Seumas Tan Nyap Tek*,
Advocate & Solicitor
It has been said that without practice, theory means nothing. To me, having practical training is an effective way of learning. That is why in legal practice, we have something called the chambering period or pupilage where a qualified law graduate is required to work in a law firm (commonly known as reading in chambers) for 9 months before being admitted to the Bar. A similar system is also in place for medical students and graduates. Why is there a need for it? The answer is simple. When undergoing on the job training, you are dealing with real events and real people. You will see that things can be quite different from what we have read in books or appears in theory. Let me share with you an incident which I encountered a few years ago.
Sometime in 2007, I was back in my hometown in Klang. For nostalgic reasons, I decided to visit some of the old places where I used to frequent. That included an old grocery shop which was just the round the corner where I used to live. The person who started the shop was a kind but a shrewd businessman. He has since passed on. The grocery shop is now managed by his son known as Ah Meng. Ah Meng is now in his fifties and is the second generation in his family to run the shop. I knew Ah Meng when he was still a young man. He studied up to Form Five and he speaks very good English. Today, like me, Ah Meng has aged with a head covered with grey hair and a pair of reading glasses hanging around his neck. Ah Meng’s son has been helping him in the shop mostly in delivering goods to the customers. The layout of the shop had changed tremendously. The goods were stored orderly on the shelves and systematically labeled. Instead of the tin can pulley system which was popular a long time ago to keep the money safe, the shop now has an electronic cashier machine.
It was a week before the Chinese New Year, I was busy chatting with Ah Meng in front of the grocery shop while his 9 year old grandson was busily drawing in his little sketch book when a boy about 10 years old walked in and enquired about purchasing “pop-pop”. For those who are not familiar with “pop-pop”, it is one of those little white things shaped like the tip of a cotton bud which gives a “pop” sound when thrown onto any hard surface. Sizing up the young boy, Ah Meng decided to let his grandson handle the transaction. The conversation between Ah Meng’s grandson and the young boy went something like this:-
Ah Meng’s grandson looked confused and didn’t know how to reply. Meanwhile Ah Meng who had been observing the conversation instructed his grandson in Hokkien (a Chinese dialect which the young boy did not understand) to inform the young boy that if he buys 3 boxes for RM3.00, he will throw in another box for free!
Advocate & Solicitor
It has been said that without practice, theory means nothing. To me, having practical training is an effective way of learning. That is why in legal practice, we have something called the chambering period or pupilage where a qualified law graduate is required to work in a law firm (commonly known as reading in chambers) for 9 months before being admitted to the Bar. A similar system is also in place for medical students and graduates. Why is there a need for it? The answer is simple. When undergoing on the job training, you are dealing with real events and real people. You will see that things can be quite different from what we have read in books or appears in theory. Let me share with you an incident which I encountered a few years ago.
Sometime in 2007, I was back in my hometown in Klang. For nostalgic reasons, I decided to visit some of the old places where I used to frequent. That included an old grocery shop which was just the round the corner where I used to live. The person who started the shop was a kind but a shrewd businessman. He has since passed on. The grocery shop is now managed by his son known as Ah Meng. Ah Meng is now in his fifties and is the second generation in his family to run the shop. I knew Ah Meng when he was still a young man. He studied up to Form Five and he speaks very good English. Today, like me, Ah Meng has aged with a head covered with grey hair and a pair of reading glasses hanging around his neck. Ah Meng’s son has been helping him in the shop mostly in delivering goods to the customers. The layout of the shop had changed tremendously. The goods were stored orderly on the shelves and systematically labeled. Instead of the tin can pulley system which was popular a long time ago to keep the money safe, the shop now has an electronic cashier machine.
It was a week before the Chinese New Year, I was busy chatting with Ah Meng in front of the grocery shop while his 9 year old grandson was busily drawing in his little sketch book when a boy about 10 years old walked in and enquired about purchasing “pop-pop”. For those who are not familiar with “pop-pop”, it is one of those little white things shaped like the tip of a cotton bud which gives a “pop” sound when thrown onto any hard surface. Sizing up the young boy, Ah Meng decided to let his grandson handle the transaction. The conversation between Ah Meng’s grandson and the young boy went something like this:-
Young boy: “Uncle,do you have any “pop-pop”?
Ah Meng: (Calling his grandson) “Ah boy, come and help this young man”
Ah Meng’s grandson: Yes?
Young boy: Got “pop-pop”?
Ah Meng’s grandson: “Got”.
Young boy: How much?
Ah Meng’s grandson: “RM1.00 for 1 box”
Young boy: “Wah! Too expensive. Cheaper a bit. 50 sen for a box?”I must say I was impressed that for a 10 year old boy, he was able to bargain and did not take the first offer.
Ah Meng’s grandson looked confused and didn’t know how to reply. Meanwhile Ah Meng who had been observing the conversation instructed his grandson in Hokkien (a Chinese dialect which the young boy did not understand) to inform the young boy that if he buys 3 boxes for RM3.00, he will throw in another box for free!
Ah Meng’s grandson: If you take 3 boxes for RM3.00, I will throw in one for free.
Ah Meng who was observing looked pleased that his grandson had carried out his instruction well. Meanwhile, the young boy kept quiet and was in deep thought. I was beginning to admire this young boy who was an astute negotiator. The young boy didn’t want to give in and this was how the conversation went:-
Young boy: Too expensive! How about I pay RM2.00 for 2 boxes and you give me 1 box free?
I was looking at Ah Meng’s grandson and I must say, for a 9 year old boy, he was rather calm. Perhaps, he knew that his grandfather was nearby to assist him in handling the situation.
Ah Meng to his grandson: (In Hokkien) Tell him, we only have 4 boxes left and we will be closing for Chinese New Year soon. There will be no more stock after this, if he wants it he better buy it now.Ah Meng’s grandson followed his grandfather’s instruction and conveyed to the young boy. The young boy finally relented and agreed to buy 3 boxes of “pop-pop” for RM3.00 with an additional box thrown in free.
After the young boy paid the money and was about to leave the shop, Ah Meng turned to his grandson and said in Hokkien: “Eh, eh! Now ask him whether he wants to buy some sparklers! Since, he bought ‘pop-pop’ from us, we are giving him special price for the sparklers”. There was another round of negotiation between these 2 young gentlemen with the old “sifu” giving instructions from behind the scene. Unfortunately, I had to leave. I didn’t get to see what transpired after the “pop-pop” transaction.
However, I learned an important lesson relating to “on the job training” from the above scene. Ah Meng could have easily handled the situation as he is an experienced grocer but he decided to let his grandson handle it. Why? Maybe, because he noticed that the young boy was about the same age as his grandson and this would be perfect training for his grandson. However, I must say Ah Meng probably didn’t expect the young boy to be a tough negotiator. But then again, in his line of work, you have to expect the unexpected and his grandson did manage to close the deal after all with some help from his grandfather. I am sure the experience undergone by Ah Meng’s grandson will remain with him for a very long time. Here, he learned how to communicate, how to position himself, how to shift that position and then close the deal. Further, his grandson also learnt that closing one deal may lead to another – remember, from “pop-pop” to sparklers! Ah Meng can be assured that the grocery shop started by his father will continue to be in good hands with the 3rd and 4th generations who are well trained while being on the job!
*Seumas Tan practices in the area of Employment Law covering issues dealing with human resource matters. He practices under the name and style of Messrs S. Tan & Co. and may be contacted at Seumas@STanLawyers.com.my.
Aside from getting OJT's, there are e learning courses in the Internet that provide efficient job certification and training for people or individuals looking for efficient and productive work for them that fits them well.
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