Dr Ismail Aby Jamal

Dr Ismail Aby Jamal
Born in Batu 10, Kg Lubok Bandan, Jementah, Segamat, Johor

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Time wasters: The Butterfly mind


Time Management Training Tips
Posted by Chris on 22/10/2009Time wasters: The Butterfly mind
Last week, during the Effective leader manager course, in Birmingham, we discussed this important time management question:“What personal habits do YOU have, that causes you to waste your OWN time?”One delegate, Toni answered:“I have a “butterfly mind”. I keep losing my mental focus. My mind wanders off what I supposed to be doing. What can I do about it, Chris?”
I said “Let us look at the facts….Losing your mental focus can mean one of two things two things:1. The “Day dreaming problem”2. The “Multi track mind problem”1. The day dreaming problemThis means that you cannot keep your mind switched on.You go into a daydream about unrelated issues.For example; you should be thinking about your work, but you are thinking about your family problems again.This is common.2. Multi track mind problemThis is common too.You begin thinking of one work issue and start work on that first thing. But that task reminds you of a second similar task, which then makes you remember a third task; then that spills over into fourth task… and so on.Before you know it, you have six things on your desk-top simultaneously, and you are making practically no progress on any of them.If this seems familiar, do not worry. There is a solution.The solution to both problems is the sameThere is a simple six-step solution to both forms of the Butterfly mind problem.Here it is:Step oneDecide to make controlling your mental focus a definite issue to get to grips with.List all the benefits you will see IF you gain control over your own mind.Step twoMake a "to do list” and work out the six most valuable tasks that you could do today, (whether you enjoy doing them or not).Step three Put the six tasks into priority order one through to six.Step fourTake a single sheet of paper and write in GIANT letters the name of “job number one” and pin the paper where you MUST see it continually as you work.Step fiveGet to work on “job number one”. Within fifteen minutes you may realise that you have "Job number one" written on the paper in front of you, but • you are now doing something UN-related or • you are now thinking of your family problems again.
Kick yourself in the rear, if possible, and get back to “job number one” until you have pushed it as far as you can.
Step six When you have pushed “job number one” as far as you can, throw the first sheet of paper into the nearest bin, take a fresh sheet of paper and write upon it:"JOB NUMBER TWO".
Keep on - keeping on, until you tire, and then stop.
SIMPLE!

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Iskandar demands competent workforce


Monday October 19, 2009
Programme on soft skills for graduates
Local graduates are still lacking in soft skills compared with overseas graduates, the main reason why they fail during job interviews. Deloitte Consulting (M) Sdn Bhd human capital services director Rahmah Ismail talks to StarBiz on what can be done to improve the situation
STARBIZ: Do you think the IMglad participants will be able to pick up the soft skills during the three-month classroom training?
Rahmah: I believe so. It took Deloitte about 40 years doing research involving over 1,000 companies in Britain before introducing GLAD five years ago.
Rahmah Ismail ... ‘We are not looking at those who are only good in paper qualification'.
Lacking in soft skills among fresh graduates is not only prevalent in Malaysia but also in other countries. The issue is common in developed economies.
If GLAD could be so successful in Britain, I don’t see why we cannot do the same and we don’t have to wait for 40 years before coming out with a similar programme.
Do you think our public universities have failed in producing graduates who are equally knowledgeable and good in soft skills?
Our public universities have done good in providing knowledge to their graduates; to teach soft skills to undergraduates is beyond the original role of universities.
Parents also have high expectations that universities are where their children go to acquire knowledge and skills and prepare them for the job market.
But when the issue of high unemployment rate among local graduates is being sensationalised and politicised by certain quarters, everyone is playing the blame game and starting to criticise the universities for failing to produce quality graduates.
What is the main objective of IMglad and how do you see the programme contributing to the success of Iskandar Malaysia?
The main objective of IMglad is to reduce the unemployment rate among graduates and that is why the programme is specially tailored for fresh graduates and those who have been working for less than a year.
We are not looking at those who are only good in paper qualification, that is why those with a minimum CGPA rating of 2.8 can apply and the most important thing is that they must be active in co-curricular activities.
Throughout my 20 years’ experience, I’ve found that straight As students do not necessarily do well during interviews but average students who are active in co-curricular activities fare better than them.
It is high time to start highlighting what happens to high achievers who scored 15 As or 20 As in SPM after leaving school or university and believe me, many of them don’t do well in the real world.

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Britain's children are being betrayed by our woeful education system ... and have been failed for 150 years











Britain's children are being betrayed by our woeful education system ... and have been failed for 150 years
By Correlli BarnettLast updated at 11:28 AM on 17th October 2009
As the largest private employer in the country, we depend on high standards in our schools, because today's schoolchildren are tomorrow's team.
'They will be the ones we need to help build our business.
'Sadly, despite all the money that has been spent, standards are still woefully low in too many schools. Employers like us are often left to pick up the pieces.'
Thus spoke Sir Terry Leahy, the Tesco chief executive, in harsh condemnation this week of the failure of this country's education system to produce a world-class workforce.
Victorian school: But the problems with the education system that existed 150 years ago have not been solved by today's politicians
His comments were followed yesterday by the publication of the biggest review of primary education for 40 years, which said that the state's 'Stalinist' control over teaching means children are suffering from inadequate education.
It said that an obsession with testing had dragged down standards so that pupils now get a less rounded schooling than those in Victorian times.
These two devastating attacks on Britain's education system echoed a previous grim indictment of British schools in the form of a Royal Commission report.
It said: 'Our evidence appears to show that our industrial classes have not even that basis of sound general education on which alone technical education can rest. In fact, our deficiency is not merely a deficiency in technical education, but in general intelligence.'
And the date of this devastating indictment? It was 1868. Yes, more than 140 years ago.
Moreover, this Victorian Royal Commission added a dire warning: 'Unless we remedy this want of general intelligence we shall gradually but surely find that our undeniable superiority in wealth and perhaps in vigour will not save us from decline.'
Yet for the past 141 years, this warning and many later ones have gone unheeded by British governments - no matter whether Liberal, Conservative, Labour or New Labour.
As a result, our lack of educated capability in the workplace has never been remedied - even today.
According to a recent report by the Department for Work and Pensions, Britain has nearly one million 'Neets' - 18 to 24-year-olds in neither education, nor employment, nor training.

