The recent case of the two Indonesian men trialed for illegally selling their kidneys had sparked much debate over the issue of whether Singapore should legalize the sale of organs.  Opponents argue that legalization will benefit more the rich than the poor since the former would be able to out bid the poor for the organs.  Furthermore, legalization will also encourage people – especially the poor - to sell their organs for money; a notion that is morally wrong and therefore should not be supported.  However, if we look beyond the idealized principles, there are merits to the idea – such as a potential transfer of wealth from the rich directly to the poor – if it is properly managed.

Our group of characters were also in a hot debate on this issue recently during a get together party.  “Right or wrong?”  “Should or Should not?” and “How can it be done?”  We present their discussion:

I am sure a lot of you will be chuckling at this title and asking yourself what new light I can cast on this old cliché. It has been a hot topic for discussion, then gone stale, revived as and went and then gone stale again. Some people have even given up discussing something like this. And as you may guess opinions vary from those who fervently declare Management an Art and those who postulate the Scientific approach to Management. I do promise to answer this question once and for all, by casting things in a new light and answering the question from a different perspective.

If you are a true Formula One fan, you would have been fully enthralled by the racing drama at the Brazilian Grand Prix, which was the finale to the Formula One season. Of course if you are a Lewis Hamilton fan or a Fernando Alonso fan, that drama became heartache. But this was really sporting drama at its best and a real reminder of why one would watch live sport over anything else. No one could possibly have scripted the race better, from a racing purist point of view of course. Now before you wonder if Oaktree Research has become a sports website, let me clarify. There are actually some interesting HR questions that arise from this whole Formula One season.

In a time of economic boom, it is often difficult to hire workers cheaply. This is especially so when the demand for workers with particular skills or industry experience far outstrips the supply. But of course we have to appreciate cheap in relation to the market rate. If you hire a worker that is significantly below the market rate, then that would be considered cheap and vice versa. Of course when you hire the worker, it is the entire package, his wage, benefits, bonuses, training period and costs and more that determine his cost of securing his labour.

Are you fearful that your research report is not reliable?  Are you weary that the analysis in the report is biased?  Are you skeptical about the analyst’s true intention because he is working for a research house that is financed by a broking house?

These worries were the reason why independent research houses were created.  Independent equity research services have been available to Singapore investors for years.  These research houses were passionately conceived by entrepreneurs who saw opportunities in the ever increasing retail investor pool in the stock market.

There has been great uproar in Singapore about the pay packages of some of our top Civil Servants as well as our Ministers. We would like to join this debate with our usual approach of theory and concepts as analysis tools. But we will focus instead on Civil Servants pay. With regards to Ministers’ pay, we will simply assume that that is a given and that they are top managers/leaders who thoroughly deserve their pay.

Did you experience a loss after investing in some unit trust?  Is your money stuck in some special deposits that paid higher interest rates but comes with certain conditions?  Did you regret buying that investment linked plan? Did you recently lose money in the stock market?  What do you do?

Simple! Blame it on that financial professional.  Financial planner, insurance agent, relationship manager, private banker, analyst, or stock broker, you name it.  They, in your opinion, are guilty of MISELLING JUST TO MAKE MONEY!!!

There has already been a huge debate on Singapore’s Biomedical Science Industry’s development with various well-known figures weighing in with their views. Of course there have been opposing views, which certainly make for a good debate. On one end, there is the view that all is well in this long term project. On the other end, there are calls for a strategy rethink as it is not specific and focused enough. At OTR, we are not trying to stir up more fire. Rather we would like to use our usual methods, such as application of various theories and concepts to offer you a substantiated take on the debate that has unfolded.