Tasteful humor: A key to success at work!!!

Tasteful humor is a key to success at work. Humor can provide insights into the distinctive culture which develops in different workplaces. “Humor, by its nature, tends to have an edge to it, so people typically tone it down at work,” says Laura Vanderkam, author of What the Most Successful People Do at Work. Did you know that: 1.    People smile only 35 percent as much as they think they do? 2.    As per a survey, out of 737 CEOs, 98% preferred job candidates with a sense of humor to those without? 3.    Laughter releases endorphins, a chemical 10 times more powerful than the pain-relieving drug morphine, into the body with the same exhilarating effect as doing strenuous exercise? 4.    Laughing increases oxygen intake, thereby replenishing and invigorating cells? So, bring in the change. Here are the reasons that humor and fun can improve work quality and mental health: ·         Humor and fun gets people to listen. ·         Humor and fun breaks up boredom and fatigue. ·         Humor aids in learning. ·         Humor and fun fulfills human social needs. ·         Humor increases creativity and willingness to help. ·         Humor and fun encourages people to work together. ·         Humor boosts overall brainpower and improves decision-making. ·         Fun fulfills the need for mastery and control. ·         Humor prevents long-term burnout and reduces absenteeism. ·         Fun breaks up conflict and tension. Bring out that ability to laugh, dust it off, and go for the gold… the golden sounds of someone enjoying himself or herself.

Why IIMs cannot award a degree today?

Indian Institute of Managements were setup under recommendations of planning commission (1956) as autonomous institutes supported with government grant-in aids.

 The act talks about setting up this institutes to impart management education to students and focuses on building managerial workforce in the country. The Act, however, does not talk about granting University status to the institutes. The IIT’s were formed under Institutes of Technology Act, 1961 and the act empowers the IITs to award degrees, diplomas and honorary degrees. For IIMs to award Degree’s to their students, GOI will have to amend the act under which the IIMs were setup. Doing so, is not impossible but it is definitely a time consuming task.

Read more at- 

http://www.financialexpress.com/news/iims-may-get-nod-to-award-mba-degrees/955043/0

Source: http://www.desimba.in/op-ed/2012/07/soon-you-will-be-able-to-write-mba-from-iim-on-your-resume/

Difference between MBA and PGDM

MBA vs. PGDM

In India only those schools which are affiliated to a university can offer an MBA degree. For this reason institutes like JBIMS, PUMBA, FMS can offer MBA degree while IIMs do not. Institutes which are

not affiliated to university are autonomous and can offer PGDM (Post Graduate Diploma in Management) degree. These programs are sometime approved by Government accreditation bodies such as AICTE.

In terms of Reputation

There is common perception that MBA degree being a masters is more recognized in the market. This is because some recruiters favor an MBA over a PGDM. But the reputation of a degree cannot be considered in isolation. The reputation of the school plays a big role in deciding whether PGDM is not as popular as MBA. For example SP Jain, Mumbai offers a Post Graduate Diploma in Management which is very reputed. ISB also offers a PGPM program which is highly recognized in the industry.

In terms of Curriculum

As per wikipedia The curriculum of the PGDM and MBA degrees are equivalent, although the MBA degree is examination oriented and concentrates on theoretical aspects of management whereas the PGDM is industry-oriented and mainly focuses on building soft skills While an MBA curriculum is designed by a university, a PGDM course gives freedom to the institute to design its own curriculum. This is sometimes beneficial to the students because institutes can change the curriculum as per the industry requirements and changing business environment. A university affiliated program will essentially follow the university guidelines and changing this curriculum is a very slow process.

More at : http://www.targetadmission.com/mba-articles/difference-between-pgdm-and-mba

Theory U by Otto Scharmer

It's about how groups and organizations can develop leadership capacities to enable the leaders to meet the challenges they will be facing in an increasingly complex and unpredictable future. The journey through the U develops seven essential leadership capacities-

1. Holding the space of listening

The foundational capacity of the U is listening. Listening to others. Listening to oneself. And listening to what emerges from the collective. Effective listening requires the creation of open space in which others can contribute to the whole.

2. Observing

The capacity to suspend the voice of judgment is key to moving from projection to true observation.

