Reverse, Forward, Neutral Engineering

In O3, we know that they demand fast products and are willing to cut corners. Thus reverse engineering is the order of the day. Labs are filled to the brim with competitor's products that management claims is for testing...

But the SOP is that once all the testing is completed, O3 engineers have the joy of tearing the competition's units apart to stare and observe and learn from their designs. To a certain extent, it makes some sense to do that. Kind of like not reinventing the wheel. On the other hand, it halts creativity and creation of new ideas. What I'd like to coin forward engineering. If the whole world kept staring at CRT tvs, do you think plasma or LCD tvs would exist?

O3 is stuck in trend of reverse engineering...in fact, it "worships" this angle of attack. Egads! I mean, if you look at the top 2 or 3 international models already...great! Why do you need to look at every single brand? I mean, the cost of procuring all these models outweighs the benefits. If you manage to put together all the best features of the units, I bet another O3 like company based in a labour and material cost advantaged country will be able to do it faster, cheaper and better.

So well, I propose that O3 attempts to look at neutral engineering. Since reverse engineering will be impossible to rip from their deathlike grasps, they should lock up at least 3 engineers in a separate room away from all external influences and ask them to come up with a new product that does xyz functions. Who knows? It might work right?

Silver spoons

We currently live in a society where getting a bachelors degree is something highly sought after. However, I've come to know quite a number of highly intelligent individuals, who were all born with silver spoons, who have either done badly or simply dropped out of school because life was easy for them and money came pouring in from directions we can't even fathom.

(For those born without silver spoons and had to struggle to work, dropping out of school may have been necessary, so I'm not in anyway talking about those who have financial hardships to deal with.)

Case in point would be the miniboss. You see, engineering students who study locally are forced to do the 4-year course for honours. We were also taking an average of 8 modules every semester. We were not allowed to do double majors but that's changing since the numerous protests. Things are slow to change though.

So, miniboss gets accepted into one of the top business and engineering schools in the ivy league to do a double major even though he had no extra-curricular activities during junior college. By that time, he was immersed in the O3 environment and getting away with things in the school because Uberbaus made friends in high places and donations to the school. Now, miniboss refuses to understand the enormous gift he has by getting into this ivy league school. He gets to do a double major with only about 5 to 6 modules every semester. Is that fair? Furthermore, he hardly attends lessons and isn't doing well for the examinations. He has placed O3 as top priority in his life simply because he assumes that O3 will survive. (that is probably true as long as the 3 bosses are there.) Silver spoon. Uberbaus will do anything for miniboss to succeed.

Another case I know is the son of a certain politician. Badly behaved in school and kept back one year for failing. Last I heard, he has a high paying job at a well-loved beer company. Silver spoon. His dad is highly influencial.

Yah, I think the silver spoon increases the odds of brat behaviour and not being grateful for the opportunities given to you and that you had taken away from other more deserving individuals.

Dinner and Dance the O3 way

Apparantly the annual Dinner and Dance of the O3 is coming up soon. The last one wasn't that fun either but we were pretty much forced to go cos if you didn't, the individual cost would've been deducted from one's salary.

This year, I have spared myself the agnst of attending the D&D by simply having removed myself from O3 in January this year. The more recently parted though still managed to be invited for the D&D. We suspect it is to make up the dwindling numbers.

This year they have also changed the venue of the D&D and merged the factory D&D with the HQ D&D. Sounds like a good idea save for the fact that the venue is changed from a decent hotel in the city to a place on the island's factory.

Yes, the island. Let us reflect on the ISLAND: Some would postulate the possibility that Uberbaus simply wants to kidnap all the employees whilst on this foreign land. Others would say its just to make everyone sick from the mosquito bites and the food. Uberbaus has "promised" (WOW!) that he would provide nice accomodations for the HQ staff to stay over one night. Right...

Yes, the "promise". Let us reflect on the PROMISE: Uberbaus has promised to improve the accomodations of employees in that island for many months now but hardly anything has changed. Up to5 staff are squeezed into a room that was meant for 2! Beddings are infested with bedbugs and items are stolen half the time. Yes, the promise is only for Uberbaus and his family to stay in the resort like accomodations. The promise is for himself.

The last item up for discussion would be the LUCKY DRAW PRIZES. The Uberbaus shamelessly instructs the committee to scour the ground for vouchers. Unbeknowst to the well-meaning large companies who give tens of dollar or vouchers or sponsor digital cameras, the Uberbaus keeps these nice gifts for himself and then gets a worker to purchase household items like rice cookers and toasters as prizes. The vouchers are then used at the whim and fancy of Uberbaus to furnish the office or replace spoilt items. Digital cameras are then used to "bribe" goodwill from other staff or as gifts to foreigners to display Uberbaus' generousity.

