Probably one of the hardest challenges in working life is navigating people issues. There is a convoluted tangle between ambition, hidden agenda, greed, pride and lust for power (among other things).
Last night, the little bear was trying to make porridge for the family. It was a very adult thing to do, and Little Bear felt very responsible and grown up. "Let's see," thought Little Bear, "Mama said to put salt AND pepper", and so he did. The porridge looked very nice when it was cooked, and so very proudly, Little Bear presented his concoction to Mama and Papa bear.
"Here you go, mama and papa! I took the initiative to make you porridge, seeing that you're tired from a day of foraging in the forest!"
"Excellent! I'm hungry!" roared Papa bear, and he grabbed a big bowl and gulped it down, before coughing and throwing it all up on the floor. "What is this slop?", Papa bear growled. "It's too salty! It tastes like sea water mixed with mud!"
Mama bear took a little taste of the porridge. "Well it *is* a little salty, Little. Try soy sauce in the future." (because they were oriental grizzlies)
"You said salt, didn't you, mama?" asked Little Bear, confused and embarassed, for the neighbours were already crowding around the den to see what the commotion was about.
"That might have been another recipe, honey," replied Mama bear, "I've always used soy sauce."
"Perhaps," said Little Bear, sorely disappointed at the lack of appreciation.
Later that evening, Little Bear trawled through the recipe book, and found that it WAS salt, and not soy sauce. Mama must have adjusted the recipe to suit the taste of oriental grizzly bears, but Little Bear never really knew. However, that was the last time Little Bear would try something like cooking again, for the bears who stood to benefit were not appreciative, the information was only shared in a small group of like minded bear cooks (although unintentional), and Little Bear was publicly humiliated, and afraid to try anything new again.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Reflections: Malaysia
I was out in KL with YC over the weekend, and boy was it fun!! I didn't exactly tell her straight out, but I was really impressed by her courage and independence in living abroad, since there's also a constant need for her to fend for herself, chart her career, make new friends as well as excel in her job. All this without much counsel and sound wisdom. A lot of my friends are doing this. I'm not sure if I'm brave enough to. Probably not.
There's lots that I'd brought back with me in terms of wisdom, though this isn't exactly the medium in which I'd share it. Something that had struck me though was the inflation, if you will, in Malaysia. YC's blogged about it, and this is general knowledge, but it never struck me as hard as it does to be on the streets paying those ridiculous prices for food and stuff.
A rough survey at major shopping malls and even hawker centres generally tell the same story; that despite the relative strength of the SGD, things in Malaysia are no longer cheap. A bottle of shampoo that retails at SGD10 would cost RM24, a kinder bueno selling at SGD1.50 would cost Malaysians RM3. That would be ok to stomach if the Malaysian wages were double that in Singapore. I don't see that happening.
You see, as I understand it, Malaysians generally earn the same that we Singaporeans do dollar for dollar, for relatively non international jobs such as sales, project management, stuff like that. When I say that, I mean for example, that if a project manager in Singapore earns an annual income of SGD60k, a project manager in KL would earn about RM60k (give or take a few ks).
What's happening, in this case, is a massive hike in the cost of retail products and services, effectively halving Malaysians' purchasing power, since wages are not moving up to the same degree in tandem. What with the sudden lifting of petrol and agricultural subsidies, we're witnessing the dichotomy between the effect of world trade as a great equalizer of product prices and the closing of arbitrage gaps, and the inefficiency of the labour market to adapt to these changes.
Why is the labour market not following the retail market? Why is it that the added resource from savings in labour does not channel back into the labour market? It probably has something to do with the fact that labour, or services, is (or are?) not as mobile as goods. In a relatively conservative country such as Malaysia, where citizens are brought up in a culture of communal living, to have to choose between a higher paying job abroad and staying at home with the family earning a meagre salary is a no brainer. It could also be evidence of a widening income divide, where those that are willing to move are being paid more, and the ones that choose family over money are punished with increasing distress over his ability to support his family of 10 and extended family of 25. I am, of course generalising a lot of things here, but stay with me. I believe that there will come a point where an as-yet undefined wage tolerance will be breached, and there will be an outflow of talent overseas which will bring wages back on par with international standards... Or at least improve the situation over there.
There's lots that I'd brought back with me in terms of wisdom, though this isn't exactly the medium in which I'd share it. Something that had struck me though was the inflation, if you will, in Malaysia. YC's blogged about it, and this is general knowledge, but it never struck me as hard as it does to be on the streets paying those ridiculous prices for food and stuff.
A rough survey at major shopping malls and even hawker centres generally tell the same story; that despite the relative strength of the SGD, things in Malaysia are no longer cheap. A bottle of shampoo that retails at SGD10 would cost RM24, a kinder bueno selling at SGD1.50 would cost Malaysians RM3. That would be ok to stomach if the Malaysian wages were double that in Singapore. I don't see that happening.
You see, as I understand it, Malaysians generally earn the same that we Singaporeans do dollar for dollar, for relatively non international jobs such as sales, project management, stuff like that. When I say that, I mean for example, that if a project manager in Singapore earns an annual income of SGD60k, a project manager in KL would earn about RM60k (give or take a few ks).
What's happening, in this case, is a massive hike in the cost of retail products and services, effectively halving Malaysians' purchasing power, since wages are not moving up to the same degree in tandem. What with the sudden lifting of petrol and agricultural subsidies, we're witnessing the dichotomy between the effect of world trade as a great equalizer of product prices and the closing of arbitrage gaps, and the inefficiency of the labour market to adapt to these changes.
Why is the labour market not following the retail market? Why is it that the added resource from savings in labour does not channel back into the labour market? It probably has something to do with the fact that labour, or services, is (or are?) not as mobile as goods. In a relatively conservative country such as Malaysia, where citizens are brought up in a culture of communal living, to have to choose between a higher paying job abroad and staying at home with the family earning a meagre salary is a no brainer. It could also be evidence of a widening income divide, where those that are willing to move are being paid more, and the ones that choose family over money are punished with increasing distress over his ability to support his family of 10 and extended family of 25. I am, of course generalising a lot of things here, but stay with me. I believe that there will come a point where an as-yet undefined wage tolerance will be breached, and there will be an outflow of talent overseas which will bring wages back on par with international standards... Or at least improve the situation over there.
