KENAPA KITA GAGAL MEMBAIKI DIRI?

Saya pernah dilantik sebagai Pegawai Penasihat ADUN Gombak Setia untuk menambah baik prestasi kerja dan perkhidmatan Pusat Khidmat Masyarakat (PKM) ADUN Gombak Setia. Dari kajian yang saya buat ke atas prestasi semasa PKM sebaik dilantik, saya dapati tugasan petugas PKM tidak diurus dengan baik, fokus PKM tersasar di mana jumlah masanya lebih kepada masalah infrastruktur seperti jalanraya, longkang, talian telefon, bekalan letrik yang boleh saja terus disalurkan kepada jabatan yang berkaitan dan keadaan pengurusan pejabat PKM yang kurang professional.

Dari kajian itu, saya telah menyusun atur senarai tugas petugas PKM dan menyediakan KPI buat setiap mereka, mengalihkan fokus PKM agar lebih banyak masa diperuntukkan bagi kerja-kerja tambah nilai kerajaan Pakatan Rakyat Selangor seperti siaraya dan koordinisasi program MERAKYATKAN EKONOMI SELANGOR (MES) dan akhirnya program latihan dan mentoring oleh saya kepada pihak pengurusan PKM.

Pada mulanya, segala perancangan dan gerakerja penambah baikan PKM berjalan lancar. ADUN sendiri mengambil berat perkembangan gerakerja dan ini membuatkan pengurusan dan petugas PKM secara sendirinya bergerak bersama membaiki diri.

Namun, setelah beberapa lama dan ADUN mengalih arah tumpuan, pengurusan dan petugas PKM mula hilang tumpuan dan banyak usaha penambah baikan tidak bergerak seperti mana yang dirancang. Sebagai contoh, pada mulanya sesi mentoring saya dengan pihak pengurusan lewat sehingga sejam kerana mereka belum masuk ke pejabat walaupun waktu sesi ialah pada pukul 10 pagi! Kemudian sesi mingguan itu tertunda berminggu-minggu hanya kerana sebab yang remeh temeh seperti menghantar anak ke sekolah, membuat paspot, mengambil ubat dan seumpamanya.

Saya memberitahu ADUN akan perkara ini, namun tiada perubahan yang saya lihat. Akhirnya saya menarik diri.

Sesuai dengan tajuk artikel ini, mengapakah kita gagal membaiki diri, mari kita analisa kes ini.

Pertamanya, niat yang tidak telus. Niat untuk membaiki diri harus datang dari dalam diri sendiri dan bukan dipaksakan. Dari kes di atas, pihak pengurusan PKM mula tidak endah dan menunjukkan sikap tidak berdisiplin sebaik saja ADUN merubah fokusnya. Ini menandakan kemahuan membaiki diri bukan datang dari dalam diri.

Keduanya, stakeholder atau pemegang hak mesti mengambil berat dengan perkembangan dan kemajuan. Walaupun ADUN merubah fokusnya, namun perhatian walaupun sedikit harus diberikan bagi memastikan kejayaan projek. Secara terang-terangan, sebaik ADUN merubah fokus, pihak pengurusan hilang minat untuk membaiki diri dan ini menggagalkan proses penambah baikan PKM.

Ketiganya, keselesaan dengan sikap lama juga memainkan peranannya. Pihak pengurusan tidak bermotivasi untuk berubah dan dengan tiadanya pengawasan dari ADUN, maka mereka selesa melepaskan diri dari berubah.

Sebagai kesimpulannya, usaha membaiki diri bukanlah suatu yang mudah dan bukan juga bukan suatu yang sukar. Pokoknya, kemahuan diri dan disiplin perlu diterapkan. Niat yang ikhlas pada diri sendiri pula menjadi tunjangnya. Akhirnya natijah yang baik akan datang juga, tepuk dada tanya selera. MARILAH MEMBAIKI DIRI.

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AMZZAH NASEEHAH RESOURCES menawarkan khidmat kepakaran di dalam bidang Sumber Manusia pengkhususan Polisi, Penggajian dan Munafaat pekerja, Hubungan Industri dan pengurusan am. Kami juga menjalankan program motivasi pelajar dan kursus perkembangan kemahiran perkerja. Antara pelangan yang pernah menerima perkhidmatan  kami ialah ADUN Gombak Setia, Pusat Khidmat Masyarakat ADUN, Sekolah Kebangsaan, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan dan UiTM. CEO/Managing Consultant kami, Haji Abd Malek, mempunyai 25 tahun pengalaman Sumber Manusia di Shell.

KPI, Penanda Kunci Prestasi dan kepentingannya kepada pengguna

Pengguna ialah orang yang menggunakan barangan dan perkhidmatan untuk munafaat sendiri. Melalui kefahaman ini, setiap kita adalah pengguna. Penanda Kunci Prestasi di dalam bahasa Inggerisnya Key Performance Indicator (KPI) adalah penetapan prestasi dari segi kuantiti, kualiti dan jangkamasa sesuatu barangan dan perkhidmatan itu disiapkan, dihantarkan atau disampaikan kepada pengguna.

KPI ini penting bagi penjual barangan dan perkhidmatan serta penting juga kepada pengguna. Bagi penjual, KPI penting untuk memastikan barangan dan perkhidmatannya bersaing di pasaran dengan kejayaan dan keuntungan. KPI pula penting kepada pengguna supaya keperluan dan kehendaknya dipenuhi oleh penjual yang terbaik sesuai dengan harga yang dibayar.

Ini cerita yang berlaku kepada saya sendiri sebagai pengguna. UNIFI saya bermasalah dari pukul 3 pagi hari Jumaat. Pada jam 8.15 pagi, saya menelefon Pusat Khidmat UNIFI untuk membuat aduan. Pegawai UNIFI bernama Ainul melaksanakan tugasnya dengan baik, mengambil isi aduan saya, memberi panduan penyelesai masalah kendiri dan nombor laporan aduan saya. Secara amnya, diognistika bertumpu kepada modem yang gagal berfungsi.

Akan tetapi saya merasakan Ainul tertekan bila saya bertanya kepadanya bilakah pihak teknikal UNIFI akan datang ke rumah saya untuk kerja pembaikan. Dia keberatan untuk mengatakan dengan yakin jangkamasanya walaupun 24 jam katanya adalah kebiasaan. Katanya semua bergantung kepada pihak teknikal dan jenis kerosakan.

Akhirnya saya memberitahunya bahawa hari ini adalah hari Jumaat manakala Sabtu dan Ahad adalah har-hari yang berikutnya, Ainul sendiri pula menyatakan bahawa pasukan teknikal tidak berkerja dengan sepenuh kapasiti pada hujung minggu. Kata saya kepada Ainul, dengan kemungkinan saya hanya akan dapat menggunakan UNIFI saya pada hari Isnin, ianya akan menyukarkan saya kerana saya berkerja dari rumah dan tanpa internet, perkerjaan saya akan menjadi tersangat sukar. Oleh itu saya perlu tahu apakah KPI sebenar di dalam kes saya ini supaya saya dapat merubah perencanaan kerja saya. Dengan penjelasan itu, barulah Ainul memberitahu saya bahawa KPI untuk setiap aduan ialah 72 jam.

Apakah pengajarannya dari kisah saya ini. Pertamanya KPI adalah suatu yang berharga untuk diketahui oleh pengguna supaya jangkaannya dapat diuruskan (managing expectation). Keduanya KPI mesti diyakini oleh penjual barangan dan perkhidmatan. Sekiranya ada komplikasi, ianya mesti diberitahu dengan segera kepada pengguna dan diuruskan dengan baik. Ketiga, emphaty atau keprihatinan oleh penjual kepada pembeli atau pengguna amat penting. Melaluinya jalinan rakanan perniagaan akan terjalin antara penjual dan pengguna. 

Oleh itu, KPI penting diadakan dan dihidupkan di dalam setiap urusniaga dengan pelanggan sekiranya anda bercita-cita untuk memperkembangkan perdagangan anda sebagai suatu usaha yang professional.

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AMZZAH NASEEHAH RESOURCES menawarkan khidmat kepakaran di dalam bidang Sumber Manusia pengkhususan Polisi, Penggajian dan Munafaat pekerja, Hubungan Industri dan pengurusan am. Kami juga menjalankan program motivasi pelajar dan kursus perkembangan kemahiran perkerja. Antara pelangan yang pernah menerima perkhidmatan  kami ialah ADUN Gombak Setia, Pusat Khidmat Masyarakat ADUN, Sekolah Kebangsaan, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan dan UiTM. CEO/Managing Consultant kami, Haji Abd Malek, mempunyai 25 tahun pengalaman Sumber Manusia di Shell.

