EOs in IT Work

We are Professional Managers in Resource and System Management
July 2011
No. 175
EOs in IT Work
Dialogue in the Dark
Re Latin, It’s Not Dead
and Buried etc
Newsletter of the Executive Officer Grade - General Grades Office • http://www.egrin.gov.hk
EOs in IT Work –
Features
EOs in IT Work Mission NOT Impossible
VALID – A Valid Uphill Task!
p.2
Determination, teamwork and
patience overcoming Student
Finance challenge
p.6
生署「人力資源管理資訊系統」
p.10
Overseas training Management learning curve
proves a long, tough journey
p.12
Mission
One of EOs’ major duties and specialisations is
resource and system management. With Information
Technology (IT) playing an increasingly important
role in Government’s office administration and
services, more and more EOs are inevitably
involved in system development and/or IT project
management. The level of involvement can vary –
some may use an IT system to collect data and use
it for various purposes, some may need to maintain
an IT system, a LAN or a website, while others
may be involved in developing new IT systems.
Collaborating with IT professionals, EOs play
an increasingly significant role in co-ordinating,
managing and developing IT systems/projects.
In this feature, three EOs share with us their
experiences in IT-related work. Although they are
not IT experts, their efforts exemplify the versatility
and adaptability of grade members in handling
different kinds of IT challenges.
Training “Dialogue in the Dark”
We need your help
to fill a VALID post
immediately.
p.15
Language Corner Re Latin, it’s not dead and
buried etc
p.16
Regulars
行家小檔案 龍舟競渡
p.18
News from GGO
p.20
2
Oh! Are there posts
in the grade that are
not valid?
NOT Impossible
VALID – A Valid Uphill Task!
In February 2006, Mrs Margaret Chan was
posted to fill a PEO post in the Transport
Department (TD). Her major task was to get the
4th generation of VALID off the ground. VALID
is short for the Vehicles and Drivers Licensing
Integrated Data System which supports the
TD’s registration and licensing services for
vehicles and drivers. VALID was first developed
in 1974, and was upgraded to 2nd and 3rd
generation in 1976 and 1991 respectively.
It was targeted to be upgraded to 4th generation
(VALID IV) by end 2004 at a cost of $110m but
then, because of the complexity and size of
the upgrade, plus the emergence of many new
issues, hit a series of problems that cascaded
into seemingly never-ending delays.
Staff were working late to iron out user
requirements to meet operational needs while
many rounds of discussion were held with
contractors/technical staff to revise and modify
the system design and development. So when
Margaret inherited this “hot potato” in 2006 to
take over the implementation of VALID IV, it
seemed in many ways a “mission impossible”.
Consider these awesome details: VALID
is truly mega – high scalability and 7x24
operation, including inter alia the provision of
17 functional modules, 31 system interfaces,
30,000 application programs and two computer
centres, with more than 440 terminals (with
over 2,000 registered users) for use by nine
departments, i.e. TD, HKPF, HD, C&ED, EPD,
ICAC, IRD, Treasury and Judiciary.
All Government IT system development work
follows the PRINCE (PRoject IN Controlled
E n v i r o n m e n t ) m e t h o d o l o g y. M a r g a r e t
immediately arranged urgent meetings with
the Project Assurance Team (PAT) comprising
representatives from user departments,
contractors, technical teams and relevant
parties, as well as many sub-groups, to
closely monitor and steer progress, and devise
solutions. The PAT was tasked to oversee
project progress, align project development
with operational requirements, manage quality
assurance activities, approve change requests,
and track costs and milestones against budget
and timeline.
Margaret recognised that her main role was
(i) to strike a balance between competing
demands and project progress in terms of
its scope, time, cost, risk and quality; (ii) to
produce a reliable system with functions that
could meet the operational needs of the nine
different departmental stakeholders, and (iii)
develop and make the best use of the system
capability, with due regard to its constraints.
Given the huge size of the VALID project,
Margaret realised that her top priority was to
control the project scope. The EOs in her team
were each tasked as owner(s) of one to two
functional modules, and busily began drawing
up user requirements, operational flow, testing
scenarios and conducting test/trials of their
respective module(s). Rounds and rounds of
testing cum modifications were carried out
on the functional applications developed by
the project contractor to cope with changes in
operational needs, but despite all these efforts
nobody could yet see the light at the end of the
tunnel.
3
Margaret (front row, second from left) with some EOs of“VALID”team during TD’
s farewell luncheon
Margaret concentrated on all aspects of the
project including the operational requirements
and the system development’s progress. She
helped fellow EOs focus on the provision of
core-functions for their module(s) which were
essential for implementing the operation.
All nice-to-have but non-essential functions
were shelved for future development. With
sustained efforts by all concerned, Margaret and
her team were finally able to control the scope
of work to a level which could be managed by
both users and the contractor, and a plan for
implementation with realistic timelines was
finally devised.
At times it seemed that the problems were
insurmountable. For example, Margaret found it
hard to believe that there were some 6,000 error
logs during the testing of 30,000 programs for
VALID IV. Rounds of modification and system
tests/trials continued unremittingly for about
one year until VALID III was eventually migrated
to VALID IV on the eve of Chinese New Year
in February 2007 – a task that took four days
to complete. Of course some work remained
to be done and it was not until seven months
later, in September, that the system was fully
implemented.
4
Looking back on what seemed at times a
nightmare assignment, Margaret says with a
smile, “Project management is a challenge.”
