JobsDB Compensation and Benefit Survey Report 2009

JobsDB has just released a 67 pages Compensation and Benefit Survey Report 2009. Opinion Research Corporation is the research consultant for this survey.

This survey is conducted to collate information on the pay trend of both full-time salaried employees working in different business sectors in Malaysia. Information on different types of benefits was also collected to complement the analysis.

The survey covered 107 companies from 36 business sectors. Only full-time salaried employees working in Malaysia were surveyed. Expatriates, part-time and temporary employees were excluded. Among the 107 companies surveyed, 58% of the companies employ less than 50 staff; 14% employed between 50-100 staff; 15% employed between 101-200 staff; 8% employed 201-500 staff and 5% employed more than 500 staff. The information gathered is recent to December 2008.

The salary range of various job functions in 2008 and 2009, and their increment in 2009, are detailed out in the report.

Here are some of the findings in the report:

• In 2009, 38.9% of the employees’ salaries are expected to be freeze. 54.8% of them will have an increase between 0.6% and 7%, whereas 6.3% will have an increase of more than 7.0%.
• The overall average amount of performance bonus for senior management in 2008 was 1.4 months (of the basic monthly salaries), for middle management was 1.0 months, for executives is 0.8 months, and for non-executive is 0.6 months.
• By 2009, 76% of the employees in the surveyed companies are expected to enjoy a five-day working week. Among the surveyed, 67% have already implemented a five-day working week policy in or before 2008. For those not implementing in 2008, 9% expect to implement next year.

Click here to download the JobsDB Compensation and Benefit Survey Report 2009.

You might probably also be interested to read on:

• Result of Robert Walters Global Salary Survey 2008
• Result of ZDNet Asia IT Salary Benchmark Survey 2008
• Malaysia Salary Guide 2008/09 from Kelly Services
• Malaysia Employment Outlook & Salary Guide 2009/2010 from Kelly Services 

Intel decided to close 2 plants in Penang

Intel has been one of the major foreign investors and employers in Penang for thirty over years, providing job for about 6000 workers in the island. The company is known as one of the good employers with great career prospects that most electronic and/or electrical engineers wanting to work for.

However, the current global recession is now putting a blow to about 2000 affected workers in Intel Penang, after they decided to shut down 2 assembly test facilities (PG6 and PG7) in the island as part of their global restructuring plan.

No doubt their move will affect the Malaysian economy, as generally Intel's employees are having relatively higher income, which have higher purchase power that contributes to the economy especially the property and retail sectors in Penang island itself.

It is hoped that their remaining 6 plants in Penang, as well as their plants in Kedah Kulim Hi-Tech Park will continue to operate and not be affected.

It is also hoped that the Penang state government currently ruled by Pakatan Rakyat and leads by Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng can come out with some good measures in retaining foreign investors in Penang.

I feel really sorry to hear about this, and feel more worry about the global economic situation.

Citibank credit card cash back promotion

Good news to Citibank credit card users!

Citibank has allocated RM2,200,000 for a "Guaranteed Cash Back Promotion" running from 15 January 2009 to 15 April 2009. Under this promotion, cash will be given back to their eligible credit card users provided the terms and conditions are met.

Here is the detail.

Eligible credit cards:
All Citibank principal credit cards issued in Malaysia except the Shell and Giant co-branded cards.

Promotion period:
Month (1) : Jan 15 - Feb 14
Month (2) : Feb 15 - Mar 14
Month (3) : Mar 15 - Apr 15

How to get the cash back?
There are 3 promotion periods, each last for 1 month. During each of the promotion periods, if you spend 5-7 times for retail transaction of minimum RM50 with your Citibank credit card, you will get RM10 cash back for that month. If you spend 8 times and above, you will get RM20 cash back.

Register for participation:
Card members are required to register in order to participate in this campaign. There are 3 ways to register:

• Register via SMS: SMS GCB10 [Your 16 digit credit card number] to 36700.
• Register online: Visit to http://www.citibank.com.my/APPS/portal/loadPage.do?tabNo=3&htmlPageName=/prod/det/gcb_promo.htm and click "Enrol" on that webpage.
• Register at their branches in Malaysia.

The tracking of cash back earned by the participant shall commence only upon successful registration.

Click here for detail information about the Citibank credit card cash back promotion.

What management can do to gain staff loyalty

Staff loyalty is always important to the management, as productivity could be highly affected by staff turnover.