KEMAHIRAN PENGURUSAN MASA CEMERLANG

Allah dengan segala qudratNya yang Agung bersumpah demi masa. Firman Allah swt di dalam Surah Al ‘Asr yang bermaksud :”Demi masa. Sesungguhnya semua manusia itu berada di dalam kerugian. Kecuali orang-orang yang beriman dan beramal saleh, dan berpesan-pesan kearah kebenaran, dan berpesan-pesan kepada kesabaran”. Orang Melayu pula sangat menghargai emas. Bagi mereka masa itu emas.

Di dalam hidup serba moden dan maju, ramai manusia terkejar-kejar masa kerana jumlah tanggung jawab yang banyak dan kian bertambah. Seseorang itu adalah seorang hamba Allah, seorang suami atau isteri, seorang anak, seorang abang atau kakak, seorang adik dalam masa yang sama . Mungkin dia juga adalah seorang ahli jawatankuasa persatuan atau masjid atau surau. Selain dari itu dia juga seorang pekerja.

Dengan kerja di pejabat yang banyak, tangung jawab yang lain-lain juga memerlukan tumpuannya baik dari segi fizikal dan mental. Semua ini harus dilakukan di dalam masa yang terhad saban hari. Mungkin ada pekerja yang boleh menguruskan tekanan yang dialaminya dengan baik, akan tetapi ada juga yang tertekan teruk sehingga mendatangkan akibat buruk kepada kesihatan fizikal dan mental. Sekiranya ini berlaku, bukan pekerja yang terlibat itu saja yang menanggung akibatnya. Produktiviti pekerja itu akan menurun dan rakan sekerjanya terpaksa pula menanggung kerja yang tidak dapat ditangani dan gejalan ini pula menimbulkan tekanan kepada mereka. Di pihak penyelia dan pengurusan pula, mereka terpaksa menumpukan masa dan mencari cara untuk menguruskan masalah ini dengan baik.

Dengan kekangan masa yang terhad dan tanggung jawab yang banyak, pekerja harus tahu mengurus masanya dengan cemerlang. Ia perlu tahu cara bagaimana untuk mengutamakan yang penting dan segera, juga bagaimana membahagikan masa yang sedikit untuk mengurus kerja yang banyak, serta bagaimana membuat keputusan bahawa kerja itu boleh ditangguhkan. Pekerja juga perlu tahu bagaimana untuk menjimatkan masa agar masa yang dijimatkan boleh digunakan untuk kerja yang lebih berfaedah.

Melalui pengurusan masa yang cemerlang, kerja-kerja di pejabat akan dapat disusun atur dengan licin. Kelicinan kerja di pejabat akan memberikan keselesaan kepada pekerja, rakan sepejabatnya, penyelia dan pengurusnya malahan pelanggan dan orang awam yang berurusan dengannya di pejabat. Melalui keselesaan ini, produktivi akan meningkat dan suasana perkerjaan di pejabat akan terbina dengan harmoni.

Seterusnya produktivi yang meningkat dan suasana perkerjaan yang harmoni akan memupuk masyarakat yang cemerlang kerana setiap orang dapat membahagikan masanya dengan baik untuk tuntutan kerja dan tuntutan kekeluargaan dan kemasyarakatan.

Amzzah Naseehah Resources akan mengendalikan bengkel KEMAHIRAN PENGURUSAN MASA CEMERLANG pada bulan Feb 2014 di Gombak Selangor secara percuma kepada 30 orang peserta berumur antara 21-59 tahun. Ianya terbuka kepada penduduk di sekitar Gombak. Bagi yang berminat untuk menghadiri bengkel ini, sila email kepada amzzah_naseehah@ymail.com menyatakan nama penuh, alamat dan nombor telefon. Sebarang pertanyaan bolehlah menelefon 012-5103364.

KEMAHIRAN PERKHIDMATAN PELANGGAN CEMERLANG

Pelanggan adalah orang yang memerlukan barangan dan perkhidmatan dari penjual atau pembekal. Namun sebelum pelanggan mendapatkan barangan dan perkhidmatan, mereka akan berinteraksi dengan kakitangan syarikat di mana barangan dan perkhidmatan itu dijual atau kakitangan jabatan di mana perkhidmatan itu diberikan.

Di dalam zaman yang serba moden, keperluan pelanggan menjadi semakin berpelbagai dan kompleks. Mereka bukan saja memerlukan hanya barangan dan perkhidmatan dari syarikat atau jabatan, mereka juga mengharapkan perkhidmatan pelanggan yang cemerlang yang akan diberikan oleh pekerja dan pentadbir syarikat dan jabatan itu. Perkhidmatan pelanggan ini dipakejkan sekali dengan nilai barangan yang dijual dan perkhidmatan yang diberikan. Lebih cemerlang perkhidmatan pelanggan, lebih tinggilah nilai tambah barangan dan perkhidmatan yang mereka terima.

Semestinya pelanggan mengharapkan perkhidmatan yang terbaik dari para pekerja yang berkerja samada di jabatan atau di syarikat kerana merekalah yang membayar harga barangan dan juga membayar cukai yang dikutip untuk membiayai operasi jabatan. Oleh itu adalah penting untuk para perkerja atau pentadbir memahami bagaimana cara untuk memberikan perkhidmatan pelanggan yang cemerlang supaya nilai tambah dapat diberikan kepada pelanggan. Melalui pengetahuan ini, syarikat akan lebih maju di dalam urusniaga mereka dan jabatan akan lebih progresif di dalam urusan pentadbiran mereka manakala para pekerja pula akan mendapat pengalaman yang ternilai dan penghormatan serta sanjungan dari para pelanggan serta majikan.

Pekerja dan pentadbir perlu mengetahui asas dan prinsip perkhidmatan pelanggan cemerlang, mengetahui siapakah pelanggan mereka dan segmen pelanggan mereka, bagaiman cara untuk memberi perkhidmatan pelanggan yang cemerlang, bagaimana cara untuk menguruskan rungutan pelanggan dan bagaimana menangani kehendak pelanggan yang mendesak.

Terdapat risiko sekiranya perkhidmatan pelanggan tidak memuaskan hati pelanggan. Syarikat akan kehilangan pelanggan dan jualan mula merosot. Di jabatan pula, lebih banyak rungutan terpaksa dilayan dari pelanggan kerana pelanggan tidak puas hati dengan perkhidmatan. Pekerja dan pengurusan jabatan akan terpaksa memberikan masa dan tenaga untuk menyelesaikan rungutan pelanggan walhal masa dan tenaga itu boleh digunakan untuk urusan jabatan yang lain. Di samping itu kewibawaan jabatan akan menurun kerana perkhidmatan yang buruk.

Melalui pengetahuan perkhidmatan pelanggan cemerlang, urusniaga di syarikat akan lebih menguntungkan kerana pelanggan akan datang untuk membuat pembelian turutan. Di jabatan pula, perkhidmatan pelanggan cemerlang dapat mengharmonikan urusan pelanggan dan para pekerja akan lebih bermotivasi dan berdedikasi untuk memberikan perkhidmatan yang terbaik kerana kurangnya tekanan kerja kerana terpaksa menyelesaikan rungutan pelanggan. Di samping itu, aktiviti jabatan akan lebih lancar dan licin kerana kurangnya rungutan dari pelanggan. Masa dan tenaga boleh dijimatkan untuk penambah baikan pengurusan jabatan.

Setelah pekerja mempraktikkan perkhidmatan cemerlang, syarikat akan mendapat keuntungan hasil dari jualan yang bertambah dan ianya akan dapat memberikan penambahan ekonomi kepada negeri dan negara. Masa depan pekerjaan pekerja akan lebih terjamin di samping insentif yang akan diberikan oleh syarikat. Di jabatan pula, segala urusniaga akan berjalan lancar dan pekerja serta pengurusan akan mendapat lebih masa terluang untuk melakukan kerja dengan harmoni tanpa rungutan. Di samping itu nama baik jabatan, pengurusan dan pekerja akan lebih dipandang tinggi dan memberikan impak positif kepada kerajaan. Masyarakat pula akan berpuas hati dengan perkhidmatan yang diterima.

