UNFOLDING SUCCESS BY BUILDING STRONG TEAMS

- JELLYBEAN SINGH

"I am a member of a team, and I rely on the team, I defer to it and sacrifice for it, because the team, not the individual, is the ultimate champion." This was aptly quoted by Mia Hamm which directly reveals the motive of why effective team building is required. 

An individual alone cannot lead the team to the path of success. No matter how talented the individuals in a staff may be, unless they function together efficiently, they will not be able to achieve the required level of performance. It takes a great deal of coordination and cooperation on behalf of the entire team to be able to reach the zenith of success. It is quite evident in today's scenario that a workplace is often an area of conflict among individuals. A conflict arises when there is a clash of incompatible interests between workplace participants. In every organisation whatsoever, people work in teams that have either a leader or a self-driven team member to lead. While these teams are the building blocks in the office environment and are used to improve the operations and results, they are also a source of grave competition. It is this team building scenario that is often seen and noted to promote the productivity of the employees as well as the organization.

Team Building is a source of motivation for the employees wherein groups of workers communicate through a series of planned events that are fun and motivational. These events can be used to determine strengths in an individual’s personality, such as leadership skills which can benefit the individuals by giving them greater job satisfaction and the opportunity to realize their full potential. This is a circle of reward, with positive feedback following positive action; a far more efficient way to have efficient workers. Job satisfaction is an important part of a person's work-life. Feeling worthy, part of a team & having a sense of achievement within the work environment are essential elements to happiness. These feelings can motivate the workforce and ensure that their work is the most productive. Working on the premise that satisfied employees yield more productivity, companies often find that team-building events positively affect the outlook and results of individuals, teams and the company as a whole. Team building also serves to identify and utilize the strengths of team members thereby increasing team productivity. When people who rarely work together meet on a common platform to communicate, they might discover that they enjoy the interaction and continue bond with different people back at the office. Those who previously may not have been getting along will have to forget their differences in order to overcome an impediment purposely designed for the same which would possibly diminish their dislike as they work together for a common goal.

Management plays an important role in team building as well. No group of people will become a team without the commitment and support of executives and managers. The result is greater satisfaction for the employees and improved performance for the company.

5 things a manager can do to build a team effectively are:

Play to Individual Strengths

Encourage Transparency

Establish Ground Rules

Let Them Know You Stand By Them

Provide an Incentive

Hence, the aspect of team building should be taken into account by every organisation. After all, creating a team means bringing together people with different skill sets and varied personalities to work towards a common goal--a complex undertaking.

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SANTA CLAUS- The Super MANager

Vaishali Sethi

Ever wondered how our dear old Santa Claus manages to give gifts to so many children across the world, without any delay and without any mistake? … Yes he MANAGES it. What makes Santa one of the best known managers of the world?

Just sit back and recall the little rhymes and X’mas songs learnt at school, after all its Christmas time.

1. Rudolph the red nose reindeer …. Santa knows how to get work done through people. He, like a prudent employer, keenly observes all his employees and understands whom to contact and deploy and for what work. This is absolutely necessary in the corporate world where competitiveness is the buzzword and one has to have the right persons at the right work. Santa knew that Rudolph with his bright and shiny nose would be best fit for the foggy night, so he chose him.

2. Rudolph with your nose so bright, won’t you drive my sleigh tonight… Choosing Rudolph was a decision with not just one but many reasons! It is known that his red shiny nose had made him a kind of social outcast and it was Santa who brought him back to the mainstream. He knows how to keep his workforce happy and contented. A manager has to understand that he cannot achieve the business aims all alone; he has to assign work to his sub-ordinates. An ideal manager makes his people feel important and wanted. …You would go down in history… He knows that his success lies in success of his employees and he ensures that his team members are recognized and are successful.

3. Ever heard of Santa missing deadlines, reaching children even one day late? Ever heard of any child ever meeting Santa just because he was late and the child was already up by then? The obvious answer is NO. Punctuality is Santa’s priority and it is this punctuality that he is a favourite among kids. The Santa charm ceases to fade away. If all managers meet their target deadlines and complete their tasks with extreme precaution, well, a lot of management theories will find their place in the trash!