Yet, in the past four years, employers have hired about a million workers from Eastern Europe. The reason, according to the Government, is that British workers lack 'basic employability skills, incentives and motivation'.
So the unheeded warning of that Royal Commission back in 1868 has, tragically, turned out to be a gruesomely accurate prophecy.
This country's leaders did fail to develop the nation's 'general intelligence' (or 'basic employability skills') through a first-class education and training system.
Britain, indeed, was overtaken as an industrial and commercial nation by our better-trained rivals.
Tesco boss: Sir Terry Leahy complained big employers were forced to 'pick up the pieces' of a failing state education system
And so, in the event, our Victorian wealth did not save us from a slow decline from world leadership to our present nadir under Gordon Brown, with unimaginable levels of national debt and a colossal long-term trade deficit.
Where did we go wrong? The truth is that, ever since the Victorian age, attempts to improve the nation's education system have always been one step behind our international rivals - always the half-cock results of tinkering and Treasury bean-counting.
Universal state primary education was not introduced until 1872, half a century after Germany and France did so.
By 1895, there were more than four million children in these schools - but the majority of them ill-clad, dirty, nit-ridden or with decayed teeth; many also suffering from chronic throat and lung problems.
Here were the forebears of today's underclass.
Until Britain eventually set up a state network of secondary schools in 1902, the odds against an elementary-school child going on to secondary education were 270 to 1.
Then by 1909, three-quarters of British youth between 14 and 17 were in no kind of education at all - the Neets of their time.
No wonder the City of London in the 1900s had to hire German clerks because of a lack of suitably educated British youngsters.
When, in 1889, a Royal Commission reported on the superb networks of polytechnics and engineering colleges on the continent, the pathetic British answer was to pass a percentage of the duty paid on sales of whisky to local authorities to spend on new technical institutes - if they so wished.
The result was not a national network, but a random scatter of uneven quality.
Jump forward to the years just before World War II and the British still remained far worse trained than their international trading rivals - particularly the Germans, whom they were about to fight.
At the apex of the educational pyramid in 1939 was a privileged handful of university students (a tiny proportion compared with numbers in France and only a third of those in America).
At the bottom of the pyramid, 99 per cent of working- class children left school devoid of any kind of qualification, whether scholastic or vocational.
In the middle of the pyramid, the secondary school population, aged 14 to 18, amounted to less than a tenth of those in that age group. And, while pre-war Germany had nearly two million youngsters in parttime vocational training, Britain had a mere 20,000.
The same dismal pattern can be seen with university education. In 1938-9, subjects which we called 'applied science' (or what Germans described as 'Technik') accounted for barely 5,000 students out of a total of 50,000, whereas the humanities were studied by more than 22,000.
Britain had no equivalents to the 300 German technical colleges, let alone the ten German technical universities.
No wonder, then, that from the start of pre-war rearmament and right through World War II, Britain was handicapped by shortages of technicians-graduate technologists and production engineers - as well as by a far too narrow industrial base in advanced technologies such as radio engineering and machine tools.
We too easily forget that without massive imports from America of thermionic valves and precision components, the brilliant radar inventions of our world- class scientists would have remained mere laboratory toys.
Still not working: Schoolchildren in Britain today are less-well equipped to deal with the rigours of working life than their European counterparts
By the end of the war, it was brutally plain to Whitehall that this country's shortcomings in education and training threatened our future success as an industrial trading nation.
Radical reform of the whole system was desperately needed. The result was a spate of visionary official blueprints from 1944 onwards that outlined what had to be done.
But the governments of the early post-war era, both Labour and Conservative, squandered this unique opportunity. All of the great ideas were either stillborn or doomed to fail.
As a result, there were no new technical universities; no expansion of part-time vocational training.
But most disastrous of all was the failure of post-war governments to fulfil the promise in the Education Act of 1944 to create a new system of secondary schooling.
The Act had specified three types of school to cater for different kinds of young talent: secondary modern, secondary technical and academic grammar.
This tripartite system was what continental nations have always had - and Germany still has.
The three different types of school were intended to be equal in status and funding.
But grammar schools got the best funding, the best buildings and the best teachers, while the cash-strapped secondary moderns and secondary techs were forced to operate out of outdated, shabby and cramped premises.
So the 11-plus exam simply condemned the non-academic to education dustbins.
This catastrophe paved the way for the social engineers of Harold Wilson's Labour government in 1965 to replace the botched tripartite system with the huge, all-in comprehensive.
Of course, these weren't introduced in order to train the nation's youngsters to succeed in a tough world market, but purely in the name of 'fairness' and 'equal opportunity'.
Despite the constant tinkering by subsequent governments with the national curriculum, meddling by quangocrats and the introduction of one-off gimmicks, Britain has never recovered from that lost post-war opportunity.
As a result, pupils in state schools now lag well behind their European opposites in standards of literacy and numeracy.
Major problem: Former Prime Minister Sir John Major turned polytechnics into universities, diluting degree subjects
Tesco's Sir Terry Leahy is absolutely right.
What's more, further up the educational ladder, we are nowhere near equalling the European, American and Asian output of graduate engineers and technologists.
Too many British university students are wasting time on so- called 'rice pudding' topics (soft and easy to digest) such as media studies, rather than studying tougher subjects such as maths, physics, chemistry and engineering.
The root cause of this continued failure also lies with the blinkered mindsets of those who ran our mid-Victorian public schools and Oxbridge.
It was they who lastingly shaped the values of the British political and mandarin class right down to the present day.
For them, the classics or English literature were better than science. And, even then, 'pure' science (original research) was nobler than applied science (technology).
It is little wonder that, when Britain belatedly created state secondary education after 1902, the civil servant in charge imposed a strictly academic syllabus which imitated the ones at public schools like Rugby and Winchester.
Nothing vocational - much too vulgar!
Ever since, the prejudices of the bookish few dictated the education of the unbookish many.
The same is true for universities - from late Victorian redbrick to the concrete campuses of the Sixties - with the proportion of students studying science heavily outweighed by those studying the humanities.
This was compounded by an act of high-minded madness by Prime Minister John Major, who turned polytechnics into universities with the result that their original, career-minded purposes were diluted by yet more 'rice pudding' subjects.
Major should have done the complete opposite and downgraded all universities (except for a handful of top research institutions) into polytechnics.
But Britain's most crippling legacy from Victorian educational ideals lies in a political and mandarin class that remains the product of a humanist culture instead of a technological one.
Only a small minority of MPs are qualified scientists or engineers, let alone have pursued a career in those vocations.
For example, former New Labour secretary of state for trade and industry Patricia Hewitt was an honours graduate in English literature from Cambridge - not exactly the best background for the woman charged with sorting out the wreck of Rover.
Ed Balls (Secretary for Children, Schools and Families), Lord Mandelson (Business Secretary), Ruth Kelly (former Education Secretary), David Willetts (notorious Conservative egghead) and, yes, David Cameron himself are all philosophy, politics and economics (PPE) graduates from Oxford.
This is a highly academic madrassa for moulding future politicians, Whitehall mandarins and media pundits.
It is more concerned with the sociology of industrial societies than with the vital study of technological competition faced by Britain in the modern world. An English version of the hard-nosed, maths-based French Ecole Nationale d'Administration it is not.
In the 19th and 20th centuries, Britain calamitously failed to educate and train the nation to meet the threat from European, American and Japanese competitors.
Well, we know how that battle turned out. Today, Britain faces a new threat from the fast-expanding industries of China, India and, for that matter, Brazil.
If we fail to equip ourselves with even better skills than these new competitors, how will 60 million people crammed in this small island ever stand the chance to survive and prosper?

Umno delegates hit out at GLCs

Published: Friday October 16, 2009 MYT 4:23:00 PMUpdated: Friday October 16, 2009 MYT 4:24:22 PM
Umno delegates hit out at GLCs

KUALA LUMPUR: Government-link companies became the punching bag for several of the delegates who accused them of both being "apple polishers" of powers that be, and being pro-opposition.
Kelantan delegate Datuk Noor Zahidi Omar cautioned Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to be wary of certain GLCs whom he said were "kaki bodek" (apple polishers).
"Many GLCs are sending tithe money to the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister's constituencies and ignoring other areas that are poor and really need help.
"The GLCs are trying to be in the good books of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister needs to be careful of these people," he said while debating the presidential address at the Umno General Assembly.
Yahya Mat Ghani from Batu division in the Federal Territory meanwhile gave a completely opposite scenario.
He accused some boards of directors of GLCs of "tidur sebantal" (sharing the same bed) with the Opposition.
"There should be good links between Umno and the GLCs and there should be undivided loyalty of GLC board of directors for Umno," he said.