Amzzah Naseehah Resources akan mengendalikan bengkel KEMAHIRAN PERKHIDMATAN PELANGGAN CEMERLANG pada bulan Mac 2014 di Gombak Selangor secara percuma kepada 50 orang peserta berumur antara 21-59 tahun. Ianya terbuka kepada penduduk di sekitar Gombak. Bagi yang berminat untuk menghadiri bengkel ini, sila email kepada amzzah_naseehah@ymail.com menyatakan nama penuh, alamat dan nombor telefon. Sebarang pertanyaan bolehlah menelefon 012-5103364.

BENGKEL KEMAHIRAN KOMUNIKASI CEMERLANG : 15 FEB 2014

OBJEKTIF PROGRAM 

Selepas mengikuti program ini, peserta akan dapat :

1. Meningkatkan pemahaman kepada asas dan prinsip komunikasi cemerlang 
2. Mengetahui proses komunikasi cemerlang 
3. Mengawal unsur-unsur komunikasi agar lebih cemerlang

Amzzah Naseehah Resources akan mengendalikan BENGKEL KEMAHIRAN KOMUNIKASI CEMERLANG pada 15 Februari 2014 di Gombak Selangor secara percuma kepada 50 orang peserta berumur antara 21-59 tahun. Ianya terbuka kepada penduduk di sekitar Gombak. Bagi yang berminat untuk menghadiri bengkel ini, sila email kepada amzzah_naseehah@ymail.com menyatakan nama penuh, alamat dan nombor telefon. Sebarang pertanyaan bolehlah menelefon 012-5103364.

PENGENALAN

Kita berkomunisi atau berhubung setiap masa. Komunikasi berlaku di mana-mana sewaktu kita berinteraksi sesama sendiri samada di rumah, di masjid, di surau, di pasar, di padang permainan, di sekolah atau di pejabat. Komunikasi nampaknya mudah dilakukan akan tetapi komunikasi mempunyai beberapa fasa proses yang rumit kerana komunikasi memerlukan suatu kejelasan dan ketepatan supaya maklumat-maklumat dan arahan-arahan yang diberikan dapat difahami dengan baik serta langkah-langkah dan tindakan-tindakan dari komunikasi yang diberikan dapat dilaksanakan dengan cemerlang.

Kita kurang menyedari bahawa komunikasi juga berlaku ketika kita tidak bercakap samada dari segi gerak bahasa tubuh. Ini ialah kerana komunikasi berlaku melalui lisan dan bukan lisan. Seseorang yang bersetuju tetapi mengeleng-gelengkan kepalanya mungkin dianggap memberi maksud dia tidak bersetuju atau memberikan tanda yang bercampur-campur, setuju di dalam bantahan.

Proses komunikasi berlaku dari pemberi maklumat, media maklumat dan penerima maklumat. Di samping itu komunikasi yang berkesan bergantung kepada persekitaran yang kondusif untuk pemahaman yang baik. Sekiranya terdapat gangguan dari persekitaran samada dari segi gangguan bunyi atau pemandangan, maka komunikasi tidak boleh berlaku dengan baik dan sempurna.

Selain dari itu kepelbagaian budaya juga boleh mempengaruhi kejayaan komunikasi. Contohnya masyarakat India akan mengeleng-gelengkan kepalanya ketika mereka berbual tanda bersetuju. Sekiranya ini berlaku kepada seorang rakan komunikasi berbangsa Inggeris yang mempunyai budaya mengangguk sebagai tanda setuju, mungkin rakan bangsa Inggeris itu akan menyangkakan bahawa rakannya tidak setuju dengan apa yang dibualkan. Oleh itu memahami budaya sesuatu masyarakat juga penting untuk berkomunikasi secara cemerlang.

Terdapat juga risiko jika komunikasi tidak dibuat dengan berkesan. Arahan kerja akan terkeliru dan mungkin mengakibatkan kepada kerugian kos, masa dan tenaga. Kerugian ini belum lagi dicampurkan dengan kos keperluan untuk membuat pembaikan kerana arahan kerja yang tidak jelas kerana kerja pembaikan akan melibatkan kos, masa dan tenaga tambahan yang sepatutnya boleh dilaburkan kepada usaha yang lain agar perkembangan kerja dan usaha akan lebih maju dan progresif.

Terdapat juga risiko yang lebih besar. Mungkin juga komunikasi yang salah akan membawa kepada persengketaan yang merupakan natijah negatif kepada masyarakat. Ini ialah kerana ahli masyarakat akan mula tidak puas hati dan perpaduan masyarakat mungkin akan terjejas. Sekiranya ini terjadi kepada masyarakat yang merupakan unit asas rakyat kepada negeri dan negara, maka akibat yang lebih buruk mungkin akan berlaku dan ianya boleh membantutkan usaha kerajaan memajukan negeri dan negara.

Oleh itu amat perlu kita memahami cara untuk mengawal proses komunikasi bagi memberikan kesan yang maksimum di dalam kejayaan komunikasi terutamanya di tempat kerja. Melalui pemahaman yang cemerlang mengenai asas dan proses komunikasi, kita akan boleh berkomunikasi dengan cemerlang dan membantu memacu kejayaan kepada jabatan atau syarikat tempat kita berkerja dengan komunikasi yang jelas dan padat dan kerja yang betul dan tepat tanpa perlu usaha pembaikan yang melibatkan kos tambahan.

Begitu juga kebaikan dapat dirasakan oleh masyarakat yang memerlukan perkhidmatan dari jabatan atau syarikat yang bertemu dengan kita. Selain dari itu, kerajaan pula akan memperolehi munafaat dengan pemahaman rakyat kepada komunikasi cemerlang kerana keluarga akan lebih bahagia, perkerja akan lebih produktif dan masyarakat akan lebih bersatu dan berjaya.

AKAN DATANG PROGRAM BENGKEL KEMAHIRAN BERKERJA AMZZAH NASEEHAH RESOURCES

Bengkel ini mengandungi bukan sahaja ceramah, nota dan ucapan sehala, akan tetapi mengandungi perkongsian dua hala, amalan praktikal dan gerakerja berguna yang akan disampaikan oleh CEO dan Managing Consultant Amzzah Naseehah Resources Tn Haji Abd Malek bin Md Nor yang berpengalaman berkerja selama 25 tahun di syarikat multinasional antarabangsa di mana 20 tahun darinya di bidang Sumber Manusia dan 5 tahun di bidang pengurusan kontrak dan vendor perkidmatan relokasi antarabangsa, imigresen dan logistiks.

Tn Haji Abd Malek mempunyai kemahiran di bidang polisi Sumber Manusia, terma pekerjaan, penggajian dan imbuhan, analisa dan kajiselidik gaji pasaran dan proses mewujudkan kontrak komersial bersama kontraktor vendor perkhidmatan dari perumusan strategik, skop, pemilihan dan perlaksanaan kontrak. Beliau pernah memberikan khidmat nasihat antara syarikat-syarikat antarabangsa di mana beliau telah menganggotai Kelab Analisa Penggajian Sumber Manusia yang di anggotai oleh lebih 10 syarikat multinasional di Malaysia (Oil & Gas, Banking, Pharmaceuticals, Telecommunications dan IT) dan menjadi penasihat kepada Pengurus Sumber Manusia TMI di dalam bidang polisi dan terma kerja Sumber Manusia domestik dan antarabangsa.

Beliau juga telah menguruskan pasukan perkhidmatan selama lebih 10 tahun di syarikat Shell, menjalankan analisa keberkesanan perkhidmatan Pusat Khidmat Masyarakat ADN Gombak Setia pada tahun 2013, menyampaikan bengkel-bengkel professional berbagai topik kepada syarikat, agensi-agensi dan badan-badan persendirian serta latihan motivasi dan kecemerlangan pendidikan dan kepimpinan di sekolah-sekolah rendah dan menengah semenjak 2005.

Anda bukan saja boleh mendapat pengetahuan dengan mengikuti bengkel kami, anda juga akan dapat faedah praktikal melalui skit lakonan semasa bengkel, pementoran terus dan perkongsian pengalaman dari peserta yang lain. Bengkel ini juga akan diisi dengan tayangan video yang berkenaan dengan tajuk bengkel.

Hubungi kami untuk keterangan lanjut di amzzah_naseehah@ymail.com atau mesej ke laman web kami ini atau like facebook kami di https://m.facebook.com/AmzzahNaseehah .

KERJAYA : PENERBANGAN TERUS ATAU PENERBANGAN BERHENTI-HENTI

Semasa saya menuntut di sekolah, saya bercita-cita untuk menjadi seorang usahawan berjaya dan ahli politik yang berpengaruh. Cita-cita ini dibentuk mungkin kerana pertamanya saya telah terdedah kepada dunia perniagaan sewaktu kecil seperti menjaja jagung rebus dan buah cempedak di sekeliling kampung tempat saya tinggal.

