This was my experience in the first class of the subject "Principles of Management" as I joined NITIE in PGDIM-19 batch.
The concept of mandi was introduced and the importance of it in a student's life was reiterated. A video of last year's MAHA MANDI program, which will be organized every year by NITIE, was shown to us which motivated me the most and raised the desire in me to participate in next year's event.
We were shown the goods that were sold last year. They include a simple cube like structure made from straws, a ballistic pendulum, and similar other toys. These have the specialty of not just being toys but also knowledge tools. They clearly show us that we can earn money in a very simple yet ethical way. The toys that they sold help the buyers in learning basic concepts in subjects like chemistry, physics, mathematics. Hence even the customers were more than satisfied to shell out money from their pockets for these simple toys.
The lessons that I learnt were that workers will have to be properly directed by the middle managers towards the completion of the work and achievement of goals. The top management has to interfere at suitable time periods and control the work being done in the organisation and ensure that it is moving in the right direction of achieving the goals. Overall it has been an enlightening session teaching us many a lesson in the first class itself. I am eagerly looking forward to attending the next session with zeal and enthusiasm.
Importance of Entrepreneurship in one's life:
The lecture started with explaining the importance of earning in one's life, especially that of a student. One should always try to allocate one's pastime in a business or any other activity which can earn him atleast the money that he needs for his daily needs. I was not able the appreciate the idea in the beginning of the lecture. But the examples that were shown and the motivation that was imparted changed my mind. For the first time in my life, I developed an interest in starting an establishment. The quotes that made me think twice are- Why should someone earn for you when you are able to earn yourself?
- Aaj ki roti aaj hi kamaao....
- Students are the least productive people in this world.
- Socho becho....Becho seekho....Seekho socho.......
Introduction to "MANDI" :
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| Selling is the game..Learning is the aim...Mandi is the name...... |
We were shown the goods that were sold last year. They include a simple cube like structure made from straws, a ballistic pendulum, and similar other toys. These have the specialty of not just being toys but also knowledge tools. They clearly show us that we can earn money in a very simple yet ethical way. The toys that they sold help the buyers in learning basic concepts in subjects like chemistry, physics, mathematics. Hence even the customers were more than satisfied to shell out money from their pockets for these simple toys.
Present education system :
Next the lecture concentrated on some of the flaws in the present education system and the changes that need to be done in teaching system. We were shown the song " Another brick in the wall" from a famous Pink Floyd's album whcih was a sort of rebellion against the education system prevailing at that time. The song depicts how students are being stressed unnecessarily without imparting them the right kind of knowledge. The professor made us understand what he means by correct way of teaching. He showed us a cubical structure made of straws and showed us how basic mathematical formulae can be taught with it so that the student remembers it for a longer time and understand the concept as well. This made the whole class spellbound and we repented for a while, the way in which we used to byheart these formulae during our childhood.
Smarter goals and goal setting using the example of tower problem :
The importance of proper goal setting has been explained to us in this part of lecture using an activity. Initially, the professor showed us some small and asked us to estimate the size of the tower that we can construct using them. Each student had his own expectation. The guesses ranged from 10 to around 40. Later on the professor told us that we have to do this blindfolded and that too with the odd hand. Then the guesses of students reduced but to a smaller extent. Then he finally said that the last year's highest was actually around 17. Then all of a sudden the expectations of people fell and most of them concentrated in the range 15-20.
With this simple example, he taught us many a lesson.
1. One should completely understand the problem before deciding on his goals.
2. The past achievements will have a type of psychological effects on our abilities to achieve and we should always strive to surpass them.
3. The goals should be set taking into consideration the resources that are available to us.
Then he introduced the concept of SMARTER goals in order to manage efficiently the responsibility given to us. And then the activity started. The professor asked to bid everyone based on their own expectations. But no one came forward except three. it clearly showed that there will be a considerable risk in all processes and one cannot understand the value of money until one loses it atleast once. The three people were assigned responsibilities as worker, middle manager and top level manager. They did their jobs well and finally constructed a tower surpassing the previous record of 17.
