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Waktu aku berjalan di sekitar Kota Kinabalu aku terjumpa signboard toilet seperti ini di tengah-tengah kota. Pelik tapi menarik, dalam kesibukan kota ternyata mereka tidak melupakan panggilan semulajadi yang ada pada setiap insan. Dalam diam aku memuji segala usaha yang ditunjukan.

Papan tanda ini bertujuan memudahkan sesiapa yang mencari tandas awam. Ianya membuktikan kepekaan perancang terhadap orang ramai. Ianya adalah dari sudut pengertian orang ramai terutamanya pejalan-pejalan kaki.

Sebagai tugas dan tanggungjawab yang harus kita semua pikul adalah memastikan ianya dijaga dengan baik. Jika setiap orang bertanggungjawab dalam menjaga dan memelihara segala kemudahan yang disediakan maka keharmonian negara dapat dipertingkatkan.

Chocolate for Present

Coklat for my younger sister. Satu-satunya adikku. Semenjak ayah tak ada..terasa jugak bahang kesunyian. Tinggal mak, adik dan diriku je.. atas dunia dunia ni. Aku lah yang bertanggungjawab atas segalanya. Jaga mak dan jaga adik. Banyak perkara nak kena ingat, hari lahir mak, hari lahir adik... hari lahir diri aku sendiri, mmmmmmmm hari kematian ayah... dan macam-macam.

Tapi tak ape aku tetap bersyukur atas apa yang Tuhan kurniakan ke atas diriku, kalau nak dibandingkan pasti ada orang lain yang lebih sedih dan susah dari ini. Moralnya aku tak pernah mengganggap perkara ini menyusahkan. Pokoknya hidup mesti diteruskan. Yang penting jangan lupa menjaga ibu dan bapa baik-baik semasaa hayatnya ada. Adik pulak, itu je adik yang aku ada. Bila dia dah besar nanti mudah-mudahan kalau sesak-sesak dapat juga aku menumpang teduh.

Yang penting sekarang mak, adik dan diriku happy dan tak bersedih. Semoga roh arwah ayah dicucuri rahmat. Kami sekeluarga doakan alfatihah buat arwah ayah...

Syurga Seafood

Bagi mereka yang gemarkan seafood, KK juga merupakan tempat yang menawarkan pelbagai jenis seafood yang boleh memenuhi citarasa anda.

Kesegaran dan harga yang berpatutan mampu menawan hati para pelanggan yang berkunjung ke Waterfront, Kota Kinabalu untuk menikmati kepelbagaian makanan laut ini. Sediakan duit dan pilih sahaja besar, kecil, sederhana, samada ikan, udang, ketam, sotong dan sebagainya. Kata pepatah sesekali mencuba apa salahnya.

Setiap pengunjung pasti akan rambang mata melihat sajian hidupan laut yang dijual di setiap gerai. Kebanyakannya siap dibakar. Walaubagaimanapun ianya akan dipanaskan sebelum dihidangkan kepada pelanggan.

Keadaaannya adalah seperti di sebuah pasar malam yang besar. Namun begitu kemudahan meja makan disediakan yang mana setiap meja telah tersedia dengan limau kasturi, cili potong dan kicap bagi menambah rasa ketika menikmati hidangan.

Bagi sesiapa yang berkunjung ke KK jangan lupa singgah di Waterfront untuk menikmati juadah seafood yang menarik ini.

Roti Gardenia

During my trip to Kota Kinabalu dari 21 - 24 April 2009 pelbagai perkara menarik aku temui. Untuk memastikan perkara itu menjadi memori yang berguna aku tidak lupa menulis dan mengabadikannya dalam blog.

Aku temui roti Gardenia yang packagingnya ditulis dalam tulisan jawi di KK. Seperti yang boleh dilihat di dalam gambar, terdapat di KK, dan tidak di semenanjung. Hmmmmmm aku terfikir jugak istimewanya labeling yang digunakan selain dari memaparkan tulisan rumi malah warisan seni bangsa melayu tidak ketinggalan. Kita sepatutnya menjadikan ianya contoh terbaik dalam mengekalkan kewujudan tulisan ini di kalangan bangsa Melayu.

