178. Question Paper for Blame and Blame Transfer

Question paper for the examination of Paper V (Blame and Blame Transfer), Office Dynamics Course

Answer any five. Each question carries ten marks.

1. Outline what type of background checks you will need to do before

(i) blaming it on the computer,

(ii) blaming it on diarrhea,

(iii) blaming it on the traffic,

(iv) blaming it on global warming.

2. Explain in which circumstances you would accept a blame. Describe what possible plans or ideas a colleague might have if s/he starts accumulating blames.

3. Which type of personalities are best suited for Dumping of Blame? Do you belong to such groups? Justify your observations.

4. Under what circumstances can you blame it on the boss? What safety measures would you take to save yourself in case your boss comes to know about it?

5. Describe the relation between office romance and blame sharing. What factors should you consider before taking her/his blame on your shoulders?

6. (i) Explain why you are not supposed to say sorry to people.

(ii) Explain why people are supposed to say sorry to you.

175. Question Paper for Working in Team

Question paper for the examination of Paper III (Working in Team), Office Dynamics Course

Answer any five. Each question carries ten marks.

1. (i) Describe ideal gift items for male and female team leaders. 

(ii) You are a team leader. How do you subtly convey to your subordinates what you need as gifts?

2. If pack hunting culture by prehistoric humans have evolved over the ages into corporate team working, describe what the prey of that hunt has evolved into.

3. Outline the basic criteria for selecting the following people in your team: your sick leave replacement, your strike day replacement, your rainy day lift back home, your supporter in the team meetings, your coffee break partner.

4. (i) How can you establish to your superiors in a team that you are a responsible person?

(ii) What are the advantages of being considered as simple-minded and selfless by others in the team?

5. You are a team leader and your team has performed well. You have taken the entire credit and your superiors have suggested your name for a promotion. However, you need a positive feedback from your subordinates to get the promotion. Write a speech for the next team meeting where you ask people to say good things about you and completely defuse the issue of who has taken the whole credit.

6. “Team work is good for you when you know your job well, but it is the best for you when you have no idea what to do.” – Explain.

162. Syllabus for Work Environment and Colleagues

Part of the syllabus of Paper I (Work Environment and Colleagues), Office Dynamics Course

1. Workspace. The place to spend 50 hours a week. Shared workspaces: Territorial claims. Territory markers: photographs, print outs, dustbins, pen stands, files, coffee stains. How to ignore the same markers from the other person(s). Individual cabin: Staying awake; crying alone; alternatives to watching porn. (…)

2. Superiors. Bosses and problems. All bosses are problems but all problems are not bosses. Superiority complex. Ego: morphology and manifestations. Feeding the superior ego: gifts, praises, sycophancy, free time, leaves, life, universe, everything.

(…)

4. Office romance. Study of standard pathways: boredom-attraction-crush-love-affair-marriage-boredom; boredom-attraction-crush-love-rejection-boredom; boredom-attraction-crush-love-lover’s marriage to someone else-Devdas; marriage-job-boredom-attraction-crush-love-hidden forever; marriage-job-boredom-attraction-crush-love-clandestine affair-toilet cubicle-less boredom; stress-sharing of stress-gentle friendship-retirement. (…)

(…)

6. Office parties. Drinking with people you hate. How to unsay what is said. How to avoid being tagged in drunken groupfies. How not to drink in parties. (…)

140. Application of Rumour

Class lecture (Office Dynamics, Paper II – Rumours and Gossips)

Teacher: “You can use the spread of rumour to form a romantic relationship in your office. For example, let us say that you are a girl and you like a boy in office and want to go around with him.

“There are three possibilities. One, he has a liking towards you. Two, he is neutral towards you. Three, he is already in a committed relationship.

“When you know that he likes you as a friend already and might as well take it forward, spread a rumour that there is already something between you two. At some point he will hear this and this notion, that you might someday be his girlfriend, will enter his mind. This is the first step. Rome was not built on a day.

“Now, the second situation: when he is neutral towards you. Find out which girl he dislikes the most. Spread a rumour that he is going around with her. This will irritate him to no end and he will want to disprove the rumour by going around with a different girl. Jump in.