She believes the project provided good
opportunities for her to practise and strengthen
her management skills. She cited Walt Disney’s
famous quotation which is highly relevant to her
work on VALID: “Of all the things I’ve done, the
most vital is co-ordinating the talents of those
who work for us and pointing them towards a
certain goal.”
When Margaret went to TD, the VALID IV
project was hopelessly mired down. Thanks
to her decisive action and effective leadership,
and with support and hard work by all parties
concerned, the project finally assumed a clear
direction and ended in successful delivery,
proving to be a mission that was indeed very
difficult but, as usual, not impossible for our
EO Grade.
Asked if she believed that possession of IT
knowledge and proficiency was necessary to
take up IT-related work, Margaret answered in
the negative. She thinks the key is management
skills coupled with a lot of common sense.
She cited as an important milestone during
the VALID IV project the new scheme of
Personalised Vehicle Registration Marks
( PVRM ) （自訂車輛登記號碼計劃）as an
example to illustrate the importance of managing
time, resources, risks and quality in the course
of project management. The PVRM scheme
required additional functions from VALID IV for
its implementation, which were not included in
the original scope of the project. This entailed
additional cost and time, and carried the risk of
further project delay, with a knock-on effect on
the quality of development work.
Margaret worked closely with the contractor
and technical team to re-prioritise the tasks and
resources, identify critical factors, and monitor
the deliverables. The scheme was smoothly
introduced in April 2006 with the efficient support
of VALID system, causing the fewest hiccups to
the main task, implementation of VALID IV.
Margaret kindly shared with us the following key elements in the project management of VALID IV:
Leadership
Given the serious slippage in getting the project underway, team spirit
and staff morale were very low. Margaret visited users at their offices
(about 10) and invited them to speak out on problems and concerns.
She motivated and helped them solve the “hanging” issues, encouraged
them to go the extra mile to achieve the targets, and shared with them
the ultimate sense of achievement in launching the system.
Communications
To promote effective and coherent teamwork, Margaret clarified doubts
and queries with stakeholders and parties concerned (such as internal
users, technical teams, contractor, etc.) through brain-storming sessions,
face-to-face exchanges, group discussions, etc. This strengthened
communications among parties, resulting in better understanding and
closer cooperation to overcome hurdles.
Negotiations
Using give-and-take approach, Margaret managed to strike a balance
in caring for the interests of different users/stakeholders while enlisting
their best efforts towards completing the project. She also succeeded
in persuading various parties to set aside their differences and agree
on a revised work schedule which was vital for getting VALID IV up and
running.
Problem solving
The solving of a problem encountered by one user of a module might
generate another problem for another module, as the application
modules for VALID IV are interlinked to provide sophisticated functions
to meet operational demands. Margaret spent much effort to round up
the affected parties/stakeholders to exchange views and to propose
solutions to problems in different scenarios, thus helping eliminate
unpredictable hiccups. Influencing/PR
It was essential to maintain good relations with the contractor as well
as the technical team so as to obtain their full commitment in striving for
project delivery. Mutual understanding and close cooperation among all
parties concerned were particularly important. Margaret did her best to
drive stakeholders to think ahead and go the extra mile. She stressed
that EOs must learn how to influence others to accomplish something
that they need – but without exercising any authority or formal power.
5
Determination, teamwork and
patience overcoming Student
Ms Nancy So has assumed the post of
Controller, Student Financial Assistance
Agency (SFAA) since September 2009. One
of her major tasks is to implement ISFAST –
the Integrated Student Financial Assistance
System aimed at bringing about significant
improvements in service delivery through IT.
is another issue as information is not shared
across different IT systems. Throughout the
procedures another essential part of the
process – gatekeeping to check the bona fides
of applicants, etc. – has to be closely observed. Not surprisingly, there is room for improvement
hence the need for ISFAST.
It is an awesome challenge...aid to needy
The need to upgrade the Agency’s operations
students has now ballooned to over $5 billion a
was recognised in 2006 when the Efficiency
year, and applications have climbed to 800,000-
Unit was commissioned to conduct a
plus. The SFAA is currently administering
business process re-engineering study.
14 different financial assistance schemes,
Its recommendation, inter alia, was that an
each coming under different work units and
integrated student financial assistance system
employing IT systems calibrated to the needs
be developed to support a function-based
of individual schemes.
mode of operation. Function units should be
set up to replace scheme-based work units,
While this scheme-based mode of operation
and applications should also be processed
has helped cope with the ever-expanding
on a household basis. The goal is to largely
demands of student finance, problems aplenty
streamline internal operations and improve
arise. Students applying for different schemes
customer service.
might need to submit multiple applications plus
6
supporting documents to different sections of
“ISFAST is by no means solely an IT project,”
SFAA. In turn, those different sections might
said Nancy, “It is a project which involves
need to assess the same applicants’ eligibility
major organisation re-structuring to support
under different schemes. Data inconsistency
business transformation.” In fact, the scale of
Finance challenge
ISFAST is quite unprecedented in that apart
thus the pilot use of the new Practice Guide
from the creation of an integrated IT system
to Project Management under an Outsourced
to replace all existing systems, it involves
Environment (the new Practice Guide) which
restructuring the duties of 800-plus staff plus
is developed based on international project
an overhaul of all business processes to
management best practices with a view to
improve overall service. providing a better control over the development
process. As Nancy pointed out, “When an EO
Because of the large number of stakeholders
owns an IT project, he or she should not only
concerned, the project has been classified as
paint a vision on how the services should be
a high risk Tier IIA project by the Office of the
provided under the new environment and steer
Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO).
the project through the various government
[Note: OGCIO has an enhanced three-tier
mechanisms, but also maintain strategic control
governance mechanism to monitor the progress
over the development process. We are happy to
of project implementation and expenditure.
try out the new control mechanism as this may
More details can be found in OGCIO Circular
provide the right tool for our purpose.”
