Singapore Expats

Firms must try to hire Singaporeans first from Aug 2014

Discuss about any latest news or current affairs in Singapore or globally. Please DO NOT copy and paste news articles from other sources without written permission.
Post Reply
x9200
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 10073
Joined: Mon, 07 Sep 2009 4:06 pm
Location: Singapore

Post by x9200 » Wed, 02 Oct 2013 7:34 am

disenchanted wrote:Now, the key problem with both productivity and the near-mythical 'innovation' here is the mindset of the workforce. I've been temporarily staying in quite a few countries and what strikes me the most about today's Singapore is that almost nobody seems to believe in what they do.

I don't know if we can attribute it more to the commanding parents, the social over-engineering throughout education and NS or both, but the impression I'm getting is that most people only wants to drag it somehow till the end of the day, get the paycheck and screw off. Its like everybody ended up in professions and lives they didn't want on the first place and their passions and interests were suppressed sometime before they even developed. The general apathy Singaporeans demonstrate is pathological and this is the main bottleneck in Singapore reaching its full potential as a truly global, influential city. You really don't need 5 or 7 or 10 million people to do that, you need a workforce that's passionate.
It is not a goal oriented society. It is boss oriented. Majority don't care what they do. They do care what the boss says. It does not need to be of quality or good standard or novelty or useful if the boss is happy with it. Many bosses are the same. They also have their key performance indicators that are usually 1D only. People do average or substandard job but if this looks ok from outside then why not? The painted grass is good enough. Do you see any space for passion in this?
Another factor is the fear of the failure. The same old kiasu thing. People around do preferably things they are sure they can accomplish. This means repeating what they know would work. Nothing new, nothing inventive, nothing exceeding overall rater low standard but widely accepted and proven successful (in their eyes).

katbh
Reporter
Reporter
Posts: 599
Joined: Thu, 04 Oct 2007 10:01 am
Location: Singapore

Post by katbh » Wed, 02 Oct 2013 7:43 am

^+1.
We also call it the 90% culture. 90% is done brilliantly, but the last 10% (often the most important) is either not done or done so badly that it ruins the rest. This also gives an out.... 'I have not failed because....the 10% was not my responsibility'.
I have had a book printed that was printed beautifully - but 2 pages were bound upside down. The printers tried to make me pay because they had 'substantially complied' with the instructions. Never mind the fact that the books were unusable and had to be pulped.
This happens over and over in so many different ways - e.g. look at DBS, great bank, friendly staff, great at the basics, but ask them to do anything different is impossible. Try point out that they are the only bank that charges businesses (in a hefty way) for internet banking - and they will look at you blankly.
Last edited by katbh on Wed, 02 Oct 2013 8:39 am, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
PNGMK
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 9076
Joined: Thu, 21 Mar 2013 9:06 pm
Answers: 10
Location: Sinkapore

Post by PNGMK » Wed, 02 Oct 2013 8:24 am

katbh wrote:^+1.
We also call it the 90% culture. 90% is done brilliantly, but the last 10% (often the most important) is either not done or done so badly that it ruins the rest. This also gives an out.... 'I have not failed because....the 10% was not my responsibility'.
I have had a book printed that was printed beautifully - but 2 pages were bound upside down. The printers tried to make me pay because they had 'substantially complied' with the instructions. Never mind the fact that the books were unusable and had to be pulped.
This happens over and over in so many different ways - e.g. look at DBS, great bank, friendly staff, great at the basics, but ask them to do anything different is impossible. Try point out that they are the only bank that charges businesses (in a hefty way) for internet banking - and they will look at your blankly.
Even Sinkies call DBS "Damn Bloody Stupid" bank.

I switched to Maybank years ago. No queues, friendly staff, low fees.... admittedly no NETS but who cares.

touchring
Member
Member
Posts: 22
Joined: Thu, 12 Feb 2009 4:20 pm

Post by touchring » Wed, 02 Oct 2013 10:36 am

disenchanted wrote:Now, the key problem with both productivity and the near-mythical 'innovation' here is the mindset of the workforce. I've been temporarily staying in quite a few countries and what strikes me the most about today's Singapore is that almost nobody seems to believe in what they do.

