Compulsory reading material

O.O was literally the expression i gave when my sis (in secondary school) showed me this book they were given on National Day.

Apart from the fact that it’s hideously designed (and trust me, it’s so hideous you would rather read your notes) – note clip art on the cover, with Powerpoint ’97 GRADIENTS as background plus conspicuous WORDART for the content titles (inside) – it is also, yes you got it, ECONOMICS FOR OUR YOUNG MINDS.

And, NOT JUST ANY ECONOMICS, its H2 ECONOMICS APPLIED COMMON SENSE. It’s stuffs like ‘Sg must prepare for global competition, benefits of free trade, gahmen expenditure comes from current/future tax revenue, high savings/low inflation/stable exchange rates are impt’. This was probably a rescue package started to help failing (absolute) performance for A level econs, I guess. Or if it’s even econs.

In short, if you’re a JC student, this rescue package could help you too, lots.

*Should have made it the compulsory reading material for all secondary school kids. Then can do without all the headaches in JC uh?*

Beware of the TEA SESSION

And I’m, of course, referring to the TEA SESSION WITH AYE SSSS DEEEE. Too much danger lurking around in the blogosphere. The web has eyes and ears, and is alive.

Anyway, an excerpt of a shocking headline. More can be found here. So yes dear friends, PLEASE BE TACTFUL.

[Source: The Straits Times, 2 September 2010] (slightly edited)

NSFs warned over Facebook Use

Several full time national servicemen (NSF) have landed in hot soup after posting  ”inappropriate” service-related messages on their personal Facebook accounts.

According to The Straits Times, SAF have served warning letters to those who have been caught sharing information such as details of duty roster, their allowances and grievances  with commanders and authority.

It also include posting messages on their unhappiness with peers and superiors. One NSF even talked about his moonlighting exploits as a part-time tuition teacher.

On one Facebook account checked by AFP, a man calling himself a NSF said he was “going to be upset” if he was given official duties for the National Day Parade this year.

“No fair… tio confined again… damn sian sia,” said another account.

“So many guard duties.. So few Off Days.. I’m going crazy…” a third Facebook user remarked.

Although SAF did not implement a total Facebook ban, Mindef’s Public Affairs confirmed that action has been taken against those caught for “inappropriate usage of social media.”

She said, “We do not have a policy which prohibits our servicemen from participating in social media… But our policy is clear that they must not comment on matters regarding their national service or other classified information.”

“This is to ensure classified information is not leaked and national security is not compromised”, she added.

Many other companies, including government ministries, have guidelines in place on the use of social media.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts (MICA) said, “Civil servants, NSFs included, are allowed to participate in any media to share personal experiences on their hobbies, et cetera, that are not related to their service if they do so responsibly in their own time and personal capacity.”

FreeDOOM?

Freedom is arbitrary, very much like how opportunity is to an unmotivated soul, or penny to a poor man.

Cause, after all, freedom just means you have more time and less money (the latter being a definite corollary of the former; shoot yourself if you think you could have both, you dimwit) and less money means freedom has to be utilised for purposes of acquiring capital (or at least perceived capital), both human and physical.

(In layman terms, less freedom and more time means klkjaqwtopqjfa…. oh forget it, im sleepy)

So.

There isn’t any conclusive statement on the benefits of freedom. I get freedom only to use it for more activities of unfreedom (i.e. capital accumulation, or doing meaningful stuffs, to put it simply).

And of course, like opportunity is to an unmotivated soul, and money to a poor man, freedom is more often than never, a greater reinforcement of unfreedom and captivity. Bummers… Then again, my callousness for freedom is akin to a living person talking about the intellectual concept of death to a dying man.

(OH whatever goodnight…)

A serving of reality – 2

(Argh a sudden influx of thoughts for the uh business “column” but nope shall not be erratic in posting for that.)

Oh btw,

Have you realised, that in many contexts, “making love” has nothing to do with LOVE?

Whoever thought of that phrase anyway?

[Be cool or B-school]: CSR

This entire feature is terribly un-chronological, solely because i do not put in the effort to put it schematically or progressively. So as ideas come, ideas go (online and get posted). That’s very much how business works, outside of your B-school textbook that is.

