Commentary

As the Singapore Government tightens its policy on foreign labour in light of public dissatisfaction over high costs of living and immigration, Singapore is shifting its economic growth from being manpower-driven to one of sustained productivity improvement.

Recently, the Acting Manpower Minister of Singapore made a speech about work ethic.  He said, "The best form of welfare is work, because the dignity that comes with work is very important.  To be able to provide for your own family, to stand on your own two feet, I think there's a value that comes from that that public assistance cannot replace."

The recent MasterCard Global Destination Cities index showing Thailand rising to the top of the ranks as a tourist destination is both good and bad for Singapore. On the positive side of the ledger, international travel numbers are strong, and are growing at a good rate. Asia is a preferred destination. People are looking for the experiences we can provide. But, on the other side, competition is increasing—and Singapore, as a high-end destination must look for ways to keep ahead of the curve.

We present a noteworthy solution to busting a mid-career slump or breaking the salary glass ceiling.

The use of paper in business for records and correspondence will start declining within five years, and become entirely redundant in 10. This was the bold claim that appeared in the 1975 edition of BusinessWeek where the paperless office concept was first introduced.

Graduate recruitment programmes are run by employers who want to secure the best and brightest talent, as this comes available from universities around the world. Programmes usually focus on exposing graduates to numerous parts of the business (although this is not always the case) and giving them the opportunity to move and grow within their organisation. The benefits for the employers are significant as many graduates go on to be strong leaders.

In these competitive times in Singapore and the region, it’s not enough for marketers to just build brand awareness. In a study of CEOs and decision makers by Fournaise Marketing Group, 73% of them said that CMOs lack the ability to grow their organisations’ top line in terms of more customer demand, more sales, more prospects, more conversions or more market share. Also, 77% had issues with all the talk about brand equity that can't be linked to actual firm equity or any other financial metric.

If you have been working in Singapore for a while, some of these information might not come as a surprise for you. But for those who are just joining the workforce after graduation or starting out work in Singapore as a foreign talent, these 5 interesting facts may offer you a glimpse of what to expect at your workplace!

The results from International Institute for Management Development (IMD) 25th Anniversary World Competitiveness Rankings should send a chill down every Singaporeans' heart. With reference to The World Competitiveness Scoreboard 2013 which ranked economies from the most to the least competitive, Singapore has fallen from 4th to 5th position (2012 rankings are in brackets). We have long been proud of our Little Red Dot's economical achievement in the global arena despite our physical limitations but are we still as competitive as we should be? Why did our competitiveness drop? Is this a temporary concern or a sign of long-term decline? Please click here to view The World Competitiveness Scorebaord 2013

There's no dispute about the desirability of work-life balance. Without it, health and relationships suffer, stress levels soar, and work productivity falters. There's plenty of research to illustrate these ill-effects.

The recent video of the supervisor hitting an intern in a local SME generated much reactions and responses. For such a thing to happen here in Singapore came as a shock to many. Some of the reactions and responses were quite tempered while the majority were quite emotional. What was your response when you first saw that video? How did you feel? What if you were the one at the receiving end of that abuse? What would you have done?

For Singaporean companies looking to expand, China remains one of the most attractive markets in our region and should be on every company’s watch list. This year a glut of university graduates seeking jobs provides an opportunity available to all companies but Singaporean companies have a head start.

Succession planning is something that all businesses should be thinking about. However, it’s the SME sector which is failing to prepare for the future as other priorities always seem to jostle to the front. Lining up the next generation of leaders to run an organisation can ensure that a company continues to thrive but many SMEs are failing to focus on this business critical issue.

Singapore will soon launch a revolutionary new travel scheme to ease congestion and reward commuters for getting up early. Completely free travel if you finish your journey to a city centre MRT station by 7.45am. As usual in Singapore this imaginative but very simple initiative divides opinion.

Companies around the world agree. If their key systems were as ineffective as their meetings they would be out of business!

With the exception of a small minority there is simply no mistaking the momentum that the development of soft skills is having in the business environment. In case this phrase is new to you let me quickly explain.