Sunday 2 December 2018

EVOLUTION , SURVIVAL STRUGGLE & GENOCIDE

I had the chance to watch a presentation of  Dr. Musa Albukrek recently about the evolution  of the world and the source of genocide (racial extermination) where he described that in our nature every single lifestyle is in war against other for survival. Those who are more powerful to reach the sunlight as in grass, find prey easily for wild animals are more likely to survive and evolve. Other extinct sooner or later against the outrageous assault of the powerful and maybe intelligent rival. This we called it natural selection therefter based on Darwin publications. No any grass can grow beneath pine trees as the resin partciles scattered by the tree and the dry needle like leaves cussion piled up who do not allow to grow any kind vegetation. But maybe some special animal or mushroom species

Natural selection and random mutation were the major source of a higher lifestyles,  life models until the invention of languages for a better and quicker communication and thereafter the writing ability to store the information or data.

A DNA egg contains three billion pairs of nitrogenious element unit. Not all the data is used for the reproduction , there are many redundant and inactive codes in it as it is described by Hawking. A novel book contain roughly two million of information bit but when it comes to libraries the gathered information  override DNA. Needless to compare now the internet which is surpassing . The rate at which the useful information is stored , updated and accumulated is by millions time higher than mutation associated by natural selection of the best fit species. By writing we entered into a different type of evolution.

Dr. Albukrek point it out that at the present day human kind DNA consist of %5-20 "Homo Neandertalis " and %80-95 "Homo Sapiens". It may seem amazing that there is no any homologous specie close to humans. Especially when you see breed variety of cats , dogs , fishes than you start to inquire for an intermediary specie between ourselves and our closest relative bonobo chimpanzees. But you find nothing. Dr. Albukrek is pretending that we "Homos Sapiens" are the criminals of their extinctions.  And this is the root of the genocide. Not very convincing right ?

Hamurabi laws is dated 1754 BC birging a kind of rights and justice to the slaves. While the abolition of the latest residual slavery in USA is dated 1865 . There is an incredible period of time that humans did not accepted themseves equal to each other? Were not we ?

When it comes the wars can we still accept it as the evolution of the human kind or a survival struggle ?According to Hawking the techological progression speed is now surpassing human evolution. In second world was if  sixty millions of human dies it is because of the advance mass destruction weapons that we invented. Atomic bombs in hand of some countries can destroy whole world in a blink of eye.

In his new book Sevan Nisanyan is pretending that Islam gave duty to conquer all non-Muslim countries forcing them to convert to their religion , if not leave them free in thier daily life by paying high amount of tax and duties . Ottoman Empire was  the paramount of this governance of the style and pattern. At the beginning  Judaism was their biggest adversary of Islam hence one can encounter defamation in many part of the Koran. Hence Jews confronted a more intense hatred behaviour amoung other subdued communities. Collecting by force young children of  non-Muslim communities , converting them to Islam  and raising them as a soldier was also common in Ottoman Empire era.

AvramAji
04.12.2018




Tuesday 16 October 2018

DEMOCRACY AND ELECTIONS



Elections held in the last decades in whole world showed that –so called – “liberal” elections did not  drive -especially the emerging countries in a right way. It is true that democracy is the best governance system that mankind had invented so far , but still very insufficient to improve the life standards of the citizens. When you check the yearly  ranking list of the countries in the world for the average income per capita, the breakdown hardly change during years. Although most of countries pretend to be managed by democracy consequently free elections and free candidature ...Nothing change during the years and improvements are slow.

Moreover , well established advance institutions like European Union now is open for a debate for its existence even. Separations attempts of Catalonia in Spain, Scotland in UK , Brexit are just the consequences of bad management systems but not the candidature.

Erdogan in Turkey , Putin in Russia , Esad in Syria  , Kim in North Korea , Rouhani in Iran , Sisi in Egypt Netanyahu in Israel , Aliyev in Azerbaijan and many other leaders are remaining in their seats in every new elections although you spot a very  faint progression in their country. The rank of these countries remaining at the same level in the list of income per capita if not worsen. The sole exception is Merkel and Germany.

If we put aside Germany , why above mentioned countries continue to re-elect over and over these leaders while their country does not improve ,and moreover the gap between rich countries is widening.

Famous philosopher Harari – in his new book - tried to draw our attention to the cripple side of the democracy and free elections and free candidature...

Is free candidature wrong? Only skillful and experienced persons must apply as a candidate for a special governmental position. Today Trump has proven that  even if you don’t have financial supporters or  any past experience  in politics ,you can be elected.  

Another disability of the free election system is that those who are suffering in the existing system because of lack of job , expensive or inadequate education system , the absence of reasonable interest rates and long term credits for housing are not well represented.

Citizens of different wealth level have different expectations of the government. The persons with high or medium income do not really care much for "unemployment " especially prevalent in the low income layer. Or mortgage availability or credit interest rates. To lift up the low incomers section , high incomer level must do some additional effort , also to improve the life of the lower. The example of Trump  has demonstrated that if you are rich you can spend the money for being elected. A poor but skillful person get lost in the system. Hence we can deduce that at the first rank low income voters must be handled in priority. If only the requirements the poor’s are fulfilled than we can move upward the list of different level of incomers.

