recently i noted a couple of searches for "chong hoi peng, sia" that led people to my blog. it was interesting to note this and i half suspect people must have been so pissed off with her to want to find out more about her. well, i do not like to criticize people but certainly i had my worst working experience in my life under her. here's the story:
i worked for sia cargo from 2000 - 2001. it was a very good learning experience for me for i saw a lot of things. i left that place convinced that sia is nice and beautiful on the outside but inside, there are things that do not really augur well for the company. things that had been "encultured" and that in the long time, if not eradicated, will become a cancer tumor and that will eventually destroy the company's productivity or slow down it's growth.
for example, i see people coming to office, do nothing, sleep at their table and wait for the end of the day. these are the people who had stayed with the company for over 20 years and waiting for their 25 years so that they can get lifetime benefits. and the company managers did nothing about it. and the reason why they did not do anything about it was becos they might get into trouble with the union. also, i noticed many would spend hours chatting and talking. politicking was a prevalent and major preoccupations of many in the company. lastly, there was a lot of mind sets. the people inside had very strong mindsets and totally resistant to change/ criticisms. of cos on the bright side, i think the company was able to move due to a few very good people. people, that certainly my boss then did not belong to. i am not sure what the company is like now. but that was my experience back then.
when i joined them, there was this saying - "if you stay with sia for 5 years, you will be accepted as part of them and will likely stay with them for life". so, when i joined them, i was considered a mid-streamer, someone who had parachuted into the system. and to those in the system, i was perceived as a threat. unluckily, i guessed i was perceived as a threat by none other than my own manager. yes, she is none other than this lady called "chong hoi peng". and so i was time and again picked on and every little thing i did or did not do was scrutinized and mistakes amplified and announced publicly. it's almost like the way public shaming was done during the cultural revolution period. only that i did not need to wear a signboard announcing my `crime'. going to work on time and leaving on time was taken as an attitude problem. to me, i see it as an efficiency issue. i was still able to deliver the results, i was still able to generate the revenues needed. yet, becos i left on time, i was picked on again and again. there was never a time where i did not get any chiding or scolding when i walk into her office. even if it was going into her office to ask for advise. and i decided i had enough of her nonsense one year later when i briefed her about my road show schedule.
you see, in order to save the company money and time, i decided to do my road show in taiwan and hong kong on thur, fri and sat. fly to states via hong kong on sun and arrive in san francisco for my united states series of road shows that cover san franscisco, los angeles and new york. that means i will have one day rest in states on sunday before starting my show on monday and returning on wed. 7 days to cover 5 major cities. this to me was rather demanding given the many distributors and station managers that i had to meet and the processes that i have to audit. when i went to see her to brief her on my schedule and areas that i will cover, little did i expect to get a scolding me and her accusing me of trying to take advantage of the company's time and money for personal enjoyment. wtf! and becos of this she went on to scrutinize my itinerary hour by hour as to where i will be, who i will meet, where i will stay, when i will fly from point to point. she cannot find any fault with it. but then again, she demanded that i come back to singapore to spend my sunday before i head to states again on monday! hmmmm, no logic. penny wise but totally pound foolish. it was crazy.
i decided enough was enough. i left the company. i continued to keep in contact with my staff after i left. interestingly enough my staff shared with me that i was one of the very few who served more than a couple of months under her. in fact, my lasting for a years was the longest. and from 2001 to 2004. i understand that she had a turn over of more than 5-8 staff under her. the shortest being less than a month. and things got so back that the company president had to call her up and give her a warning about the high staff turn over.
but of cos, all said and done, she worked very hard. very thrifty and would eat sandwiches when she goes overseas in order to minimize her spending. and for that matter, chide people traveling with her when they eat anything she felt was expensive. but she is a very very lousy leader. so lousy that one could actually improve when one learn wat not to do using her as an example. the armed forces has this concept called "leadership by example". but she is the perfect example of negative demonstration where "leadership by example" is concerned. and from that perspective, i must really say i have learned a lot a lot from her. learned wat not to do, wat kills staff's motivation, wat leadership is not about... and i am very sure i have walked out of the company a very much better person.
