How does the government encourage new ideas and new solutions to problems?
Now it is a big turn-off. I have visited various government agencies and emailed many ministries and MPs. None of them are able to reply to my suggestions on how to help the SMEs and avoid pro-foreign and high-cost policies of the past.
In particular, I have asked ministries to do something to help the local Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) but so far nobody bothers to consider my suggestions.
SMEs are the feeders of a national economy. Suitably nurtured, SMEs will play a critical role in augmenting the growth, resilience, and vibrancy of the national economy.
However, EDB, only knows how to talk about the need to upgrade to value-adding industries but has it consistently brought about new technology start-ups as other Asian tigers or the Scandivian european countries have been doing.
Hve the MOM and MTI possessed larger visions and gone on to promote SMEs other than their own short-term pro-foreign investment strategy neglecting their own indigenious entrepreneurship and SMEs.
SMEs are vulnerable to turbulence, ups-and-downs due to their lack of capital and other resources. It is in this area that EDB, MTI and MOM should focus their attention. Do not let the SMEs die off just because of temporary set-backs due to such turbulence.
SMEs need to be supported by the government in its procurement policies so as to prmote their own indigeneous industries especially in areas of technology start-ups.
I ever asked at one FU session why government departments insisted so often on complete range of track records in their tendering and procurement policies so much so that those smaller firms with better ideas and services are often excluded from tenders.
The answer is a very protective and conservative one - they need track records to establishe criteria and credentials. What if it is a new company which has many good products and new ideas to launch. Who will help such companies from silicon valleys of Singapore to catch up. Don't we need more such entrepreneurs to come up to start new technology applications?
Which ministers or civil servants are prepared to lend an assistance in encouraging new technology applications from new investors and peoiple and new graduates usually without track records.
It makes sense for the government to support the SMEs in procurement policy which will be accessible to SMEs in terms of competitive sourcing of material, access to commodities, advertising, promotion and market penetration.
TYPICAL PROBLEMS FACING SMEs.
SMEs constantly face the following problems:-
1. Higher start-up costs.
2. Fuzziness of management.
3. Lack of process management.
4. Lack of transparency and accountability.
5. Lack of capital and resources.
6. Lack of total management know-how.
DEVELOPING NEW OPPORTUNITIES
Yet, despite all the short-term imperatives of attracting ready-made enterprises in the age of nano-technology, government should recognise ideas and be prepared to lend a helping hand to allow more citizens to start up businesses and compete head-on on their own people's entrepreneurship, creativity and innovations. SMEs are the fertile grounds for enriching national technological and practical knowledge application and innovations.
SMEs are likely to come up with newer ideas, experimentations, departmentalisation, standardization, specialization, objectivity, coordination, integration and information management.
SMEs are more nimble and better able to explore management and technical know-how and technology applications to promote new growth potential and opportunities.
CURRENT BUSINESS MODELS
Unfortunately if we as citizens try to approach any government ministers or agencies to help in a new start-up say e.g. call-centre process management the answer is usually a negative one.
They will give their reasons as not having any policy for promoting individuals or private businesses.
They prefer to spend millions on foreigners' coming to Singapore to give their talks about management or some other SOP or ISO certification systems rather than nurturing the local ones.
Despite promoting foreign ISOs, in manufacturing or management or production systems, these systems are mostly narrow technical look-good presentations assembled as standards for advertising or public relation objectives rather than truly cause-effect efficient or productive processes.
Despite the prevalence of ISOs and certified work processes, many enterprises with such records have fallen victims to general business malpractices and failures during the Asian financial crisis of 1997.
RE-INVENTION AND SETTING NEW DIRECTIONS
There is a critical need to reexamine the over-reliance on concepts about leadership and talents and instead promote truly motivational work processes which produce self-reliance, coordination, integration to bring about widespread practical knowledge applications as follows:-
EXPLORING EFFICIENCY THROUGH OBJECTIVITY
Efforts should be made to promote process management so that all ministries will work at implementation efficiency to create jobs and lower costs of living.
All ministries should set up their policies in processes which can be executed easily e.g.
1. STEPS
2. CORE ACTIVITIES
3. INPUTS & OUTPUTS
4. PARAMETERS/ STANDARDS
5. QUANTITATIVE ASSESSMENTS
6. INFORMATION FLOW
7. MANAGEMENT ROUTINES
8. DOCUMENTATION PROCESSING
9. STANDARDIZATION
If all the major policies can be implemented in component work processes, all the ministries will realise immediate organizational efficiency and productivity together with accountability and transparency afforded by the processes.
SMEs should be encouraged to process their tasks to avoid self-centred boss-centred practices and ad hoc or fire-fighting approaches.
Is there any recognition of such process management excellence?
DEPARTMENT REPORT (ACCOUNTS)
Why allow so many creative accounting practices to affect the whole govenment services and systems of charging fees?
Process management can help to prevent such creative accounting in reporting of incomes and expenditures, purchasing and contracts, payments, receipts, and revenues to prevent any leakage or malpractices.
Process management will lead to regular objective feedbacks on works and services to ensure quality-time-cost control to head office through 2-way communication task-lines as elaborated.
DEPARTMENT REPORT (SERVICE - TECHNOLOGY/R&D)
Process management will lead to SMEs competing on all knowledge applications and technology start-ups.
Service Departments will be working with coordination and knowledge application of the latest technologies, hardware and software development.
DEPARTMENT REPORT (MARKETING)
Ministries will be able to focus on fulfilling customers' needs/values, equipment/material/manpower changes, price/cost, A&P - 4 P (product differentiations or technology excellence) corresponding to your research and development ?
Finally Revenue Department will ensure that all monies of the citizens are properly accounted for with core activities set up as suggested by late President Ong Teng Cheong to oversee revenue collection with corrective actions taken on any quantified variances.