HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]:

Family Money

Snap Shot

Modern Medicine

Practical Thai Law

Heart to Heart with Hillary

A Slice of Thai History

Bits ‘n’ Bobs

Personal Directions

Social Commentary by Khai Khem

Women’s World

Jargon and facts about wine - you might (or might not) want to know about

Family Money: Guaranteeing Your Pension Part 2

By Leslie Wright,
Managing director of Westminster Portfolio Services (Thailand) Ltd.

Last week we started looking at the options that are available to offshore investors who are looking to safeguard their amassed pension fund.

Assuming you have built up some capital, no matter what form it is in currently, what options are available to you?

Annuities

I am frequently asked by retiring investors about buying an annuity. Essentially, an annuity is bought with a lump sum of capital, and this then regularly pays out a guaranteed amount - a pension, if you will - for a specified period of time.

This period may be a fixed term, such as 10 or 15 years; or it may be for the rest of your life, however long (or short) that might be.

The amount and payout period depend on a) the type of annuity you’ve bought, and b) the amount of capital you’ve paid for it.

A few of the large UK-based insurance companies still offer annuities, but nowadays almost none of the offshore ones do.

The reason they have stopped offering annuities is because in the past, the issuing institutions’ actuaries over-estimated how much return would be earned from bonds and cash deposits (the fuel that generates the income from which the guaranteed annuity is paid out), and have ended up losing money. And that is anathema to an insurance company! Hence the pragmatic business decision not to offer annuities while interest rates and returns from bonds remain so low.

At current levels, even the payout you can expect from an onshore annuity will be hardly more than from a bank deposit.

And remember that once you’ve bought the annuity, that’s the end of the story as far as your capital is concerned.

After a two-year slump in equities, a ‘guaranteed’ income of 5% may look relatively attractive. But it is about half the rate one could historically expect from a balanced mixed-assets portfolio over the longer term of 15-20 years - which is how long most retirements last.

So if you decide that you want an investment vehicle that will return you rather more than the pathetically low amounts an annuity will pay out, but without risking your capital (because once you’re retired you won’t be able to earn more to replace any losses), are there any investment vehicles which offer such a guarantee? Well, yes there are.

Guaranteed funds

The international financial services industry is becoming ever more competitive and innovative, and one type of investment vehicle to be introduced relatively recently is the ‘guaranteed’ fund.

Several reputable institutions now offer these specialised investment instruments, which are designed to appeal to investors who appreciate that potentially higher returns can be gained from stock markets than from cash deposits, but recognising the inherent volatility of stock markets, don’t want to run the risk of their capital being eroded if those stock markets should suddenly drop.

Some of these ‘guaranteed’ funds invest directly into stocks; others into market indices; others make money by trading in stock market options.

What they all have in common is a limited downside - or guarantee that you can’t lose more than a predetermined relatively small percentage of your capital.

This is one of those rare instances where if it sounds too good to be true, it isn’t a scam. It is, however, a bit technical, and varies from fund to fund.

In most instances the fund managers achieve the best of both worlds by dividing the available capital into two portions: one portion provides the guarantee element, while the other is the investment portion used to produce the gains.

They achieve both a high return and a high degree of guaranteed security of their investors’ capital by leveraging up the investment portion (either by borrowing additional trading capital from reputable banks or trading in options on margin, which requires only a ‘deposit payment’), and placing the rest of their investors’ capital on either high-earning short-term deposit, or in some cases, by buying zero-coupon bonds which pay out a guaranteed sum on maturity.

Most investors, however, aren’t too interested in the minutiae of how the fund managers achieve what they do, but are very interested in the result that their funds carry a potentially good upside and a very limited downside.

While conventional funds deal daily, or weekly, or in some case monthly, these ‘guaranteed’ funds have a pre-set investment period of, typically, three months.

This means that at the end of each quarterly investment period, the fund’s gains or losses are totted up by the manager, and either a dividend declared, or a loss.

Thus in the worst case you would have to absorb no more than the pre-set downside (say 5% if you chose a relatively low 95% capital guarantee level). But if the markets and the fund managers had done well in that previous quarter, you would stand to gain considerably more on the upside than you stand to lose on the downside.

