Commentary

One of the many things that makes working in Singapore a uniquely enriching experience is the number of different cultures that one finds working together, particularly in the large MNC’s. There are many cities that are more cosmopolitan than Singapore – London for instance apparently has over 250 languages spoken on a daily basis. In terms of people working closely together however it is not, in my opinion, as multi cultured as Singapore. When one has so many different people from different countries communicating and work together it is important to understand how the different cultures may see each other and to be aware of the “cultural minefield” that may exist within a large organization.

Tobacco, Alcohol and Gambling are sometimes referred to as the ‘sin industries’. Not withstanding the theological implications of that word, these industries are sometimes presented in an unfavorable light because, if not properly regulated, they can provide the context for undesirable behavior.

Getting women back to work is an issue that has preoccupied Singapore for over a decade. As far back as 1997, the Government set up a Back to Work Advisory Committee to consider incentives that could allow employers to employ more women. At that time, proposals included; flexible working, part time working, job sharing and teleworking.

There’s a refreshing, obvious & strong pattern in Singapore, where many brands are turning to niche, local agencies to oversee their social media marketing campaigns as compared to the big boys out there.

In 2005, award winning columnist Thomas Friedman introduced an outstanding metaphor for a border less economic world, The World is flat. Since then the world has become conscious of economies flattening stimulating lateral growth and enhancing global accessibility.

Deal-of-the-day sites (think Groupon.sg, Deal.com.sg, Bigdeal.sg) have proliferated quite recently, and I thought I would give one of them a go since my hair needed a good fix early last year.

Singapore’s entrepreneurial stage has been set as a promising hub with enough buzz to re-launch a nineties boyband back to stardom. However, with only 778 km of highly urbanized land mass and five million consumers at best, you had better be selling the next best thing since the iPhone.

Many HR resourcing managers carry the traditional idea that the job-seeker with the “most impressive” résumé (from big companies) and the necessary skill-sets will fit the role, but how many times do you come across a situation where the newcomer resigns after just a few months with the organisation?

Since last Monday, people all over the world are celebrating the coming of the dragon year. A dragon year would typically promise ferocious successes but analysts' outlook is one of caution as Europe attempts to sort out its debt crisis and the US approaches another Presidential Election. How would Asia, Singapore in particular, fare this dragon year?

News recently of Singapore's ultra-high speed Next Generation Nationwide Broadband Network (Next Gen NBN) achieving 83 per cent nationwide deployment was an exciting development in this countries evolution. Having the correct infrastructure in place provides people with greater access to the internet and ultimately a much broader range of video content.

In recent years, I’ve noticed an entirely new vocabulary being used to describe the modern business approach to sustainability. A number of them cropped up during our panel discussion at Singapore’s Media Leader’s Forum in December – resilience, adaptation, positive social change, CSR, behavioural change, going green.

This quarter is usually one of the most active for hiring, as senior talent comes back in demand and bonuses are paid out over the next few months, and this year should be no different. Chris Mead, General Manager of Hays in Singapore, discusses trends and current opportunities across Asia from the latest Hays Quarterly Report.

“When was the last time you finished watching an episode of any TV on free-to-air?” asked Razmig, and in the same breath he asked me to pronounce his first name, “Mr. Hovaghimian” which if I did, he would probably buy me ice cream.

With the current headwinds from the western part of the world and the latest set of cooling measures implemented in December 2011, the Singapore residential property market is likely to moderate in the short term, with some procrastination in homebuyers’ decision and possibly an evident downward re-pricing of residential properties.

As the Dragon year commences, Singapore has awakened to the roar of Business Analytics. Identified as a focus sector development by iDA, to catalyse greater adoption, business analytics is an area of untold promise.

When I arrived in Singapore in the first week of the 21st century to live and work, little did I know that the island city would be still my home 12 years later.