Crucial to effective communication

Working with a manager in title lacking any definitive verbal or written communication skills, I ask myself “what fool promoted this guy?" 

An incompetent manager reflects poorly on the whole organisation, they can't respond with the old line of not having enough competent personnel, it is really an old boy's club despite the fact it is dominated by women. Internally, the term is the purple circle, it is unfortunately true for an organisation that is performing so poorly.

Leadership is sought at middle to upper management levels; yet at many organisations leadership is so sadly lacking that the term leadership is met with howls of laughter and derision.

Dropped off

I had the recent situation where the boat dropped the dive guide and myself in the water continuing on to a nearby island to drop the passengers off before returning to pick us up at the end of the dive. Whilst it didn't concern me at the time, I did think this was a somewhat unusual diving practice and prone to both abuse and possibly tragic outcomes.

The boat had at least a 20 minute steam to the island, the time taken unloading of passengers and return trip to our position. We were going to be an hour underwater, the current was mild but a storm was approaching. This was my second day diving with this resort so they had seen me dive previously, they knew I was comfortable underwater and was an experienced diver.

Had the vessel broken down, our dive ended abruptly, a passenger has an issue or accident or they were detained on the island for any reason - we may have had an issue. The vessel had a number of engine issues so that may have contributed to a delayed return, the engine broke down on the first day and was very noisy in the valve train.

My questions are related to what if; I am mid-40s, reasonably fit but well down on my personal standards, I have a number of medical issues but currently free of any real (or at least serious) medical problems. They, of course know none of this as they never asked me, so this tends to indicate this is normal practice and this could be a real problem.

A panic, a sting, bite or medical problem on the surface or underwater could have ended in devastating circumstances. Likewise, a stronger than anticipated current could have swept us well away from the site and pick up zone. This is poor practice and one feels this operation is an accident waiting to happen, was it just me or is this normal practice?

Is the travellers cheque history?

Once upon a time, everyone who went on holiday went down their local bank to pre-order their travellers cheques, no need to bother with this archaic ritual anymore. 

These days you can just pay by credit card nearly everywhere you go, you can also go to just about every automatic teller machine and withdraw local currency. No longer are you at the mercy of local merchants and dodgy exchange rates and commissions, nor do you need to worry about losing your travellers cheques. There is naturally the issue of losing your credit card or even credit card fraud or having your credit suspended, regardless, getting credit card fraud sorted out these days is relatively simple. I've ditched the travellers cheques in favour of electronic banking.    

Cafe Havana

My favourite bar in Manila is Cafe Havana in the Greenbelt 3 entertainment complex. I travel to the Philippines on a fairly regular basis; such is my love of the scuba diving this wonderful country offers.

I depart Perth at 1.10 am on a Friday morning for Singapore, arriving about 6.30 am, I have my connection to Manila at 12.15 pm and arrive at about 3.30 pm - it's always the same flights so I know the routine well. But the time I travel to my hotel after clearing immigration and the horrible Manila traffic - it's Friday evening and I'm ready for some fun.

On a Friday and Sunday night, a long running band playing an entertaining mix of Cuban and salsa music - this is really a great evening out. I just love the set list, the Salsa and Latino sounds are great Friday night entertainment although I must admit, I can't recall hanging out too many times on a Sunday night. I have walked past plenty of times though and just listen to the band play, yet I can't remember their name.

I generally travel to the Philippines three times a year for two weeks at a time, that accounts for three attendances at Cafe Havana on a Friday night per trip and nine happy experiences per year, that's more boozy outlandish Friday nights that I can care to remember for the decade I have been diving and holidaying in the Philippines.

Deep bounce dives on a single cylinder

I am recalling a story told to me by a friend whom I have dived with many times, she is a very competent recreational diver. She has not been trained for deep or decompression diving, she is a pretty good divemaster by all accounts, I have seen her in action on many occasions and can attest to her diving ability in a recreational setting. So where did it all go wrong?

