Vishal Luthra, P19085 – Section B

Personal Learning Paper (PLP)

What I “perceived” earlier about MPPO?

When the term 1 began, MPPO or Managing People and Performance in Organizations seemed
to me like a course that we need not care about, or it won’t add any value to my MBA honestly.
But how my perception would change about this course and how vital its learnings are in the real
world (corporate or personal), I had never imagined. Before briefing about what kind of
learnings this course imbibed in me, I’d like to mention what I learned and how each session
helped me to reflect on not just my surroundings but on myself as well.

Session 1
An earlier introduction on the need for this course and how leaders should be and shouldn’t be
was a great way to start. There was not a lot of learning that I could take away from this session,
but it did create a sense of curiosity in me. Helped me understand how relevant it is to
organizations, and also I started to relate certain concepts to my previous work experience.

Session 2
While watching “Eye of the Beholder”, it was interesting to see how everyone had a different
perception around the man in the picture, but the reality was strikingly different. This is precisely
how opinions cloud our thinking. We not only learned the factors that affect perception but also
how different biases can affect decision making in an organization. After the session got over,
me and one of my friend had a debate where he said, sometimes perceptions can help to make
judgments, and I consistently stood my ground and told him how one wrong perception could
affect relationships be it personal or official. Analyzing without any bias is always better than
perceiving, in my opinion.

Session 3
Although I had taken the MBTI test earlier around a year back, I was so surprised to see I got
different results. One year back, I got ESTP. Now after this test, I got ENTJ. Another starking
thing was that I got 100% in Extroversion. What I felt the reason for this change could have been
my exposure to CAT and other entrance examinations and how entry to MBA changed me as a

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Presented to - Prof Avina Mendonca, Indian Institute of Management- Nagpur
Vishal Luthra, P19085 – Section B

person on this MBTI scale. I feel now, I am more outward towards ideas, I would like to take
leadership roles if given a chance, and also my outlook towards short term goals and long term
goals has changed as well. Well, it was great to know about the factors which always influence
our personality in the short term and long term. This is precisely the personality we carry to our
workplaces as well, and it cannot only impact our work but the work of others as well. Hence, it
is essential to know yourself, which will, in turn, help you in dealing with your work and others
better.

Session 4
Participating in the Block Arranging game as a Junior Employee, I felt little to 0 motivation from
my Senior Employee or Manager, which in turn affected by performance. This is exactly which I
have faced in the previous organization that I worked for. My first manager luckily was very
supportive and always motivated me to do better. He used to sit next to me and work with me on
any issue that our team faced.

On the other hand, my second manager was the opposite of this. He only demanded results and
did not motivate at all, which not only made me complacent but affected my productivity as well.
A great session to learn on how important motivation is in an organization, and this was one of
the key takeaways I had from this course.

Session 5
The EI instrument provided by the instructor helped me understand my Emotional Quotient.
Right from our childhood, we are made to believe that men are emotionally stronger while
women aren’t so men should try not to let their emotions impact their decisions at all. I have
always opposed this very idea, and I do feel, especially in a working environment, high
Emotional Intelligence enables you to achieve better results. For anyone to be an effective
manager, five components of EI that were discussed in the class are critical in our growth.

Session 6
When it comes to Decision Making, SWOT analysis is my go-to strategy and it helps me
personally make better decisions. But sometimes, I accept, certain biases impact my decision
making as well. This is what we need to get rid of when we step into an organization after our

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Presented to - Prof Avina Mendonca, Indian Institute of Management- Nagpur
Vishal Luthra, P19085 – Section B

MBA, we need to make sure that our decisions are well thought after taking all factors into the
picture.

Session 7
This is also the first session that made us work in our groups for the first time on Carla Ann
Harris case. A clear takeaway for me from this case and session was that even if the external
factors, that may or may not be in our control, try to mold us and our careers. We should never
let that happen. We are in control of our journeys and how to shape it lies in our hands. The story
of Carla Ann Haris was an inspiring one, and it helped me believe in rising above the intricacies
of life.