Selain dari itu, saya juga berminat mengenai politik ketika saya masih lagi di tingkatan dua dengan saya mengikuti isu politik semasa di Malaysia dan perkembangan dakwah yang merangkumi aspek sosial dan kenegaraan. Saya mengaitkan usahawan yang berjaya dan ahli politik berpengaruh kerana pada pandangan saya, saya harus bebas dari kongkongan kerjaya dan berupaya menjana dana sendiri untuk menjadi seorang ahli politik yang berpengaruh.

Semasa di universiti pula saya mengikuti kursus kejuruteraan dan matematik. Minat saya masih kekal kepada alam perniagaan dan politik. Namun saya berasa sangsi samada kursus yang saya ikuti itu dapat merealisasikan impian saya untuk menjadi usahawan yang berjaya kerana bidang yang saya pelajari tiada berkaitan langsung dengan perniagaan. Sesudah itu, saya mengikuti pula kursus perniagaan dan ini meletakkan saya sangat hampir dengan impian saya. Namun sesudah tamat pengajian, kesedaran bahawa perniagaan memerlukan modal yang tidak sedikit dengan keadaan saya yang tidaklah berharta dan mewah membuatkan saya memendamkan dulu impian itu. Malahan pula keadaan ekonomi yang merudum sebaik saja tamat pengajian saya tidak membantu saya mengejar cita-cita tersebut.

Akhirnya setelah tamat semua pengajian saya, saya mula berkerja di dalam bidang Sumber Manusia. Namun saya masih lagi menyimpan cita-cita saya yang asal. Apa yang boleh saya lakukan ketika itu ialah dengan menceburkan diri saya di dalam perniagaan jualan langsung. Percaya atau tidak, saya menguruskan aktiviti perniagaan jualan langsung saya seolah-olah ianya perniagaan yang sebenar. Saya mempunyai set akaun yang lengkap dengan akaun-akaun jualan, belian, tunai, bank dan akaun timbang tara. Saya lakukan ini sehinggakan untung bulanan bersih yang saya perolehi mencapai ratusan ringgit setelah ditolak segala kos. Kejayaan tertinggi saya ialah saya dianugerahkan bintang pencapaian dari skim syarikat jualan langsung tersebut. Namun masa berlalu dengan penambahan komitmen keluarga dan desakan kerja. Akibatnya masa untuk aktiviti jualan langsung semakin mengecil dan syarikat jualan langsung itupun menghadapi masalah dan seterusnya ditutup.

Sekarang saya berkerja sepenuh masa sebagai ahli profesional di dalam bidang Sumber Manusia. Namun, di waktu lapang, saya menguruskan perniagaan melalui khidmat konsultansi pengurusan dan khidmat nasihat sumber manusia melalui syarikat saya sendiri. Di waktu yang sama, saya terlibat di dalam kegiatan politik. Saya masih belum mencapai cita-cita saya yang sebenar namun usaha saya masih ke arah itu dan perjalanan ini akan saya teruskan.

Pengajaran yang saya perolehi dari perjalan hidup saya setakat ini ialah cita-cita itu merupakan satu matlamat dan jalan ke arah matlamat itu mungkin merupakan penerbangan terus dan ada juga penerbangan yang berhenti-henti. Sekiranya kita melalui penerbangan yang berhenti-henti, pastikan di setiap perhentian kita mengumpul sebanyak pelajaran dan pengalaman agar bila kita sampai ke destinasi terakhir, kita masih dapat menggunakan segala manafaat yang dikutip di sepanjang perjalanan dan perhentian tersebut.

MOTIVASI : CARA BERUSAHA TAHAP LIMA BINTANG

Selepas berdoa seusai solat Asr yang diimamkan oleh anak lelaki kedua saya sat petang di masjid kampusnya, saya berkata "Abah doakan agar Anwar berjaya dalam semester ini dan dapat 3 pointer". Dia membalas "Anwar target 4 flat".. Dengan tangan saya dibahunya saya mengatakan "Bagus.. oleh itu Anwar perlulah berusaha seolah-olah hendak mendapatkan 4 flat". Dia tersenyum dan menganggukkan... kepalanya.

ULASAN~ 3rd Law of Newton i.e "for every action there will be an equal and opposite reaction" sebenarnya adalah hukum Allah swt di mana di dalam menentukan natijah sesuatu usaha, ia bergantung kepada jumlah usaha dan pengorbanan yang diberikan.

Memang Allah boleh memberikan sesuatu kebaikan kepada hambanya tanpa diduga, akan tetapi syaratnya kita perlulah bertaqwa (rujuk AYAT SERIBU DINAR).

Alangkah baik, setahap lima bintang, jika kita bertaqwa, berusaha dan kemudiannya bertawakkal untuk mencapai apa yang dicita-citakan oleh kita. Nescaya kejayaan yang diperolehi itu akan lebih manis lagi.

SELAMAT MENCUBA.

GESERAN MERENCATKAN KEMAJUAN

Faktor Fizik menyatakan di dalam setiap pergerakan akan berlaku geseran dari arah yang bertentangan. Geseran ini boleh melengahkan malah menghentikan terus pergerakan. Adakah geseran itu boleh dihapuskan? Geseran adalah suatu fenomena yang tidak boleh dielakkan dan ianya akan ada pada setiap pergerakan.

Namun hasil dari pemerhatian dan kepekaan akan sebab dan akibat yang diulas di dalam artikel yang Ialu "Titik Permulaan Memacu Kemajuan, kejuruteraan Mekanikal yang merupakan salah satu dari cabang Fizik mengunjurkan penggunaan bahan pengurangan geseran bagi melancarkan pergerakan. Itulah sebabnya sekiranya kereta kita dihantar untuk diservis, maka minyak pelincir enjin diisi ke dalam enjin, air diisi ke dalam radiator, minyak gris diletakkan di antara permukaan yang bergeseran bagi mengurangkan kesan geseran.

Begitulah juga perjalanan ke arah kemajuan. Geseran berlaku di setiap masa dan ketika samada disedari atau tidak. Ianya bertentangan dengan Faktor Pacuan Kemajuan (FPK) dan melemahkan malah melemaskan usaha ke arah kemajuan. Mengenali geseran ke arah kemajuan dan bertindak mengurangkan atau menghindar geseran dapat memudahkan lagi pacuan ke arah kemajuan. Untuk memudahkan perbincangan bolehlah kita menamakan ianya sebagai Faktor Geseran Kemajuan (FGK).

Apakah FGK yang dimaksudkan itu?

FGK terdiri dari faktor Iuaran (FGK-l) dan dalaman (FGK-d). FGK-l terdiri dari geseran kemajuan yang terhasil dari unsur-unsur yang berada di persekitaran kita. Antara contoh FGK- l ialah cuaca dan masa. FGK-d pula terdiri dari unsur-unsur yang berada pada atau di dalam diri kita sendiri dan antara contohnya ialah kemalasan, melengah-lengahkan tindakan dan sikap sambil lewa.

Sekiranya kita melakarkan kesemua elemen-elemen yang dibincangkan di sini di dalam satu Gambarajah Komposit, ianya lebih mudah dirujuk seperti berikut:

Sekiranya kita menggunakan contoh petani yang telah digunakan dahulu, FGK-l petani boleh merupakan hujan atau cahaya matahari yang tidak mencukupi atau berlebihan sehinggakan kesuntukan masa untuk semaian atau tuaian dilakukan. FGK-l petani kemungkinan berada di luar kawalan petani itu sendiri dan tindakan untuk mengurangkannya mungkin tidak dapat dilaksanakan dengan berkesan. Kecualilah petani mempunyai modal yang besar dan teknologi yang tinggi untuk bertani di dalam kawasan pertanian automasi dengan jumlah air, laluan udara dan kepanasan yang terkawal. Petani boleh juga mengikuti perkembangan ramalan cuaca yang disiarkan saban hari untuk menelah kemungkinan perubahan cuaca untuk mengambil langkah adaptas seperti memeram hasil tanaman sekiranya boleh diperam, menuai awal sekiranya tidak mengganggu kualiti tanaman atau seumpamanya.

