VENDOR DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM (CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY) - BY NIK ZAFRI

BRAIN DRAIN, SKILLS, COMPETENCY, ACADEMIC?? WHAT? - by Nik Zafri

Brain Drain seems to be a hot topic in Malaysia. I'm not going into politics or some racial matters but facts and figures.

The Economic Transformation Programme came into the picture with Talent Corp formation to focus on facilitating initiatives to attract, nurture, engage and retain talent to support the human capital.

Disclaimer : I have no qualms against whatever is right for Malaysia to move towards 2020 and I write this article with FULL understanding of Talent Corp. and the need to call for Malaysian talents from outside to return.

However, the questions lingering in my mind have never been properly answered by anyone in charge but whenever I ask the "silent majority"* which being "sampled" from the group of 40 years old and above, ranging from local young CEOs, MDs, Directors to scholars, freelance professionals etc.


*Surprisingly, some are working together in this program and have received 'instructions from above' to participate.

Here are their questions :

a) What about local talents that have nostalgically returned to this country a long time ago? What will happen to them? Are they not good enough to compete with the newbies? (this is not MY question, this is THEIR question)

b) Will there be salary scale difference for the local talents (also with accredited foreign qualifications) who have been working so hard developing the country in their very own way IF the "Malaysian talents outside" are to return to the country to respond to this call?

c) Does this mean that the local talents with local accredited (MQA) universities/institution of higher learning qualifications including local competency training institution (MLVK) and workshops/trainings that have been accredited outside Malaysia are more inferior? That we have to get Malaysians from outside that have "better" qualifications, skills and knowledge?

I sometimes wonder the need for "ranking the local universities to others" (except for acquiring grants for R & D that I do not know about*) when MQA's assessment is more than enough and equivalent to British Accreditation Council.

* Universities set 'mechanisms' via these R & D Grants and NOT 'innovations' according to one dean of a faculty.


d) Has anyone been asking some of the so-called talents outside that the countries that they are so proud residing are also having major problems to even maintain their very own economy?* Do a poll and find out! No names and personal details should be given. Otherwise they won't be telling the truth!

*Quoting General (Retired) Bill Creech in his book "The Five Pillars of Total Quality Management" which goes something like this :

"If the US universities are so good, why is the US economy doing so bad?"


e) Has anyone been asking some of the so-called talents outside what do they REALLY feel about returning to Malaysia - now that they have a GOOD remuneration and unmatchable to what the Government is offering? Do a poll and find out! No names and personal details should be given. Otherwise, they won't be telling the truth!

f) Has anyone been asking some of the so-called talents outside what do they REALLY say about Malaysia to foreigners, how they talk proudly about other nation and not being ungrateful or not even "recalling" where they come from?

Some are even "having amnesia" pathetically attempting their level best NOT to tell where they come from - even using foreign slangs to avoid detection. What a joke! Even worse, some of them are requesting to become foreign citizen.

Then another question should be posed...What about EX-MALAYSIANS who are now official foreign citizens?

These are only some of the questions go unanswered till now.

Before you start to say anything, please be reminded that I am NOT against everyone outside as many of us here now are foreign graduates as well.

And I did saw MANY GOOD Malaysians outside saying this to me :

"Give the local talents another chance, we are fine over here and we will come back eventually"

I've noticed over the years the growing trend of staff especially from the civil service chasing for better qualifications by studying up to MBA and PhD. But again, do qualifications really help nowadays when there is no control imposed over it?

(so many private and government institutions of higher learning are being established with so many academic programmes being offered and with so many people are now madly chasing for higher qualifications thinking of future promotion? Some even dare to "bypass" JPA and using their own expenses to gain a higher qualification. I once asked them (when I was lecturing for a UK-Based program in 1997) :


Q : "Why do you come here?"

A : "This program is accredited by JPA"

Q : "Yes I know, that's the reason why I am standing in front of you now, this program is also accredited by LAN (now MQA)" Forgive me for asking - I like to know if you have been permitted by JPA or your superiors to participate in this course?"

A : "No, but I will give them a copy of the qualification and hope to be promoted - either salary wise or designation wise"

Q : "I'm curious...what if they say this to you "I didn't ask you to do this?"

A : (pause for a while...) "What should I do?"

Q : "Either you ask for their permission now, or your answer should be "I'm looking for another job". And most importantly, I don't want you to start blaming me or this company or this course for not getting you a promotion!

(followed by laughter and the guy nodded his head in agreement...anyway, I followed up with him after he graduated with Honours, he told me that whatever I've predicted DID happened and he's now working as a General Manager for a private company (retired early)

-------------------------

1) When people come and tell me that we are lacking of English Language Teachers, I noticed that it is the 'senior generation of the English Medium or of Foreign Educated' stood up to answer the call but nobody seems to bother.

2) When people come and tell me "What kind of right approach to teach English for working people" I answered : "Teach them according to their expertise, so you need people from the field itself coupled with adequate fluency in English to teach working people...

for example, Civil Engineers, what do they need really? Take checklist or report writing for example, you need to teach them to understand how to describe words like "workmanship", "supervision" etc. Or you need to ask them question of what do they need from this course and you should be answering "in their lingo" by giving them samples of report which they can immediately use after taking the course. So, killing two birds with one stone - you teach them English and you teach them civil engineering "Report Writing"

3) When people come to me and start underestimating "SKM Level 3 to 5 (MLVK)" (thinking that it is only a 'cert') and started comparing with their Degree.

I told them this :

"Did you know that the "SKM Level 5" is a lot better than your Engineering Degree?

Quoting OSH regulations - phrase "a competent person" let's say "Welding and Fitting" - you should counter refer to any "Welding Codes of Practice" and you will find that he is much more AUTHORIZED to attend to "Welding and Fitting" rather than you M & E Degree.

The M & E graduate got more interested and finally I told him this :

"Bitter it may sound but we have different too many ministries to handle different trades. Academic is MOE's and MHL's turfs but SKILL and COMPETENCY are MHR's "babies"!


Learning to pass exam is DIFFERENT than learning how to work! But passing exam is the foundation and learning how to work is the next level which have not been properly introduced in our country. That's why employers keep giving you excuses "You don't have working experience - so you don't get the job"

I'm telling the universities or any other institution of higher learning be it private or government "Don't give guarantee to students or parents that they will get a good job once they have graduated"

There are few universities been integrating both academic and skills/competencies, take for example Defence University of Malaysia, I've visited them, talked to the ex-deputy vice chancellor and very impressed with the results!"

-------------------------

I'm also really shocked to learn ISO 9000 has been "legalized" (or rather "politicized") when it is only an international standard (a guide NOT gospel) And every other party started to emerge in the "power play"...I can name few "training authorities" that have proudly instructing me that "you consultants must be registered"

They said to me : "You don't register with us, you will not be recognized"

I asked them back : "Can you give me a project if I am to be registered with you?"