Apart from financial rewards, do you know what the staff are looking for in order to work happily and remain loyal to the organization? Here are some of my experience and observation to share with you.

1. Empowerment

Empowerment is a form of trust to the staff. Staff, especially of higher level, will be happy to have more control over their work and time schedule. A good staff will just need the manager to tell them what he/she want them to do, the expected result, and the deadline. The rest should be managed by themselves.

Only if the manager does not have enough trust on the staff, then he/she need to tell the staff how to do, closely check on the work progress, and try to monitor the time with tools such as time clock, timesheet, etc. Well, it is true that not every staff can work with minimal supervision, but for those quality staff that can really work with minimal supervision, you can actually gain their loyalty with empowerment.

Do you agree that employee will not be happy with those time clock, timesheet, etc. unless related to financial rewards, such as for calculation of overtime wages? In fact, most people will work more hours if they can have some control over when they actually have to work. Check this out with those companies that introduced flexi-hour scheme.

Management should work towards the direction to develop the staff such that they can be trusted and empowered. If this can be achieved, the management can even save operational cost by introducing telecommuting, allowing staff to work at home.

2. Relationship

It is not deniable that we have people that we like to work with, and we also have people that we dislike to work with.

When forming a project team, by putting people that are "compatible" to each other, you are actually promoting a good teamwork which can optimize the productivity as well as gaining their loyalty.

Management should work towards the direction to form teams with good relationship, and resolve any relationship issue once detected. You will have strong bonding teams working loyally for you then.

3. Task assignment

Every staff have their talent in something, or interest in something. If you put the right staff in the right place, assigning them with task that they are keen on, you can not only expect to get good result, but also boost up the staff loyalty.

Management should work towards the direction to develop the staff to love their job. If you tend to put the wrong staff in the wrong place, probably you will have a higher turnover rate.

4. Training and event

Staff will be always grateful if you send them for training and event that they are interested of. In addition, you can also earn gratitude from your staff by providing them opportunity to conduct training or to give talk in event, for them to share their talented knowledge to others.

5. Convenience

Let the staff have a peace of mind about their car parking place at work, their work place, tools and resources they need for work, food and refreshment, etc.

For outstation staff or expatriates, the management should also take good care of their accomodation, transport, Internet access, etc.

Some companies even provide nursery service, sport facilities, etc. to their staff.

It is not difficult to observe that convenience plays an important role in retaining staff loyalty and attracting new staff.

Do you agree with me on the above 5 points?

The 4 pillars of managerial competencies

If you are playing a management role in your organization, or plan to be in a managerial position, it is important for you to learn about the 4 Pillars of Managerial Competencies.

Developed by the Information Technology Unit (ITU) at George Mason University, this 4 Pillars of Managerial Competencies can be use as a framework for managers' development program, as well as an appraisal tools to check on the competency of the managers.

The 4 pillars don't stand independent of each other, but form a unified whole. They are:

• Knowing the Organization
• Leading and Managing People
• Managing Resources
• Communicating Effectively

Knowing the Organization involves developing knowledge and understanding of current policies and operating procedures to ensure that unit activities are effective and aligned with the larger goals of the organization. This pillar includes competencies related to policies, procedures, vision, mission, goals, strategic plan, etc.

Leading and Managing People entails developing skill in providing feedback and direction for staff, assuring the satisfaction of customers, and creating a collaborative environment that encourages initiative and problem-solving. Within this pillar are skills related to performance evaluation, staff development, team building, collaboration, customer relations, etc.

Managing Resources concerns understanding the tools and processes for planning to meet specific goals and place efforts in the larger context of strategic initiatives. This pillar includes skills in planning, project & budget management, information management, change management, organizational performance assessment, etc.

Communicating Effectively includes building skills to foster smooth and satisfying interactions among staff and with customers. The competencies include managing meetings, listening, constructive feedback, effective presentation, written communication, etc.

To assist managers in setting priorities for skill development, the skills within each Pillar are divided into 2 levels. Level-1 skills require knowledge and understanding of basic concepts and procedures, while Level-2 skills require more experience, analytical thinking, or evaluation. All told, the Four Pillars include a total of 109 skills important to managers.

Click here to learn more about the 4 Pillars of Managerial Competencies.

