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Wednesday 30 December 2009

RCSC places 99 PG Trainees

A total of 96 post graduate diploma holders from Royal Institute of Management were given their choice of placements based on merit ranking this morning by the officials
of Royal Civil Service Commission.
A total of 99 candidates went for the post graduate diploma in RIM including one from corporation. Of the 99 two could not get their placement due to their failing in core subjects during the training.

Of the 99, 30 were post graduate diploma in national law, 35 in public administration and 35 in financial management. out of 30 in post graduate diploma in national law, only 4 were LLB graduates and rest 22 were general graduates of Sherubtse College and Institute of Language and Cultural Studies.

on 7th of January, the graduates along with the 2009 RCSC selected candidates in technical category will receive their long awaited first employment order from the Chairperson of RCSC, Honourable Lyonpo Thinley Jamtsho.

The graduates will be then send to their respective post and places which include, the Ministries, agencies and Dzongkhags.

RCSC places 99 PG Trainees

A total of 96 post graduate diploma holders from Royal Institute of Management were given their choice of placements based on merit ranking this morning by the officials

Saturday 26 December 2009

The Choice and Me

Seventeen years ago, I was mere a human body and mind without sense and logic to think, analyze and talk sense. The world was unknown to me. I thought that Bhutan was so big and India was just a small country, yet the name of United States was known to me as a country far away from Bhutan separated by ocean. During that time, Bhutan was divided into 18 dzongkhags, which to me was too vast. I was then admitted into school. That was the beginning of my life to see beyond where I was and know that there is so much to learn in my life. I was introduced to alphabets. I was taught
to listen, speak sense, think rationally and answer accordingly. As years passed by, I grew more and more intellectual. I thought and told that I want to become and engineer.
I passed class six board exam with quite good marks and even eight and ten. I chose science as my subject to become someone with science background. I did quite well in the class but not in ISC, I failed to fulfill my ambition. I gave another try and succeeded little. I went to my tertiary education in Sherubtse college. Someohow, by the grace of god and my teachers and parents, I managed to finish right on time.
Then, by luck and my confidence which I built over many years as a public speaker from school days to college, I managed to get into media. I was selected for Bhutan Broadcasting Service, I enjoyed the work, I had many ambitions to become one of the renowned reporters in the country. But the time that I had to sacrifice force me to appear for the Civil Service Common Examinations. Without much preparation, I took the step to appear the exams. My choice was then no more journalism but something else.
Almost a year back, I was fortunate to be one of the candidates to be selected for the Post Graduate Progammes. On the day of the selection, suddenly a new course was announced, that was PG in National Law. None of the candidates who qualified for the Public Administration took the risk of getting into the new course. Only ones who could not get into the Public Administration took the risk and admitted themselves into the Law course. Some I know still regret for taking the law. For me, not to falter myself, instead to tell the fact, I took the risk and gave up Public Administration, in spite of me being qualified into it. Despite of numerous criticisms, I joined in RIM for the PG in National Law. So now my choice was Law and not science anymore.
Today, I finished my Law course from RIM and about to get my placement in few days time. Now, the choice I have is where to get myself. Should I get in Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Works and Human Settlement (Construction Development Board), Ministry of Information and Communication, Anti-Corruption Commission, Bhutan Narcotic Control Agency, National Land Commission and Office of the office of the Attorney General. That is the choice I have yet I don’t know which path to take. I decided that this time, I will ask other people to help me in getting the right choice because this is the choice that I will be making my lifetime.

The Choice and Me

Seventeen years ago, I was mere a human body and mind without sense and logic to think, analyze and talk sense. The world was unknown to me. I thought that Bhutan was so big and India was just a small country, yet the name of United States was known to me as a country far away from Bhutan separated by ocean. During that time, Bhutan was divided into 18 dzongkhags, which to me was too vast. I was then admitted into school. That was the beginning of my life to see beyond where I was and know that there is so much to learn in my life. I was introduced to alphabets. I was taught