They replied : "No, No, No, we cannot give you warranty that we will award you with any project"

I replied : "So you want my money but you don't want to give yours"

They vetoed : "This is regulations"

I said in my heart : "yeah..you're HIDING behind regulations" and you're telling me that my "foreign chartered membership" is now invalid?

So I took a peek into "their system" that was displayed by a dismayed client and I quickly asked the client :

"Where's the method statement (according to the trades)...say "earthworks, or "piling" etc" These are SOPs and WIs, these are meant for factories and manufacturing, boss - NOT CONSTRUCTION"

"Where's the inspection and test plan, how do customize the manual for construction industry according to the contract mode - "Design & Build, Turnkey etc."? (Permissible Exclusion on Design & Development responsibilities)

"Where's your PQP?" and showed them clauses from the Main Contract (also CLIENT's requirements) requiring sample submission as well.

Where's your sample schedule (they did show but I told them "This is MSP not Primavera..have you been meeting the "construction PMC" lately? or just simply 'copy and paste?'

OHSAS 18000 (Standard for Occupational Safety and Health) has a disclaimer : "Compliance to this standard shall not provide immunity to the law"

Hahaha - and there is not even the word "ISO" in front OHSAS 18000 unlike EMS ISO 14000 and ISO 9000. (Bureaucracy is in progress)

-------------------------
I also noticed ICT companies with "M*C status" are "closing shop" one after another. Many of them told me that the grant is too low, we have no capital and GOD - we have to through so much levels in order to get "more money".

But ironically, those without the "status" are really "prosperous" (We don't need any status or certifications to be rich)

What's the point of having "pre-seed grants" or "level by level grants" or asking ex-participants to participate in any of related programs or having "incubation" courses in hotels with so many batches around and so-called "consultants" and only 1 - 2 will successfully get the "grant" after going into a 'reality show' kind of "pitching contest"?

I recalled seeing one of the participants who talks SO PROUDLY as if he is "Mr. Know Everything" but his business is doing SO BADLY...hmmm "typical"
-------------------------

I like to close this article by quoting a Chinese CEO of a 'very large company' saying this to me:

"How many people with "good qualifications" are known being involved in white or blue collar crimes? I think Nik, it's not so much about qualifications...it's the attitude, experience, competency and most important HONESTY"

I would rather look for honest people (I know when I see one) to take care of my money and organization and I'm willing to train such people to understand what I need, I don't like people who are too "smart" as they are the ones who tend to play tricks with figures. Don't quote me for that"

:-) Nik Zafri: Sorry, I have to quote your very good statement but I won't mention your name

K-ECONOMY, K-MANAGEMENT, K-ORGANIZATION,HUMAN CAPITAL, ICT – YOU'RE STILL CONFUSED? (BY NIK ZAFRI)

The battle of defining knowledge management is a never ending story.

(Cummon guys....it's 2010 now..what? you wanna wait till 2020..gosh)

To me KM; having working with bluechips that have proven themselves worthy to be called a KM and KE (Knowledge-Based Economy) – based organizations, I would still agree that :


“KM is a organizational-wide collecton of practices and approaches to generate, capture, disseminate the know-how and others relevant with the perspective of business sustainability and profit”

This is the best definition I see so far.

To those who are or has directly been involved in organizational KM will understand exactly what this definition mean.

The definition has; to a highest degree; harmoniously combined both organizational empirical PROVEN VALUES with ICT as enablers. (Mind you - please do not provide me hypotheses in your counter comments to this article as what I've said herein have been substantiated with proof. )

KM in these organizations is no longer a buzzword, lip-service or trendy – KM is a MUST to them in order to cope up with rapid changes as we are no longer absorbed to the ancient story “who moved my cheese”.

I've seen companies' thrill of victory - making billions due to proper applicaton of KM. Unfortunately; due to certain constraint; I can't reveal any of the companies name as these are their secret recipes of success – trust me (so don't ask)

But on the other hand, I've also witnessed companies' agony of defeat being closed even go bust – due to WRONG applications used and wrong way of 'hybriding' management systems. In the end, the practitioners themselves tend to be CONFUSED themselves.

Communication has evolved rapidly due to the phrase 'knowledge sharing'. It helps in the context of maintaining the 'one captain in one ship' and 'one (management) game plan'. Grapevine at its best!!

We are no longer alone!

If we have to collaborate, then do so!
If we have to be a smart partner or associate, then be one!
If we have to merge; merge then!

(But why the defensive and protective attitude..you wanna go global - don't you, you wanna grow bigger, don't you?)


K-Economy unlike P-Economy (although productivity is still an inevitable issue) everything and everyone in any organization will have a certain impact on the overall economy itself.

Better – these organizations can still 'make money' during recession. (yes, this is what I'm talking about – bearish during good times and bullish to make a comeback during 'bad times')

Face it - Today - economy NO longer depends solely on the "conventionals" such as movement of composite index in the stock market, inflation/deflation, candlestick/technical charts, oil price, USD, political & psychological sentiments, bull or bear, speculation or hedging etc.

BUT

rather we are seeking a more convincing story like PROPER JUSTIFICATIONS or 'COHERENT FACTORS' to JUSTIFY of WHY are there economical fluctuations? or WHY are the charts indicating erratic trends or probably WHAT has political sentiments got to do with the stock market etc. (in laymen terms - not limited only to economist but people at large as well regardless of who they are or where they come from)

(I recalled the The Oracle advising Neo in Matrix Reloaded:

“You didn't come here to make a decision, you already made the decision, now you need to understand WHY you make such decision” (something like that)

So, these justifications require KNOWLEDGE – proper KNOWLEDGE from your own skills, competencies, experience etc. Even paper qualifications are no longer a priority.


“Today – Nik, if there is no control on qualifications being issued, one day you throw a stone in the air, it will definitely hit on a Master Degree Holder's head”

– quoting what the-then Prime Minister, the living legend – Tun Dr. Mahathir once said to me in 1995 when doing the site-walk during the construction of KLCC Petronas Towers.

Tips :

Understand first the scope of service or product provision that your company is doing.

Draw up the core business process

Decide what sort of ICT application or system to be used to expedite operation.

What did you say? I don't understand - well, Bill Gates said that something like this


"KM doesn't even START with a software or application!"

The Star Global Malaysians Forum - Posted: 19 May 2006 at 9:17pm

I'm sure you all have seen the headline today in the Star - Stock Market Plunge (all over the world!) I'm not commenting so much on this but the following are some interesting views of mine that you may want to read.

There are too many intellectual views on inflation all over the globe but most of these ‘speculations’ if not treated carefully could be extremely misleading. Of course, inflation happens… and off late this issue tends to be ‘connected’ to the ever rising global crude oil price although this is not only the cause..

