Can Groups, also known as learning teams, exists in the hallowed halls of this Institute. It has been a practice to put people together into teams to foster learning and friendship. It has not worked out that way so far.
I am not questioning the logic of implementing learning teams I just find it amusing that the paradox of teams is magnified 100 times more here. We are commonly taught the value of teamwork, of coordination, of communication within a team but deep in the underbelly of that well oiled machine that we call TEAMS are individuals with their own agendas, own priorities, own motives. So when is the group of individuals become a team?? A question highly debated in class... Is it when individuals let go of their personal agendas to garner team success? If yes, then there is a flaw in a system that only acknowledges individual success and rarely mentions team success. Unless the system is not fostering teams at all... It might be that we are truly fostering individualism within the team. there might be "The Individual in a Team" handbook and it teaches us how to rise on our own even though our team is failing or how to look good in front of the boss using someone else's ideas...
Of course these things are not unique to this institution. We all know it exists in any organization, and I think how we handle this now is the real lesson that we need to learn. The whole experience takes a look on what kind of person we are. How much we can tolerate members, and what we do in response to the situation. Right now it has been my observation that the class has been working independently rather than being in a team. I think this is a response in the difference of working habits and work ethic. Cultural differences plays a huge role in this especially when you find yourself as the minority. There has been no "new culture" or "team culture" that was formed from the CAN Groups or maybe individualism is the new "team culture" unique to this class...
Maybe there is actually an I in the word TEAM. (a silent i)
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Monday, August 4, 2008
Trading One Prison for Another (HBO.2)
Spending late nights studying and having no control in my schedule week after week here at AIM made me realize that I am now in a somewhat similar situation that I was in when I was in China working for OISHI.
Its amazing that even though how hard I try to change things, life seems to have a funny way of putting it back again in the guise of a different packaging. In the latter part of my China work experience, I wanted to break free from my job because it consumed too much of myself and that there was no room for personal growth since the job became monotonous. I was a Plant Manager of a snack food manufacturing company and even though the company treats its employees fairly well, I felt that I was in a prison. I lived inside the factory and that meant that I had to be the Plant Manager 100% of the time. I was assigned there to watch over the people and the operations but ironically there are more eyes watching me. The grapevine/rumor mill runs strongly in the company culture that sometimes decisions were made based on those stories. I learned how to deal with those kind of situation and I also realized that I should always protect myself and sometimes fight back.
Here at AIM, we have a different scenario but the situation is the same. It has only been a little more than 2 months into the course but it doesn't feel that way. The only thing I find different in AIM is that I learn a lot of things from the cases. I know it might not be the favorite mode of learning for other students but I find it really refreshing and engaging experience compared to the lecture type sessions in other schools. At AIM competition is high(supposedly) and strategic advantages play a key role in getting ahead.
Will have to see how this new "prison" suites me in the coming months.
Its amazing that even though how hard I try to change things, life seems to have a funny way of putting it back again in the guise of a different packaging. In the latter part of my China work experience, I wanted to break free from my job because it consumed too much of myself and that there was no room for personal growth since the job became monotonous. I was a Plant Manager of a snack food manufacturing company and even though the company treats its employees fairly well, I felt that I was in a prison. I lived inside the factory and that meant that I had to be the Plant Manager 100% of the time. I was assigned there to watch over the people and the operations but ironically there are more eyes watching me. The grapevine/rumor mill runs strongly in the company culture that sometimes decisions were made based on those stories. I learned how to deal with those kind of situation and I also realized that I should always protect myself and sometimes fight back.
Here at AIM, we have a different scenario but the situation is the same. It has only been a little more than 2 months into the course but it doesn't feel that way. The only thing I find different in AIM is that I learn a lot of things from the cases. I know it might not be the favorite mode of learning for other students but I find it really refreshing and engaging experience compared to the lecture type sessions in other schools. At AIM competition is high(supposedly) and strategic advantages play a key role in getting ahead.
Will have to see how this new "prison" suites me in the coming months.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Divide and Conquer (HBO.1)
Strategy is always a key component in planning. In times of war, in politics, in love, in business and even in the case room, strategy has played a major role in shaping the identity and the perceptions of the people in the class. Interestingly enough I have noticed different group and individual strategies that range from case room CPs (class participation) to group alliances outside the case room.