No. 2/2006.] This has called for a need to exercise
a tighter control over project management and
Nancy So (fourth from right) and her SFAA colleagues
7
Under the new Practice Guide, an internal
the project and that SFAA needs to implement
project manager shall exercise tight control
many new initiatives at the same time, e.g.
over the contract. All stakeholders of the
advance payment of textbook allowance,
project are identified at an early stage. A
relaxation of the means test mechanism and
template is also provided to help the internal
review of the non means-tested loan scheme,
project team identify early the risks which
it has been agreed after painstaking deliberation
could have serious consequences for the
that certain deliverables such as e-services in
project, and changes must be handled
the post-secondary sector will be advanced
according to a set of change-management
while on the whole a phased approach will be
procedures. All these checks and controls will
adopted for implementation.
help ensure that the benefits of the IT projects
are delivered on schedule.
Change Management Team
Nevertheless, it is anticipated that there would
Perhaps of greater challenge should be
be difficulties in implementing ISFAST, which
securing support from internal staff. It is only
has faced one hurdle after another since its
natural for colleagues to feel agitated in the face
inception. Nancy could still recall the challenging
of uncertainties, and in particular with mounting
experience of steering the project through the
work pressure from day-to-day operations as
Government mechanism, seeking funding
well as from new student finance initiatives.
approval from LegCo and negotiating with the
To address this important human factor which
Central Tender Board on the specifications of
will determine the success or otherwise of the
the tender. project, a dedicated Change Management Team
(CMT) headed by a Chief Executive Officer
Another difficulty was to align the expectations
was set up late last year to plan, facilitate and
of stakeholders including external parties
manage the changes ahead.
(applicants, their families and schools) and
internal staff, and to gain their support for the
Among the CMT’s key tasks is to launch
project. By comparison, winning the support of
a full-scale communication and training
external stakeholders was the least difficult –
many even pressed for an even earlier
implementation schedule. Given the scale of
8
Meeting on designing a household application form
programme to prepare all SFAA staff for
deliver a much stronger customer-focused
change and actively involve them in the
service to our clients,” she said. “And with
process of change. The CMT has started
an emphasis on team approach, the talents
to critically review all existing business
of each colleague will be maximised in
processes to look for areas of alignment and
contributing towards the goals of the project
improvement across schemes. A risk profile of
and building up a culture of continuous service
applications is also being developed in order
improvement within the Agency.”
to apply risk-based management in future
vetting and authentication of applications
It is greatly to the credit of SFAA’s staff that
so as to achieve greater efficiency while
tendering for ISFAST is now under way,
strengthening the gatekeeping function at
and a contract is expected to be awarded
the same time.
by the end of the year. The initial challenge
has been met with determination, teamwork
When asked what would be the critical
and patience. It is quite certain there are
success factors in introducing ISFAST, Nancy
numerous new challenges ahead. Let us
emphasised that nurturing a shared vision
wish Nancy and her team every success in
and cultivating a strong team approach were