Returning to the basics, when services and products/goods prices started to experience a certain rate of increase or we start loosing our purchasing power (or your money becomes worth less than before) then it is very safe to define that ‘these are signs of inflation’. Measuring inflation is usually benchmarked to a basket of services and products/goods on our side and on the production side mainly known as PPI and CPI. Again, these only serve merely as guides as they are still based on conventional random analysis, sampling and ‘playing with a bunch of datum’. But then, how come the CPI rate has remained stable (example in KLCI) despite these rising prices? It’s not just energy alone, there are other rising items as well. Think of other commodities such as health and education. Don’t forget the property market (prices,mortgage,taxes and maintenance)

US Federal Reserve rate hike? This is nothing new!. From my sources, rates have been hiked ‘regularly’ since the last 2 years and I’m sure most economists (be it ‘K’ or ‘P’) and investors will agree with me that that regular hiking will hurt the growth of economy. Another issue is policy making addressing the risk of inflation – another no ending issue! (all depends on future data and ‘blah’, ‘blah’)

To aggravate situation further – SPECULATIONS -spreading ‘DEFCON-type panic’ in the market. Even before the Fed announce the hike, the stocks, bonds, commodities started to be traded lower. Banking and Financial institutions increase their prime lending rate and guess what? Sit back, you’ll be experiencing BLR turbulence known as loans, cards, property etc. etc..

Sometimes unnecessary panic or ‘being too cautious’ may also lead to ‘smart opportunists’ taking advantages. (test the market with 'shocking rumours substantiated by 'so-called' data and see what happens) The 'best' part is that the Feds will still increase the rates even in this ‘simulated chaotic’ situation. I have seen too many times - 'false alarms’/’rumours’ (at first) of rate hike by manipulators/speculators eventually becoming a ‘real one’ (later) eventually due to news of banking & financial institutions 'prematurely planning their ‘rate increasing program’ and sudden change in investment behaviour towards stocks/bonds/commodities/derivatives/futures etc.

Well, it's a common thing, an enemy will attempt to weaken the spirit of another enemy before attacking them.

I have always stressed in this thread :

a) ‘don’t panic’..’relax’,
b) give it just a little bit time,
c) analyse and verify the source of information first..

But some 'smart' people just don’t listen - finally it falls on deaf ears ("Nik you're just being paranoid") Perhaps I am too small to talk

Ok enough with lectures..this time I really wanted to hear something from all of you...please don't turn this into a too hot issue...(even if it does...I won't blame you.)

What is our next action? How to tame inflation? I'll tell you later

THE BASICS OF BUSINESS - By Brian Tracy - Entrepreneur.com

Business is an art as well as a science. It's a matter of practical experience, judgment, foresight and luck. To be successful in business, you must master the basics of business success.

Fortunately, all business skills are learnable. You can learn anything you need to learn, to achieve any goal you can set for yourself. There are no limits--except the limits you place on your own imagination.

There are three major reasons why businesses fail: lack of money, lack of knowledge and lack of support. By mastering the basics of business success, you'll gain the knowledge necessary to acquire the support and money you need for your business.

So just what are the essentials of business success? There are seven key areas of activity that determine whether your business will live or die:

1. Marketing. Your ability to determine and sell the right product to the right customer at the right time

2. Finance. Your ability to acquire the money you need, and account for the money you receive

3. Production. Your ability to produce products and services at a high enough level of quality and consistency over time

4. Distribution. Your ability to get your product or service to the market in a timely and economic fashion

5. Research and development. Your ability to continually innovate and produce new products, services, processes and responses to your competition

6. Regulation. Your ability to deal with the requirements of government legislation at all levels

7. Labor. Your ability to find the people you need, deal with unions, establish personnel policies, training and organizational development

And from this list, comes the very specific, identifiable reasons for business success:

Having a product or service that's well suited to the needs and requirements of the current market

Developing a complete business plan before commencing business operations

Conducting a complete market analysis before producing or offering the product or service

Thoroughly developing advertising, promotional and sales programs
Establishing tight financial controls, good budgeting practices, accurate bookkeeping and accounting methods, all backed by an attitude of frugality

Ensuring that there's a high degree of competence, capability and integrity on the part of key staff members

Having good internal efficiency, time management, clear job descriptions, accompanied by clear and measurable output and responsibilities

Developing effective communication among the staff and an open-door policy for managers, especially the business's owner

Generating strong momentum in the sales department and placing a continued emphasis on marketing your product or service

Making concern for the customer a top priority at all times

Putting determination, persistence and patience at the top of the list on the part of the business owners

And now that you know the seven essentials of business success and the identifiable factors involved in helping your company succeed, let me share the top reasons for business failure. Thousands of companies were studied to determine the reasons businesses fail. Here they are, in order of their importance:

Lack of direction. Business owners often fail to establish clear goals and create plans to achieve those goals, especially before starting out, when they fail to develop a complete business plan before launching their company.

Impatience. This occurs when business owners try to accomplish too much too soon, or expect to get results far faster than is truly possible. A good rule to remember is that everything costs twice as much and takes three times as long as expected.

Greed. When entrepreneurs try to charge too much to make a lot of money in a short period of time, failure isn't far behind.

Taking action without thinking it through first. An entrepreneur acts impetuously and makes costly mistakes that eventually cause the business to fail.

Poor cost control. An entrepreneur spends too much, especially in the early stages, and spends all their startup capital money before achieving profitability.

Poor product quality. This makes it difficult to sell and difficult to get repeat business.

Insufficient working capital. An entrepreneur expects--and requires--immediate, positive cash flow that doesn't occur, leading to the failure of the business.

Bad or nonexistent budgeting. An entrepreneur fails to develop written budgets for operations that include all possible expenses.

Inadequate financial records. An entrepreneur fails to set up a bookkeeping or accounting system from the beginning.

Loss of momentum in the sales department. This leads to a decline in cash flow and the eventual collapse of the enterprise.

Failure to anticipate market trends. An entrepreneur doesn't recognize changes in demand, customer preferences or the economic situation.

Lack of managerial ability or experience. An entrepreneur doesn't know or understand the important skills it takes to run a business.

Indecisiveness. An entrepreneur is unable to make key decisions in the face of difficulties, or decisions are delayed or improperly made because of concern for the opinions or feelings of other people.

Bad human relations. Personal problems and conflict with staff, suppliers, creditors and customers can easily lead to business failure.

Diffusion of effort. An entrepreneur tries to do too many things, thus failing to set priorities and focus on high-value tasks.

Business success isn't a mystery waiting to be solved. It's an attainable goal, if you simply avoid the reasons for business failure and continually focus on improving the areas that are responsible for business success.

Brian Tracy is the "Success Secrets" coach at Entrepreneur.com and is one of America's leading authorities on entrepreneurial development. He's produced more than 300 audio and video learning programs covering the entire spectrum of human and corporate performance.

Material copyright © by Entrepreneur.com, Inc. All rights reserved.

------------------------------
The Star Global Malaysians Forum - Response from Almerica - Posted: 11 August 2006 at 1:36am

Great stuffs nik!