You may remember about audacious declaration of one famous actress , saying that her vote was not equal to the one ignorant shepherd in the mountain . Indeed well educated and experienced actress may have more foresighted view on various candidates in elections .But in fact the most needy is the shepherd in the mountain. The rich and famous actress is not and will not be affected from whoever win the election. Hence shepherd priority is considered.

Let us dream a country where only poor, innocent and uneducated people can vote. Such as you put a level of wealth to be eligible. I wonder how the situation will change.

Avram Aji
16.10.2018

Tuesday 2 October 2018

THE STARFISH AND THE SPIDER -Ori Brafmau, Rod A. Beckstrom


This is a book on leaderless organizations. A marvellous survey on many valuable -decentralized- organizations like AA Alcoholic Anonimous, Wikipedia , Apache ...


The most striking example is about GM anger against Peter Drucker research made on the company organization .The findings and suggestions of Drucker was accepted as an insult to the management. What Drucker find out that GM at that time was extremely decentralized and departments were free in making many decisions hence creativity was at its pinnacle. Despite GM management despise Toyota took Drucker's advices seriously and implemented in his facilities from where success came .

The essence of this book is to give more freedom to all organizations for productivity, creativeness, sustainability , progression , and the happiness of the participants ...

The more you decentralize your institution and your company the more you becom resistant to dangers which may destroy you.

Avram Aji
03.10.2018

Monday 24 September 2018

DOUBLE MAJOR OR MORE

At universities nowadays when you take few more lessons you end up with getting another degree which is mostly well related with your major area.

Life expectancy is growing quite fast. As written by Linda Gratton & Andrew Scott the new generetion will live over 100 years . Hence being retired by your sixties will become impossible and also to maintain the actual pension system. Moreover the saving accumulated during working years will not suffice for the rest of the retired life. 

The latters in their book they are recommending to adapt everybody to the new technology and continue to learn new skills and profession during all your life  and to be able to work until eighties at least. They are rcommending one year of additional education every 10 years might be a good solution for that.

There are marvellous examples in world of a very famous people that you know closeley. Here you have few examples...

JULIO IGLESIAS : soccer player , singer

RONALD REAGAN : actor , politician

ARNOLD SWHARZENEGER  : sportsman , actor , politician

ZÜLFÜ LİVANELİ : musician , writer ,  politician

DONALD TRUMP : businessman, politician

LEONARDO DA VINCI : painter , scientist

IZZET KERIBAR : businessman , photographer

TÜRKAN SAYLAN : dermatolog, academic, writer , NGO founder 

Write me if you know more!

Avram Aji
25.09.2018

Thursday 20 September 2018

A SUBTLE ART OF NOT GIVING A F*CK -MARC MANSON



This book is saying that in life we are continuously making selection on various alternatives that we are facing. But not to recommend indifferent to life at all. You need to learn to select what is important against unimportant ones.

Is it something new for an ardent reader of self impovement books? No ! It starts by giving Charles Buckowski's life as an example. A famous writer and poet with a lot of nasty habits and a miserable life he had...

He is saying that you look after crazily to learn on how to earn the best ways to earn more money by means of books , courses, seminars et cetera because you think that what you have is not enough. You contemplate yourself in front of a mirror because you feel as you are not beautiful. In fact you never find yourslef  successful enough.


You will be less satisfied as much as you strive to be more happyin life. You need to learn on how to focus on your thoughts  and prioritize them . Finding something important and meaningful in life, is the way to utilize your time and energy efficiently.

Happiness arise by solving your problems , is an activity, a continuous struggle.

If you are feeling bad you must understand that your brain is saying you have unsolved or neglected issues in your life.

Very successful business persons mostly deteriorate their private life. The following values that we give importance in life just complicate our situation and put our life in trouble : joy , financial success, thave right all the time, being positive all the time.

If you want to change something in your life you need to be wrong in something.

Failure is progress, a way forward.

Behave truthfull in my relationships is much important to feel good all the time.

This a very nice book with good interpration of the contents.

Avram Aji
21.09.2018

Thursday 30 August 2018

START WITH WHY - SIMON SINEK




This is book which was advised to me years ago but never had the time read until last week.
Thebook starts comparing Langley and Wright brothers for the discovery of an airplane.















In one side Langley has every means to succeed while Wright Brothers curiosity and talent made them to succeed against knowledge and infinite assets.

Another comparison with Keneddy and Hitler was made in the book. Both of them marvellously raised and educated but their success in their life is totally the opposite.

The writer is asking “ WHY “Apple Wozniac and Jobs, Martin Luther King have succeeded ..

“Most companies have no clue why their customers are their customer”

“Loyal customers often don’t even bother to research the competition or entertain other options.”

“Knowing you have a loyal customer and employee base not only reduces costs, it provides massive peace of mind.”

“Just producing high-quality products and marketing them does not guarantee success.”

“It is exceedingly difficult to start building a trusting relationship with a potential customer or client by trying to convince them of all the rational features and benefits”

He listed as follows the reason we prefer one product to another:

1)Price
2)Promotions
3)Fear
4)Aspiration
5)Peer Pressure
6)Novelty

 He said that you have two kind of buyers : repeters and loyals. The aim must be to gain the loyalty .

