An express and implied contract

Walking up towards the customer service centre on my last day before the Christmas break, I stumbled across our belated manager sunning himself on a seat out the front. We needed to discuss the issue of my flexible hours agreement partial success, so we did it there as he clearly wasn't performing any useful work at this point anyway. He explained to me he didn't feel the decision was correct and he fought it to the end, he was naturally arrogant in his attitude, regardless, a less than independent arbitrator ruled against him - ouch.

It is difficult to concede that you have been outplayed in all facets of a negotiation, he has been found to be negligent in his actions, his only defense is to hide behind his position. My strategy is simple, present facts, no emotion, withhold no information and use calculated reason - a simple yet effective strategy. Their strategy is also simple, use evasive tactics, block any questions, hide behind an inflated position and continue to evade reasonable questions.

Furthermore, he then explained that while I signed the agreement and he signed the agreement, the director has not signed the document. However, the agreements were lodged with human resources, we were working within the framework of the agreement, we were also paid as per the agreement - therefore, an agreement was in force, this is the definition of an express contract.

The failure of the director to knowingly sign such an agreement is a very severe indictment on the strategic portfolio, a systematic failure at so many levels. Reviewing the mission, vision and values statement, the concept of fairness had eluded him, such a document to him is a just nothing, this is the second level of my fightback, their own values statement.

I tried to explain the concept of the express and implied contract to him, as he is somewhat challenged in managerial concepts, he was more than a little confused. Regardless, he was under the impression that as a dictator, he has total domination, oh how wrong was his thought pattern.

The concept of the implied contract was explained to me in the context of seeking the consultation of a medical professional. Sitting in the waiting room of a doctor, you do not pay for the consultation up front, you meet with your physician, they interview you, run a series of tests, decide on a course of action and then return with results for further diagnosis.

I agreed to the terms of the contract, worked in accordance with the agreement acting in good faith. This brings me to my next point, although I acted in good faith, it is clear my manager is acting in a manner not fitting the position of a competent manager. I cite the organisational vision, mission and values statement and reference the integrity value “We conduct our business in an ethical, open and honest manner that treats our clients and colleagues with respect and understanding.”

It is clear the personal values of my manager do not extend to the requirements of the organisational vision, mission and values statement. It is clear my manager is collaborating with the director to circumnavigate the terms of the employment agreement. As the principal of trustworthiness and honesty has already been established when I was able to prove that a meeting had not taken place regarding the FHA, I was able to be reimbursed partially for the FHA.

It is my claim that my program manager is not acting in an honest and ethical manner while his personal integrity is being called into question. This is the reason I have decided to pursue alternate employment, I refuse to work in an organisation that pays such scant regard to their own stated values.

Diving Eagle Bay - Dunsborough

It was early in the 2000s I was diving down in Dunsborough on a regular basis - that was about weekly on many occasions. I was running dive tours with a strong Japanese clientele, it was fun times for me as I would take a minimum of four people to dive the West Australian south west coast.

A favourite shore diving location was Eagle Bay, a reasonably short drive out of the Dunsborough township heading to Meelup. We would park the bus under the trees, gear up and swim out to a small reef in about 6 metres of water. The crystal clear waters of the Indian Ocean were great in the morning before the wind arrived - plenty of marine life in a wonderfully scenic location.

We would take a couple of shore dives early, head down to Meelup Beach to have lunch under the shade of the large trees before heading back for a spot of wine tasting at Wise winery - I can't remember why I ever handed this job in? I was having the time of my life - I'm sad it is all over for me.

A 2008 Penfolds Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz

A Friday night and drinks with my old man was in order; on the trip from work to my parent's house, I stopped off at the local bottle shop and purchased a 2008 Penfolds Bin 28 Kalimna shiraz - I am glad of my choice. The shiraz exhibited classic Bin 28 fruits and maturation complexities, satsuma conserve and a very faint cigar box background, as per their tasting notes. You have to love the internet, I went online and downloaded from the Penfolds website the 2008 tasting notes. 

Aromas of a basking Sunday roast and simmering Beef Bourgogne shadowed by tumeric and dark Calamatta olive were also described in the notes. Full-bodied and assertive - the shiraz was certainly that. It was also described as neither bullying with alcohol nor oak with dense layered texture & all bases covered with blueberry Barossa fruits exposed - I totally agree.

Mayweather v Pacman

Every decade, a fight or series of fights defines the decade, undoubtedly the 1920s and 1930s were the golden age of boxing as Jack Dempsey, Gene Tunney and the brown bomber Joe Louis fought consistently at venues like Madison Square Gardens and Philadelphia.