Inauspicious dates to avoid for wedding/marriage in 2009

I have posted the list of auspicious dates for wedding/marriage in 2009 recently, and here is the reverse, namely the inauspicious dates to avoid for wedding/marriage in 2009. The list below is produced based on the Chinese almanac Tong Shu.



If you are concerned, then should avoid getting married on the listed days above, especially for those born in the year of snake. Note that the dates iterate every 12 days.

Bear in mind that although the Tong Shu is a compilation of Chinese astrology and calendaring studies gathering wisdom of thousands of years, we should use it wisely and rationally, but not be too superstitious on it.

Related articles:

• Auspicious dates for wedding/marriage in 2009
• Auspicious dates for signing contract, register for marriage, etc. in 2009
• Auspicious dates for moving to new house/office in 2009

Click here for inauspicious dates to avoid for wedding/marriage in 2010.

Auspicious dates for moving to new house/office in 2009

Here is the list of auspicious dates for moving to new house/office in year 2009, which is produced based on the Chinese almanac Tong Shu.



Bear in mind that although the Tong Shu is a compilation of Chinese astrology and calendaring studies gathering wisdom of thousands of years, we should use it wisely and rationally, but not be too superstitious on it.

Related articles:

• Auspicious dates for signing contract, register for marriage, etc. in 2009
• Auspicious dates for wedding/marriage in 2009

Click here for auspicious dates for moving to new house/office in 2010.

Auspicious dates for signing contract, register for marriage, etc. in 2009

Here is the list of auspicious dates in year 2009 for signing contract, signing offer letter, register for marriage, receiving religious baptism, and other similar agreement-related activities. It is produced based on the Chinese almanac Tong Shu.



Note that 14 February 2009 which is the Saint Valentine's day, is also one of the auspicious dates in the list. Hence it is auspicious to register for marriage on that day, except for couple which either one of them was born in the year of Monkey.

Bear in mind that although the Tong Shu is a compilation of Chinese astrology and calendaring studies gathering wisdom of thousands of years, we should use it wisely and rationally, but not be too superstitious on it.

Related articles:

• Auspicious dates for wedding/marriage in 2009
• Auspicious dates for moving to new house/office in 2009

Click here for auspicious dates for signing contract, register for marriage, etc. in 2010.

Fortinet outlined top 9 security trend predictions in 2009

Unified Threat Management provider and security appliance vendor Fortinet has outlined the Top 9 Security Trend Predictions in 2009 with the aim to help companies safeguard their networks by mounting a multi-layered, multi-vectored and comprehensive defense strategy.

They are:

• More bang for the buck (security consolidation and integration)
• Information security lockdown (database security)
• Web 2.0 vulnerabilities multiply (corporate information leakage prevention)
• Bigger pipes, faster speed: Letting in the good, bad and ugly (integrity of high-speed networks)
• The next biggest threat to mobile security: 3G (virus infections and attacks to mobile devices)
• More cash to flow in the digital underground (hacking for living)
• Let the games begin (Trojans residing in online games)
• Premeditated, targeted attacks on the rise (custom malware and scareware)
• Law enforcement unite online

Click here to read the full story in original article.

Auspicious dates and times to start business in new lunar year 2009

Here is the list of auspicious dates and times to reopen business (for businessmen) or start working (for employees) in the new lunar year right after Chinese New Year 2009, which is produced based on the Chinese almanac Tong Shu.



Bear in mind that although the Tong Shu is a compilation of Chinese astrology and calendaring studies gathering wisdom of thousands of years, we should use it wisely and rationally, but not be too superstitious on it.

May a good starting brings you and me prosperity throughout the whole year.

Related articles:

• Auspicious dates for wedding/marriage in 2009
• Auspicious dates for signing contract, register for marriage, etc. in 2009
• Auspicious dates for moving to new house/office in 2009

Cast your vote for New 7 Wonders of Nature

Currently, there is a worldwide campaign going on, which is organized by the non-profit New7Wonders Foundation to choose the New 7 Wonders of Nature.

This is different from the previous campaign for the New 7 Wonders of the World held in 2007 by the same organization, as only natural places not developed by human, such as waterfalls, fjords, rainforests, mountain peaks, freshwater lakes, salt flats, etc. can be nominated.