Manakala FGK-d petani boleh saja terdiri dari kemalasan, gangguan emosi, tidak meletakkan keutamaan kepada tindakan dengan betul dan seumpamanya. Bagi petani yang berpengalaman, kemungkinan untuk semua ini berlaku mungkin berkurangan dibanding dengan petani yang baru memulai usaha pertanian. Sesungguhnya tiada ubat untuk malas selain rajin. Kawalan emosi mungkin sukar namun boleh saja dilakukan dengan mengubah cara menghadapi masalah peribadi ataupun keluarga atau apa saja perkara yang boleh menganggu emosi. Meletakkan keutamaan yang betul dengan cara membuat sesuatu yang betul pada masa dan tempat yang betul boleh juga dijadikan panduan. Masa untuk peribadi dan keluarga dikhususkan di dalam perancangan manakala masa untuk bertani menjadi perancangan tetap sebagai usaha mencari rezeki.

Di dalam artikel yang akan datang, kita akan berbicara mengenai kajian kes untuk pelajar dan perkerja. Ikuti seterusnya.

untuk artikel sebelumnya yang berkaitan dengan artikel ini, sila klik Titik permulaan memacu kemajuan

TITIK PERMULAAN MEMACU KEMAJUAN

Gelombang kemajuan telah memaksa manusia menumpukan sepenuh perhatian kepada usaha meningkatkan pengetahuan, menambah pengalaman, mengukuhkan keyakinan dan keberanian untuk menghadapi cabaran dan halangan fizikal dan mental serta pesaing dalaman dan luaran.

Ketidak upayaan menghadapi dan mengatasi kesemuanya itu akan mengakibatkan kemajuan terencat dan risiko kegagalan yang tinggi. Semua ini adalah benar sekiranya manusia itu sedar akan kepentingan untuk maju. Sekiranya anda tidak tergolong dalam kumpulan ini, anda tidak perIu terus membaca artikel ini. :)

Oh! Anda masih di sini. Tahniah! Anda telah berjaya mengatasi halangan pertama untuk maju... :)

Jadi di manakah titik permulaan ke arah kemajuan ini? Titik permulaan selalunya bermula dengan matlamat di penghujung usaha. Jarak titik permulaan ke matlamat pula bergantung kepada kesungguhan untuk mencapai kemajuan yang tertinggi dan unggul. Lagi tinggi dan unggul matlamat maka semakin jauh jarak dan semakin sukar perjalanan mencapai matlamat. Akan tetapi hasilnya akan lebih lumayan.

Menetapkan matlamat bermula dengan anggaran nilai. Matlamat yang amat bernilai ialah pencapaian ke tahap kemajuan yang mengatasi kebolehan biasa dan menjadi rebutan oleh orang yang bersemangat jitu. Menetap matlamat mudah adalah menyusahkan kerana ianya perlu dibuat banyak kali kerana ia selalunya tidak mencabar dan mengambil masa yang singkat untuk dicapai. Adalah lebih molek sekiranya matlamat yang ditetapkan itu berpanjangan dan bersinambung bersesuaian dengan minat dan cita-cita yang diidam-idamkan.

Bagi seorang petani, contoh matlamat yang bernilai ialah memperolehi hasil pertanian yang Iumayan hasil dari usaha yang kurang dari usaha yang dilakukan bagi musim yang lalu baik dari segi masa, perbelanjaan dan tenaga kerja. Ini terhasil hanya jika petani itu dapat melaksanakan usaha yang Iebih bijak dan berkesan dari usaha-usaha yang terdahulu.

Sekiranya anda perhatikan kepada contoh yang diberikan, perbezaannya dari cara pemikiran yang biasa ialah keperluan kepada kebolehan untuk peka kepada sebab dan akibat. Usaha, perbeIanjaan dan guna tenaga yang Iebih efisyen adalah sukar sekiranya tiada kepekaan kepada sebab dan akibat. Kepekaan terhasil dari kerajinan untuk memerhatikan apakah akibatnya sekiranya sebab-sebab yang menghasilkan hasil pertanian diubah-ubah untuk menjadi Iebih efisyen.

Beberapa perkara yang perlu diambil perhatian telah di sebut di perenggan di atas. Ianya disebut sebagai faktor pacuan kemajuan dan ianya adalah:

1. Kepekaan 
2. Kerajinan 
3. Pemerhatian 

Sekiranya kita susun ketiga-tiga faktor pacuan kemajuan di dalam suatu jadual dan mengisi tindakan yang diperlukan serta kekerapan tindakan, maka bolehlah kita simpulkan yang ianya boleh digambarkan seperti di bawah ini:

Ye! Tindakannya bukan mudah tetapi senang jika telah menjadi kebiasaan. Bagaikan ketika pertama kali berlajar berjalan atau menunggang basikal dengan luka akibat terjatuh. Lama kelamaan dari berjalan boleh berlari atau dari menunggang sendirian sampai menunggang membawa adik, kawan atau barang. "Berakit-rakit ke hulu berenang-renang ke tepian, bersakit-sakIt dahulu bersenang-senang kemudian".

Di samping faktor pacuan kemajuan, kita juga perlu mengenal pasti faktor geseran kemajuan yang boleh melambatkan atau pun menghentikan perjalanan pacuan kemajuan yang hendak dilalui. Tajuk ini akan dibincangkan di dalam artikel yang mendatang insyaallah.

klik di sini untuk artikel seterusnya yang berkaitan dengan artikel ini  Geseran merencatkan kemajuan

Gangnam style craze

As of today 30 Sept, the Gangnam style video by singer, songwriter and choreographer PSY of Korea has been viewed by more than 300 million viewers in Youtube. With an average of 4 million views per day since its publication in Youtube on 15 July 2012, it is a very phenomenal video and is climbing the Youtube popularity chart for the most viewed video which is now being topped by Justin Bieber with 777 Million views. Gangnam style song has already penetrated the UK and US Charts with several localized copycats around the world such as KL style and Singapore style.

 

This phenomenon is rare worldwide as even K-Pop has not breached the world music scene except in east Asia. In the home front, this is not unusual as Malaysian music appreciation is very flexible. Hindi music has been a craze here since 1950s, especially Malays who adore the beauty and handsomeness of the Hindi movie stars. Ironically these movie stars are not singing the songs they purported to sing in the movies and the Malays do not even understand Hindi!

 

PSY is not only an international household name from Korea. Samsung is another. Samsung was founded in 1938 and ventured into Communication and Electronics market in 1977 and initiated its mobile communication business in 1983. It had several issues with its Korea domestic communication market until it gave an ultimatum to itself in 1993, to win the Korea market competition in one year or Samsung will close its communication business. Within a year Samsung improved its mobile device and started to capture the local market. In 1998, Samsung then ventured into international market and after several communication creations and well receipt innovations, Samsung is now among the world leader in electronics and communication industry. Its success had also made other market leaders trembled and did whatever they could to stop Samsung’s progress.

 

Going back further in history, Korea was mostly unknown except probably for the Korean War post World War II. Compared to China and Japan history, a lot more familiarity will be with Chinese Great Wall of China and Samurai from Japan than whatever else of Korea. Korea was just a country being fought over by these two regional giants.

 

What then made the difference with Korea today? We may find the answers by looking at PSY and Samsung traits for success.

 

PSY is an overweight and not good looking Korean star. He is not a common K-Pop star material. However PSY’s ingenuity in creating new dance steps with a mainstream popular music beat stole the fans heart in such a short time. So we can say that ingenuity is a lot more important than physical looks. PSY stands out from the rest with his ingenuity while K-Pop stars are just mere beauty and handsome looks.

 

Let us look at Samsung, it ventured into the Korea local mobile communication business 10 years behind the world market leader at that time, Motorola. In electronics, 10 years would probably be equivalent to a century! Samsung then was trailing behind Motorola for the next 10 years until it reviewed its position and made a tough decision, either made it work or they would stop. With a timeline of 1 year, Samsung’s technical staff scrambled and came up with a product that eventually captured the Korean market. It went further to create and innovate in order to venture into and capture the world market. So making assessment of one’s position with the ability to create and innovate pulled out Samsung from the pits and brought it to the top.

 

So let us recap. Ingenuity or creativity, assessment and innovation are the take ways from PSY and Samsung success. How then we convert this for our use

1. Ingenuity or creativity– this trait will differentiate us from the rest. Coming up with original and attractive ideas are tough. However it will bring us to the forefront and we will be known as the pioneer of the new invention. So making another copycat KL or Singapore style is not ingenuity or creativity. 
2. Assessment or review- this trait allows us to look back and work for the future. By looking back, we are able to look at the gaps and identify measures to close them. What had been our failures in the past should not be repeated and previous successes should be leveraged upon for more success in the future. We need to be tough during self assessment or review in order to progress. Some of the gaps maybe due to our own mistakes and making changes may be uncomfortable. So a lot more sacrifice is required to attain success if this is the case.  
3. Innovation- this trait allows us to be better than the next person who is bidding for the same position as us. Innovation is not creating a totally new idea however it is creating noticeable and acceptable differences which are perceived to be better from our previous position or from the competitor’s position. Innovation needs to be progressively done with the next innovation to be better than the previous one. This will ensure us to be always on the top of others.