Then, at the start of the next quarter, either your 95% capital would be carried forward to start off the cycle again; or if a dividend had been declared such that your capital is now (for instance) 107.5% of what it was at the start of the quarter, either this amount is reinvested - also with a 95% capital-guarantee level (or whatever figure you select, because you are permitted to change your mind each quarter) - or you could have elected to have your gains paid out to your bank account, and carry forward only the original 100%.

And this is what investment risk management is all about.

While these somewhat more sophisticated instruments are not going to gain hugely as could some of the direct-investment funds, they can be appropriate instruments for people with a fundamental aversion to risk, or who wish to safeguard a substantial proportion of their hard-earned capital during their retirement years. (To be continued next week).

Snap Shot: Getting Better - Learning How

by Harry Flashman

Improving your photography is not really all that difficult, and you don’t even need to go to school. There are many world class famous photographers who never had a lesson in their lives. But they did read, and they did experiment, and they did learn from their own work.

Learning how to take better photographs is really not all that difficult. There are only two main variables, and after you understand them and what they do to your photograph it becomes very simple.

The first thing to remember is that the correct exposure is merely a function of how large is the opening of the lens and how much time the shutter is left open to let the light strike the film. That’s almost it - that is photography in a nutshell. No gimmicks or fancy numbers - a straight out relationship - how open and for how long - this is known as the “Exposure”.

Now I will presume, for the sake of this exercise that you have an SLR and use it in the automatic, or “Programme” mode. Let’s go straight to the “mode” menu and look up “A” or “Aperture Priority”. In this mode it means that you can choose the aperture yourself, and the camera will work out the shutter speed that corresponds to the correct exposure. In other words, you can set the lens opening at its smallest size and the camera will work out the appropriate shutter speed. Or the reverse - you can select the largest aperture and again the camera will work out the correct shutter speed to produce a correctly exposed print.

So let’s play with this facility to give you some better pictures. Select “A” and then look at the lens barrel and you will see the Aperture numbers, generally between 2.8 and 22. To give you a subject with sharp focus in the foreground and a gently blurred background, you need to select an aperture around f2.8 to f4. Hey! It was that simple. To get those “professional” portrait shots, with the model’s face clear and the background all wishy washy, just use the A mode and select an Aperture around f4 to f 2.8.

Now, if on the other hand you want everything to be nice and sharp, all the way from the front to the back, like in a landscape picture, then again select A and set the lens barrel aperture on f16 to f22. The camera will again do the rest for you, so don’t worry about the shutter speed. Again - it’s that easy!

Flushed with creative success, let’s carry on. The next mode to try is the “S” setting. In this one, you set the shutter speed and the camera automatically selects the correct aperture to suit. Take a look at the shutter speed dial or indicator and you will see a series of numbers that represent fractions of a second.

First, let’s look at how to “stop the action” by using a fast shutter speed, and it doesn’t need 1/4000th either. For most action shots, select S and set the shutter speed on around 1/500th to 1/1000th and you will get a shot where you have stopped the runner in mid stride, or the car half way through the corner or the person bungee jumping. Yes, it’s that easy.

So this week you have learned that to get a good portrait shot use the A mode and set the aperture on f4 to f2.8 and forget about the rest of the technical stuff. Just compose a nice photograph and go from there. (Do remember to walk in close!) To get a great landscape shot, again use the A mode and set the aperture at f16 to f22.

Finally, to stop the action, choose the S mode and around 1/500th of a second and you won’t get blurry action shots ever again.

Certainly there are other aspects to good photography, but master the A and S modes and you will produce better snapshots - and it is not that difficult.

Modern Medicine: Getting fitter by the minute

by Dr Iain Corness, Consultant

I have spent many column inches (oops, showing my age - column centimetres) over the past few years writing about how to avoid debilitating diseases and how to make sure your cholesterol stays low and similar concepts. All these articles have been designed to make sure you stay as healthy as possible. However, this does not mean to say you are then “fit”.

Every so often it does become necessary to take stock of your physical self, and I am no different. The possession of medical degrees and diplomas does not automatically mean you have been given the secret of eternal youth (or life), more’s the pity.