Upholding Tradition, Realising Changes


Friday October 16, 2009
Upholding Tradition, Realising Changes
First and foremost, I would like to share Allah’s saying, in Surah
As-Saff, verse 4:
Undoubtedly, Allah loves those who fight in His way arrayed in ranks, as though they were a building cemented with molten lead.
Then a reminder from Saydina Ali that something that is correct and right but not properly organised will be defeated by those who are evil and wrong, but well organised.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Firstly, as is usual, let us thank Allah, as due to His blessing, we can meet on this glorious morning.
This Dewan Merdeka has seen various incidences, one after another, the happy and sad, bitter and sweet journey of Umno, our party.
The assembly this morning is also very meaningful and very fortunate as, under the roof of Umno, we have our beloved former president. Let us welcome Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Thus is the example of the never-ending fighting spirit of Umno leaders; in fact, they continue to be ready to be with the party to continue with its unfinished struggle, to create a race that is excellent, glorious and of distinction. With this spirit and strength, we will rise again to build the greatness of the race that has contributed much to the beloved nation.
We extend our highest appreciation to Tun Dr Siti Hasmah for being with us in today’s gathering, thus boosting the spirit of Umno members who had come from all corners of the country, who are here to witness this historic moment.
The general assembly this time will create several landmarks. Firstly it is historic for me because this is my first keynote address as Umno president after taking over the party leadership officially in March. Thank God, the transition of power that went smoothly based on Umno’s noble tradition had happened and was made possible by Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
Secondly, this assembly being held only six months after the last one, will see a bold move by Umno to make major amendments to it constitution, thus proving that Umno is not stagnant and outdated. On the contrary, with the amendments, it is clear that Umno is determine to become a dynamic, progressive and responsive party.
Thirdly, this assembly will also mark a monumental moment for Umno which will chart its journey towards a new chapter, new spirit, new approach and a new direction.
Ladies and Gentlemen, thus, in this glorious morning, in the holy month of Syawal that celebrates victory in overcoming our excesses during Ramadhan, we should be grateful to God for our success in defending the Bagan Pinang state seat by a much higher majority.
I would like to record my thanks and appreciation to all leaders at every level who worked hard, as well as to the people especially the voters for our victory under the leadership of Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin as party deputy president. The success proves that Umno is still a party of choice for the Malays, and Umno is still a party of choice of the rakyat.
This proves that locals of all races at all levels have voiced their desire clearly to continue under Barisan Nasional. Why was this choice made? This is clearly because Barisan Nasional is a party which has proven to be excellent in administrating the country, because Barisan Nasional has truly defended the rakyat all this while.
Nevertheless, we should accept the victory calmly and with humility.
As the English saying goes, one swallow does not make a summer, or as the Malay says, one does not empty the water jar just because one hears the thunder. We should not be easily comforted that we are the party of choice for the rakyat just because there is no other party that they can depend on, or in other words, the best among the worst.
In Bagan Pinang, we found that the non-Malays have accepted Umno with an open heart. Clearly, in constituencies where voters comprised a multiracial community like this, we want Umno to be accepted by the rakyat as a party that fights not only for the interests of the Malays and Bumiputra, but encompassing all ethnic groups in Malaysia.
This is in line with Surah Al-Maidah, Verse 8 where Allah urges us to be fair and to always uphold truth to all ethnic groups and races, because being fair is part of taqwa. If we take care of the welfare of all rakyat, then for sure, the rakyat regardless of ethnicity and race will willingly support and give their trust to our party leadership.
In this context, whether we like it or not, Umno needs to be more open in its approaches. Umno needs to be chosen because it is the best in terms of organisation, works, objectives, or the value system that Umno is based on. If this is the recipe of our recent success in Bagan Pinang by garnering a large majority, then I am confident and I believe that it will also work elsewhere.
Ladies and gentlemen, history is the best teacher. Season and time do not wait for anyone. As the great thinker George Santayana said, “those who refuse to understand and learn from history will be punished by repeating the same mistakes.” Essentially, historical events should not only be used as an example but be a reminder to mankind to manage current realities to chart a more successful future.
Clearly, mankind who gains good lessons from historical events can avoid mistakes and actions that can cause the downfall of a country or a civilisation. Thus to ensure a more succesful future, we need to be rooted to lessons learnt from history and our value system. Only then can we stand tall in facing the future fully prepared based on current needs. Thus I have chosen the theme of my speech this morning as “Upholding Tradition, Realising Changes.”
Therefore, ladies and gentlemen, if we are to observe history, this year is a significant year not only for the country but also Umno. Around this time 50 years ago, Malaysia began its democratic journey by holding its post-Merdeka election in 1959. It was also around this time, 40 years ago, in 1969 that Umno spearheaded the effort to save the country from racial conflict and the brink of destruction.
About this time too, 20 years ago in 1989, that Umno spearheaded the effort to take the country out of an economic recession and initiated a national industrialisation process.
It is also still clear in our mind that about this time 10 years ago, in 1999, when Umno once again acted decisively to save the country from being plunged fully into the Asian economic crisis.
Once again, what is important to know is that all the great actions that I have mentioned were helmed by Umno’s leadership, based on its creative and innovative thinking. All these were done in the name of the people’s interest and welfare.
Ladies and gentlemen, reflecting back on events and incidences, we must never forget that after the May 13 tragedy, Umno leaders could have chosen not to continue with the democracy which had then been suspended. Umno could have also decided to set up a single-party government or maybe support a military takeover or coup d’etat.
However, it must be remembered that this did not happen; in fact Umno worked hard to restore democracy within 18 months. This clearly shows that Umno is not a party that is power-crazy, and is far from being a racist organisation.
Ladies and gentlemen, thus, if we want to know the true meaning of racism, look at the history of South Africa under the laws of apartheid. Even in the US, blatant racism was the norm until the mid-1960s. Schools, toilets and even sitting arrangements in restaurants and buses were segregated.
All these ended only after the Supreme Court in 1954 made a decision ending racial segregation in educational institutions through a case, Brown vs the Kansas Education Board, and the formulation of the Civil Rights Act in 1964 and the Voting Rights Act in 1965.
In this context, the situation in Malaysia is much different from the reality of the outside world. For sure, the Malays are very inclusive and all-encompassing in nature. It is obvious that if the Malays were racist, how could they have allowed Malacca to be a prosperous entrepot in the 15th century?
In a similar context, if there are any parties that, without checking their facts, simply accuse Umno as a racist party, they should sincerely look at themselves. They should acknowledge the reality of racial composition in their own parties. Does it truly reflect the openness that they have been shouting about?
If Malays were truly racist as alleged, we would not have compromised on the cultures of other ethnic groups being practised here. We would also not have allowed vernacular schools to be established, and it would have been impossible too for Umno to cooperate closely with other component parties within Barisan Nasional over the decades.
Therefore to those parties, do not be so arrogant as to claim that you are multiracial parties practising moral purity and intellectual sincerity to lead the country.
Ladies and gentlemen, in general, good objectives alone, even when right, without being balanced with experience and moderation and guided by historical perspectives will not produce good results. On the contrary, they can cause injustice and cruelty.
Based on the past, Umno also needs to learn from the strategic thinking of the glorious era of the Malacca Sultanate. The grandeur of the Malacca Empire, squeezed between two big powers then, China and Siam, proved that the power of the mind is able to overcome and tame all.
Thus I often emphasise that the real battle today and in the future is the battle of minds.
It was proven at the time that the wisdom of Bendahara Tun Perak had elevated Malacca’s position. Even though Malacca was a small power compared to China and Siam, it had not only successfully maintained its independence for more than a century, but could prosper to become a power to be reckoned with.
Ladies and gentlemen, coming back to the party’s struggle, for us to continue to gain the support of the masses, Umno must be seen, perceived and accepted with confidence as a party that is solid in fighting for the rakyat. Umno cannot be seen as a party which is passionate in fighting for only a small group. We want Umno to be seen and accepted fully as an inclusive party that puts the rakyat ahead of its interest. Thus the perception of Umno as a party for people to cari makan or gain wealth must be thrown out and cast aside.
More importantly, Umno is a party that upholds the philosophy of moderation, or what in political science is called a centrist party.
We cannot be a party that is ultra-left or ultra-right. Since its establishment, Umno has never been inclined to be either liberal or conservative.
The clear fact is that Umno is a political party that is universal.
Everyone has a place and role under Umno. In fact, since its establishment 60 years ago, Umno’s membership had comprised those who subscribed to both leftist and rightist thinking, nationalists and religious scholars.
These include thinkers and traders, educators and servicemen, and others from various socioeconomic backgrounds. All are welcome in Umno. This is Umno’s strength, a symbol of Umno’s incomparable struggle, as a beloved party whose hand is always on the pulse of the community.
In 60 years, Umno has been a party of great experience. Umno is not a new party, but one that is rich in heritage. It had gone through all kinds of obstacles and challenges. As the people say, a journey can be a blessing and a burden. This is a blessing because we are not a party that only talks but has a record of supporting our promises to the people. It becomes a burden when we are faced with various issues we have inherited that could threaten the survival of the race and the nation.
Ladies and gentlemen, all this while, Umno is respected as a political party by both friend and foe, because Umno is a party that has the majority support of the Malays and the Bumiputra. Should the support erode, Umno would no longer be respected.
Thus whether we like it or not, Umno’s strength as a political organisation, depends much on its ability to understand the needs of its members. Umno’s relevance as a governing party depends on how far it can successfully capture the imagination of not only the Malays but all Malaysians.
This means Umno will continue to have a place as a party for as long as it can realise the demands of the people in its struggle, which is then manifested in the Government’s policies in the interest of the people.
At this crossroads, problems will not arise when the aspirations of Umno and of the majority of rakyat, are one. Chaos will only happen when the aspirations of Umno do not represent the aspirations of the majority.
This can get worse when the Malays perceive Umno as not being prepared to take correctional measures speedily.
If this happens, the rakyat will assume that Umno is not only a party that is not grounded, but also arrogant, careless and seemingly unconcerned.
Therefore, do not be surprised that were this to happen, many Malaysians would no longer view Umno as part of the solution, but part of the problem.
Ladies and gentlemen, therefore, to survive, Umno has no choice but to embrace reality.
Umno needs to continue to open itself to constructive changes. Let’s open up our party’s struggle to all who can help further strengthen the party.
As Umno president, I sincerely call on all Malays to close ranks based on the unity of thought and action to resolve problems, restore our brotherhood and work towards a common interest.
At the same time, Umno members need to reflect, be they people in the highest positions or at the grassroots. We must be willing to look within ourselves, admit our weaknesses and take measures to overcome them.
What is important is for Umno members to present noble behaviour and good values as the basis of the party’s strength.
I believe the leaders that the rakyat favour and wish for are those who are humble. Remember that in a democratic country like ours, it is the rakyat who chooses leaders, and leaders that they want are those who are ready to serve.
I would like to remind all: do not be shy to go to the ground and get close to the people even though we hold high positions. In fact, the rakyat will hate leaders who isolate themselves, being unapproachable and arrogant.
Those who are sincere and enjoy serving the people will be respected.
Apart from that, Umno leaders and members must be known for their integrity in executing their duties. This is extremely important to convince the rakyat to continue with Umno. If there are negative perceptions on the integrity and ethics of Umno leaders, it will become a main factor to erode the people’s support for us.
Furthermore, to strengthen people’s trust in the integrity of Umno, it is not enough that we talk about it. It must be reflected in our actions and the activities of members and leaders. InsyaAllah, the rakyat will accept us back into their hearts.
Ladies and gentlemen, there are many types of madness. People say that those who talk to themselves cannot be considered mad. If they talk to themselves and then reply to themselves, then they are half-mad. On the other hand, if they grumble to themselves, and answer back to their grumbling and believe in the answer to their grumbles, then they are confirmed mad.
Another type of madness is to do something repeatedly using the same approach but hoping for different results. In implementing a policy for instance, we cannot be so dogmatic that it is the mode that receives the attention instead of its outcome.
This is because approaches can change according to the times. Suitable modes and methods today may become obsolete in 10 years. The same is true with the horse carriage and telegraph machine, which at one time were the best tools but they are no longer used.
When we formulated the New Economic Policy (NEP), our target was to boost the equity of Malays and Bumiputra from 2.4% to 30% in 20 years.
Nevertheless, at the end of the NEP period, the target had not been achieved. The equity of the Malays and the Bumiputra was only 19.2%. We therefore have to continue this target under the National Develop­ment Policy, Wawasan Development Policy and now National Mission is using similar approaches.
However, the Malaysian economy has changed and is now more dependent on foreign investment and revenues from exports.
