September 2009 Archives

By Carmie Dulguime* AT LEAST 50 percent of my daily news feed from my Facebook “friends” is about their games updates. Someone just bought a harvester in Farm Ville. Another one needs help in ordering a hit on Mafia Wars. Yet another one took a photo of her pet in Pet Society and made it her profile pic (uhrm, that would be me). Time stamps of these feeds indicate that these games are being played during office hours. Talk about stress-busting at work! Playing online games during office hours were frowned upon in offices about six years ago. Today, the atmosphere has changed radically. Companies are beginning to embrace the idea of letting their employees play at work for, believe it or not, productivity and motivation purposes. Perhaps these companies realized they could not stop their employees from stealing company time by playing online even with sophisticated software installed in the system to monitor employees’ activities online. Thanks to companies like Snowfly, Inc., online gaming during office hours are now legitimized because of the advantageous effects of its web-based incentive software programs. It developed a gaming program called Capstone which rewards employees for playing. In return, the company gets real-time results that help determine the productivity and morale level of its workforce. Too good to be true? It’s a win-win situation for both employees and the company, if you ask me. Aside from incentives, online gaming in the workplace is now also being used as training aides. At Novartis in London, employees play interactive games online in order to familiarize themselves with company policies and code of ethics. This most certainly makes seminars and workshops a lot more exciting than merely looking at Powerpoint presentations, watching videos, or performing skits. This should not, however, provide employees with a convenient excuse to become a slacker at work. Games, in any form, are addicting. It can defeat the purpose of de-stressing and/or learning through online games. All work and no play can make you dull, but more play and less work may make you lose your job. *Carmie Dulguime is a corporate editor in a multinational public relations company. Her work encourages actual participation in social networking through the Internet, including online gaming.

A new book released in the Philippines tackles leadership skills women should develop. 5 Leadership Essentials for Women compiled by Linda Clark (distributed by OMF Literature Inc.) was written by women in leadership roles with fellow women in mind. According to the book, these are the five skills women need to hone: 1. Communication 2. Relationship 3. Time management 4. Group building 5. Conflict management One aspect of good communication is effective listening. To do so, Dr. Harriet Harral, a communications professional and the writer of the chapter on communication, says one should take out the barriers to effective listening: focus on self, wandering mind, leveling (simplifying the message to the point that critical details may be omitted), sharpening (emphasizing some points leaving out other important details), assimilation (shaping messages to confirm our opinions or attitudes), hearing what is expected that your mind is not open, passive listening, and missing the meaning. A relationship, to be healthy, needs three elements, according to psychologist Roberta M. Damon: mutuality, initiative and respect. “On a human level, there is no perfect relationship, but good, solid healthy relationships do exist,” she writes in the relationship chapter. In the chapter on time management, pastor's wife and educator Debbie Lloyd has advice for women who find themselves suffering from the pinball syndrome—when they bounce from task to task leading to unfinished projects: Have a schedule, have a system, and keep it simple. Dr. Judy Hamlin, author and ministry consultant, lists down the attributes of a healthy group and shares “prescription” for groups that want to be healthy. Lastly, Dr. Shirley Schooley, university professor and pastor's wife, takes us through the stages groups go through from forming to performing and imparts strategies on dealing with conflict that may come. Full of tips and examples both from the Bible and from everyday life, the book can be helpful to women in various leadership positions—at work, in business, in church, and in organizational settings.

By Karen Galarpe IF YOU'RE in the food and beverage industry, you might want to set aside some time this month to check out the latest trends and innovations in the F&B industry. At the upcoming AsiaFood Expo (AFEX), Filipino and international players in the food industry are expected to converge at the World Trade Center on Roxas Boulevard in Pasay City to showcase new technology in food processing, packaging, machinery and equipment, and more. “AsiaFood Expo has remained an undisputed venue to showcase the Philippine competitiveness in the food sector as well as bring into the country the latest innovations and developments in the food packaging and processing sectors,” said Elmer C. Hernandez, Trade and Industry undersecretary and managing head of the Board of Investments. AFEX has been around for the past 18 years. This year, though, the organizer of the event, Trade Information Marketing & Exhibitions, Inc. (TIME Inc.) decided to split the event into three “so visitors will have more time to go around and discuss with exhibitors,” said Josephine P. Miranda, executive vice president of TIME Inc. The first event is the Food and Drinks Asia 2009, a full-scale expo that will show finished goods and introduce the business of finished food products and beverages to growing SMEs and potential entrepreneurs. The second event is the Food Franchising Asia 2009, which will present the newest ideas and solutions in the food franchising business. AFEX 2009 and FoodServe Asia is the third and culminating event. FoodServe Asia will be of interest to those in the catering and food service industry. All events will be held at the World Trade Center. Food and Drinks Asia and Food Franchising Asia will be held on September 17 to 20, while AFEX will be held on September 23 to 26. Product demos, business seminars, and cooking demos will also mostly be offered for free. Tickets are priced at P100 each. According to Miranda, they thought that there will be fewer exhibitors this year due to the global recession. However, feedback has been very good. Aside from participation by industry associations such as the Philippine Franchising Association, Philippine Food Exporters Association, Food Cart Association, Philippine Coffee Board, and private companies, foreign countries are also participating in the event. In fact, the U.S., France, and Taiwan will have pavilions showcasing their countries' products. Companies from Germany, Japan, Taiwan and Malaysia will showcase machinery. Some 38,000 visitors went to last year's AFEX. TIME Inc. is expecting this number to increase by 10 to 15 percent this year. “The Philippines is not lagging behind when it comes to trends. Sumasabay na rin tayo,” said Miranda.