Navrang Puzzle and Organizational Structure

The class started with the Prof. Mandi giving us a unique puzzle to solve.
It was similar in looks to Rubik cube but had 9 different colours, with 3 pieces having the same colour. Unlike a standard Rubik's Cube, the Navrang Puzzle could be dismantled and reassembled. 

Unlike every other puzzle , this puzzle had its  own rule like-

1.As there are 9 different colours, with 3 cubes having the same colour , these 9 pieces of different colours should fall on one side with no 2 pieces of same colour falling one same side.

 

So fascinated were all of us, that everybody wanted to get their hands on the Navrang puzzle. We were challenged to find an algorithm or method to reassemble the Puzzle in order to reach the intended objective. After a few minutes of efforts none of us could actually come up with a proper solution.

But then, Prof. himself solved it within a minute and then what followed was the analysis of this could have been done and how it is related to modern organizations. We learned 2 important concepts here -


1. Unity of Objective


According to the Unity of Objectives, every individual and every process in an organization should aim to fulfill the a common objectives, which is nothing but the objective of the Organisation. Unity of objective focuses on the below points:

 

• A common understanding of the situation;
• A common vision or goals for the reconstruction and stabilization mission;
• Coordination of efforts to ensure continued coherency;
• Common measures of progress and ability to change course if necessary.

 
2. Organizational Structure 



An organizational structure defines the scope of acceptable behavior within an organization, its lines of authority and accountability. More specifically, it shows the pattern or arrangement of jobs and groups of jobs within an organization

and yet it is more than an organizational chart. Ideally, organizational structures should be shaped and implemented for the primary purpose of facilitating the achievement of organizational goals in an efficient manner. Indeed, having a suitable organizational structure in place—one that recognizes and addresses the various human and business realities of the company in question—is a prerequisite for long-term success.Also, as in Navrang Puzzle, we must ensure that people with conflicting interests (corresponding to cubes of contrasting colours) should not be placed in the same team (corresponds to a plate of Navrang puzzle).

 

The most important lesson from this activity is that every problem is not necessarily solved with a difficult or technical solution, what we need to do is find a simple step by step approach which can be divided among the individuals of the group so that it can be worked individually  and combined effectively saving time and efforts by giving a quality result.