Anyway, today’s issue is on CSR – which stands for Corporate Social Responsibility; NOT Charitable Social Requests, as what many wide-eyed do-gooders would otherwise think. Another lesson – there’s no altruism in business.

The only purpose of “doing good” then is so that you can do some slightly-bad and get away with it. Purely warped i know, but ask BP for one if you don’t believe me.

IN fact, petrolchemical companies, banks, f&b conglomerates and chemical companies have the most extensive CSR programmes out there. And what do they share in common? (HINT: Think Union Carbide’s Bhopal disaster, bail-out packages, Shell Nigeria’s human rights issues etc)

Then again, think along the lines of a judge who reads out the given sentence to a criminal. His pasts acts of altruism/benevolence/charity whatsoever, would definitely count much in lessening the severity of the sentence. So what is true for man, is true for corporations too.

So the next time you think Company X is awesome for being so “socially responsible”, think again about all the skeletons in its closet heeheheh.

Till next time, be cool!

A serving of reality – 1

Few apparently small things that determine your life..

1) ONE (or TWO) x paper rolled up in a scroll, presented on the day you wear this clumsy gown-like thing

2) TWO x values – CEP and PERF – that determine your career progression.

3) THREE x friends you spend the most time with – you are 1/3 of the 3 closest friends you hang out with

4) And most importantly, ONE x girl/guy that determines your life for better or for worse, when you held his/her hand “for better or for worse”

A Dismal Report

What isn’t consumed by cockroaches is eventually infested with mould…

Similarly with your brain –

What isn’t consumed by too much decadence is eventually infested with mindlessness and boredom, and brain death.

NS ouch.

[Be cool, or B-school^^]: Introduction

What?

Yes you’ve got it, Be cool or B-school^^ is your not-so-essential/intelligent guide to business, management, economics, common sense and nonsense. After all, they’re all in the same category… This weekly fornightly monthly PERIODICALLY updated feature is a product of retrospection, introspection and a little inception (because ideas have to be planted before they can be realised) and aims to show that business is nothing rote or regimental, but a cleverly intuitive experimental rigourous empirical scientific metacognitive field of study.

To B(-school) or not to B(-school)?

Well, you don’t need to b-school to be cool or be cool to b-school. So even if you’re (unfortunately) not in b-school, you still can be really cool. That’s how Steve did it, that’s how Bill did it, and that’s how YOU can do it too! So yes, read hard, walk-about much, think smart, and in no time, you’d be able to pen your OWN book of b-school thoughts too!

And for the privileged few to B-school, think of yourselves to be in the same league as those who have received their white coats, except that yours will be blacker, cooler, and flashier. You will be at the forefront of man’s advancement, battling social ills alongside the economists, bringing hope to the sick alongside the doctors and acquiring wealth alongside the lawyers! As such, we wish you all the best, and remember to always BE COOL, B-SCHOOL!

Uhuh…

Yep, that’s about all the rhetorics you’d probably see on the blurb of any other business book. But as with every other book, it is only good when persistently READ, so stay tuned for more awesome lessons on Be cool or B-School^^

Commitment

I think, we’re all creatures of commitment you know. Even a state of non-commitment requires commitment. Because no commitment to non-commitment would probably result in commitment sooooo…you get the idea.

Paradoxical, very much like life.

We Pretend

1. I Pretend to teach above what school teachers teach,

2. Parent Pretends to pay me above what school teachers get paid,

3. Child Pretends to become more competent and smarter than rest of his peers,

4. Teacher Pretends to be impressed by child’s exceptional competence and smartness,

5. Examination results Pretend to look more impressive than peers,

6. Ministry of Education Pretends to feel that our students are becoming brighter than the rest of the world,

7. Uni admissions Pretend to become ‘more competitive’,

8. Human capital Pretends to increase,

9. Parents Pretend to feel that they’ve done the right thing,

10. I Pretend to feel that i’ve taught the right thing,

***

1. I Pretend to teach, again

2. Parent Pretends to pay me, once more.

***

Such is what you call the shadow economy. And like most well-paying industries (e.g. FINANCE), it is illusory. Highly illusory…