In the quest for the holy grail, I have recently lost some weight. This has been intentional, as I was getting a little “paunchy” - the result of some regular beer intake (aided and abetted by the one and only Kim Fletcher of Shenanigans - though the final responsibility I must take myself)! I now take alcohol around three days a week, with the intervening days on the soda water. My weight is now 78 kg and the belly has disappeared dramatically. But this does not mean to say I am “fit”. It just means that I am not overweight.

My old mate Alan is one of those fitness “fanatics” (in my book) who walks for an hour every morning. He is fit. He radiates fitness (damn him) and has been on at me for some time to join him on these early morning marches. I have steadfastly refused, mainly because I do not have the luxury of a spare hour every morning, and I do not intend getting up before the sun does and marching with a miners helmet on complete with built in headlight.

So what do you do in these circumstances? Well, I remembered a very old book I had on the bookshelves - The 5 BX and 10 BX plan. You remember it too, I am sure. It was all the rage twenty odd years ago (when I was fit). Strange that you buy these things when you don’t need them! However, I still had my copy, now discoloured and frayed around the edges (like me). This book promised to get you fit at the expense of 11 minutes a day. That was more like it. 11 minutes I have, 60 I do not have.

Re-reading the slim volume, I marvelled at the simplicity of it all. There was a graduated scale of different exercises, designed to keep the muscles in trim, as well as giving the heart a little exercise as well. The varying levels began from one called D minus, which I found to be very easily attained, even at my age. As you get fitter, you progress through the alphabet to A plus - but still carrying out the regimen in 11 minutes.

I had thought that my recent parachute jump was the last on my list of “must do’s” but I was incorrect. I have been enjoying life so much that I have added “live to be 100” to the list. This does mean, however, that I want to be able to get around and continue to “do things” at that age. I will need to be fit. It is not too late for me - or for you. Think about it.

Practical Thai Law: Prostitution

by Premprecha Dibbayawan - MCL Miami University Chairman - International Swiss Siam Co., Ltd.

Under the Prevention and Suppression of Prostitution Act of 1997, Prostitution means the promiscuous acceptance of sexual intercourse or acceptance of any act or to act for sexual pleasure of others for payment or for other benefits no matter whether the acts are made actively or accepted passively and whether the partners are of the same or different sex.

Sadly, in the foreign media, the word Prostitution and Thailand seem to be related. A tour guide company published a message reading: Thailand has well earned the reputation as being the sex capital of the world. The message goes on: the average Thai bar girl is motivated primarily by money ... It is estimated that 10% of the population of women in their mid to late teens and twenties work either part time or full time in the sex industry.

In my previous article Child Prostitution and Sex Tourism, I referred to a case in which a man received quite a severe penalty for his wrongful sexual acts. Recently you have read in newspapers, including the Pattaya Mail, about Mr. Rosser’s extradition. There are judgments in various courts in Thailand against sex crimes. Why then is there a campaign: “Don’t Buy Thai” going on abroad claiming that the Thai government benefits from the sexual exploitation of Thai children?

To the question: “What will it take to end the boycott,” the movement answered, “The Thai government will have to recognise more clearly its duty to protect Thai children, and bring down the enormous organised child-sex-tour industry. The law enforcement agencies of Thailand will certainly have to do more than provide the lip service they’ve paid to the problem once it came to light. Law-enforcement officials in Thailand once claimed they could do nothing to stop this trade. We believe they could do much, they simply choose not to. Their current position is that they are, in fact, focusing on trafficking in children. Our current position is that we are awaiting results.”

To be fair, I think Thailand has done a lot in this matter. The Don t Buy Thai movement does not call the matter Child Prostitution but sarcastically they use the term sexual enslavement giving the reason that children are being purchased or stolen from their parents, then forced to have sex with strangers and the children see no money for their torture so they are not prostitutes.

