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| Time
for soul searching at PS21 WITS Judges
Forum |
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More than 200 WITS
Judges gathered at the second WITS Judges Forum
to sharpen their understanding of WITS judging
criteria and to hone their judging skills.
The event was held on 3 July 2003 at the Civil
Service College. The guest of honour was the new
Chairman of the ExCEL Committee and 2nd Permanent
Secretary
(Foreign Affairs), Mr Bilahari Kausikan. He took the opportunity to share his
thoughts on WITS and acknowledged that WITS Judges play an important role not
only in judging WIT projects but also in helping to shape the perception of WITS
as an effective means of improving the way we work.
Mr Kausikan’s opening remarks at the Forum are reproduced below.
Ladies
and gentlemen, thank you for being here today. I do not intend to make a long
speech. In fact, as a general rule, I avoid making speeches. But as the new Chairman
of the ExCEL Committee, I thought I should let you know what I see as the most
urgent challenge.
A few weeks ago, I asked the PS21 Office to tell me what they thought were
the areas of concern. Among other things, they identified the following:
There is a perception that WITS and SSS is only a numbers game.
There is a perception that WITS and SSS are extra-curricular activities and
are an additional burden, not an integral part of work.
There is a lack of awareness of the changes that have been made at the ground
level.
Overall, the polite conclusion of the PS21 Office is that there is, and I quote: “an
element of ambiguity towards the ExCEL Movement and what it represents”.
I would put it more starkly: While much has been achieved, that such perceptions
still exist is an indication that the movement is a failure.
I was advised not to use the “F” word (failure) for fear that you
would misunderstand. I don’t think you will. In any case, the facts are
clear.
The 1998 ExCEL Survey results showed that slightly less than half of those
surveyed enjoyed participating in WITS and would not participate if given the
choice. Of course, I can optimistically take this to mean that the other half
actually has a more positive attitude. But it is not our job to preach to the
already converted. It is more important to win over those who are still sceptical.
The next Survey, which will be out soon, will show whether there has been any
progress.
The conclusions of the PS21 Office and the 1998 ExCEL Survey do not surprise
me. In fact, they confirm what I had already suspected. When I attended my
first ExCEL Committee meeting some months ago, I thought I was in a foreign
country listening to people speaking in a foreign language. And I don’t
think the conclusions of the PS21 Office or the Survey should really surprise
any of you as well.
I don’t mean this as a criticism of anyone. I don’t want to offend
anyone. As I said, there are undoubtedly many achievements. But I am by nature
inclined to call a spade a spade. And we are not going to progress if we just
pretend that all is well.
The goals of the ExCEL Movement are without question worthy ones. No one can
really argue with them. But there has been a terrible inability to communicate
the goals in clear terms that will not merely be easily understood but, more
importantly, readily accepted and internalised. The ExCEL Movement should not
depend on the commitment of some, while accepting apathy or cynicism among
other Public Service officers.
There are probably many complex causes for the current state of affairs. This
is not the occasion to go into them. And they will take time to fix. But let
us first fix what can be quickly fixed. One of my first requirements is going
to be for the participants of the ExCEL Committee to speak English and not
some esoteric jargon comprehensible only to a few acolytes.
In the same spirit, I would like to see greater overall flexibility. Rather
than emphasising the technicalities of methodology, we should focus on results.
We should not penalise teams for using different tools and approaches, as long
as they are relevant to their project, and assist them in undergoing a rigorous
analytical process that results in the best solution.
I know that a start has been made in this direction. I hope that as judges,
you will take this opportunity to do a little soul-searching about the judging
criteria and see what more we can do to overcome the tendency to put form on
par with substance, which is, I believe, unfortunately inherent in the current
process. This is not art for art’s sake.
The question is how to do so while ensuring consistency. Personally, I am prepared
to be tolerant of some inconsistency so long as we do not lose sight of fundamental
objectives. As Ralph Waldo Emerson, a famous American philosopher and poet
of the 19th century, once remarked: “A foolish consistency is a hobgoblin
of inferior minds…. With consistency, a great soul has simply nothing
to do.”
But I am not going to tell you what you should do. You “great souls” of
the ExCEL Movement are far more familiar with the process than I am and far
better placed to apply to WITS judging and come up with brilliant solutions.
I promised you a short speech. So let me conclude by stressing again what I
think is a crucial general point: The ExCEL Movement is not and was never intended
to be some esoteric sect whose rites are the preserve of a few high priests
and which can be communicated only in a secret language incomprehensible to
the ignorant masses.
As judges, I am confident you must all already find WITS meaningful. Your real
challenge as judges is to find ways to convey your enthusiasm, not just to
the teams that regularly participate whose commitment can be taken as a given,
but more broadly, to inspire and spread the word in the general Public Service
that this is a worthy and relevant enterprise. |
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Next: Paving
the way for breakthroughs
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How
well do you know ExCEL?
Are you often confused by acronyms like I & E, SSS, WITS, IQC and TEC?
If so, you’ll be glad that Challenge has put together a list of definitions
for all the terms related to ExCEL. Click here for the definitions: |
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| “Your
real challenge as judges is to find
ways to convey your enthusiasm, not
just to the teams that regularly participate
whose commitment can be taken as a
given, but more broadly, to inspire
and spread the word in the general
Public Service that this is a worthy
and relevant enterprise.” |
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