FORMULA FOR SUCCESS: Responsibility + Accountability = Maturity (Success*n)

Once while driving back from lunch with my family, a few teenagers were blocking the road into the housing area where I live. They were talking and laughing while walking along the road. When I honked to signal my oncoming car, a few of them ignored the horn and continued with their laughter. After passing through them and approaching the gate of my house, we saw a flock of birds on my pathway were basking under the sun. Once they saw my approaching car, they flew away without any hassle.

These differences in reaction were observed by my children and I commented to them the differences of reaction showed the level of maturity by both the teenagers and the flock of birds. This is because the first sign of maturity is survival instinct. This can be seen in any of the scientific television series either in the Discovery, Animal Planet and National Geographic channels. Survival instinct provides us the ability to continue living by being alive and avoiding injury or death. The stronger a survival instinct the more chances for success in live.
A higher stage of maturity is formed by two essence, responsibility and accountability. Responsibility is knowing all the task and duties that one has and having the ability to prioritise these in order of importance for action. It is a manner of ensuring that all task and duties are taken care off completely. Responsibility can either be assigned or assumed but the importance remains the same. The other essence of maturity is being accountable. Accountability is ensuring that all task and duties are taken care off completely in a satisfactory manner without fail.

Once these essences are blended into complex maturity, we will be able to handle several and even multiple challenges. The sustainability of maturity will ensure further development of survival to generate a lot more success in live. Of course certain challenges may not be handled completely alone, maturity will also provide the ability to connect with other network to generate and leverage support. For further reading, please refer to my other article on "Friendship, its benefits to success" and "Diminishing accountability".

To articulate further this concept, I attach a graphic presentation below. 

(Amzzah Naseehah Resources provides Human Capital Management consultancy services in area of training, learning and development. For more details please email to : amzzah_naseehah@ymail.com or call: +6012-5103364)

Friendship, its benefits to success

Do we ever ponder how friend can influence our life and how we can influence our friend to improve our life? This morning while having a quick breakfast with my wife, I met two of my ex-High School schoolmates at a Mamak Restaurant. We had not met for more than 15 to 20 years. They were ex professional footballers, Subadron Aziz and Shaari. Subadron used to work with Petronas and then played for Federal Territory in the Semi-Pro league and represented Malaysia. He then married the pretty local singer, Salwa Abdul Rahman. Shaari in the other hand, was a Negeri Sembilan Semi-Pro player. We exhanged pleasantries and asked about each other before promising to contact each other and parted.

As a social human being, this situation is normal for everyone. Making friend, losing contact and meeting again are a cycle that we go in live. Some would just make friends to be social and regard it as a phase in one life, but those who are successful would make use of friendship to enhance their academic, career and business.

How can we emulate those who are successful by utilising their friendship connection? Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "A good friend and a bad friend are like a perfume-seller and a blacksmith: The perfume-seller might give you some perfume as a gift, or you might buy some from him, or at least you might smell its fragrance. As for the blacksmith, he might singe your clothes, and at the very least you will breathe in the fumes of the furnace." (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 3, Hadith 314).

In life we will meet beneficial friends as well as friends who will harm us. As Prophet Muhammad had mentioned in his hadith, a beneficial and a harmful friend can be physically identified. The result of the friendship can also be physically identified. So we need to gauge benefits that we can derive from the friendship and allocate a lot more time with those who will be able to provide us with greater benefits. The hadith did not mention of severing friendship from the bad friends as certain benefit can be derived from having a cordial relation with them. Taking the example of the blacksmith, the blacksmith will be able to mold metals for us however we cannot be around them as it will be harmful to us in the long run.

If we look at the renowned Chinese philosopher Confucius guide to friendship, in one of his sayings he said: “There are three friends that do good, and three friends that do harm. The friends that do good are a straight friend, a sincere friend, and a friend who has heard much. The friends that do harm are a smooth friend, a fawning friend, and a friend with a glib tongue.” In his saying, Confucius described the traits of good and bad friends. Of course the traits are not restricted to these three sets, however the fundamental of friendship is to be truthful, sincere and able to safeguard the friend's personal matters. Friendship which we should be wary of will be friends who are untruthful, selfish or manipulative and tend to cheat us.

How then to be successful via deriving benefits from friendship? Firstly we need to identify those who we connect with. These people are not our relatives but those we will connect with in a classroom or an office or a business transaction. Then we identify what we can offer to others and what we need from others. The relationship should not only be one way, both parties to the relationship will derive benefit from each other. The chart below shows this principle and serves as a guide in our friendship.

We also need to manage our expectation. Not everyone can be a good friend. As long as we are comfortable with the friend or friends and we are able to evaluate the benefit we derive from them, the friendship would be good. However we should not shun anybody who wants to befriend us. However we can allocate our friendship according to the level that fit the relationship.

In one of William Shakespeare's quotes, he described a continuation of a long lasting friendship. He said: “A friend is one that knows you as you are, understands where you have been, accepts what you have become, and still, gently allows you to grow.” A good friend will be able to point to you your strength and weakness in a transparent and truthful manner and help you progress and gain success.

After SPM - what's next?

Once I brought my family to meet up close with Prof Dr Muhaya, an ophthalmologist by profession and an inspirational speaker by passion. Two of my children were with me together with my wife. During the meeting Prof Dr Muhaya asked my children what they were going to be, my son responded "Accountant" and my daughter "Lecturer". Prof Dr Muhaya then said, "Children, why don't you want to become a doctor? Be a doctor, it is a good profession".

The question of "What you want to be?" is very common to children. Most parents in Malaysia would stress on Science and would dream for their children to become an engineer or a doctor. They will also derive great satisfaction if their children are in this stream. The sense of pride will be expanded if their children are in boarding school and eventually will go abroad to further their study.

My experience on boarding school was not so rosy and nice. I had my eldest son in Sekolah Tunku Abdul Rahman, STAR Ipoh. After a year, I took him out and put him in a normal school after I noticed that the school was not providing learning and education but stressing and pressing on scoring As in exams. As a result, my son was still happy with this decision and he also managed to do well in his studies even though he was in a normal school. He had straight As in PMR and 5 As in SPM. He is now pursuing a law degree in UiTM.

My experience when I was small was more of an old school. When I was schooling I could not decide what I would want to be. Doctor and Engineer are the common answers I would give when I was asked. This was more following the concept that "anything Science is good".

However when I was in High School, I slowly had an ambition to become a businessman and a politician. The reason for this was because I believe in one of the sayings of Prophet Muhammad pbuh, which means: "9 out of 10 live provisions are from business". While my passion with politics started when I was in standard four. It came after one of my neighbours, Arwah Makcik Sawiyah came over to my house to campaign for PEKEMAS (Parti Keadilan Masyarakat) candidate, Cikgu Ishak Surin. The party was then led by the late Tan Sri Dr Tan Chee Khoon.

I eventually went to further my study in Engineering, then Mathematics, then Business and eventually HR. I am now neither in Engineering nor Mathematics, partly Business and remotely HR. Although I did not fully realised my ambition, the experience taught me that ambition and vocation may eventually differ. I still enjoy the work that I do and earn considerably sufficient to have a fulfilling life.

As parents, I think the fallacy that Science is better than others need to change. From my experience working in HR; Science, Arts, Vocational and any other denomination are equally good. Doctors and Engineers are not necessarily smarter than Lawyers and Accountants. The most important ingredient in success would be :
1. Interest in the subject and profession
2. Good attitude towards study and work
3. Willingness to study and work with others
4. Able to see through solutions rather than engrossed and became the problem
5. Balance between work and life; world and the hereafter

If you are in a cross road what to study or what you want to have as a profession, some pointers here to select your course and profession. Although it is not comprehensive but serves as a simple guidance

(Amzzah Naseehah Resources conduct "Tracking your Tertiary Education and Vocation" training and consultancy services. If you are interested, email to : amzzah_naseehah@ymail.com or call: +6012-5103364, terms and conditions are negotiable)

Capability analysis

The elements within human being and life can be from opposite ends. The Chinese has a principle of "yin and yang" that is the interaction of two energies, called "yin" (black) and "yang" (white). They are not completely black or white, just as things in life are not completely black or white, but they coexist with each other. While "yin" would be dark, passive, downward, cold, contracting, and weak, "yang" would be bright, active, upward, hot, expanding, and strong.