Monday 21 December 2009

HM Leaves for India today

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His Majesty the King will be on a six day official tour to India from today. This is the first ever foreign visit by  His Majesty the King after his formal
coronation a year ago Indo Asian News Service  (IANS) reported that 'Relations between India and Bhutan are characterized by profound friendship, deep understanding and trust,' the external affairs ministry said here Thursday while announcing the visit. The report also said that India and Bhutan modernized their multi-faceted ties over two years ago by signing a revised treaty of friendship and cooperation that gave Thimphu more freedom in the crucial areas of foreign policy and non-lethal military purchases provided it does not impinge on New Delhi's interests.
A report by Prokerala.com said that His Majesty the King will hold wide-ranging talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh next week to explore opportunities for greater cooperation in areas of energy and economic development.  The report also said that senior ministers, including External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna and Home Minister P. Chidambaram, are among those who will call on the king of Bhutan, the idyllic Himalayan state that prides itself on measuring its national wealth in terms of gross national happiness.
His Majesty the King will be accompanied by the Foreign Minister Lyonpo Ugyen Tshering, the Economic Affairs Minister Lyonpo Khandu Wangchuk and other senior government officials.
His Majesty the King last visited India in February 2007.

HM Leaves for India today

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His Majesty the King will be on a six day official tour to India from today. This is the first ever foreign visit by  His Majesty the King after his formal

Back from Lomba

It was 14th December 2009; I woke up early as five in the morning, had my breakfast and headed towards my home town, Paro. As I got into a cab and began my journey, I saw many other Parop heading Paro. Most were civil servants and their families. We all had one reason to
go home unlike other days. Everyone heading Paro were going for Lomba, one of the most important annual events for the Parops and Haaps. Unlike rest of the country, Parops and Haaps began our New Year from the 1st of the Eleventh Month of the Bhutanese Year. So we celebrate the New Year starting from 29th of Tenth Month of the year till the 3rd of Eleventh Month lasting for five consecutive days. The only difference between the Haaps and Parops is that Haaps prepare a special flour made meal called Hoentoey where as Parops don’t prepare any such meal.

I joined the rest of my family members comprising 14 members and took part in the celebrations. The day started with traditional meal known as Thuep (Porridge prepared from rice, meat and yak chees/chhurkam). For me and my village, the first day is celebrated with a village Rimdro(Ritual) at our public lhakhang with offering of Nyendhar. Everyone in the village took part in the ritual irrespective of age or gender. We prayed for another fruitful and successful year ahead without famine and diseases in the village. At the end of the day, we make an effigy to drive away all the bad omens in the year ahead.
The second day is marked by the offering of butter lamps as it is the last day of the year before and is also one of the three important religious day called Namgang. We also celebrate it by stone bath. Apart from this, the males in the family also take part in the Archery Tournament usually within the village.

The third day is considered to be the most important day of Lomba. It is celebrated in a more elaborate manner. It is the real New Year as it is the 1st Day of the New Year. Usually, on this day, nobody goes anywhere. Instead everyone one in the family spend the day together with feast and enjoyment. However, villagers organize archery tournament between villages on this day and the second day. We would see that the reality of extended family in the rural areas and also give us the feel of our rural life.
On the second day, as early as four in the morning, despite of cold and chilly weather, atleast one of the family members usually the eldest male get up and start our usual practice of Bonchhoey. This has existed for centuries and still continues. The good part of this practice is that, unlike most of the Bon practices in the country, here we offer only rice made Torma.
The final and the third day is marked by the conclusion of the archery match with village picnic. It is celebrated with fun and dances.
The five day Lomba reminds me of how I used to be naughty when I was young back in the village. It also reminds me of not being materialistic and content with what I have when I lived in my villages many years ago. It also helps me to keep abreast of the happenings in the villages from socio-economic development to degradation of our culture and traditions. It also helps to me be more aware of the sacred and unique culture of Parops, the celebration of Lomba.
In short, Lomba is one event that brings all my family members together every year and it does to other Parops and Haaps.

Back from Lomba

It was 14th December 2009; I woke up early as five in the morning, had my breakfast and headed towards my home town, Paro. As I got into a cab and began my journey, I saw many other Parop heading Paro. Most were civil servants and their families. We all had one reason to