Sekiranya di teliti, tulisan jawi ini semakin jarang digunakan dikalangan bangsa Melayu. Selain dari pelbagai identiti yang berbeza dengan kaum lainnya, sepatutnya kita harus berbangga sebagai anak melayu kita mempunyai satu keistimewaan dari segi tulisan yang tidak mampu dikuasai oleh bangsa lain. Kita tidak sepatutnya membiarkan kewujudan tulisan rumi ini pupus ditelan zaman.

OFFICE POLITICS

Office politics can be defined as the management of influence to obtain ends not sanctioned by the organization or to obtain sanctioned ends through non-sanctioned means. Its use of one's individual or assigned power within an employing organization for the purpose of obtaining advantages beyond one's legitimate authority.

The purpose could be for self serving and manipulative behavior of individuals and groups to promote their self interests at the expense of others and some times even organizational goals as well.

Activities that are not required as part of one’s formal role in the organization, but that influence, or attempt to influence, the distribution of advantages or disadvantages within the organization.

Who may involved:

Management and occupational employees may engage in office politics, individually or collectively.

Managers who engage in office politics often do so at the expense of the employees who report to them.

Who is unaware

New employees to the workforce are frequently taken by surprise by the kind of office politics that occur

How to handle office politics

Never Abuse Your Position
Managers and others who have authority over other workers must exercise caution to avoid playing favorites at work.

Maintain Your Professionalism

Gossip, off-color jokes, and boisterous behavior have no place at work

Be Friendly and Available
Although you should always behave professionally, there is no need to be stuffy or standoffish at work.

Be a Team Player
There’s no ‘I’ in team and giving credit to others for their great ideas and hard work will gain you the respect and admiration of coworkers.

Treat Confidences with Care
No matter your position, there will likely come a time when you are privy to information that is not meant to be public.

Carefully Forming Workplace Friendship
Many of us spend more time with our coworkers than we do with family members, so it is natural to form emotional attachments to fellow employees.

Love and Work Doesn’t Mix Well
Dating a coworker can be complicated, and many companies even have policies in place to discourage romantic relationships between employees.

Protect Your Reputation
If you find yourself in the unfortunate position of being the subject of hurtful gossip, by all means, defend yourself.

Be Sure To Look In The Mirror
Ultimately, your behavior at work will help to determine your character.

Today's Managerial Challenges

Todays's Managerial Challenges

Manager is NOT only for profit-making businesses. Manager is the specific and distinguishing organ of any and all organizations. Managers plays an important role in the organization towards a common goal or set of goal within the framework of structured relationship. Mintzberg approach highlighted on the three important managerial roles. The roles are interpersonal, informational and decisional.

Organizations around the globe are facing similar managerial challenges.

Attracting talent and retaining quality employees at all levels to meet the needs of organization growth.

The big issue that the managers should be focusing more is on how to make the organization better to attract the right people, making sure to retain them and better developing those people to deliver on your business objectives and goals. One of the strategies is to market the brand to the employees. An organization’s employer brand and reputation go a long way in attracting people and this is particularly beneficial for many larger companies. Smaller companies, however, need to better communicate their culture, philosophy and vision to potential candidates through a strong employer brand. Potential employees make decisions about accepting positions with new companies based on more than just remuneration. The skills shortage has enabled candidates to be increasingly selective about their employment experiences. The ability to communicate your employer brand externally is vital to attract talented staff that also fit in with the company culture.

Managers should work harder on their employer brand and promote their image through public relations, advertising and word of mouth. If the employees love working for the company and buy into the company brand, they will be the best advertising. Regardless of the size of the organization, attracting and retaining the right staff is a major factor in the success and ability to grow. The skills shortage is also posing challenges for staff retention. Shortage of a position in the marketplace is the challenge for the company to keep hold of the intellect and talent that exists within the organization.

