The rule of unintended consquences

When planning a strategy, one expects senior management to acquire advanced planning techniques yet this didn't happen in my organisation. The state government was offering a severance package to reduce personnel in the public sector, a tried and proven technique - so far, so good.

A severance differs to a redundancy insofar as a severance is generally voluntary and the position itself doesn't become redundant. As such, a person may accept a severance package and apply for further positions within the organisation that may include the same job under different pay and conditions. Needless to say it includes a pay out of some form.

In their wisdom, our mob stated there will be no severance packages offered as the package includes three weeks pay for every year served capped at seventeen years plus an immediate payout of a further 12 weeks if the package is accepted immediately.

Naturally, the strategy was to not offer a package with a pay out instead relying on redeployment to minimise payments so staff can walk away with nothing after six months of redeployment if no other offers of employment are available.

So when the only severance package was offered to union representatives within the organisation one has to question their motives. However, if the current union representatives accept the package then when we reconvene our employment in 2018 there must be union representative positions available.

Naturally I would have to be nominated and then endorsed by a vote by the members but such a group of people require an individual who is well versed in such techniques and unafraid to confront senior management at their level. It didn't turn out that way, I was nominated with no one else putting their hand up so no vote was required.

So, here we are at an unusual situation where the current union reps are gone but willing to step up into the position is the chief protagonist who is well researched, has uncovered and reported corruption, has uncovered and reported selection and hiring practices that are in breach of the industrial award and public service guidelines.

By denying an individual to fair workplace selection practices, I have the energy to address these issues for all union members to fight for a fair system for all. The rule of unintended consequences is ironic on this occasion, they have provided me with the vehicle to pursue organisational change.

Dairy Queen - great product but terrible service

During trips to South-East Asia I am exposed to an array of American products yet to be seen in Australia, this is great as I had advanced knowledge of franchises such as Krispy Kreme, Tony Romas, California Pizza Kitchen and Dairy Queen.

I have to admit, during sojourns to SE-Asia I don't mind slurping on one of their ice-cream cups mixed with crushed kit-kat or crunchie chocolates. I see the Oreo biscuit mix is pretty popular too but I have never drifted too far from my favoured chocolate kit-kat blizzard drink. I'm sure the major brands are more than happy to support this company as their sales of product would make them a major client with plenty of bargaining power.

I was in one of their branches where a sign informed us that if no receipt was offered then the purchase was free. Bringing to their attention the failure to produce a receipt resulted in no free ice-cream drink. Now while I am not worried about the cost of the ice-cream, they advertised their code of conduct and they failed to deliver. Really, this is pretty pathetic, the cost of an ice-cream is negotiable but the loss of trust is difficult to repair.

The hunt for yield

I recently read an article about dividend yields and the correlation between yield and share value. Investors such as myself are attracted to shares paying strong and sustainable dividends. It has also been argued that dividend yield is a stronger indicator of value than the perennial price/earnings ratio (P/E).

Currently, bank deposits are paying between 1.5% to 2% with no capital appreciation, government bonds fare a little better with closer to 3% yields with equities offering reliable and stable yields ranging from 4% to 6% with the possibility of capital appreciation. Then there is the franking credits of dividend imputation, that is a strong incentive to chase high yielding equities.

This strategy is enhanced in the low interest rate environment brought about by central banks to stimulate growth with quantitative easing strategies. One has to be careful as dividend yield may rise as share prices plummet without earnings per share (EPS) and dividend per share (DPS) revaluations. In such a case, share price growth still correlates P/E ratios with rising EPS and DPS mirroring revenue growth.

With more people setting up self managed superannuation funds (SMSF) as baby boomers are nearing retirement, the search for yield whilst protecting capital is a huge consideration. For me, it certainly is as my strategy revolves around generating a future income stream whilst currently reinvesting dividends as a compound interest strategy.

We are tired of fund managers not only unable to beat a market index but also charging outrageous fees to underperform benchmarks. We are able to outperform fund managers although the average SMSF does lack the diversity of retail funds.

That is mainly due to the requirement of a critical mass for each investment, yes diversification is good but if each individual investment is so small that even a doubling of capital ensures such a small return that people can't live on in the future then it just isn't worthwhile.

Costing a job opportunity

These are pretty damning numbers from CareerOne; poor interview etiquette is costing job opportunities, with that comes personal likability. We are in a tight job market, getting shortlisted is difficult enough in this current subdued economic environment, let alone actually picking up the prized position you have applied for.

This tends to indicate that the job candidate held the necessary skills and experience to win the job but somehow managed to sabotage themselves through their conduct.

I was not shortlisted for a government position; now anyone who has worked in the government service knows a very formal process exists. This is primarily to stamp out the nepotism that has occurred in the past preventing talented personnel moving forward and instead protecting the well connected already embedded in the organisation.

What really happens is the management place their person of choice in the position in an acting role; they are required by law to advertise the position externally and potential candidates are required to dislodge the incumbent from their position.