The movement is quite right in differentiating the terms of offences relating to sexuality. Sexual offences under the Prostitution Act and under the Criminal Code are different, although one offence may fall under both laws. There are also criticisms in foreign media that the penalties under the Prostitution Act of Thailand are too soft. They quoted Section 5 of the act which reads, “Any person who, for the purpose of prostitution, solicits, induces, introduces herself or himself to, follows or importunes a person in a street, public place or any other place, which is committed openly and shamelessly or causes a nuisance to the public, shall be liable to a fine not exceeding one thousand baht,” and commented that the penalty of a 1,000 baht fine is nothing. This article also criticised Section 7: “Any person who advertises or agrees to advertise, induces or introduces by means of documents or printed matter or by any means makes known to the public in a manner apparently indicative of importunity or solicitation for the prostitution of oneself or another person shall be liable to imprisonment for a term of 8 months to two years or to a fine of ten thousand to forty thousand baht or both.” The penalty here again, seems to be soft. However, don’t forget that prostitution is allowed in many places in the world, for example in licensed houses of prostitution in some counties in the State of Nevada and in Australia and some European countries. Then in Thailand, soliciting for prostitution and accepting the service of prostitution are not considered serious but running brothels or being involved in child prostitution very definitely are.

The Prostitution Act in Thailand came into force as early as 1908 under the name of The Contagious Diseases Prevention Act. The second act was the Act on Prevention of Woman and Child Trading 1928. In 1960 the First Prostitution Suppression Act was enacted and later amended under the name of the Prevention and Suppression of Prostitution Act in 1996. Again, in 1997 the act on Prevention of Woman and Child Trading was amended under the same name.

As I mentioned above, pursuing the prostitute may not be considered that serious but a different approach is adapted to the owner of brothel or those involved sexually with children.

Whoever owns, looks after or manages an establishment providing sexual services or controls the management of such shall be liable to imprisonment for a term of from three years to fifteen years and a fine of from sixty thousand baht to three hundred thousand baht.

If the establishment offers a person of more than 15 years of age but not exceeding 18 years for sexual services, the penalty will be imprisonment for a term of from 5 to 15 years with a penalty of from one hundred thousand to three hundred thousand baht.

If the establishment offers a person of less than 15 years for sexual services, the penalty will be imprisonment for a term of from 10 years to 20 years with a penalty of from two hundred thousand to four hundred thousand baht.

What is the definition of a House of Prostitution? A house of prostitution is a place arranging for the provision of sexual services for payment and shall include a place of contact or a place that arranges for others to commit an act of prostitution.

So much for the owner of a house of prostitution. How about customers?

Whoever has sexual intercourse with or is involved in other activities for personal sexual pleasure or for the pleasure of others involving a person of more than 15 years but less than 18 years of age within a house of prostitution, with or without that person’s consent, shall be liable to imprisonment for a term of from one to three years and a fine of from twenty thousand to sixty thousand baht. If the person is less than 15 years old, the penalty is imprisonment for a term of from two years to six years and a fine of from forty thousand to one hundred and twenty thousand baht.

The solicitor or enticer of a person to commit acts of prostitution will be liable for imprisonment of from one year to ten years. If the person is under 18 years of age, the penalty is imprisonment of from five years to fifteen years and if the person is under 15 years the penalty is imprisonment from ten years to twenty years.

If the parent or guardian of the person conspires to commit such acts, they will be imprisoned for from four years to twenty years.

This is only the prostitution act; the penal code provides the same severe penalties. The act on prevention of woman and child trading gives the officers more authority to act and there are many cases being prosecuted. Therefore, if one does not believe that prostitution is taken seriously and being dealt with properly in Thailand, you would be wise to re-examine your own prejudices. You may also look at the statistics in your own country; you may well be very surprised.

Heart to Heart with Hillary

Dear Hillary,

I maintain a physical fitness routine which keeps my body taunt and terrific. I can boast coconut deltoids, pulsating pectorals, bulging biceps and six pack abdominals. When on Beach Road, the girls whistle me and stare at my shapely behind as I walk past in my skin tight shorts. This has been going on for a number of weeks and I was proud that my rear end could generate so much female excitement. Three days ago I was walking along Beach Road and was devastated when my fabulous frame was no longer gaining women’s attention. It was then that I realised that I had inadvertently left my wallet behind in my hotel room. It seems that it was my wallet that was the focus of those female eyes and not my shapely butt. Is it only money that holds a females’ interest?

