Cargo Cult Science

I come across this term when I read the book – The Halo Effect written by Phil Rosenzweig. This concept is originated from Richard Feynman. I have detailed it in my previous posting, titled “How little we know, how much to learn….”

The story tells that earnest efforts to follow the formula of success do not guarantee the landing of planes if we just do the cult.

In my seminar of budgeting in Oct 2009, some participants reflect that their companies are doing something like it, by filling the figure in the budget template, their managers hope that better financial performance would happen; otherwise, it is not, they thought there must be something wrong with the process; that is why they came to the avenue. Nevertheless, most of the participants are accountants which are out of my expectation. My target audiences are decision makers and accountants. Anyway, I am happy to have intriguing exchange of idea with the participants. I would say the steps of budgeting are i) fill in the figure, ii) quest for the stories, iii) ask for the why (5-why and 5-how), iv) develop strategy, v) create a sense of urgency, vi) set the focus (10 focus means no focus), vii) allocate enough resources, viii) check and act.

I come across the following situation now:

Engineering is blamed for not reacting promptly for keen competition by re-design. But they are only responsible for design and quality, never request to look at cost in the past. Only a trip to the customer and got to know the trend is not sufficient to drive a change. We need sense of urgency, attention from senior management, support and resource allocation. I would consider his manager only acted as the emirate and tell the follower to do the cargo cult!

Robopath (Lewis Yablonsky)

In the book – Social Change by Steven Vago, I learn the term Robopath which is originated from Lewis Yablonsky. It states that for some people with creativity, they invent some model of success and they get return from it. Then they just follow the way and keep taking the reward – indulged himself in this way. However, when this syndrome continues, the old creators become anxious and loses the courage to change, after all, he no longer has any creativity. At worst, he becomes barrier against change.

Several questions flash across my mind.
i. Robopaths is a phenomenon of social change. It is commonly seen whenever there is group of people. And I always deal with them; sometimes, I win; sometimes, I lose. Why?

ii. Will I step on the robopath a day?

iii. Do the people on the robopath acknowledge their current status? Am I able to do it when I am on the robopath?

iv. How to avoid getting on it? How to get away from it when I am on it?

v. When all are on it and I am not, what is the best way to survive? (The reverse is easy, I will not ask)

vi. ….

My readers, can you help me answer them?

Shaman’s curse – psychological impact only

Again, “Sociologie et anthropologie”, I learn the effect of Shaman’s curse. When the Shaman accuses a person of wrongdoing, he curses the victim. The scientific investigation tells that actually, there is nothing changes with the victim physiologically, but the victim believes that he cannot live longer. He is abundant himself. And he dies ultimately. The Shaman has superior status in the village and what he says is considered sacred. However, the outsiders like us consider him devil.

I never thought that psychological impact could be destructive. It is new to me. And I came to realize that people with prestige status can create curse on lower status people; by all means, nobody will die but he/she will be abandon himself in the organization. The higher the hierarchy, the more significant the impact of the curse made, vice versa.

Frankly, I dislike Shaman; but have I ever acted as Shaman? Please help me keep away from it, my friends. Alert me if I do something like cursing.

Adaptability – a bad thing when it is perceived as compromise

I just finished reading a book of Chinese translation, named “Sociologie et anthropologie”. I got to know the daily life of Eskimos. During summer, the Eskimos are living separately on a family basis and close to costal area so as to get food from the sea. During winter, the Eskimos live together with its clan member. It is to centralize the living stuff and enhance the security under the harsh environment. Co-operation among clan members are critical. Eskimos are well known with their special designed winter house. I don’t know its name. Above all, the physical environment shapes their living style. But from the perspective of adaptability, human is vigorous in spirit, particularly, when we feel the need to survive. It is nothing novelty; it is survival the fittest. What matters is Eskimos stay in the long house almost all the day during winter with minimum outdoor activities.

I also read book of behavioral psychology. The predominant principle is Stimulus -> Response. But the humanistic psychologist adds one more element in this model – Stimulus -> Object -> Response. The stimulus can either be initiated by the environment or by a subject. Object and Subject can be both human.

Response and adaptability co-exist and they are co-related. We respond to adapt provided we need to survive. As time goes by, we are adapted to respond.

I have a rather rich personal profile of career. I had ever worked in sweatshop factories and civilized companies. In sweatshop factories (says S-organization), production operators and office staff are required to work 10 hours a day besides the lunch & dinner hours. The 2 hours over 8 hours are given OT pay. In civilized companies (says C-organization), we enjoy flexi-time and are allowed to work at home occasionally.

In S-organization, since I needed to get the salary to survive, I adapted to 10-hours working life by adopting the best mode to balance our life and emotion in office. Some colleagues are fed up with long working hours and strive for redundancy. Above all, strictly following instruction is the best way to balance our life.

In C-organization, I meditate some chances of taking break occasionally but I praise the flexibility and the sense of responsibility is stronger. Sometimes, my manager is aware of it but he is kind enough to tolerate it. Many thanks!

Managers, will you prefer summer Eskimos to winter Eskimos?

