Managing people is a daunting task and most of the time the job itself is not really that tough but people management is what the company pays a top manager for!
Most of the smaller companies will judge you by the results that you deliver, regardless of your ways of getting things done. But for reputable multinational companies, to function as a manager per se in there, you are also judged by how well you perform in the area of employees' satisfaction. This aspect is evaluated hand in hand with the actual result achievable in the work assigned to you. It is easy to rule with an iron fist and get quick and short term results but before long the organization will suffer the loss of employees and subordinates. I had learnt this concept of "preferred employer"management from HP, which I worked there 2 years and it was an eye opener that took me to a different level, and also gained substantial people management experience which is beneficial for my working career later on.
HP employs a lot of graduates from top universities both local and overseas with first class honors of academic excellence. The bulk of the executives are highly qualified professionals, and therefore require a more comprehensive and employee-centered kind of management approach to handle them. It was difficult for managers recruited from other companies of different culture to grasp the concept; very often when you thought you had done a good job but the boss told you that you miss out the human aspect and the subordinates did not like your style of doing things. They ranked your management skill by giving a lousy score in their satisfacion survey carried out every year. HP expects you to optimize employees' satisfaction and work performance, and that is really not easy and it is almost an art! After working in the corporate world for many years, if one could ever manage to juggle the magic of managing 70% of the people favor you as their superior while there are still 30% do not like you for no obvious reasons, this is already acceptable.
When I come to manage the present factory, a totally different and extreme situation exists here! Most of the executives wanted to become nice guys, recommending good grades for year end performance evaluation practically for everyone of their subordinates despite they are always being late for work, sloppy workmanship, inefficient or even insubordination at times, and you name it. It is probably a "nice guys" culture here, in which things only get done at their own pace. They are not exposed so much to the kind of goals driven and mean operations in the very competitive electronic industry environment which I used to come from!
An organization has to distribute its allocated incentives such as bonuses, raise in grades etc based on merits in the form of a normal distribution curve. With everyone falling onto the top end of the curve, how could a fair distribution of incentives or performance evaluation could be carried out? It is an easy operation with simple expectation here, therefore an executive needs not work extra hard to pass the grade. Even with this low expectation an executive needs not choose to be a mediocre. One has to realize the fact that inefficient subordinates will reflect on you and actually hamper your career growth in the eyes of the management if you choose to be good guys that are slack in managing your staff, which implies a typical characteristic of weak leadership that could not be entrusted with more important and urgent task!
A company is not a charitable organization that pays every month and also to give automatic increment in salary after every year of service. Employees need to do the basic task that they are expected to do for the company and the basic task expectation will change every year after you get your raise in salary. As superiors of your staff, we have to make clear to them our expectation and company objectives. Other than that, one has the added responsibility to ensure the subordinates under you are well trained to carry out the task assigned. It is also our social responsibility for these young employees to be eventually well equipped with the knowledge, know-how and experience so that they could survive in any other organization when one day they step out of the door of the company. Their performance within or without the company is reflective of how good you are as their boss. I would be extremely proud if any one of my subordinates quits the job because he or she is well trained and competent enough to become a GM of another organization.
Manage your people well because they are the greatest asset of the company and if you have good employees working for you then your job and life as manager will be made much easier for sure!
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
Bikes and bicycles
Sometimes we run out of idea on what to write especially if suddenly you feel that you have not been writing for the past a week or so. A casual talk started on the topic of riding motorbike, Harley Davidson came into the conversation and gave me the theme for the day. Talking about Harley, it is a pricey machine and very exclusive in this part of the world, mainly due to the high import duty. Other than just from performance and the aesthetic points of view, the fans of Harley are also fascinated by the thundering sound of the machine when it roars past us. That reminded me of the British Norton marque bike long time ago when its heavy engine sound ripped through the morning silence of a village, as though the piston was pounding so hard that it shook the ground underneath its wheels. Some other bikers have modified their exhaust pipes just to emulate and get that heavy pounding sound, somehow our discerning ears would be able to tell the difference. I suppose that could be due to the characteristics of the engine design, its air flow pattern, in combination with the bends and turns of the exhaust pipe that give rise to the distinctive and yet unique sound associated with a particular brand of these machines.
Owning a Harley in the East Coast of Malaysia could be a pain. Ramli, a restaurant boss and previous Harley owner had related to me that one has to send the bike all the way to Kuala Lumpur even for the change of lubricating oil. And that sounds ridiculous but it is true!