You can vote online for your choice of Seven Wonders of Nature from the list of 261 nominees all around the world from now on until 7 July 2009. After that, the New7Wonders of Nature Panel of Experts, under the leadership of Prof. Federico Mayor, former Director-General of UNESCO, will review the top 77 nominees and choose the 21 finalists, to be announced on 21 July 2009. The 21 finalists will then be put to popular vote again.

All voters will be identified and verified by email address.

Click here to cast your vote for the New 7 Wonders of Nature now!

List of licensed money changers in Malaysia

If you travel overseas, you might need to exchange your Ringgit Malaysia notes to foreign currency, and vice-versa.

Bank Negara (BNM) maintains a complete list of licensed money changers in Malaysia, and the good news is: they have made it online in their website. The list is categorized by state, providing detail information about the name and location (with full address) of the licensed money changers.

Click here to check for the list of licensed money changers in Malaysia in BNM's website.

Auspicious dates for wedding/marriage in 2009

Here is the list of auspicious dates for wedding/marriage in year 2009, which is produced based on the Chinese almanac Tong Shu.



The dates highlighted in red are considered even more auspicious. Note that for year 2009, there is a lunar 5th month in the Chinese calendar.

You might aware that the mid-autumn festival (3 October 2009) is again in the list for year 2009. Another interesting date is 9 September 2009, which can be written as 09-09-09, and "nine" pronounces the same as "eternity" in Chinese.

Bear in mind that although the Tong Shu is a compilation of Chinese astrology and calendaring studies gathering wisdom of thousands of years, we should use it wisely and rationally, but not be too superstitious on it.

Related articles:

• Inauspicious dates to avoid for wedding/marriage in 2009
• Auspicious dates for wedding, marriage, moving home, etc.
• Auspicious dates for signing contract, register for marriage, etc. in 2009
• Auspicious dates for moving to new house/office in 2009

Click here for auspicious dates for wedding/marriage in 2010.

Using Thunderbird as preferred email client in Ubuntu

If you didn't change the preferred email client in Ubuntu after installation, it will default to Evolution.

Evolution is a great email application, but some people like to use Mozilla Thunderbird instead.

If you prefer to use Mozilla Thunderbird as your email client, just go to System > Preferences > Preferred Applications and select Thunderbird as your Mail Reader.



After that, you can also switch off the Evolution Alarm Notifier in System > Preferences > Sessions > Startup Programs.

If Thunderbird is not yet installed in your Ubuntu, you need to install it with Synaptic Package Manager first.

Configure auto-startup programs in Ubuntu

There are 2 places to configure for auto-startup programs in Ubuntu.

The Services settings under the System > Administration menu is used to configure for daemons to be started every time when the system boot up, even before any user is login. Unless manually stopped by administrative user, the daemons will stay running until the system shutdown. Their startup/shutdown scripts can be found in /etc/init.d.

You need to key in your password to Unlock the panel, before you can change the activation status of the listed services.



The Sessions settings under the System > Preferences menu is used to configure for programs to be started every time after you login the system. This setting is personalized for each user. The program can be closed by you at any time, or they'll exit when you logout the system.



You can add new applications into the list. For example, if you want the Pidgin Instant Messenger to autorun whenever you login the system, click on the +Add button and key in the following information, then Save it:

Name: Pidgin
Command: /usr/bin/pidgin
Comment: Instant messenger

You will now be able to see Pigdin available in the Startup Programs list.

Installing OpenOffice.org 3 in Ubuntu 8.10

OpenOffice.org 2.4.1 is bundled in Ubuntu Linux 8.10 (Intrepid Ibex) and will be installed together with the system when the later is installed into the harddisk.

You can upgrade your OpenOffice.org 2.4.1 in Ubuntu 8.10 to OpenOffice.org 3.0 by using the relevant Canonical Personal Package Archives (PPA) repository source in LaunchPad server.

To do so, open the Synaptic Package Manager in Ubuntu 8.10, pull down the Settings menu and select Repositories. Click on the Third-Party Software tab, after that click on the +Add... button. Key in the following APT line:

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/openoffice-pkgs/ubuntu intrepid main

Then, click the +Add Source button. You will need to Reload the package information to update Synaptic Package Manager about the change.

Once this is done, you will be able to upgrade OpenOffice.org to 3.0 with the Update Manager.

If you want to revert back to OpenOffice.org 2.4.1 later, just uninstall OpenOffice.org 3.0 and its components, remove the above line from the Third-Party Software repository source, and reinstall OpenOffice.org 2.4.1 from the main source.