These are 5 leadership assignments: 1. About NR Narayana Murthy 2. Diff between Leader & Manager 3. Time Management techniques 4. Leader's plan for a tough location like an African country 5. India's political scenario

1. Leadership & Team Building
Assessment of Assimilation Test Set No 1
Course Name – Leadership & Team Building Batch 2010-13
Date: 29/04/2012 Semester IV
Day: Sunday Maximum Marks 30
Note- 1.Answer any three questions.
2.All questions carry 10 marks each.
1. In Indian context, Mr N R Narayana Murthy symbolizes a story of a game changer in the
Corporate Leadership. Highlight his traits and contributions.
2. Steve Jobs quoted a commandment from Steward Brand “Stay hungry stay foolish”
while delivering his commencement address to the Stanford University students in
2005. Can you go further from here and set for yourself additional commandments.
3. Project Manager is a coveted post and demands specialized attributes and skills to be
effective. Spell out a few.
4. Write short notes on any two of the following:-
a. Differentiate between a leader and a manager.
b. Daniel Goleman’s theory about the Emotional Intelligence (EQ).
c. Time management techniques.
SIBM Exec. MBA 2010-13 Harish Dunakhe Roll No. 33310

2. Leadership & Team Building
1st Question:
In Indian context, Mr N R Narayana Murthy symbolizes a story of a game changer in the
Corporate Leadership. Highlight his traits and contributions.
Backdrop: How Infosys was founded.
When Mr. N R Narayana Murthy founded Infosys, IT industry was not established. In fact there was no
IT industry at all. During early 80’s the businesses were highly regulated. Besides the IT outsourcing was
in nascent stage. US & European companies especially the US companies were exploring options of
reducing operational cost by outsourcing of IT related work to economical nations such as India. Tata
Consultancy and Patni Computers were the present companies during that time. Mr. Narayana Murthy
resigned from Patni to found Infosys along with a few of his colleagues and friends Krish Gopalakri hnan,
s
Nandan Nilekani etc. A few more IT companies were also founded during that time. Wipro and Sonata
Software were to name a few.
Post founding Infosys in 1984 the company faced tough years initially and later made unprecedented
growth. The company grew more than 100% year on year. Within 10 years of its inception it was a more
than Rs. 100 Crore company. In next 10 years company grew further and was more than 1000 Crore
company.
A few of the reasons why Infosys grew and laid foundations of the Indian IT industry are listed below.
1. Growing demand for IT related services from US & other developed markets
2. Availability of English speaking, computer literate manpower
3. Favorable tax structure, infrastructure availability from Govt.
SIBM Exec. MBA 2010-13 Harish Dunakhe Roll No. 33310

3. Leadership & Team Building
How Mr. Narayana Murthy is a game changer:
Mr. Narayan Murthy based his business on following values:
1. Inclusive Growth
a. Employee Stock Options
b. Wealth Distribution to employees and shareholders
2. Corporate Governance
a. Transparency
b. Voluntary disclosure of financial data
3. Ethical Business practices
It was tough during those days…. However he didn’t give up and ensured he stood by his values.
The contribution was significant. It was a pleasant start of good business practices. We can do good
business by doing ‘good’ to others i.e. to stake holders- customers, employees and shareholders etc. He
created wealth for many families. There were many symbiotic businesses supporting Infosys were
founded by many people. Bangalore got its name as Silicon Valley of India because of sustained efforts
by Infosys and development efforts by government.
A few of leadership traits he showed are listed below:
“Courage is the most
1. Strong Value System important leadership
2. Self-Belief attribute, requiring
3. Vision- could foresee what’s in the near future difficult decisions that
4. Courage often run opposed to
5. Hard work popular opinion”.
6. Execution Excellence
7. Wealth creation - N R Narayana Murthy at
8. Risk Management- manage risk of a growing organization A S Deshpande Memorial Lecture
th
held at Mumbai on 18 December
2011
Conclusion:
Mr. Narayana Murthy created wealth for many people and many generations. People who invested in
initial years of Infosys are millionaires today. He has become the role-model for many to emulate. The
leadership traits he possesses are the benchmarks one can aspire to attain.
SIBM Exec. MBA 2010-13 Harish Dunakhe Roll No. 33310

