Dear Sgforumites,
Below is an article i had copied from the NTU tribune paper. The tribune paper is a publication from the NTU Students Union.
please comment kie thanx..
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Process Orientated or Result Orientated?
By Ahmad Azizul April 6, 2007 10:04 pm
No doubt the saying teaches us: “the process is always more important than the end result.” However we abide so strictly by this rule of thumb that many a times we fail to holistically assess the situation and let our better judgement elude us. We need to open our eyes and rethink our mindsets.
We live in a result orientated culture, well, we and almost everybody else in the world. It is a world where the person who puts in the most effort does not necessarily win. In addition to the fact that we were all created unequal.
One clear illustration we surely can relate to would be for example two studentÂ’s disparity in their GPAs. Ceteris paribus, surely the one with the higher GPA would be attributed more success and its relevant sweet rewards, while the other will receive correspondingly less success. One may say, perhaps the former was blessed a genius and the latter to be less well endowed, but the latter tried his very best and surely deserves praise. IÂ’m all for it, however this praise doesnÂ’t manifest itself in any tangible form of rewards; it merely reassures us of our mediocrity.
In my opinion, what matters at the end of the day is that work gets done. Imagine your electrician says he did his best to fix your lightings but failed to in the end, during your examination period. Would you still want to pay him? I mean, try convincing your girlfriend that you put in a lot of effort but got her nothing in the end. (I sure donÂ’t understand the concept of effort often.) Effort that produces no result is termed futile.
With that, we should all re-examine the concept of work ethics. Effort is the formative stages of result. And so there is usually little result without effort yet more so effort doesnÂ’t guarantee result. The reason we put in effort is to achieve a purpose and thus this purpose is the aim. We are taught to focus on effort because of softer human traits and everything that makes us a harmonious society so that everyone can be pacified, and its makes us all a little more human.
Effort is important but in my opinion, maybe we should assess the situation more completely and notice that results sometimes is more so too. Effort is associated with qualities like hard work and punctuality. And in many cases, such qualities have been magnified to end up have more weightage than any worthy productivity in the end. And that mindset is what I believe should be reassessed. Many a times, we can and perhaps should give and take on some aspects of effort and cut down on stereotypes of how people who are often late are definitely tardy in their work, etc.
It is clearly illogical to penalize a person, who produces good or excellent work, due to his lack of a punctual trait. I mean after all, in a corporate setting, you hired him for his work, not his punctuality. And having amazing work ethics does not mean heÂ’ll produce better work. Have you heard of the saying that good guys finish last? This new mindset is slowly being adopted and adjusted in certain innovative companies right now.
ItÂ’s just a rethinking of another customary school of thought we have subconsciously ingrained into ourselves. Let us question concepts we are familiar with and have blindly adopted. Let us form our own thoughts, whether right or wrong, and become truly become Thinkers, I mean, after all that is what weÂ’re here in university for.