Friday 11 December 2009

MPs raised their salary by almost 50%: Is it really justifiable

-->  Last week the National Assembly unanimously raised concerned about the high sitting fees of the Board Members of DHI. Many said that that it is beyond what they are supposed to get comparing with board members in other corporate and private agencies.  But yesterday, a report by Bhutan Broadcasting Service, the National Assembly decided to increase the salary of MPs to Nu. 50,445 from July 1, 2010.  This is ridiculous that they rejected for other, on the other hand they easily passed their own share without much deliberations and controversies.
Last year, the Prime Minister said that owing to the global economic crunch, government cannot increase the salary of the civil servants much as expected or proposed previously. After many controversies, the government decided to give the increase in salary as allowance and said that they will include in the basic pay only in the year 2010.
In a televised plea to the house owners, the Prime Minister requested the house owners not to increase the house rent of the tenants owing to little increase in their salary. It was more interesting to know through a Kuensel report that even some of the high level civil servants and cabinet ministers themselves increase d their house rents.  Most house owners  were least bothered about the Tenancy Act 2004 and the tenants could not do much as there were not other alternatives than to pay the rent.
Today, it is more astonishing to see that the members of parliament who call themselves “Servants of the people” raised their salary as high as 50%. These are some of the outcomes of our new democracy like in any other country.

We hope the government is doing in the best interest of the nation and for the better service delivery with the increase in their salary.
This is not to offend any person or any organization, but merely my own opinion as a concerned citizen.  





MPs raised their salary by almost 50%: Is it really justifiable

-->  Last week the National Assembly unanimously raised concerned about the high sitting fees of the Board Members of DHI. Many said that that it is beyond what they are supposed to get comparing with board members in other corporate and private agencies. 

Bringing Gross National Happiness in the Classroom

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Gross National Happiness has been a concept practiced by only high intellectual experts for so long since its concept was introduced by His Majesty the Fourth  Druk Gyelpo almost three decades ago. After so many national and international conferences often quantifying the concept and developing numerous indicators, it finally took the step to be in the classroom. This means that GNH has now become more practical and can be applicable in all aspects from classrooms to homes as desired by His Majesty the King. His Majesty wanted Bhutanese to understand that happiness starts

Tuesday 8 December 2009

The New Chapter

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It was almost ten months back, I was merely a broadcast journalist poking into everyone’s life asking questions and investigating events to find out the truth. But that did not satisfy me anyway. I appeared for the Civil Service Common Examination 2009 almost
without preparation. My little effort and small experiences accompanied with a luck yield a good fruit when I was selected for the civil service.
By the first week of February 2009, I joined the family of Royal Institute of Management. I once more became a student and started  my academic from journalism. It was hard and tiresome attending daily classes from 9:30am to 5:00pm at times. It was then accompanied by numerous assignments, group discussions, presentations, class test and of course examinations. I know it was always a tiresome. I wanted to finish the course as soon as possible and join in the civil service.
A couple of days back, my classmate and me discussed that we will organize a small get together dinner for our lecturers. Yesterday, we organized it with lot of enthusiasm and sense of gratitude to our lecturers. The lecturers reciprocated in the same manner.
I was sitting in one of the corners warming up myself near a panel heater in the Executive Hall where we organized the dinner, something came into my mind. I realized that I completed a chapter which was my dream a year ago. I wanted to appear for the RSC Exams and join civil service for some time in my life. Today, I have completed my dream and in few weeks time I will be working in one of the government offices. I realized that I am going unfurled yet another new chapter in my life with blank page and write on it. I hope I will be ale to write good things on this blank page 

The New Chapter

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It was almost ten months back, I was merely a broadcast journalist poking into everyone’s life asking questions and investigating events to find out the truth. But that did not satisfy me anyway. I appeared for the Civil Service Common Examination 2009 almost

Tuesday 1 December 2009

Bhutan joins the rest of the World to Observe World AIDS Day today.

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I finished my exam and came to the room. I heard a beep in my mobile and I knew it  was a message. I looked at my mobile, the message read “World AIDS Day! About to 2.7 Million people were infected in 2008 alone. Know your Status. Get Tested!!!”. Then I knew that today

Monday 30 November 2009

Indian Ambassador Pavan K. Varma gives a talk on Culture, identity and Globalization in RIM this afternoon.