Our economy is now more open and vulnerable to global economic developments. According to the World Trade Organisation report of 2008, Malaysia is ranked 21 in the list of the world’s trading nations.
The reality is that future economic challenges awaiting us will get more complex. The world economic landscape has also changed.
There is no guarantee that yesterday’s formula will still be effective. If within the past four decades we could not achieve our target using the same method, is it not time for us to think of new strategies which are more relevant with the time to achieve our objectives?
Further to this, the Malays need to understand that one of the reasons that had made it possible for the NEP to succeed is its implementation in the midst of strong economic growth.
Statistics shows that the country’s average economic growth between 1971 and 1990 was at 7.1%.
Thus, in realising the importance of economic growth when the country faced a recession in the mid-80s with a drop in world commodity prices, the leadership of Umno and the country at the time took unconventional, out of the box actions.
We suspended main elements of the NEP to bring the economy back on the growth track. We did this by creating an environment conducive to foreign direct investment, especially in the manufacturing sector.
This strategy proved to be successful. The Government’s tax collection increased, jobs were in abundance and the country’s economy was revived.
This allowed us to resume implementation of the NEP. Based on these factors, the Government today has started to liberalise certain sectors, apart from carrying out a comprehensive review on wealth creation for the Malays and Bumiputra so that it can be sustained.
Ladies and gentlemen, it is not only Umno that needs to change and transform for the good of the future generation.
More importantly, the Malays as a whole must change their mindset. Today we are seeing how the products of affirmative action and the NEP are arrogantly saying that they no longer need “crutches”. They say they can stand on their own feet without depending on government assistance.
It seems that this group of people have forgoteen one main fact. What
I am trying to say is that, even if it is true that they are now fully capable and can now cast aside the crutches that had been propping them up all this while, what about the Malays who still require help?
Is it fair if the group who still need the crutches are denied help, only because those who have benefitted from them no longer depend on them.
Beyond all this, no one can deny that the obvious result of this is that there now exists a large group of middle-income Malays.
This was almost non-existent when the NEP was launched in 1971. Who can deny the fact that today there is a large pool of Malay professionals as the products of NEP measures?
We therefore need to understand that the issue here is not aid but the management and the administration of the aid. The fact is, in general, the Malays are seen as still being left behind and in need of assistance. That is our main contention.
Ladies and gentlemen, we all know that the philosophy of Umno’s establishment is based on struggle, sincerity, sacrifices and a great patriotic spirit. These are the basis of our very existence that have uplifted the party.
Unfortunately, many of today’s generation are trivialising the sacrifices of past leaders.
Let us learn from the determination and commitment of past leaders: for example, the sincere sacrifice made by the womenfolk in the party.
It is written in history that the women had willingly taken off their rings, bracelets and necklaces to finance the Tunku’s entourage to London to discuss independence. This is the noble attitude of Wanita Umno, and we highly respect them.
I still remember stories of past leaders who were willing to give and take over difficulties in the struggles of the party. They say things are not like before. Now everything needs to be comfortable and luxurious.
Previously, if we were heading for an Umno general assembly, who would not know New Hotel or King Hotel on Batu Road?
If one were lucky, one got to stay at Majestic Hotel. Now if they were not put up in a five-star hotel, many would complain of bodyache. No class, they will say.
What I am trying to say is, where has the culture of service and volunteerism disappeared to in Umno? There are actually many professionals in the party, be they lawyers, doctors, accountants or engineers.
Unfortunately, at times when we need volunteers, like during elections, only a small number would come forward to help without hoping for something in return. Maybe their applications were lost or not accepted by the branches.
I therefore call on Umno members to revive the culture of service and volunteerism.
Be sincere in serving the party without being asked, for the sake of the party and the rakyat. Those who have been blessed by God should offer their service to the community.
Only then will their involvement in the party be blessed by Allah. As in a song, “sacrifice whatever we have, be it your wealth or your life, that is the true meaning of a struggle, true and noble.”
In relation to this, to become a successful party, we cannot be isolated from the thinking and aspirations of the rakyat.
The people now want the party and the Government to understand their needs, and they want to be directly engaged.
In reality, the rakyat want their views to be taken into consideration in determining the direction of the country.
For that, we must continue with the process of adjustment and realising the changes that are suitable for the time.
We must be known as a party that is not only able to make changes, but is also make it reality.
Ladies and gentlemen, in line with this, Umno has acted boldly to amend its constitution to make the party more transparent, inclusive and democratic.
It looks like our move has made certain quarters react emotionally, and without shame they try to copy and supposedly amend their own constitution, even though this is done without much detailed consideration.
This is deception. This is their way. They like to make general promises which they do not follow up on.
Compare this to the amendments we are doing. It is not cosmetic or a cut-and-paste job, but firm and significant changes. It will increase the number of members who are directly involved in choosing the leadership.
This involves a jump from 2,500 delegates to more than 146,000. This is an indicator that democracy is very much alive and thriving in Umno. It is clear that no other political party in Malaysia is bold enough to do this.
With this, I would like to remind everyone that after all these amendments have been made, we should leave behind the negative elements like money politics so that we become a party that is clean and respected.
Secondly, with regard to the way the party chooses candidates, the Key Performance Index (KPI) is extremely important for a political party to win the general election and form a strong and stable government. To this end, we need to ensure that we find the right candidates to stand. For this, we need to change the criteria in choosing candidates.
This means that, in choosing a candidate, the individual has to be someone who is accepted by the local community and has the quality to serve on three important levels - the rakyat, party and nation levels. In the final analysis, this would be the candidate whom the people want and who will win the election.
Thirdly, the party culture in Umno has to be inclusive and not insular or isolated. Hence, there should be more outreach programmes. We must remember not to confine this to Umno members, but rather let it reach out to all Malays and non-Malays.
If we go back to history, right from the beginning when patriots were fighting for the country’s independence until today, the effort to achieve national unity has been, is and will be the main priority. This is because everyone realises that without solid unity, there is no way that our national objectives and visions can be achieved.
This is why the Government has introduced 1Malaysia. In all honesty, 1Malaysia is not a new concept or formula; its final goal is national unity, which is also a vision of former Umno leaders who have translated this vision into different forms over the last five decades.
The 1Malaysia concept has many main pillars, among them a shift from a tolerance-based unity to one based on acceptance, social justice and shared values, taking into consideration historical realities based on the sovereignty of the Constitution and the principles of the Rukun Negara.
It is appropriate for me to stress here that the 1Malaysia concept does not deviate from the spirit of the Federal Constitution as the laws of the country, whether in writing or implied. We are going to maintain all the main provisions in the Federal Constitution such as Articles 3, 4, 152, and 153, and Clauses 2 and 3.
Therefore, let no one feel perturbed, suspicious or worried that this concept will deviate from the understanding that was agreed to by our forefathers. The objective of 1Malaysia is to celebrate our diversity in Malaysia as a weapon and a strength to progress together.
Ladies and Gentlemen, in all its essence, Umno should maintain the tradition of its struggle. Umno should therefore continue at the forefront in welfare matters and issues that affect the rice bowl of all. I would like the party to work in tandem with the demands of the time. Umno can no longer be seen as a party inclined towards one group. As the main party in the governing coalition, we cannot afford to focus just on entrepreneurial initiatives and mega-projects. We must be the party that champions the people.
Umno services must be widespread. We must continue to be the party that is pro-growth, pro-resilence, pro-equitable distribution, pro- an extensive social safety net and a manageable cost of living.
Ladies and gentlemen, in conclusion, Umno is a party that sprang from the masses and upholds the aspirations of the people and redeems their pride. History has shown that when Umno is close to the people and the party feels their pulse, the people will support it. That is why when Umno pioneered the setting up of Felda, Mara, Tabung Haji, LPP, LKIM and the other agencies to uplift the standard of living of the people, we were hailed as a strong party.
Umno must therefore tirelessly continue its tradition of standing up for the people. In 2009, the Government headed by Umno was allocated RM22bil for various subsidies, incentives and assistance to lighten the burden of the people. We were able to do this because we managed the country’s finances well and are able to do this without raising or imposing additional taxes.
So let us not be taken in by the Opposition just because of free water and a slight increase in allowances. At least, remember the contribution of the Umno-led government that has served these tens of years. People say “don’t let a day of drought make you forget the blessings of rain for the whole year.”
The fact is that, whether you realise it or not, the Government has done so much for the people. For example, in the transportation and energy sectors, the Government has provided RM9bil for petrol, LPG and diesel; RM2bil for a cash rebate programme; more than RM600mil for toll compensation; RM150 for electricity; and another RM45mil for flights to rural areas and trains to the East Coast.
In connection with, we are an emphatic Government which feels the everyday realities of the people, not just in the cities but also in the villages, because there are still some who are living hand-to-mouth. The bottom line is that people feel comforted when they feel they are not alone in their woes over food, clothes, rent, milk, diapers, and daily transport expenses.
What is certain is that the Government understands this. For example, in the agriculture and food sector, almost RM600mil has been allocated as subsidy for padi, RM40mil for rice subsidy, RM375mil for sugar, RM275mil for fertiliser, RM210mil for flour and RM89mil for bread.
Subsequently, realising the importance of education and knowledge as the light for future generations, RM2bil has been allocated in the form of aid to students, especially poor students. Another RM411mil has been set for students of higher education institutions; RM374mil for teachers and KAFA supervisors, as well as for allowances for teachers and imam and village heads. A portion of it, RM159mil, has been allocated for pre-school and RM36mil for the indigenous peoples.
It cannot be forgotten that another RM850mil too has been allocated as a special safety net for poor families, senior citizens and the disabled. Other than that, from Nov 1997 until Aug 2009, the Government has through the PTPTN fund given out more than RM19bil to 1.4mil students from public and private universities at low interest rates. We should be grateful for all this.
Ladies and gentlemen, since the 12th general election, Umno’s political enemies have begun to speculate about the downfall of this cherished party. People have been impatient to read out the last rites for Umno. They say that Umno’s condition is critical, and it’s just a matter of time before it goes. In fact this is not the first time this has happened. Such anticipation has been made before in the past, when Parti Kemerdekaan Tanah Melayu and PAS were formed due to a split within Umno.
Such an analysis also cropped up after the May 13, 1969 tragedy when the Alliance lost its two-thirds majority and many Umno faces lost. This also came up after the 1987 Umno election which resulted in the formation of the Parti Melayu Semangat 46.
In the 1999 general election, such fierce speculation also surfaced. Now, Alhamdulillah, each time such speculation arises, Umno rises higher and becomes more united.
In regard to the results of the 12th general election, the rakyat has given us a clear message. Hence, we should acknowledge it and be repentant. We know that the rakyat still loves Umno. What they want is for Umno to change. Clearly, we hear the aspirations of the rakyat. We will change.
What is certain is that the continuity of the party is crucial not for the party leaders but for the race, religion, country and the rakyat as a whole. The fact is that every generation of Umno leaders faces the challenges of its time. Alhamdulillah, every challenge was successfully overcome with a strong spirit and unity. In fact, the establishment of Umno was the product of prayers from ulamak (religious scholars), academicians, farmers, fishermen, traders and people in general who want a dignified freedom.
People say that if we are united, determined and work hard, we will able to climb the highest mountain and descend the steepest slope and dive into the deepest ocean.
In fact, history has witnessed Umno members never failing to do something just because it is hard. They have been successful in achieving the impossible because of their indomitable spirit.
Who would have thought that a race that had been taunted as weak and unprepared to be independent, has successfully grabbed its independence from the major powers, not through arms, but by using intellect and diplomacy as well as negotiations with the British. Who would have guessed this race later became successful in bringing meaning to its independence, until Malaysia emerged as one of the most progressive countries in the world.
Ladies and gentlemen, in all honesty, trust cannot be borne by just one person. It should be shouldered by a group, a line-up that is well organised. Therefore I urge and I call on the deputy president, vice-presidents, Wanita chief, Youth chief, Puteri chief and top leadership, Umno fighters at grassroots level and divisions, Umno supporters at branch level, all Umno members new and old, in urban and rural areas, to rise together with me. Close ranks. Heed the call. Let us uphold this heritage.
Ladies and gentlemen, be confident that our struggle is the right struggle, be confident our struggle is the true struggle. We, Umno, is the only party carrying the flame of hope and able to leap to the future successfully.
No matter what challenges there are, whatever the obstacles, together with hope our journey must go on. Together let’s boost our confidence, and all our dreams will surely be fulfilled. A drop will turn into a sea, a handful will grow into a mountain.
We will always uphold our traditions; we must make changes a reality.
Long live Umno. Long live the Malays.