“But you have to be careful when he is already in a committed relationship. You stand no chance unless he breaks up. Spread a rumour in the sense that all is not at all well between him and his girlfriend. Be careful to be vague and indicate some nameless guy close to his girlfriend as the source. Your target boy will believe that his girlfriend had been telling a friend about problems that even he did not know. This will create some distrust, leading to friction and hopefully a break up. Then move to number two or one depending on the situation.

“While pursuing number three, you should do a little exercise everyday before going to bed. Say aloud five times ‘I am a good human being.’ This will reduce your guilty conscience and keep you healthy and strong.

“But remember, do not attempt to force an outcome. Even after all your earnest attempts, he still shows no interest, then that no means no.”

137. Syllabus for Rumours and Gossips

Part of the syllabus of Paper II (Rumours and Gossips), Office Dynamics Course

(…)

2. Spreading rumour and gossip – Best Practices. Times of the day: Sluggish Morning, Active Lunch, Fertile Afternoon. (…) Spreading Rumour as superior and as subordinate. Types of spread: relay race, Chinese whisper, branching out, addition and subtraction, creative writing, snowballing, mystification, obfuscation. Step-by-step progressions. Three Phases of gossips: Beginning, Spreading and Believing.

3. Tracking of rumours – Maintaining a daily log. Tracking areas: canteen, toilets, coffee machine, smoking zone, common room, corridor. Advantage and disadvantages. Tracking through naturally snoopy colleagues. Status of a rumour: active, beneath the surface, dormant, forgotten. Stoking the Fire. Methods and tools for the same.

4. Gathering of information from gossips. Believability of Colleagues. Trust-factors of a gossip. Checking authenticity of a rumour or gossip: origin, route of spread, motive of spread, general opinion and feelings about the target. When one knows the gossip is a lie. Handling lies: believing, rejecting, keeping a tab, spreading, encouraging and discouraging.  (…)

(…)

128. Syllabus for Anger Management and Frustration Handling

Part of the syllabus of Paper IV (Anger Management and Frustration Handling), Office Dynamics Course

1. Anger – definition and general introduction. Cause and effect. Subject, object and action.  Image analysis of an angry young man. Stages of anger: hidden, barely aware, cohabitant, nagging, pricking, bleeding, bursting, exploding, suicidal, homicidal and genocidal. Anger at office space. Difference between Spouse and Boss. The growth of anger: the Snowballing Principal. Expression of Anger – Merits and demerits of diplomacy and hypocrisy. Insubordination of the Subordinate Act. 

2. Frustration - Concepts of inability, incapability and intolerance. Theories of Specific and General Worthlessness. Image analysis of a frustrated old man. The Hope – Time bell curve. Frustration at home and work. Frustration as a hobby. Sharing frustration: with professionals, with caring friends, with bored friends. Bringing office frustration at home. Steps of getting a divorce lawyer. Models of Dying Alone. 

(…)

5. Resignation – Definition and history. Formats of a resignation letter or mail. Verbal resignation. Storming out. Threats of resignation: risk assessment and execution. Negotiation with resignation: point of no return; overestimation of self; underestimation of HR. (…) Structure of society – difficulties of living life without money.

(...)

122. It Wasn't Me!

Two colleagues are talking in office. One of them is attending the Office Dynamics course at NILS. They are discussing a homework.

A: Is this a homework for the application session?

B: No this is for the fifth paper, Blame and Blame Transfer. It is due on Thursday.

A: So I have to blame someone else for a mistake that I have made?

B: Two mistakes. You have to recall your last two mistakes or goof-ups at work and make up an argument that puts the blame on someone else.

A: Last two mistakes? Hmm. Both will have to be mine?

B: No, let’s share. Say one mine and one yours?

A: Fair enough. Then I will develop an argument against my last goof-up, an argument that will prove that it was somebody else’s mistake.

B: Yes. Then I will present your and my arguments in class on Thursday and others will try to find faults in them. If nobody can refute the argument, then it stays. Everybody will do the same and finally we will have a list of arguments for blame-transfer that cannot be easily refuted. Finally we can generalize them to be used in any situation.

A: That should give us a directory of methods to put blames on others.

B: Exactly.

A: Good. Good stuff.

103. Fight Rumour with Rumour

A student from the Office Dynamics course is talking to his teacher during a one-on-one session about a problem his colleague is facing at work. The student is asking for the teacher’s advice on what his colleague can do.