4. He’s making a list and checking it twice… If someone makes a to-do list, checks it twice and adds point 3 to it, well, I suppose, it just does all the work. There has to be extreme accuracy when we do our work. Planning is the first and the most important step in management. The manager must have his goal well within sight and he must have a strategy, he must know the appropriate tasks that he has to undertake to achieve the set goals. This management skill can also teach us a lot about compiling and reviewing data, removing redundancies and duplicities. ‘Checking it twice’ part can help eliminate most of the unwanted mistakes that might have crept in.

5. He wants to know who’s naughty or nice… Well, an able manager must know the good, the bad and the ugly truth of their customers and suppliers. So does Santa. He has to treat the naughty and the nice ones differently. Serving both on the same platter may end up being unfair to the nice ones. Basic management seeks to differentiate between the good and the bad. Good or the Theory Y subordinate/ workers/ employees must be given better treatment because they deserve it and keeping them in good humour will only benefit the organization in the long run. Non-performers or reluctant workers or simply put, the Theory X employees must be dealt very differently.


6. You better watch out, you better not shout, you better not cry, I'm telling you why…


Santa Claus is coming to town!! .. Dependability. Extreme dependability. The simple surety that Santa will come, come on time and that once he comes, all would be good makes Santa the most dependable and by far the best loved person in the world. Imagine parents luring the kids to sleep and then understanding that there is no Santa around. Horrifying! Wouldn’t it be? Meeting deadlines keeps customers confident in our ability to service them, and keeps their customer experience a positive one. Santa might give big business houses with their flamboyant 6 Sigma or 9 Sigma approaches a run for their money.


7. The concept of Sante di Gaddi… Go to Punjab and you might find a SANTA SINGH with a turban instead of the conventional Santa cap. A Santa from Tamil Nadu may be seen wearing a dhoti in place of the red pant! Even in places like India with predominantly non-Christian population and extreme regional variations, Santa Clause has found his way into every child’s lexicon. The key word here is adaptability. Think global. Act local. Our good old Santa has the ability to adapt himself to all the cultures and specifications that are desired of him. Have you ever imagined Santa speak Spanish or Hebrew with a little child from rural interiors of India? Do you think he will speak Marathi with people of Argentina? What if businesses make such mistakes? Will they survive?


8 The big kind smile… Honestly, I do not know anyone who associates gloom with Santa. He is the cheerful old father figure, always there as a symbol of benevolence. His is a perfect tale of service with a smile. He has been up on his work since times immemorial and still handles it with perfect ease and dexterity. A happy boss will lead to a happy workforce, and thus a happy organization. The customers will be happy and so will the results, earnings and profits be.


9 He knows all the customers and their needs – Santa knows where the kids have hung their socks. He knows what they want. Have you ever seen Santa gift a pink pair of bellies to a teenage boy? Ever seen Santa give Khushwant Singh books to a new born baby? Well that’s why we all love Santa. He is not like the organizations which produce products and then force the customers to adapt to the new products. Anticipating and fulfilling customers need is very imp for success of a business enterprise, especially in today’s scenario when the consumers prefer individuality. It is an era of customization. A happy customer is the biggest asset that any organization can ever have.


10 No complaints… only good work.. Santa never complains, falters in duty or gets tired of it. The good work speaks for itself. The work is worship. And thus Santa is revered. Best of managers not only supervise, they are hardworking people themselves. Work when done with a positive attitude ceases to be mere work, but becomes a source of joy, happiness and fulfillment.


With these little tips laced with delight and seasoned with warmth, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas.



May the lord bless us all with management skills like our very own Santa Claus…!!

Promethean. Not just the box, Think outside this dimension.

Promethean. Making faces, yet? No? Yes?

Well, if you did, then rest assured, you are not the only one.

Promethean, as the dictionary says, means a person who resembles Prometheus in thought and action. Now we come to the question who or what is Prometheus?

Prometheus was a Greek God who created man from clay. The name Prometheus is derived from the Greek pro (before) + manthano (intelligence) and the agent suffix -eus, thus meaning "Forethinker". He, however stood for more than just that. He stood for creativity, passion – he stood for change. Change in the existing line of thought - in thinking in a completely new dimension – in being dynamic. According to Greek legends, he himself created mankind.

But, what does all of this has to do with Management?