I don't know if we can attribute it more to the commanding parents, the social over-engineering throughout education and NS or both, but the impression I'm getting is that most people only wants to drag it somehow till the end of the day, get the paycheck and screw off. Its like everybody ended up in professions and lives they didn't want on the first place and their passions and interests were suppressed sometime before they even developed. The general apathy Singaporeans demonstrate is pathological and this is the main bottleneck in Singapore reaching its full potential as a truly global, influential city. You really don't need 5 or 7 or 10 million people to do that, you need a workforce that's passionate.

Singaporeans CAN do it. Anthony Chen is a great example. But the bulk of the population still needs to swap their endurance for spirit, ego for pride and habits for a culture. Maybe if that happens, this place will flourish from the bottom upwards and not the other way around.

I can't say for other countries, but I think culture and social plays an important part in whether a society is innovative. The Chinese culture is based on capitalism - money. There's even a god of fortune and in Singapore, even a religion that preaches money - I won't mention the name.

Many interests and passions don't directly translate into money. I knew someone with a bizarre character, was a brilliant pianist but wasn't able to study music because of parental disapproval, in the end, graduated with a Masters degree in engineering, but was unable to work at all due to a very temperamental personality. The irony is that today, a well qualified pianist in Singapore can earn much more than an engineer.

A person who is too focused on money on becomes very self-centered. So an employee won't innovate even if he or she has the ability because innovation comes with risk. What if the innovation fails? Here, NS also plays a part - there's a NS slogan "Don't try to be a smart aleck" which means don't try to do something different and stand out.

History has proved that the combination of extreme capitalism + authoritarianism don't work for long. It breeds corruption (cronyism and abuse of power is also considered corruption in many countries), stifles creativity, creates social instability and lowers social morals, promotes elitism and finally leads to revolution. China is a good example. Historically, most Chinese dynasties don't last more than 100-150 years and ends up with a revolution and famine that wipes out a third or a quarter of the population.
Last edited by touchring on Wed, 02 Oct 2013 11:11 am, edited 1 time in total.

morenangpinay
Reporter
Reporter
Posts: 890
Joined: Mon, 02 Mar 2009 6:19 pm

Post by morenangpinay » Wed, 02 Oct 2013 11:08 am

i think the problem is the attitude to work. Because they spend alot on getting education, once they graduate, they expect a certain salary level to pay for their luxuries and needs.They won't accept anything less than that because their reasoning is that they paid for their education so they should get management level positions immediately which does not happen in the real world.they dont value hard work..not saying all but most have this attitude.

User avatar
PNGMK
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 9076
Joined: Thu, 21 Mar 2013 9:06 pm
Answers: 10
Location: Sinkapore

Post by PNGMK » Wed, 02 Oct 2013 11:11 am

morenangpinay wrote:i think the problem is the attitude to work. Because they spend alot on getting education, once they graduate, they expect a certain salary level to pay for their luxuries and needs.They won't accept anything less than that because their reasoning is that they paid for their education so they should get management level positions immediately which does not happen in the real world.they dont value hard work..not saying all but most have this attitude.
They pay a lot less than some countries... seriously PS, SS, JC and local unis are all subsidized.

User avatar
Strong Eagle
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 11618
Joined: Sat, 10 Jul 2004 12:13 am
Answers: 9
Location: Off The Red Dot
Contact:

Post by Strong Eagle » Wed, 02 Oct 2013 11:38 am

morenangpinay wrote:i think the problem is the attitude to work. Because they spend alot on getting education, once they graduate, they expect a certain salary level to pay for their luxuries and needs.They won't accept anything less than that because their reasoning is that they paid for their education so they should get management level positions immediately which does not happen in the real world.they dont value hard work..not saying all but most have this attitude.

It is worse than this. I've met (and supervised) far too many people who think "management" means you don't actually do any work. You tell other people to do work. You never have a creative idea to do work better. You are always blame free because if things f*ck up, it was the other guy that did it.

