Management concepts can also be learned from movies. In this blog I am going to talk about management learning that I received from a very famous movie: "Story of 3 Monks".
History:
The story of the three Buddhist Monks is an anime film directed by A Da. The film has got many recognitions including:
The film is based on the ancient Chinese proverb "One monk will shoulder
two buckets of water, two monks will share the load, but add a third
and no one will want to fetch water." The film does not contain any
dialogues, allowing it to be watched by any culture, and a different
music instrument was used to signify each monk.
Learnings
The movie throws light on some important concepts of management. Here the concepts that I learned:
1. Team work:
Its true that team work enhances the effectiveness and efficiency of any task. In an organization it is very important to keep personal ego aside and perform the duty at hand for the greater good.
Even in movie it is shown at time, when they all gel with each other and save the temple by extinguishing fire.
Without Cooperation: 1 monk can fetch 2 buckets of water, 2 monks can fetch 1 bucket of water and 3 monks will fetch no water at all.
With cooperation: 3 monks can increase the efficiency of the process to a level previously unattainable. (Innovation, creativity etc plays an important part).
2. Conflict:
When there is more than one person on any job, disputes are unavoidable. In an organization, selfish motives must be detected and discouraged for the good of the many. All members of a team working together towards a common goal is the best practice of work.
3. Innovation:
When the inevitable conflicts arise they should be dealt with scientifically and methodically.
For example in movie the problem of placing the bucket at a position, so that the weight is balanced for the two monks, was resolved using a scale. Similarly in end the pulley system was used to haul water from river.
4. Synergy
The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. A coordinated effort by monks proved very effective in dousing the fire.
5. Productivity
Productivity is Important. Productivity is about how well an organization converts resource inputs into goods or services. Workplace productivity is about how firms can utilize labor and skills, innovation, technology and organizational structure to improve the quantity and quality of their output.
Excellence = Efficiency X Effectiveness
Efficiency can be described by productivity ratio which is Total output/ Total input. One of the important functions of a manager is to optimize the process, improve the work design and try to aim for the most efficient process.
We see that even during the fire, when all the monks were doing extra effort, their efficiency level is not at par with the final solution. This it is important for managers to be thought leaders and try to come up with innovative solutions to improve efficiency.
These were my learning from the movie. Do comment if you learn something different from the movie, so that even I get to know about that.
Keep looking this space for more lessons on 'Principles Of Organization And Management' taught my Prof. Mandi at NITIE.
-Ajit
History:
The story of the three Buddhist Monks is an anime film directed by A Da. The film has got many recognitions including:
- Won the outstanding film award at China's Ministry of Culture.
- Won the Best animated film prize at the first Golden Rooster Awards in 1981.
- Silver Prize at the 4th Odense International Fairytale Film Festival in Denmark
- Silver Bear Prize at the 32nd Berlin International Film Festival
- Best Film Awards at Portugal International Film Festival
It is a short and beautiful movie with a wonderful message. A must watch for managers and practitioners who try to implement working-teams in an organization without looking at the other side of the picture.
Here is the movie:
Learnings
The movie throws light on some important concepts of management. Here the concepts that I learned:
1. Team work:
Its true that team work enhances the effectiveness and efficiency of any task. In an organization it is very important to keep personal ego aside and perform the duty at hand for the greater good.
Even in movie it is shown at time, when they all gel with each other and save the temple by extinguishing fire.
Without Cooperation: 1 monk can fetch 2 buckets of water, 2 monks can fetch 1 bucket of water and 3 monks will fetch no water at all.
With cooperation: 3 monks can increase the efficiency of the process to a level previously unattainable. (Innovation, creativity etc plays an important part).
2. Conflict:
When there is more than one person on any job, disputes are unavoidable. In an organization, selfish motives must be detected and discouraged for the good of the many. All members of a team working together towards a common goal is the best practice of work.
3. Innovation:
When the inevitable conflicts arise they should be dealt with scientifically and methodically.
For example in movie the problem of placing the bucket at a position, so that the weight is balanced for the two monks, was resolved using a scale. Similarly in end the pulley system was used to haul water from river.
4. Synergy
The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. A coordinated effort by monks proved very effective in dousing the fire.
5. Productivity
Productivity is Important. Productivity is about how well an organization converts resource inputs into goods or services. Workplace productivity is about how firms can utilize labor and skills, innovation, technology and organizational structure to improve the quantity and quality of their output.
Excellence = Efficiency X Effectiveness
Efficiency can be described by productivity ratio which is Total output/ Total input. One of the important functions of a manager is to optimize the process, improve the work design and try to aim for the most efficient process.
We see that even during the fire, when all the monks were doing extra effort, their efficiency level is not at par with the final solution. This it is important for managers to be thought leaders and try to come up with innovative solutions to improve efficiency.
These were my learning from the movie. Do comment if you learn something different from the movie, so that even I get to know about that.
Keep looking this space for more lessons on 'Principles Of Organization And Management' taught my Prof. Mandi at NITIE.
-Ajit
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