the implementation of ISFAST.
some of the most important factors in the early
stages of the project. “It is vital for colleagues
to have a shared vision that through ISFAST
Hermes Chan
Raymond Kan
and the associated re-organisation, we can
9
盡量發揮 跳出「思維框框」
在這個電腦系統仍未投入運作之前，生署非
公務員合約僱員的個人和假期資料，是由該署
各有關服務單位各自儲存和處理，至於安排發放
每月工資的工作，則由該署的財務部集中處理。
生署有一套嚴格的標準，用以核實每名合約
僱員每月應獲發放的工資。為了預留足夠時間讓
財務部人員逐一把每名合約僱員的工資資料輸入
由銀行提供的電腦程式，以確保工資能夠按照
勞工法例準時發放，各服務單位主管須提早把
合約僱員該月的出勤紀錄提交予財務部處理。
由於「截數」日期一般訂在每月的二十日前後，
故此，所有因未能預計的情況而需要作出的工資
增減，只能在下一個月辦理。
生署開發「人力資源管理資訊系統」的目的，
是希望把所有合約僱員的資料統一處理，減省
人手輸入工資資料的工序，並希望把「截數」
日期延至每月的最後一個工作天，以減少日後須
為工資作出調整的機會，從而減省各服務單位的
工作。有別於一般開發電腦系統的模式，生署
並沒有把有關工作外判予承辦商，而改為聘請
政府資訊科技總監辦公室服務合約下的員工負責
編寫電腦程式，在有限的資源下，以最靈活的
方法去完成有關工作。
10
Andy是在二零零八年十一月調到生署接手這
項工作的。根據過往經驗，Andy 明白雖然這表
面上只是一個不超過400萬元的小型電腦項目，
但當中涉及不少電腦程式及功能，儼如把一個
電子假期紀錄系統及一個電子薪酬處理系統集於
一身。他憶述上任初期曾向其他政府部門取經，
實地了解政府內部是否有類似的電腦系統可作
參考。結果發現其他政府部門雖有類似電腦系統
儲存非公務員合約僱員的個人資料，但卻沒有
加設其他功能來記錄假期資料，或計算和安排
發放他們每月的工資。
Andy解釋，要在有限的時間和資源下完成這項
任務，其實並不容易，因為要準確計算每位
員工的假期及工資等資料，當中涉及複雜的
運算程式和功能，包括計算每月的工資、每位
合約僱員的強積金供款額、長期服務金及約滿
酬金等等，再加上生署又為非公務員合約僱
員提供了不少獨特和具彈性的放取假期方法，
確為這個項目增添不少難度。Andy笑說，當時
他是參照已故李小龍先生的兩句哲學名言：「以
無法為有法，以無限為有限」去完成這項任務
的。意思是不要預先設定任何一種方式，而是
以打破固有思維的方式去應付，以無限的可發揮
空間，去面對有限的時間和資源。他感激當時
各位上司給予他足夠的自主空間去發揮，加上
得到部門各有關服務單位的支持和協助，最終
能夠在限期前完成有關工作。
個人特質比IT知識重要
一般人會認為，從事資訊科技工作的同事必須
具有豐富的電腦知識，但Andy表示，只要擁
有行政主任職系員工的特質，已可勝任有關工
作。Andy因應這次工作中遇到的困難和經驗，
與大家分享行政主任從事資訊科技統籌工作所
需要的特質。他認為當事人應開放心胸，接受
新的事物，利用最新的科技來改善日常的運作。
懂得靈活變通，利用重組工作流程的方法，盡量
以電腦程式取代人手工序。具備良好溝通技巧，
透過溝通了解各用家的需要，制訂合用的電腦
功能。心思縝密、處變不驚，了解各單位的工作
流程，把各用家所需要的功能緊密連繫在一起，
貫徹整個電腦系統，遇到不相容或各走極端的
用家需要時，應懂得如何兼收並蓄。決斷英明，
行事果斷，遇到兩難的情況，須作出果敢的
決定，平衡各方面的利益。懂得控制成本、量入
為出，避免超支，必要時考慮犧牲某些不必要的
功能，或以其他可行方法取代。具備良好的談判
技巧，令各單位用家及程式編寫人員向同一方向
邁進，互相協調彼此的需要，達致雙贏。
Andy形容，開發一個新的電腦系統，就像生兒
育女一樣，事前要有全盤計劃，孕育期間要給予
足夠的養分（投入適當的金錢、人力及時間）
，出
世後要好好照顧和輔導，讓它茁壯地成長。雖然
最終這個電腦系統並非由他「接生」，但令他欣
慰的是看見它面世後，陸續取締過往一些人工密
集的工序，逐步減省有關服務單位的工作。現時
作為這個電腦系統的其中一個用家，他正享受成
功開發這個系統的成果。
Andy從事有關資訊科技的統籌工作已有多年，深知要成功開發一個新的電腦系統，必須付出不少
心力、努力及勞力。他有以下關於電腦系統設計方面的心得與大家分享：
資料庫設計
資料庫的設計是整個電腦系統的靈魂。一個好的資料庫應分門別類儲存
所有必需及有用的資料，以方便日後讀取資料並作運算之用。一個設計
完善的資料庫，亦可令編寫電腦程式的過程變得簡單方便。
讓電腦多做運算
電腦系統的好處是可在短時間內完成重複的運算工作。由於電腦運算速率
非常快，故此應盡量讓電腦多做運算，而非單作儲存資料用途。此外，電腦
程式的設計應以最少的資料輸入，得出最多的運算結果為原則。
電腦程式應盡量簡單
電腦程式愈複雜，編寫的時間及日後測試所需的時間就愈長，而電腦程式
出錯的機會亦愈大。因此，電腦程式的設計應盡量簡單，應以能處理大部
分個案為原則。罕有或特別個案應盡量安排以人手處理，然後再輸入電腦
資料庫儲存，以減省投放於編寫複雜電腦程式的資源。
足夠的監管措施
電腦資料庫的資料，應由資料擁有者 (data owner) 負責輸入、更改、管理
和核實，以保障資料的真確性。故此，資料的輸入必須有足夠的監管措施，
例如員工的銀行戶口資料應由負責發放工資的部門負責管理和更改，以防止
任何舞弊行為並減少出錯機會。
Andy曾參與的IT工作簡介
Andy現職生署總行政主任（項目管理及專
業發展），過往從事有關資訊科技的統籌工作
多年，曾任學生資助辦事處助理監督，負責
統籌多個電腦系統的開發工作，最高期同時
負責統籌三個電腦系統的開發工作，包括處理
大專及專上學生申領學費資助的電腦系統、
處理學生貸款事宜的電腦系統，以及處理持續
進修基金申請的電腦系統。
陳信禧
簡志陶
11
Management learning
curve proves a long,
tough journey
Name: James Yeung
Current post: CEO (WITS)1, Labour Department
Destination: Adelaide, Australia
Institute: Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) Heinz College
Course: Master of Science in Public Policy & Management
Ranking in the field: Among the top 10 in the U.S.
Duration: 11 months
Strolling in the sun at 42˚C was like walking in an
oven. The first few items that I received from the
college on the first day of orientation were a bottle, a cup and a cap. Having performed the
role of an office manager for nearly three decades, I longed for a chance to receive some
formal training on management. When I heard that I could have a chance to pursue a proper
Master degree from a leading university, my first reaction was that this was probably my
last chance and I should consider it seriously.
Except for the time involved, everything was so
tempting. I had never dreamed of an opportunity
to study in a top U.S. university. Eleven months
was a very long period but, with the support of
my wife, I replied “yes” to the scholarship offer.