4. Leadership & Team Building
2nd Question:
Project Manager is a coveted post and demands specialized attributes and skills to be effective.
Spell out a few.
Ans:
Project Manager according to me is a combination of effective Leadership and Managerial skills.
We are aware of some of the leadership skills which we look in to effective leadership and there
are a few managerial abilities needed to successfully accomplish a task.
Leadership Skills Managerial Skills
1. Vision 1. Planning
2. Motivation 2. Effective Execution
3. Problem-solving 3. Time
4. Lead by example Management
5. Courage 4. Coordination
6. Inspiring 5. Control
Communication 6. Optimum
Resource Utiliztion
Project Manager
Most of the projects have following challenges:
1. Uncertainties about scope, resources, timelines – Progressive Elaboration
2. Ever increasing costs, limited budgets
3. Highly demanding customers in a fiercely competitive market
4. Multiple stakeholders with different agendas to drive
5. Pressure on achieving quality at low cost and in less time
6. Softer Aspects- such as self-motivation and team motivation
SIBM Exec. MBA 2010-13 Harish Dunakhe Roll No. 33310

5. Leadership & Team Building
Therefore it is imperative for a Project Manager to lead his team in such a way that he doesn’t
overpromise and under-deliver. The pressure from customers to deliver more in less resources and cost
will always be present and in fact, would increase with time. The competing companies might tempt
customers with their offers. It’s therefore, a Project Manager’s responsibility to ensure he & his team
delivers as per the committed deliverables. However, to do that, he consistently needs to motivate his
team, optimize his costs, manage customer expectations well and keep him motivated about the
positive outcome.
My Experience:
I am currently involved in a highly sensitive security solution project at a prestigious Indian Airport. The
stakeholders are AAI, Airport Management, BCAS- Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, CISF- Central
Industrial Security Force and local IT team at Airport. The challenges I can visualize at this site are
manifold. These challenges get compounded due to involvement of multiple stake-holders and their
contradicting agendas. The Project Manager’s job here is a tight rope walk. He has to manage BCAS
compliance, CISF requirements of security solutions and also comply with the Airport security norms. It’s
a tough job and everyday poses a new set of challenges.
3rd Question:
Write short notes on any two of the following:-
• Differentiate between a leader and a manager.
• Daniel Goleman’s theory about the Emotional Intelligence (EQ).
• Time management techniques.
a. Difference between Leader & Manager
SR. NO. LEADER MANAGER
1 Visionary- Establish grand and highly Execution abilities- Skilled to achieve
stretched vision which may be difficult to execution targets.
achieve
2 Lead by example Planning- Ability to plan the activities
effectively so as to reduce uncertainties
3 Motivator- Ability to motivate teams to Time Management- Effectively execute
achieve outstanding results activities in stipulated time
4 Courageous- Ability to take tough decisions at Coordination- Effective coordination with
times when needed. multiple stake holders.
5 Inspiring Communicator- Ability to inspire Optimum Resource Utilization- Work with
people with his highly contagious positive lesser resources, and do more with less…
attitude and effective communication. Optimize costs.
6 Problem Solving- A leader should be able to Control- Ability to review progress, take
solve his team’s problems. He should be an corrective actions in time so that given
astute troubleshooter. targets are achieved.
SIBM Exec. MBA 2010-13 Harish Dunakhe Roll No. 33310

