NUS - HRM - human resource is a critical factor

The Straits Times, 1 December 2008

New NUS head to focus on people
His key priority: Develop, recruit and retain talented faculty and students
By Jane Ng
		Prof Tan hopes to create 'a dynamic intellectual community in NUS'. -- ST PHOTO: ALAN LIM

THE new president of the National University of Singapore (NUS) plans to make the recruitment and retention of faculty and students his key priority.

Professor Tan Chorh Chuan, 49, who takes over the reins from Professor Shih Choon Fong today, said his focus would be on people because they made up the university.

'We will have a singular focus on developing, recruiting and retaining outstanding faculty and staff, because only with them can we excel in education, high-impact research and service,' he said in an interview last week on his priorities in the coming year.

He wants to lay at the feet of the teaching faculty the opportunities to pursue unconventional research ideas with potential for breakthroughs. They will also get more professional development support to innovate and excel.

A strategic recruitment committee will root out and recruit top-rate faculty in specific areas so the university can trace 'new pathways to distinction in both research and teaching'.

NUS will release more details next month.

Prof Tan has been its acting president since Aug 15; between 2004 and last year, he was its provost and deputy president, and then its senior deputy president.

A renal physician, he joined the Department of Medicine in 1987 and became NUS' youngest dean 10 years later at 38.

In 2000, he was seconded to the Health Ministry as director of medical services, before returning to NUS as deputy president and provost four years later.

He was identified as the new president when news broke earlier this year that Prof Shih would be joining the King Abdullah University of Science & Technology in Thuwal, Saudi Arabia, as its founding president.

In his second tour at NUS, Prof Tan plans to spend more time with students, staff and alumni.

He also intends to strengthen the university's collaborations with partner universities overseas, which will open up learning opportunities for the students.

He said: 'Students are the heart of our university, so our responsibility is to equip and challenge them to rise beyond themselves... and grow intellectually and as individuals.'

Asked what he hopes to achieve during his term as president, he said: 'I would like to create a dynamic intellectual community in NUS, powered by highly talented faculty, staff, students and alumni, with a culture that fiercely values excellence.'

He added that he wanted to 'steepen NUS' trajectory of development' by building on its impact and reputation to make it a leading global university and 'a thought-leader' in Asia.

The chairman of the NUS Board of Trustees, Mr Wong Ngit Liong, said: 'It is our university's good fortune to find a visionary leader in Chorh Chuan and to have the continuing benefit of his talents and leadership.'

L10- Service

Service - what is?

In this lesson, service is scoped to service in business environment.

We have at one time or another experience service, receive service or provide service.

However, what is service?.

4 special characteristics that make it a service /What are the difference between goods and services? :

a) intangibility

services (intangible performance) / goods (tangible)

b) heterogeneity

service (output varies every time) / goods (homogenous, output always the same every time)

c) inseparability

service (cannot separate service provider and service)/ goods (can separate goods and customers)

d) perishability.

perish after service (ie no inventory)/goods (can be inventorised.)

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Good service is critical in contributing to a company's bottom line (profit).

How do we know if service is good?

How do we quantify it?

SERVICE STANDARD :

a) SOFT :

b) HARD :

soft (behavourial) :
how does the customer received the service. :
eg did the bus captain smile/welcome the passenger?


hard (operational) :
what/when the service is received.

eg in a call center, a call will be taken with 5 rings.


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How do we measure the service quality ?

Different dimensions can be used to measure service quality :
what are some of them :

a) tangibles/how reliable are the service/how responsive is the service/competence of service provider/courtesy of service provider/credibility of service provided/security of service provided.
======================

To decide what is the best strategy to provide good service,
service can be classified based on different dimension :

a) nature of the service (refer to 6P)

b) demand and supply (refer to 6P)

c) customisation/judgement (refer to 6P)

===============
SERVICE CHAIN PROFIT.

why go to so much effort to provide/measure good service?

Satisfied employees --> value add to service/provide good service -> customer happy --> become loyal customer --> lead to increase profit for the company.

Why want to make customer loyal ??
--> lower cost to retain existing customers than to find new customers.

L11- Costing

Key point : COSTING.

Outsourcing is just a support point to costing.
Outsourcing is one way to reduce cost (ie cost control.)


WHAT IS COST?.
resources (material, labour etc) that need to be sacrificed to achieve a business objective (eg to produce a doughnut)


Different type of costs.

- FIXED COST

when is a cost , fixed cost ?.
-
It is fixed cost when it is NOT dependent on the business or volume of activity (ie output, sales etc) .
However, it is usually time based (eg rental(per month), insurance (per year)

- VARIABLE COST
- the cost is DEPENDENT on the business or volume of activity (ie output, sales etc)

- MIXED COST.
when the cost have element of fixed and variable cost.
eg : electricity used in a hair salon : fixed (for lighting/air cond), variable (electricity used for hair dryers)

Components of costs.

TOTAL COST = FIXED COST + VARIABLE COST.

Why want to learn about fixe cost, variable cost?

SO that we can used it to understand the break even quantity?

BREAK EVEN QUANTITY.

What is break even quantity formula :

BE Quantity = Total Fixed Cost /Min selling price per unit (min selling price) - variable cost per unit

Why want to know Break even quanity?
in business, we need to know how much to produce, how many to sell before we can make a profit.

BEq = the quantity one need to sell/produce to break even ie when profit = ZERO
= when all fixed costs recovered.
= produced or sell less than BEq = loss, produced or sell more than BEq = profit.

WHY BEq is important ?
at this point, we do not have to pump in capital/cash/money.


WHAT is minimum selling price?
The selling price at which profit is zero, if you sell below min selling price, loss incurred, if sell above min selling price, there is profit.


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Cost can be DIRECT or INDIRECT.

To produce one doughnut : made up of many costs - flour, oil, sugar, electricty, rental of the factory, capital cost of the mixer.

Direct cost component of a product : ie can be traced back directly to the source.
eg : flour, sugar, oil : direct cost.

Indirect cost : electricity, rental of the factory, capital cost of mixer.

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2 way to grow business :

a) expand the business - organic or inorganic (remmber)

b) control cost.

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How to reduce cost ?

One way - outsource.

To decide if should be outsource :
a) need to analyse it quantitively, based on cost and
b) qualitatively.

=======================
Whether to outsource or not - compare the cost directly related to outsourcing the service vs cost incurred in providing the service internally. (NOTE : don't use min selling price to decide whether to outsource) - see 6P (slide 23) example on whether to outsource or not (ie $2 per unit (outsource vs $2.40 per unit if provided internally)


What are the advantages/disadvantages of outsource?.
(see 6P)

Core function should not be outsourced.

Down to earth- just do it

Click to read.

If you are interested to be an entreprenuer, read on...

Down to earth advise by Jack Sim - founder of WTO (World Toilet Organisation.)

I once met Jack Sim at a social entrpreneur conference and was surprised by how jovial and down to earth he is.

Reread his last point : "Enjoy the whole process. Lady Luck always favour happy, smiling people" The same applies to student , just enjoy the process .

Presentation - how to get fund

Click to read.

We present every where, every day,but may be not formally. Though this article was written for how to present to get funding, it is equally applicable to presentation during M3. Do you agree?.

Today online

RP has tied up with Today to provide an online version. see you mail.

You may want to download and skim this daily. Give you an idea of what's happening.
I like the tag line of Today - set you thinking.

UT3-G106

Hi Class,
Just a reminder that UT3 covers from lesson 1 - 9,

GOOD LUCK.