Sungai Golok

Merayau rayau di MPH ternampak dan terbeli buku ni. Tajuknya menarik dan dekat di hati. Bila baca memang terasa seperti berada di alam nyata. Saya masih ada ramai saudara mara sebelah arwah ayah di seberang sana.

Strategy

In business, an entrepreneur may choose to produce a variety of low quality products and sell them cheap. While the profit margin of each product is low, the overall high volume of sales may still bring reasonably good profit to the business. 

However, producing many products may require more efforts from the business such as higher production costs with many different raw materials and sets of skilled workers and production lines plus many other indirect costs and expenses. 

On the other hand, an entrepreneur may choose to focus and produce only a selected high quality and high value products which with the right branding and marketing strategy can be sold at a premium price and bring high profit.

While the RnD costs to produce such a product maybe higher at the beginning compared to the former, the ROI is also higher. The branding of such products will become a key and sustainable advantage to the business for many years to come.

I believe the same concept applies in higher education. Over the last ten years I have studied various models of business schools from a very comprehensive at one extreme to a very focused and specialised schools such as IMD at the other end.

Some b-schools offer various UG and PG programmes while others concentrate and create branding on selected PG programmes such as MBA, EMBA and Executive Education and market them at a premium fee where the profit margin is higher. 

The same goes to research. While some universities go for the number of research and publications others focus on a more strategic and targeted research with impacts not only to the academic community but also other stakeholders.

Like in business, going for the mass market may bring the numbers, either students, research or publication. However, targeting niche and strategic research areas, like luxury products, may help build a good brand/image and higher profits. 

It is like a choice of either publishing 1000 papers in low ranked journals or 100 papers in high ranked journals. Publishing in reputable journals though takes longer time and effort has bigger potentials for higher citations and build better academic reputation. 

Ideally research outputs should not end in academic journals but go around a wider value chains. For example, a different version of writings can be published in professional magazines in a format understood by practitioners. 

New research findings may also be shared with students in the classrooms and practitioners in the executive trainings. The new knowledge may also open up further opportunities to researchers via consultation works. 

The experiences gained by researchers from these activities will create more opportunities and benefits not only to the researchers but students and other stakeholders. It is a continuous process of learning, unlearning and relearning.

For S&T research, some of the products may be patented and commercialised. However, similar to industry RnD projects, not all research outputs will have a direct benefit. Some require further research and may take years before realising their potentials. 

It is all about strategy. A simple quick wins strategy or a little bit more complicated but sustainable ones. The choice is ours. Just a thought on a blessed Friday morning so comments are most welcome. Wallhuaklam.

Life Goes On

Malam tadi sempat mengopi bersama orang lama korporat yang saya kenal sejak beberapa tahun lepas. Saya perhati beliau sentiasa nampak tenang dan ceria.

Cuba mengorek rahsia. Sambil senyum beliau jawab selamba mungkin pengalaman dan usia. Saya cuba korek lagi. Dia jawab pendek, remember life goes on.

Dia tambah sikit sambil hirup kopi pekat tanpa gula. Kalau kita kecewa life goes on. Kalau kita merajuk life also goes on. Kalau kita marah pun life still goes on.

Take it easy. We do what we can do. There are things beyond our reach. Life can be unfair but it goes on. Simple but meaningful advice from a wise man. 

Saya sendiri semakin berusia.

Hang Jebat

Ketika kali pertama dengar istilah 'freedom fighter in an organisation' dalam satu bengkel kepimpinan tidak lama dulu saya terbayang beberapa wajah pejuang kemerdekaan. Hang tuah dan hang jebat juga muncul.

Apa yang saya faham dari perbincangan tersebut, ia sbnrnya merujuk kepada individu yang berani bangkit mempertahankan organisasi/institusi/syarikat dari pemimpin korup di kala majoriti buta diam membisu.

Sepertimana pejuang kemerdekaan sebenar, individu ini juga terdedah kepada risiko dihukum dan disingkir. Mungkin ramai rebah tersungkur dalam perjuangan kerna bila tersedar rupanya dia berdiri berseorangan. 

Ia ilmu baru bagi saya.

Kisah Ayam Laga

Ayam laga diusap dibelai si tuan kala juara. Namun menang itu kan ketagih. Disorak dihambat lagi terus berjuang. 

