{"id":35580,"date":"2024-02-06T21:25:49","date_gmt":"2024-02-07T05:25:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=35580"},"modified":"2024-02-07T22:46:10","modified_gmt":"2024-02-08T06:46:10","slug":"numbers-tell-a-story-cerita","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/numbers-tell-a-story-cerita\/","title":{"rendered":"Numbers Tell a Story… (Cerita)"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was eager to read, [1] <\/sup>“How to Make the World Add Up: Ten Rules for Thinking Differently About Numbers” by Tim Harford. Numbers intimidate me. My history with math exams in school and college was challenging, but upon reading the reviews, I convinced myself that it was time to overcome my intimidation of numbers and absorb the teachings offered by Harford. The book cover, featuring an orange-goldfish with a shark’s fin, intrigued me, sparking my curiosity about the symbolism behind the fish on the cover of Harford’s book.<\/p>\n

For five years, I served as a Contracting Officer for the U.S. Department of Energy, specializing in Procurement as a Buyer. The U.S. Department of Treasury granted me the authority to sign contracts on behalf of the U.S. government, warranting me up to $1 million per transaction. My role predominantly revolved around numerical aspects, encompassing tasks such as pricing, cost analysis, cost comparisons, cost savings for rate payers and cost avoidance. Annual attendance at Cost Analysis training, along with the imperative of passing the yearly exam to maintain my warrant, was an inherent part of my responsibilities. Despite consistently being the last to finish the exams and to leave the exam hall, I always achieved a passing grade. The prestige associated with this responsibility made it challenging to relinquish when I eventually left the position.<\/p>\n

I read this book with keen interest and discovered its applicability to real-world scenarios. Harford’s ten practical rules for approaching numbers were engaging, and I comprehended their significance easily. The focus is on cultivating critical and effective thinking about numerical information. While exploring the book, I realized that Harford was imparting skills to interpret data, fostering a more discerning approach to the numbers encountered in various aspects of life. [2]<\/sup> My data Analyst clarified that data encompasses facts, often numerical, statistics, or pieces of information, obtained through observation. Therefore, numbers are not merely digits, but narratives intertwined with relatable work experiences. This was indeed my Aha moment! [3]<\/sup><\/p>\n

I loved all the ten rules, but I particularly related to [4]<\/sup> Rule Two – Ponder Your Personal Experience. (Harford p. 51]. I am an organized thinker, step by step, one thing at a time, I relate to stories, therefore, I can relate to Hartford\u2019s rules. Each rule had a story related to his experience. All these rules, in my opinion, not only exposed me to numbers through data collection but also a way to minimize unnecessary chaos. Often, I have heard, \u201cnumbers don\u2019t lie.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rule Two – Ponder Your Personal Experience:<\/strong><\/p>\n

[5]<\/sup> \u201cSo what should we do when the numbers tell one story and day-to-day life tells us something different?\u201d (Harford p. 53). In this chapter, Harford encourages us to pay attention to patterns,<\/strong> stepping back to identify patterns or trends in the data and providing a more comprehensive understanding of the situation. Harford emphasizes that patterns offer context that individual data points might not convey.<\/p>\n

As I was reading this book over the weekend, I decided to see how Rule Two plays out in my workplace. My team is constantly occupied, yet sometimes the busyness does not always translate to productivity. To address this, I conducted a two-day experiment on our workload. Utilizing Excel, I established a basic online In-Take form and shared it with the team. I communicated the purpose of the assignment and requested their cooperation, which they happily accepted for a Starbucks coffee. Using the In-Take form, each member was instructed to input tasks directly related to their job description, differentiating between those relevant and irrelevant to their roles. Analyzing the data on Monday evening, I observed that a significant portion of their time was spent assisting internal business partners with invoicing issues, insurance issues, training questions, and others (how to questions), unrelated to procurement, which is our team’s focus. We repeated this process on Tuesday. The team clearly saw how they spent their time on non-value tasks, unrelated to procurement. This mini experiment with my team revealed few things such as:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Seventeen internal business partners asked the same question two to three times within two days. Since the information was captured and recorded through the In-Take form, my team and I were able to clearly see the pattern and time spent on each question \u2013 there was presence of data. We realized, perhaps these individuals need training or job aid to assist them.<\/li>\n
  2. Within two days, there were thirty-two phone calls issues pertaining to invoices. Suppliers \/ Vendors instead of calling Accounts Payable, they were calling the procurement desk. Through the compilation of this data, we realized that the only telephone number available on the Supplier\u2019s document was the procurement desk number. We realized the absence of proper contact information has taken the procurement desk so much time. A simple note such as, \u2018for payment issues, call 888.123.4567.\u2019 could have minimized unnecessary incoming calls.<\/li>\n
  3. Convenience and familiarity were part of why these business partners were calling the procurement desk instead of going to the employee resource center and clicking on the links for knowledge base articles (job aids). This exercise offered transparency and resulted in directing the business partners to the correct SharePoint site so they can do their own research instead of my team performing their task for them.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    By exploring Rule Two, conducting a simple experiment with my team members, through data collection, I can stop wondering why my team is constantly busy. I agree with Harford, he prompts readers to contemplate various viewpoints and factors that could impact the interpretation of numerical data. My team and I are contemplating exploring Harford\u2019s Ten Rules to implement improvements in our work processes.<\/p>\n

    [1] Harford, Tim. 2020. How to Make the World Add Up: Ten Rules for Thinking Differently About Numbers. The Bridge Street Press.<\/p>\n

    [2] Shalini Menon, private conversation with analyst, Feb. 5, 2024.<\/p>\n

    [3] Camacho, Tom, Mining for Gold. <\/em>London: IVP, 2019.<\/p>\n

    [4[ Harford, Tim. 2020. How to Make the World Add Up: Ten Rules for Thinking Differently About Numbers. The Bridge Street Press.<\/p>\n

    [5] Ibid.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    I was eager to read, [1] “How to Make the World Add Up: Ten Rules for Thinking Differently About Numbers” by Tim Harford. Numbers intimidate me. My history with math exams in school and college was challenging, but upon reading the reviews, I convinced myself that it was time to overcome my intimidation of numbers […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":198,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3043,3044],"class_list":["post-35580","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-harford","tag-hartord","cohort-dlgp03"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35580","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/198"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35580"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35580\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35605,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35580\/revisions\/35605"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35580"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35580"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35580"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}