Friday, October 16, 2009

Quotes of the Week

Quotes of the Week
"Many of our fears are tissue paper thin, and a single courageous step would carry us clear through them." --Brendan Francis
"Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood." --Marie Curie
"Love is what we were born with. Fear is what we learned here. The spiritual journey is the relinquishment, or unlearning, of fear and the acceptance of love back into our hearts." --Marianne Williamson

Most people rate their fear of public presentation way above their fear of dying

Most people would prefer to be lying in the casket rather than giving the eulogy.
Does this phrase sound familiar to you? Absurd as it seems, most people rate their fear of public presentation way above their fear of dying. However, presentations are an unavoidable task everyone has to perform in both their work and personal lives.
Another much dreaded activity at work is meeting. Meetings can be very productive. They can also be a waste of time. Meetings can be an excellent use of time when they are well-run. Unfortunately, the converse is also true, and it seems that time-wasting, poorly run meetings are far too common.
How about negotiation? We all have to negotiate. Sometimes it's 'hard' negotiation, such as negotiating a new piece of work, a salary increase or the price we'll pay for a house, an advertising campaign or a used car. Sometimes it's 'soft' negotiations such as getting your children to do their homework (well, actually, that's probably hard), deciding who's going to do what in your team or handling staff conflict.

America’s Most Productive Thrive Through Turmoil

America’s Most Productive Thrive Through Turmoil
FROM JOHN CASPOLE'S DESK

'America's Most Productive' Thrive Through Turmoil
Who survives a treacherous economy?

At Profiles, we want to find out more about the organizations that not only live through turmoil but also thrive in spite of it. Thus our report on the attributes of American's Most Productive Companies.The best practices we discovered offer ideas for any organization seeking to perform at ever-higher levels. As usual, the best practices involve workers, and how those workers are selected, trained and treated both in the short term and in the long run. Here is what we learned about the people attributes that drive productivity at America's Most Productive Companies: 1. The most productive companies strive for a performance-driven culture. What does that mean, exactly? If you are the CEO of your organization, form a picture in your mind of what the culture looks like within your walls. Do you see workers handling customers with energy and a smile? Do you see clean and orderly offices and employees who are actually engaging with each other and with their work? Are phones answered on the first or second ring? Are people still at work after 5:00?
The office culture of the top leader in your organization will be the same for the rest of the organization as well. Conjure up in your mind, or on paper, what you want to see. Tell your managers what it looks like. Walk the walk. As we learned from our research, the attitudes, beliefs and values of an organization define its culture, and the head of the "beast" will drive the whole body. 2. The most productive companies train and promote effective managers. This statement assumes that you selected the right people for your organization in the first place. Then you trained them to do the job you hired them for with the understanding that their training would be ongoing.
AMPCs constantly develop effective managers. They watch for excellent communication skills, strong leadership, creative thinking, team play, efficient work habits, achievement, development of others, and self-development. AMPCs give their managers the information and resources they need to understand and develop their own teams. They encourage coaching. They encourage the success of subordinates. 3. The most productive companies use employees in the best ways possible. In the "old days," idle employees might have run personal errands for the boss. In today's high-performance landscape, there are no idle employees. If you see them in your organization, you are not working for an MPC. Just as defining the culture starts at the top, effective employee utilization begins there too, with an eye to designing a company where every job is dedicated to executing strategy in the most efficient way possible. No matter what a worker's job is, he is guided by a job description and knows what he is expected to achieve. MPCs complete projects quickly because they are lean. They rely on contract workers or temporary employees to help them over seasonal or temporary, non-recurring bumps in production. They increase their number of full-time, permanent employees only if there is a proven need for it. 4. The most productive companies encourage high employee effectiveness. And the only way to do this is to know everything possible about your employees—know them better than they know themselves. Understand what they do well and what they do best. Know their interests so you know where they will be most effective.
How do you gain this knowledge? Through assessments, surveys, postings of internal openings, nudging when necessary, and managerial development. Don't forget that managers sometimes hold their people back. Find out who does this and why, and find a way to stop it. 5. The most productive companies recognize and reward innovation. Chances are that the CEO is very good at this and that her managers need to get better at it. CEOs are often most familiar with the fact that the small innovations are priceless. Did someone figure out a way to make a stubborn piece of machinery work better? Who cured the delay problems in the shipping department by making a simple change to the order form? Some organizations listen too hard for the cheer when they issue a press release about a life-changing new product or service. Cheers are nice, but they are rare. Top leaders have control over their own cheering sections, and they use that control liberally when an employee doing his job well figures out a way to improve something. Encourage the exchange of ideas and an open dialogue. Urge people to take calculated risks by not punishing them if the results are less than you, or they, wanted. Always focus on action instead of control. Do you see your organization as you read this? If your answer is an honest yes, then you already rank among America's Most Productive Companies. If your answer is a maybe or a no, what are you going to do about it?

