Dah Management

Recent articles in the government sanctioned press, in particular TODAY newspaper have been dancing around the idea of questioning management practices in Singapore.

They continue to dance around the most pertinent issues, namely the amount of cronyism and nepotism within all large scale organiations and SME's in Singapore. Speaking as an employee in an SME solely owned by an individual, the style of management is one of dictatorship.

The managers are all completely unqualified and are in position simply because of there personal relationship with the boss. Rediculous decisions made in the last few years have resulted in a business that has too many "Chiefs and not enough Red Indians". The overwhelming desire to constantly expand and grow results in staff-to-customer ratios that are a joke. They call it 'multi-tasking', the employees prefer to call it 'exploitation'. All this and creativity too.

The Singaporean economy is in dire straits and the 'official' unemployment rate is at an all time high. I dread to think what the actual rate is at. Frankly there appears to be little trust in the management being able to pull the work force out of the gloom. It is the same cronyism and nepotism that has resulted in the current economic situation.

The attempt at 'Remaking Singapore', seems to highlight the problem. the policies of the PAP have not been able to manufacture creative and free-thinking individuals simply because it was not their goal. The PAP manufactured the current 'mind-set'. It is this mind-set that is holding the employees, employers and politicians back.

The government tells Singaporeans to stop asking for permission. It was the government's demand that permission be sought, that has created the current stagnation. So what price will be paid for 30 years of prosperity gained from conformity? Will Singaporeans retaliate when the policies of the PAP no longer bring the rewards and standard of living that they have become accustomed to?

The carrot and the stick routine only works if you have a carrot tied to the end of the stick. Without a carrot to entice movement, the stick is a whip.