Adat berlawan perlu kewarasan. Ada kala menang ada ketika tewas. Bila si tuan ketagih juara si ayam laga letih lesu. Sudah tersandar dibiar longlai. 

Si tuan tetap mengusap mendedak. Namun si ayam laga silih berganti. Mengerling si katik yg beruntung. Tidak perlu berlaga cukup sekadar mendada.

Di kampung saya ada banyak ayam serama yang berbulu cantik dan bersuara merdu. Walau jalannya terkatik-katik namun masih mengangkat dada.

Gray

The more one searches for black or white the more one will find gray. That is life

PhD?

Banyak kali juga terjumpa artikel cara mudah menulis proposal atau tesis. Yang beri tips tulis proposal atau tesis PhD dalam 3 bulan pun ada. 

Profesor yang beri ceramah cara mencari tajuk atau topik PhD juga ada. Apa yang dicari? Di mana persediaan sebelum memulakan perjalanan PhD?

Bengkel kaedah kajian juga banyak diadakan. Ramai peminat. PhD ni pasal kaedah kajian sajakah? Metod atau inti kajian yang lebih penting?

Tips menghasilkan tesis yang mempunyai impak bukan sahaja dari sudut teori tetapi juga praktikal hampir tiada. Hairan bila majlis ilmu calon PhD jarang kelihatan.

Terfikir PhD ini apa bila semua nak cepat dan nak mudah. Menuntut ilmu perlukan keikhlasan. Memberi ilmu juga perlu keikhlasan. Barulah ilmu ada keberkatan.

Maaf jika nadanya agak keras. Tidak setuju pun tidak mengapa. Masing2 punya pandangan dan pendapat. Ini pandangan saya. Pandangan anda terpulanglah.

Dunia dah banyak berubah. Virus makin menular.

To Have or To Be?

A friend recommended me to read this book, To Have or to Be? It is an old (1976) book by psychoanalyst Erich Fromm.

He differentiates between having and being. Fromm mentions how modern society has become materialistic and prefers "having" to "being". 

Just read the summary from the Internet. Can't wait to read the whole book.

Excellence

Alhamduillah done officiating the AAAA Conference. I was given a prepared text but changed my speech at the very last minute as new ideas pops up.

First, the importance of COLLABORATION, among academicians and between academicians and practitioners, government agencies and community.

Second, the importance of being RELEVANCE. Balancing between academic rigour and practical relevance in teaching, research and consultations.

Third is EXCELLENCE. Findings from good research are shared in classrooms, published in reputable journals and used as case studies in executive trainings. 

Collaboration ---> Relevance --> Excellence --> Referred and Respected University.

Prof Sharokh Saudagaran, Secretary General of FourA also emphasised on the same points.

Finally, on the changing landscape of economic and business environment, and accounting profession. Tougher challenges ahead for both academic & practice.

Ikhlas

Soalan refleksi diri malam ni...benar ikhlas kah kita atau sekadar mainan di bibir?

Perspective

Had a good lunch discussion with a good friend today. I have known him since my bachelor days. Time flies and he is going to retire next year. 

Always feeling great chatting with him whom I considered as a big brother. He is a very hard working person and believes in doing 'wonderful' things. 

What he said today really touched me. As academicians we seem to be very busy but what significant progress have we made other than to ourselves. 

Have a good night guys.

Motivasi

Pagi semalam pengerusikan mesyuarat pembukaan audit pensijilan semula MS ISO 9001:2008. Moga audit 3 hari berjalan lancar.

Kemudian diminta beri sedikit ucapan di majlis penutup Entrepreneurial Educators Enhancement Program. Nampak semua peserta bersemangat.

Saya tanya trainers bagaimana cara mengekalkan semangat tersebut dan memastikan peserta mampu bawa perubahan kepada institusi masing2.

Saya tanya begitu kerana saya lihat ilmu diperolehi kadang2 terbiar begitu saja tanpa amalan. Hanya sekadar sijil yang memenuhi CV.

Seorang senior yg hadir kursus di sebuah univ tersohor pernah beritahu dia hanya mahukan sijil dari univ tsbt. Hingga kini dia tdk buat apa2 dgn ilmunya.

Ikhlas dalam berilmu itu penting.