In a competitive environment, there is a definite need for a strategy. You need to know who you are and who are the competition. Just for kicks, I have analyzed different people from class and what their strategies are. If they do it deliberately or not I don't know.
My analysis on some of the competition
Code name: Fire Cracker
My first impression of Fire Cracker is that she is smart but as the course progresses she has totally disproved my first impression of her. Her M.O. is that she would like to appear really weak and harmless and I think her strategy works for her because it seems that she gets called a lot in class even though most of the things she say does not add any value at all to the discussion. A lot of the guys gets irritated at her even outside the case room. She uses her "appeal" to try to sponge off information in meetings and use it in the case room. I know its basically learning from your peers but the irritating part is that she does not bring anything to the table to share in the learning experience.
Code name: Paper
Paper boy has this uncanny ability to make people hate him. I am not particularly sure but this might be a strategy that he will be always be top of mind of everyone in class and even with the professors. He also gets called a lot in class which I think is a ploy (maybe) by the professors to get the class riled up and spur discussion. He has a mix of arrogance and bullshit that makes him an easy guy to hate.
Code name: Kuneho
Kuneho is actually very smart and nice but deep down she is very very competitive. I think she sees everyone as competition and gets frustrated and easily depressed if she does not do well in a particular exercise or test. Funny thing I remember during the first few weeks is that a tactic that they would use is to get high marks is to recite looooonnnnnggg answers so that the professors would remember you.
Code name: Kazam
Kazam is the kind of guy who, I feel, looks out only for himself but then again i think most of the people here are those kind of people. I notice that he does prepare for class. The way he answers in class is the loooonnnggg answer method where it seems that he will never end. He takes a deep breath and shoots out all the answer in a very long, redundant fashion which is very hard to interrupt even for the professors.
Indo team: I personally have a high respect for these guys. They seem to have great work ethic, they are smart and moral. They serve as a role model of sorts for me but I don't know what everyone else is thinking about them. They are not very vocal in class but when they do say something they make a point.
Strategies are guidelines on how we approach the situation. The situation here is not that different in any other situation. Strategies are based on our personality and experience (knowledge). And it is always better to have one going into battle than not having one at all.
In a competitive environment, there is a definite need for a strategy. You need to know who you are and who are the competition. Just for kicks, I have analyzed different people from class and what their strategies are. If they do it deliberately or not I don't know.
My analysis on some of the competition
Code name: Fire Cracker
My first impression of Fire Cracker is that she is smart but as the course progresses she has totally disproved my first impression of her. Her M.O. is that she would like to appear really weak and harmless and I think her strategy works for her because it seems that she gets called a lot in class even though most of the things she say does not add any value at all to the discussion. A lot of the guys gets irritated at her even outside the case room. She uses her "appeal" to try to sponge off information in meetings and use it in the case room. I know its basically learning from your peers but the irritating part is that she does not bring anything to the table to share in the learning experience.
Code name: Paper
Paper boy has this uncanny ability to make people hate him. I am not particularly sure but this might be a strategy that he will be always be top of mind of everyone in class and even with the professors. He also gets called a lot in class which I think is a ploy (maybe) by the professors to get the class riled up and spur discussion. He has a mix of arrogance and bullshit that makes him an easy guy to hate.
Code name: Kuneho
Kuneho is actually very smart and nice but deep down she is very very competitive. I think she sees everyone as competition and gets frustrated and easily depressed if she does not do well in a particular exercise or test. Funny thing I remember during the first few weeks is that a tactic that they would use is to get high marks is to recite looooonnnnnggg answers so that the professors would remember you.
Code name: Kazam
Kazam is the kind of guy who, I feel, looks out only for himself but then again i think most of the people here are those kind of people. I notice that he does prepare for class. The way he answers in class is the loooonnnggg answer method where it seems that he will never end. He takes a deep breath and shoots out all the answer in a very long, redundant fashion which is very hard to interrupt even for the professors.
Indo team: I personally have a high respect for these guys. They seem to have great work ethic, they are smart and moral. They serve as a role model of sorts for me but I don't know what everyone else is thinking about them. They are not very vocal in class but when they do say something they make a point.
Strategies are guidelines on how we approach the situation. The situation here is not that different in any other situation. Strategies are based on our personality and experience (knowledge). And it is always better to have one going into battle than not having one at all.
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