Daily Scribble

How to demoralize your employees

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My company just make a perfect demonstration on how to demoralize your employees. The economy is bad, everywhere is cutting jobs or costs, our company is the same. However, there are two ways of cost cutting, the smart way or the stupid way. Other than usual cost reduction deals like cut down the travel budget, lay off some employees and box Kleenex, the CEO just inform us there are two unusual cuts. The first cut is the company RRSP contribution, the retire fund, which roughly equal to 5% of pay cut. This one is understandable, we are unhappy about it, but doesn’t cause too much grief. The second cut is like dropping a fire ball into the crowd.

According to BC law, employees who got laid off get about 1 month per year of employment in severance package. It is quite expensive for the company to lay off anyone here. The CEO want us sign a new contract, limiting the severance to 2 weeks per year and capped at 6 months total. The new contract is so far so good if it is given enough incentive. However, the only benefit for signing the new contract is we are allow to keep our stock options, which is worthless anyways. Anyone with a right mind will not sign the contract. You forfeit half of your severance package for virtually nothing!

The new contract on its own is just plain stupid, but the CEO’s Q&A session make it out-outrageous. It is obvious we will ask why should we sign such as stupid contract. The CEO replied that the cost of doing business is too high in Canada. He threaten us that too expensive to lay people off will make the company stop having further investment in Canada. He pull up some statistic citing it is really too expensive. If we read the number, the Canada is about the same as other developed countries, like UK, Germany, France, Japan, the only exception is US. The most outrageous part is that the CEO present it in such a way that if we sign the contract, we will have better job security, but it doesn’t make sense at all. How can you get more job security by making the company easier to lay you off?

I think his threat is just a bluff. The investment decision won’t affect by whether or not we all sign the new contract. The new hire has to sign the new contracts. US is cheaper to lay people off, but more expensive to hire. Most employee in our Silicon Valley office is already laid off. Our cost is still too high comparing to India or China even if we sign the new contract If we are really too expensive, the jobs will go to India or China regardless whether we sign the new contract. Signing the new contract will only the cut happen sooner than later, if the cut is inevitable.

If the company really want us to sign the new contract, they should give us some incentive, say a buy out of $1000 per year of employment. Treating us like idiots and try to use an empty threat to make us sign the new contract really hurt the moral in the company. I guess the lost of productivity is already more expensive than the saving they could even get from the new contract.

宗教

基督教思想史第二部 – 第四章﹕普遍綜合的崩潰(中)

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祈克果的存在主義神學

祈克果(Kierkegaard)反對黑格爾的精神學說﹐他不認為人的主觀精神﹐能夠通過宗教和哲學﹐與神的絕對精神融合。他認為人活在存在的領域﹐在這領域中融合未曾發生﹐存在就是要對善與惡作出決擇。祈克果在生時候對十九世紀神學影響不大﹐但他的思想對二十世紀存在主義思潮很有淵源。他認為每個人在神要前也是孤獨﹐世界上的一切也不能解放他活在世上的責任。人會為自己的自由感到焦慮的矛盾﹐一方面為受到限制沒有自由﹐不能真正的存在而焦慮﹐另一方面也為行使自由而失去自我感到焦慮。自由產生墮落﹐墮落產生罪惡感的焦慮。人沒有辨法逃避罪惡感﹐就算自殺也不能消除罪惡感﹐只能夠憑信心的一躍去跳出焦慮。

黑格爾認為神與人有內在關係﹐祈克果則認為神從外邊去改變人。他認為客觀有不確定性﹐神學和宗教不可能有客觀的證據。田立克認為信心的一躍有很大的盲點﹐就是人不知道應該往那個方向去跳。若果人知道應該向耶穌的方向跳﹐其實他己經有某個原因才會跳﹐那就不再是毫無理性根據的信心一躍了。祈克果主張廢除教會制度﹐認為結婚生子的牧師是打份工﹐沒有資格去傳講耶穌的無限性。他亦反對任何神學系統﹐認為神學是企圖把存在悖論客觀化。田立克認為祈克果的說法本身自相矛盾﹐若果沒有教會和神學﹐人根本不可能認識神。就算祈克果對教會的批判﹐也是基於二千年的教會和神學。

政治激進主義及其神學意義

馬克思(Karl Marx)的思想影響二十世紀的歷史發展﹐他除了影響政治﹐社會和經濟的思想外﹐他亦是自宗教改革以來最成功的神學家。馬克思批評有組織性的宗教。有些人反對有組織性的宗教﹐但不反對宗教本身。田立克說這根本是無稽之論﹐宗教不可能獨立於組織之外存在﹐因為我們靈修的語言﹐全部也源於有組織性的宗教。馬克思反對唯心論﹐他亦反對黑格爾式的唯物論﹐他否定絕對精神決定歷史流向﹐改為以經濟生產方法去決定歷史流向。他認為人的獨立個體只是幻覺﹐人是社會群體的一份子﹐人不可能從社會現實中抽離。他認為宗教上的滿足﹐並非每個人的希望﹐只是統治階級製造出來﹐防止群眾在現世找到滿足。這亦是他的名言“宗教是人民的鴉片”的出處。田立克認為共產主義是準宗教﹐內在有宗教性的結構﹐不過缺少了向上的超驗結構。正因為黨之上再沒有更高層次﹐所以黨沒有辨法自我批判﹐令共產主義成為極權奴隸制度。