Allow me to add. The main problem in today's businesses is that many top corporate owners still find it tough to delegate and trust even their fully competent and qualified generals to make a call. This slows down decision making process and one major fact today is that business is very much based on the speed of making things happen.

My company had the privilege of being appointed as an ad-hoc project manager and coordinator, handling everything from protocol communications to organising a huge MNC's official opening of its plant in Pg with our CM being the honorary guest. (see the link below). We were given just about 3 weeks from the word go to make it happen and the rate of their approval for our proposals were simply superb.

http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/8/10/north/15077905&sec=North

They are currently the fastest growing semicon company (as listed in Forbes). Our CM, Tan Sri Koh and everybody present were astounded when the CEO of the corporation mentioned that it was his first trip to Pg! He reiterated that he based his actions on the advices of his team of leaders here in Malaysia & S'pore. He went ahead to invest 100million here upon their advice and only made his trip here to witness the official opening of the plant. And the greatest achievement is that they built the plant and started its operations (with over 200 staffs) all within 3 months making them a record breaker! You know what their tagline is? Moving Forward Faster.

And here we sometimes see big local companies that has so much red tape that even a decision to approve a Rm 1000 purchase is delayed due to the green light required by the MD. Hmmm, we have always teased at the "kiasu-ness" of the Singaporeans but I wonder if we ever look at our own "kiasi-ness", hehe.
---------------------------------
Nik Zafri's Response - Posted: 11 August 2006 at 1:36pm

Almerica wrote:

Great stuffs nik! Allow me to add. The main problem in today's businesses is that many top corporate owners still find it tough to delegate and trust even their fully competent and qualified generals to make a call. This slows down decision making process and one major fact today is that business is very much based on the speed of making things happen.

This is the part that I will never understand. Despite we have all the sophisticated and up-to-date or 'state of the art' tools and technologies, yet, we are sometimes; as if; still 'too conventional and simplistic' in managing an organization. Correct me if I'm wrong...has this got something to do with 'fear of change'? (among the senior management level?)

Almerica wrote:

My company had the privilege of being appointed as an ad-hoc project manager and coordinator, handling everything from protocol communications to organising a huge MNC's official opening of its plant in Pg with our CM being the honorary guest. (see the link below). We were given just about 3 weeks from the word go to make it happen and the rate of their approval for our proposals were simply superb. http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/8/10/north/15077905&sec=North They are currently the fastest growing semicon company (as listed in Forbes). Our CM, Tan Sri Koh and everybody present were astounded when the CEO of the corporation mentioned that it was his first trip to Pg! He reiterated that he based his actions on the advices of his team of leaders here in Malaysia & S'pore. He went ahead to invest 100million here upon their advice and only made his trip here to witness the official opening of the plant. And the greatest achievement is that they built the plant and started its operations (with over 200 staffs) all within 3 months making them a record breaker! You know what their tagline is? Moving Forward Faster.

I'm impressed!! Here's what I think...your company has what I call the 'one-game-plan'...not 'multiple game plan'...meaning - the majority (I wouldn't say all) of your company's population is genuinely working according to the Company's vision, mission, objectives and goals. The effectiveness of your company's operation could may be well attributed to the effectiveness of leadership, resource management, information dissemination, A & P and good human resources/traning/development. Of course, you may still find 'hiccups' here and it's all about continual improvement. Only - I'm not sure about one thing..if you're willing to share with us here....what's your company's branding and most importantly, how did your company make everyone understand that they are carrying a big responsibility of 'enhancing the corporate image'?

Almerica wrote:

And here we sometimes see big local companies that has so much red tape that even a decision to approve a Rm 1000 purchase is delayed due to the green light required by the MD. Hmmm, we have always teased at the "kiasu-ness" of the Singaporeans but I wonder if we ever look at our own "kiasi-ness", hehe.

Memory serves, here's something that we've discussed a long time ago...

http://www.globalmalaysians.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=465&PN=2

(perhaps you should 'reactivate' this topic)
---------------------------------
Response from Almerica - Posted: 12 August 2006 at 12:22am

It's largely due to inculcating the self belief in themselves. Here's my method of doing it on a step by step basis, from a new staff's day of entry into our fold (though a very small one that is, at the moment):

- Have at least an hour or two "get to know better session" with the person
- Exchange some stories about one another and find out their likes and dislikes
- Lend support to the causes they believe in
- Find out into more detail what they believe their strengths are
- Brief them about what the company's strengths and weaknesses are, and also where the company is heading
- Explore with them (we do not dictate) on how their strengths can be used to tie in with the company's plans and then assign that part of the responsibility of the workscope to them
- Work out a gameplan with them based on what they believe they can do which runs in line with what you want them to do
- Tell them it's ok to make mistakes (to eradicate the fear of making a mistake which could prevent them from exposing their true potentials) as long as it's not about anything illegal or malicious or involves self greed.
- Start a buddy system for them for the next few weeks
- Keep them involved in group conversations (to eradicate shyness as well as to make them feel at home)

and the list goes on......

Those are the compulsory stuffs we do cos I feel that there is no way we can know all about each other from just interviews no matter how many times we have done it.

Once the self belief is there, without the lingering fear of making mistakes, the passion on the job grows within them. And with passion comes commitment and the sincere desire to do it well, do it right and do it fast. And the ultimate outcome would be getting the results that we all need. We tell them that rewards will come on its own when we do what we have to but when one focuses on the rewards, one may do the wrong thing to get it because the priority becomes clouded, and they may end up getting no reward at all because of that.

Above all, be fair, compliment when it is due, point out effectively when they are wrong. It is not that we are being soft with them. Respect them and they will respect you and the company. Be transparent, allow your door to be always opened to anyone.

If you dont spend some time for your people, they won't spend much time for you or your company either. So patience and sincerity has to be shown on the part of the leader first. Good staffs don't need you, you need good staffs. They are the best form of investment any company can ever have. For me, my first assessment which forms my decision of any potential person is the heart. If its clean, pure and good, then every other thing can be developed from there cos that to me, is the foundation of a person's character.

THE BASICS OF BUSINESS - By Brian Tracy - Entrepreneur.com

Business is an art as well as a science. It's a matter of practical experience, judgment, foresight and luck. To be successful in business, you must master the basics of business success.

Fortunately, all business skills are learnable. You can learn anything you need to learn, to achieve any goal you can set for yourself. There are no limits--except the limits you place on your own imagination.

There are three major reasons why businesses fail: lack of money, lack of knowledge and lack of support. By mastering the basics of business success, you'll gain the knowledge necessary to acquire the support and money you need for your business.