Instinctoid – I have ever lost and now I rekindle it

“Not to be served but to serve”, I first heard of it when I was in primary school. It is the school maxim which I had never internalized but teased it. Frankly I all but forgot it until I read the social exchange and servant leadership.

It took me 7 years to finish primary school education and then another 9 years for Form 1 to 7 in a single secondary school. No shame but blessing albeit not being a Christian nor catholic. Everything relies upon oneself to make it happen and nothing is related to any virtue advocate, at least, I believed so in my past career path.

I realize the value of virtue now but I cannot recall why I disdained it in the past. It is not a single example. When I think in-depth and read more, the recipe of many renowned stories and advanced management principles are more or less heard before, the ridicule is I knew it many, many years ago but never think it over. I recalled that I tried to practice but gave up after several attempt in vain. Usually, the veteran in the organizations told me that what was taught in school is to fool people. It was time to fix it and escape from the set up; we need to be sophisticated!

Now I take the position of veteran, it is my turn to stop this malicious iteration. The virtue is workable and it is the antidote to organization success. This reinvention is critical.

By the way, I am reading a book named “Ethics: theory and practice”.

My reader, will you be interested?

Instinctoid – should I do something for it?

I learn this term when I am reading a Chinese edition of Humanistic Psychology. This is created by Maslow. It is the instinct universal to human beings. It is the needs for self-actualization – being the highest level in Maslow’s hierarchy of need. Once our physiological needs, love & security, respect are satisfied, we would like to move forward to the goals of spiritual satisfaction, knowledge searching or create knowledge, high degree of esteem & etc.

Actually, every human possesses instinctoid. However, it is fragile. It will be submerged and ultimately consumed when the environment, both physical & social, are not promising. Or when we come across with hard time in pursuit of certain objectives and the real world environment is beyond expectation, we end up with failure while there is no way to relax ourselves, the instinctoid will start to be consumed, particularly, there is no convincing pretext or the actor is weak in personality. By all means, if we have strong mindset, the instinctoid can stay longer or even stand still. Alternatively, if the environment is encouraging enough, any frustration can help the actor to keep healthy instinctoid.

In retrospect, when I was young (particularly when I just left the college), my instinctoid is strong. However, when I came to realize that the reality is beyond my expectation, I started to question my capability and lose confidence. The instinctoid is consuming. Luckily, I met some great leaders and management savvy, I knew why I failed and why I only got short-lived success.

What matters is I should do something to keep human instinctoid, just like those made for me. I envision that if there are more people calling for self-actualization within the organization and the social environment is positive, the organization, I believe, is bound to every success.

My reader, have you ever done something to consume other’s instinctoid?

Social Exchange – from the manager’s perspective

I gave a 1-day seminar of budgeting on Oct 23, 2009 in Hong Kong. I like to do seminar because when I prepare for it, I need to make sure there is no contradiction of what I am going to tell. It is a good practice of speaking to the public. Furthermore, I need to make sure the content is consistent and intriguing; otherwise, the audience will fall to sleep. Every time, when I found that there is participant sleeping during the seminar, I will jot down what I was telling and introspect why he/she is sleeping. It helps me improve my content and presentation skill. Luckily, there is all but no one falling to sleep. This is the greatest reward I got from doing seminar.

As I was indulged in the social exchange theory, I emphasized social exchange and the diminishing characteristics of social reward. Magically, when I am talking, I found that I will get some magic point during the course. Previously, when I mention social exchange, I only focus from the side of staff/the led, I seldom think from the side of manager. Marvelously, I quoted the following example which I did not prepare for it while it came to my mind suddenly. I said to the participants that “

Have you ever thought about when you just join a company, you are inclined to listen to your manager patiently and seldom argue because you are new and you need the guidance from him? However, when getting familiar with the company and having made some contribution to the company and your manager, you would found that you are more inclined to argue more! And you give less respect to your manager.

Well, if your manager continues speaking/doing nothing valuable to your work, you would tell something negative when you gossip to your peers. Haha…

I would like to remind you that if you were this manager, should you remind yourself either you need to be smarter to give guidelines/stronger support or you just give your staff free hand as enhanced social reward; otherwise, you will lose in the exchange process and fail to mobilize your people. “

Honestly speaking, I further internalize the social exchange theory to my mind during the seminar.

Remark: my reader, if you are interested in my budgeting presentation, you can view it by visiting my profile in http://www.linkedin.com.

Back to Basic – Oct 2009

I could not remember exactly when I started to get involved in planning work in my career as an accounting professional. It might be the time when I wrote a MRP system to the personal client in my freelance business or when I was working in Fellowes which I surrendered my MRP systems to the temporary operation business.

But I am interested in planning because when I realized that if I just dealt with the general ledger, income statement and balance sheet, I could not resolve the operation issues raised from the financial statement – obsolete inventory, scrap, missing profit due to production stoppage which is owing to shortage of materials. The Finance/Accounting professional is often complained by the operation people that they are blowing wind and never knowing the operation. Talking is easy! My enthusiasm with computer system started from that moment. I can work out the planning when I do the criticism of my operation colleagues.