Usaha dan Amanah

Pagi ni singgah sebentar di bengkel E-Management. Sempat berikan sedikit taklimat kepada peserta mengenai projek Campus-Wide Information Systems. 

CWIS kita semakin jauh ketinggalan dan perlu diberi keutamaan. Dalam pembangunan sistem, komitmen pengguna dan pembangun sistem sangat penting.

Cabaran utama bagaimana nak bangunkan sistem terbaik dgn kekangan masa dan kewangan yang sgt terhad. Tiada yg mustahil dengan komitmen tinggi.

Rehat sebentar sebelum tutup pintu ofis. Perlu fokus siapkan KK Business Innovation Centre UUM. Akan bentang pd team Yayasan TS Azman jumaat pagi.

Moga semua usaha mendatangkan hasil. Amanah diberikan hanya 3 tahun. Sampai masa turun nanti sekurang2nya usaha terbaik telah pun diberikan. 

Bengkak buku lali dan otot peha bahana futsal sabtu lepas masih berdenyut namun belum ada kesempatan untuk bercuti. Begitu cepat masa berlalu...

Advanced

An advanced nation is of those who read a lot, travel far, think the unthinkable and ask lots of questions. How about us?

Menunggu

Zaman sekolah rendah dulu kami naik bas ke sekolah atau ke bandar KB. Bas no. 38 Machang Gondang. 

Bas lalu sejam sekali. Selalunya sampai di sekolah bas dah penuh. Jadi kena tunggu bas seterusnya. 

Biasanya kami nyanyi lagu Penantian utk hilangkan bosan. Masa tu belum kenal Metallica lagi.

Petang ni tunggu giliran bentang paper mesyuarat Lembaga Pengarah sambil dengar lagu Hardwired.

Academciian

Academicians are supposed to be the thinkers. Those who think the unthinkable, broad-minded, explorer, foresee the future, courages, risk taker etc. We are not turtles who walk leisurely slow and hide heads in shell when smell danger...

Melayu

Pagi tadi beri sedikit ucapan sempena Konvensyen Pengurusan Potensi Belia ke arah Pembinaan Negara Bangsa di Hotel Everly.

Kebetulan malam tadi keluar minum teh sembang2 dengan kawan lama masa belajar di UKM dulu. Ambil peluang tanya dia beberapa soalan.

Belia tu apa? tanya saya. Kawan saya kata belia tu sepatutnya fearless, adventurous, aggressive, risk taker, critical etc. Macam kita dulu lah, katanya.

Saya tanya lagi bagaimana nak salurkan karakter tersebut ke arah nilai positif. Silap bawa boleh jadi negatif, usik saya sambil bertanya kau ok ke skrg?

Kawan saya kata belia perlu banyak membaca, mengembara mengenal dunia dan budaya, dan perlu banyak bertanya. MMT katanya.

MMT akan membentuk pula nilai2 murni seperti humility, humanity, sincerity dan integrity yang semakin hilang, tambah kawan saya.

Apa cabaran sebenar bangsa Melayu? To focus on our special rights, privileges and supremacy or to develop the capability to compete and succeed? 

Dia senyum saja dengan usikan saya. Dia dah jadi orang besar korporat sekarang. Itu lah juga cerita yang saya kongsi dalam ucapan pagi tadi.

Reflections

Some reflections

After being trusted as the DVC (R&I) 16 months ago, the two main aspects that I have been focusing on is re-evaluating the mission and the governance of the departments under my responsibility. 

Re-evaluating the mission & objectives are important to ensure the departments are focusing on the right agenda. The strategies that have been planned out must also meet the mission & objectives. 

Governance on the other hand involves re-evaluating the procedures, structure, and work process to ensure the implementation of tasks/strategies is not only efficient but also effective. 

The departments were given the challenge to think outside the box and have courage to make changes, to challenge and propose better alternatives to top management. Intellectual curiosity must be a culture.

It is not the most popular job. The process of changing the mind-set, work procedures and building confidence is always challenging. Once that is in place, other good things will come naturally.

A few departments required radical changes, where their mission and strategies were altered. Some required changes to the procedures/work processes to be more effective. The risk of failure is high. 

A few refused or have no desire to change and continue drowning comfortably. Those who hankered for quick wins were advised to be patient. Now we have noticed some positive outcomes, Alhamdulillah. 