Teacher: People in your office are saying that your colleague has a crush on his team leader’s girlfriend?

Student: Yes, and the rumour is spreading. This can be bad for him.

Teacher: What is he afraid of?

Student: The team leader is rather vindictive. He can try to create trouble for my colleague. And he is definitely going to be upset if he hears that my colleague has an eye on his girlfriend.

Teacher: I see. What does your colleague want now?

Student: He wants to know if there are any ways of stopping this rumour before it reaches the team leader.

Teacher: Hmm. Stopping a rumour is not easy. Tell me, does he really like her?

Student: Head over heels, sir.

Teacher: I see. This makes the spread of information a gossip and not only a rumour. See, you cannot destroy gossip. You can either dispel it by proving something to the contrary or you can cover it with something more interesting, a new event or a new rumour, that is more fascinating than his love life. Then people will start talking about that event and his scandal will take a backseat.

Student: But where is such an event, sir?

Teacher: Are there going to be any major changes or announcements in the short future?

Student: Not that I know of. And there is not much time before the story reaches the team leader.

Teacher: Then he will have to take the dispelling way. Does he have a girlfriend?

Student: No, sir.

Teacher: Did he ever have a girlfriend?

Student: Probably no, sir.

Teacher: Is he the type of guy who can convince a girl to play as his girlfriend for a couple of days in front of his colleagues?

Student: Definitely not, sir. I can ask someone to play the part of the girlfriend but he will be too nervous.

Teacher: Then there is only one option left. Listen carefully. You have to start a rumour about him being in crazy stupid love with some other girl, preferably outside office. Make up a story about how puppy-like devoted he is to her. Make him look dumb. Make people laugh at him. That will convince everyone that he is actually after another girl.

Student: Should I also tell people that he does not like the team leader’s girlfriend?

Teacher: No. Let them deduce that on their own. But make sure to give them a saucy story about this other girl, or else it won’t stick. Fight rumour with rumour. That is the mantra. This might blow a hole in his dignity, but it will save his job.

99. Problems in the Team

Case Study session, Office Dynamics course

The students are sitting in a circle and each is stating what problem he or she faces while working in a team. Some examples are given below:

“I have really good ideas, but nobody will listen to me.”

“Some people think they know everything. Especially the young ones. They don’t understand the value of experience.”

“Some people try to establish authority due to their seniority. But in a team, all are same.”

“Others speak better English than me.”

“I cannot concentrate. I keep focusing in and out during a team meeting. And people think I am dumb.”

“I am a team leader by designation and I love working in a team. I have no problems. The only thing that annoys me is how some of my subordinates think they are too smart to work under a team leader. I mean, by position I am their boss, isn’t it? And I love to keep the group nicely together. I don’t understand why some of them have problems with that.”

“How can I be sure that other people in the group have integrity?”

“There is always one person who thinks he or she knows everything. And then every group meeting is practically a fight to convince that person that his or her idea may not be the best.”

“The other team members – that is the only problem.”

“It is slow work. I can do my job much faster if I am working alone. But this new craze about team working means I have to sit through hours of unnecessary meetings.”

“Easy or difficult - it all depends on the team leader.”

“I have a soft voice. I cannot speak very loudly. Nobody ever listens to my opinions.”

91. Gossip-mongers and Pathogens

Class Teaching (Office Dynamics, Paper II – Rumours and Gossips)

Teacher: “The spread of rumour is very similar to the spread of an infectious disease.

“Infectious diseases are spread by pathogens while rumours are spread by gossip-mongers. Much like the pathogens, there are three different types of gossip-mongers.”

On the board

Types of Gossip-mongers

Conventional Gossip-mongers – Spread rumours about daily events in an otherwise healthy environment and affect workers who are prone to gossips.

Conditional Gossip-mongers – Spread rumours during certain periods of layoff, cost cutting, directorial romance etc. Mostly affect people who are somehow connected to the issue beyond simple curiosity.

Opportunistic Gossip-mongers – Become virulently active during times of crises, like mass layoffs, major changes in the board of directors, shifting of office etc. Tend to spread misinformation about a grim future.

89. The Team Leader

Two colleagues are talking in their office. One of them is attending the Office Dynamics course at NILS. They are hunched over a paper and talking about a certain team leader. The paper has a list of human emotions and attributes and a row of checkboxes beside them.

A: Does he like followers?