ya it's true.
i worked for sia cargo from 2000 - 2001. it was a very good learning experience for me for i saw a lot of things. i left that place convinced that sia is nice and beautiful on the outside but inside, there are things that do not really augur well for the company. things that had been "encultured" and that in the long time, if not eradicated, will become a cancer tumor and that will eventually destroy the company's productivity or slow down it's growth.
for example, i see people coming to office, do nothing, sleep at their table and wait for the end of the day. these are the people who had stayed with the company for over 20 years and waiting for their 25 years so that they can get lifetime benefits. and the company managers did nothing about it. and the reason why they did not do anything about it was becos they might get into trouble with the union. also, i noticed many would spend hours chatting and talking. politicking was a prevalent and major preoccupations of many in the company. lastly, there was a lot of mind sets. the people inside had very strong mindsets and totally resistant to change/ criticisms. of cos on the bright side, i think the company was able to move due to a few very good people. people, that certainly my boss then did not belong to. i am not sure what the company is like now. but that was my experience back then.
when i joined them, there was this saying - "if you stay with sia for 5 years, you will be accepted as part of them and will likely stay with them for life". so, when i joined them, i was considered a mid-streamer, someone who had parachuted into the system. and to those in the system, i was perceived as a threat. unluckily, i guessed i was perceived as a threat by none other than my own manager. yes, she is none other than this lady called "chong hoi peng". and so i was time and again picked on and every little thing i did or did not do was scrutinized and mistakes amplified and announced publicly. it's almost like the way public shaming was done during the cultural revolution period. only that i did not need to wear a signboard announcing my `crime'. going to work on time and leaving on time was taken as an attitude problem. to me, i see it as an efficiency issue. i was still able to deliver the results, i was still able to generate the revenues needed. yet, becos i left on time, i was picked on again and again. there was never a time where i did not get any chiding or scolding when i walk into her office. even if it was going into her office to ask for advise. and i decided i had enough of her nonsense one year later when i briefed her about my road show schedule.
you see, in order to save the company money and time, i decided to do my road show in taiwan and hong kong on thur, fri and sat. fly to states via hong kong on sun and arrive in san francisco for my united states series of road shows that cover san franscisco, los angeles and new york. that means i will have one day rest in states on sunday before starting my show on monday and returning on wed. 7 days to cover 5 major cities. this to me was rather demanding given the many distributors and station managers that i had to meet and the processes that i have to audit. when i went to see her to brief her on my schedule and areas that i will cover, little did i expect to get a scolding me and her accusing me of trying to take advantage of the company's time and money for personal enjoyment. wtf! and becos of this she went on to scrutinize my itinerary hour by hour as to where i will be, who i will meet, where i will stay, when i will fly from point to point. she cannot find any fault with it. but then again, she demanded that i come back to singapore to spend my sunday before i head to states again on monday! hmmmm, no logic. penny wise but totally pound foolish. it was crazy.
i decided enough was enough. i left the company. i continued to keep in contact with my staff after i left. interestingly enough my staff shared with me that i was one of the very few who served more than a couple of months under her. in fact, my lasting for a years was the longest. and from 2001 to 2004. i understand that she had a turn over of more than 5-8 staff under her. the shortest being less than a month. and things got so back that the company president had to call her up and give her a warning about the high staff turn over.
but of cos, all said and done, she worked very hard. very thrifty and would eat sandwiches when she goes overseas in order to minimize her spending. and for that matter, chide people traveling with her when they eat anything she felt was expensive. but she is a very very lousy leader. so lousy that one could actually improve when one learn wat not to do using her as an example. the armed forces has this concept called "leadership by example". but she is the perfect example of negative demonstration where "leadership by example" is concerned. and from that perspective, i must really say i have learned a lot a lot from her. learned wat not to do, wat kills staff's motivation, wat leadership is not about... and i am very sure i have walked out of the company a very much better person.
ya it's true.
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