Mighty Mouse

Dear Mighty Mouse,

You are having a tough time of it, aren’t you Petal. Last week you were dribbling over Tasmanian oysters and this week you are wondering if it is just your wallet that is attractive to women. You have such poor self-esteem that I am worried for you, Mighty Mouse. Were you an honest policeman in your last life? They tend to be an unhappy and lonely lot. However, I should enquire as to whether you used to put your wallet down the front or the back of your “skin tight shorts”? That could have quite a bearing on this physical attraction business. But please do not think that it is only money that we women find attractive in a man - there are also chocolates and champagne (but “Brut”, Petal, Hillary doesn’t like the sweet varieties). If in doubt, read Ranjith Chandrasiri’s wine columns in the Pattaya Mail for help and inspiration.

Dear Hillary,

My girlfriend gets me to buy her cosmetics, and don’t get me wrong, I am quite happy to pay for anything she needs in the lippy line and all the other potions and powders that seem to be necessary, but I draw the line on actually going into the cosmetic shops to get the stuff myself. Am I peculiar over this, or do lots of men go and buy cosmetics? If anyone would know, my friends said that you would, Hillary. I suppose doing it this way at least I know that I am getting the correct change after the purchases.

George

Dear Gorgeous George,

In this town there are lots of “men” who are buying cosmetics, though I must admit that most of those are using the goods themselves, rather than buying them for someone else. If it worries you, then you should tell your girlfriend that you are too busy and just give her the money to get them herself. After all, you know how much everything costs these days, so you won’t get ripped off either. However, I’d go easy on the blusher and mascara, George, done too heavily and people will get the wrong idea.

Dear Hillary,

Every day my computer drives me crazier and crazier. Some days it will send my emails and other days it won’t. Some days it will receive my emails and other days it won’t. Some days it will show me the contents of my inbox and then other days it won’t. The metal box that sits on my desk seems to have a mind of its own. Have you any ideas on what I should do about this?

Despairing

Dear Despairing,

The answer is simple, Petal. Stop sending emails. Remember, a fax is forever, an email is merely an ethereal nano-second in outer space. Better still, a hand written message carried by runner with forked stick has such romance to it, rather than all this impersonal electronic stuff these days. Think about it. It would be quicker than your email and you get to know that the note was truly delivered. Out boxes be damned! Other than that, if your computer is older than three years old it should be placed on a pedestal and worshipped as a museum piece. Get a new one. It’s easier than trying to fix the old one.

Dear Hillary,

With narrow footpaths (sidewalks) in Pattaya and with such a large variety of nationalities walking upon them, I don’t know which side to walk on. Australians walk on the left, Americans walk on the right, English on the left, Thais on the right, Germans left, Canadians right. The obese waddle down the middle, the super thin skip around to avoid the cracks. Drunks sleep on the side of the path, drug addicts float above it. Katoeys strut from one side to the other and their clients prance all over the place. Is there such a thing as footpath etiquette in Pattaya?

Pedestrian Pete

Dear Pedestrian Pete,

Oh you poor dear, Pete my Petal, you have got it all totally wrong! The sidewalks are for the motorcycle rentals, fast food carts, tailor shop touts, T-shirt traders and massage parlour madams. You are not supposed to walk on the footpaths at all! Etiquette would suggest that you are much safer walking down the roadway. There all you have to worry about are baht busses and motorcycle taxis. Some days I wish you people would just look!

A Slice of Thai History: Perceptions: A view of Thailand in 1912

Part Two

by Duncan Stearn

The Catholic Encyclopaedia article went on to the subject of Buddhism, noting that it had been introduced as far back as 638 and ‘With perhaps the exception of Tibet, there is no country in the East where Buddhism is so intensely interwoven with the life of a nation from the king to the lowest subject...Up to a few years ago these Buddhist monasteries were the only establishments for education, which were restricted to the male population.’

After noting that Buddhism was the acknowledged national religion ‘...all other religious creeds are granted full liberty of worship, nor does any one incur disabilities on account of his religious beliefs.’

Stating that little was known about the early history of Thailand, the article noted the country was, ‘first called Siam by the Portuguese (1511)...’ This was followed by a brief rundown about the ascendancy of Ayutthaya, noting that it was ruled by 34 kings belonging to three different dynasties between 1351 and 1767, the destruction of Ayutthaya by the Burmese and the founding of Bangkok as the new capital in 1782.