 
-->Photo courtesy:  Flicker® from Yahoo
 
Issue of culture and identity are important because culture has content and identity has a background said the Indian Ambassador Paven K. Varma in RIM Talk Series this afternoon. He said culture and identity are not specific to one place so it is global. His Excellency said there is no single concrete definition to culture but he said its elements are definitive. According him,
there are five important aspects when we consider culture and identity. These are antiquate, continuity, relevance and diversity. His Excellency said culture consists of tradition, history, beliefs, mythology, religion, faith, values, customs, rituals, behavior and response. He added that it also consists of symbols, attires, folklore, community behavior, skills, music, flora, fauna, ethos and homes.
He further said that homes and ethos are exceptionally important element of culture citing examples from various countries. He emphasized that it is important to build bridges between various cultures but warned not to interchange the culture. He said that by interchanging cultures, it will devalue both the cultures.
He said that successful colonization is not complete physical control but the colonization our mind. It is because “your mind give you culture and culture gives your identity”. He says that culture in mind happens by the process of “osmosis by the age of 15” which then may mutate.
On the relation between the culture and globalization, he said globalization is silent process which is often irreversible and if our culture is lost in the process, it will be lost permanently. He cited example of Beijing Olympics 2008, where Chinese culture in Beijing is almost completely lost.
On Bhutan’s culture and identity he said that although globalization has made some impact on the Bhutanese culture, but still there is a lot of scope to keep it for the future. He added that this is because there are three elements present in Bhutan. These are vision (GNH by His Majesty the 4th King), reserve (Institutionalization of culture through Constitution) and articulation of culture. He said that Bhutan made a choice, the choice to preserve culture and that is what we need in the global world.
He warned that culture should not be just taken as a token by wearing attire or performing rituals. Instead acquiring knowledge on one’s own culture is very important. He ended by saying that “it is better to be in its original form and not good of being photocopy of someone else”.
Numerous questions were raised on the youth and culture, language and culture and economic growth and culture and also on the Indian investment on Cultural preservation.
Over two hundred participants comprising the faculty members, students and trainees of RIM and Language of Cultural Studies, Simtokha attended the talk in RIM Hall. This was the last in the Series of Talks organized by the Royal Institute of Management for the academic year 2009.

Indian Ambassador Pavan K. Varma gives a talk on Culture, identity and Globalization in RIM this afternoon.


 
-->Photo courtesy:  Flicker® from Yahoo
 
Issue of culture and identity are important because culture has content and identity has a background said the Indian Ambassador Paven K. Varma in RIM Talk Series this afternoon. He said culture and identity are not specific to one place so it is global. His Excellency said there is no single concrete definition to culture but he said its elements are definitive. According him,

Sunday 29 November 2009

The concept of GNH is growing more complex

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His Majesty the 4th Druk Gyelpo propounded the philosophy of Gross National Happiness in 1979 during an interview with an Indian Media. Since then, it has caught attention from all works of life. However, it remained a philosophy on which people defining it as the sum total happiness
of all the people in the country.
In 2004, the Centre for Bhutan Studies for the first time organized an international conference on Operationalizing of Gross National Happiness. Subsequently, the centre organized similar international conferences in Canada, Thailand and this year is Brazil. Since then, the concept of GNH has grown beyond the comprehension of the common people. The development of pillars of gross national happiness followed by indicators, indexes and even GNH accounts. Such complex concepts have made GNH as a Sexy Catch phrase at the international arena.
Now the question that remains is how it can be applied in the ground realities of the common people. The concept has grown too high, most common people today feel that GNH is only for the experts and high level officials. At times, we as common citizen feel that GNH is becoming more technical and complex with more arithmetic calculations, analysis and deductions of results.  
Let us wait and see what is new concept that has originated from the latest conference held a few weeks ago in Brazil?

The concept of GNH is growing more complex

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His Majesty the 4th Druk Gyelpo propounded the philosophy of Gross National Happiness in 1979 during an interview with an Indian Media. Since then, it has caught attention from all works of life. However, it remained a philosophy on which people defining it as the sum total happiness

Friday 27 November 2009

Is marriage blessing or curse?

Yesterday, I went along with my classmates to Rinpung District Court as a part of the field visit on application of law. I was seated with my colleagues in the courtroom and observing how trail system take place in our country.

As I observed the hearings, most were having their preliminary hearing and there were no defendants. Meanwhile, I was carried away by the cases that came in the court. Out of ten cases, I observed that morning, six were on marriage. Three came to get their marriage certificate. They
looked proud and I saw a lot of smiles on their faces when Drangpon Lungten Drubjur congratulated their marriage and said that court pray for their everlasting marriage with happiness and prosperity. Looking at those cases, I thought that marriage is something we should have in our live if we want to live happily and more prosperous manner as there is someone to care about us. I thought that there is nothing wrong in falling in love and there is no reason why we should not be falling in love. It is beautiful world when it comes to marriage.