First it started with trust, her buddy was an instructor with 5000+ dives experience who had worked in Thailand and Turkey among other destinations, that is high profile European and South East Asian destinations. With that many dives in high traffic dive resort destinations, he could be considered a full-time professional diver.

The dive plan was vague, she was to follow him down the line to an unspecified depth and follow computer decompression requirements back to the surface. Their equipment; standard recreational scuba arrangement - single 11 litre aluminum cylinder, standard K-valve, jacket type BCD, a single wrist mounted dive computer and standard recreational regulator with alternate air source.

The conditions - strong current, no surface wave chop, sunny day and a light wind blowing. She followed him down the line, he was descending quickly and she was encountering difficulty keeping up to that rate of descent. She was able to grab him at 40 metres, signalling to him that everything is not ok; he signaled back that everything was ok and continued the descent at the same rate.

She encountered severe nitrogen narcosis as the descent continued and stopped, at this point she decided to ascend alone, depth unknown as she was unable to read or comprehend her dive computer display instead using her exhaled bubbles as a guide. Apparently, the ascent rate alarm did not sound during her blue-water ascent. Her instructor continued his descent unaware of her difficulties nor did he seem to care about the person he was diving with.

After some time, her buddy did notice her missing and began his ascent, he had gained a decompression obligation greater than her due to his greater depth and longer exposure at depth. He did not manage to catch up up with her during her (and his) hang time. Due to her distress and anxiety, she had consumed a fair amount of gas in her single cylinder and was running dangerously low with still time remaining on her shallow 3 metre decompression stop.

There was no decompression hang tank in the water, but what did it matter anyway? She didn't make it back underneath the boat at any rate. She had to perform her in-water stops without the aid of a lift bag and reel as she did not own such equipment instead trying to maintain depth without any aids. Hence, the maintenance of depth was pretty poor with notable depth changes during the decompression phase.

Upon arriving at the surface, she wanted to know what the hell happened, she was not experienced at that depth and the nitrogen narcosis was almost debilitating. She had plenty of time to think about it during her surface swim back to the dive boat, she was pretty upset. When he arrived back at the boat some time later, his attitude was nonchalant, this angered her as she felt real fear for her well-being.

As she had consumed a significant amount of gas at depth, had she not turned and ascended, she would have emptied her cylinder at depth, not just on the hang. As no turn pressures had been discussed let alone rule of thirds, it was just luck she began her descent when she did. Naturally, they had not done any gas planning, nor contingency planning for that matter. The wash up - at what point did this do go wrong? How could have things been different?

Discussing profit

As profit is defined as revenue minus costs, sometimes described as profit identity; in a perfectly competitive market, normal profit may be sufficient to maintain business operations for a period of time, or just barely covering financial costs, accounting profit doesn't consider opportunity cost.

A business generally makes decisions based on opportunity costs; mission, vision and values statements dominate current management thinking. I learned the hard way, neglect the values statement on even a government management job application and pay the penalty.

Previously, I worked in a tourism and retail business, where our retail sales were dominated by the actions of wholesalers. Perfect competition may be described, among other things as a market large enough to not be dominated by individual, if only.

Wholesalers dictate terms to retailers, withhold supply by refusing to open accounts in an attempt to force new competition out of business to maximise their profits. When securing supply by other means, running a loss leader to generate increased revenue also increases future bargaining power and negotiation leverage.

Wholesalers offer better terms to clients with greater purchasing power, increased volumes result in reduced prices so the longer term opportunity generated by short term profit declines builds a client base.

In our case, such loss leaders (we actually generated slight profits) on certain products generated additional revenue by attracting clients who purchased higher profit items once they become a client.

Winter in Perth

We are now mid way through June and it is cold, grey and miserable, I am looking forward to my next overseas tropical dive holiday - I am counting the days down. 

The clouds are massing and the rain sets in; the nights are cold and the days are short - I absolutely hate winter. Winter has just begun and I am wishing it was summer again, what makes me more miserable is I know it is summer in the northern hemisphere. I was able to escape the 2014 Perth winter, unfortunately wintertime 2015 is real for me - ouch. 