Because of my solid experience in computer modeling (Ms. Excel & Database programming), MRP cycle, persistence of working to detail, I have internalized a planning model which cover material and production in my mind. I am also sensitive to any missing link in the planning cycle. As a result, I took over the planning job in ECI, from master production schedule (MPS), material requirement planning and production line schedule. But I can tell you that there is no secret. It is just a matter of the following formula:

Opening balance + Incoming – Outgoing = Closing
Opening is the opening inventory level
Incoming is the purchasing
Outgoing is the requirement
Closing is the targeted inventory level

This formula has to apply to SKU level so that all materials item and product can be covered. By all means, it relies heavily on the correctness of the BOM.

Another necessary condition is the code – sales forecast uses the product code that can be directly mapped to the BOM code in the system. All materials item has the code in the system.

Today, I hosted a meeting in our Panyu factory which gathered the customer service/engineering/PMC/IT and the plant manager. The funny thing is I was leading them to set up a mapping table to build in the system that the customer code and the customer product code should link to our BOM code so that we can convert the sales forecast to production requirement and the material planning. It was a problem in the past because the combination of customer and product code could map to >1 BOM in our system. It is ridiculous! How can we allow it to happen for >10 years? And the consequence is the planning job being a tough job!

CS expressed its frustration in communicating to customer.

Plant manager (BU director) blamed CS not to bring to his attention so that he can help resolve it.

PMC got used to it and developed its own planning mechanism which is totally ineffective and inefficient.

IT teased the people.

I, being the Finance, am laughing and driving the project.

The hurdle to the planning cycle has lasted for many years. People are too adapted to the restraint! And the inventory days is >120.

The management only presses for shortening the inventory days and do nothing. Anyway, it renders me the job. Interesting!

I could assure that if I were the management, I would never let it happen. I am not trumpeting. I did the similar job before!

Yester company profile

A month ago, I wrote the following for my cousin’s company – Yester. He is creative in new idea. The term – 3G-ASP is created by him. The rest is my imagination. I really wonder if he could walk what I talk below.

Max, please do make it happen as you have used it.

“
3G-ASP – Genuine Quality, Great Service, Good Pricing for Accessories Solution Provider

Yester Accessories is committed to be the premier global 3G-ASP for serving all apparel makers with genuine quality, great service and good pricing.

As a 3G-ASP, we relentlessly uphold 2 principles: Concentration enables proficiency. Empowerment enables growth.

We never stop investing in advanced machinery & molds in our manufacturing facilities in China and Bangladesh. We are proud to possess the production capacity of >100,000 styles of buttons, buckles, zippers and belts. Yester is not positioned itself as manufacturer of garment accessories; rather, we are provider of supply chain solution in apparel industry with support of thousands of professional across various functional areas in its value chain. We build our own laboratory with installation of latest testing equipment, such as [examples of equipment]. We are certified with OEKO-TEX, GOTS, ISO9000 and keeping abreast of the ever-changing requirement of CPSIA and C&A RSL to ensure full compliance of it.

We are proficient because we concentrate.

We are always cultivating on our human capital. We believe unless our employees are happy could they make our customers happy. We persevere to build the Yester community so as to collaborate the concerted effort of all walks of life within the corporation. Yester employees are empowered to speak up, to act, to make decision, to take challenge and risk associated with the opportunity.

We empower our people, therefore, we grow.

With the above, we will be bound to every success in developing partnership with our existing and potential customers by offering customized 3G-ASP program and aim at exceeding our customers’ expectation.
“

The Power of Dissent

I learn peripheral thinking from “Success Built To Last”. I also learn Contrarian Management from “The Future of Management”. They share the same principles implicitly – not to be indulged in ourselves, our thinking and our existing position.

Over the past 20 years in the career life, I met thousands of people, in Hong Kong companies, in MNC and in China manufacturing companies. It is commonly found that the Chinese (me too!) has difficulty to practice open-mindedness, open discussion, be challengeable & teamwork. Few weeks ago, when I had a conference call with a senior manager and his staff, we intended to resolve an issue which we had different opinion. However, he could not refrain from speaking out his position and asked his staff to express their opinion! Needless to say, the “democracy” took effect. I yielded to the majority opinion!

AKF, I will no longer argue with you because you have the democracy on hand!

I also feel sorry with AKF that he likes to challenge people of not working overtime even though the staff has completed the assignment before 5:30pm.

Anyway, I understand the power of peripheral thinking and the value of balance of life. I am proud with my people when I need extra effort and intense focus, they unanimously contribute. I would not deny that I have put much effort in cultivating on the platform of peripheral thinking – the staff controls their own daily schedule and I provide the resource & support. I dislike seeing people working hard after office hours while soft in daytime. Very often, I leave the office between 5:30pm and 6pm.

I am still feeling grateful of doing the translation of the slogan when I was working in the wire harness company. The staff picked up the Chinese version and I did the translation; however, I did not know why I had used such stupid words – empowerment enables organization success. Luckily, as I am regarded open-minded, one of my subordinate came to me and suggested me taking out the word organization. After all, I ended up with a perfect translation; at least I believe so, as follows:

Concentration enables Proficiency
Empowerment enables Growth

Amy, many thanks to you!