Workers in the company is the backbone of success... Here are few quotes Simon:

“People who love going to work are more productive and more creative”

“Happy employees ensure happy customers,”

“We do better in places that reflect our own values and beliefs.”

“the goal is not to hire people who simply have a skill set you need, the goal is to hire people who believe what you believe”

“What all great leaders have in common is the ability to find good fits to join their organizations”

“Great companies don’t hire skilled people and motivate them, they hire already motivated people

and inspire them”

“Most companies have no clue why their customers are their customers”

“Loyal customers often don’t even bother to research the competition or entertain other options. Loyalty is not easily won.”

“It’s in the tough times that loyal customers matter most.”

“Knowing you have a loyal customer and employee base not only reduces costs, it provides massive peace of mind”

“For the buyer, it has become increasingly difficult to know which product, service, brand or company is best.”

“Every day, the competition is doing something new, something better.”

“WHY does your company exist? WHY do you get out of bed every morning? And WHY should anyone care”

“Companies try to sell us WHAT they do, but we buy WHY they do it.”

“Our need to belong is not rational, but it is a constant that exists across all people in all cultures.”

“We have trouble, for example, explaining why we married the person we married.”

“Just producing high-quality products and marketing them does not guarantee success.”

“Relationships also build trust. And with trust comes loyalty.”

“There is no difference between sales and dating.”

“It is exceedingly difficult to start building a trusting relationship with a potential customer or client by trying to convince them of all the rational features and benefits”

“Happy employees ensure happy customers,”

“Trust is a feeling, not a rational experience”

 “You can’t convince someone to trust you”

“Leading, however, means that others willingly follow you—not because they have to, not because they are paid to, but because they want to”

“Even a billionaire who loses millions due to poor decisions can get depressed”

“We’ve succeeded as a species because of our ability to form cultures”


“We do better in places that reflect our own values and beliefs. J”


“So the logic follows, the goal is not to hire people who simply have a skill set you need, the goal is to hire people who believe what you believe.”

"What all great leaders have in common is the ability to find good fits to join their organizations”

“Great companies don’t hire skilled people and motivate them, they hire already motivated people and inspire them.”

“The role of a leader is not to come up with all the great ideas. The role of a leader is to create an environment in which great ideas can happen.”

“Thomas Edison, a man definitely driven by a higher cause, said, “I didn’t find a way to make a lightbulb, I found a thousand ways how not to make one.”

“It’s a subtle irony that one of the best customer service companies in the country focuses on its employees before its customers.”

“A company, indeed any organization, must work actively to remind everyone WHY the company exists. WHY it was founded in the first place. What it believes. They need to hold everyone in the company accountable to the values and guiding principles. It’s not enough to just write them on the wall—that’s passive. Bonuses and incentives must revolve around them”

“If employees are treated right, they treat the outside world right, the outside world uses the company’s product again, and that makes the shareholders happy.”

“The opinions of others matter. And the opinions of those we trust matter most.”

“Great organizations don’t just drive profits, they lead people, and they change the course of industries and sometimes our lives in the process.”

“Some who achieve fame talk about the loneliness that often goes with it.”

“There is an old saying in the industry that 50 percent of all marketing works, the problem is, which 50 percent?”

“When you compete against everyone else, no one wants to help you. But when you compete against yourself, everyone wants to help you.”

“We’re always competing against someone else. We’re always trying to be better than someone else. Better quality. More features. Better service. We’re always comparing ourselves to others. And no one wants to help us. What if we showed up to work every day simply to be better than ourselves?”

Avram Aji
12.09.2018













Tuesday 14 August 2018

IT IS JUST STARTING - FARUK ECZACIBASI

Eczacıbaşı is big group of companies in Turkey working mainly in pharmaceutical and ceramic industry.Faruk is the second generation manager who wrote his thoughts about the actual world situation on various fields including his vaste experiences and knowledge.If you read the book you will notice that he is commenting about in so many fields and making many futuristic predictions which looks very probable.

Here you have the sentences that I highlighted while reading:

The actual new generation is facing a higher unknown things.

If a product is free thats mean that you are valuable for them.

In a near future the world finance system will turn to a mess by the new block chain technology.

Every new single robot will create 6 unemployment .

Reverse Mentoring is a new concept in our companies. We are hiring very young consultants for our managers to teach how to use the new world tools.

Avram Aji
14.08.2018

Sunday 29 July 2018

The 100 Years Life - Lynda Gratton - Andrew Scott

I lost four very good friend of mine during the last four  months. Needless to say I have been very sad about these losses. All of them were roughly at my age. I am now 66 and I fell down into thoughts that dying is not anymore far away of me. I can pass away any moment.

Am I ready to die? Man can be ready ?

The book that I read it recently is a research made about life expectancy. Although the writers were trying to show us the good parts of a long life at the end nothing looks good at the horizon.

Life expectency is increasing by one percent every two year. A child born today will live 100 years in average.

Politicians never took into consideration this issue seriously ignoring to see the various aspects of the retirements system and geriology. No any forsighted country exist in the world. Even people born during “baby boom” period was not expecting to live so long. My wife born in 1952, worked for 21 year in a bank and got her retirment at the age of 41. Now has 66 and it has been taken his pension since 27 years already.