Just after them, there came another two young ladies ofcourse one after another as they had a different case. One on battery case and another on betray. Both the ladies said that they have children. As instructed by Dasho Drangpon, to give an overview on the case, one seemed to have got frustrated and another so betrayed. One broke into tears and words could not come out of her mouth as it got stroked in her throat. He husband seemed to agree to what she said but he did not agree fully. Understanding this, Dasho let them sit down.

Dasho Drangpon said that their case was not really serious and it can still be solved internally. Dasho further said that court has no authority to either rejoin them or divorce them. It will depend on two of them and their evidences.

But Dasho reminded and cautioned them about who their children will suffer incase if they decide to divorce. He said that most of the children who are not being taken care well after the divorce, the child suffers from mental and psychological trauma in all aspects through out their life. Even if they have to mind to divorce, think of your children and decide well. The court gave both of them ten days to decide on the case and come to the court. But Dasho reaffirmed that their case will not be left like this, even if they solve internally. Based on their consensus internally, the court will issue a judgment t to protect her from further betrayal and deal according to this incase he fails to comply with the agreement.

Those case showed that marriage is not just having sex or for pleasure nor it for fun. It is beyond our reason and uncertainty. The repercussions of marriage are far beyond our control unless both the partners are able to control one’s mind and maintain firm trust as long they are married. The ultimate loss of divorce is to their children.

Thus, I was lost if realm of confusion. Is marriage a blessing or curse? For a moment I was lost in my illusion and I wished they everyone who are on the verge of taking such steps get a chance to come for such event. So that each one will reflect on one’s mind and decide well.

Is marriage blessing or curse?

Yesterday, I went along with my classmates to Rinpung District Court as a part of the field visit on application of law. I was seated with my colleagues in the courtroom and observing how trail system take place in our country.

As I observed the hearings, most were having their preliminary hearing and there were no defendants. Meanwhile, I was carried away by the cases that came in the court. Out of ten cases, I observed that morning, six were on marriage. Three came to get their marriage certificate. They

Saturday 21 November 2009

HM issues Royal Kasho to form Royal Commission to institute Supreme Court


 
-->Photo courtesy: Kuensel issue 21 Nov 2009

Yesterday, Kuensel reported that  “The high court might be left with only a single judge by January 2010 to settle appeal cases that now number more than 100”. The report further

Friday 20 November 2009

Centenary Farmer's Market: A new outlook

It was just two weeks ago, when I last visited the Centenary Farmer’s Market. It looked crowded and dusty. Rubbish were thrown here and there. All items were mixed and had a tough time in locating what to find where. Momo sellers were seen selling momo and people throwing the
waste everywhere as if they lacked civic sense.



The vegetables were seen unhygienic and scattered everywhere. No one seems to bother the food safety and hygiene for the general public. Media reported on the issue about how the market is being mismanaged after it became functional.
Today, I went there for a vegetable shopping, I was impressed and glad to see that the market was of a total outlook. The vegetables were all seen in one location and fruits on another location unlike in the past where everything was clumped together.
It looked very clean and the stalls were arranged well by the vendors. Few Bhutan Agriculture and Food Regulatory Authority (BAFRA) personnel were seen regulating the market to keep it clean and make sure that everything is in order.
I felt that this has helped both the vendors and the customers to maintain hygiene and sanitation and easy for the customers to locate the things which was not there in the past when the market was managed by Thimphu City Corporation. Thus, Heads off for the Ministry of Agriculture and BAFRA in particular!
This is what we as modern Bhutanese aspire to see in our country.

Centenary Farmer's Market: A new outlook

It was just two weeks ago, when I last visited the Centenary Farmer’s Market. It looked crowded and dusty. Rubbish were thrown here and there. All items were mixed and had a tough time in locating what to find where. Momo sellers were seen selling momo and people throwing the

Thursday 19 November 2009

Eight Bills due for 4th Session of Parliament which will begin from tomorrow

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The 4th Session of the First Parliament will commence from tomorrow. A total of eight bills are due to tabled during this session. This include, Bhutan National Chamber of Commerce & Industry Bill, 2009, Draft Local Governments' Act of the Kingdom of Bhutan, 2009, Optional Protocol