Session 8
Managing our careers is one thing but as a manager in an organization, we not only have our
own jobs in our hands but we have a crucial responsibility of impacting people working with and
under us. Case of Ramesh and Gargi helped me understand the importance of communication,
acceptance, and motivation when it comes to shaping talents. When I was working, the
communication gap between teammates made me believe some worked more while the others
worked less. Only after seeing the results, to my astonishment, my perceptions changed. Hence,
an open outlook towards people and letting them work their way sometimes works the best in an
organization.

Session 9 & 10
Desert Survival was one of the most fun learning experiences I had in this course. Although I
was an observer in this exercise, I could feel the shift in decisions when an individual was put in
a group. Even in my earlier days of working life, at times, I could not convince my team for
reasons similar to these. But there are ways in which we can avoid this. Having an appropriate
leadership, supporting and trusting each other, Individual development of each group member
are some of those.

Session 11
Something that I have faced in 41 months of my job in an IT sector is that no matter how
efficiently you divide your work in your group, there will always be one guy/girl who will be too
complacent and fail to complete his work on time. This is precisely why understanding the

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Presented to - Prof Avina Mendonca, Indian Institute of Management- Nagpur
Vishal Luthra, P19085 – Section B

importance of building a productive team is necessary. Understanding the concepts in this

session, I tried to apply this in my study group by making sure everyone is communicating
effectively, and there is good coordination. Everyone was contributing and in all subsequent
group projects, our study group did well. And in some projects where we did not perform well,
group involvement was one of the issues.

Session 12 & 13
Negotiation, an essential skill needed to survive in an MBA and post MBA. This session
shattered some self-beliefs. Many who thought they were good in negotiation wasn’t. Having
good negotiation skills can increase your chances of getting hired and excelling in an
organization. It helps you create better relationships with not just your team members but your
clients as well. My key takeaway from this session was that information before negotiation can
be a huge asset to you and help you come up with better deals. Also, we learned about how
sometimes, to achieve the best results, opting for a BATNA (Best Alternative to a negotiated
argument) can be your only approach given the circumstances.

Session 14
Leadership Styles session enabled us to learn about the various types of leadership styles and that
there is no best leadership style for every scenario. Instead, it depends on the situation to
situation. For me, the selling form of leadership is best suited to most circumstances. As
someone correctly said, “Great Leaders don’t tell you what to do, they show you how it is done.”
I relate this strongly to my first Manager in my previous organization who used to stay with the
team till late in case there was a critical issue and made sure he was contributing enough. Ideally,
he could dictate people and tell them what to do, but he participated as an active team member
himself, and I am glad I got a chance to work under him. This is precisely the kind of proactive
leadership which takes you ahead.

Session 15, 16 & 17

Next, we learned about the difference between Power and Influence. Honestly, for me, this
session was more about what not to do if you are leading a team. Because a leader’s actions are
perceived as a legitimate or illegitimate use of Power by his/her counterparts and knowing how
you can effectively use your power to convince your team is necessary. Meanwhile, Influential

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Presented to - Prof Avina Mendonca, Indian Institute of Management- Nagpur
Vishal Luthra, P19085 – Section B

tactics are equally vital. The chip exchange game also helped me realize how decisions are also
impacted once the power comes into play. Also, Dr. Shekhawat’s case helped me understand the
importance of choosing the right leader and its effect on an organization as a whole.

Conclusion and how this course helped me?

MPPO and its learnings helped me differentiate various factors that come into the picture once
we are working in an organization. This course has definitely helped me in having an idea on
what to expect and how to deal with the situation differently without any bias. Earlier, I won’t
deny that many of my decisions were based on perceptions or biases. I won’t say this course has
entirely changed me as a person, but it has made me conscious enough. The practicality of the
concepts studied in class was crystal clear when we worked on our final group project on
Contrast Effect. Having completed 20 sessions of this course, I don’t have the slightest of doubts
on the importance of this subject and would try to project my learnings from this course in real
and professional life.

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Presented to - Prof Avina Mendonca, Indian Institute of Management- Nagpur