Pesismists are thinking that safe food obtaintion , new born babies loss reached to an end. There is nothing to improve . On the contrary a life with less activity has brought us the obezity issue along with many related diseases. Hence the life expectancy has reached to its highest level.

By no means if you live more you need more money.The question is how much you have to save monthly to have at least the fifty percent in your retirement. This will led you to another question: until what age you will have to work. The book is pretending that we have to save %17 monthly and work until the age of eightly.

The technology is changing so fast  that what we learn at the universities is becoming obsolete in few decades. Hence lifelong learning will be a must.

When I look around myself nearly all my friends and relatives over fifty are already retired. The reality is that there is no job for eldery people who have old fashion education and knowledge.

I have admiration to three of my friends over 60’s now.

One of them CG is chemichal engineer, a schoolmate of mine, has learned the new REACH Hazardous chemicals trade new legislation and is now teaching to students at many universities.

Another friend of mine BY has learned the new work safety legislation and got his license after a serious exam .

AP who is a turtist guide noticing that arriving Brazilian tourist increase have made a big effort to learn portuguese…

This book is a must to read . You will be planning your life accordingly.

Avram Aji
30 July 2018

Wednesday 27 June 2018

EUGENISM , NATURAL SELECTION & EVOLUTION

Can we say that that Darwinian “natural selection” continue for the human kind? I have the feeling that with such an advance medical care , medicines and vaccines that we are succeding to make survive even the weakest and disabled babies the selection procedure has slowed down . Families are struggling all their life long to make such children to live.

Nowadays life expectations went above 80 years . Some futurists are predicting 120 years lifespan for very soon.

Does the "evolution" continue? Human wisdom reached to its actual level in 4,5 billion years. Hence may we assume that we are unable to descern its actual pace if any !

Some people thought to improve the race of the humankind by exterminating -so called improper kinds. This ideology is called  "eugenism"  with the main purpose to urge evolutionary progress by pedigree breeding.This was one of the ill thinkings lately of the nazis. The  Jews and Gypsies were thought to be maleficient and hazardous for their society. But what was their defect and deficiencies ? Being poor ? stingy ? dirty ? coward ? 

Living in a country where they treat you as lower caste for centuries and do not allow you to own a land or carry arms you end up to acquire above qualifications ...

Politicians like to create scape goats to alienate their flaw.

There is a new investigations to rectify the faulty , distorted and broken DNA of humans called CRISPR. Although there is a huge  opponents for GMO foodstuffs I wonder how they will react when it comes to cure your deadly cancer or MS or ALS . By no means there is no any reliable and serious evidence for the consequences of GMO foodstuffs.

Avram Aji
04.12..2018


French Dr. Jean-Claude Ameisen wrote that , what we call now Darwinism ,the natural selection theory succumbed to racism. Francis Galton the inventor of eugenism said : "What the nature does the selection blindly , slowly and  brutally , the humans can do it by targeting to be fast and nice.

In 1912 Nobel laureate Alexis Carrel proposed to change democracy to  
biocracy.

In 1924 a bill was voted to ban immigrants south and east Europe to protect USA nation from degenerative genes. In 1926 the a Eugenism society was found.

21.12.2022

















Thursday 21 June 2018

BİLEŞİK İLGİ , USTALIK , MESULİYET VE KALDIRAÇ KULLANMA


Hayat tek kişilik bir oyundur… 
Tekrar tekrar oynayınız. 

Hepsinin hayatınıza getirisi hem zenginlik olarak , hem ilişkileriniz açısından, ya da bilgi olarak , farklı ilgi alanlarınızın bileşkesinden gelir.

Mümkün olduğunca çok çalışınız. Ne kadar fazla çalıştığınız daha önemli olmasına rağmen ,kimin için çalıştığınız ve ne üzerine çalıştığınız da önemlidir.

Yaptığınız işte dünyada en iyisi olun Yaptığınız işi gerçeği buluncaya kadar sürekli sorgulayın .

Mesuliyeti yüklenin  , ve iş için riskleri kendi adınıza alın . Toplum sorumlulukla , dürüstçe ve kaldıraç kullanarak sizi ödüllendirecektir.

Kendinize saat başına bir değer biçin ve uygulayın. Bir problemi çözmek için harcayacağınız zaman size biçtiğiniz değerden daha az getirisi var ise , vazgeçin .

Eğer bir işi dışarıya yaptırmak sizin saat başına biçtiğiniz ücretten daha ucuza mal olacaksa dışarıya yaptırın.

Naval Ravikant

Monday 18 June 2018

BANKRUPCY

How and why a company goes to bankrupcy? And why a company close down. These are crutial questions for a company owner and also white collar staff.

1)The product or service offered to the market become obsolete in time. Not requested any more. Replaced by a better and cheaper . A sewing machine was a must for every family. Housewives were to sew so much things for their family and house furniture. Nowadays ready garments are so cheap and readily available everywhere that this skill of the women especially became obsolete.

General ledger which was used to be a large and long notebook dissapeared with the computerized  accounting programs and the data stored at cloud. The producer of such notebooks lost their jobs.

Knitting was also very popular until 21st century but was defeated with intensive factory size production. Moreover selling in the retail market ball of wool is no more possible.

Insisting in producing and try to sell selling such products led you to loose your capital and finally go to bankrupcy.

