In an organisation, whether it is a registered Company or an NGO, it is crucial that key positions in the organisation must have Job Scope and Description for each employee.
Briefly, a Job Scope provides details about who the position reports to. It spells out the authority, accountability and responsibility of the person and the type of decisions a person can make and the kinds of decisions could be made in relation to co-workers. It is the big picture of the position and how it relates to the other positions in the organisation and to the community.
A Job Description however spells out the expectations and details of the job and how it is to be done. It outlines the job and provides information about procedures and processes he should use to perform the job.
A written Job Scope and Description should be given to each employee as it would define his roles, responsibility and accountability. Minimise any job duplication between the various employees. It would also enhance performance, team work, efficiency and productivity. It will avoid job misunderstanding and politicking.
Lately, I was invited to assess the performance of an Executive in an NGO who was suspected of tabling fraudulent account to its Management. In the midst of discussion, my assessment was that this Executive could not be held totally responsible for suspected fraud as there was no Job Scope and Description given to the Executive neither was there any rules or guidelines for the Executive to work within his responsibility in his day-to-day running of the organisation. There is thus a weakness identified here.
The job he was managing could have out-grown him and he was just doing with all that he could, to the best of his ability, but fell short of requirements and standards which was deemed "ok" when the organisation was small.
Laxity in management is possible when the organisation is "small" and manned by a few staff. However with organisation growth various challenges set in. Complexities arise ranging from staff's complacency, skill and knowledge gaps, outdated processes and systems. Organisation structure and support have not grown in tandem with growth.
Laissez-faire leadership will therefore have to be replaced with strong and efficient leadership style befitting the growth. Management must embrace job scope and description for each employee for reasons of responsibility and accountability. Clear Control Processes & Guidelines, relevant skills, knowledge, processes and systems must also be in place.
To be a High Performance Organisation it must also empower staff in order to perform. Leaders must also be visionary, confident, passionate and lead by example.
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I met a friend, a day ago, who is doing very well in his business, judging by the activities and sales growth. He has increased his A&P promotional spending, increased headcounts ... and was filled with enthusiasm and energy as he shared with me his flag-ship product, the market response and acceptance by KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders) ...
He proudly highlighted to me, which is justifiable, that his flag-ship product, a medical device, is the No 1 product in at least 3 comparative studies against global leading brands, conducted in Germany and 2 other countries. Naturally, I enquired whether, he has capitalised on this claim in Malaysia. The answer is "Yes'. My next question followed ... "so is it the No 1 in market leadership in Malaysia?" The answer is sadly "No".
His colleague, who happened to share in our conversation, then chipped in "... the market is tough, and my boss had also made joint visits with us to the customers and he understands the challenges. He sympathises with us ..."
Without hesitation and with empathy as well, I turned to my friend and said " ... as a boss, it is good to have empathy and sympathise with your sales force, but only within your heart. As a boss, your role is to challenge them to be creative and find solutions to perform better in order to gain market share. The boss has to play the right role of "asking for more" and to support wherever needed with relevant resources. Your people has to be hungry in order to gain more territory".
What is the wisdom here? There is a real need to understand and have written defined roles and functions within an organisation for each individual and work groups in order that the chain of commands, roles and functions are clearly defined, explained and owned. There must be mutual respect and clear line drawn between friendship, empathy and sympathy in achieving the Company Vision, Mission and Goals measured against agreed KPIs.
A boss wears many hats ... he must be a visionary, leader, manager, motivator, counsellor, coach, hard task master ... He continues to acquire and upgrade his skills, knowledge and technology ... he is bold and ready to venture out of comfort zone, he manages risks ... he leads his people with a strong hand whilst understanding their fear, weakness and needs ...
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Have you seen a baby grow and fearing nothing? The baby will without hesitation embrace a dog, whether big or small, with the adults watching in horror and fearing for the worst! Why?
Because the baby's mind knows no fear, pain nor failure. He is curious. He wants to explore. He has no knowledge of fear or failure. He will keep on falling and will continue to pick himself up when he learns to walk.
An adult would not want to try if he knows that he will keep on falling ... there is fear of pain, failure and embarrassment ... He is trapped within himself and afraid to move out of his comfort and painless zone!
Thus an adult's mind is always consciously and unconsciously filled with fears, failures and embarrassments. His mind will not want to try new ideas nor able or want to think out of the box. He is not creative and courageous enough to experiment or take the uncharted path nor revisit the earlier "failures" to make it a success no matter how good the idea or initial concept was.
The fear baggage is too heavy and fear preoccupies and blanks out most minds. There is no spontaneity nor willingness to work on new initiatives. This is why there are only a few successful and charismatic leaders BUT "tons" of followers!
It is good to remind and challenge ourselves to relive our "baby days" where curiosity exists and fear is unknown and the only desire is to attain what the baby wants. If we forgot our "baby days", do observe and play with the baby if you have the opportunity to do so. You will relearn many valuable lessons and tricks as well.
In closing, we as an adult, can achieve what we want to achieve, without the feeling of fears, failures and embarrassments, if we remember our curious and fearless baby days!
"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." says Thomas A Edison.
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A leading US Manufacturer is sourcing for partnership with a Malaysian Pharmaceutical Company to represent its products, which have already been registered with the National Pharmaceutical Control Bureau, Ministry of Health, Malaysia.
