Which is more important for a leader: Intelligence or Wisdom?

Should we consider our Minister Mentor Mr Lee Kuan Yew as having intelligence or wisdom? Many people cannot distinguish between the two: intelligence and wisdom. Wisdom is defined as a social, interpersonal form of knowledge that allows people to deal with decisions and dilemmas appropriately, practice good emotional control and handle interpersonal relationships well. Intelligence is otherwise defined as a non-social form of knowledge that can be acquired through education(Hall, 2007). Based on the definitions, people holding leadership positions should have wisdom as a more important pre-requisite than intelligence.

Wisdom is a personal characteristic that allows an individual to deal with dilemmas and make decisions effectively and appropriately. It also allows one to exercise good emotional control and handle interpersonal relationships well. Wisdom is usually acquired through personal encounter with failures. Lessons learnt fron these setbacks can be used in future to weigh every situation carefully and make careful judgement before making the correct decision. Furthermore, wisdom is needed by a person to give clear instructions with regards to each step of a solution provided for a problem. In addition, good emotional control is also an important aspect of wisdom that allows one to interact effectively and build good interpersonal relationships with people. Thus wisdom plays an important role in the social aspect of everyday life.

Intelligence is another personal characteristic that represents a non-social form of knowledge. It can be acquired through education. This form of knowledge provides theoretical concepts needed to solve a problem. However, it does not teach us how to handle problems in real life especially when it involves social aspects like controlling emotions and interacting with people. With intelligence, one can effectively solve a problem in an ideal manner. However, real life situations are much more complex and are more varied. Hence, intelligence may not allow a person to solve a problem effectively.

Wisdom, by comparison, plays a more important role for people in leadership as compared to intelligence. A leader needs intelligence, but he/she needs more wisdom to establish good relationship with its followers in order to convey his/her message and instructions across. He/she needs to make decisions that are beneficial to his/her followers. Taking Minister Mentor Mr Lee Kuan Yew for example, he is able to lead his people and provide effective solutions to every problem. He wins the respect of the people because he understands the needs of the people. He is appreciative of the cultures and background of the different races in Singapore. Thus, he can be considered as a good leader. Therefore, a leader, especially a good leader, should acquire the characteristics of wisdom.

In conclusion, a good leader should have intelligence but he/she needs more wisdom to deal with situations effectively and maintain good relationships with his/her people. In this way, the people can then respect him/her and are more willing to serve him/her and follow his/her instructions.

Reference:
Hall, S.S. (2007, May 8) Wisdom comes with age? Not true. The Straits Times

Recycling in Japan and India

Recycling is an important aspect in maintaining environmental sustainability in the long run by reducing the amount of waste. However, if we were to examine the approach towards recycling between a developed and a developing country, we would find that the concepts adopted are different.

According to Srinivas (n.d.), Japan, being a developed nation, is focusing on the 3R approach: reduce, reuse and recycle. With the assistance of science and technology, this 3R initiative has been successful in reducing the consumption of natural resources. Raising public awareness on recycling through education is also important as the public has to be aware of the importance of conservation. In addition, the Japanese government strictly enforces the recycling laws. As a whole, Japan has made the 3R approach successful through the combined effort of the government and the ordinary citizens.

However, in developing countries such as India, there is a lack of public awareness on the need for conservation. Gupta (2004) recognised that whilst recycling is important in conserving the finite natural resources, the lack of technology would result in the difficulty in execution of recycling programmes that requires advanced technology. Thus, incineration would probably remain as the main practice in India. The disparity in the methods adopted may be attributed to the difference in level of development of the nations. Due to the constraint on the finite resources, the need for recycling is undeniable.

References:

Gupta S.K. (2004, April). Rethinking waste management. Retrieved February 15, 2008, from http://www.indiatogether.org/2004/apr/env-rethink.htm

Srinivas, H. (n.d.). Inspiring Ideas from Japan's 3R Initiative. Retrieved February 15, 2008, from http://www.gdrc.org/uem/waste/3r-insipiring-ideas.html

'Zero Waste' or 'Landfills'?

Many waste disposal schemes have emerged to deal with waste produced. There are two such schemes, namely the zero waste and landfill. The zero waste scheme aims at recycling and reusing all the waste that are produced while landfilling is the act of burying the waste underground. The differences between the zero waste and landfill method includes the amount of land required and the environmental problems that may arise.

Landfill requires alot of land to contain the disposed waste. In addition, there are several possible environmental problems caused when the buried waste decomposes and releases toxic chemicals into the soil, thus contaminating it. Potentially harmful gases may also be released and this would pollute the surrounding air. The zero waste scheme, however, emphasizes on recycling and reusing. This method uses cleaner processes and helps to conserve the finite Earth's resources. These makes the zero waste scheme more environmentally friendly.

With regards to Singapore, the zero waste scheme would probably be a better choice. Due to land constraints in Singapore, the waste produced has to be transported to offshore islands to be buried. Thus, large amounts of land have to be set aside for landfill sites, when instead, they could have been used for other useful purposes. Nonetheless, land fill is currently still the main method of waste disposal in Singapore and zero waste scheme may not be totally feasible at the moment as it is very costly. However, the government has been actively encouraging the citizens to reduce, reuse and recycle the waste. In time to come, the zero waste scheme would probably replace the landfill scheme as it is more environmentally friendly.

Which Specific Environmental Problem Should Singapore Focus On For The Next 10 Years?

Growing population is a crucial problem that would impact Singapore's environment within the next 10 years. The size of the population increased from 3.9 million to 4.5 million over the past 6 years and it is expected to continue increasing if the trend holds. Furthermore, housing, recreation and land transport are being developed to accommodate the increase. This process of urbanisation destroys the natural landscape as more land would need to be cleared for human use.

In addition, increasing population would mean higher waste output. Over the last 30 - 40 years, Singapore has transformed herself into an urbanised and industrialised country. This has led to a rising trend in our waste output. This would mean that the government has to spend more money to set up landfill sites to accommodate these waste. Our waste output has been escalating rapidly from a total of 0.46 million tonnes of waste disposed in 1970 to a total of 2.55 million tonnes in 2005. Although 90% of the waste are incinerated, the remaining waste are still buried in landfills. For instance, hazardous waste such as batteries and paint are buried in landfills, and when they decompose, they will release chemicals into the soil and contaminate it. Therefore it can be foreseen that the needs of the population would be met at the expense of the environment.

Though the government imposes fines to deter factories from disposing their industrial waste carelessly, it is not sufficient. Education is also needed and it is essential to inform the public the importance of reducing, reusing and recycling their waste, if not the consequences would be dire in the future.

My Life's Meaning

Being able to experience different emotions in life makes my life meaningful. Happiness, sorrow and anger are the basic human emotions which defines us.

When I'm happy, I will find my family and friends to share my joy, and this makes my day more delightful. When I'm feeling down, my family and friends would cheer me up, making me feel that I'm not alone in this world and feel loved. During a quarrel with friends, I would feel cross, however, after the quarrel and when both parties cool down, we grow to appreciate each other and the happiness which we once shared.

Without feelings, my life would be plain and dull. I would not know how fortunate I am and my life would be meaningless. Without emotions, I would not experience the ups and downs of life. Without sentiments, there would not be tears and laughter in my life.

Feelings are just like the rainbow in my life, and they bring colour and beauty to my life.

"Let's be grateful for those who give us happiness; they are the charming gardeners who make our soul bloom." -Marcel Proust