John Caspole, President Assessment Specialists, Inc.760-434-9877

Pop Quiz
Profiles' research on American's Most Productive Companies reveals a number of best practices that lead to outstanding productivity. Take our pop quiz to see where your organization fits in the big picture.

1. A strong organizational culture alone provides enough positive influence to enhance productivity.____True ____False2. People who consistently underperform on the job should be given time to bring their performance up to standard.____True ____False3. Keen insight is as important as training, mentoring and experience for giving managers an inside track to success.____True ____False4. Contract and temporary labor interfere with an organization's efficient execution of its strategy. ____True ____False5. Staffing levels might need to be increased if your organization is seeing lots of absenteeism, high turnover, missed goals, and injuries.____True ____False6. Praise in public; correct in private.____True ____False

Answers: 1. FALSE. While a strong organizational culture is crucial for smooth operation, it is only one part of the puzzle. Another piece is employees who will take initiative and work as part of a team.
2. FALSE. If an employee is a chronic underperformer and supervisors have tried—and failed—to correct his behavior, he is not a good fit for the position and needs to be removed. This sends the important message to all employees that poor performance is not acceptable.
3. TRUE. Not all employees are cut out to be managers. Those who do not have natural management talent or the insight to see the strengths and weaknesses of others will have significant difficulty achieving managerial success.
4. FALSE. With strong talent management practices that ensure that three people are not doing the work of one or two, leaders can make good use of contract workers and temps to ensure that the work is completed. The best-managed organizations carefully examine requests to create new jobs.
5. TRUE. Organizations need to think through the results that they need to achieve and the department goals that will help the organizations reach those results. If turnover and other negative indicators are high in a department, temporary staffing can give leaders time to determine the permanent staff required to achieve success.
6. TRUE. Just as important as correcting employees in private is giving praise that lets all employees know when someone "overperformed." Making a big deal publicly out of superb performance might even set a new performance standard.


Product Focus
Finding the Integrity Bone with SOS II
If integrity was as easy to spot as eye color, or right- or left-handedness, no one would give it a another thought. Hiring managers would spot it in a heartbeat and immediately determine whether or not a job candidate was suitably "groomed" in the character area.
Step One Survey II® makes the job selection process almost that easy.
Even the smartest hiring manager needs help identifying the best potential employees. Without known truths to guide him, he often relies on the resume, the job interview, the opinions of others, and his gut reaction. If any one of those hiring aids fails—and they often do—the boss can end up with an employee who at best is a poor fit for the position he was hired to do, and at worst a thief—of company property, reputation or time.
Here is a scenario of the worst-case sort: A candidate, Josh, appeared at first to be an excellent fit for the job, but he was missing project deadlines after only six weeks. His manager talked to him. Josh pushed the responsibility onto another department, saying that he was having trouble getting the information he needed. More checking revealed that not only was the data on his desk, but that he spent hours at work making personal telephone calls and trolling websites unrelated to his job. When his manager tried to find him for a follow-up conversation, she could not.
Thus began the energy- and time-sapping process of removing him from the company—energy and time that could have been spent on more pressing issues if only the organization had used Step One Survey II®, which gives leaders insight into an applicant’s work ethic, honesty, integrity, likelihood for substance abuse, and attitudes about theft—including the theft of company time. SOS II also provides a look into the future to determine how well the candidate blends in with office culture and climate.
If you want to stuff your workplace with positive behaviors, consider how valuable these might be: 1. An honest day's work for a full day's pay 2. Promptness 3. Conscientious use of company time and resources 4. Confidentiality of proprietary data and other information 5. Dependability 6. Loyalty 7. Increased productivity
SOS II offers insight into each of these areas. Your next step is to use Step One Survey II® next time you hire. Call us at 760-434-9877.

Success Story
A Snapshot of Success in the Insurance Industry
This month's Case Study comes from a publicly traded insurance holding company employing more than 400 people. Leaders are able to clearly describe the organization's culture and their expectations of employees. They also describe how employees can achieve success within the culture.
These two factors—culture and expectations—are equally important, as our study of America's Most Productive Companies illustrates. Culture is an important driver of worker behavior, and it is a powerful tool for focusing the workforce on achieving the results that the organization wants. As this Case Study illustrates, you cannot have one without the other.
The CompanyThe organization has been publicly traded since 1986 and consists of wholly owned subsidiaries. Although it began in one specialty, it has added other property/casualty lines over the years.
Leaders designed the company with the goal of minimizing administrative burden on the underwriters in order to generate underwriting profit. The organization does not pressure its underwriters to hit goals, but to reach targeted returns for each line of business. Rewards follow for workers who achieve those returns.
How the Practice WorksUnderwriters must understand the nature of the market. This is especially important for managers, who are empowered and motivated. Employees work toward common goals and interests and communicate clearly with each other. They celebrate successes, and openly discuss concerns and management tactics in the face of external issues.
The company is cost conscious. As is characteristic of AMPC companies, managers discuss bringing on new employees, establishing new units, and supporting employees. Managers recognize that people are the most important factor in the company's success. AMPC companies ensure success by using clear job descriptions and goals that articulate the organization's mission and vision. This way, every worker knows what needs to be done and how, and two people are never doing the job of one.
Employees are "best in class." The company hires the best and has a culture of continuous improvement.
Clear communication is crucial. Orientation includes general information about corporate communication and organizational technology. Leaders don't just talk at employees—they invite feedback. Leaders maintain contact with employees through a quarterly employee conference call, and the quarterly newsletter goes beyond birthday and anniversary greetings by including a section that details the most recent IT tools. The organization employs proprietary online distribution systems for brokers and agents as well as for potential customers. Video conferencing also improves communication.
SummaryThe organization has grown its successes by increasing its products, establishing a strong connection with brokers and agents, and insisting on disciplined underwriting. The result was a growth in book value in 2008, even at a time when others in the industry saw great losses. As with many AMPC companies, this organization's clearly articulated culture, paired with its flexibility, help it deliver what its customers need.