Shaping the basics and building the fundamentals always takes time, but once we succeed, unlike the short-term measures and the short-lived ceremonies, it will last for a very long time.

I have 20 months left. There are a few more things I would like to see changed and improved. The road is winding and slippery but with determination and passion nothing is impossible insyaAllah.

Then I can go peacefully...

Believe

Sometimes you just have to challenge yourself to believe and do what others do not believe and do not dare to do

Mirror

If we look in the mirror and do self reflection we may find many own weaknesses that need to be improved so we have no time to criticise and talk about others

Change

An old friend who is having a conflict at work asked me a difficult question. Should they stick to the devil they know or opt for a new devil they do not know? 

Honestly I do not have the answer to her question so I asked her back. How do you know the new 'devil' is a devil? Maybe he or she is an angel, I tried to provoke her. She smiled back to me, nodding.

Change can be very difficult. Most of the times people are just too afraid to change. They are afraid of the uncertain future but then what is life without a risk.

IKhlas

Pagi semalam pengerusikan mesyuarat pembukaan audit pensijilan semula MS ISO 9001:2008. Moga audit 3 hari berjalan lancar.

Kemudian diminta beri sedikit ucapan di majlis penutup Entrepreneurial Educators Enhancement Program. Nampak semua peserta bersemangat.

Saya tanya trainers bagaimana cara mengekalkan semangat tersebut dan memastikan peserta mampu bawa perubahan kepada institusi masing2.

Saya tanya begitu kerana saya lihat ilmu diperolehi kadang2 terbiar begitu saja tanpa amalan. Hanya sekadar sijil yang memenuhi CV.

Seorang senior yg hadir kursus di sebuah univ tersohor pernah beritahu dia hanya mahukan sijil dari univ tsbt. Hingga kini dia tdk buat apa2 dgn ilmunya.

Ikhlas dalam berilmu itu penting.

Fokus

Pagi ni singgah sebentar di bengkel E-Management. Sempat berikan sedikit taklimat kepada peserta mengenai projek Campus-Wide Information Systems. 

CWIS kita semakin jauh ketinggalan dan perlu diberi keutamaan. Dalam pembangunan sistem, komitmen pengguna dan pembangun sistem sangat penting.

Cabaran utama bagaimana nak bangunkan sistem terbaik dgn kekangan masa dan kewangan yang sgt terhad. Tiada yg mustahil dengan komitmen tinggi.

Rehat sebentar sebelum tutup pintu ofis. Perlu fokus siapkan KK Business Innovation Centre UUM. Akan bentang pd team Yayasan TS Azman jumaat pagi.

Moga semua usaha mendatangkan hasil. Amanah diberikan hanya 3 tahun. Sampai masa turun nanti sekurang2nya usaha terbaik telah pun diberikan. 

Bengkak buku lali dan otot peha bahana futsal sabtu lepas masih berdenyut namun belum ada kesempatan untuk bercuti. Begitu cepat masa berlalu...

Alone

Dinner alone with nasi goreng cili padi and teh tarik. Raining heavily in KL. Sometimes it is good to be alone. Occasional pause to the hectic schedule may bring a different perspective to the way we think and work. Soul searching to the meaning of life

Iqra'

An advanced nation is of those who read a lot, travel far, think the unthinkable and ask lots of questions. How about us?

Penantian

Zaman sekolah rendah dulu kami naik bas ke sekolah atau ke bandar KB. Bas no. 38 Machang Gondang. Bas lalu sejam sekali kadang2 lebih. Selalunya bila sampai di sekolah bas dah penuh. Jadi kami terpaksa tunggu bas seterusnya. Kadang2 jam 3 petang kami masih di stesen bas depan sekolah menunggu sedangkan kawan2 lain dah boleh berehat atau bermain. 

Untuk hilangkan bosan biasanya kami nyanyi lagu Penantian dari kumpulan Harmoni. Masa tu belum kenal Metallica lagi. Petang ni tunggu giliran bentang paper mesyuarat Lembaga Pengarah sambil dengar lagu Hardwired.

We have been waiting since 2.30 after Friday prayer. Earlier we had a meeting with Ambank Islamic team. It was very frustrating when the secretariat came out at 6.45pm to tell us that our paper is now postponed and has to be presented in the next meeting. We drove back to Jitra at 7pm and arrive home alhamdulillah safely at 2am.