2)A company may have saleable products in his portfolio but the profit margin must cover at least the expenses of the company. Income and expenses must be always in balance all the time for the continuity of the business and the company. Especially when the company reaches to middle size the turnover may hide the loss for a while. The bankrupcy may not be foreseen very easily. Hence a continous balance sheet check is a must.

The most common mistake that I have experienced and noticed in my life time many companies are living in the past. Most of them have had some very profitable years in the past. Hence managers have continuous expectation of such good years to reoccur. Patienting years after years kill the company .

Avram Aji
19.06.2018

THE RISE OF THE ROBOTS - MARTIN FORD

 I just finished this book and read it out of breath.  It consist of a very broad investigation of the actual robots in various industries trying to find out an answer to "whether robots will replace us in the near future"? " Which industries are closer for such automation?"

The most striking thought that I got from this book, is that wages are continuously going down in last decades when inflation adjustment is made. 

White collar workers are as much prone as blue collars for being replaced by robots. Indeed sofisticated programs may work better and harder than us.  Nowadays  sales and purchases in stock market are made by super computers and advanced programs tarde in miliseconds intervals. 

If  lower class families loose their jobs who will be buying the robot made produces. Workers are producers but at the same time consumers which is making run the gear of the economy. 

Another option is to give monthly basis an amount of money to the unemployed people by the government. Such a law was submitted to the Swiss parliament but rejected. In Turkey  I know some kind of aids (such as coal or food) are given to poor families. Health aid is also provided to them. 

Avram Aji
18.06.2018

Monday 11 June 2018

DEVIL’S ADVOCATE - "promotor fidei"

I always wondered why Jews , Gypsies , African Americans were despised
because of their race. Did they really have some DNA deficiencies or their customs and traditions put them apart from the society they live. Why Darwinian evolution did not work out with them and why a harmony couldn’t be established between two societies.

It is not really very easy to understand the humiliation of the Jews during the whole history. Starting from Egypt and Babylonia , than  after in Spain and Portugal during the inquisition period and expulsion from their land during middle age and Polish and Russian pogroms, German genocide during the past centuries are unforgettable stains in human history.

Suffrage activist Alice Stone have written in his memoirs that in their Catholic education they learned that “Jews and Dogs do not go to Heaven”. She was confused about this .

Rationally thinking , religions must not interfere with human races but this had not happened all the time. Especially Christianity with its Crusaders, Islam with its Jihadists do not really  have a good reputation in the  history. Although Jesus and his disciples were Jews , moreover that they believe to the Old Testament also , in the Christian world Jews were treated as lower class community. Not all the rights were given, nor allowed to work as the wish and move to wherever they want.

Recent terrorist activities in the world made Islamophobia spreading in whole world and putting Islamic minorities’ existence at jeopardy in Christian predominant countries…

“PROMOTOR FIDEI” was a formal post to investigate and to draw up a list of arguments against a nominee before being blessed by the Church. Also known as “Advocatus Diaboli” from where we use the idiom devil’s advocate to characterize a person who is against the general opinion all the time and who is always trying to find out the negative sides of the public orientation.

Today is the right time that a “promotor fidei” appear again and declare the faulty sides of today's silent society.

Avram Aji
11.06.2018

Saturday 2 June 2018

DEMOCTRATIC ELECTIONS

We will have presidential elections  within three week time. Anyone who thinks that there will be a change , He will confront to a just a failure and a dissapointment. This is not only because the elections will be reliable and thrustworthy but the system deficiency of the actual democracy understanding.

The major defect of the actual democracies are  the candidature mechanism. Once the party leader selects the member of parliaments and the latter selects the party leader the vicious cycle appear. In Turkey and in various developping countries loosing elections does not have any meaning for a party leadeer.  The party leader is there all the time and for many decades until he or she dies.

Let us compare presidential elections with multinational big companies amangerial system.What does such companies to appoint a CEO ? They look  to the past performances of the candidates…Who elects ? The executive board? How an executive board is consisted ? Not by all the workers vote ? This not a matter of suffrage. As a simple young worker how can one select the best CEO for his company? He can not but only a very competent group of persons can do. So the solution is to form a very competent executive board.

It is very sad to say, but if a party leader is saying that some managerial or administrative applications have to be changed and if these things will cause disadventage to me I will not be voting him -even without judging properly his challenge against the public utility-.  Once a famous actress said that”does my vote has the same value as the vote of shepherd over the mountains”… This has created a big debate and mostly accepted as an arrogance and hubris of the said actress.

Avram Aji
04.06.2018

Saturday 12 May 2018

GOLD SILVER DOLLAR EURO BITCOIN .. AND NOW WHAT?

Are these the real materials for exchange? They were good inventions in their time. But cryptocurrencies proved that you do not need a central bank for money. In realy what we exchange is enerygy. You work for 9 hours a day to get a salary. What you get is the equivalent of the energy you spent in the company , moreover the contribution you provided. If the task would have been done by a robot we would have talk about its electric consumption , maintanace expenses and its depreciation value. I do not want to pretend that a worker is a kind of robot but just facilitate to understand the meaning of the money got after a working period. A task is done and there is a throughput with a commercial value. In this there are the cost of the raw materials and the labor cost.In reality the labor is a spent energy which can be measured in physics by calories , jules , watt…

Hence what we get against our work is in reality calories, jules or watts . It is time to discuss maybe to exchange energy instead of imaginary piece of papers or figures in a bank account. The real value is the energy you get. And this is something universally constant. It has no inflation causing depreciation. 1 calori will be the same infinitely!