In some instances, I am not concerned as study obligations require me to spend time indoors, if the days are miserable, I don't mind wasting the days inside during winter so instead I can maximise my summer days instead. Roll on summer. 

The Khemlani loans affair - the blight on the Whitlam government

Throughout 1975, the Whitlam Labor government attempted to raise an overseas loan of $4 billion USD, an extraordinarily large amount for the time. Known as either the Overseas loans affair or the Khemlani affair; the attempted raising of funds by the Minister for Minerals and Energy, Rex Connor and Treasurer Dr Jim Cairns severely tarnished Australia's international reputation.

The Whitlam government attempted to borrow money without federal consent from Middle Eastern countries and bypassing standard procedures as dictated by the Australian Treasury. The loan was intended to fund a number of natural resources and energy projects that included a uranium enrichment plant, the electrification of interstate railways and the construction of a natural gas pipeline.

Pakistani finance broker Tirath Khemlani was commissioned by Connor to secure the loan. Ultimately, no loan was actually obtained, no commissions paid but the government was made to look reckless and foolish.

Wracked by self-inflicted economic difficulties, the political and social impact of the loans affair scandal, the Whitlam Government was particularity vulnerable throughout 1975. Whitlam, forced to sack Cairns saw a massive swing against the government and the election of a Liberal Party candidate that had been held by the ALP for 60 years.

Although Connor’s authority to raise loans was withdrawn in early 1975, he continued to liaise with Khemlani until Herald newspaper published documents supplied by Khemlani. Connor directly denied Khemlani's version of events, Khemlani then flew to Australia and provided the Sydney Morning Herald with copies of the documents refuting Connor's denial. Connor was then forced to resign from the Cabinet and replaced by an aspiring Paul Keating.

The resignation of Connor forced Opposition Leader Malcolm Fraser to act; Fraser announced that the Senate would defer passage of the supply bills until Whitlam called a House of Representatives dissolution election. With a fair degree of arrogance and some trepidation, Whitlam refused to call an election after the Cairn's sacking saw sweeping swings against Whitlam's faltering government. Instead, Whitlam arrogantly attempted to desperately hold onto power knowing full well that his government beset by corruption would be decimated now that the Australian people were now aware of his government's improper dealings.

Weeks of constitutional crisis ensured as the parties confronted each other in parliament embarrassing the Whitlam government's proven acts of impropriety. Fraser used its majority in the Senate to block government budget legislation citing the loans affair as extraordinary and reprehensible circumstances. Whitlam was paralysed, his refusal to call a lower house election forced Governor General Sir John Kerr to act, he sacked incumbent Prime Minister Gough Whitlam installing Opposition Leader Malcolm Fraser as interim Prime Minister on the proviso that Fraser passes supply through the senate and calls an immediate election leading to the constitutional crisis of 1975.

Full face for snorkeling - such a simple design

While the full face mask has been around for scuba divers for decades, a full face mask for snorkeling is relatively new. While some scuba diving purists are going to hate it, the fact is, the snorkeling market is much larger than the the scuba diving market and any device that makes your customers more comfortable in the water can only be a bonus.

The sad fact is, most dive shops don't cater for snorkelers and tend to take a very condescending attitude whilst trying to sell entry-level scuba diving courses, "well maybe you can upgrade to scuba in the future." The fact is, many of these people are happy snorkeling and don't want to become a scuba diver, you just pissed off a larger market than your current crop of scuba divers. 

The Easybreath Mask produced by the French sports manufacturer Tribord isn't for serious skin diving requiring dives to depth, it is produced solely for the snorkeling market that is distinguished by maintaining their position on the surface with maybe short shallow dives from the surface - I reckon it is a great product.

Daesh - just pathetic losers who murder

I was watching CNN whilst on holiday, I don't normally have access to cable television, so CNN is kind of a novelty for me. The topic was IS, ISIL or ISIS, whatever you wish to know them as. I must say, I did enjoy the analysis from the American perspective in short holiday bursts as it is not a news station I usually have access too, but you do have to be careful where you gain your news from.