The day I formally lodged my grievance application, I immediately noticed the organisation's lawyer and lead investigator viewing my LinkedIn profile. No doubt they had also taken the time to view my Facebook, Google+, Tumblr, Pintrest accounts and blog to build a case against me.

Notwithstanding, I was immediately concerned at this development, this organisation was treating me like a criminal as I was now required to defend myself against their accusations.

Rapidly flicking through my Facebook account, did I have anything posted that would implicate myself? I wasn't too concerned about LinkedIn, it is a professional networking site and you generally don't post anything defamatory or engage in idle chit chat.

Facebook on the other hand is the social networking site you post drunken statements about footy games, that include team selection, umpiring decisions, any current racism and drug or rule changes.

Then you have to think, what inflammatory videos have I posted in the past? Are they likely to incriminate me in any way, shape or form that is inconsistent with the values of their organisation? Job hunting is rapidly changing - that's for sure.

An interest in German watchmaking

I have an interest in Swiss watchmaking, French watchmaking, British Watchmaking, United States watchmaking and German watchmaking. Whilst my greatest interest has traditionally been in Swiss watchmaking, I respect the innovations of the British and I love the reemergence of German watchmaking skill and design excellence.

I was lucky enough to be able to visit the town of Glashütte, the centre of German watchmaking prowess in Saxony. After the disaster of the second world war in regards to the division of Germany, this region fell under the control of the Soviet Union. Whilst West Germany prospered, the authoritarian control of the Soviet regime waned.

German watchmaking wasn't totally dead, the factories were rebuilt and knowledge was retained, the watch manufacturers produced timepieces for the Soviet military. When the communist regime collapsed, East Germany was liberated and the free market once again reigned supreme.

German timepiece manufacturers such as A. Lange & Söhne, Glashütte Original, Union Glashütte, Nomos Glashütte and Muhle Glashütte are up and running again. Whilst I would love to be a proud owner of a A. Lange & Söhne, I need to be realistic, this is so far out of my price range and whilst I can appreciate their engineering excellence - it's not going to happen.

The TSA - now there is inefficiency

My observations of the TSA began at New York's JFK airport, then later at La Guardia and then back at JFK again. They only seem to appear at check-in, swarming around the entrance to the gates for departure, mostly standing around doing what appears to the naked eye as nothing.

What I viewed was inefficiency, disorganisation, arrogance and rudeness - they do not answer to the public, it is if they are dealing with the sworn enemy.

Even fellow TSA officers don't trust each other's propriety, let me explain. I was taking my wallet out of my pocket, my watch off my wrist and belt to walk through the metal detector, I had placed the items in the tray but not yet in my bag.

A TSA officer came up behind me and told me to put my watch back on my wrist and wallet in my bag, he looked at me and said "don't leave this in full view" before looking at other TSA staff screening bags.

The way they spoke to the people they were screening was incredible, these are members of the public, they created the pandemonium, it was their lack of organisation that had people confused. There was enough officers standing around, they could have set up with officers directing people, instead, there was 9 officers standing around doing nothing and 1 working the scanner.

What is lacking is leadership, someone needs to take control to get a steady flow of people moving through the scanner having been briefed on what to do and how to prepare. I get the feeling America's best and brightest aren't being recruited into the TSA, they are probably paying minimum wages, providing minimal training and fueling a culture of them versus us.

When I arrived at the baggage collection at LAX airport, I saw the shape of my bag knowing full well it had been tampered with, the shape was all wrong and straps hanging off. The locks had been cut with a TSA note inside, they had rummaged through my bag and messed everything up.

I had purchased a bottle of vintage port in Porto for my nephew's 21st birthday, he is from a Portuguese background and the year matched his date of birth. I had packed the bottle in such a manner to ensure it does not get broken, I view baggage handlers with the same disdain as TSA officers, that is, dumb and dumber.

So the bottle of port was unwrapped from its protective layer of clothing, its position in the middle of the bag was shifted to the edge, it is like these fools wanted my fragile goods to be broken. I lock my bags because I have had items previously stolen straight out of my bag.

They are actually making air travel less secure as minimum wage baggage handlers now have access to previously secure baggage. Most people are aware of the levels of commitment, levels of training and screening of potential hires, this is particularly disturbing.

Every other airport in the world screens baggage and allows travelers to secure their baggage, after all, x-ray of baggage, is more valid as a search strategy as hidden items are discovered more readily.

This is taking us back to the 70s, the physical search is the last option as it is the most inefficient option, the TSA really needs to get its act together, the TSA is just an expensive joke - that's all it is.

Growth on a shaky foundation

I have a fair amount of experience watching empire building in the workplace, if you view personal empires as a shaky foundation, then it is kind of fun to hang around to view the implosion first hand.

What I enjoy most is the empire builder must firstly surround themselves with yes men, secondly they must ensure they remain hands-on leading to micro-management of the yes men cartel.