We Malaysians are more used to smaller capacity bikes of 50-250 cc, and the fact that when we got our driving licence, we are permitted to ride bikes only up to the 250cc and that always limits our range of purchase. Exceeding this range of capacity, one has to take a separate driving test in order to be qualified for riding those big bikes. Big bikes are heavy and it would be difficult to lift them back into upright position once they fall. That reminded me of an incident that happened to me many years ago, that a smaller version of a bicycle fall had given me the imagination on what is it going to be like when one is pinned under a heavy big cc machines such as a Harley or Honda Goldwing:
During certain school holidays my dad would send me all the way to my grandmother working place in a tin mines at the remote outskirt of Kampar town. The landscape of those tin mines areas is mainly of white sands, shrubs and some creepers vegetation that form the favorite food and also a natural habitat for the crickets. It is almost identical and looks like a desert as in White Sand of New Mexico. There was a Chinese medicine herb with unknown name, the branches of which after fully grown would dry up and turn full black with tiny and distinct white round shaped seeds still clinging onto the branches; we named them as "Little Balls Herb". I used to cycle around and collect them in bundles and when my dad came to pick me with his car, we would load them onto the trunk and then sell to the Chinese medicine shops for a couple of dollars. A day of the same routine for me to collect those plants in the white sandy land, suddenlty dark cloud shrouded the sky and the rain was imminent. I propeled my bicycle to full speed with all my might, an attempt to beat the rain before it started to pour on me. At a path where there was a gentle curve with loose sand, a gentle swerve of the bicycle handle caused me to fall flat and sent me pinned right down under the machine. I stayed motionless, short of breath for a couple of minutes, struggled but could not get myself up. When the rain started to pour, there came my savior, a kind Sikh old man who was looking after the cattles that free ranging those mining lands nearby came to my rescue. When he lifted the bicycle, I was instantly revived and hurried my way home.
In my mind, I am wondering where is this old man once helped me? Could not remember his face, could he be an angel sent down by God just to help me at that moment of time? Even after so many years, I want to thank him for that!
Owning a Harley in the East Coast of Malaysia could be a pain. Ramli, a restaurant boss and previous Harley owner had related to me that one has to send the bike all the way to Kuala Lumpur even for the change of lubricating oil. And that sounds ridiculous but it is true!
We Malaysians are more used to smaller capacity bikes of 50-250 cc, and the fact that when we got our driving licence, we are permitted to ride bikes only up to the 250cc and that always limits our range of purchase. Exceeding this range of capacity, one has to take a separate driving test in order to be qualified for riding those big bikes. Big bikes are heavy and it would be difficult to lift them back into upright position once they fall. That reminded me of an incident that happened to me many years ago, that a smaller version of a bicycle fall had given me the imagination on what is it going to be like when one is pinned under a heavy big cc machines such as a Harley or Honda Goldwing:
During certain school holidays my dad would send me all the way to my grandmother working place in a tin mines at the remote outskirt of Kampar town. The landscape of those tin mines areas is mainly of white sands, shrubs and some creepers vegetation that form the favorite food and also a natural habitat for the crickets. It is almost identical and looks like a desert as in White Sand of New Mexico. There was a Chinese medicine herb with unknown name, the branches of which after fully grown would dry up and turn full black with tiny and distinct white round shaped seeds still clinging onto the branches; we named them as "Little Balls Herb". I used to cycle around and collect them in bundles and when my dad came to pick me with his car, we would load them onto the trunk and then sell to the Chinese medicine shops for a couple of dollars. A day of the same routine for me to collect those plants in the white sandy land, suddenlty dark cloud shrouded the sky and the rain was imminent. I propeled my bicycle to full speed with all my might, an attempt to beat the rain before it started to pour on me. At a path where there was a gentle curve with loose sand, a gentle swerve of the bicycle handle caused me to fall flat and sent me pinned right down under the machine. I stayed motionless, short of breath for a couple of minutes, struggled but could not get myself up. When the rain started to pour, there came my savior, a kind Sikh old man who was looking after the cattles that free ranging those mining lands nearby came to my rescue. When he lifted the bicycle, I was instantly revived and hurried my way home.
In my mind, I am wondering where is this old man once helped me? Could not remember his face, could he be an angel sent down by God just to help me at that moment of time? Even after so many years, I want to thank him for that!
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Mating of my wild Betta Imbellis
With the only wild fighting fish Betta Imbellis left in my keeping, I handle this pet with special care, ensure there is a constant change interval of water and also feed it with more nutritious food. Occasionally I throw in some deserts made up of mosquitos that tried to bite me but failed miserably, flattened under my claps and ended up in the belly of this beloved fish of mine. Surprising, over a few months, it has grown much bigger than its normal natural size found in the wild. Somehow I believe, the confined space without any external threat or predator, easy prey of rich diet readily available and also the lack of "exercise" contributed to its current state of physique!
