Do you agree with Tom
Wujec's analysis of why kindergarteners perform better on the Spaghetti
Challenge than MBA students?
Yes, as Tom stated in
the video “none of the kids spent any time trying to be the CEO of Spaghetti,
Inc., and did not spend time jockeying for power”. Unlike business students who
are trained to find that single right plan and then execute it. Kindergarteners
will look for other options or creative ways to complete a task. They have not
yet been channeled or taught to be close-minded or in the box only
thinkers.
Can you think of any
other reasons why kids might perform better?
Other reasons why
kindergarteners might preform better than CEOs or MBAs is their group building
and maintenance functions are collaborative with one another and the group in
general through harmonizing, compromising, encouraging, gatekeeping and
following with innocence, wonder and new discoveries. And not concerned with
satisfying their individual needs like: dominating, acting like the playboy,
blocking, seeking recognition or pleading for special recognition. Those latter
discussed behaviors have not been developed yet, which would be the classic
opportunity to develop strong character traits counter to what was discussed in
Brown (2011, pg. 202).
In your view, why do
CEOs with an executive assistant perform better than a group of CEOs alone?
As stated in the
video, an executive assistant have special skills of facilitation, managing and
understanding the process. Special skills including facilitation skills are
crucial combinations that lead to success above the rest. Brown (2011, pg. 199)
elaborates further by discussing that new leaders styles, moment dependent, the
manager can assume the role of teacher, counselor, advisor or coach. The leader
can relinquish duties to the executive assistant and the group process
intervention process of: communication, member roles and functions, problem
solving and decision making, group norms and growth and leadership and
authority can be developed between the leader/manager and executive assistant.
If you were asked to
facilitate a process intervention workshop, how could you relate the video to
process intervention skills?
I would rely on the
proven techniques and advantages of the Process Improvement Team (PIT). Assigning
individuals to a group to study a problem and find a better way can result in
considerable cost savings and better efficiency. As example the following are
areas that should be considered for an effective PIT.
Team Structure:
Process improvement teams
are dependent upon the right use of talent;
Teams composed of
individuals who work well together and bring the appropriate skills to the
table have a high success rate.
Tools and Training:
To succeed, teams
require tools or a specific methodology to use in problem solving;
Training often
includes lessons on creating flow charts, observation techniques, organized
data collection, cause and effect diagrams and other techniques applicable to a
group problem-solving approach.
Management’s Role:
Each process improvement
team selected by the management team obtains a charter and a set of objectives;
Outlining goals for
the group, providing a scope of tasks involved, assigning resources, allocating
work hours for team meetings and including a delivery date are management
responsibilities;
When a team reports
in on time with a viable way to improve a work process, the group is then
responsible for overseeing the implementation.
Other Benefits:
Increased morale and a
sense of accomplishment surface when individuals solve problems as a cohesive
unit;
Team members hone or
acquire new skills and gain a gain deeper understanding of problem-solving
techniques;
The opportunity to
work on a cross-functional team is another benefit;
Often customer satisfaction
is an outcome of process improvement;
The overall experience of
working on a team typically inspires employees to seek out another process
improvement experience.
What can you take
away from this exercise to immediately use in your career?
The utilization of
individuals who normally would not be associated with a particular problem,
dilemma or situation, in other words, if an individual is not normally
associated with an operational, maintainability or support issue in an aviation
unit. That individual or individuals might be the ones we utilize as a fresh
set of eyes and ears to an ongoing issue or concern, furthermore it would not
matter if they were specifically trained, licensed or certified as a mechanic,
pilot or dispatcher, they would look at the problem without all the past and
present nuances that someone who having years of operational experience would
most likely dismiss without giving something a second glance. Even if that it
the way we are taught to not dismiss associated or unlikely problems, we as
humans do tend to got toward the likely causation. That is until other evidence
is presented or presents itself to adjust our thoughts.
References:
Wujec,
T. (Performer) (2010). Build a tower, build a team [Web]. Retrieved from
www.TED.com
Brown, D. R. (2011). An
experiential approach to organization development (8th ed.). Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Prentice Hall
Simon, J. (n.d.). Purpose of
a process improvement team. Demand Media, Retrieved from
smallbusiness.chron.com
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