1162. Being organised and systematic

Today I asked my assistant Niang to sit down and have a chat with him as regards adding value to his employer. Management requires many re-education of the employees.

"A man must be able to control his temper," I said. "Especially with his employer. Later, when you want to find another better job, you don't expect your old employer to support you if you don't care about his business by not being organised,"

I gave him two examples of vets not being organised.

"Yesterday, you heard the owner of 2 dogs complaining that she had asked this vet who has set up her own practice that she wanted dental scaling in addition to neuter of 2 dogs. The vet did not do any dental scaling. I have a system where any job to be done on the pet to be written down, but many younger vets  or their assistants don't do it. So, the practice loses income as the dental scaling of 2 dogs would have been additional income. Also, now the owner thinks badly of this vet who had been referred to her by her brother."

In another example today, the lady owner of the pug brought in the dog for me to examine the lameness in the left fore paw. I reviewed the medical records and there was a blood test done on this pug previously. 

As I studied the blood test result report with this pug's name on it, she said of the vet who was not meticulous. "The name is incorrect. It is the  name of my other pug."

She has 2 pugs and the young vet incorrectly labelled the blood tubes as belonging to the other pug.

"It is hard to teach young ones to be meticulous and organised and systematic if they don't want to be," I said to my assistant. "You just ruin your reputation if you are not meticulous as the owners will not want you to treat their dogs!"

Earlier in the morning, I was speaking to Julia, a manager of more than 20 staff and at one time more than 200 staff, about the younger generation. "The young ones have their ways of doing work and may not want to do it your way as your way is 'Old School'"

I replied: "Whether it is Old or New School, certain tasks must be done in an organised and systematic way. To be efficient and productive. If a surgery can be completed in 10 minutes, why take 30 minutes to do so? That has nothing to do with Old School of thoughts. It is the personality and character of the younger generation. "

"Unfortunately, the younger generation of Singaporeans behave "lassia faire" and in my organisation, we have to put up a "step by step" process of doing tasks too. You only manage so few younger staff."

I guess this problem of the younger generation born to an affluent period is common in all organisations.