In recent history, I look to the 1970s with Muhammed  Ali v Smoking Joe Frazier for their three fight series culminating in the 1975 Thrilla in Manila, Ali again v the monstrous George Foreman in the 1973 Rumble in the Jungle or even the less promoted but no less exciting Ali v Ken Norton three fight series.

The 1980s gave us the middleweight duels with Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvelous Marvin Haggler, Tommy Hearns and Roberto Duran. The 1990s gave us the long awaited Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson heavyweight match-ups and Jeff Fenech and Azumah Nelson super featherweight fights. Then the 2000s finally saw Danny Green v motormouth Anthony Mundine for the Australian grudge match in 2006. East LA golden boy Oscar De La Hoya fought a much younger Floyd Mayweather towards the end of his career in 2007 where he was beaten by split decision.

After years of negotiations and false starts, the best pound-for-pound boxers of their era finally came together; fortunately for me I was in the Philippines to join in the pre-bout fever, unfortunately for me I was out in Palawan fight day and was unable to find out the result until much later afterwards.

The boxer v puncher match-up unanimously informs us while the majority of these bouts goes the distance, the boxer and not the puncher is victorious. So while a Mayweather and Pacquiao bout is likely to be the long awaited superfight it was promoted as; if Manny didn't sit Floyd on his arse in the early rounds, the result was always inevitable. Floyd the technician with the tight defensive skills and counter-punching ability was always going to win on points otherwise.

No way was Floyd going to go toe-to-toe with Manny, why would he be sucked into fighting to Manny's strengths? His tried and proven tactic of jab, move and counter-punch from a tight defensive framework is his highly successful modus operandi. Mayweather is known to jab heavily early on in the fight to score points and win the early rounds then doing enough in the middle and later rounds to ensure no upset is recorded. That is exactly what we saw in Las Vegas - the better boxer retained his WBA and WBC belts with a sound and proven strategy whilst walking away with Pacquiao's WBO title.

With the huge build-up, it was a fight that could never live up to the hype...

US versus THEM

The old command and control management style is thankfully almost history. Unfortunately, a few old dinosaurs still persist in the workplace; they are slowly being replaced with more collaborative leadership styles. Yet, despite this seismic shift in leadership; the us versus them unfortunately exists in my workplace.

I am seeing plenty of instances of collaborative leadership styles requested in job applications yet I am still unable to see examples in my workplace. I'm glad Nicholas is teaching new style leadership principles, now all he has to do is go and slay some dinosaurs in the workplace and beat them into submission, people don't respond well to coercion and threats.

Hanging with a Titan trigerfish

I happened to momentarily glance up as I hovered over the reef concentrating intently on a small lifeform to see this large Titan trigerfish just before the moment of impact. Moving faster than a Manny Pacquiao left hook; about 4 inches from impact, I threw a short right hand defensive hook and feigned my head to the left with a lightning fast reaction that would have impressed Floyd Mayweather. 

This was not as an elegant defensive move on my behalf as I had imagined; however, it had the desired effect as I stared at those large powerful jaws, I thought this fish was going to do some damage. I have viewed those powerful jaws crunch down on the reef at close range; I visualised those large teeth crunching through my mask and into my face causing extensive damage or maybe biting my ear off if I was silly enough to turn my head.

As the trigerfish withdrew for another charge; with dive knife drawn, I was then able to assume the more orthodox trigerfish dueling stance of fending off with my fin. I have been involved in numerous trigerfish duels and witnessed many others, so I knew what to do. My underwater guide thought this fight was hilarious and offered no assistance, this was a solo fight and strategic retreat; in other words, I tried to flee the scene whilst defending myself - I wasn't enjoying this one bit. I couldn't just swim off, they don't just let you do that, that is just an opening to bite you.

The next day I spotted a Titan trigerfish busy chomping on a coral head, I quickly turned and left her territory feeling more than a little cowardice before I was spotted; I wasn't in the mood to engage the enemy unless absolutely necessary. This dive trip saw another three trigerfish duels with two on a single dive, I am glad to say, none was as exciting as my first Titan trigerfish duel for 2015.

Economics and accounting completed

Having completed my first two units in my MBA along with the two units I was granted through advanced standing, I am asking myself why did I sign up for this? How could I inflict such pain on myself? My life is currently miserable - that much is sure. Every evening getting home from work to start reading and writing up case studies and assignments. I had two shorter online essays to research and write per week for Economic Principles and Decision Making and a larger case study due every fortnight plus online discussions and responses related to the topic.