With the pools of bubbles that appear occasionally on top of the container that it lives in, it was a sign that the fish had grown to its puberty age. I was in a situation of lacking the stock of wild females for its mating. It happened that the local aquarium shops sold me some Siamese female fighting fishes of various breeds and colors. I had chosen a few and reared them at home for a couple of weeks to pick on the right fish for the breeding project. After much observation I decided to pick on the white and long fin female. Well it was almost like matching an Asian to a white woman! My only worry was that this wild male might not recognize a white bigger size female as its own kind because it has never seen one before in its life time! Initially when the male was first introduced into the bigger tank of the female, it behaved a little bit timid, perhaps the size of a strange looking female might seem formidable and difficult for it to handle. I guess my worry was unncessary, its lust for a female after being suppressed within a confined wall for that few months upon reaching its adolescent stage eventually reared its ugly head! The female was no match for its fiery courting bites and it finally succumbed and gave way to her little wild beast!
One day after I returned from work to home, the pool of bubbles was thick and whitish and I knew the mating had taken place and eggs were laid and kept floating above the water level by the bubbles. The male fish kept on chasing away the female after their mating ritual was over. It was as though the love affair between them was finally over. In actual fact, it is a natural behavior for the male to take care of the eggs until they are fully hatched. Female fighting fishes tend to eat the small fries if without the protection from the male fish, and that is the reason why the female was constantly being chased away!
Looking at the haggard and sluggish moving female fish and constantly being attacked by the male, I scooped it away to another container. Now the male was given the full time nursery responsibility to care for the youngs. Eggs turned greyish after 2 days and the tiny young fishes finally appeared on the third day under the tender care of the male fish. The young tiny fries dotted the surface of the aquarium and they live on micro-organisms that are plenty in the aquarium. The aquarium is filled with water weeds, plants and wood to resemble the natural habitat environment though the lighting is still a bit bright to be considered as natural. I temporarily switched off the water pump to avoid the young fishes from been sucked in during the filtration process.
I am curiously anxious to see how the offsprings of this mixed mating will eventually grow and look like. I guess they would bear the best features of their parents. Perhaps, decorated with fluorescent, glow in the dark iridescent bluish green color over a white based body, long and red spotted tails and fins etc. Bigger in size and more hardy species could be the possible end product! I mean, if you look at how those mixed children from parents of different races look like, then you could possibly relate and figure out why I have this imagination!
With the pools of bubbles that appear occasionally on top of the container that it lives in, it was a sign that the fish had grown to its puberty age. I was in a situation of lacking the stock of wild females for its mating. It happened that the local aquarium shops sold me some Siamese female fighting fishes of various breeds and colors. I had chosen a few and reared them at home for a couple of weeks to pick on the right fish for the breeding project. After much observation I decided to pick on the white and long fin female. Well it was almost like matching an Asian to a white woman! My only worry was that this wild male might not recognize a white bigger size female as its own kind because it has never seen one before in its life time! Initially when the male was first introduced into the bigger tank of the female, it behaved a little bit timid, perhaps the size of a strange looking female might seem formidable and difficult for it to handle. I guess my worry was unncessary, its lust for a female after being suppressed within a confined wall for that few months upon reaching its adolescent stage eventually reared its ugly head! The female was no match for its fiery courting bites and it finally succumbed and gave way to her little wild beast!
One day after I returned from work to home, the pool of bubbles was thick and whitish and I knew the mating had taken place and eggs were laid and kept floating above the water level by the bubbles. The male fish kept on chasing away the female after their mating ritual was over. It was as though the love affair between them was finally over. In actual fact, it is a natural behavior for the male to take care of the eggs until they are fully hatched. Female fighting fishes tend to eat the small fries if without the protection from the male fish, and that is the reason why the female was constantly being chased away!
Looking at the haggard and sluggish moving female fish and constantly being attacked by the male, I scooped it away to another container. Now the male was given the full time nursery responsibility to care for the youngs. Eggs turned greyish after 2 days and the tiny young fishes finally appeared on the third day under the tender care of the male fish. The young tiny fries dotted the surface of the aquarium and they live on micro-organisms that are plenty in the aquarium. The aquarium is filled with water weeds, plants and wood to resemble the natural habitat environment though the lighting is still a bit bright to be considered as natural. I temporarily switched off the water pump to avoid the young fishes from been sucked in during the filtration process.
I am curiously anxious to see how the offsprings of this mixed mating will eventually grow and look like. I guess they would bear the best features of their parents. Perhaps, decorated with fluorescent, glow in the dark iridescent bluish green color over a white based body, long and red spotted tails and fins etc. Bigger in size and more hardy species could be the possible end product! I mean, if you look at how those mixed children from parents of different races look like, then you could possibly relate and figure out why I have this imagination!
Monday, August 2, 2010
Political Analysis
On the night of meeting my old primary school classmates, I chanced upon having an interesting conversation with one of a renowned political analyst guest. We discussed on the right way of writing article on the political scenario and constructive criticism so that the public in general or readers of newspapers and magazines could be given an impartial view and update on the actual situation of the country.