You may think about petroleum prices up an downs. You are right momentarily. Even coal along withare not renewable. Once it is consumed it is finighed. Oil wells are supplying 
petroleum or natural gas for certain period of time and quantity. They are not endless resources. Within a century such natural resources will exhaust. This has an exeption the the nuclear power. Uranium , plutonium , thorium alike minerals can not be turned to energy for a long. May take thousands of years to consume them.

By no means this does not put any caveat or cause exemption to our theory, but just a matter of time.

Avram Aji
13.06.2018

HOW ARE THE JEWS IN TURKEY NOWADAYS?

Looks like not as bad as seen on TV’s or at the internet media. Turkey is intensified now to the early elections. Nobody has much time for antisemitism. Erdoğan has started to play again its heroism show of Palestinans but its impact is narrow . French declaration on antisemitic verses of Koran drove mad all politics .

Most of the Jews now got a Spanish or Portuguese passport.  This has opened a wider movement opportunity especially for youngsters for higher educational purposes as well as for working. Brilliant ones are already catched by international head hunters.  Turkey’s economy has been damaged badly by the Syrian war, and also with bad management of course. Regretfully we have never had any farsighted diplomats .  Our relationship with our neighbours is bad and getting worse. Syria became the battlefield of Russia, USA and Iran. Turkey is extremely affected .

Nowadays our south eastern border is more calm. Turism industry started to revitalize. This is extremely important for Turkey. Needless to say if the economy is good Jews also benefit being in the same boat. 

It remains roughly 10000 jews in Turkey. We started to have difficulties to protect our ancient heritage like old sinagogues that we owe. We got some tiny help for abroad but it is not sufficient. It started to become an important field of turistical curiosity. Its faint income does not help much.

Eldery people percentage is very high , bringing alongwith some kind of poverty among them. Pension system is not good in Turkey.  Geriatric problems are increasing and our management is suffering to assist them fully. 

Mixed marriages are full throttle!

Avram Aji
13.05.2018

Thursday 10 May 2018

CRITICAL CHAIN by Eliyahu Goldratt


I am continuing to read “Goldratt” books in a series. This one is stating with the same manner .

There is good debate on MBA in universities. Nowadays it bacame like a fashion for most managers to get an MBA degree. But the benefit of it is quite marginal. It just shows that you have a    continuous ambition to learn something after your BSc or BA degrees. In the book Eliyahu emphasize that the demand on MBA is declining swiftly. University managers are thinking on how  to make MBA degree really profitable for the existing and prospective managers .

In the last decades many management techniques were developped from various industrial organizatios. Namely TQM , JIT (Just in Time) , re-engineering, learning organizations.

Then we come to TOC to the theory of constraints. This come in five steps

1) IDENTIFY the system constraints
2) EXPLOIT the contraints
3) SUBORDINATE everything to the identified constraints
4) ELEVATE thensystems’ constraints
5) START AGAIN

This algoritm must be repeated continously as once you solve one constraint issue your factory than a next constraint point must be identified.

The author is claiming two management system:

-Cost accounting
-Based on throughput

Both are in conflict with each other.

Production is a linked various small steps. One of these steps must be identified as bottle neck. To make a non-stop working this step all other steps must be alligned . Even an excess inventory must be ready in front of this step while waiting Murphy to arrive unexpectedly.

A big project consist of small parts. Every sub-contractor is putting some buffer time for any unexpected delay. This is mostly taken as %50 of timing. When you consider a project of 10-20 steps than you have an incrdible buffer time. No any precaution is taken for early finishing up. Hence you have an idle time.

This book is about how managers are finding solutions while they do their MBA but discussing with each other under supervision of their professors and their company staff...

Avram Aji
10.05.2018











TQM TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT

Now all reliable and up-to-date companies hold kind a good managerial certificates such as ISO /BRC / IFS /FSSC  et cetera. Comparing the old days of 80’s this is important a big improvement. But mostly done to give assurance to the buyers. This is why it has been misguidingly named as "Quality Assurance". But its starting point is not giving only assurance for the product offered to public but to increase the performance of the production, reduce the complaints and eventually  much better management of the company.

But regretfully the existing staff is taking the audits such as passing an exam at the university SAT or TOEFL .Sugar the pill become their task. Re-painting everywhere, hiding the ugly things , issuing imaginary documents with beautiful signs and stamps. 

Consultants are just giving practical advises to get rid of non-conformances to the standards. 

Quality Managers and Auditors are wrist wrestling. Both are trying to show they knowledge the standards and their implementation in the industry.

Kaizen method is a good practice in fact but mostly disdained. Quality standards just showing you a path to pursue based on past performances of various procecutions in various companies. But must not be accepted like faith. 

Truths of today are changing within time. Hence the GOAL must not be forgetten while practicing the quality standards.

Companies are to make money. 

Hippocrat has said to the doctors "PRIMUM NON NOCERE"  which means first do not harm. 