Interested Party, please contact PharmLinked. All enquiries are treated with strictest confidence.
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Have you met a guy who seems to "know all" and speaks more than he listens?
Is he really talented and "knows all"? Does he really have all the answers or is he trying to cover his inferiority complex? Or is he being arrogant or "like a frog in a well", thinking that he has all ...? Whatever it is, this guy has a problem and needs help.
What problem? He may lose genuine friends as well as information and knowledge which was intended for him which he had no time to listen. This person will be a failure without him knowing himself.
What is the one good virtue a person must have in order to gain and sustain friendship, knowledge and success. It is simply humility! Humility, in this context, means "let others talk, you patiently listen and learn". It also means showing respect and willingness to listen and learn from others. It also means, if you are wrong, admit it and apologise!
We are living in an information age and "tons" of "happenings and knowledge" are being generated every day. How can we know all? There is time for a person to listen, talk and counsel.
A great and successful leader, whether he is a lay man, Supervisor, Manager or CEO, must be a good listener. He receives information, digests, assimilates and internalises before he opens his mouth or makes a decision. He respects other people's opinion and knowledge and in return others will value his listening ears and counsels. He gains friends and he multiplies his network of contacts, opportunities and successes.
Be filled with humility whoever you are. You will win many genuine friends who will walk the mile with you! And being filled with humility, others are more willing to listen, share, help and trust you. There is mutual respect.
Humility needs to be developed and consciously practised. It is not born. Start today and you will see the fruit of humility bearing profitable fruits.
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Doing the same thing which a person had learnt for the past 1 year for the next 10 years is equivalent to having the experience of 1 year though the person had worked for 11 years! He will definitely be very perfect in the said skill but he will never be able to do more than that!
He would have perfected his skills or mistakes as he had repeatedly repeat over and over again for the
10-year time period! Even the skills perfected may not be efficient as new technologies had evolved to deliver better results and with more efficiency!
Further, does the individual expect different results or outcomes, financials or otherwise, if the same skills, knowledge and tools used are repetitively repeated over the years for the same work processes?
By "standing still" to preserve his own space, the person would be left behind in the competitive labour force and market place! Work experience is important but it should not be an entrapment to hold back a person to challenge himself with new skills, knowledge and technology for better performances and outcomes.
Thus a person must desire to be innovative and creative in his work environment. He must be willing to make himself relevant in the knowledge economy. He must be willing to pursue, learn and acquire new skills, knowledge and technology! He must be efficient, productive and marketable!
Thus, an Organisation or Individual needs to understand that the dictum "practice makes perfect" is not always healthy, which is "a poor growth "catalyst, and should be revisited if positive high powered performances and different outcomes are to be expected.
There is nothing less than having the right attitude and behaviour by stepping out of the comfort zone to aggressively pursue new skills, knowledge and technology! We need to learn, un-learn and re-learn ... to catapult and achieve higher, mightier, powerful performances and growths within the defined time frame!
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Healthcare is one of the 12 National Key Economic Areas (NKEAs) identified in the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP). According to the Annual Report, 2012 the Healthcare NKEA continued to deliver commendable results on top of an outstanding 2012, attracting many private sector participations.
According to the Minister of Health, in his Annual Report, a total of 22 projects covering numerous Entry Point Projects (EPPs) and 1 Business Opportunity (BO) are in place. They are expected to contribute RM4.6 billion to the Gross National Income (GNI) while generating investments totalling RM3.7 billion. The NKEA is also expected to create 18,316 jobs by 2020
In 2012, the Clinical Research Centre of the Ministry of Health was corporatized into Clinical Research Malaysia (CRM). This corporatized body will enable it to efficiently perform independently in its role as a business unit with the pharmaceutical industry.
In the same year, the Medical Devices Act 2012 and the Medical Devices Authority Act 2012 were gazetted. The gazetting of the Acts and their regulations will ensure that the medical devices industry is regulated in Malaysia.
EPP1: Mandating Private Health Insurance for Foreign Workers
EPP2: Creating Supportive Ecosystem to Grow Clinical Research
EPP3: Malaysian Pharmaceuticals: Increasing local Generic Manufacturing for Exports
EPP4: Reinvigorating Healthcare Travel
EPP5: Creating a Diagnostic Services Nexus
EPP6: Developing a Health Metropolis: A World Class Campus for Healthcare and Bioscience
EPP7: Upscale Malaysia's In-Vitro Diagnostic (IVD) Industry
EPP8: Build Malaysian Showcase on Next Generation of Core Single Use Device (SUD) Products
EPP9: Become the Hub for High Value Medical Devices Contract Manufacturing
EPP10: Malaysian Clinical Device Champions
EPP11: Medical Equipment Supply Chain Orchestration
EPP12: Medical Equipment Refurbishment Hub
EPP13:Build Medical Hardware and Furniture Cluster
BO: Delivering Care - Retirement Villages, Mobile Healthcare Services, Institutionalised Aged Care
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Lately, I was invited to assess the performance of an Executive in an NGO who was suspected of tabling fraudulent account to its Management. In the midst of discussion, my assessment was that this Executive could not be held totally responsible for suspected fraud as there was no Job Scope and Description given to the Executive neither was there any rules or guidelines for the Executive to work within his responsibility in his day-to-day running of the organisation. There is thus a weakness identified here.
