
Sunday with Eden | Apr 10,2021
Feb 20 , 2021
By Ristu Fekadu ( Ristu Fikadu is a former export manager and currently works as a senior customer relationship manager at a financial institution. He can be reached at ristufekadu@gmail.com. )
In mathematics, exponential decay describes the process of reducing an amount by a consistent percentage rate over a period of time. This is an excellent analogy for the state of professionalism in Ethiopia. The only difference is that this decay is not coming from a high summit. It is merely chipping away to a point where it is nearly impossible to improve from. Under such circumstances, it is not clear how we continue to expect things to improve anytime soon.
As the famous quote goes, “Insanity is doing the same thing, over and over again, but expecting different results.”
There is no time to hold and relax in these conditions by maintaining the status quo and expecting improvement. At some point, we need to get out of our routine to achieve different and better results.
Professionalism has for long been sidelined. This is not a surprise to anyone given our poor work culture. But it is also true that today, many have come up with a “high-copy” of professionalism as a stand-in. People try to do the minimum and yet reap the greatest rewards. They try to work "smart," and not hard.
Much has been said about professionalism and the professional class, both of which barely exist in Ethiopia. It is the set of specialised tasks that have to be carried out for any modern economy to function. It is to accumulate these skillsets that the country invests billions of Birr in education each year.
But without the culture and the proper incentives to uphold professionalism, several sectors have suffered. Trained individuals are either not adequately motivated or incentivised to apply themselves. They instead take detours to the obstacles they face than present ways of addressing rather challenges in the long-term.
Employers seem to be resigned to this problem. Employee turnover is high – especially for recent graduates – to the point that companies are not as motivated as they should be to train. Usually, they accidentally come across some people willing to stick around and successfully carry out some of the minimum tasks that keep the company afloat and cease aspiring toward more professionalism or better specialisation.
Worse still, professionalism has come to be confused with egotism. Having a certain level of self-obsession and hardheadedness has become the popular expression of the traits of a professional. It is not authenticity, discipline, output, flexibility or the capacity to work as a team for many people. It is misconceived as being arrogant and not humble and continuous learner.
Individuals that have a deep interest in their tasks and are continuous learners are critical. It is often the case that a degree or certificate are poor substitutes for this, mostly only showing that a student has successfully answered certain standardised questions correctly.
“The world is divided into people who do things and people who get the credit. Try, if you can, to belong to the first class. There’s far less competition,” American businessman Dwight Morrow once said.
Executing in a manner of problem-solving and simultaneously recognising the problem's intensity and nature is vital. Unless it is understood clearly, professionalism will become just a word. Enhancing productivity, recognising creative ideas, taking calculated risks, and the ability to work in teams emanates from the aspiration to be professional. Otherwise, if we keep going along our current path and with the prevailing pace, our chances of catching up with the rest of the world are dim.
To address this cultural failure, there is also a need to have a behavioural reset. First, we need to recognise that we are underperforming in our capacity, then we have to commit ourselves to address this shortcoming. Not much should be expected of going ahead with the same old.
PUBLISHED ON
Feb 20,2021 [ VOL
21 , NO
1086]
Sunday with Eden | Apr 10,2021
Featured | Sep 26,2021
Commentaries | Apr 22,2022
View From Arada | Apr 03,2021
Fortune News | Jun 01,2019
Commentaries | Aug 31,2019
Sunday with Eden | Apr 06,2019
Editorial | Sep 04,2021
My Opinion | Jan 23,2021
Commentaries | Feb 12,2022
Photo Gallery | 64187 Views | May 06,2019
Photo Gallery | 56058 Views | Apr 26,2019
Fortune News | 50977 Views | Jul 18,2020
Fortune News | 50568 Views | Sep 01,2021
Dec 24 , 2022
Biniam Mikru heads the department of cabinet affairs under Mayor Adanech Abiebie. But...
Jul 2 , 2022 . By RUTH TAYE
On a rainy afternoon last week, a coffee processing facility in the capital's Akaki-Qality District was abuzz with activ...
Nov 27 , 2021
Against my will, I have witnessed the most terrible defeat of reason and the most sa...
Nov 13 , 2021
Plans and reality do not always gel. They rarely do in a fast-moving world. Every act...
Jan 28 , 2023
It is not common to see an appointment for a senior federal government office stir de...
Jan 21 , 2023
Eyob Tekalign, state minister for Finance, took to social media platforms last week t...
Jan 14 , 2023
The longing for normalcy and a semblance of individual and collective security in Eth...
Jan 7 , 2023
The hallmark of Ethiopia's contemporary leaders could be a fascination with grandeur...
Jan 28 , 2023
In what has become common in the past four years, a new round of nominations was put before Parliament last week. These nominations by the P...
Jan 28 , 2023 . By BERSABEH GEBRE
Aklilu Wubet of Wegagen Bank and his executives had a lot to celebrate when they met rather anxious share...
Jan 28 , 2023 . By BERSABEH GEBRE
The Oromia Public Enterprise is edging closer to bagging Ayka Addis Textile Factory for 1.82 billion Br....
Jan 28 , 2023 . By EMMANUEL JORGE
Last week saw an uncharacteristically polemical moment after parliamentarians questioned three nominees o...