Here's some food for thought as we end 2007.
Cast your mind back to 12 months ago and take a look at the management that made up GF - expats and locals but a large number of expats 'running' the business, many hired during Hogan's era.
As with any management structure across the world, the managers were either good or incompetent - we can argue whether the management was good or crap to the camel comes home, so lets not go down this camel track please.
During this summer, many expat managers left - the good ones saw what was happening and where GF was heading and left at the earliest opportunity, the incompetent ones went to EY
and some stayed on - hey Bahrain ain't that bad a place to live
.
So who replaced the departing expats?
The replacements in many cases were the same local managers who were 'running' the business prior to 2002 - and we all know what nearly happened to GF then. During Hogan's time many were found out to be incompetent and so the Heroes' started to arrive. Now the Heroes' have gone these same managers are now back running the airline.
Sadly for GF, many of the local managers now back in charge have gone back to their old ways and have not learnt a thing - especially how not to be a manager.
Can GF get rid of these guys? Sadly no.
Many of the incompetent ones are in their 40s', with wife and children to feed and loans to pay off. They won't be going anywhere for many years.
These 'managers' have been with GF for over 20 years and will boast about their 20+ years of experience and argue that they can run GF as it was before, be successful, and all that has happened over the past 4 years is the fault of the foreigner and not the local. These guys forget the world has changed.
I've witnessed this in many departments I have to deal with and unfortunately many now 'back' in the driving seat display this arrogance of 'they no better and its the fault of the previous management'. Don't get me wrong, there are some very good local guys, but they are rapidly being overshadowed. Worse still, some who wanted to leave under VRS and were declined just hang around and create misery for others.
For GF the future is not bright. The people the company should be nurturing and developing are leaving. Over the past couple of months I have had to say a sad good-bye to a few young Bahraini's. These guys and gals had drive, passion and professionalism and did a good job. They also wanted to learn and make the business better.
When I asked them why they were leaving the common response was they had enough of GF, its politics, and that their immediate boss was incompetent, unprofessional and treated them like kids who knew nothing.
They all felt GF could not change.
All were snapped up quickly by private businesses.
With this management structure in place, which quality CEO wants to come on board. Many touted Adel Ali, CEO of Air Arabia, and a few others GCC nationals, but these guys won't touch GF as they will have to deal with this 'I have 20+ years of experience and I know what's best', so can't change GF for the better.
Sadly, the next PCE if its not BN will be a junior minister from the government.
So for me, in the words of brassplate, just pay me my next salary that i worked for.
Masalam