Daily Scribble

The ah-ha moment

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The joy of teaching is witnessing the ah-ha moment. Today I went to the public library to study in the afternoon I usually prefer booth seats since it is more quiet. But all the booths are full today, so I have to share a the big table with two high school students. They were studying chemistry and struggling to understand what is a solution. They discuss with each other trying to find out what the textbook says but obviously they are clueless. I am a bit annoyed by their noise as it is quite distracting. I am also a bit annoyed by their stupidity. How come they could not figure out such a simple concept. I could have shh them or ask them to keep quiet.

On a second thought, all I said to them would be one line anyways, why don’t I just explain what is a solution so they can move on to finish their homework. I told them, “A solution is, if there is a solid and there is a liquid. If you put the solid into the liquid and the solid disappear. The liquid is a solution.” Upon the kid hear my explanation, I can see from his facial expression he finally understand the concept and hear the “ah-ha” sound. After I dealt with the distraction, I felt good and continue on my study. Teaching is not only about the passing on of knowledge, it is also about deriving satisfaction from teaching. Seeing the ability of my words to enlighten another mind, really gives me a sense of satisfaction.

Daily Scribble

Fake proof personality test

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Have you take any personality test? Have you fake any personality test?

We have done many personality tests in school or at work. Those tests are a useful diagnosis tool to know our personality. Armed with the personality data, the school or company can predict our performance in different scenario or form teams members who works well with each other. Most of those tests, such as Myers-Briggs Type Indicator or Enneatypes, rely on questionnaire to determine with personality type we belongs to. The questionnaire assume you will answer the questions honestly, choose the answer truly reflect your mind. However, we all know how easy to fake the answers. If you are interviewing for a marketing position and the HR give you a MBTI tests. It is very natural to steer your answers to end up being an extrovert, the character type that the HR is looking for.

Old fashion pen and paper personality tests are not very useful, because it is too easy to fake the answer. I have a great idea to create a form of personality test. Other than answering multiple choice questions, a person’s eating behavior can reveal a lot about his personality. Maybe I should devise a new personality test base on what happen on the dining table. Instead of handing out questionnaire to the interviewee, the HR can invite all the interviewees for dinner. Then they can analyze traits of personality type of the interviewees from video tapping the dinner. Actually in business world, many important decisions are made over dining table. If you want to forge a long term relationship with a new business partner, you will know the real him outside of the meeting room. If I create the dining behavior personality test, I can open a consulting firm and offer lucrative personality analysis service. When you dine out with someone, you probably already have a rough idea on what type the person is. My service will give you an objective 3rd party report to double check your intuition. Now, the only obstacle between me and my multimillion dollars personalty test business is my cliche personality test.

生活隨筆

明星夢

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今天看Soler樂隊與經理人合約官司的新聞﹐才明白我們不應笑後生仔女發明星夢。很多人小時候也會發明星夢﹐幻想將來長大後當歌星影星。可能我比較有自知之明﹐從小到大也沒有發過明星夢﹐一來我不靚仔二來我不懂唱歌﹐當明星大慨這輩子也無望了。反過來我會笑那些發明星夢的人不切實際﹐說做明星不過表面風光﹐除非成功上位當紅透全港的天皇天后﹐當個半紅不黑的明星仔很霉很慘。原來只是吃不到的酸萄萄﹐看了新聞才知明星仔也很能賺錢。

Soler樂隊在香港不算很受觀迎﹐除了出道早期有一兩首歌曲流行過外﹐現在已經消聲匿跡。在一般樂迷心中﹐他們早已是過氣組合﹐可以被歷史遺忘。他們與經理人因合作糾紛單方面解約﹐被經理人公官入稟法院追討提前解約的損失。法庭在今天審結案件﹐判三年經理人合約竟值五百萬之多﹗經理人公司估計三年損失五千萬收入﹐但樂隊在庭上還價也預計收入接近二千萬。新聞中還指出他們演出收費﹐高達每小時二萬元。

雖說Soler是二人組合﹐收入要兩人對分一半。但是工作三年收入千萬﹐簡直比中六合彩還要多錢。他們工作一小時所賺取的錢﹐已經高過一般打工仔一個月的人工了。原來當明星的回報這麼多﹐怪不得這麼多青年發明星夢。不要忘記且他們只是過氣三線歌手﹐可想言知其他更紅的歌手收入如何豐厚了。不過我們反過來應該問問自己﹐連當對社會毫無供獻的三線歌星的收入﹐也比醫生老師高出一大截的時候﹐這還是一個運作有效率的正常社會嗎﹖