To retain good employees, the company must offer them more than decent wages and benefits. Employees need to be recognized for a job well done and remembered on special occasions, such as a work anniversary. When employees shows signs of readiness, entrust them with new tasks and greater responsibility to keep them challenged and engaged. To retain specialists, companies will need to tailor career tracks so that the company reward and fully utilized different types of employees with different interest and skills levels. Attracting and retaining talent demands that companies offer potential and current employees a value proposition that aligns closely with the desire of these groups as well as with the employer’s brand.

Companies should also ensure that they target their offering to meet the need and goals unique to different ethnic group and nationalities, women, and older workers. Companies need to broaden their talent pool by attracting and retaining diverse groups of employees.

Worker shortage

There is a growing shortage of qualified workers. The company currently faces with a severe shortage of resources. People are healthier longer and can work for more years. The company will not be able to marginalize older workers, but will instead have to train and support them. Many task will be shifted to automation, or will incorporate automation in new ways in order to increase the productivity challenge.

Developing a robust leadership pipeline.

One of the biggest potential threats to many corporations is a lack of a robust talent pool from which to select future leaders. To achieve this, a manager has to have special skills in understanding impersonal and group behaviour, establishing interactions and communication, and promoting cooperation. The quality of leadership determines the success or failure of an organizations. It is an essential component of organizational effectiveness. To be effective, a manager should have a good understanding of leadership, motivating factors, how people think and act, and should adopt a personal and active attitude towards designated goals. Leadership should be both effective and successful. While successful leadership draws a response from individuals or group members on the basis of rewards and punishments, effective leadership is based on mutual understanding and social exchange. An effective leader makes the individual or group members understand the problem and reasons for any actions or for changes needed in their own perceptual terms, and then makes a well reasoned decision.

Transferring key knowledge and relationships

Those who are dependant on the strength of knowledge, such as that embedded in customer relationships, a key to business success. One of the most effective ways is implementing a comprehensive system of job families across the company. Such as a system clusters employees whose skills and specific experience create opportunities for job exchanges across many levels. Companies should forecast, on a job family basis, how their current work will develop over the next 5, 10 and 15 years – taking into account expected recruitment, retirement and attrition.

To meet the globalization challenges

The companies must prepare their employees to cope with the complexities and accelerated speed of an increasingly global economy. This action is particularly important since some national education systems are failing to arm new workers with the skills that they will require to keep pace. In such an environment, companies will succeed or fail based on how well they link employee training to their business strategy. Overall, companies will need to boost significantly the number of on- the-job development programs such as job rotation. For maximum success, they will also need to couple these programs with counseling and coaching support.

Assist on employee satisfaction on balance lives, personal and professional growth

Employees today want more out of a job than a big salary. Workers expectations have shifted over the past few decades. Many workers would like to have time off and better working conditions. Workers under age 35 typically rate balance and flexibility as more important than their relationship with their bosses, and identify job challenge and promotion as reasons to stay with their employers. Employees want their organizations to demonstrate that their personal lives are a priority. Lack of opportunities to learn and grow often leads workers to move on to other employment.

To improve productivity and quality

Quality and productivity is very important to an organization. By using self-directed work teams, streamlining processes and implementing continuous improvement programs must be model of manufacturing efficiency. Quality program such as TQM and reengineering programs will require extensive employee involvement.

Managing work-life balance

Employees are increasingly selecting or rejecting job base on how well they can help the individuals achieve work-life balance or advance personal goals and values. In order to attract and retain highly talented individuals, companies therefore need to offer flexible work arrangement. They will also need to appeal employees’ growing desire to derive a sense of greater purpose from their work.

EPF Contribution

EPF Contribution

This is an update and reminder on our EPF contribution. It was announced in the newspaper on November 5, 2008 that the Government has allowed employees to reduce their contribution by three percentage points effective January 2009 wages which means from 11% to 8%. But bare in mind that this is only for two years. By 2011 the contribution should be at 11%.

For those who are eligible for incometax, by having 8% EPF deduction would increase their amount for incometax deduction rather than having it at 11%.

So think wisely before doing it. Unless if you arethinking of investing the extra balance from 8% deduction to some other financial area such as deposit it into ASB which will give more dividend in return.