So just what are the essentials of business success? There are seven key areas of activity that determine whether your business will live or die:

1. Marketing. Your ability to determine and sell the right product to the right customer at the right time

2. Finance. Your ability to acquire the money you need, and account for the money you receive

3. Production. Your ability to produce products and services at a high enough level of quality and consistency over time

4. Distribution. Your ability to get your product or service to the market in a timely and economic fashion

5. Research and development. Your ability to continually innovate and produce new products, services, processes and responses to your competition

6. Regulation. Your ability to deal with the requirements of government legislation at all levels

7. Labor. Your ability to find the people you need, deal with unions, establish personnel policies, training and organizational development

And from this list, comes the very specific, identifiable reasons for business success:

Having a product or service that's well suited to the needs and requirements of the current market

Developing a complete business plan before commencing business operations

Conducting a complete market analysis before producing or offering the product or service

Thoroughly developing advertising, promotional and sales programs
Establishing tight financial controls, good budgeting practices, accurate bookkeeping and accounting methods, all backed by an attitude of frugality

Ensuring that there's a high degree of competence, capability and integrity on the part of key staff members

Having good internal efficiency, time management, clear job descriptions, accompanied by clear and measurable output and responsibilities

Developing effective communication among the staff and an open-door policy for managers, especially the business's owner

Generating strong momentum in the sales department and placing a continued emphasis on marketing your product or service

Making concern for the customer a top priority at all times

Putting determination, persistence and patience at the top of the list on the part of the business owners

And now that you know the seven essentials of business success and the identifiable factors involved in helping your company succeed, let me share the top reasons for business failure. Thousands of companies were studied to determine the reasons businesses fail. Here they are, in order of their importance:

Lack of direction. Business owners often fail to establish clear goals and create plans to achieve those goals, especially before starting out, when they fail to develop a complete business plan before launching their company.

Impatience. This occurs when business owners try to accomplish too much too soon, or expect to get results far faster than is truly possible. A good rule to remember is that everything costs twice as much and takes three times as long as expected.

Greed. When entrepreneurs try to charge too much to make a lot of money in a short period of time, failure isn't far behind.

Taking action without thinking it through first. An entrepreneur acts impetuously and makes costly mistakes that eventually cause the business to fail.

Poor cost control. An entrepreneur spends too much, especially in the early stages, and spends all their startup capital money before achieving profitability.

Poor product quality. This makes it difficult to sell and difficult to get repeat business.

Insufficient working capital. An entrepreneur expects--and requires--immediate, positive cash flow that doesn't occur, leading to the failure of the business.

Bad or nonexistent budgeting. An entrepreneur fails to develop written budgets for operations that include all possible expenses.

Inadequate financial records. An entrepreneur fails to set up a bookkeeping or accounting system from the beginning.

Loss of momentum in the sales department. This leads to a decline in cash flow and the eventual collapse of the enterprise.

Failure to anticipate market trends. An entrepreneur doesn't recognize changes in demand, customer preferences or the economic situation.

Lack of managerial ability or experience. An entrepreneur doesn't know or understand the important skills it takes to run a business.

Indecisiveness. An entrepreneur is unable to make key decisions in the face of difficulties, or decisions are delayed or improperly made because of concern for the opinions or feelings of other people.

Bad human relations. Personal problems and conflict with staff, suppliers, creditors and customers can easily lead to business failure.

Diffusion of effort. An entrepreneur tries to do too many things, thus failing to set priorities and focus on high-value tasks.

Business success isn't a mystery waiting to be solved. It's an attainable goal, if you simply avoid the reasons for business failure and continually focus on improving the areas that are responsible for business success.

Brian Tracy is the "Success Secrets" coach at Entrepreneur.com and is one of America's leading authorities on entrepreneurial development. He's produced more than 300 audio and video learning programs covering the entire spectrum of human and corporate performance.

Material copyright © by Entrepreneur.com, Inc. All rights reserved.

------------------------------
The Star Global Malaysians Forum - Response from Almerica - Posted: 11 August 2006 at 1:36am

Great stuffs nik!

Allow me to add. The main problem in today's businesses is that many top corporate owners still find it tough to delegate and trust even their fully competent and qualified generals to make a call. This slows down decision making process and one major fact today is that business is very much based on the speed of making things happen.

My company had the privilege of being appointed as an ad-hoc project manager and coordinator, handling everything from protocol communications to organising a huge MNC's official opening of its plant in Pg with our CM being the honorary guest. (see the link below). We were given just about 3 weeks from the word go to make it happen and the rate of their approval for our proposals were simply superb.

http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/8/10/north/15077905&sec=North

They are currently the fastest growing semicon company (as listed in Forbes). Our CM, Tan Sri Koh and everybody present were astounded when the CEO of the corporation mentioned that it was his first trip to Pg! He reiterated that he based his actions on the advices of his team of leaders here in Malaysia & S'pore. He went ahead to invest 100million here upon their advice and only made his trip here to witness the official opening of the plant. And the greatest achievement is that they built the plant and started its operations (with over 200 staffs) all within 3 months making them a record breaker! You know what their tagline is? Moving Forward Faster.

And here we sometimes see big local companies that has so much red tape that even a decision to approve a Rm 1000 purchase is delayed due to the green light required by the MD. Hmmm, we have always teased at the "kiasu-ness" of the Singaporeans but I wonder if we ever look at our own "kiasi-ness", hehe.
---------------------------------
Nik Zafri's Response - Posted: 11 August 2006 at 1:36pm

Almerica wrote:

Great stuffs nik! Allow me to add. The main problem in today's businesses is that many top corporate owners still find it tough to delegate and trust even their fully competent and qualified generals to make a call. This slows down decision making process and one major fact today is that business is very much based on the speed of making things happen.

This is the part that I will never understand. Despite we have all the sophisticated and up-to-date or 'state of the art' tools and technologies, yet, we are sometimes; as if; still 'too conventional and simplistic' in managing an organization. Correct me if I'm wrong...has this got something to do with 'fear of change'? (among the senior management level?)

Almerica wrote:

My company had the privilege of being appointed as an ad-hoc project manager and coordinator, handling everything from protocol communications to organising a huge MNC's official opening of its plant in Pg with our CM being the honorary guest. (see the link below). We were given just about 3 weeks from the word go to make it happen and the rate of their approval for our proposals were simply superb. http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/8/10/north/15077905&sec=North They are currently the fastest growing semicon company (as listed in Forbes). Our CM, Tan Sri Koh and everybody present were astounded when the CEO of the corporation mentioned that it was his first trip to Pg! He reiterated that he based his actions on the advices of his team of leaders here in Malaysia & S'pore. He went ahead to invest 100million here upon their advice and only made his trip here to witness the official opening of the plant. And the greatest achievement is that they built the plant and started its operations (with over 200 staffs) all within 3 months making them a record breaker! You know what their tagline is? Moving Forward Faster.

