October 2008In this organization, having financial figures in red is a norm. Year in and year out the management and staff are used to it. So having one small profitable year is welcomed by everybody in a big way. It is not about incompetency but more about the higher feedstock price, escalating production cost and low selling price. But I know the management could do more than what they are doing now rather than blaming the market alone. They should have looked into getting rid of stocks quickly and improving plants reliability. Removing blood clots in business world could enhance cashflow in a way.
We threw a dinner party to all staff and their family members to celebrate a successful plant shutdown and since it fell in Syawal, there was nothing wrong in including Raya celebration as well – 2 in 1. It saved cost. Really.
The event was a huge success with plenty of foods and shows from staff, expatriates and management team alike. No highly-paid performers or celebrity was invited. Only home-grown talents among technicians and operators on their offday. One of the process technician got the grand prize lucky draw --- i.e a plasma TV. The climax of the night was a performance by the MC members. Yes, we sang our newly-created company song to a tune of P Ramli’s Madu 3 song.
Lesson Learnt:If you are running a losing company, not even breaking even, celebration is even more important in order to keep staff’s morale high. Cut cost by having internal performance – by department. You’ll be surprised at what they could actually do. But the food must be good – place order from the nearby hotel. Never cut cost on food.