Wednesday 18 November 2009

Diabetes cases rising in Bhutan

 
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It was a year ago, when I was a reporter with the BBS, that I filed a report on the life styel diseases and on diabetes in particular. I found out that there were about a total
of about 1000 diabetic patients in the JDWNR Hospital. There was not report of death cases due to the disease. But this today a Kuensel report compiled by Sonam Pelden stated that there were 1,487 registered diabetic patients in Thimphu.
 The report further reported that in “ 2009 annual health bulletin, there were 2,541 diabetes patients nationwide, with 15 deaths last year. From 634 in 2004, it increased to 944 in 2005. In 2006, there were 1,470 cases of diabetes, which increased to 1,732 in 2007.”
 This disease is usually called rich man’s disease because it is mainly due to rich foods taken by rich people. The diet usually contains high fats and glucose. According to Centre for Disease Control (CDC) website, diabetes is Diabetes is a disorder of metabolism—the way the body uses digested food for growth and energy.
CDC describes that “After digestion, glucose passes into the bloodstream, where it is used by cells for growth and energy. For glucose to get into cells, insulin must be present. Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas, a large gland behind the stomach."

It is thus important for the Bhutanese people to change our lifestyle and eating habits. 


Diabetes cases rising in Bhutan

 
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It was a year ago, when I was a reporter with the BBS, that I filed a report on the life styel diseases and on diabetes in particular. I found out that there were about a total

Is beauty necessary for the males to love a woman?

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 I loved her and my friend loved his girlfriend and so does the story goes on. I fell in love with many girls and women in my life and so did my friends. Some accepted and some did not. We all had one common thing. Irrespective of our age, all my male colleagues seem to take beauty as
the criteria in choosing their beloved ones. I asked to many who got married and everyone agreed that they did consider beauty as number one criteria in selecting their sweethearts.
I asked myself, is beauty necessary thing that I would consider in choosing my life partner? My conscious mind said no, not necessary answered. But my subconscious part said yeah, I will consider that too as one of the primary criteria in loving her, no matter what kind of person I am. And I have now understood that that beauty is one of the most important parts of the any women. Men die in the name of beauty, subdue their ego in the name of beauty. The worst men surrender to fragile lady in the name of beauty. Men would kill his male enemies, deceive his family, oppose his parents, and challenge his teachers, just to listen to his lady because of her beauty. 
Contd....


Is beauty necessary for the males to love a woman?

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 I loved her and my friend loved his girlfriend and so does the story goes on. I fell in love with many girls and women in my life and so did my friends. Some accepted and some did not. We all had one common thing. Irrespective of our age, all my male colleagues seem to take beauty as

Monday 16 November 2009

Central Monastic Body moves to winter residence

Thousands of devotees lined up along the national highway from Thimphu to Punakha to receive the blessings from Zhabdrung Rinpoche's Kumbo and His Holiness the Jekhenpo today. This marks the tradition for the Central Monastic Body to move to its winter residence. This has been practiced  since Zhabdrung instituted the monastic system in the country.

Zhabdrung's Kumbo


RIM Family Members lined up waiting for the blessings

As per the tradition, the procession will halt a night at Thinleygang and will proceed tomorrow to the Puna Dewachenpoi Phodrang.

In the olden days, starting from today, the laymen can wear long trousers untill the monastic returns to summer residence.Similarly, the monks in the Dzongs are also allowed to wear shoes instead of slippers till the monastic body returns.

Here, in RIM, the trainees, faculty members and staff members lined up along the Simtokha near the Mani Dungkhor at around 9:30am and received the blessings.

Central Monastic Body moves to winter residence

Thousands of devotees lined up along the national highway from Thimphu to Punakha to receive the blessings from Zhabdrung Rinpoche's Kumbo and His Holiness the Jekhenpo today. This marks the tradition for the Central Monastic Body to move to its winter residence. This has been practiced  since Zhabdrung instituted the monastic system in the country.

Zhabdrung's Kumbo


RIM Family Members lined up waiting for the blessings

As per the tradition, the procession will halt a night at Thinleygang and will proceed tomorrow to the Puna Dewachenpoi Phodrang.

In the olden days, starting from today, the laymen can wear long trousers untill the monastic returns to summer residence.Similarly, the monks in the Dzongs are also allowed to wear shoes instead of slippers till the monastic body returns.

Here, in RIM, the trainees, faculty members and staff members lined up along the Simtokha near the Mani Dungkhor at around 9:30am and received the blessings.