The shape of the yin and yang sections from the symbol, actually gives a sense of the continual movement of these two energies, yin to yang and yang to yin, causing a dynamic: just as things expand and contract, and temperature changes from hot to cold. Similarly human being and life are not always perfectly black or white, strong or weak, success or failure.

Perfection is only reserved for God. Knowing that we can be both be strong and weak, achieve success and experience failure does not mean a complete acceptance to it. It is mentioned in the holy Quran 13:11; “Truly, God does not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves.” The onus to ensure that we are always strong and able to achieve success will depend on the effort we have put out for it.

In putting our effort for success, we first need to set our target. Then we need to analyse our capability to plan and organise our resources efficiently to achive the target. One of the methods to analyse this is via SWOT analysis.

The first step of SWOT analysis is to accept that we have all the four elements i.e. Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threat. Then we need to identify and list out the four elements within ourselves. SWOT can be understood as follows:

1. Strength: our ability to plan and organise our resources efficiently e.g. strong memory, wide connection and network
2. Weakness: our inability to plan and organise our resources efficiently e.g. forgetfulness, fear of speaking in public,
3. Opportunity: external factors that would help us to achieve our objective and goal e.g. connection and network with players from other college or industry, sufficient money, enough time 4. Threat: external factors that would hinder us from achieving our objective and goal e.g. stiff competition

From the SWOT list that we had come out with, we then lay out our plan to leverage on our Strengths and Opportunities while overcoming our Weaknesses and sizing our Threats. The plan can be short, mid or long term with measurable milestone and timeline. Every plans should still focus on achieving our eventual target.

As an example, a student wants to improve his result. He then needs to set a target what result he wants to achieve, say to achieve a GPA of 3.5. Then he needs to analyse his SWOT. Let say the analysis comes up with the following list

From the above, the students then can

• leverage on his ability to analyse and his strong command of language during his classes, course work and exams


• be friendly with his smart friends and professional relative to learn and exchange information on his study and general knowledge


• improve on his discipline by not being sloppy consciously and unconsciously


• write down notes at all times to help strengthen his memory


• avoid lazy friends and distraction during study time but keep maintaining cordial relationship with them


• leverage on the family for emotional and financial support

Out of the six points mentioned above, the student can classify which will be something that he can achieve in a short, mid or long term. He should also review his plan and continuously ammend or adjust the plan accordingly in order to achieve the target.

(Amzzah Naseehah Resources conduct SWOT analysis consultancy services. If you are interested, email to : amzzah_naseehah@ymail.com or call: +6012-5103364, terms and conditions are negotiable)

Diminishing accountability

Most people would take great care of their wallets and handbags. However some would take these things unassumingly until it is lost and they have to scramble to secure their identity from fraud and theft. The common content of everyone's wallet or handbag would be identity card, driving license, credit or debit cards, currency notes, coins, medical insurance card and loyalty programme cards. It is also quite common to find ATM transaction slips, sales receipts, business/calling card in wallets and handbags. As handbags are much bigger than wallets, you may also find lipsticks, small mirror, comb, scissors, mobile phones, medicine, PC tablets and pens in it.

However have you ever been held accountable for something that is not directly connected to your personal matters? This accountability comes with most of the job we do. Postmen or post women are held accountable to deliver mails every day. Courier, trucker, bus driver, taxi driver and pilots are similar. There are also numerous other examples at the office. An office or factory worker is accountable to deliver results from their work.

Accountability does not stop from us when we delegate it to someone else. For example, we are supposed to deliver an envelope from the club secretary to the club president. However due to our tight schedule, we requested a friend to deliver it instead. The accountability does not stop after we passed the envelope to the friend and expect our friend would deliver it to the president. The degree of accountability would be reducing as it passes from the secretary to us and then to the friend. However the accountability would not be zerorised when it goes through the chain as every sender would still be accountable to the envelope. He or she must ensure that the envelop arrives with the club president eventually.

The diagram here shows the diminishing accountability as it passes from one to another but it would not zerorised even after the handing over..

Hence, the originator of the task and the receivers of the envelope (us and our friend) should do the following as to ensure everyone fulfill their accountability:

1. Pass on the envelope to someone who can be trusted to deliver and safeguard the envelope.



2. Follow up and determine the status of the delivery of the envelope until it ends up with the club president. This can be done via email and phone call.

Impression~Perception~Deception in interaction and communication

South Koreans take business mannerism seriously. Everyone over there is smartly dressed going to the office everyday. Even the kind of company car someone drives there shows certain status and they even dictate where the boss shall seat at the back of the car. So a South Korean company CEO should be driven on the latest model of Hyundai Equus (the 2012 model shown below) and be seated at the back right side of the car.

Indeed, first impression is important especially for business function. A classical business mannerism is to wear a smart formal suit at all times. A lot of other details are also given emphasis such as hairstyle, perfume, brand of wrist watch, tie, tie pin, pair of shoes and writing pen. A more modern business mannerism normally in IT industry has also evolved where informal attire are also acceptable. However the classical business mannerism would still be the default in an important business function.

Why are all these important? Human being socially interacts with each other in their activities from the time of Adam and Eve creation. Socia interaction may pose little challenge as compared to communication that has a lot more importance in life. Communication will take place when there are a need to influence, disseminate information and negotiate.

As time progresses, communication becomes a lot more easier but not less complex. Communication becomes a lot more easier with the advent of information technologies when communication can happen regardless of space and time. Internet either email, facebook, twitter or skype: telecommunication either mobile, fix, smart phones or videoconferencing are some examples of modern communication tools that human being currently uses.

With a lot more sophisticated communication tools, complexity of communication remains and will not be possible to be eliminated entirely. As communication is a two-way sending and receiving process, a lot more intangible factors and elements influence the communication activities success. These factors and elements include emotion, feelings, language, social background, past experience, prejudice, physical conditions and many others.

Both the sender and the receiver of communication would either be aware or unaware to some of these factors and elements. It would be a lot easier if they can be aware of the factors and elements to enhance communication effectiveness. However if they are unaware of these factors and elements, they would easily be sucked into them and form certain barriers to effective communication.

There will be several layers of communication results in an interaction: impression, perception and deception. Impression is important to gauge another party in communication and is a very basic defense mechanism for survival and can be used by both the sender and receiver of communication. This happen in a first instant of a meeting such as a smiling face, a frowning face, an imposing posture, a tender or rough mannerism and smart clothing. It will provide a signal to be at ease or alert. However it should not be the main criteria to form during communication.

Progressing into the layer will be perception. Perception is normally forms after several interaction and communication. Attributes such a firm person, a cooperative person, a difficult person are examples of perception. Perception can be true, and likewise false. It is important that perception is tested and validated.

Have you ever had the experience that the flight cabin crew were extremely friendly during the flight and by the time the plane landed and you bumped into one of them at the airport lanes, they would not even smile at you. So deception can only be discovered once the act is not consistent. This is the other layer of communication in an interaction that is deception. Deception is an attempt to potray something that is not the reality. It can be used to get the communication recipient to form a favourable impression and perception of the communication sender.

"Do not judge a book by its cover" and "do not jump into conclusion" are most famous communication quotes. Continuous testing and validating will help in getting a smooth and efficient communication process with others especially when there is a need to repeat the communication and maintain a harmonious relationship.

Service and commitment.

We can recall how many times we had to wait and wait for someone to deliver our LCD, AC unit, furtniture and anything we had purchased from the store. Waiting is always enduring and not endearing and it will test our patience to the maximum as practically we feel helpless and out of control. In this manner, Domino Pizza's had been successful. It's service delivery concept is plain and simple. 30 minutes free delivery or you will get a coupon to redeem for a free pizza. It is important to set expectation of service delivery and this was done exceptionaly well by Domino Pizza.

Two weeks ago on Monday I received a call from my broadband service provider offering me to upgrade my house modem. The offer was attractive to me and my family as it provides a higher bandwidth with a lower price. I accepted the offer and as part of the set up, the service provider dispatcher will collect my house modem and replace it with a 3G modem. Although I have to pay them RM100, I will receive a rebate of the same amount in my first bill. So we agreed for the dispatcher to come over to my house in Gombak before 11 am on Saturday and I specifically informed the sales person that is the period I will be at home. The sales person agreed.