He mentioned that the media is very much controlled or monopolized by pro-government businessmen or proxies of some political parties.The publishing licence is granted for short term renewal and is constantly being scrutinized under the watchful eyes of the authority, the issuance of which could be revoked any time at the whim and fancy of the power-that-be. Writers are given certain space in the media to write and in return they are rewarded for their service. Since political parties have vested interest in the media, any one sided criticism would not benefit the power-that-be behind the media and also the livelihood of writers. The writers are in a difficult dilemma. Therefore the thriving political analysts must be able to master the skill of administering the rightful amount of criticism; even at certain times they must have the gut to sling mud onto the face of the political party affiliated to their pay-check employer, just to add in a dosage of impartiality! A successful writer must be able to juggle this well, optimize all considerations and apportion the right amount of criticism and at crucial moment, even has to abstain from any heavy bombarding to give them a breather. This is a technique employed to attract the interest and draw the attention of the readers, and take into consideration the very fact that by so doing their privilege of being able to keep their space and getting paid for their article regularly in the media are not at stake.
I disputed this kind of compromising writing style with monetary gain as their hidden primary objective. Under this situation, the tendency to become non-independent is questionable despite all that skillful camouflage. With the advent of internet, there are many intelligent readers out there that scan every piece of available information and compare notes. They would be able to evaluate and distinguish the genuine political wrtiers and their ulterior motives.
In view of our differing opinions, I counter proposed to him that a good political analyst writer should read the review of other fellow writers as well and determine what are the areas of weaknesses of their written article to be further improved or beefed up for future writings. View the topic from different perspectives and see how the flow and the logics of argument to lead the readers, and drive home the points the writer wanted to convey. At the same time also recommend an alternative or more innovative, above the pack kind of proposal to better tackle the particular controversial topic or situation. In the end, a respectable political analyst writer, in the name of independency and impartiality, should prepare even to lose his/her job and write for free in the internet!
The topic then changed to who should we cast our votes to. I said we should vote for those performers in the interest of the "Rakyat". To me, it really does not matter which party rules the country as long as there is a denial of two third majority which acts as a check and balance for the good of all Malaysians. I am equally happy if BN or PKR could win the election, it is a collective decision by the "Rakyat", which should be based on how the candidates collectively had contributed and performed for their constituencies and country, instead of just by emotion or the demagogue of just wanting a change situation.
He mentioned that the media is very much controlled or monopolized by pro-government businessmen or proxies of some political parties.The publishing licence is granted for short term renewal and is constantly being scrutinized under the watchful eyes of the authority, the issuance of which could be revoked any time at the whim and fancy of the power-that-be. Writers are given certain space in the media to write and in return they are rewarded for their service. Since political parties have vested interest in the media, any one sided criticism would not benefit the power-that-be behind the media and also the livelihood of writers. The writers are in a difficult dilemma. Therefore the thriving political analysts must be able to master the skill of administering the rightful amount of criticism; even at certain times they must have the gut to sling mud onto the face of the political party affiliated to their pay-check employer, just to add in a dosage of impartiality! A successful writer must be able to juggle this well, optimize all considerations and apportion the right amount of criticism and at crucial moment, even has to abstain from any heavy bombarding to give them a breather. This is a technique employed to attract the interest and draw the attention of the readers, and take into consideration the very fact that by so doing their privilege of being able to keep their space and getting paid for their article regularly in the media are not at stake.
I disputed this kind of compromising writing style with monetary gain as their hidden primary objective. Under this situation, the tendency to become non-independent is questionable despite all that skillful camouflage. With the advent of internet, there are many intelligent readers out there that scan every piece of available information and compare notes. They would be able to evaluate and distinguish the genuine political wrtiers and their ulterior motives.
In view of our differing opinions, I counter proposed to him that a good political analyst writer should read the review of other fellow writers as well and determine what are the areas of weaknesses of their written article to be further improved or beefed up for future writings. View the topic from different perspectives and see how the flow and the logics of argument to lead the readers, and drive home the points the writer wanted to convey. At the same time also recommend an alternative or more innovative, above the pack kind of proposal to better tackle the particular controversial topic or situation. In the end, a respectable political analyst writer, in the name of independency and impartiality, should prepare even to lose his/her job and write for free in the internet!
The topic then changed to who should we cast our votes to. I said we should vote for those performers in the interest of the "Rakyat". To me, it really does not matter which party rules the country as long as there is a denial of two third majority which acts as a check and balance for the good of all Malaysians. I am equally happy if BN or PKR could win the election, it is a collective decision by the "Rakyat", which should be based on how the candidates collectively had contributed and performed for their constituencies and country, instead of just by emotion or the demagogue of just wanting a change situation.
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