A Pentagon spokesman explained the name that is now used for the Islamic State (IS), Islamic State Iraq Syria (ISIS), or Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) is Daesh. I guess this makes some sense, this isn't an actual state and they are a hard core bunch of self-named terrorists. However, there is some truth in the term Levant as this is a historical geographic region and this threat to humanity needs to be taken seriously.

Daesh did gain a whole lot of territory very quickly during the leadership vacuum of Syria brought on by the civil war and the ousting of Saddam Hussein by coalition forces, so they gave the appearance of success. This appears to be short-lived yet the threat remains, should they actually be successful here, they will gain traction and become entrenched in the region for a long time.

Montana class battleships

The Montana class battleship was designed to be the successor to the four Iowa class fast battleships in service during World War II, a further two Iowa class battleships were under construction but scrapped at the end of the war. Although slower than the existing Iowa class battleships due to increased size and armour plating; the Montana class design had superior firepower with 12 x 16 inch main guns arranged in four turrets as opposed to the Iowa class 9 x 16 inch guns arranged in three turrets. 

Model of the Montana class battleship

Further firepower included 20 x 5 inch secondary guns, 10 x 40 mm bofor anti-aircraft guns and 56 x 20 mm Oerlikon anti-aircraft guns. The Montana class battleships were designed to rival the Japanese Yamoto battleships in terms of firepower and armour. The battle of Jutland saw large battleship engagements in WW I: however, the operational requirements of the Pacific war placed a premium on aircraft carriers to attack both ground based troops and warships, not naval engagements with battleships of a previous era.

Scale model of Montana class battleship

As the Iowa class battleships were designed with the speed to escort the Essex class aircraft carriers; the Iowa class was retained as fleet support. The battleship was actually obsolete prior to World War II due to vulnerabilities to aircraft and restrictions imposed by the Washington Treaty. Instead battleships were utilised as naval artillery for shore bombardment to support the marine landings of the Pacific theatre of war. 

The attack on Pearl Harbor delayed the construction of the Montana class battleships as the North Carolina and South Dakota class battleships damaged at anchor required repair and refurbishment. In 1942 the design was approved and construction authorised with completion expected in late 1945. The battleship was cancelled following the Battle of Midway where the strategic focus changed to air supremacy and aircraft carriers.  

The ability to handle rejection

An interesting comment from Spephen Schwarzman; even entrepreneurs need to work from formalised business plans, but these written plans must not be static - they need to be fluid.

Some of my poorer entrepreneurial endeavors have occurred when my business partner either deviated from or refused to follow and update formal business plans. This has unfortunately cost me dearly; this is why I was initially surprised at his comments.

As co-founder and CEO of the Blackstone Group, a New York city based private equity investment bank and largest alternate multinational asset management and financial services corporation, Schwarzman would know better than most what entrepreneurs require, he has a multi-billion dollar business empire founded on entrepreneurial activity.

Naturally, entrepreneurship is based on managing risk and taking opportunities when they present. I do have a problem celebrating failure; you certainly need persistence and stamina but I hate to see failure romanticised - I have had enough of that already.

A visa on arrival

I understand the concept of the visa, especially a working visa, the incumbent is checked by the immigration department against a set criteria - all good. Less so a holiday visa, beforehand a holiday had to once send their passport to an embassy or consul for checks. The fees were paid, background checks completed and either a large stamp or decal wasted a whole page of your passport.

These days, a visa is done online, the traveler is registered, a series of questions asked requiring detailed answers, sometimes no fee is due and you have an electronic visa lodged in the system ready for arrival. No doubt, database are accessed with a computer program running a series of automated checks against known offenders, people of interest and no doubt cancelled passports and fake identities.

But a visa on arrival, you pay the fee, receive your change and then walk to the immigration officer for the usual entry checks, they attach the decal to your passport, stamp you in and that's it. No real checks against national and international database, you know you are just being charged a pretty expensive entry fee - it's a rort.