The idea of management owning responsibility for a group, a concept, a product, an operation, seems totally foreign to these folks.

iloverice
Regular
Regular
Posts: 132
Joined: Fri, 30 Mar 2012 10:45 pm
Location: Singapore

Post by iloverice » Wed, 02 Oct 2013 12:03 pm

^+1

User avatar
triste
Regular
Regular
Posts: 73
Joined: Tue, 02 Jul 2013 12:01 pm

Post by triste » Wed, 02 Oct 2013 2:31 pm

touchring wrote:
History has proved that the combination of extreme capitalism + authoritarianism don't work for long. It breeds corruption (cronyism and abuse of power is also considered corruption in many countries), stifles creativity, creates social instability and lowers social morals, promotes elitism and finally leads to revolution. China is a good example. Historically, most Chinese dynasties don't last more than 100-150 years and ends up with a revolution and famine that wipes out a third or a quarter of the population.
You're delusional if you think there's going to be a revolution in Singapore.

User avatar
ScoobyDoes
Manager
Manager
Posts: 1667
Joined: Wed, 29 Nov 2006 6:42 pm
Location: A More Lucky Spot

Post by ScoobyDoes » Wed, 02 Oct 2013 4:18 pm

triste wrote: You're delusional if you think there's going to be a revolution in Singapore.

Why?
'When Lewis Hamilton wins a race he has to thank Vodafone whereas in my day I used to chase the crumpet. I know which era I'd rather race in.'

SIR Stirling Moss OBE

User avatar
triste
Regular
Regular
Posts: 73
Joined: Tue, 02 Jul 2013 12:01 pm

Post by triste » Wed, 02 Oct 2013 4:44 pm

ScoobyDoes wrote:
triste wrote: You're delusional if you think there's going to be a revolution in Singapore.

Why?
Forced overthrow of a government the majority of the world admires? You think that's happening? By whom? TRE readers? Please.

User avatar
the lynx
Governor
Governor
Posts: 5281
Joined: Thu, 09 Dec 2010 6:29 pm
Location: Location: Location: Location: Location: Location: Location: Location: Location: Location: Location:

Post by the lynx » Wed, 02 Oct 2013 4:46 pm

triste wrote:
ScoobyDoes wrote:
triste wrote: You're delusional if you think there's going to be a revolution in Singapore.

Why?
Forced overthrow of a government the majority of the world admires? You think that's happening? By whom? TRE readers? Please.
But I wouldn't be surprised if they use GE 2016 as a foot stool for revolution.

User avatar
PNGMK
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 9076
Joined: Thu, 21 Mar 2013 9:06 pm
Answers: 10
Location: Sinkapore

Post by PNGMK » Wed, 02 Oct 2013 4:53 pm

the lynx wrote:
triste wrote:
ScoobyDoes wrote:
Why?
Forced overthrow of a government the majority of the world admires? You think that's happening? By whom? TRE readers? Please.
But I wouldn't be surprised if they use GE 2016 as a foot stool for revolution.
I don't agree. Not yet. Maybe 2116. Not 2016. Not yet.

User avatar
Barnsley
Manager
Manager
Posts: 2319
Joined: Tue, 10 Jun 2008 5:22 pm
Location: Pasir Ris
Contact:

Post by Barnsley » Wed, 02 Oct 2013 5:15 pm

triste wrote:
ScoobyDoes wrote:
triste wrote: You're delusional if you think there's going to be a revolution in Singapore.

Why?
Forced overthrow of a government the majority of the world admires? You think that's happening? By whom? TRE readers? Please.
Its called the ballot box and public opinion...

When Maggie T was PM it appeared everyone in the world admired her leadership of the UK. Alas the folks of the UK were none too keen after ten years or so and Tories kicked her out once public opinion had turned against her somewhat.

It doesnt matter what the outside world thinks if the folks of Singapore decide enough is enough then the Govt will fall.

No need for a big revolution.
Life is short, paddle harder!!

User avatar
sundaymorningstaple
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 40376
Joined: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 1:26 pm
Answers: 21
Location: Retired on the Little Red Dot

Post by sundaymorningstaple » Wed, 02 Oct 2013 5:15 pm

'tis coming though. Relentlessly, stupidly, it's coming.
SOME PEOPLE TRY TO TURN BACK THEIR ODOMETERS. NOT ME. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHY I LOOK THIS WAY. I'VE TRAVELED A LONG WAY, AND SOME OF THE ROADS WEREN'T PAVED. ~ Will Rogers

Post Reply
  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post

Return to “Latest News & Current Affairs”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 4 guests