For any action taken by quality managers must be questioning themselves :

"Does this new implementation is helping to improve the quality while making more money to the company or not ? Producing a marvelous quality product while ruining the company is not worthwhile. This will just help for a a soon lay offs.

Avram Aji
10.05.2018







Monday 30 April 2018

IT IS NOT LUCK by Eliyahu Goldratt

I read this book right after the” THE GOAL “ of the same author. As ı wrote before I was impressed of the first book. Either the narration is marvellous either the contents are very inspiring and evocative.

This books looks like to be almost the continuity of first. It is conveying you to start to think about from a wider context of your core business. Small problems may distract you very much to see the whole picture.

The author is suggesting to draw or outline the EXISTING REALITY TREE and from where you go to FUTURE REALITY TREE, through TRANSITION TREE…

Below I am giving some quotes from the book :

 “you know what happens when you let bad situations naturally develop.”
Left to themselves, things go from bad to worse.”

“In the past a good product line was sufficient to sustain the company for four or five years. That’s not the case anymore. It’s become a rat race. I estimate that we will have to come out with a new product line every year.”

“I knew that if you overcame your obsession that big money can only be found in the large quantities, you would find that there are enough additional lucrative markets that require small quantities”

“slave drivers always lived in better conditions than the slaves.”

“Managers are trying to run their companies by striving to achieve local optima.”

“Usually we think that in order to increase the perception of value of the market we have to come up with new, improved products.”

“what is really determining the perception of value of a product in the eyes of the market? It’s not the effort to produce it, it’s the benefits derived from having the product.”

“We know that there are two types of benefits. Adding something positive or eliminating something negative.”

“we can get the easiest and quickest improvements by concentrating on eliminating the negatives.”

“If, ‘The company takes actions that sufficiently increase the perception of value the market has for the company’s products,’ ” I say, starting to build the“Future Reality Tree, “then, ‘The perception of value the market has for the company’s products is higher than the current prices”

“We need to do it in a big enough market, big enough to exhaust all our capacity. And we need to do all of it in a way that will be difficult for our competitors to copy.”

“Maybe the new product is just the old one with small modifications?”

“The company introduces small changes that sufficiently increase the perception of value the market has for the company’s products.”

“Market perception of value is in accordance with the benefits of having the product.”
“If we want a marketing solution for our company we shouldn’t analyze our company, we should analyze the company’s market. The solution to marketing is in the market”

“If we want to bring a lot of benefits to the market we’d better address its core problem, not the symptoms, as everybody else is doing.”


“The objective is, ‘Bring the buyer to see your product as the best value for his money”

“Transition Tree: the “how to” tree; the detailed logic of how to transfer from the present into the desired future.”

“the market punishes companies that don’t satisfy the market perception of value.”

“No one yet has invented a unit of measure for security or satisfaction”

“We shouldn’t ever build a strategy based on a market forecast.”

“Concentrate on small changes that eliminate the negatives for the market.”

“if you follow a good strategy, the market should never drop on you”

Avram Aji
01.05.2018


Saturday 28 April 2018

DYING TWICE

It is not possible to die two times in life if you don't believe to reincarnation. Moreover we are very sure that we will be dying soon or later. Knowing that ,whatever we do will not be preventing our final fate we have to settle our life accordingly.

The major philosophycal issue throughout history is how to live our life. Do we have to live such as we are going to die the next day or struggling as much possible such as we are immortal?

HEDONISM is a school of thoughts that argues pleasures and happiness are the primary and the most important intrinsig goods and the aim of human life.

CYNISISM is practicing rather the contrary by theaching his follower to live a life of virtue and in agreement with nature. Rejecting desires health , wealth , power , fame a life free from possessions and properties.

There are moments in life that you feel like dead. This occurs when you loose someone ver close you , bankrupcy , loosing an important job and getting a divorce. 

AVRAM AJI
28.04.2018


ECONOMICALLY ACHIEVABLE

THE EASIEST WAY TO GET RID OF A HEALTH PROBLEM IS TO BAN THE IMPORTATION OR PUT STRONG BARRIERS IN FRONT

Let’s look deeply into the RAPID ALERTS of this week. Mostly it consists things that do not have an immediate impact on human health. For instance micotoxines encountered at whatever level will not kill anybody immediately.

The same applies for pesticides residues or heavy metals . I do not want to pretend that the residuals are not harmful but rapid alert means that something which must be fight against immediately as otherwise a huge disaster will occur. But this is not the case. EU authorities have chosen the easiest way to get rid of the problem . Just ban the importation and destroy the merchandise.

University professors are making wonderful job in investigating the harm that such residues can make to the human beings. But most of them is a long term issue.

You don’t get sick or die the day after you eat a food which contains higher lever than the allowed one of pesticide or heavy metals. The daily  intake is important for the accumulation toxic chemicals
such as lead or mercury. Pesticides that we are consuming are so different . Today laboratories are checking more than 700 chemicals and finding different products most of the time. Hence the probability of our exposure to one sole chemical is almost impossible. On the contrary the researches are made against one chemical alone on how affecting the human body.

Lets say you need to eat 20 kg daily  dried figs containing high content of aflatoxine for 20 years to have liver cancer. There is no country in the world that consumes 20 kg/ year per person the the world hence spending millions of dollar to analyse aflatoxine content in figs is useless and waste of time.