Mr. Prometheus might not have known much about Management, but the qualities he exuded sure did. Prometheus was and still is the epitome of management. A perfect example of the qualities required by an able manager – he had quick wit, was wise and most importantly he had foresight of the repercussions his decisions will cause in the future. Management has changed from the skill of keeping power to oneself to the skill of empowering others. That is what Prometheus exhibits, he gave mankind the power to alter their own destiny and fate. Management requires innovative problem solving, that is what Prometheus exhibited when he created man on Zeus’s order of repopulating the Earth.

To be a Promethean is to be boldly creative and defiantly original. Ingenuity – that is the hallmark of a true promethean. If you think you are one, it is time to prove it in our event “Promethean”.

After attending so many orientations, going through many nerve wrecking rounds of group discussions and interviews, we have got a fun yet informative event for you all which is going to force you to rack your brains while at the same time enjoy and break free from all the tensions of societies and academics. We are bringing forth the legacy of MIC. Join us in our journey to recreate the power of originality and creativity. Join us on this exhilarating ride and most important of all join us and Enjoy.

MIC begins its operations for the session 2013-14 - Industrial Visit to the Coca-Cola Plant

By Kirti Saini :-

 "Rains might dampen everything, except spirits"

When rains were at their peak and people sat in their houses with a cup of coffee and snacks, a bunch of enthusiastic students of Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies ga
thered in the college to take on a journey, a fun ride and a learning experience. Team Management Interaction Cell, SSCBS had organised an Industrial Visit to Coca-Cola Bottling Plant - Moon Beverages, Sahibabad.

Students of the first year accompanied by Ms. Nomita Acharya and the MIC team members left the college to reach the venue at 10.30 in the morning. The 20 minute drive was more of an introductory and fun session for the excited students, who, on reaching the destination were introduced to the rules and measures that they had to follow and take care of during their stay in the plant. After that we were led to a board room where we met the management staff of the place who welcomed us very nicely and told us about what their plant is all about, what do they do and how do they do it.

A documentary was shown to all, which demonstrated all the operations conducted by them and similar plants. It was an amazing compilation. During the documentary we were offered complimentary soft drinks like ThumsUp, Limca, Coke etc. which are made under the Coca-Cola brand. After that, for the actual round of the plant students were divided in groups of five, each group assisted by a guide who led us, took us to various parts of the plant and explained us the functioning.

First of all we were shown how the glass bottles were washed and sterilised for reuse. The bottles were turned upside down and then cleaned with pressurised water and caustic soda and then again with water to make them fit for use. After that we were taken to the unit that bottles Limca. The plastic bottles we get from the shops were lying there in the form of pre-forms that are blown with air in high temperatures to give them the desired shape, the conveyor belts then tossed up the finished bottles around at lightening speeds.

Then we were led to the unit that bottles Mazaa, the mango drink by Coca-Cola. We were told how mangoes are stored, how do they extract the pulp and how they prepare the beverage we drink. Further, we were also made to see huge tanks filled with the concentrate syrups which serves as the main ingredient for different beverages by Coca Cola. We even got a chance to taste the concentrate of Limca and Coke in the end. After this we were taken to the cold storage and the lab that keeps testing the products to monitor discrepancies. We also visited the warehouse where large amount of these soft drinks were packaged and stored.

Towards the end, we visited the water treatment plant where we were told about the complete purification process and how the groundwater was treated to levels to make it suitable for human consumption. Even the water that is used for other purposes like cleaning, irrigation etc. is purified and made good enough to drink by the global standards.

After a round in the whole 3 acre of the factory area we were led back to the hall and made to fill feedback forms. We were offered Mazaa to refresh ourselves after the visit. The management was open to all the ideas we wanted to give them, they answered all our queries politely and asked us if we had any complaints about anything in the plant. The factory was very well managed and too hygienic to have found any mistakes. In the end, some of the team members had an interview(which will be uploaded on the Coca-Cola website as well) with the plant manager and group photos were clicked.

Overall, it was an amazing experience, we got to learn and see a lot in those 4-5 hours. Students were really amazed to be a part of this and we at Management Interaction Cell will surely keep organising such visits for the college students. We'd like to thank all those who were a part of the trip for a nice time and we promise to be back with even more awesomeness for those who couldn't get a chance this time.