6. Leadership & Team Building
b. Time management techniques:
Various techniques can be used to manage time effectively. A few of the techniques are listed below.
1. Creation of Priority List
Creation of priority list is a powerful way to manage the time well. We can divide our activities as per
the grid mentioned below.
Urgent Not-urgent
Important A B
Not-important C D
A – Activities are Urgent & Important: Finish those ASAP.
e.g. – Travel reservation.
B – Activities are Important but not urgent. Plan those ahead of time and execute.
e.g. – Business Planning, Important meeting involving multiple stakeholders.
C – These Activities are urgent but not so important. Finish these as soon as possible so that we have
time for more important activities.
e.g. – Paying electricity bills, mobile recharge, tax claims
D – These activities are neither urgent nor important. Plan to finish those in free time. Avail sometime of
a day or week to finish such activities.
e.g.- nail-cutting
2. Tracking progress
If someone is weak in managing his time, then he should
Actually we cannot manage time.
periodically track progress of his activities and the amount of
We have to manage our activities in
time he has spent to finish those activities. Later he can review
the available time.
those and compare that with others. This will help him track
how he does certain things as compared to others.
3. Creation of Time Management Goals:
The focus of time management is actually changing our behaviors, not changing time. A good place to
start is by eliminating the personal time-wasters. For one week, for example, if we set a goal that I am
not going to take personal phone calls while I am working I can manage my activities very well.
4. Find out where you're wasting time – The energy leaks and time leaks.
SIBM Exec. MBA 2010-13 Harish Dunakhe Roll No. 33310

7. Leadership & Team Building
Many of us are prey to time-wasters that steal time we could be using much more productively. What
are your time-bandits? Do you spend too much time 'Net surfing, reading email, or making personal
calls? Tracking your daily activities explains how to track your activities so you can form an accurate
picture of what you actually do, the first step to effective time management.
5. Learn to delegate and/or outsource.
For effective time management, we need to find out what all activities one can delegate…. e.g.
Photocopying, documents, coordinating with Administrative staff, making logistics arrangements… I
believe we should allow others people carry some of our work load.
6. Establish routines and stick to them as much as possible.
While crises will arise, you'll be much more productive if you can follow routines most of the time.
7. Set time limits
Taking telephone calls, reading and answering email can consume your whole day if you let it. Instead,
set a limit of one hour a day for this task and stick to it.
8. Be sure your systems are organized.
Being organized helps one use the time effectively…. One needs to ask him / her if he / she are wasting a
lot of time looking for files on the computer.
9. Don't waste time waiting
Use the waiting time effectively. While you are waiting for an activity to be completed by others or you
are waiting at airport / you are in a queue somewhere, make sure you carry your pending reading
material with you. Point is, use your waiting time, and don’t waste it.
Summary:
You can control and accomplish what you want to accomplish… provided you manage activities in the
stipulated time. We must know that we can’t really manage time; we need to manage our activities in
the available time.
SIBM Exec. MBA 2010-13 Harish Dunakhe Roll No. 33310

8. Leadership & Team Building
Assignment No. 3:
You have been selected as Team Leader by your company to proceed to Gabon in West
Africa/any country in Africa for a joint venture with a local company. State your action
plan.
Gabon’s government has recently shown positive
signals to attract investment in their country. Visit of
its President Ali Bongo Ondimba to India in 2009
started positive discussions for Indian companies
investing in Gabon.
Our company has already decided to supply
Engineering products required for Oil Exploration. A
joint venture is formed with a local company. As a part
of our effort to send our team to Gabon we will take
following steps.
1. Activities completed so far
a. Appointment of Team Leader- which is me in this case.
b. Formation of Joint Venture
Next steps:
2. Documentation of the Joint Venture to be understood before visiting Gabon
3. Cultural training – Understanding of the local culture. Interaction with JV partner to know more
about that country. Knowing more about climatic conditions- since it’s a tropical country.
4. Legal training- understanding laws of Gabon- what is allowed, what is not allowed.
5. Visiting Gabon
a. Once I understand Gabon’s culture, political setup, legalities and other such factors, I
should visit Gabon before I take my team there. This step is important as it will give me
firsthand experience of Gabon before I recruit people to work in that country. Besides I
could understand the JV partner and its setup.
b. Since I am the team leader it’s important for me to know the job related challenges. It
will reduce the number of changes team might experience in Gabon. Here the job
SIBM Exec. MBA 2010-13 Harish Dunakhe Roll No. 33310