Saturday 14 November 2009

Does Bhutan's Public Service Motivation strategies enough

Importance of motivation in the public service context
The importance of public service to a society has been there since the human civilization began. From the earliest ancient Chinese empires and Egyptian dynasties to Roman
empires and throughout the middle ages to the present day, the idea of committing oneself to a life of services is reflected with such frequency as to become common places. (Tongo, 2009 )
Studies have found that motivation is the driving force in providing quality and expeditious public service delivery. Thus, motivation in context of public service motivation (PSM) is seen as an important pillar in human resource management. In short, these are documents to make the work more professional, sepcific and provide better platform to exhibit discretionary behaviour.

Concept of Public Service Motivation (PSM) and its effect on organizational performance
Different authors, experts, researchers and public service managers gave numerous concepts of Public Service Motivation (PSM). Motivation is the activation or energization of goal-oriented behavior which can be internal or external. (Wikipedia) Motivation can also be defined as rooted in the basic need to minimize physical pain and maximize pleasure, or it may include specific needs such as eating and resting, or a desired object, hobby, goal, state of being, ideal, or it may be attributed to less-apparent reasons such as altruism, morality or avoiding morality. In the Bhutanese context, motivation may mostly consist of recognition, monetary rewards, training and promotion.



Over the years, PSM has been characterized in many different ways, such as a service ethic, calling, or altruistic intentions that attracts some individuals to serve the public interest. There is a traditional belief among scholars and practitioners in the field of public administration that PSM attract individuals to the public sector and to public service work because it is in these contexts that the public interest is most served. (Bright, 2009)
PSM’s effect on organizational performance
Studies also have shown that individuals strongly motivated to perform public services are huge asset, but they may be difficult to manage if they believe the public service mission is being compromised. Such individuals feel primary responsibility to the people they serve and to the nation and lesser responisbility to public managers and policy makers. It is therefore, important for the policy makes and public mangers need to make bureaucacy more democratic by relaxing rigid bureaucratic strutured, including employees in decision making processes and trying to forge and maintain a broad extensions on what is in the public interest
A research by leonard Bright revealed that PSM is a significant predictor of public employees' desire for personal recognition, task meaningfulness, and professional growth, over and above the effects of several confounding variables assessed. This included management &, salary level and gender were the best predictors of public employees' desire for leadership responsibility, while public sector tenure and minority status were the best predictors of public employees' desire for career advancement.
Universal applicability of PSM
In the United Kingdom, for instance, there was a stronger focus on values such as impartiality and neutrality, while in France the focus was more on the public provision of services.

Studies have shown that PSM that all four of Perry’s dimensions can be found describing the French and Dutch variants. But their research paper also showed that, there were several differences too. For example, the esteem of politicians and consequently, the loyalty to these, differ across all three models.
Antecedents of PSM
PSM has generated particular interest because it is percieved or assumed to have a positive impact on the job behavior of individuals in particular, job satisfaction and fulfilment, and their respective level of performance. It is therefore important that public sector organizations find ways of encouraging PSM amongst its employees. (Camilleri, 2007)
That PSM is significantly related to family socialization, religious activity, and volunteer experience. In depth iinterviews suggest the importance of both transcend values, such as spirituality, doing good for others, and life-changing events, in the development of public service motivation. The study (James L. Perry & etal., 2008) found out that the motivations of exemplary volunteers are quite complex, tied to self-perceptions of a need for personal integrity or wholeness in one’s life, and linked to personal understnading of the importance of community (James L. Perry & etal., 2008)

Implications of PSM in motivating public servants
Today the world is becoming more and more competitive. Every organization aims to target the customer friendly service be it in the government or corporate or private. In such materialistic world, the implications of PSM in motivating public servants are enormous.
It has been taken decades for the human resource function to fight its way to the top and be recognized as a key contributor. However, the function continues a struggle to define it and how it is perceived as evidenced by the use of platitudes such as “strategic partner” or “business partner” to supports its contention that it is a value added activity. (Pilenzo, 2009).
In short, the implications of the PSM are even more as globalization affects more and more people demand a lot of qaulity sevices.

Does Bhutan's Public Service Motivation strategies enough

Importance of motivation in the public service context
The importance of public service to a society has been there since the human civilization began. From the earliest ancient Chinese empires and Egyptian dynasties to Roman

Friday 13 November 2009

Paro tsechu three plus one is not correct as reported in Kuensel.

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home  Kuensel  reported the cabinet on November 10 approved an additional one-day holiday for the Paro tsechu. The report further states that “Until this year, the civil servants, schools and other institutions in the dzongkhag had a three-day break during the tsechu”
And a press release from cabinet secretariat states that “As of now, only

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