is still held as important today as it was before. However relationship building as a skill has gained greater importance today than ever. Managers these days are giving emphasis to working with associates in groups than in isolation.
Advancements in the use of communication such as e-mail with a globalised workforce have required managers to put more effort in building and maintaining relationships (Gentry et al 2008). To reiterate, studies indicate that managers need to focus more on communication and relationship building (within a team) and decision making in their pursuit for effective management.
Reflections on the MBA journey- part 1
We write to taste life twice, in the moment
and in retrospection.
~ Anais Nin
“This is your one last chance to redeem yourself”. Even as I sit here, thousands of miles away with so many months having gone by, I remember the words so clearly that my father said as I did some last minute packing the night I was leaving for the UK. A whole year of excitement lay ahead of me and I was raring to take it on.
My family had always been inclined on academics. My father completed his Ph.D in Genetics by the age of twenty nine while my mum completed her Masters in Botany after I was born. As their eldest child, they had many aspirations for me and I never was made to forget that one bit. Of course I felt pressurised, but I also felt proud. Unfortunately, I wasn’t much of a smart kid. Still, high school went on without a glitch. The setback happened in engineering college which I had joined after my A levels. I failed five of my eight papers. Never had I performed so abysmally in the past. And that had only been the beginning. I failed the next year too.
Dropping out of Engineering was one of the toughest decisions I took in my life. But for every challenge, be it academic or professional I took later, my determination and resolve to do better turned my past defeat into victory. As Confucius said, “Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fall.”
For my family however, the road to redemption lay in doing something still more better- scaling the MBA mountain.
The MBA program saw its beginnings in the late nineteenth century America when there was a need felt for a higher level education for managers. The first MBAs were developed in Wharton and Harvard and in the 1960s adopted in Europe. However, interestingly the MBAs those days were targeted towards younger participants rather than older experienced managers as it is perceived to be today. Today the MBA is aimed towards developing managers for obtaining organisational goals with a trend towards shortened modified programs (Crotty and Soule 1997).
The motivations of most for pursuing an MBA are varied but most would agree that the qualification is a value-add to their career. Indeed this would stand true for most of the students in the 2008 Swansea MBA batch. Along with the added experience of studying with so many international students in a foreign nation, the cohort has gained so much more than the investment of time, effort and money it had made.
Atleast I would firmly believe so.
In effect, I would say that the prime reason for my doing this MBA was to improve my prospects in my field of work, by attaining the competencies to become a better manager and take my career to the next level faster than it would normally have taken. For the reader’s benefit, let me give a brief understanding of my career path until now. After my undergraduate degree in media studies, I took to the creative field of Advertising. As a copy writer and client servicing executive, the most important skill requirement of my job was great communication skills, the ability to create precise and lucid message. Some years later, an MA in English Literature added to my competencies and has always helped in my career. In terms of employment, I have ended up working with smaller design houses that do a lot of interesting work but provide fewer chances for career development. I then realised that an MBA could fast-track my progress. I could see that some of the difficulties I faced at work in decision making were handled better by some of my colleagues who had pursued an MBA. I had also been influenced by some friends who had done an MBA and had found it fulfilling for their career.
The decision to pursue an MBA from the UK was propelled by my desire to attain some recognition at an international level. I was also seeking a new cultural experience, besides, travel is truly educative. An MBA program is not only about being taught by teachers, but also about collaborative learning from one’s batchmates. What better way is there to enhance one’s learning curve than from the experiences of a motley bunch of international students?
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