B: Oh, definitely!

A: (Puts a mark on the paper) Alright. Is he generous?

B: With his followers, yes.

A: But not generally, that’s right. Next is sadist. Is he a sadist? I don’t think so.

B: No, that is slightly extreme.

A: But he is vindictive.

B: Y-e-s.

A: Egoistic? I guess he is.

B: He has a big fat ego. Don’t think, just put a tick. Now, manipulative? Maybe a little?

A: Manipulative…hmm…no, I don’t think so.

B: If you step on his toes, he might try to play dirty.

A: You will do the same. He is not manipulative. May be slightly insecure, but who isn’t?

B: Yes, the higher up you are, the more insecure you feel.

A (thinking): He likes to brag about how good he is at work. Do you think that is a sign of insecurity?

B: No, I guess that is plain narcissism.

A: What? No. That is too strong. I would say it is either insecurity or overconfidence or a mixture of both.

B: Probably a mixture. Put a tick on both.

A: I think we have quite a few points about him. Now what?

B: Now we consult this document (takes out same papers). This has a list of do’s and don’ts for all different attributes. This basically tells you how to go about people having such natural traits.

A: (Counting marked checkboxes in the list) we have marked nine boxes for him. Nine attributes. Do we have do’s and don’ts for each one of them.

B: Yes. But, we have to combine them now. Finally there should not be more than five do’s and five don’ts altogether.

A: That is the homework?

B: That is the homework. Create guidelines for interactions with your colleagues.

82. Paper I Project Titles

Students have submitted their projects for the first papers of each course. Some of the titles are given below.

First Papers:

Social Media Usage: Principles of Profiles

Party Politics: Political Systems and Parties

Family Management: Joint and Nuclear Family

Office Dynamics: Work Environment and Colleagues

Time Management: Task-Time Relations

Project Titles:

Nosy Brother or Nosy Neighbour – Privacy in Joint and Nuclear Families (Family Management)

Party Colours – A Worldwide Survey (Party Politics)

Radial and Parallel Multitasking (Time Management)

Lies, Damn Lies and Facebook Profiles (Social Media Usage)

Projecting Ambition through Social Media (Social Media Usage)

Work from Home – Advantage, Disadvantage, Abuse and Misuse (Office Dynamics)

The Religious Communists (Party Politics)

A Voyeuristic Survey on Romance in My Workplace (Office Dynamics)

Joint Family – Symbol of Indian Tradition, Harmony and 

Television Industry (Family Management)

A Brief Mistry of Time (Time Management)

81. Types of Team Members

From Me, Myself and Team Leader by Ariana Hope (Suggested Reading, Office Dynamics, Paper III – Working in a Team)

Every moderately sized team is composed of the following members:

one who is in charge,

one who wants to be in charge,

one who is always bored,

one who is always strangely excited,

one who instigates,

one who gets instigated,

one who always seems to be thinking about something else,

one who always makes sarcastic jokes,

one who is supposed to be very close to the superiors,

one who is actually very close to the superiors,

one who immediately creates the WhatsApp group,

one who starts posting forwards in that WhatsApp group,

one who secretly believes that he/she is better than the others in the team and

one who is secretly thankful that there are better people than him/her in the team.

78. On the Boards in Classrooms

On The Boards

Social Media Usage – Paper III, Basic Writing Skills

Homework: Write a “Share to 20 people in 10 minutes” text on war casualties.

Party Politics – Paper III, Introduction to Daily Politics

(Nothing on the board)

Family Management – Paper III, Core and Extended Family

The teacher is drawing two pairs of circles on the board. One pair is concentric and the other one is overlapping.

English for Chatting – Paper II, English Writing

it, you, they

its, your, their

it’s, you’re, they’re

Office Dynamics – Paper III, Working in Team

What are the different types of colleagues in a team?

Time Management – Paper III, Goal Setting

Today’s Topic:

Obstacles – demolish or climb?

Work-Life Balancing – Paper II, Space and Time

Survey: Are you happy with your allocated space at work?

Yes	No

63. Five Different Courses

Venue: National Institute of Life Skills. Time: 7 pm.

Social Media Usage:

The teacher is explaining a home assignment: “Ask your friends and family members about what type of personal information they have shared lately on social media. Then find out where they shared it - Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, WhatsApp or some other platform? Bring your survey to class next Friday for a discussion.”

