Trapped in between

As the leader of this place who was very much concerned about the safety of the residents, I told the police force to be very diligent in enforcing the law. I told them to carry out regular patrol in residential area and also to ensure safety on the road. All traffic offenders were to be strictly punished regardless of their positions.

One day, I had to send my minister to attend an urgent meeting in another place quite far away from here. The meeting was very important for the future growth of this place. I knew that it was impossible for him to reach the meeting place on time if he had to obey the traffic rules so I told him to ignore it and hurry. I told him that he had to be punctual, otherwise this little place would loose a great opportunity to generate revenues from some new investors.

Obeying my instruction, the minister reached the place on time although on his way, he was caught for speeding, issued with summons and got his driving licence suspended. He tried to explain to the officer who stopped him about his situation but the officer refused to hear it. Upon returning, the minister sought for my help but I told him that there was nothing much I could do. I could not tell the police that it was my instruction as it would impair my reputation. I knew that I had created frustrations in him but what I was interested was to get things done fast.


That was just a story to reflect the situation I'm going to write below.


As a certifying personnel, part of my responsibilities are to ensure that all my work is done in accordance to the correct procedures, safety standards and complies to the rules and regulations of the company and the relevant authorities. The Quality Assurance Department is to ensure that all certifying personnel observe their responsibilities when carrying out their duties while the management ensures that all projects are completed on time so that the company would profit.

About two weeks ago, I was instructed by the management to start work on a project which was put on hold due to insufficient slot. I was told not to raise any paperwork for the time being as the work I was going to do was unofficial. The idea was to put the project ahead of time before it is officially started. Although I knew that I would be going against the regulations by not recording and certifying tasks I was going to perform, as an employee I obeyed the instruction from my bosses.

After two weeks getting involved in the project, yesterday, I was called up by a Quality Assurance Inspector who was doing an audit. I was told that I had failed to follow the proper procedures in dealing with my current tasks, which is true anyway. I was told that I had gone against the regulations because none of the tasks I performed was documented. Although I tried to explain that it was an instruction from the management, I was told that the responsibility is still on me to ensure that work is performed according to the procedures (which is true) and I have the right to refuse instructions which go against the regulations (also true, but I would become a bad guy who disobey instructions).

I was quite frustrated. It is very difficult to refuse instructions from the bosses as I'm just an employee. The management doesn't care much about safety and regulations as what they are interested is to make sure that all dead lines are met. At the same time, there are regulations that I have to follow which ensure quality and safety of all jobs performed.

I was trapped in between, and just like a few had experienced before, it seems like I'm going to be left alone to the Quality Department with no helping hands from the management. The report will be out in a couple of days. I hope that they will not suspend my certifying licence as that will affect my salary.

Anyway, I think I had learnt an important lesson.