They refuse to take breaks or holidays as they fear their personal empire will disintegrate before their very eyes. Unless you own the company, then you are not immune, even owners have been moved sideways or out of the very company they built.

They place spies around the workplace to create a culture of fear, trust is lacking and workplace productivity is low. Well, why would you work hard when you know who will take all the credit?

Do you want to join the inner circle and lose all scruples? I think not, instead it is better to gain superior workplace skills to move to the next job for better conditions and pay.

You would guess right that promotions are not based on competence, they are based on alliances and the ability to undermine your fellow workers. But such structures build no real loyalty as real leadership is lacking and the first sign of trouble sees the minions run away as soon as they can.

Corporate learning and development

The development of corporate learning and development is moving from an content centric approach where learning materials were published online in the early 2001 through a blended approach to a social collaboration between team members.

The learning management system was simply a repository for content with limited interaction between facilitator and learner. I can recall downloading such materials, then printing them out to a paper based format and working through the exercises.

You had limited opportunity to embed the knowledge or skills and just waited for the paper versions of your assessments to be mailed back after you posted in your work to the marker.

Moving to the talent management approach in the mid 2000s, the software program addressed the four pillars of talent management involving recruitment, performance management, learning and development and compensation management.

Experimental learning started getting interesting with the 70:20:10 approach with 70% of learning performed on-the-the-job through action learning projects, job rotation and delegation.

Likewise, 20% of learning is still conducted on-the-job through active processes such as mentoring and coaching and the final 10% of learning is conducted off-the-job through formal courses.

Continuous embedding of learning ensures a continuous learning program that is further expanding skill-sets in response to a changing environment.

New developments are considered less static and more fluid incorporating internal learning and development departments within the human resource structure and the rise of the corporate university.

The Anti-Murdoch brigade - the QAnon of the left

When I read comments sections on social media posts from news outlets, the comments leave me shaking my head. Still, I read these comments to gain a perspective for my blog, but this isn’t always indicative of what the electorate is actually thinking, this is a small cross-section of the community.

The comments sections are filled with left leaning commentators who are loud and willing to shout down any opinion that doesn’t align to theirs. As I subscribe to The Australian Newspaper online, I can easily find links to articles published on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

I also read The Sydney Morning Herald, now owned by Nine Entertainment and The Guardian owned by the Guardian Media Group in the United Kingdom. Both the SMH and The Guardian are left leaning media groups.

I also read the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) online and whilst it is considered left leaning, they are reasonably unbiased in their reporting. This could actually be said about The Australian Newspaper as well as journalists are employed from both a right and left leaning perspective.

So when I read the dropkicks loudly commenting online about Murdoch, he doesn’t actually write for The Australian Newspaper blaming all their election losses on Rupert, one might actually ask why his media group employs so many left leaning journalists?

Might it be The Australian Greens and the Australian Labor Party have lousy policies that keep them almost in perpetual opposition? There are a lot of loud commentators on social media and despite their best attempts at bullshit conspiracy theories not grounded in reality, they don’t actually change public opinion.

So the ALP are normally consigned to another three years of sitting on the opposition benches and wondering why they seem to be perpetual losers at a federal level. The ALP ability to lose an unlosable election might not only be based on their lack of coherent policy, it might also be the higher than thou chattering social media commentators doing damage.

The trouble with the old boy's club

The trouble with the old boy’s club, is well, the old boy practices of exclusion, the blatant favoritism, nepotism and cronyism.

This is so much more than a lack of process, this is the basic denial of opportunity to talented individuals who refuse to engage the outdated and unethical practices of the old boys. What this produces is a sub-standard product, inhibits team performance that hinders business growth - a favorite strategy of government organisations.

This is a government dilemma, service isn't an issue in the old boy’s club, governments need to offer a customer centric service but this doesn't fit their narrative. This starts with recruiting, selecting and employing the best candidate for the job.

Talent management is a major organisational development requirement, the acquisition of high-level talent is the defining requirement for organisations. That's what makes me laugh, government organisations that deny economic gravity, the taxpayer funds roll in and the cycle continues.

Classes on leadership

Leadership is such an overused term, sure you can take a leadership class but does that truly instill leadership qualities in an individual? I'm not so sure.

With so many articles, research and academic papers dedicated to the art of leadership, I ask myself, can you really train people in leadership? There is individual leadership and organisational leadership, authoritarian and democratic, situational and contingency theories, task or relationship oriented, trait and charismatic and then there is laissiz faire.

I view leadership as a social influence, the ability to motivate others to achieve goals, these may be organisational or team goals and are exhibited at all levels of the organisation. Can leadership be learnt in classes? Absolutely leadership can be, with modern delivery methods one doesn't even need to sit in a traditional classroom but learnt online.

Much has been written about transformational and transactional leadership theories. Then there is charismatic leadership, whilst trait leadership has pretty much been outdated and disproved, the cult of the CEO is currently the order of the day. What we do know is leadership is power and the personal values displayed has a positive effect on the team.