Strategies for Winning
How to Become an Employer of Choice* - Attracting and Retaining the Very Best People
While many employers complain about the difficulty of attracting and retaining quality people, other employers never seem to have this problem. What’s the secret of these Employers of Choice?
In our experience, it’s not really a secret. Employers of Choice simply know what’s important to their prospective and current employees, and they work hard to meet those needs.
Before you can start to consider the challenge of attracting and retaining the very best people, you must first look at the dark side—what drives people from their jobs. Profiles International recently completed a survey to explore why people leave their jobs. Some employers have found the results to be fascinating. Here are the five main reasons people change jobs:
1. Boredom2. Inadequate salary and benefits3. Limited opportunities for advancement4. No recognition5. Unhappy with management and the way they were managed
Before we reveal the relative importance of each reason, we’ve got a challenge for you. Consider which of the five reasons you would address first, second, and so on, if you wanted to improve your company’s reputation as an Employer of Choice. After you rank order the list, read the boxed material titled “HOW DID YOU DO?” and see how you fared. Then continue reading here.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Were you surprised by the answers? Most employers are. The message is simple—if you want to attract and retain top people, these are the key items for consideration.
Follow these six steps and you are likely to become an Employer of Choice:
1. Evaluate Your Managers The numbers don’t lie. People leave people, not jobs. Look at the results: 30 percent of people didn’t leave their jobs; they left their managers. Poor managers can cancel out the positive effects of your recruitment advertising and public relations efforts, your outstanding remuneration package, your excellent share option plan, and all of the other good things you do to attract and retain the right people. Your human resources people sweat blood to bring in a sufficient number of the right people, and 30 percent of the time, poor managers shred them and send them back out of the company before you’ve even recovered the cost of hiring them. Crazy.
So what do you do? First, start measuring your staff turnover by manager. Pinpoint the real problems. It will frighten but enlighten you. Until you know which managers are losing their people, you can’t do anything about it.
After you identify the managers who need help, help them! They can learn to become better managers. Review all of your managers in terms of their leadership and management skills. That’s how you will discover what these managers are doing to drive away good people. We humbly suggest you use Profiles International’s CheckPoint 360° to give managers, their superiors, their direct reports, and their fellow managers an opportunity to provide feedback about what they are doing well and what they could do better. Be sure to act upon what you discover. Provide training, coaching and support to those managers who struggle in a way that encourages productivity and retention. Good management is key to good retention.
2. Create a Recognition CultureInsufficient recognition for their contributions is the reason 25 percent of all people leave their jobs. Fix this or learn to live with the attrition. Task your managers with responsibility for seeking out the many ways in which their people perform above and beyond the call of duty. Have them consciously seek out opportunities for positive recognition. Create awards for exemplary performance and give everyone an opportunity to bask in the glow of positive recognition for a job well done. But be aware that a recognition culture cannot be created from nothing. It requires a healthy working environment to thrive.
3. Create a Healthy Work EnvironmentTo encourage the development of a genuine recognition culture, you’ll need to create a healthy work environment. Not healthy in the sense of lots of fresh air and few toxic chemicals knocking around (although that’s always a good start), but a healthy psychological work environment—one where providing recognition for exemplary performance seems normal. There are several key elements to achieving this.
First: Open Communication. There are too many old-economy attitudes in our businesses. In the old economy, scarcity was the driving force—information was power, and those who had information hoarded it and kept it scarce. That’s how they amassed great power, privilege and wealth. Look around. The world has changed dramatically. Our modern economy is based on abundance. Those who prosper are those who share information with everyone who can make use of it effectively. This is the information age, and any environment where the workforce has not tapped into all that’s going on in their organization is toxic. Suspicion, mistrust, and resentment grow, and key people go.
Let all of your people know where the organization is going, how it plans to get there, how their jobs play a part in the grand scheme of things, and why they are key to your success. Their contribution is just as valuable as the CEO’s, and they know it. Let them know that you know it, too. Spread information liberally throughout your organization; give your people an I’m on the inside! feeling. It’s hard to leave something that has you on the inside.
Next, Develop an Attitude of Cooperation. Give and take is the order of the day. Be prepared to consider anything that makes it easier and more practical to work for you than for anyone else. Look at flexible hours, compassionate leave, sabbaticals, teleworking, child care facilities, anything else you can afford to do that shows that you are prepared to meet your people halfway (or more) in balancing their work/personal life commitments.
Finally, Develop an Atmosphere of Trust. If you want people to trust you (with their jobs, their careers, their development, their lives), then you have to trust them. Create an atmosphere in which management automatically expects the best of its team members. They’ll respond. Give people a good reputation to live up to. They won’t let you down. This is one of the key sources of recognition. No one is more flattered than when they are trusted implicitly.
4. Create an Atmosphere of Continual Self-ImprovementOf the people who leave their jobs, 20 percent do so because they feel that they’re not getting sufficient advancement. Flat-structured organizations don’t have the dizzying promotional heights to which previous generations of workers could aspire, so there’s really nothing we can do about this point unless we still have an old-fashioned multilayer hierarchical organization, right?
No! That thinking is about as wrong as you can get.
Today’s job-seekers want the opportunity to develop themselves so that they can be all that they can possibly be. They want to polish their skills, abilities and experience so that their potential market value continually rises. And if they can do this without the uncertainty of job-hopping, then so much the better. You don’t necessarily have to have multiple promotional opportunities in order to meet this demand. What you need is a clear, ongoing development path, a way for each employee to advance his skills and value so that he becomes all that he can be. This means investing heavily in training and development.
Create an atmosphere of continual self-development. Give everyone access to training that will enhance their skills, value and self-esteem. Don’t limit training to those skills specific to an individual’s current job. Remember that you are not simply training employees for job-effectiveness. You are also offering them development opportunities that make them feel good enough about the pace of their personal advancement that they don’t feel the need to seek out greener grass elsewhere. Invest heavily in training and development, and then encourage your people to take advantage of your programs. Provide them with the means for success. Train them on company time; give them study leave; let senior managers coach and support them. Engage them in their own ongoing, longer-term development. Show them how they can access all of this within your organization; focus their minds on genuine developmental goals that extend far beyond the availability of the next recruitment supplement. This creates truly compelling and self-serving reasons to stay.
Well done! If you implement these first four steps, you’ve already eliminated 75 percent of the reasons people leave their jobs. And did you notice that we haven’t even mentioned money?
5. Put Your Best Foot ForwardWhat about the 15 percent who leave for more money? Will more recognition, better management and opportunities for continual self-development help you retain them? In many cases, yes (at least for a time), but you still have to pay the market rate or better to stay in the game, and you must know when and how to pay at this level.
Chances are that you’re sitting down as you read this strategy. Good. Because the next suggestion might topple some old-style thinkers. When it comes to remuneration, put your best foot forward immediately. Pay your people as much salary and give them as many benefits as you can afford—and do it from day one.Abandon the “What can I get her for?” thinking in favor of “How much is this position worth to me, and what can I afford to pay?” Then pay it. Let your people know that this is what you’re doing, and that you need their support as you seek to maintain a situation in which you can continue to do this in the long term. Let them know that you need them to engage with you in making the organization successful. Think about it sensibly. If you pare back the package by the 10 or 15 percent you can get away with, will the savings be enough to retain these people in the face of an offer from another employer? Most likely not. It will be too little, too late. So put your best foot forward and let everyone know that you are paying as much as you can. Furthermore, let them know that, if you are to continue to do so, everyone will have to pull together as a team to generate the productivity necessary for the organization’s success. Now, don’t misunderstand the advice. Pay as much as you can, not more than you can. Pay more than you can afford and you are likely to pay your way out of business. Our advice: Know what each job is worth, and pay it early. 6. Match People to JobsAfter following 360,000 people through their careers over a period of 20 years, the Harvard Business Review published a major study demonstrating that a key ingredient in retaining people is ensuring that they are matched to their jobs in terms of their abilities, interests and personalities. The study found that when you put people in jobs in which the demands matched their abilities, in which the stimulation offered by the job matched their particular interests, and in which the cultural demands of the position matched their personalities, staff turnover decreased dramatically and productivity increased dramatically. Use psychometric tools to determine the requirements of each of your positions in terms of abilities, interests, and personality, and then use this information to match your jobs to people who will excel in them. Gut feeling cannot do this assessment for you. You need to use properly validated tools designed for this purpose. Once you know what each job requires, you can more effectively match people to their jobs and provide any training, support, or coaching necessary for them to be successful. Put the right person in the right job and you eliminate a large portion of the 5 percent who leave simply because they are “bored with the job.”Sadly, there is no quick, easy and inexpensive “silver bullet” to help you win the war for quality people. But apply these six sensible steps and you can eliminate more than 95 percent of the reasons people defect.

HOW DID YOU DO?The study found that of the job-leavers surveyed:• 30% were unhappy with management and the way they were managed• 25% felt they got no recognition for good work• 20% complained of limited opportunities for advancement• 15% cited inadequate salary and benefits (low, isn’t it?)• 5% were bored with the job• 5% cited other reasons (retirement, career change, sabbatical, travel).So, if you want to attract and retain the people essential to your success, these are the key factors that you have to consider. The priorities are abundantly clear. Money, for example, is important, but not nearly as important as most employers seem to believe.


*From the book 40 STRATEGIES FOR WINNING IN BUSINESS by Bud Haney and Jim Sirbasku. © S&H Publishing Co., 5205 Lake Shore Drive, Waco, Texas 76710-1732. All rights reserved. Contact S&H Publishing Co., (254) 751-1644, for reprint permission.

