Competition is not a Race

Race is about winning, competition is about finding who and where you are. In a race there are winner and loosers, in competition there are actually only winners. When we compete, we test our capabilities in the open so that we could know what to improve in the future. In this logic, we already win because we conquer our fear of not being perfect or good enough. We win because many people probably afraid to do what we are doing.

This ia similar in organization. More often, in applying for award or international standards, the motivation is to win, not to measure how the organization currently perform with other similar organization. It is much more easy to enter a race for winning: only join when you could win, do not join if you knew you will loose. However, if you knew you already win, why you want to join the race?

My Definition of Industrial Engineering

Industrial engineering discipline itself is a unique engineering discipline which already required the multidisciplinary approach in its definition of industrial engineering:

Industrial Engineering concerned with the design, improvement and installation of integrated systems of people, materials, equipment and energy. It draws upon specialized knowledge and skill in the mathematical, physical and social sciences together with the principles and methods of engineering, to specify, predict and evaluate the results to be obtained from such a system

In order to explain and elaborate this definition, we need to break down this definition into 3 main parts:

Part 1: Industrial Engineering concerned with the design, improvement and installation of integrated systems of people, materials, equipment and energy …

In this first part, we elaborate the 3 main roles of industrial engineers: design, improve and installation of integrated systems.

Let us start by exploring the term: integrated systems. Systems can simply be defined as an entity which consists of components that interacts with each others in certain way so the entity could function to achieve its goals. As we could read in the definition above, an integrated system, will in the minimum consist of 4 components: human, materials, equipment, and energy. By this, all type of industry: services, manufacturing, creative, education etc. could be managed by the industrial engineers, since almost all type of industries would have these 4 components.

The term “integrated” means that the interactions between the 4 components lead to an emerging observed behavior which is different than just the sum of its parts. A human is an integrated system due to the interaction of human components: brain, skeleton, heart, etc. However, if we have the technology to develop all of the human components and we put them together, will we have a human?

Industrial engineering educations in Indonesia and the world in general, are different from each other due to different interpretations and emphasizes of the components of an integrated industrial systems. The 4 components is just the minimum, each institution can add more based on the needs of its stakeholders.

Industrial Engineers must learn and understand all of these components when they perform their 3 main roles:

Design: shows the capability to creatively combine all the knowledge that he/she has into the design of the system. Traditionally, Industrial Engineer designs a factory or operation system; however the perspectives can be applied to design a system of solutions with multi-disciplinary, multi-approach and multi-dimensional characteristics.

Improve: can be defined as management since management means you have to improve something. If you just want to do the same things efficiently, it is called administration. Management will always face with problem solving, since problems can be defined as a gap between what we want and what we have now. This would require analytical skills, systems thinking and other tools and methods supporting their problem solving capability.

Install: requires the capability to define steps necessary to install a systems design. Installation forces industrial engineers to think ahead in the future and defines the performance accepted when the system is operational. It would include project management, design for maintenance, design for manufacture, design for six sigma (DFSS), etc.

 

Part 2: … It draws upon specialized knowledge and skill in the mathematical, physical and social sciences together with the principles and methods of engineering …

Industrial Engineers requires basic knowledge and skills to conduct their jobs, it is also an acknowledgement that industrial engineering is part of engineering discipline even though it also need social sciences. The 1^st year of education is mainly consist core engineering courses to develop these basic competencies, such as mathematics, physics and chemistry.

 

Part 3: … to specify, predict and evaluate the results to be obtained from such a system

As the final stage when Industrial Engineers conduct their work is about results of the systems that they have designed, improved or installed. The systems results or performance should be better than the previous performance which will be calculated using facts and data.

When we talk about performance, there are 3 stages that we usually must performs: specify which performance criteria fit for the systems, predict how the performance on the systems based on our current knowledge or design and how to measure and evaluate them when the systems operational,

Specify, we should specify the results or performance of the systems in the beginning of the design or improvement stage, mainly because there could be different interpretations between multiple stakeholders. A finance expert could say that cost savings is the primary measurement, a marketer could say that delivering what the customer want, a production expert could say that conformance to standards. All of these performances are right, however we might have to develop a trade off since we cannot satisfy them all at the same time. Specify means that an industrial engineers must know how to define the right indicators, how to get them consistently, how frequent, examining the cost and benefits of a measurement.

Predict, after we have specified the results, we should be able to predict how our designed systems will perform. Basically, we use results/performance specifications as the main guidance for our design or improvement.

Evaluate, when the systems have been improved or installed, we then could move into evaluating the performance of the real systems. The results of the evaluation will act as a feedback for further improvement of the systems or when designing a new similar systems.

Suggestions to Improve Knowledge Transfer in the Government Transition of Power

An efficient and effective knowledge transfer is one of the key to soften the disruptions effect of power transitions (as one of my blog highlights).

