the boredom of ramfree17

I prefer training my team using the pavlovian conditioning, with a slight bias in negative reinforcement. This has drawn the ire of the Human Resources department in the past.

The reinforcement that I usually employ is done via penalties. The penalties are monetary in nature, and increases in severity if the infraction happens close to each other. An example is a first violation is worth Php50, but any violation in the next 2 weeks will incur a higher penalty of Php100, and so on until a set limit (normally Php500 per infraction). If there is no violation after 2 weeks then the penalty goes back to Php50 as the next violation will be treated as a first offense. The reinforcement is only effective if the team sees that I have my skin in the game too. If the violation is something that applies to me then the same penalties cover my violations. Usually I also sweeten the pot wherein if there is no violation for 2-3 consecutive periods then I automatically contribute the highest penalty amount to the collected funds. I “lose” either way but my goal is not to collect funds but to make the team learn a certain behavior.

The funds collected do not go to my own pocket. The team decides what to do with it. Normally the team spends it on a lunch-out or a series of snacks. I had one team donate the collected funds to charity.

The whole point of negative reinforcement is to make sure that the subjects do not deviate on the prescribed behavior as it will be too inconvenient. Positive reinforcement on the other hand makes it pleasant to meet the prescribed behavior. I just prefer the former because I find it more effective in getting results in a much shorter time.

ciao!

For sometime now I have opted to play with my responses to the mundane question of “how are you doing (today)?” in the office. My response admittedly has turned dark lately but the canned response usually are:

• Better than I deserve! (credits to Dave Ramsey)
• Same-old, same-old.
• SSDD 😉
• Can’t wait for the week to be over.
• Looking forward to the weekend.
• Still breathing.
• Dying a little bit every day.

The last one is a play in the saying that one of these days death will come to our doorstep. It is a reflection of the common reality that all of us will need to pass through that milestone in our lives. The question however is that given of that inevitable reality, how much of that time can we comfortably say we have lived; and not just along for the ride and surviving? Can we look back at the end of each day or week and say “it was worth it”?

You probably have heard of “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade” or “you cannot make omelette without cracking eggs” but company business optimism is taking this a bit further. They are thinking ahead and in what I would assume to be pursuit of cost cutting the powers that be has shifted to “why bother making lemonades and omelette in the first place? let us take away the lemons and eggs so you wont have that problem” mentality.

Ingenious, yes.
Devilish, yes.
Practical? It depends on whose perspective.

I like lemonade and omelette. I also like having the choice whether I will or I will not have them.

ciao!

Ito ay kwento ng isang batang matigas ang ulo.
Nangarap, naghirap, bumuo ng mga plano.
Nagsimula sa baba, nagtyaga sa trabaho
Nagsunog ng kilay; puyat at pagod ay inilako.

Di pagmamayabang, may angking kagalingan
May tereng ang isip kung ano-ano ang napagbalingan
Pero ang di maatim ay ang sumunod sa lakaran
Iwanan ang nakagisnan, sa agos ay magpatianuran.

Sa pagdaan ng panahon, binantayan ang sariling pwesto.
Sa mga paanyayang umakyat di laging umaamo.
“Kayo na lang, masaya na ako dito
Di naman ako sasaya sa iyong mga pangako.”

Ngunit di namalayan na sa oras na tumatakbo
Ang sistemang hinindian ay di naman humihinto
Unti-unting nilulukuban ang kanyang pagkatao.
Isang umaga ay nagising na lang ang batang katoto
Tumingin sa nadaanan,nagiisip kung nasaan na ako.

Di naman dito nagtatapos ang kwento
Pero kung ano kakahitnan, di ko pa napagtatanto.

Bitin. 🙂

Philippines is the prime example of a modern day Babel.

Calls for unity is a running and expensive gag. Political opinions are like assholes, 99.99% of the people have one; most of them different in varying degrees; and each group hell bent in believing that they are in the right. The best we can aspire for is a ruling majority as even consensus is too far fetched of a goal.

Make no mistake that I love my country. Its people, not as much. But the weird part is that we make good citizens but only if it is in a foreign land. I am still puzzled if it means those who have the qualities of being a good citizen tend to migrate out of frustration, or if the endemic political system in the country is really an engulfing viral machine immune to vaccinations. Maybe it is both?

Patriotic but tribalistic; the combination is a bitter sweet pill to swallow. It is like mixing oil and water which is possible with the right emulsifier. If only we can agree on what that is.