James with his schoolmates from five different countries
12
I had never been to Australia. Although I had
last left campus nearly three decades earlier,
I thought I could manage the coursework as I
would be studying full-time and there would be
some term-breaks in between. I was wrong, and
shocked! Probably due to the need to maintain
their quality and ranking, the Master course
had an extensive coverage, and profundity was
expected in each subject.
When I was given some 20 assignments (usually
10 to 15 pages each) and 6 exams (each 2-3
hours) apart from the large volume of reading
within the first 12 weeks, I knew that I was virtually
studying in CMU Pittsburg instead of in Adelaide.
I spent about 12-14 hours per day on studying and
still could not finish all the reading required. The
remaining time was used on household chores,
chatting with my family on Skype and buying
groceries. Occasionally I rode my bike to the river
bank or went out with my Chinese schoolmates for
a meal. Those were the only breaks from study I
had in the first three months.
The college was unbelievably small – it had a
total of 50-60 full-time students, 30-40 parttimers, around 10 teaching staff and another 10
supporting staff. It was good that everyone was so
close but in terms of facilities, there was nothing
to offer. However, their IT facilities were excellent.
That enabled me to take up some courses through
video conferencing with Pittsburg.
To cater for the schedule of the part-time students
and part-time teaching staff, we often had lessons
from 6pm to 9pm. Arranging dinner was a problem
but leaving the college in the long winter nights
was even worse. Adelaide’s weather in winter
could change rapidly. The day-time temperature
of 15-20˚C could easily drop below 10˚C at
night and a sunny day could suddenly turn cold.
“Suddenly” might not be an accurate description
since I could hardly notice any change in the
weather when I stayed indoors at my studies
most of the time. But I will never forget returning
home by bike on a rainy night of 2-3˚C with only
a jacket. The icy droplets spattered onto my face.
My hands were soaked and stiff yet I had to hold
onto the handles tight as the streets were slippery.
I asked myself many times – why did I come
to Adelaide? What drove me to go on was the
determination to complete the task, as I believed
my children studying in the U.K. were experiencing
similar situations.
In three semesters, we had covered micro- and
macro economics, policy analysis, programme
evaluation, organisational management,
international politics, and quantitative subjects
such as statistics, financial analysis, IT for
managers (including database construction),
decision making under uncertainty (spreadsheet
modelling) and cost-benefit analysis. As I had
not touched mathematics since F.5, I took a
supplementary module in the evenings during
orientation. Even with that, the quantitative part
was difficult. Not to mention the equations; I often
had problems understanding the graphs and
remembering the statistical symbols.
However, the textbooks were wonderful. I could
understand if I had the books. But when it came
the moment of truth, i.e. exams, I had to quickly
write down all the equations I recited by heart
before opening the question book. In the final
exam of statistics, I could not remember an
equation for one question. I wrote in the otherwise
blank answer sheet, “Sorry professor, I really
cannot remember the equation. But if it is readily
available in the book or on the Internet, why
should I?” In the next semester, equations were
provided except for a few essential ones. I did
well if I did not need to memorize.
During the first semester, I was rather disappointed
about the content of the course – spending a
lot of time learning things that I would not use
when I returned to Hong Kong. The college
explained that those were core subjects that were
essential to my studies in the second and third
semesters. Because of my work experience, I was
exempted from one core subject so I could do an
independent study in the second semester under
the supervision of a professor on a subject of my
choice. I took the offer and did a comparative
study between the policies and practices of public
service employment in Hong Kong and in South
Australia.
On my request, the college arranged me to work
as an intern (there was no other means) in the
Department of the Premier and Cabinet of the
South Australian Government. I was the oldest
intern ever but it did not bother me. I worked in
their Public Sector Workforce Relations Office
which enabled me to gain some first-hand
knowledge about their policies and practices.
Apart from accessing internal documents which
were relevant to my study, I was glad to witness
how collective bargaining was conducted. I
had the chance to sit in at meetings with staff
unions and departmental HR managers, as well
as to attend a quasi-judicial hearing involving a
dispute over the minimum wage adjustment of the
minor staff.
I also interviewed people holding important
positions. From them I learned more about the
Australian management philosophy. They trust
their staff a lot. Although working part-time
(without pay) while studying full-time was hectic,
I found the second semester very rewarding.
James was presenting at the 2nd policy forum on the
problems faced by the Civil Service in Hong Kong.
13
James with other participants of
the 2nd policy forum
In the last semester, besides studying four
subjects, I teamed up with other students to
carry out a capstone project. Like the university
graduates here, many teammates (a lot younger
than me of course) had the vision to save the
world! Our topic was to study how fiscal rules
could be utilised to reduce the national debts of
the United States. We looked into the experience
in five other countries and I was responsible for
the study on Sweden. I was not knowledgeable
in economics and was never confident that I
could analyse the fiscal policies of Sweden. I
managed to struggle through by focusing more on
their institutional arrangements which fortunately
turned out to be useful for the project. Our final
report was later published on a website of the
U.S. National Academy of Public Administration
<w w w.our fiscalfuture.org>, which can be
accessed by typing in the search box “fiscal
rules in 5 countries”.
14
Looking back, I must admit that I really wanted to
return to Hong Kong in the first semester. Indeed
three mature students left before the second
semester began. But when I saw that youngsters
from the Philippines and Pakistan could manage
the workload, I told myself that my children were
probably going through the same process. If
they could do it, I could do it. The encouraging
exam results also gave me the encouragement
to proceed. When my wife arrived in the second
semester, life was better (but not easier because
the workload for that semester was very heavy
and I had to work part-time). At least I had better
food and did not need to spend time on Skype
every day.
