Choreography of The Alphabets

Thank you

“Thank you” is something we don’t hear very often, and when we do, sometimes we take it for granted or thought that there must be some hidden agenda or whatever hidden meaning.

Sometimes, Thank you is simply, Thank you.

Thanking someone for helping out,

thanking someone for caring enough,

thanking someone for being patient,

thanking someone for an extra effort,

thanking a loved one for being there,

thanking an employee for doing a job well done,

thanking a superior for being a great boss.

For whatever reason we thank someone, sometimes the message doesn’t get across. I guess that’s what makes us human. We think, even overthink. What should’ve been a simple thank you, could end up being a lot of complicated ideas, or taken for granted that it would have been the normal thing to do, hence no expression of gratitude should be in order.

Well, a “thank you” is sometimes a simple show of appreciation. It may not be delivered in the way you expect them to sound like, but it is a show of gratitude, a note that you’re not taken for granted.

aware, belong, preserve

“Mulat sarira angrasa wani,

rumangsa melu andarbeni,

wajib melu angrungkeb”,

is a Javanese proverb from Prince Mangkunagara III (1853-1881), which roughly means “Have the courage to be aware, develop a sense belonging, and a duty to preserve”.

This is a beautiful rule to live by.

Once you have the courage to declare something as part of you, a natural sense of belonging should rise with it, and you have a duty to preserve that particular part of you - In business, in romance, in life at large.

In light of recent conflict between Indonesia and Malaysia over a number of cultural heritage, maybe it is time for us to reflect upon ourselves whether we have been preserving our heritage with the respect it deserves. If respecting culture emotionally isn’t incentive enough, then think economics!

A short while ago, Batik was declared to have come from Malaysia, which wreaked havoc in Indonesia. I do not condone what happened, but i can understand why Malaysia did it. In 2007, the production value of batik in Indonesia reaches Rp. 2,9 billion (USD 280 million), including a contribution of USD 138 million in export trade. What’s more, the industry absorbs over 800,000 workers, which equals to a 2.5% economic growth!

What country in the right mind wouldn’t want that?!

My friends, take a look in the mirror. Be aware of your heritage, develop your sense of belonging, and preserve it. If Batik alone can generate 2.5% economic growth, imagine what we can achieve from a Multicultural Indonesia!

Modern Slavery

Every man is entitled for his/her freedom of association, but many chose to dissociate from trade unions out fear that it would cost them their job.

Which Button For Favours?

There was a study done by Citibank that asked managers what they would do if a colleague came to them for assistance on a project that wasn’t theirs and it required their time, energy and resources. Under what circumstances would you feel most compelled to comply with that request?

Turns out in US, UK and Canada, the answer was to ask yourself, “Has this person done anything for me recently?” If so, they felt they had to say yes. That falls under the rule for reciprocation – giving back to those who have given to me.

In the Far East, the answer was, “Is this requester connected to my boss?” If so, they felt they had to say yes out of loyalty to their boss.

In the Mediterranean, the answer was “Is this person connected to one of my friends?” So here, it wasn’t loyalty to the boss but it was loyalty to their friendship network. Instead of authority, liking was the major guiding principle.

And then in Germany and the Scandinavian countries, the answer was, “According to official rules and regulations of this organization, am I supposed to say yes?” Here, there was commitment and consistency. They were committed to a particular business model, so therefore they were going to be consistent with it. People in the US also care about friends, of course. In Germany, they also care about reciprocity, of course. But the highest in priority in the list of principles of influence shifts from culture to culture.

catalogue item #1

note to self:

L34519 Exploring Science and Technology in Society (4000)

critically examine social, institutional, ethical, cultural and political issues related to the emergence and impact of scientific and technological developments

“War against the machines - the diminishing role of people in production of goods and services”

L34518 Biomedicine, Biotechnology and Society (5000)

critical overview of social scientific approaches to the production and use of bioscientific and biomedical knowledge, the creation and use of novel biotechnologies, and how their effects are mediated by public and private institutions

“artifical olympians - redefining fairness in competition”

Work: Private or Public?

“Can u believe that Pepiroo’s friend, a civil servant, is NOW (12 PM) heading to a mall to spend the rest of the day?!”

That was a line my best friend dropped a few months ago, venting her disbelief that someone who works for a government office could irresponsibly head to one of the hippest mall in town, in the middle of a working day, and obviously not for work.

I’ve worked with several government peeps. Some work hard, a lot slack off, and some wanted to work hard but there isn’t anything to do. Or then there’s another group that has a lot of things to do but does absolutely zilch.

Why people work for the government?

One day I asked a friend, why he signed up to work at the parliament. Not an MP, not an expert staff, only an administrative staff. Someone that types letters, books travel tickets, visa, makes sure tea and snack are available during meetings, that sort of stuff. He said that about 10 years ago, he didn’t what he wanted to do for a living, so he took a shot at civil service and landed as a staff at the parliament.

Another friend is a staff at the provincial employment angency, or something like that, and has dreams to be the future governor of that province. I asked him and his colleagues what made them choose to be a civil servant. Apparently some people like the idea of working for the government not because it’s their only choice, but because the work is something to be proud of: serving the people.

Then of course there are some who likes the idea of being part of a gang to gain power (and or money).

I notice that people are more drawn into working for private companies than for the government. Some say it’s the pay, some say it doesn’t look very promising, some say that they don’t even know it is an option. And my friend who yells about civil servant going to malls think that the govt is not an effective organisation, and that hiring so many people into the system is just a way to say that unemployment levels are low in the coutry, even though they don’t have very much to do.

Why is working for the government not appealing, but working 12 hour days for a private company is?

game of strangers

Two of my friends have recently been nudged by total strangers who found their messenger ID from the internet. One stranger expressed his undying love to my friend after a couple of days, while the other… well, sadly ignored by my other friend even though the stranger is a 49 year old woman.

In the spirit of learning about game theory applications, I wonder how this play out?

I’ll write when i find the answer.