1. Create a curriculum of governments administration systems

When I was in the orientation month on becoming a Civil Servant, we have a topic that covers this, which is called SANRI (National Administration System of the Republic of Indonesia). I will not comment on the content of this topic, since it is very much in-adequate with the growing progress of the political structure of Indonesia.

I believe that we need to develop a knowledge transfer place (or what Nonaka said as "Ba") so we could reduce the learning curve of the new leaders, usually in government, they conduct orientation week or month. Then we must design a curricula that reflects to the daily and strategic questions of the leaders, such as

• How do deploy an agenda/a program to the administration systems?
• How to read and interpret regulations? and how to address "different" translation of the regulations?
• How do we navigate the world of politics from legislative, oversight bodies, anti-corruption agency and law enforcement agencies who each has their own agenda that need to be recognized? (worst these agenda is dynamically different depending on the "political climate")

This curricula is must supported by team of experienced educators.

2. Local Governments administration systems must be shielded from political interventions so they become government professional managers

Government stafs are basically managers, they must be professionally develop to conduct their work. We need to develop regulations to forbid them to become political candidates, from the vice head of local government units to the district or provincial secretary. They must agree and abide a regulation that forbid them to enter as candidate as the head of government. Why is this important? It is necessary to distance the professionalism of government managers to the influence of politics.

3. Simplify the administration process

We urgently need to simplify the administration process, I do not mean the streamlining of the government (reduce government employee) but we need to reduce the process and transactions by eliminating or automate non-value adding process. We should focus the human touch to what matters, not on conducting routine things. We have technology for that, focus the human touch on what can not be replaced by technology: direct public services and analysis.

Simplify does not means to take it simple but to make it simple. Make it simple requires effort, deep considerations and analysis which usually not simple. The government system needs what we call in the business, business process re-engineering. With so many things changes, we need to redraw new process (of course with the knowledge of the previous process). Not just one department or sector, but the whole government sectors. Primarily on what strategic guru Porter mention as the support activities: administration & infrastructure (financial, communications, decision making systems), procurement, human resources development and product/service development.

Knowledge Transfers Disruptions in Indonesian Local Government's Transition of Power

Indonesia's experience for widespread democratic elections is relatively new. Recently we have experienced waves of new local leaders from district, province and national leaders.  Although many political experts would cherish this phenomenon as good signs for a democratic country, I has just realize that our government structure is not actually ready and not being prepared for this wave of change. I will discuss this in the perspectives of knowledge management, which concerns with the effectiveness and efficiency of knowledge generation, retention, transfer and usage.

The previous government design is to use military style transition of power or widely known as regeneration. The vice head or next in command will be the prime candidate to replace the current head or commander. When we have a new opening of vice head, we will scan the most experienced and knowledgeable candidates based on their current track record. This is make sense, since it will smooth the transition of power, because the knowledge transfers is actually occurs smoothly. The vice head will have time to learn how the administration works if he/she has an agenda or work program.

The direct election concept of democracy, could disrupt the transition of power. With the trends of Indonesians preference, who prefer highly popular figure but somehow inexperience than the experienced incumbents. This is understandable when the previous leaders performance (which include the incumbent) in unsatisfactory. Somehow, our people prefer "buying cat in the bag" (a saying in Indonesian, that you choose to buy a cat just because it sounds better, not because it is good quality cat).

A manager must concerns BOTH leadership and administrations. This is especially true in governments, where the administrations process is overwhelm with regulations and interconnectedness (It was design to share and cloud responsibility if "anything" happens).  A "surprise"-candidates winner will have a long learning-curve to understand how the government administration works even if he has good leaderships.

You have to be able to imagine what do A new leader face when he/she enter his office after winning the elections. They could have a good agenda and programs, but if he/she pushed this agenda, it cannot be done because it is forbidden by a regulation or it is difficult to be executed so the effort is not worth it. The punishment of breaking a regulations is simple you go to jail. Even now, a friend in governments told me that sometimes doing nothing, could also makes you go to jail.

Besides regulations, other questions arise:

• which unit/divisions that I must allocate the budget to?
• if this is a multi-sector agenda, how do I control them, if all unit has the same level of power?
• if this a multi-years effort, how do protect them from yearly budgeting battles between executives and legislators?
• When my government team (which is usually all of them is the previous leaders team) say that it cannot be done, does they really know it cannot be done or they just don't want to work extra miles?
• etc.

The new leader usually can not the answer to this questions right away after election.

I heard from a friend in the Philippines, that to make sure the administration works to serve the leadership, they usually also change the 1st level and 2nd level administration personnel. However logic this style, it will  actually create more disruptions in the transition of power. Group learning usually takes more time and effort than individuals learning. This is a fact that also recognized by my friend when she acknowledges the ineffective the results of the governments.

I am not against "new guy/lady", I believe fresh ideas and fearlessness of unknowledgeable person are powerful resources to make a good change happens. What I want to highlights is that we must address the disruptions of power so that the limited time a leadership has, could be optimized to the betterment of the people. For how to solve this challenge, I have some suggestions that I will write in another blog.