Saturday came and by 11.30 am the dispatcher still did not turn up. As my wife and I had to attend to an engagement at 1 pm, we then made our move. At about 1.00 pm I received a call by the dispatcher. He asked me whether he could come over to my house to deliver the modem. I informed the dispatcher that he was late as he was suppose to come at 11 am. He retorted that he did not promise as such. Hearing this, I pointed out to him that the sales person I spoke on Monday agreed to this and I would expect this as it would inconvenient me otherwise. He then apologised to me and we then agreed to another delivery date and time, this time on Monday at my office in Cyberjaya.

Later that evening I received a call from the sales person asking why did I requested for another delivery on Monday and at Cyberjaya. This really dismayed me terribly. Over a period of a week I had to speak thrice for a simple service of collecting and delivering a modem. I expressed my dissatisfaction and threaten to cancel the order. The sales person quickly apologised for the misunderstanding and confirmed that the delivery date and time.

Service is easy if the target and focus is to please the customer. How would we please the customer? There are many aspect of service delivery such as quality of product, timeliness of delivery, responsiveness, providing attention and assurance. However the most important one is commitment to serve.

In the case I related earlier, the commitment is in the form of a promise to deliver the product at a specific period of time. Though the promise was made by the sales person, the sales person need then to inform and direct the dispatcher accordingly. They need to act together behind the scene to deliver the product according to the promise. This is because, from my view point as a customer, the promise was made by the company and not by the sales person alone. As both the sales person and the dispatcher are working and representing the company, I as a customer expect that the promise to be delivered by both of them.

The biggest mistake both the sales person and the dispatcher did was reacting as if the promise the other made was not a commitment the other will take. The dispatcher did this when he said that he did not promise to come by 11 am on Saturday while the sales person did this when he questioned me why I need the delivery on Monday at Cyberjaya.

Probably there was a work relationship strain between them but to approach the customer and showed that they mistrust another was a great risk as I almost cancel the order out of anger and disappointment. Indeed I was and I started to doubt the service I would receive from the company. What saved both of them was the manner both quickly offered an apology when I informed them of my displeasure

In conclusion, in a service orientated encounter with the customer, it is important to be aware of the promise made to the customer as this is a commitment made on behalf of the company. This is especially important when there were more than one who had engaged with the customer. It would be most efficient to put a remark of the promise made on the service or sales form when handing over the order from the order taker to the service delivery unit. This can be made manually on the order form or in a system that the company uses for sales activities. Fulfilling the promise will provide confidence and delight to the customer and avoid a recovery effort in order to regain the customer's confidence.

Over and under promise

Promise is a commitment to act. However it is quite common in all societies that promise is something which is uncertain until we have an English saying: "Promises are meant to be broken" and a German Proverb: "Nothing weights lighter than a promise". That is the reason why there is a requirement for a written contract to bind promise legally. If the contract is broken, then there will be legal and monetary consequences.

However a written contract would normally be for business and it involves lengthy process and cost with high value and great commitment for those who sign it off. Then what about a simple promise to deliver a service or assistance? Surely this is normally verbal and the uncertainty will then exist.

Promises that were kept by a person will win him or her other people's trust. With trust and consistency, the person will be able to build his or her integrity and reputation. It would be a lot easier to get acceptance from others once a person has high integrity and good reputation. A German Proverb aptly says "Promises are like the full moon, if they are not kept at once they diminish day by day."

So what can we do? A more pragmatic approach to this is to promise only what you can deliver. This would be the basic of promise. To then deliver more than you promise would be a delight for the recipient. So this is my business theory and methodology on promise and the reason I have placed the two prepositions before the word "promise" in my title i.e. "over" and "under" promise.

If you refer to the chart below, the basis of my business theory and method will be a degree of control of the resources (i.e. capability) and knowing intimately what would be the likely outcome of each endeavour to fulfil a promise. The barriers to reaching the highest peak of the chart will be time, cost and manpower. However the prize of delivering the customer's delight will be loyalty and sustainable business.

What would be an example of reaching to the peak of Customer's delight? Let me share a service industry example, say the customer's requisition is to be served within 15 minutes with 100% accuracy of delivery. Depending on your promise capability, the various timeline and customer's reaction will be as follows.
For a delivery of 5 minutes, your capability to serve with 100% accuracy is when orders are low. However in a thriving business, this is something you would not want but the customer is hoping for. For a delivery of 15 minutes, your capability to serve with 100% accuracy is a standard operation that you will deliver to each order. If this is not possible, then there is obviously something wrong with your service operation as this will be below market practice. In the third scenario, with high operation efficiency that surpasses market practice, you will be able to deliver your service within 10 minutes and the customer will be delighted.

Hence with this information, you may provide promise you would know you can deliver. As time passes and a lot more efficiency is gained, the timeline may be further reduced so that your high integrity is established and your good reputation is known as a world class business.

Freedom to our children

Every child from a parent is a distinct individual. A child may even have the same pointed nose of the father or the same curly hair of the mother, but deep inside, the child is different in many ways from their parents and siblings. Likewise twins may look the same in most of their physical features; however one half of the twin is still different in many ways from the other half.

I have two sons and a daughter. My eldest son was very active when he was in school. He was the school prefect when he was in primary and secondary schools. He participated in many of the school's extracurricular activities as well as competed in many competitions representing his school. He was also doing well in his studies.

My other son however was a quite boy and will avoid attention as much as he could. When he was in his primary school, the only time he represented his school was in an English theatre competition when he was in standard six. In spite of this, I did not label or grade my sons in any way then because for me they are different and their difference is special in making them an individual.

My second son now is in his secondary school and this year he is sitting for his SPM national examination. He had gradually bloomed to be an active student. I attribute this to the coaxing from my wife and I as well as the examples that he had emulated from his elder brother. He was selected to be the school prefect when he was in form two and also joined the school's police cadet. He has also been progressing well on his study.

Last April, I asked my second son why he is still performing his duties as a school prefect though it is already four months down the year. It is very common in all schools, even when I was in secondary school and when my eldest son was preparing for this SPM examination two year ago, school prefects who are going to sit for their national examinations are released of their duty very much early of the year.

He told me that the Disciplinary teacher had instructed all school prefects to continue their duties until the end of the year. I discussed the importance for him to prepare for his exam and he agreed to inform the Disciplinary teacher that he will slowly released himself from duty to prepare for his exam. I told my son that if the teacher needs to speak to me, let her have my number.

After that, I was informed by my son that the Disciplinary teacher was not happy with my son's action. It seems that though most of the students in form five were not happy that they were still performing their duties, none of them dared to go against the Disciplinary teacher's instruction. As my son received my support, he went through it by himself.

In May, I attended the "Parents meet the teacher" session. This is the session to discuss on the children's education progress as well as to share the latest report card. I highlighted to the form teacher about the abnormality of the school still insisting the form five students to perform their duties just as the SPM exam is just round the corner. In fact I wrote a note in my son's report card for the school to take action on this matter at the suggestion of the teacher.

Apparently after this the Disciplinary teacher started to approach my son in a more negative manner until one day she asked my son not to wear the school prefect's uniform and instead wear the normal school's uniform. She seems to insinuate that my son was sacked as I have never known of any school giving such instruction even after the school's prefect relinquishes their duties. After all, it was only six months more before the end of the year and by giving that strange instruction meant that I would have to buy new pairs of school uniform for my son. When my son told me about it, I told him to ignore the instruction and to give the Disciplinary teacher my mobile number as I would like to discuss this matter with her personally. Apparently she refused to give me a call.

She then told my son that he was not fit to become a school's prefect. My son had been the school prefect for the past four years, the longest serving prefect at the school. I immediately went to the school after I knew about this. I managed to discuss this matter with the school's principal and eventually the whole incident was sorted out. The school principal decided to put all form five school's prefects on passive duties and will eventually relinquish their duties a couple of months before the SPM examination.

The whole saga was really different than what I had experienced when I was in school. My teachers showed a lot more finesse in educating the young generation. As any other individual, children require love and respect.

Of course there are bound to be children who may require a lot more attention due to their attitude and behavior, and I believe these are very small in numbers. However, there should be some focus on source of symptoms rather than generalising all symptoms and providing one single antidote.

The teachers and parents should ideally partner in building a young generation of thinking and free individual. Discipline is a matter of pride and it has nothing to do with instructions top to bottom with full compliance and expectating no questions asked. A thinking and free young generation will encourage them to explore the unknown territories responsibly and innovate to progress themselves. We can trust our young generantion.