Now that the course is over, I am so relieved. I
am glad that I was given such a valuable chance
to study subjects that I would not have done
otherwise. I am glad that I could live in Australia,
learn about their culture and make friends
with people from over 20 countries over the 6
continents. I was surprised to find that people
knew very little about Hong Kong and China;
specially not knowing that Hong Kong is such a
big city. Their wrong impressions were gained
from the Internet. I saw their jaws drop when they
saw pictures of our city. To many, that could only
have been New York! When I told them stories
about the history of China and Hong Kong, the
people were so interested to listen. They said
Hong Kong was definitely a place that they had
to visit.
In our macro-economics class, the professor used
Hong Kong to demonstrate some of the concepts
of a free economy. When people learned that our
GDP per capita (at purchasing power parity) was
higher than Australia, U.K. and Japan, their jaws
dropped even lower.
I did a presentation on the problems faced by
the Civil Service in Hong Kong. My theme was
to identify the problems existing in our system
and explore means to improve it. But after seeing
that civil servants amounted to only 2.35% of our
total population and their annual emoluments just
3.76% of our GNP, coupled with the professor’s
comment that we had one of the most efficient
teams of civil servants in the world, several
participants yelled out that they would like to swap
their civil servants with me.
James Yeung
“Dialogue in the
Training that guides us from
”–
to light
Suddenly the lights go out and you are pitched
into inky blackness – what do you feel … Panic?
Fear? Terror? Alarm and confusion? Have you
ever imagined what life is like for people with sight
disabilities who must exist in perpetual darkness?
We now live in an enlightened age and take pride
in our caring communities, so what is being done
to provide a better life for the sight-impaired?
“Keep in Touch” is glad to report that a modest
group founded in Germany in 1988 to bridge
the gap between the visually impaired and the
rest of society has blossomed into a significant
international organisation with a branch in Hong
Kong. It is appropriately titled Dialogue in the
Dark (DiD), and is a new way of managerial
training to learn how to “see the unseen”.
Most importantly, you now can join in this new
experience as the General Grades Office will
soon organise a team building workshop on DiD.
Launched 23 years ago by Dr Andreas Heinecke,
DiD has spread to over 26 countries and
150 cities. In Hong Kong DiD offers inspiring
training programmes for different audiences,
e.g. Experiential Exhibition for the public and
Executive Workshop for corporations. The objective
is to bridge the gap between disabled groups and
society, create jobs for the visually impaired, and
raise awareness of disadvantaged groups.
The Experiential Exhibition takes place in a
specially constructed pitch-black setting where
visually impaired guides lead the sighted to “see”
the world in five different environments of our
daily life. Each environment has unique textures,
sounds, smells and even tastes. Since you cannot
see anything, you must rely on your other senses
to explore each environment! But you are in
safe hands … professionally trained guides are
standing by to lead you at every step. It would
spoil the learning experience if we described
these environments and revealed what you must
do. The point is that the blind become “sighted”,
and the sighted are led by the blind. Participants
learn how to appreciate each environment without
light, discovering that, even without vision, there is
much beauty to be found in the world.
During their Basic Training Programme last year,
EOII recruits spent 40 minutes on this “eyeopening” Experiential Exhibition experience in
complete darkness. Besides finding it fun and
exciting, they learnt quite a bit from it, specially
how to “see” when placed in the position of the
visually impaired and others with disabilities. They
also discovered how to overcome problems such
as fear and physical obstacles through support
from other team members, and by focusing on
other resources they would not otherwise have
noticed.
The Executive Workshop for executives,
professionals and leaders gives participants the
experience of achieving various team-building tasks
in complete darkness, again with the guidance of
visually impaired trainers. It requires participants to
face up to uncertainties and embrace challenges,
become innovative in unusual circumstances,
reflect on the traditional way of communication,
develop empathy in working environments, and
enhance team spirit in challenging times. Are these
not the skills required by EOs?
If you are interested in the team building workshop
on DiD which is modeled on the above Executive
Workshop, please watch out for details of the
promotional materials issued in July 2011.
Erich Tam
15
Language Corner
Re Latin,
It’s Not Dead
and Buried etc
“ liceatne mihi
numerum telephonicum
tuum habere? ”
7025 1314
Once the lingua franca for civilised men from
Thrace to Tingitana and from the Thames River
to the Tigris River, Latin is nowadays considered
by many as a language almost as dead as a
dodo. The last foothold of the language appears
to be the Holy See, where the Pope and his
Cardinals still favour Latin over contemporary
languages, not to mention the ATM in the city
which displays Inserito scidulam quaeso ut
faciundam cognoscas rationem – “Insert your
card for the account to be recognised.”
Actually, apart from the celestial bodies, even
earthly beings like you and I do come across
Latin in our daily lives. For those whose alma
mater is, for example, the University of Hong
Kong or Queen’s College, they cer tainly
remember the Latin mottoes “Sapientia et
Virtus” (wisdom and valour) and “Labor Omnia
Vincit” (hard work conquers all).
Biology, medicine or law students
have more privileges than their
college fellows in contacting
with the language, thanks to
either the nomenclature or praxis.
How about the rest of us who
do not share any of the above
identities? Don’t worry, you have
not forsaken Latin because your
communication is still very rich
in its words or phrases – and no,
it does not mean that one should
undermine his chances during a
16
party by babbling something like liceatne mihi
numerum telephonicum tuum habere – “May I
have your phone number?” That is the pedantic
way of doing things and our usage is much
more subtle. Check the bogus memo below
and see how many words of Latin origin can
you pinpoint?