Party Politics:

The students are learning how to create tentative budgets for election campaigns.

Family Management

On the board:

Today’s Question: What type of compromises are expected from a newlywed husband or wife?

Office Dynamics

Participants are playing a game to practice spreading rumour more effectively. The rules are written on the board.

(On the board)

1. Ask another person about three important events of her/his life. 

2. Make up a fourth fictitious event.

3. Tell others all four and ask them to guess which is false.

4. For every correct guess you get -1.

Time Management

The students are seeing a video about the symptoms, treatment and preventive measures for Lastminutepanicosis.

53. Types of Promotion

From Art of Work by P. Sanyal and V. D. Muthu (Suggested Reading, Office Dynamics, Paper I – Work Environment and Colleagues)

Any organization with multiple hierarchical levels offers promotions to its employees. Promotion is a highly sought after affair and often followed by celebrations with friends and family.

But that might not be a good idea in every instance.

Celebrating a promotion must depend on the nature of the promotion. There are five different types of promotions in general. We outline them in the following section.

In case of an automatic promotion, the employee is promoted by the organization not because of any specific reason but because of standard rules of employment. Seniority on its own can merit this type of promotion.

It is best not to celebrate it, though. Firstly, there is hardly anything to celebrate and secondly, if this can be kept secret from the family, the extra money can be very useful for personal aspirations.

In case of an earned promotion, the employee has worked hard and it is by all means an achievement worthy of praises. One needs also to ensure that the colleagues do not suspect foul play behind the promotion.

A hearty celebration with telling of stories of the above mentioned hard work is recommended. Please do not omit the telling of the stories.

In case of a claimed promotion, the employee has snatched the promotion from somebody else and made it her/his own by application of questionable methods.

Keep quiet.

In case of a golden promotion the employee is transferred to on-site duties in the USA.

Sit back and let your family tell everyone and organize the celebrations.

In case of a dumped promotion, the employee is made to take a higher position in the company in order to tackle some very difficult and nasty issues which the previous occupant could not get rid of.

Make a fuss, let everybody know and upload your updated CV.

49. Rumours in Writing

Class activities (Office Dynamics, Paper II – Rumours and Gossips)

The following is an account of the day at the Office Dynamics course at NILS. The class starts at 6:30 pm and ends at 8:30 pm.

6:30 pm

The teacher explains the differences between spreading gossips verbally and by electronic media. While the first requires physical presence, the later demands more commitment since everything is in writing. There are pros and cons for both, says the teacher.

7:00 pm

The students are given two tasks: i) to find advantages and disadvantages of spreading gossips via an electronic medium and ii) to find a method most suitable for his/her own purpose.

7:30 pm

The students are learning about certain writing styles that can be used if one does not want to commit to what one spreads. These styles are called Rumour Safeguards and are based mostly on ambiguity, vagueness, expressions of doubt about sources and using names of unreliable people.  

8:00 pm

The students are learning how to find interesting gossip in social media.

47. Stacked Leaves

Two colleagues are talking at office. One of them is doing the Office Dynamics course at NILS.

B: Did you try the homework?

A: I do not understand. What are we exactly supposed to do? Make a list of all holidays?

B: No. A list of all leaves. Not holidays. The leaves that you are going to take.

A: That is a short list. Some annual leaves and some sick leaves.

B: You can also take some hourly leaves in our office.

A: So, there are three. And that is the homework?

B: No-no. You are supposed to plan for a whole year - how you are going to utilize your leaves to the maximum limit.

A: All three leaves?

B: Yes. One has to be careful doing that. Sick leaves are better taken singly, or else people will ask for a medical certificate. Which makes it a good idea to take sick leaves on Fridays or Mondays to make a long weekend.

A: Annual leaves are good for travels.

B: Yeah.

A: (Thinking) Hourly leaves can be taken for parties and invitations.

B: Also on a Friday afternoon. Then you have weekend. And then take sick leave on Monday. You will have a 3 and a half days of weekend. This is called Stacking. If you can stack leaves successfully, you can avoid a lot of stress.

A: I see. Stacking all types of leaves and holidays to the best of effect.

B: To max out your non-working days. That is the homework. Make a plan of leaves so that you can work the least number of days and still remain employed. And you can do that by the method of Stacking.