A BRIEF ON THE CORPORATE THEATRE WORKSHOP ORGANISED BY Mr.PAUL MATHEW
It was 27th June 2005, the day on which the students of our batch(MBA 2005-07) were supposed to attend “ A Corporate Workshop”. The name Corporate Workshop itself left us baffled and wondering as to what it meant. Many of us until then thought that workshops were meant for mechanics. What would an MBA aspirant want to do there?
But thanks to Mr. Paul Matthews, in the end it turned out to be a once in a lifetime experience where each one of us took a step forward towards shedding inhibitions, shyness and fears. The workshop succeeded in bringing out the creativity and the childishness buried within us. Mr. Paul was so infectious that by the end of the programme each one of us had imbibed a bit of his dynamic personality. In the process we were able to bring out the funnier side of us and were also able to enjoy the funny sides of own batch-mates with whom we had never interacted in this way before. The whole session boiled down to learning team work, co-ordination, bonding, knowing each other and knowing oneself.
Varun Muralidharan , Ist Year MBA
REFLECTIONS ON THE CORPORATE THEATRE WORKSHOP
The corporate theatre session conducted by Mr. Paul Mathew revealed quite a few truths which might not have been realised by many. Through the fun of the games played, many important ideas were brought to light.
The participants realised the drawbacks of inhibitions and the importance of bonding as a pre-requisite to effective team work.The drawback of management decided rewards/recognition, recognition of individual Vs Teams, Appraisals by manager Vs Peer appraisals, were some of the ideas that were discussed.
By the end of the session, participants had realised for themselves that team functioning can only optimally happen as long as the individual in it is not rated separately.The apprehension that individual brilliance/inefficiency might be kept hidden in teams was also removed when it was seen in the games itself, that the team did recognize individual brilliance not only in their own teams but also across teams. It was also clear that inefficiency is automatically removed in teams over time without any interference from the management as long as the team is prioritised over an individual.
Pratyush Banerjee , Ist Year MBA
In a stress filled environment of MBA, Mr. Paul Matthews suddenly came up with an entirely innovative idea called the ‘Corporate Workshop’ where each and every student was given a platform to eke out his/her in-depth skills and treasured talents. It introduced us to that dormant self which we were unaware of for so many years. I suddenly experienced myself going back to my kindergarten. Last but not the least he taught us so many valuable morals of life just through fun and frolic, which is undoubtedly praiseworthy. It helped me understand and observe the minutest of details, which ultimately leads to making a better manager in future. My uttermost thanks to Sir and my earnest requests are to conduct more workshops of these kinds at proper intervals of time.
Ipsita Patil, Ist Year MBA
Mr. Paul Mathew’s workshop on corporate theatre was to say the least, exceptionally good and refreshing. A rejuvenating journey of rediscovering the child in us, the joie de vivre that we seem to have lost in our race for professional success. I personally felt liberated as we through a process shed our personality cages, defences and inhibitions.
The glimpse of our true potentials and talent was very reassuring and gave a boost to my self-confidence. We should have more and more of these workshops. They seem so adequate and almost essential. They are also probably the best stress busters. Maybe, the management should consider having more of Mr. Paul Mathew’s workshops in future, probably every 3 months!
Renuka Mohan, Ist Year MBA
The Corporate Workshop conducted by Mr. Paul Mathew was simply fantastic. Everybody enjoyed every second of it. I was impressed by his simple but effective way of conveying ideas. The group activities brought the whole class together, making us close; at the same time making us realize the importance of teamwork in a corporate world. Wish there were more workshops of this kind as we find it an effective way of etching concepts of management into our mind than mere textual studies.
Lakshmi Manmohan, Ist Year MBA
It was truly a great pleasure having Mr. Paul Mathews introduce the ‘Corporate Theatre Workshop’ to us. Who would have thought MBA or just managing and team work would be so much fun? It was a great opportunity to not just make new friends, but get to know our friends as well. I feel that we need to have such workshops much more often, just to help us unwind from the busy schedule we are about to face.
Harini V , Ist Year MBA
The “Corporate Theatre Workshop” conducted by Mr. Paul Matthew (Director, Academy of Transformational Learning) for the first year students of ASB was truly one of a kind. It was enriching I many ways where we learnt to shed our inhibitions, and went on to have the most exhilarating experience of our lives.
The workshop began with an ice-breaking session where we were asked to scream our name out loud in a dramatic way. Later on, we were divided into various teams for many more fun filled and power packed games like mime, tabloids etc.. The stress was on teamwork and co-ordination. It also facilitated more communication among us, putting all of us at ease. “Creativity” and “Spontaneity” were the keywords. We were able to get a taste of the real corporate situation/scenario. The spirit of bonhomie was at an all time high, awakening the sleeping child in all of us. It was indeed a workshop with a difference and we would like to thank our faculty for providing us with such an unforgettable experience under the guidance of a dynamic person like Mr. Paul Matthew.
Piya Jayarajan & Devi Gopinath , Ist Year MBA |