I'm impressed!! Here's what I think...your company has what I call the 'one-game-plan'...not 'multiple game plan'...meaning - the majority (I wouldn't say all) of your company's population is genuinely working according to the Company's vision, mission, objectives and goals. The effectiveness of your company's operation could may be well attributed to the effectiveness of leadership, resource management, information dissemination, A & P and good human resources/traning/development. Of course, you may still find 'hiccups' here and it's all about continual improvement. Only - I'm not sure about one thing..if you're willing to share with us here....what's your company's branding and most importantly, how did your company make everyone understand that they are carrying a big responsibility of 'enhancing the corporate image'?

Almerica wrote:

And here we sometimes see big local companies that has so much red tape that even a decision to approve a Rm 1000 purchase is delayed due to the green light required by the MD. Hmmm, we have always teased at the "kiasu-ness" of the Singaporeans but I wonder if we ever look at our own "kiasi-ness", hehe.

Memory serves, here's something that we've discussed a long time ago...

http://www.globalmalaysians.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=465&PN=2

(perhaps you should 'reactivate' this topic)
---------------------------------
Response from Almerica - Posted: 12 August 2006 at 12:22am

It's largely due to inculcating the self belief in themselves. Here's my method of doing it on a step by step basis, from a new staff's day of entry into our fold (though a very small one that is, at the moment):

- Have at least an hour or two "get to know better session" with the person
- Exchange some stories about one another and find out their likes and dislikes
- Lend support to the causes they believe in
- Find out into more detail what they believe their strengths are
- Brief them about what the company's strengths and weaknesses are, and also where the company is heading
- Explore with them (we do not dictate) on how their strengths can be used to tie in with the company's plans and then assign that part of the responsibility of the workscope to them
- Work out a gameplan with them based on what they believe they can do which runs in line with what you want them to do
- Tell them it's ok to make mistakes (to eradicate the fear of making a mistake which could prevent them from exposing their true potentials) as long as it's not about anything illegal or malicious or involves self greed.
- Start a buddy system for them for the next few weeks
- Keep them involved in group conversations (to eradicate shyness as well as to make them feel at home)

and the list goes on......

Those are the compulsory stuffs we do cos I feel that there is no way we can know all about each other from just interviews no matter how many times we have done it.

Once the self belief is there, without the lingering fear of making mistakes, the passion on the job grows within them. And with passion comes commitment and the sincere desire to do it well, do it right and do it fast. And the ultimate outcome would be getting the results that we all need. We tell them that rewards will come on its own when we do what we have to but when one focuses on the rewards, one may do the wrong thing to get it because the priority becomes clouded, and they may end up getting no reward at all because of that.

Above all, be fair, compliment when it is due, point out effectively when they are wrong. It is not that we are being soft with them. Respect them and they will respect you and the company. Be transparent, allow your door to be always opened to anyone.

If you dont spend some time for your people, they won't spend much time for you or your company either. So patience and sincerity has to be shown on the part of the leader first. Good staffs don't need you, you need good staffs. They are the best form of investment any company can ever have. For me, my first assessment which forms my decision of any potential person is the heart. If its clean, pure and good, then every other thing can be developed from there cos that to me, is the foundation of a person's character.

Permit me to share a brief experience ('Client ABC') There was one time when all the senior executive staff including managers have been asked to propose on how to improve (value-add) the intranet usage as the company has been using intranet for years but do not know for what.

Then come this 'techie guy' who started to explain to the 'big boss' using all the ICT technical jargons on how to build an intranet portal. The boss was like : "Ok..yeah..yeah...so what's your point" and that guy kept 'blabbering' with all the 'alien colloquials'. He claimed that all the terminologies he's using is actually 'data' to justify his proposal. Actually he misunderstood what the boss meant.

Then came my turn to comment as a consultant. The boss asked me of where should be the starting point to have a real intranet portal respectively for every department.

I simply replied - in order to avoid 'reinventing the wheel' and since their company has been certified with ISO 9000, they can start by looking into their own procedures, manuals, plans, for process flow of each operation and ensure that these processes are displayed on the intranet portal (making use of the ready-available resources..not creating a new thing) Such information must be accessible to all according to their level of users (superusers, read only and 'blah-blah-blah') Then come out with FAQ for each set of processes. They can also go further by releasing some of the information on the net to gain confidence from investors as they are one of the public listed company.

One of many advantages about having these processes online is that when the 'senior officers' are not in the office perhaps due to some site or outstation assignments, the receptionist can do a quick response to queries based on the standard FAQ that is derived from the processes depending on what the queries are all about. It's a cool telemarketing for the receptionist as well (and good commission too)- cos' sometimes, the queries may come from prospective clients.

Did you know that this technique has been used successfully in Fortune 500 IT companies in the event of troubleshooting queries from the customer. You will notice that the 'technical' people (receptionist actually assuming the jobs of 'desk help' or 'customer service' )- will say "What's your problem sir, how may I help you?" Then you will notice momentary typing sound - looking for the answer in the FAQ and not long after that - confidently replied to you based on the FAQ or if they can't find the right solution, they will simply say "We'll get our people to attend to your problem" or "I'll pass the line to the right officer...hold on please"

The boss looked at this techie guy and said :

"Why can't you talk like him?"

Then this techie guy gazed at me with 'that kind of look' and started to ask me on how to go about - technically speaking. (I think you all know why..he's trying to 'get' me)

Before I could answer, the boss quickly answered on my behalf saying :

"The technical part is for YOU to worry about."
-----------------------------
Almerica's response - Posted: 29 August 2006 at 11:50pm and Nik Zafri's resonse - Posted: 30 August 2006 at 7:15pm

That's what we really all hate. Instead of being a man, acknowledge his weakness and learn from this encounter, such "vindictive" response is what reveals his "train of thoughts" and type of personality. These are the kinds that are ones who wouldn't mind sabotaging a project just to make themselves look good. May be just a small matter, but the way he responded shows the kind of person he is, a potential danger to any organization (don't give a damn if he has a folder filled with phDs or MBAs). Sometimes we can pick out their character from their immediate slight response such as that.

You'll find these kinds of people in any organization (surprisingly - big ones). But I just 'ignore' them. Let me tell you further, what happened to this guy (you're absolutely correct - he's a holder of MSc Computer Engineering - no offend Master/PhD holders...just don't take this guy as an example)

He did try to 'sabotage' the project but since the boss has been keeping an eye on him after that 'lousy' presentation and other 'past blunders' (before my time) - like spending a lot of company's money buying sophisticated gadgets, softwares, system, application etc. - his movements are limited and from the latest source, he is now being put in the 'freezer'.

Nik Zafri : The good part is that the project did won big awards - that much I can tell you and of course for the consultant...there was a big payout of bonus! Wanna know more? The project turned out to be an 'application' sold throughout the company branches and affiliates but of course..my agreement didn't include 'royalty'..but it's ok..the bonus was cool

Anyway you were absolutely right. Cut the jargon, stick to the language that people can understand and you will fare better than the so called "self - claimed" techies who think they are so far ahead compared to others. Using jargons to impress is nothing new. Normally these are low self esteem people who wants to be seen as somebody great.