We may categorise our observations into two
main groups –
1.Direct Adoption
e.g. Probably the easiest pick. A frequently
used Latin phrase and, though some may regard
this as the abbreviation of “example given”, it is
actually the short form for “exempli gratia”.
i.e. The full form is “id est”, meaning “that
is”, and this is another Latin phrase employed
fervently by our institution which is obsessed with
usage of acronyms.
ditto Popularity enhanced by Patrick Swayze
in “Ghost”, it comes from the word “dictus” which
means “having been said”.
viz. “Videre licet” is contracted into “videlicet”
and then further condensed into the present form,
meaning “it is permitted to see” – that is, to clear
the potential ambiguity of the statement. Usage
of this word signals strong hints of affectation as
its pronunciation is simply identical to its meaning
in English – “namely”.
Re
It appears in the subject field of your
reply email and sometimes the heading of a
memo. While “Fw” is indeed the abbreviation of
“Forward”, “Re” actually has nothing to do with
“regarding” or “reply”. It is Latin – the ablative
case of “res”, meaning “thing” in Latin.
&
Its inclusion into this list must have
caught many by surprise! The formal name for
this logogram is “ampersand” (itself a conflation
of English and Latin, “and per se and”) and the
symbol is the combination of letters “e” and “t”
(“et” means “and” in Latin). Now “&” does look
like the ligature of “et”, right?
The other Latin words in the memo include
“ad hoc”, “vide”, “pro forma”, “sub”, “pp.” (“per
procurationem”, by delegation to), “etc.” (“et
cetera”, and others), etc.
2.Derivatives
English, the language originally used by the
Germanic tribe Anglo-Saxon, has been heavily
influenced by the Romance languages (Latin
amongst them) ever since the missionaries
crossed the Channel. Words in the memo
such as “temporary” (temporarius), “memo”
(short form of memorandum, neuter singular
A Hong Kong stamp in 1946 which commemorated the first
anniversary of the end of the Second World War. Note the
Latin word “RESURGO” on the ribbon, meaning “resurrect
(from the war)”
gerundive of memorare), delivery (deliberare) or
even Senior (comparative of senex) Executive
(derivative of exsequi) Officer (officium means
“do work”) are all of Latin origin, not to mention
March (Mars was the Roman god of war) and
August (named in honour of Augustus, Emperor
of the Roman Empire)!
The influx of Italic and other foreign words has
prompted some English linguistic purists in
promoting the “purity” of English language by
refraining from using words of, for instance,
Latin origin. If their championship, echoed by the
likes of Charles Dickens and J. R. R. Tolkien, is
strictly adopted, the word “government” should
be replaced by “folksteering” or “redeship”
(Don’t bother looking them up in the dictionary
as they are made-up words) and “Director of
General Grades” will have to be renamed as
something like “Leader of Overall Ranks”. From
the above examples, it is obvious that Latin has
embedded itself deeply in English and performed
a mitochondrion-esque survival – it has not
disappeared at all but merely adapted to another
medium of living, i.e. right within us.
If you are interested in learning Latin, there are
a few courses offered by local universities or
religious institutes. To experience the language
for free, you may also browse the following
websites –
http://ephemeris.alcuinus.net/
All the news in Latin.
http://www.radiovaticana.org/en3/chapel.asp
Latin radio broadcast from the Holy See.
Lennon Wong
17
News from the
General Grades Office
Congratulations
Congratulations to the following colleagues/ex-colleague whose names are on the Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region 2011 Honours List published on 1 July 2011 or who has been
appointed as Justice of the Peace with effect from 1 July 2011–
Bronze Bauhinia Star (BBS)
Chan Nim-tak, Patrick, JP, DGG
Chung Mak Suet-mui, Winifred, JP, SPEO
Chief Executive’s Commendation for
Government/Public Service
Chan Kim-keung, SEO
Ng Fung-wah, EOI
Cheng Ka-yee, EOI
Justice of the Peace (JP)
Tong Cheung Wai-fong, Edith, SPEO
Staff Movements in GGO
Frances Yim (嚴謝嘉莉), Queenie Loo (盧敏瑩) and
Samantha Hung (熊艷嫦) have recently joined the
Office to take up the posts of C(G)C&S2, S(G)C&S11
and E(Ex) respectively. Brendan Au (歐浩華) has
taken up the post of C(G)E1.
We also bid farewell to Antony Leung (梁銳忠),
Elsa Lau (劉朱少卿), Suzanne Wong (黃素珊) and
Katy Ip (葉海寧) who have left the Office in the past
few months.
20
Queenie Loo, Frances Yim & Samantha Hung
(from left to right).
Promotions
Promotion results regarding the ranks of SPEO and PEO, CEO, SEO and EOI were announced
on 1, 11 and 28 March 2011 respectively. Congratulations to 90 EOs on the promotion list,
comprising -
•
•
•
•
•
4 PEOs to SPEO
6 CEOs to PEO
17 SEOs to CEO
56 EOsI to SEO
7 EOsII to EOI
SPEO Promotees
In addition, 77 EOsII were appointed to
act with effect from 28 March 2011 for
six months with a view to substantive
promotion.