  
My second selected unit is Accounting for Leaders; this is where I fell apart as I couldn't keep up with the course load for two units and work full time. This unit required a major assignment every fortnight and a weekly short essay related to the module with discussion and responses. There is a fair amount of effort required for a single unit; two units are too much for me. I found I stumbled through the unit, now I am going to revisit accounting to over-learn this important skill.

I found my life just could not just be placed on hold and grind to a stop; I would head down to the shops to purchase groceries and would be rushing just to get back as I was eating into vital study time, no going out for dinner, no drinks out anymore and no entertainment. 

Even when the mail came in, the time required to pay bills was put on hold. This is really unsustainable, I was unable to sleep from the stress, extreme tiredness and fatigue. I couldn't recall some of my posts and discussions - this is an unhealthy situation I need to rectify. I think of Jackson Browne's excellent lyrics on Running on empty, that's how I felt during my first trimester - never again will I undertake two units simultaneously.

I feel I am not learning what I am supposed to learn because I am so overloaded; I am really feeling the stress from being bombarded with so many concepts and information in such a short period. Whilst I am getting through the assignments, I really need to focus on the key concepts to embed the learning. What I don't need is to accelerate the program, placing minimal time limits on learning is a poor strategy that can only increase my personal stress.

I have decided to concentrate on only one unit per trimester in order to embed learning; after all, I am not seeking merely a certificate to hang on the wall. I wist to attain a deep and through current theoretical and practical knowledge to increase my employment opportunities; so I am willing to add another year of study to ensure I have a deep understanding of the subject matter. It is going to cost more, this will increase the cost of the advanced degree - so be it. I am seeking a return on investment and if it extends my ROI by a further year, I am willing to belatedly accept that.

The MBA experience is to build leadership capabilities with a through grounding in the technical and analytic aspects of business management. Apparently the transfer of knowledge is an intensive and lifestyle destroying process that I am finding is less than a positive experience. I must ensure I really gain a lifestyle advantage from the lifestyle I am currently forgoing in order to improve future employment opportunities. 

For my next unit, I will undertake Managing Finance, focusing on the utilisation of financial data for internal decision making processes to address strategies to anticipate alternatives and evaluate advantages and disadvantages of each decision. Topics involve the cost of capital, risk management, capital budgeting, capital structure, enterprise evaluation and payout policies. 

I was applying for jobs despite not yet completing the course, this burnt up precious study time. This is the worst job market since 1991; this was not the greatest time to seek a change of career, still, the process has begun and eight units left to complete.

Deep fast flowing water - are you joking?

Whilst I understand the importance of risk management in our litigation based society - really? I think the little people may be at more risk of walking into the the sign and hitting their heads. Have they taken into account a sign warning about the potential dangers of the sign? Do we need a sign for a sign?

This is a creek, we know creeks are streams that flow into larger bodies of water such as rivers and lakes. Now we know any body of water has the ability to drown the unwary, do we really need signs to tell parents to perform the most basic duties?

A knowledge of accounting

Totally agree with Rohan; whilst you might not be performing data entry or preparing journals or even trial balance; the ability to read and interpret financial statements is a skill contemporary managers need.

The foundations of an MBA program is based on analysis with the ability to interpret not only financial data; the ability to interpret economic data and relevant business information is critical. Whilst not every role requires operations management, marketing or finance, you had better believe analysis and accounting is the core of the decision making process.

Failed Labor governments

The sad truth is that Labor has run only one efficient government at the federal level since the Second World War. The Chifley Labor government failed spectaculary, attempting to nationalise private trading banks with restrictive socialist leglisation; the High Court of Australia ruled such leglisation invalid. Arrogantly refusing to repeal the law; the incumbent Chiefley governmment took the issue to the 1949 election losing to Menzies.

Secondly, the Cheifley government attempted to retain wartime controls including price and import controls including rationing of what they determined scarce commodities. Even the communist controled Miner's Federation undertook strike action in protest; seven years of national emergency controls was accepted during the war, however, as socialism swept Europe, the lives lost fighting for freedom were not going to be meekly handed over now that the threat of national socialism had been defeated.

The ALP did not return to office until late1972; after 23 years in the political wilderness, incoming Prime Minister Gough Whitlam rode a wave of popularity and was swept into office with the promise of change. However, his administration was beset by incompetence from the very beginning, dismissed by Governor General Sir John Kerr in 1975, it was a short and tumultuous period ending in economic disaster for Australia.