Nik Zafri : Yeap...laymen term and getting straight to the point. I love the idea of having various 'Guides for Dummies' - the books are really popular!
---------------------
Almerica's Response - Posted: 31 August 2006 at 12:30am and Nik Zafri's Response - Posted: 31 August 2006

Haha! That's great my friend. Definitely deserve it more than Mr ICT in the freezer! Hmmm, the big payout sounds very exciting cos at least you get what you are worth and for the success you brought for them. Hey next time you have too many marketing consultancy work in KL to handle, call me, hahaha. Here in Pg when a consultant like us gives the clients some great ideas and concepts, many of them pay you less than what you ask for, use the idea and tell the whole world what a genius they were to come out with such innovative stuffs..... Heck they were some corporate branding excercise that we propose for our client here, that though may costs thousands less compared to the rates in KL they still get a toothache. Or they ask you to provide suggestions and ideas and they mess it up with some funny illogical concoctions of their own and then say it didn't work. Haha can;t win them all.

Nik Zafri - Eric, actually at some level, I feel greater satisfaction in having 'been chosen' to contribute towards project success. Of course there are some monetary matters to be considered as well. But you would feel the 'worthiness' of the amount being paid to you knowing the fact that you have done a good job.

The Star Global Malaysian Forum - Posted: 27 June 2005 at 2:31pm

Someone has asked me an interesting question that I would like to share with all of you as 'mind probe' to trigger our 'art of thinking capability'.

"I am an Accounting student who has passed with flying colours but still uncertain of what to do. I was called for an interview in a construction industry but I am scared that I might not 'make it' to the next level. Someone said to me that I must know the the difference between academic and competency and how to blend them together when I work, Please help"

It was a difficult question but I have answered to it anyway. In principle :

Academic - is a continual learning process - ending up with Certificate, Diploma, Degree and so on. (Authority - Ministry of Education/Ministry of Higher Learning)

Competency - is a staggard learning process - you will have to undergo one level to another. It's also a process 'having experience' before 'experience' and I called it 'learning to work'. (Authority - Ministry of Human Resources)

Both the above require 'accreditation' from the relevant statutory bodies typically on the Modules, Facilitators/Lecturers and Premise where both nature of courses are provided.

Both academic and competency are two core prequisites for fresh graduates but require a little bit of what I call 'customization to the needs of the industry that you are about to be in'.

In one of my lectures in one of the Malaysian local institution of higher learning - on Knowledge Management (Theme : Knowledge Worker), I have said that an Accounting student may not necessarily end up in an Accounting firm. He may also end up in a Construction Industry. Thus, this is where competency comes in where he has to gain some knowledge in advance about construction industry in order to apply his academic-based accounting knowledge.

After graduation, he may have to spend some money (I call it investment) to attend competency-based courses from CIDB, YSP, NIOSH, NPC etc. etc. Not to the level of becoming a Construction Supervisor or Project Manager but to understand the construction industry itself as he has no experience and don't know 'jack' about the construction industry.

He can also mingle round with some of the 'senior/matured 'technical' students' to gain a little bit of data before ascertaining the accounting knowledge that he may have to know before attending an interview with a Contractor (e.g. the COQ - Cost of Quality as a result of defect/repairing cost analysis and how these data contribute to future effective budgetting - project management or How Procurement (of Raw Materials) and a Quantity Surveyor (Bill of Quantities) interface with his accounting capability)

Apart from the abovementioned, I also ask him to refresh his studies on English Language (topics such as report writing and communication) and ICT - (IT application that may apply to him during his work - e.g. a little bit of knowledge of Intranet/Data Mining, ERP/MRP, CRM and how he can contribute his 'tacit data' towards these 'databases' (the main source) in order to have the output for 'explicit knowledge' (after it has been properly 'tapped' by means of QCC tools aided by computer-based analysis)

That's simply IT! Mind you, I didn't get these methods the easy way but I got it from 'hands-on experience', 'learning by heart' and 'continual improvement of my current knowledge and skills'. But for the fresh graduates, think of what I've said...it may prove you useful..one day!

I chuckled when this guy replied to me :

"Is it that difficult??"

The Star Global Malaysians Forum : Posted: 12 July 2005 at 10:02pm

What is learning organization?

In Brief :

LO is for organization having interest to sustain their competitive edge/corporate image due to susceptibility to volatile changes around them. Own past experience in building the organization is particularly useful. Focus Area - Human Resources Planning and Management. Objective - to compete 'healthily' in the market, to become a responsible corporate citizen, reaping profit through good HRM.

'Organization having own system, mechanisme and processes to continually improve all levels of the organization to achieve the objective continually'

Tips:

1) Do you feel that your current system is working? If not, improve that first.

2) LO is NOT restricted to training and development only. If you feel that this statement is wrong - then don't embark on LO.

Models

a) Learn the facts, knowledge, processes and procedures,

b) Improve 'competency' at all levels possible,

- be aware of changes around you - be it economy, social, politics, laws, technology, everchanging market or market trends etc.

- be aware of what's going on in your OWN organization - e.g. you want to introduce a new product/services, check your resources and plan properly.

- be aware of the labour market - demographic trends, extension of service, women's participation

Learn how to absorb, classify, prioritize and finally incorporate. Do the right thing the right way.

Consider 'learning curve' trend (e.g. innovations & quality), processes (e.g. interaction + infra, development & management style), tools/techniques/methodology (e.g. QCC tools), competency/motivation (e.g. change management & willingness to learn)

Support

Orientation Programmes, Knowledge Sharing, Commitment to learn & develop, 'Open' management system & learning from experience (empirical)

Keywords

Strategies, competitive analysis, managing information/knowledge, capability profiling (e.g. TNA - Training Needs Analysis and SFM - Skill Flexibility Matrix), cross-functional teams, performance measurement, benchmarking, merit/awards.

How to Start

Top Management Responsibility - resources, tools, machineries, finance etc., Identification of Grey Areas, Committee Set-Up, Initial Evaluation, Unleashing/Maximizing Potentials, New R & D for New Product/Services Development.

Organisational Survey,brainstorming/delphi etc,motivation (inculcate ownership feeling),make good decisions,result oriented,upgrade knowledge,good listener/advisor,leadership (by example),ready to face future challenges.

Take good examples from the past and incorporate into the future or current.

Pitfalls

Blaming culture, punishment better than reward, immobility,don't want to spend money on resources, bureaucracy,too centralized etc

SUMBER ASAL

PENGURUSAN PENGETAHUAN (KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT) - NIK ZAFRI

ABSTRAK

Pengetahuan biasanya berhubungkait dengan daya kognitif dan berbentuk peribadi manakala pengurusan melibatkan proses organisasi. Banyak tenaga kerja mahir/berpengetahuan tidak gemar diuruskan secara lama. Kini, pengetahuan telah dikenalpasti sebagai salah satu sumber yang wajib bagi sesebuah organisasi yang ingin berkembang maju.

