• BUSINESS

  Working from Home: physical distancing but social proximity

  Christopher Bruton, Published on 31/03/2020

  » During these times of crisis worldwide, there has been much talk of "social distancing". This term is regrettable, because the last thing one wants when situations are challenging and personal anxieties and tensions are acute, is social distancing. This is a time for closeness and communal solidarity. One needs to reach out to people, whether family, friends or working colleagues. The necessity is for physical distancing, but social proximity.

• BUSINESS

  Solving skill shortages

  Christopher Bruton, Published on 31/07/2017

  » With the emphasis on "Thailand 4.0" and the concentration on the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), there is much concern that the government's ambitious plans may be frustrated by the inadequacy of sufficiently highly-skilled workforce, especially of technological specialists. There is also concern that the emphasis on the EEC may draw skilled technicians away from other parts of Thailand, resulting in a "three nation" economy: the highly technical EEC, the sophisticated Bangkok business economy, and the rest of Thailand, deprived of technical and business skills and, therefore, also of prosperous economic activity.

• BUSINESS

  Building bridges or barriers: bricks or brains?

  Christopher Bruton, Published on 05/06/2017

  » With so much attention now being devoted to "Thailand 4.0", the talk is all about innovation, competitiveness, sustainable development, value creation and a host of other expressions for which at this stage there are no familiar Thai language equivalents. There is also an immense amount of planning of enabling infrastructure, including high-speed trains, expressways, special economic zones, science and industrial parks, creative districts and even an "aerotropolis". All this is to be achieved in parade ground style, in a double quick timeframe.

• BUSINESS

  Thailand's challenge: Rich in ambitions, poor in people skills?

  Christopher Bruton, Published on 22/05/2017

  » Announcement of visionary and ambitious plans has become almost routine. The year 2017 will apparently not be an election year (nothing new about that) but has begun with boom times in the planning sector. In January 2017, we were treated to announcements about "Thailand 4.0". These were soon followed by further revelations about the "Eastern Economic Corridor". These schemes are all part of government strategies to move Thailand into "Thriving in the 21st century: security, prosperity and sustainability". The 21st century has been going for quite a while now, but "better late than never", and "never" had become quite a routine in recent years.

• BUSINESS

  Women's leadership: mentoring Asia's rising stars

  Christopher Bruton, Published on 06/12/2016

  » Women represent at least half of national populations around the world, yet they are poorly represented in leadership and management positions in most countries. With increasing emphasis on gender equality, ageing and now diminishing populations, it is increasingly important to take advantage of the talents of women for enhancement of the workforce. In particular, it is essential to take the best advantage of highly talented young women, who can attain top leadership positions in the public and private sectors in the future.

• BUSINESS

  Creating a safe office environment

  Christopher Bruton, Published on 17/10/2016

  » There is no such thing as a completely safe office environment. Unless an organisation has the need, and the resource allocation necessary, to make its offices into a secure fortress, as does the US Embassy in Bangkok, then one always runs the risk of penetration by unfriendly forces. But let’s assume that you are not at risk from rocket attacks from a distance, or a bomb dropped off from an unmanned drone. Under normal circumstances, an organisation can at least take reasonable steps to assure security for staffers and welcome visitors, as well as protecting staffers from visitors who turn out to be unwelcome guests. We asked Chuck Krueger of Ackerman Group for his suggestions, and the following are some of the salient points from his experienced advice.

• BUSINESS

  Forewarned is forearmed: staff safety training

  Christopher Bruton, Published on 31/10/2016

  » In our series on security, safety and risk mitigation, we have highlighted various risk situations along with preventive measures. But despite every precaution, risks can always arise. We need, therefore, to be prepared to protect ourselves, our colleagues and our families. To obtain guidance on how we can train ourselves and others to confront risk situations when they arise, we invited Stefan Spiess, a martial arts expert and operator of Advance Conflict Training (ACT) to explain how he trains security professionals, business groups, families and children in security awareness and response. Stefan can be reached at stefan@global-safety.net Web site: www.actinthailand.com Stefan offers the following advice:

• BUSINESS

  A worker benefit programme that really cares

  Christopher Bruton, Published on 21/11/2016

  » Many worker support programmes that are supposed to convey great benefits for employees often in fact do quite the opposite. No wonder, therefore, that schemes designed to offer a road to paradise for hard-pressed workers are often viewed with skepticism by employers and employees alike. However, with the advent of "iCare Benefits" to the Thailand market, there is, at last a truly viable, already internationally tested scheme that really does offer and deliver what it claims.

• BUSINESS

  Vocational Education: a German approach

  Christopher Bruton, Published on 19/09/2016

  » Thailand's vocational education is in need of an upgrade and advice is being sought from Germany. We invited comment from leading educationalist Michael C. Usher. Michael is a UK-origin engineer who has lived in Thailand for almost 20 years. He is managing director of Advanced Technology Thailand Company and has extensive Thai-German educational linkages; previously German Director of King Mongkut University of Technology (KMUTNB) Sirindhorn International Thai-German Graduate School of Engineering (TGGS), a Thai-German cooperation with Aachen University in Germany. He was also previously Director of the vocational training Centre, Thai German Institute (TGI) and is a well-known Management and Cross-Cultural trainer.

• BUSINESS

  Personality testing debate continued -- The Myers Briggs response

  Christopher Bruton, Published on 08/08/2016

  » In last week's Human Resource Watch, we discussed personality testing, with a cautionary viewpoint on the validity of the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). We invited MBTI Thailand sole distributor Potentia to present their response.

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