9. Leadership & Team Building
location is new, team leader that’s me would be new to the team and working
conditions would be new.
c. Understanding the market conditions / manufacturing challenges in important. How
customers / people in Gabon work, behave is more important to me. This understanding
would help me manage probable future challenges once the team is on board. I think
the Team Leader should be a few steps ahead of its team in terms of skills and
knowledge.
6. Formation of team
a. Recruitment- Next obvious step is formation of team. Recruiting members who are
mentally prepared for an African country are to be recruited.
b. Following is the evaluation criteria:
i. Relevant experience
ii. Mental toughness
iii. Positive attitude
iv. Persistent track record of previous employment
c. Training: Preparing the team for Gabon and job to be done there.
7. Execution and Evaluation: While at Gabon I anticipate we would face challenges w r t the team
behavior and team’s efforts to acclimatize themselves.
8. Reviewing the team’s performance regularly and taking corrective actions such as recognizing
efforts, rewarding appropriately, morale boosting, motivation, replacement of teammates etc.
Summary:
A tough territory away from home needs different kind of leadership abilities. A team that works in
Gabon needs to be mentally tough as it’s not an easy territory to work in. Team must know what they
are getting in to. Secondly they must be rewarded accordingly.
SIBM Exec. MBA 2010-13 Harish Dunakhe Roll No. 33310

10. Leadership & Team Building
Assignment No. 4:
At present Indian political leadership both at the center as well as in the states is facing
many challenges. The effective handling will demand special efforts. Analyze various
aspects and suggest skills which you consider are essential to deliver the desired results.
First of all, let’s put forth the challenges our political leadership faces today.
Challenges:
1. Trust deficit: People have started losing trust in the political leadership due to various charges
of corruption against government and a few leaders in opposition.
2. Lack of vision: The leaders in various political parties discuss issues which people at large don’t
wish to relate to. The country needs infrastructure, inclusive growth, systematic efforts to
reduce poverty and stable government. The vision which politicians show today is still stuck at
basics such as caste, religion & regional development or populist measures which please certain
factions of the society but deprive the people of India.
3. Coalition Government: The parliamentary democracy and no upper limit on no. of political
parties make India a chaotic democracy.
4. Quality of Leaders: Corrupt, not so educated leaders who cannot effectively represent their
constituencies as well as cannot take studious efforts in policy decisions are in abundance. Very
few leaders are well educated and can effectively articulate in parliament as well as state
assembly.
5. Governance: Bureaucracy & red tape-ism cause delays in taking decisions which affect
implementation of various public welfare policies.
6. Defunct Administration: India spends more than 55% its earnings on salaries, pensions and
associated benefits to its employees. This leaves us with less money for development. Besides
we are crippled due to high level of corruption at every level.
7. Lack of Direction: Political leadership, I believe is unable to provide an unambiguous direction to
the countrymen. Presence of too many leaders from multiple parties and social activists means
lack of general acceptance of these leaders…. This obviously results in chaos. Lack of direction is
palpable with their popularity…. our Prime Minister / Chief Ministers cannot attract sizeable
crowd to their functions.
Now that we have listed these challenges let’s look at the skills that we need our leaders must have.
SIBM Exec. MBA 2010-13 Harish Dunakhe Roll No. 33310

11. Leadership & Team Building
We will use Herzberg’s two factor theory for our political leadership.
High Satisfaction
Delighters:
- Visionary, clean, transparent, non-corrupt
- Passion for national service- commitment, dedication, hard-work
- Single-minded focus on national progress & development
- High Educational qualifications
- International exposure
No satisfaction / No
Dissatisfaction
Hygiene factors:
- Clean background – no serious criminal cases
- Organizing skills- should enjoy support of his party-workers
- Good orator, Administrative skills.
- Ability to handle uncertainties
- Ability to present himself / herself effectively
- Understanding of public concerns, knowledge of the political system
High Dissatisfaction
Summary:
The above model lists out a few skills & abilities. Presence of Delighters increases our public’s
satisfaction whereas absence of Hygiene factors cause dissatisfaction.Our political leaders must have
above mentioned skills and abilities to be an effective politician to lead our country towards
development. Our political leaders should have India on their mind. Highly passionate leaders who have
sense of urgency to develop country and countrymen are the needs of the hour.
SIBM Exec. MBA 2010-13 Harish Dunakhe Roll No. 33310