Suasana Semasa

Di Malaysia, semenjak setahun kebelakangan ini, banyak pihak telah mula menunjukkan minat dalam topik pengurusan pengetahuan sebagai persediaan terhadap K-Ekonomi, pengurusan alaf baru dan teknologi.

Kenapa?

Sebenarnya, minat terhadap pengurusan pengetahuan telah pun bermula sejak pertengahan 90-an lagi. Banyak organisasi yang inovatif telah mula melihat pengetahuan/kemahiran/pengalaman menjadi nilai utama (dan akademik menjadi nilai alternatif) dalam perkhidmatan dan produk keluaran masing-masing terutamanya dalam alaf baru ini. Ini terbukti menerusi :

• Kesedaran terhadap kepentingan agama/rohani dan kesamaan nilai-nilai budaya ketimuran untuk semua kaum dalam membena negara.

• Kesedaran terhadap pentingnya kualiti, keselamatan dan kesihatan pekerjaan, pengurusan alam sekitar, revolusi teknologi dan pengurusan alaf baru dll. menerusi sistem seperti 6 sigma, ISO-Kaizen-Blitz, ISO-9000:1994, ISO-14000, OHSAS 18000, Konsep Pemetaan Minda, TQM, 7+7 peralatan QCC, pengambilalihan dan gabungan 2 atau lebih organisasi dsb.
  

• Pengetahuan terhadap pergerakan pasaran domestik dan antarabangsa. Persediaan menghadapi impak globalisasi.
  

• Mengambil contoh dari organisasi pesaing samada dalam atau luar negara dan mempelajari rahsia kejayaan mereka.
  

• Inovasi tertentu seperti teknologi maklumat yang melibatkan e-dagang, internet, multimedia, teknologi digital dan komunikasi dsb. Ini jelas dilihat hasil daripada pembangunan Koridor Raya Multimedia

• Aspirasi kerajaan Malaysia menerusi Wawasan 2020, K-Ekonomi, Daya Usaha Strategik Satu, Formula Malaysia dan keseluruhan dasar/sub-sub dasar/misi, objektif, sasaran dsb.

• Keadaan ekonomi dan politik yang masih teguh walaupun berlaku kegawatan.

• dan banyak lagi

Perkara-perkara diatas telah juga menyebabkan peningkatan dalam perkhidmatan pelanggan, penyelesaian masalah yang lebih pantas, penyesuaian terhadap perubahan pasaran dan sebagainya telah menjadi pemangkin kepada pengetahuan korporat.

Apakah dia Pengurusan Maklumat?

Ianya merupakan pengurusan yang lengkap dan teratur ke atas pengetahuan dan proses yang berkaitan. Pengurusan Pengetahuan yang betul caranya akan memudahkan pembangunan, pengumpulan, perancangan, penyebaran, penggunaan dan pemanfaatan. Antara implikasinya adalah sebagaimana berikut :

1. Perkongsian Pengetahuan dengan penuh 'ketelusan' dan 'ketulusan' demi kemajuan organisasi.

2. Inovatif - menjadikan sebarang idea bernas kepada keuntungan positif dan berorientasikan keputusan (result oriented)

3. Bekerja dengan lebih pintar dan bukannya terlalu bergantung kepada pemimpin atau sistem atau prosedur yang terlalu ketat.

Program pengurusan pengetahuan biasanya melibatkan salah satu atau lebih aktiviti-aktiviti berikut :

• Perlantikan ketua - bagi mempromosikan agenda dan membangunkan rangka kerja.

• Membangunkan pasukan pengetahuan yang terdiri daripada manusia dari pelbagai pengetahuan/kemahiran/latarbelakang.

• Membuat asas pengetahuan - amalan terbaik, senarai kepakaran, kepintaran pasaran dsb.

• Pengurusan proses yang lebih aktif - ke atas pembangunan pengetahuan, pengumpulan, penyimpanan dsb.

• Pusat pengetahuan - titik utama untuk kemahiran pengetahuan dan mempermudahkan aliran pengetahuan.

• Teknologi Kerjasama - LAN/WAN/VPN/Intranet dan lain-lain bagi mempermudahkan akses terhadap pengetahuan.

• Pasukan modal intelek - bagi mengenalpasti dan mengaudit aset yang 'tidak nyata' (intangible) umpamanya pengetahuan.

• Jaringan pengetahuan - jaringan pakar secara kerjasama dan fungsi silang - dalaman dan luaran.

• Perkongsian Pengetahuan - dalam semua bentuk komunikasi.

Panduan Kejayaan

Antaranya :

• Pemimpin yang berpengetahuan dan tahu bagaimana untuk memandu agenda ke hadapan, menggalakkan keceriaan, komitmen dan akauntabiliti.
  

• Sambutan pengurusan atasan/tertinggi - seperti CEO dsb.
  

• Jaringan pengetahuan yang betul termasuklah dari segi perniagaan/keuntungan, kebajikan tenaga kerja (aset dalaman) menerusi latihan dan pembangunan serta penilaian prestasi yang adil, tepat dan telus.
  

• Visi, Misi, Objektif, Sasaran yang dapat diukur dan mampu dilaksanakan oleh semua pihak mengikut upaya masing-masing serta menjadi rangkakerja yang akan memandu agenda kemajuan.

• Mewujudkan budaya yang menyokong inovasi, belajar/mengajar dan perkongsian maklumat. Ini biasanya berkaitan dengan penghargaan/insentif dari majikan kepada pekerja.
  

• Satu infrastruktur teknikal yang menyokong kerja berasaskan pengetahuan - daripada peralatan sokongan yang mudah ke peringkat teknologi tinggi dan kemungkinan peluang untuk menduduki pengurusan tertinggi.
  

• Proses pengetahuan bersistem - disokong oleh pakar pengurusan maklumat dan pengguna serta pembekal maklumat berkenaan.

Biasanya, agenda pengetahuan berkembang menerusi proses penilaian projek-projek peringkat permulaan yang mampu mengenalpasti keupayaan dan membangunkan sikap ingin belajar/mengajar.

Isu dan Cabaran

Antara isu yang perlu diberikan perhatian dalam kita mengamalkan 'pengetahuan itu kuasa' atau 'perkongsian pengetahuan itu kuasa' ialah :

• Fobia/Sikap inferiority complex - sikap takut untuk mempelajari perkara baru apa lagi untuk keluar dari bawah tempurung.

• Terlalu menumpukan perhatian kepada proses yang terperingci daripada proses pembangunan pengetahuan.
  

• Ingin cepat mendapatkan keputusan, malas bekerja dan selalunya mengharapkan orang lain yang lebih pandai melakukannya.
  

• Sikap 'menutup-pintu' antara unit-unit dalam sesebuah organisasi.
  

• Organisasi tidak memberikan penghargaan/insentif yang sepatutnya kepada mereka yang menyumbangkan pengetahuan.