That story could prompt a rush on the classifieds from today's unemployed graduates


Route to success
LAURA SLATTERY
Fri, Oct 16, 2009
THE FRIDAY INTERVIEW: Darryl Ismail. Chase Travel International Founder and chief executive.
“So I put an advert in the papers: I think it said ‘mature and enthusiastic 20-year-old with a degree in marketing and economics, three languages and computer skills seeks suitable employment’. I got a lot of responses and I was able to pick the job.”
That story could prompt a rush on the classifieds from today’s unemployed graduates, I suggest. Ismail smiles: “Yes, well I had a degree in marketing. I thought ‘if I can’t market myself, I can’t market the product’.”
In 1990, the Brazilian-Irish marketer eventually finished his job at the then recession-struck hotel chain Sarova and came to Ireland to go it alone. So he remembers the last time it was impossible for fledgling, would-be entrepreneurs to get a whiff of credit from the banks. “The perception was, if you want to start a business, you must be unemployable, he says.
The trade-only accommodation seller that is Chase Travel, based in the Northern Cross industrial estate since 2005, started life with just Ismail, his savings of IR£3,000, a computer, a phone and – this being 1990 – a fax machine. “We did everything out of our resources. In hindsight, it was a good way to do it.”
But his initial capital didn’t stretch very far: “By the time, you had paid your rent and bought some furniture, there wasn’t much left,” he says. Ismail used his contacts back in Sarova (which is big in Africa), negotiating lengthy nine-month credit terms as he sold on rooms in their then six-strong chain to Irish travel agents. Chase evolved and was “trusted more and more”.
As the wholesaler could drive high volumes of business to the hotels, they secured and sold on rates that were as much as 75 per cent lower than the rack rate (the off-the-street price).
The travel industry had a very different shape back in those pre-internet, pre-tiger days. It was, shall we say, a lot less diverse. Travel agents flogged the same small batch of hotels to anyone who could afford anything as luxurious as a foreign holiday that didn’t involve a French campsite. There was a reason you were always bumping into your neighbours abroad: the travel agent “product” was, by the standards of today, somewhat limited.
Travel wholesalers were also few and far between, with just a handful of big players in markets like the US and Britain. In Ireland, the package holiday was king.
Ismail exploited the gap in the market for something more exotic: safaris in Kenya; tailor-made trips to New York; holidays where you didn’t have to stay either seven days or 14 days, but could choose any length you wanted; destinations like the Seychelles and Mauritius that, up to then, had only been available through the UK market in what were nasty sterling prices.
Airline employees who possessed free or heavily discounted flights were early targets for the burgeoning non-packaged holiday trade. After a “tough” first two years, the business started to enjoy steady growth. The tiger economy kicked in and suddenly, if your honeymoon wasn’t in Mauritius, it wasn’t a proper wedding.
Having started out in business debt-free, Ismail remained relatively cautious, however. “As a business, we always had a conservative approach to things. I felt sometimes that we were too conservative, but I had the principle that, if we did something and it didn’t work, we could walk away from it, and that it wouldn’t do us any lasting damage,” he says.
Ismail, who is a former finalist in the Ernst Young Entrepreneur of the Year awards, waited until 2001 before embracing the internet. Up to then, he didn’t see the point in having one of those “static web pages” that other companies had. Then he saw a viable online booking engine at an international trade fair that he knew would transform the industry, partly because wholesalers could use it to pass on hotel discounts in real time, giving accommodation-only a potential price edge over packages.
He spent eight months building the Chase engine, working seven-day weeks (he admits he has always struggled with his work-life balance), only to complete it on September 9th, 2001.
Two days later, there was a torrent of cancellations. No one wanted to go to the US in the wake of the terrorist attacks and with flights grounded, they couldn’t get to those luxury hotels they had booked through Chase, via their travel agent, anyway.
The gloss faded from Chase’s freshly printed flyers. But it was no time to be defeatist, it was time to channel Chase’s “big push” in another direction: Europe. “We renegotiated a lot of really good deals around Europe and undercut our market rivals and, within two months, we were able to recover the business we had lost,” says Ismail.
In 2005, Chase started its international expansion, opening offices in Spain and Italy, meaning it was no longer dependent on Irish people having cash to burn. It now sells to travel agents in seven countries and has agreements with 45,000 hotels.
With fast-growing numbers of its nationals taking overseas holidays, markets such as Malaysia and the Middle East have the best growth potential, he says.
In the year to April 2008, the company turned an operating profit of almost €900,000, an increase of around €180,000 on the 12 months to April 2007, while, in its last financial year, the company was also profitable. Chase’s international spread means it is not as exposed to either local downturns or seasonal fluctuations in trade, while for hotels, it means they’re a good bet for filling rooms during the shoulder seasons. “Nowhere is really booming in the sense that it’s a global credit crunch,” he says, but he’s not especially fazed by it.
He has lived through really extreme economic conditions in his time. Growing up in Brazil, he experienced the bizarre spectre of hyperinflation.
“You would go to the shop and everything would be 20-30 per cent more expensive the following week. It was spiralling out of control and they used to devalue the currency all the time: 10 became 100, then 1,000, 10,000. Then they would take a few zeroes off the back and rename the currency.”
The travel industry is slightly more stable than the Brazilian currency of the 1980s, although sometimes it must not feel like it.
“In our business, every year there’s something,” he says. “This year it’s a global credit crunch, before it was mad cow or 9/11 or some guy decides to shoot somebody or war breaks out. There’s always some challenge.”
ON THE RECORD:
Name: Darryl Ismail
Age: 43
Position: Founder and chief executive, Chase Travel International
Why he is in the news: Ismail has won the third annual Ethnic Entrepreneur of the Year prize.
Background: He has an Irish mother and a Brazilian father and grew up in Brazil, where his father was a university lecturer, while keeping in touch with his family in Ireland. He speaks Portuguese, Spanish and English.
Interests: Sailing, history – especially the hidden history of Dublin.
© 2009 The Irish Times
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Bangunlah Bangsaku


Friday October 16, 2009
Najib’s speech fulfills expectations
ANALYSIS By JOCELINE TAN

Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s presidential speech did not fail expectations and marked his first big moment as Umno president.
THERE was a lot at stake for Umno on the opening day of its general assembly. Two men, who happen to be cousins, were particularly relieved that everything went well.
One is, of course, Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and the other is vice-president Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein.
For Najib, his big moment resulted in a standing ovation that lasted several minutes and which saw the hall rising to their feet as he recited a rousing poem entitled Bangunlah Bangsaku towards the end of his speech.
It was one of those electrifying and emotional moments in Umno politics and many in the hall, including some men, had tears in their eyes.
“There’s been a lot of suppressed emotions since the March 8 elections. The president dug it out of us.
“Some people had lost their hearts especially after we lost all those by-elections but he has renewed our spirit. That’s why there is all this emotion today,” said former Kedah politician Datuk Rosnah Majid.
Umno executive secretary Datuk Rauf Yusoh said: “That spirit has been missing for some time. They found it again today.”
The president’s annual speech set the direction for the party. This one was particularly important because it was his first.
Everyone from the exacting Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to the average delegate were basically waiting to assess whether this new president knew where the party had gone wrong and whether he knew how to take them out of the pit.
Najib has been in this longer than many of those in the hall. He himself had his own wake-up call in Pekan in 1999 when he just narrowly survived the elections.
He clearly had his finger on the party’s pulse.
His speech was dire yet hopeful, introspective yet forward-looking, sophisticated yet accessible.
He spoke intuitively about the Malay Agenda, a subject very close to the Umno heart but he also told them that the Malay Agenda had to be more inclusive for Umno to lead in multi-ethic Malaysia.
He has obviously been doing a lot of thinking and soul-searching since taking over in March.
He basically reassured the party grassroots that all is not lost and that they can rise again but only if they return to their originals aims as a party to serve the Malays and the country and if they undertake drastic changes in their attitude and approach.
He dived straight into the reform moves early in the speech because the amendments to the constitution were essentially what this general assembly was about.
“He did not really have to say much. The proposed changes have been discussed at division level in the last three months, even during the fasting month.
“Everyone knows what the changes are about and why we need them,” said deputy Umno Youth chief Datuk Razali Ibrahim.
Hishammuddin, who is heading the reform committee, has been worried about the special sitting to amend the party constitution.
The special sitting was central to the rejuvenation of the party and there had been extensive preparations for this session but this is politics and anything can happen.
Hishammuddin was visibly gratified when the amendments went through with some minor changes and in a record time of one and a half hours.
The way the amendments sailed through offers a glimpse into how Najib and his team operates. They leave little to chance, they do their homework and they are not afraid to crack the whip.
Najib stressed in no uncertain terms that he expected the division leadership and delegates to give their full support to the amendments at several forums.
One was the party retreat at Janda Baik last month and more recently the presidential briefing at the Putra World Trade Centre on Tuesday afternoon.
He will approach the next general election with the same strategic style of preparation.
But many delegates said they gave their full support to the president because he had won their confidence and they were convinced he was the right man to lead the party.
All Umno members have their eyes on the next general election where they hope to regain ground and prestige.
Dr Mahathir sat through the speech as though he was watching an engrossing TV programme, his legs confortably stretched out in front of him.
He found the speech “inspiring” but warned that Umno must now walk the talk.
“Expectations were high. His speech did not fail our expectations,” said Kuala Terengganu chief Datuk Wan Farid Wan Ahmad.