3. Sensing

The preparation for the experience at the bottom of the U presencing requires the tuning of three instruments: the open mind, the open heart, and the open will. This opening process is not passive but an active sensing together as a group. While an open heart allows us to see a situation from the whole, the open will enables us to begin to act from the emerging whole.

4. Presencing

The capacity to connect to the deepest source of self and will allows the future to emerge from the whole rather than from a smaller part or special interest group.

5. Crystallizing

When a small group of key persons commits itself to the purpose and outcomes of a project, the power of their intention creates an energy field that attracts people, opportunities, and resources that make things happen. This core group functions as a vehicle for the whole to manifest.

6. Prototyping

Moving down the left side of the U requires the group to open up and deal with the resistance of thought, emotion, and will; moving up the right side requires the integration of thinking, feeling, and will in the context of practical applications and learning by doing.

7. Performing

A prominent violinist once said that he couldn't simply play his violin in Chartres cathedral; he had to 'play' the entire space, what he called the 'macro violin' in order to do justice to both the space and the music. Likewise, organizations need to perform at this macro level: they need to convene the right sets of players (frontline people who are connected through the same value chain) and to engage a social technology that allows a multi-stakeholder gathering to shift from debating to co-creating the new.

Theory X and Theory Y of Management

By  Douglas McGregor

The theory talks about the perception and attitude of managers- how they evaluate and deal their sub-ordinates.

Theory X

Management assumes employees are inherently lazy and will avoid work if they can and that they inherently dislike work. As a result of this, management believes that workers need to be closely supervised and comprehensive systems of controls developed. Theory X managers rely heavily on threat and coercion to gain their employees' compliance. Beliefs of this theory lead to mistrust, highly restrictive supervision, and a punitive atmosphere.

Theory Y

In this theory, management assumes employees may be ambitious and self-motivated and exercise self-control. It is believed that employees enjoy their mental and physical work duties. According to them work is as natural as play. They possess the ability for creative problem solving, but their talents are underused in most organizations. Given the proper conditions, theory Y managers believe that employees will learn to seek out and accept responsibility and to exercise self-control and self-direction in accomplishing objectives to which they are committed. They believe that the satisfaction of doing a good job is a strong motivation. This eventually would turn to include managers communicating openly with subordinates, minimizing the difference between superior-subordinate relationships, creating a comfortable environment in which subordinates can develop and use their abilities. This climate would include the sharing of decision making so that subordinates have say in decisions that influence them.

Motivation?

People differ by nature not only in their ability to perform a specific task but also in their will to do so. People with less ability but stronger will are able to perform better than people with superior ability and lack of will. Hard work is a crucial to success and achievement. 


This belief was underscored by Albert Einstein when he said that-
 "Genius is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration." 

This "will" to do is known as Motivation.

Type A and Type B Personalities

By (Meyer Friedman and RH Rosenman in 1950s)

Type A individuals can be described as impatient, time-conscious, controlling, concerned about their status, highly competitive, ambitious, business-like, aggressive, having difficulty relaxing; and are sometimes disliked by individuals with Type B personalities for the way that they're always rushing. They are often high-achieving workaholics who multi-task, drive themselves with deadlines, and are unhappy about delays. Because of these characteristics, Type A individuals are often described as "stress junkies."

Type B individuals, in contrast, are described as patient, relaxed, and easy-going, generally lacking an overriding sense of urgency. Because of these characteristics, Type B individuals are often described by Type As as apathetic and disengaged.


Type A behaviour profile tends to be obsessive and, managers with such behaviour are hard driving, detailed oriented people with high performance standards. Such managers have difficulties in creating cardinal interpersonal relationships and create a lot of stress for themselves and the people they deal with. They specially feel pressurised if they have to complete a task within a given deadline. ...Type B persons on the other hand do put extra effort in order to meet a deadline but do not feel pressurised.

Those persons who are classified as Type A have a strong desire and tendency to control all aspects of the situation and if they are unable to control a situation, they react with anger and frustration. Because of their obsession with perfection, they are more apt to fear of failure and even if their work is good they tend to underestimate the quality of their work. In the case of negative outcomes, they blame themselves more than the external factors.

Research has indicated that such patterns of behaviours as exhibited by Type A personality profile, lead to health problems, specially heart related illness. In contrast, Type B persons may be hard working but feel no pressing conflict with people or time and hence are not prone to stress and coronary problems.

So be a Type B person!