In this modern world it’s an undeniable fact that we are exposed to all kind of information. Which of these information be useful us? It would depend on our own interest, our background, our nature of job, our lifestyle and so on. Of course the mode of getting it also depends on where are we in the society. The ones who are still IT illiterate would find this information in the main stream media such as paper, TV, radio and so on. Again this does not deter them from gaining the relevant information through people within their circle who may be exposed to level of IT needed to gather such information.
Sometimes too much of irrelevant information could also lead us to making the wrong decisions. That is why, it is rather important to identify all the relevant information required in a particular situation. For instance how much the fishermen must know before they leave the shores to do their job, how to obtain it, how fast should it reach them, who is responsible in disseminating all this, what are the recent events that should be shared and many more. However, there should be a limit to all these information as too much may not help. It’s all about the right information for the right person, at the right place, at the right time, the right amount and also using the right mode. Failing which it may lead us to disaster or repeated unwanted events.
Anything can be seen as important information depending on what issue is it all about. Useful information to one person may not be important to others, so understanding of this variation is also very vital. If we don’t have the right measures to a situation, we may never know whether the variations are under control. Dynamism of this relevant information is what we will use as the feed to create dynamic systems which in return leads to a sustainable controlled condition. Having all this information but dealing with it in isolation will also lead us no where.
If we are to achieve the noble thoughts of “People First and Performance Now”, we should be considering what is actually needed by the people and what are we to measure now that will show us the right output and also the desired outcome much later (where the establishment of Key Result Areas (KRAs) and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) come into play, within sustainable controlled condition). The main problem here is the inability to see things as a holistic system. When this prevails, we will view matters in isolation, thus a lot of interrelated data to go missing. This missing link may be the key to may answers that go unanswered even after an investigation or corrective action. Due to the fact that different agencies are responsible in handling different matters at the same time, which is further contributed by the bureaucratic nature of the systems implemented, this also leads us to many dead ends. While we may think that it is necessary for control of processes within a system, yet many unwarranted variations could not be explained and of course not forgetting the grey area surrounding the level or types of jurisdiction that the matter is bound by.
One case that can be seen as an example in this kind of matters is when we read about the statistics provided by the traffic police regarding the road accidents that happened. Since they are one of the first to the scene of an accident, numerous identified information is gathered for their reporting needs. After that, another set of data is gathered at another area which is of course the hospital, where it could from the bodies received or injured people at the Accident and Emergency (A&E) of a hospital. This report would give us information on the type of injuries and also what caused the death. These two parts of the information just sits there, isolated from the manufacturer of the vehicles that were involved in the accident.
“In 1927, when Volvo founders Assar Gabrielsson and Gustaf Larson drew plans for their first motorcar, they believed that good design must include the utmost consideration for safety. Their commitment to safety has endured, and has been embraced and expanded today in Gothenburg, Sweden, headquarters of Volvo Cars. Through the years, Volvo has designed safety features based on extensive research of real-world accidents.
In 1970, we formed the Volvo Accident Investigation Team to study accidents involving Volvos. Since then the team has researched more than 20,000 individual accidents, resulting in significant improvements in automobile safety design, many of which have since been adopted by other carmakers. We are proud of this tradition, and hope that our innovations continue to inspire higher standards of safety throughout the automobile industry (www.volvocanada.com., 2009).”
Many similar issues like above is still out there, as long the interrelated agencies don’t come together and perform whatever that they have to in isolation, thus people may never see any desired results within the stipulated timeframe.
“However, its (KRAs and KPIs) success will also depend on the strength of the administration-public service relationship and I cannot emphasize enough how important this partnership is in determining the success of government policies and programmes,” (Najib Tun Razak, The Prime Minister of Malaysia, 6th July, 2009, Prime Minister’s Department monthly gathering )
“Output now, Outcome later mindset will be the main obstacle to People First, Performance now”
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