The Whitlam failure motivated future Labor leaders of the period to demonstrate Labor could run a modern economy competently and professionally. The economic rationalism drive was commenced by Bill Hayden in opposition contrasting the Malcolm Fraser do nothing approach. The reformist legacy was not only continued by Bob Hawke succeeding Hayden just before the1983 election, the program was accelerated under his guidance. 

The Labor government headed by Hawke was highly successful in their early years implementing the Campbell report recommendations including floating the currency, reducing tarriffs, the prices and incomes accord between the unions, compulsory superannuation and Medicare. The later years saw a deep recession in 1990 and 1991 take some of the gloss off the Labor government, public sector debt was an issue, never addressed seeing the Howard Liberal government return to office in 1996. The Hawke government proved equal to the task, this was the only successful Labor government.

Unlike Bob Hawke and Paul Keating, both Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard were unabashed admirers of Whitlam and his government's doubtful legacy. Rudd inherited one of the best-performing economies in the world, making adjustments to the global financial crisis somewhat easier than would otherwise have been the case. Low government debt coupled with strong taxation receipts from the mining sector, an insatiable thirst by China to consume Australian coal and iron ore, agricultural products and a gold price fueled by uncertainty. It was hard to actually bugger it up, but bugger it up they did.

Australia remained one of the strongest performing economies in the Western world. The problem with the Rudd and Gillard governments has turned on the implementation and/or mishandling of a range of policies. Including the carbon pollution reduction scheme, which became the carbon tax, along with the bungled imposition of a mining tax. Then there was the abandonment followed by the restitution of an asylum seeker policy aimed at controlling Australia's borders.

The focus on the Labor party leadership essentially overlooked Labor's policy problems; the inability to withstand Coalition critique led by then opposition leader Tony Abbott in late 2009. Julia Gillard's assasination of Kevin Rudd, still in his first term as Prime Minister did not endure to the majority of voters stating the government had lost its way, the very government she was deputy Prime Minister from the outset. However, her leadership failed to resolve a number of high profile policy failures associated with the mining tax, luring more than 1000 asylum seekers to their deaths; continual government deficits despite announcing budget surpluses were top priority. 

The decision to introduce the carbon tax, essentially the Greens party policy was viewed as the cost to stay in government at all costs making a mockery of the Australian voter. We all knew we had been played in a feeble attempt to run a minority government, the personal attacks on the opposition leader were a distraction, the misgomy claims were a desperate attempt to fool the politically illiterate. 

Tony Abbott himself is having a difficult time selling his government's policy, despite his lack of personal popularity and the ALP and Greens controlled Senate are opposing his every move; leadership unity and bitter infighting will not bring this government down.

Organisational behaviour done, on to business ethics now

Heading out on holidays and bringing a textbook with me - madness or masterful? Many will argue this is the time to leave the stress behind, yet reading an excellent novel, I will always have in my mind I could be doing something productive.

Well, I suppose it depends on your point of view; this is not the first time, nor will it be the last time for me unfortunately. Where better than to do coursework? Lounging about in the tropics on a deckchair, the sound of waves crashing into the beach and the distractions of home left behind.

I had a mini celebration, organisational behaviour done, now onto the dry subject of business ethics. I was going to be sitting on a deckchair anyway, it might as well be leading to a better future whilst enjoying the present. The deadlines don't go away just because you are on holiday although I must admit, reading about business ethics did allow me to sleep easily on the deckchair. 

The sad fact is, for the last year I now hate my job as I have no confidence in the management decisions taking place. Had they taken the time themselves to study subjects of organisational behaviour and ethics, I wouldn't be needing to study this myself.  

Contingency plans - do we really need them?

I totally disagree with Elizabeth; the very nature of contingency planning is to account for unexpected disruptions. Risk management is now the foundation of prudent business planning, what if sales don't reach expectations?

What if a competitor launches a new product? What if a natural disaster disrupts a supply chain? You had better have contingency plans in place as a risk management regime instead of flying by the seat of your pants type operation.

Military planning has frequently held troops back in reserve, what happens if in a military situation where the platoon or battalion leader is wounded or killed in action?

Is the next in command capable of taking over, it isn't difficult to step on a land mine or be shot despite your best efforts to keep your head down and watch where you step.

What is the chance of key personnel getting sick? The chances of staff being recruited by the opposition is high, can they be replaced? Is a succession plan in place?

Development of all staff is a key issue with all members capable of a) knowing the plan and b) having the capability to execute the plan.

All formidable sports teams have contingency plans in case of game day injuries or match-ups of key personnel - you had better believe back-up plans are in place.