PEO Promotees
Patrick Chan (DGG), Stella Wong, Nancy So,
Mr Raymond Wong (PSCS), Peter Chan (SPEO(G)),
Davis Hui & Elaine Chan (from left to right)
CEO Promotees
Patrick Chan (DGG), Pedro Leung, Paul Fong, Eva Tso,
Mr Raymond Wong (PSCS), Peter Chan (SPEO(G)),
Francoise Chow, Chow Chor-tim & Tony Leung
(from left to right)
Back row, from left to right:
Amy Kwok, Ruby Luk, Joanna Chung, Sandra Mak,
Raymond Tam, Eddie Chan, Cheng Ka-man, Sunny Yeung
Front row, from left to right:
Yip Yuk-fan, Nancy Mak, Betty So, Peter Chan (SPEO(G)),
Patrick Chan (DGG), Ophelia Chiang, Wong Wun-cheung,
Lee Fuk-moon & Alice Sham
21
Recruitment of
Executive Officer II
Following the launch of the recruitment exercise last
September, all selection interviews were concluded in
April 2011 and we are happy to announce that the first
batch of recruits reported for duty in May 2011.
GGO also took part in the Career
Exhibitions in the University of
Hong Kong and the Hong Kong
Polytechnic University in March
2011. Both events were wellreceived with our exhibition booths
attracting more than 600 visitors.
Retirements
We wish the following colleagues many years of healthy and happy retirement –
April 2011
December 2010
Leung Chi-fai, John
Lin Yim-chuen
梁熾輝
連炎泉
SPEO
SEO
鍾麥雪梅
SPEO
朱凱恩
吳國明
鄭樹英
莫利利
CEO
SEO
EOI
EOI
January 2011
Chung Mak Suet-mui,
Winifred, JP
Chu Hoi-yan, Gilbert
Ng Kwok-ming
Cheng Shu-ying
Mok Lee-lee
February 2011
Pun Wai-kwong
潘偉光
SEO
李錦城
CEO
March 2011
Li Kam-sing, Cherry
22
Lam Cheong-yee, Eric
Wong Chan Lily
Fung Shu-fai, Neil
Ma Pun, Peter
Yu Tung-sang
Li Tak-fai
林昌怡
黃陳善施
馮樹煇
馬奔
余東生
李德輝
CEO
SEO
SEO
SEO
SEO
SEO
丁徐慧明
SPEO
蔡兆泉
梁阮潔明
CEO
SEO
劉惠芬
SEO
May 2011
Ting Tsui Wai-ming,
Vivian
Choi Siu-chuen, Philip
Leung Yuen Kit-ming,
Beatrice
Lau Wai-fun, Winnie
EOs on Career Kaleidoscope
of Youth Portal
The purpose of the Government Youth Portal (youth.gov.hk) is to provide online services for
young people. The “Career Kaleidoscope” section (行行出狀元) on this portal includes useful
tips and links regarding job search and interviews, and videos on various Government posts
that can give young job seekers a better idea about job interviews and future work prospects. Those interested are welcome to watch the latest video on the work of EOs at www.youth.gov.
hk/tc/kaleidoscope/alldept/alld_eo_3.htm.
Training
Congratulations to 22 colleagues
who successfully completed a
tailor-made legal programme
conducted by the School of
Professional and Continuing
Education of the University of
Hong Kong. All satisfied the
requirements of the Board of
Examiners and were awarded the
Postgraduate Certificate in Law
for Human Resource Managers
on 11 February 2011.
Additionally, 21 colleagues went through a 5-month HRM Programme for EOsI and II organised
by the Management Executive Development Centre of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and
the certificate presentation ceremony was held on 15 February 2011. This is another tailor-made
programme which aims to enhance
the professionalism of EOsI and II
in HRM, with particular emphasis
on the application of HRM theories
and the best practices in the public
and private sectors.
23
National Studies Training
The Chief Executive has announced in the 2010-2011 Policy
Address plans to further strengthen national studies training for
civil servants and provide more exchange opportunities to deepen
colleagues’ understanding of national development and affairs.
To this end, the Civil Service Bureau intends to institutionalise national studies training and make
it an integral part of training and development plans for civil servants.
Starting from 2011, the Civil Service Training and Development Institute will increase the capacity
of national studies programmes in the Mainland. The General Grades Office will maintain the
existing practice of nominating SEO and above rank officers to attend such training programmes.
Besides, a new “Introductory Course on Basic Law cum Module on National Studies” will be
included in the Basic Training Programme for EOsII appointed in 2011 and afterwards.
Retirement Reception
At a retirement reception on 18 January 2011, about
70 colleagues bade farewell to Winifred Chung, SPEO,
John Leung, SPEO, Victor Li, CEO, Pun Wai-kwong,
SEO, John Yip, SEO, and Victoria Mao, SEO.
John Yip, Peter Chan (SPEO(G)), Winifred Chung,
Patrick Chan (DGG), John Leung, Victor Li,
Pun Wai-kwong & Victoria Mao (from left to right)
E ditorial B oard
24
Paul Fong
Hermes Chan
Brendan Au
David So
Alice Chu
Raymond Kan
Erich Tam
Stella Lau
Rocky Tsang
Gilda Cheung
Your contributions are most welcome.
Please send them to Raymond Kan,
S(G)TD5 (Tel: 2231 3945), through
Mail : 4/F, North Point Government Offices, 333 Java Road, Hong Kong
Fax : 2850 4391
E-mail : csbggo@csb.gov.hk
This newsletter is also available at the following
websites:
http://www.egrin.gov.hk/
http://portal.ccgo.hksarg/
http://www.csb.gov.hk/
所用紙張含再做紙成分
Edith Tong
Evelyn Leung
Stephen Wu
Chris Li
Lawrence Lau
Lam Fai
Eddy Cheung
May Wong
Li Chung-kan
Lennon Wong
Geoffrey Somers
(Contract Editor)