But what authorities have done is to set a limit such as achievable limit. (10 ppb) But this is not a limit which takes into consideration the price to achieve . Nobody cares about the results if authorities decide 20 instead of 10. The average content of aflatoxine in natural form is not higher than 20. Hence nobody asks for the effort we make to reduce the content by %50 . How much does it costs to the consumer? What happen to  the high aflatoxine content merchandise? Thousansds of analysis are made. Millions of dollars are spent to install color sortex machines . But nobody asks for its efficiency and more important the benefit we get.

Everybody must look after ECONOMICALLY ACHIEVABLE levels but not just ban.

Avram Aji
28.04.2018

Monday 16 April 2018

MY COMMENTS ON ELIYAHU GOLDRATT - THE GOAL

I have been recommended to read this book by a friend. 

First of all I would like to inform you that although this is business educational book,  it is written in a novel format. It is much better to understand its content and how was implemented in a large industrial factory. 

The leading actor is working hard to save the factory where he is working to be closed down because of lack of profit margins.

There is a consultant who is asking questions to our manager to find out the ineffective procedures in the factory.  They are looking the bottlenecks of the production as a starting point. And from there they improve the flow of the raw materials. They succeeded to a quicker production , lower inventory and get more orders. In a very short of time the factory made big progression and was saved to be closed down. 

Very easy to read and understand. 

Friday 13 April 2018

SIGNALS


Signals are very important in our life. 

We are getting various internal and external signals continuously.

Developed countries are taking much care about to guide his citizens to facilitate their life. Road signals are one the major practice in our life. Once I hired a car in Cologne – Germany and had been able to pick my stuffs from one fairground and carry to Frankfurt fairground –even- without asking the road to anybody. Tomtom was not invented yet . In Manhattan all the roads and boulevards are in sequence. Hence you may only go in a wrong direction for one block. I was yesterday in the Industrial spare parts selling area where all the streets were all mixed up numbers. We had to stop asking many times until we found the shop we want. So a lot of waste of time.

In Israel all houses have same illuminated street and house numbering. It is making so easy to find where you go. 

Internal signals that we get is rather complicated and may misguide you -if you don't read it properly-. In whatever situation you start to feel uneasy and frustrated than you must start to think about what is wrong with you. Take necessary actions immediately and relief yourself.

In 1998 I get mad with my partner , I collect everything personal from my desk in my factory and left the business. Three days many mediators came to visit me to find a solution to our conflict. I returned to work with some tiny compromises I got. We bankrupted in 3 years. 

Listen carefully you inner voice. If you feel uneasy there are things that is going wrong in your surrounding . Fix them before you endure it for a long. 

Avram Aji
13.04.2018

Wednesday 4 April 2018

SUPPLIER SELF APPROVAL QUESTIONNAIRES

Being a producer of dried fruits and spices I am in contact with hundreds of importers. Most of them has now Quality Management Systems. In the past this was operated according to ISO 9000 standards but nowadays this has gone far away. Now BRS , IFS , FSSC requirements are beyond expectations.

Quality Managers are just looking to all  articles in the standard and try to addapt themseleves to be certified. Needless to say these procedures have overcome the purpose of the controls.

Latelay I have been filling 28 page self approval questionnaire. Needless to say it was prepared by an obsessed quality manager.

            - Is there a weight control in your process ?  YES
            - Do you calibrate ? YES
            - How often ? YEARLY
            - What if the scale got rotten meantime ? WE CHECK DAILY WITH ETALONS
           
Than you have to calibrate your etalons as well. Than you need your quality manager be educated on calibration. 

There is no end to these questions?

At the end what is the risk of uncalibrated scales ? There is no any health risk at all. If you encounter any problem either you complaint and reject. 

There is no way to comply with all the requirements. If anybody is able to succeed to do it  its price will be sky high and nobody can pay. The system will be unsustainable.

Avram Aji
04.04.2018





Friday 30 March 2018

PESAH INSIGHT


1)Why Jews went to Egypt ?

My personal opinion is that,  that time the highest culture and technology was there. The library in Alexandria was the most famous containing huge amount of scrolls. Their monumental remainings are still places of highest curiosity. We know that from Kleopatra that Roman Empire was in close relationship with Egypt. 

According to Jared Diamond the "FERTILE CRESCENT" was also comprising the Isaeli territory. We know that when they returned back from Egypt the Bible praise about the abundance of crop. Thus drought can not be the real cause.

2)Why Jews became "SLAVES" but couldn't adapt and incorporate themseleves into the Egyptian culture and society?

As far as I know Akhenaton beleif was the ignition of ONE GOD notion .  Hence our faith was not far away from Egyptian religion. 

Not only in Egypt but in whole disapora, Jews where always been treated as lower class community as like Gypsies in Europe , negroes in USA. 
  
I am reading the new book of Thomas Friedman where he is narrating the strong anti-semitic activity in Michigan even in 70's and how the local administration was fighting against. Incomprehensibly Henry Ford was the primary supporter of Hitler.


How ridiculuous is that in most conspiracy stories you come accross with Jews trying to seize  or destroy whole world.

Avram Aji
30.03.2018