To my regular readers (if any): This blog post is part of my assessment for Individual Dynamics in Organizations course in MBA at IIT Madras
After a not-so-interesting OSD course in the first quarter,
my expectations for the IDIO course were quite low. During the first few
classes I managed to hide myself in the corners and bunked a few classes too.
But by the end of the course, I was found sitting alone in the first row. Prof.
Viji’s enthusiasm was too hard to resist, I had to get closer and closer to
her.
The course started with the discussion of today’s work
culture and how it has evolved. Since I had worked for 3 years before joining
the course, I could relate to most of it. My Mother has been working in the
same school for more than 15 years now even though she had better
opportunities. The only issue I have with the millennials is the lack of
Loyalty to the Organization. But, this is actually fostered by the
Organizations themselves by paying an outsider significantly more than a
current employee with similar credentials.
Next came the RBS- Reflected Best Self. I failed trying to
get a written feedback from my friends and colleagues. So, I used the note I
had got from my Project Leader Jananee before I left my Organization to write
most of my profile. The one thing I didn’t realize about myself was the level
of Enthusiasm I had, even in not-so-good situations. I did prepare a rough RBS
profile but was reluctant to meet Prof to discuss about it which brings us to
the next topic of Personalities. I had considered myself an Extrovert since I don’t have a problem with Public
speaking or mingling with people. But only after this course did I know what
Extroversion and Introversion meant. I came to know that it has to do with more
the mindset of a person rather than his skill/ability to communicate well. I
realized that I was more an Introvert than an Extrovert which was evident when
I found it difficult to overcome my reluctance to share my opinions and
questions in the class or meet the Prof personally. My MBTI was in the borders
except for a high ‘P’(as in Perceiving). Now this can mean two things, either I
do not have a distinct Personality or I don’t know about myself. Since I had
concluded that I’m an introvert, I should know about myself, right? ..Anyway..
lets move on.
Snapshot of the note from Jananee
The “last lecture” video was very inspiring. How can I guy
who knows he is going to die have such a positive attitude. But then I realized
that how can a boring and monotonous life give someone a positive attitude,
there is simply no need for it. Only when you are oppressed and pushed to a
corner, can you develop such an attitude. The other video which was inspiring
was the “Narayanan Krishnan” video, He is from my hometown and I remembered that
he came to my school once. Rather than promising myself I would do something
like this in the future, I donated a small amount to the trust right after the
class got over. As thalaivar says, “If you want to do good, do it immediately,
before you can change your mind”.
Next came Ethics. Prof gave us a surprise quiz and walked
out of the class. Most of us, including me tried to copy from neighbours. Only
later did we come to know that it was an experiment/demo to teach us Ethics.
Right now I remember nothing else about that class except for this demo. It was
that impactful and totally unexpected. Though I did copy in the subsequent DAA
quiz, I had a slight guilt feeling this time. Most of the times we tend to do
such things not because we want it badly, but its easy to do so. I didn’t want
grades badly, I would have studied harder then.. I copied because it was easy
to do so.. And as mentioned by many in the class, it gives you short term
benefits but refraining can give you benefits in the longer run.
I was most attentive during the Motivation class, since it
was going to be the last lecture of the course. I liked the Expectant theory,
it was more rational. But, suppose the ‘Personal Goal’ is small(like as in getting
a good job). Your motivation gets satiated as soon as it is achieved and
suppose if it is big(as in serving humanity). Your motivation might not be
strong as rewards not very quantifiable. I think the best way to be motivated is
to be motivated for no reason (if that’s even possible). About the purpose of
life, Like most would admit, I don’t really know what my real passion is. But I’m
only 25, and ‘worrying’ about the ‘purpose of life’ can only be detrimental to
my life. As Thalaivar says, “You have to be patient till you get your calling”.
I believe it will come one day and I will have the courage to pursue it.
Some spoilers.. We had to present Movie analysis based on
IDIO concepts. Many of the teams chose movies which had office/work situations.
I believe the motive of the exercise was to identify and analyze IDIO concepts
in real life like situations. The final exam- some of the questions were purely
memory based such as “Give the inhibitors and enablers for Creativity”- A
memory based question on Creativity?
At times I wondered, what is the purpose of this course? Is
it to make everyone behave in an acceptable/correct manner? Some kind of
regressing towards the mean? NO. I believe it’s more about becoming aware of
your own behavior. Nobody can teach someone to change her behavior.
Thank You Prof Viji for making us aware. It’s now upon us.
