Key learning from the Boat building exercise

Creating teams - The first and the most important thing for any organisation is
to form teams. The leader i.e. the CEO and Union leader are selected before any
planning is made regarding working of the organization. Discussions regarding th
e appointment of CEO and Union leader are done thoroughly and accordingly the mo
st appropriate and competent person is selected for the posts through mutual und
erstanding. The remaining persons are then divided into departments/teams accord
ing to individual preferences and abilities. I believe teams should be selected
only a by competent authority who knows the requirement of the job assign jobs a
s per the competency and not individual needs.
Building Leadership Skills - Leaders evolved within departments who took over th
e responsibilities and tried to channelize the views of the department towards t
he goal. I believe it is highly important that leaders emerge within department
who can shoulder the responsibilities of the group and give direction to the gro
up. While taking the leaders role I believe he should not be over imposing his i
deas or trying to be rude and acting as superior over his colleagues.
Team Work + Challenge = Success – Working in teams and challenging yourself to ach
ieve targets can be highly rewarding. When people in a group use their strengths
to the fullest it can also compensate for the weaknesses of others. When some m
embers of a group were unable to perform the task assigned to them effectively,
other group members and also members of other departments helped them in perform
ing the tasks assigned to them. This helped in effective implementation and fast
er completion of tasks.
Planning and Budgeting – Before the start of manufacturing activity it is highly i
mportant to budget and plan future requirements and wants of manufacturing depar
tment. The cost analysis can provide us with 1) Measurement of inventory and cos
t of goods sold 2) Cost data for outside organization like banks and registrar’s o
ffice 3) Facts for production managers to be used for cost cutting and control.
I observed that there was no planning and budgeting done before the start of man
ufacturing activity which caused many problems during the latter part.
Motivation – Some of the group members were not very participative in the exercise
and played little or no role in the boat building process. I believe every orga
nisation had such members but to get the best out of them it is highly essential
for the leader and other team members to motivate them.
Team Structure and Roles – It is highly important that employees of the organisat
ion are clear about the roles to be played and departments which have been assig
ned to them. Role ambiguity creates problem in the smooth functioning of the org
anization. But if employees work over and above the scope of their work, it can
prove to be beneficial for the development of the organization and individuals.
Employee Psychology – Most of the employees work for the benefit of organization i
f they are made to feel a part of the organization. They want to help the organi
zation grow by helping them to achieve their targets and goals. Employees encour
aged their leaders to work under the table and helped higher authorities in any
wrong doing which could be beneficial for the organization.
Formation of Cartel – Explicit agreement amongst competing groups is made when com
ing together of competing firms is beneficial for both the organizations. Simila
r cost structures help of firms help make it easier for them to co-ordinate and
thus help in reducing overall costs for all the firms and thus increasing profit
s. Inspite of cartels being banned by Government Authorities firms tend to form
cartels for their own benefits.
Indifferent Attitude of Government Authorities – A key learning is that in India g
overnment authorities are highly indifferent towards their work and tend to work
only if it benefits them. As observed the registrar did not stop the hoarding i
n prices being done by one group which had bought all the materials from the sup
plier as the registrar could not see any personal benefits. Inspite of concentra
ted efforts by the supplier the registrar did not stop the group from hoarding p
rices till the time he was not given money by the supplier to take action agains
t the group. I feel this is how operations take place in the world where governm
ent authorities are always interested in personal gains and not work according t
o the laws laid down.