Issue on Faith

Everyone is talking about religion today – freedom of religion that is.

Generally, I didn’t see other people through their faith, race or gender. But, I have seen others who have inner core perspectives that are derived from these axis. I am not saying that they are wrong, and I have a moral superiority over them. What I am saying is that there is a serious lack of statutory equality bodies in providing guidance, information and codes of practice among the Malaysians.

Many organizations in Malaysia do not have any equality or diversity policy. So forget about a wider issue – other than ‘race-and-religion’: which is a synonymous (double-whammy) issue in the Malaysian context. Thus, we conveniently overlook other sensitive issues such as age, gender, nationality, disability, sexual orientation, political association, medical records, trade union association, criminal convictions etc. We will not appreciate at the “hate-incident” ratio as critical as we grasp the “near-missed” or “lost-time-injury” in safety & health.

So, let us focus ONLY on ‘race-and-religion’ issue.

Do we capture the information pertaining to our Staff’s race and religion? Most organization will say that they collected sensitive information as part of employment data. The information will be analyzed and used to inform current and future decision-making so that one can contribute to an improved employment environment and service delivery for the Company.

Is it fair to ask Staff’s proficiency in certain languages e.g.: Arabic, Urdu, Hokkien or Mandarin to reflect their ethnicity?

Lain kali kita cerita lah

One Liner

An old-timer is someone who remembers every detail of their life story, but cannot remember how many times they have told the same person.

- anonymous -

Salary Hike

A record salary hike for civil servants was announced by the Malaysian Prime Minister today. The 7.5 – 35 percent salary increase (about USD$2.5b annually) is expected to benefit more than 1 million civil servants (as well as half a million of pensioners) in Malaysia. The authorities expect that this pay hike will contribute about 0.5 percent to Malaysia’s economic growth this year and another half percent in 2008.

What are the implications on HR in the private sector? Will there be a new effort by the industrial & trade unionists to increase our minimum wage? Inflation vs. COLA? Is it a worthwhile effort to reward their performance? Any link with poductivity? Will it be a shift in hiring trend for young graduates?

DDI's Essentials of Leadership

DDI has a complete and most comprehensive leadership framework (compared to others - off course within my limited domain of knowledge). One of the management blueprints for a successful manager is on the "Leadership Imperatives". It is a critical set of competencies that all leaders must possess and continuously improved. By mastering these imperatives, one will become an adaptive or situational leader. There are seven imperatives:

1. Coach & Develop for Results
   Leaders get work done through others. The ability to effectively coach for success and for improvement is critical to getting work group results. Developing others through training and targeted experiences is one of a leader's most important contributions to the organization.


2. Drive Performance
   Leaders are responsible for getting results personally and from their work groups. Setting performance expectations and holding people accountable are critical for getting results.


3. Inspire for Loyalty & Trust
   Retaining talented staff is the leader's job, and staff satisfaction is the key to retention. Good leaders create an environment where staff can maximize their talents and perform at or above expectations.


4. Manage Work
   Resources, time, and budget need to be deployed effectively for leaders to meet their work groups' objectives.


5. Partner Within and Across Teams
   Whether it's a formal team or an informal group that needs close teamwork, in order to be effective, creating and maintaining a high-performing team and cross-boundary partnerships is a key leadership role.


6. Influence Through Personal Power
   Leaders need to get things done without using position power, either because it's inappropriate or they're leading people who are peers or who are not direct reports.


7. Select Talent
   Identifying, evaluating, and selecting internal and external talent are essential skills for most leaders.
   

Attending IFIs Seminar

I went to this IFIs seminar and all I got was this "wonderful" motherhood-concept for an emotionally well-balanced professional -



"DIET, SLEEP & EXERCISE"


BTW, I need to color my hair.

Labor Day Blues