Yah, last year, the top prize was supposed to be a cash prize...but instead it was transformed into a travel voucher of smaller value from O3's travel agent. Uberbaus was even witnessed to have ask a worker whether he could pay the guy's salary with vouchers instead.

You decide the shamelessness of his actions. You decide how many D&D's you want to attend at O3.

EXTRA! EXTRA!! How come WE must pay EXTRA!

I just read the news about making NETS users pay the administrative charge for using NETS! What is this? are they really so hard up for viamin M?? It's bad enough to get credit card users to pay the extra 2% for using the facilities! How come these methods of payments that is supposed bring us convenience ends up making us pay more? What kinda logic is this? So much for wanting us to go paperless, and we have to bear the cost!

I'm already pissed over the taxi companies for wanting us to pay EXTRA cos they are changing to new cabs! not to mention the fact that they also want EXTRA for the Environment Friendly cabs they have! Come on man!, get real! If you want to go enviromental, do it at ur own cost! dun get consumers, who probably dun care about the environment, to pay for it! these are the things that service providers are SUPPOSED to do to improve our comfort! How come the cost of these is being flowed to us consumers! How come no one is doing anything about this? Or can anyone do anything about it?

This is not the end! Aparrently, they are gonna review increasing the fares for both buses and MRTs! like they are not earning enough from us consumers! With the new EZLink cards, they are getting commuters to pay the correct fare, with the occasional (or is it USUAL) technical glitch of overcharging them. Now they want to raise the fares again. I really hope this is not approved! Whenever there is an increase in charges, in whatever services that is provided, they will never come down. They try to justify the increase by the Gulf War, the high petrol prices and stuff. All these is to divert our attention away from the increase we have to pay, and before we know it, BAM! It hits us like a freight train!

What will we have to pay extra for next?

How Do You Sleep At Night?

How do you sleep at night? Very well? Or do you lose sleep over the bad things you've done earlier in the day? Ever wondered how the Uberbaus-es sleep? This thought came as I was mopping the floor and thinking of Horlicks. I remember watching an advert in the UK about Horlicks. The advert has a bus driver driving a bus, and as he moves off the bus stop, there was this guy running after the bus. The driver sees the guy running after the bus, but he just does not stop the bus and keeps on driving, glancing at the rear-view mirror once in a while. The camera then shifts to his bedroom and him drinking a cuppa Horlicks just before he goes to bed. The next scene was his next day at work driving the bus and him driving off as another guy runs after his bus.!

Sometimes it makes me wonder how the Uberbaus-es sleep at night. I'm pretty sure he loses sleep over how his company is losing every day even though orders are coming in. But whether he loses sleep over all the nasty things he says and does to his employees, I don't think so. I guess he consoles himself by doing 'good deeds' and thinking that these 'good deeds' can redeem his soul enough for him to go to heaven. I don't think he does these 'good deeds' out of the goodness of his heart.

I remember once he asked me the question ' You think you can go Heaven is it?' What drove him to ask me that question, I don't know. I didn't answer him but I wanted to just tell him, 'Yeah, I'll go to Heaven, but I don't know about you tho'! '

And just for the record, I sleep very well every night. how about you?

Feeding the Snakes to Fight

I recently heard that the Uberbaus is conducting one of his famous management motivational moves. Try and understand this:

1. Uberbaus tells employee P that he likes to be the bad guy so that the workers will unite together in O3-ness and work as one. (he is being "self-sacrificial" so he says).
2. Uberbaus then grabs Q into the room and bad mouths about R and says he doesn't want to work with R.
3. Couple days later, Uberbaus grabs R into the office and complains about Q to R.
   
4. In effect, Uberbaus thinks that this will cause Q and R to compete against each other and work harder.

The truth of it is, everyone knows about Uberbaus' crazy tactics. He simply gives people no reason to have better synergy for the company, which is bleeding money to the "superior races". But that's another blog entry.

Karoshi Cube's Karoshi Moment

Hey everyone, thanks for following and supporting Karoshi cube.

As material is failing to come in fast enough, I would like to know whether you'd like us to continue Karoshi-ing (on a sparser amount of posts) or if anyone else would like to join in the fun and post along side the 3 authors.

I, as LJ, having left O3, am not as updated or as emotionally involved as i used to be. So naturally postings have declined in this blog. I'm also busy with other stuff. =)

So, yah, you guys want this blog to carry on? And who wants in (to write posts)?

Karoshi! Karoshi! Kah-ROHHHH-SHI!!!!