Regarding economic relations, ‘...the present flourishing commercial condition only dates from 1851, when King Mongkut opened Siam to Europeans and to European trade, favoured European factories, and made himself acquainted with Western civilization. After his death in 1868, his eldest son, Chulalongkorn (d. 1910), succeeded as the fortieth ruler of Siam, and during a reign of forty-two years showed himself one of the greatest and most farseeing princes who ever sat on an Asiatic throne, a king of European education and manners, to whose energy and initiative Siam owes much of her prosperity, railways, telegraphs, army (20,000 men), navy (37 ships, 15,000 men), and education for both sexes.’

It’s worthwhile commenting on the size of the army - 20,000 men - and the size of the navy, 15,000 men and 37 ships (according to the encyclopaedia). These figures give the impression that Thailand saw herself filling a maritime role on an equal footing with her duties of internal land-based defence.

Recognising the prevailing geopolitical climate, the piece continued, ‘Siam has so far been able to maintain her national independence, owing to the rivalry of England and France. The latter has tried ever since the days of Louis XIV to obtain a footing in Siam and has actually gained large concessions of territory by the treaties of 1891, 1893, 1904, and 1907, nor has England lacked her share (1909).’

As the name might suggest, the Catholic Encyclopaedia was also concerned with matters of religion and a large part of the information about Thailand dealt with the attempts to convert the Thais to Christianity, specifically Catholicism.

‘The first historical record of an attempt to introduce Christianity we owe to John Peter Maffei who states that about 1550 a French Franciscan, Bonferre, hearing of the great kingdom of the Peguans and the Siamese in the East, went on a Portuguese ship from Goa to Cosme (Peguan), where for three years he preached the Gospel, but without any result.’

Basically, although Christian missionaries were permitted to preach in the kingdom, Buddhism was so entrenched that conversions were minimal. Occasionally the missionaries were subjected to persecutions, as noted by the encyclopaedia: ‘...missionaries, however, were murdered by the pagans (1569), and were replaced by Fathers Lopez Cardoso, John Madeira, Alphonsus Ximenes, Louis Fonseca (martyred in 1600), and John Maldonatus (d. 1598)... A subsequent persecution... stopped the propagation of the Faith...’

In the latter half of the 19th century the author of the piece wrote, ‘Thanks to the broad-mindedness of Kings Mongkut (1851-68) and Chulalongkorn (1868-1910), the Catholic Church in Siam has enjoyed peace... While in 1875 there were in Siam 11,000 Catholics, 17 European and 7 native priests, and 30 churches, these are now (1911), 23,000 Catholics, 42 European and 13 native priests [and] 55 churches...’

Overall, the Catholic Encyclopaedia seemed to give a favourable and fair impression of a nation that for most would remain nothing more than an exotic place name on a map of the world.

Bits ‘n’ Bobs

Personal Directions: Managing Change in a Changing World

by Christina Dodd, founder and managing director 
of Incorp Training Associates

“They always say that time changes things,

but you actually have to change them yourself”

- Andy Warhol

Recently I was involved in a workshop on Change Management for a client who quite openly admitted that they were nervous about how to approach the changes they had to initiate in the company. Not a large firm, but one of around 50 employees, it had held together through many turbulent times basically as a result of the efforts of its employees. For some of them it had been their only job since school and their whole lives revolved around the company. The management, for good reason, did not want to jeopardize what had taken years to build and they valued the loyalty of every single person.

This kind of openness is exactly what is required when change is on the agenda. The process is not as easy to implement or even to understand as one would think. Why? Because it all comes down largely to the “human factor ” – of both the management and the employees.

Usually when I’m with a group of managers and I mention the word change, the idea of change or the possibility of change, I can instantly see the barriers drop down like steel shutters in readiness to lock up. It’s almost as if I can hear the crashing noise of the rollers! It is fair to say that to many leaders and managers, change is considered a daunting task.

Change is nothing new. It has been going on for decades. But we must understand by now that organizations cannot be just endlessly managed using the same old practices to achieve success. Business conditions change, economies change, expectations change and yesterday’s assumptions and practices no longer work.

The way we manage change, has to change!

There are countless manuals, books, seminars and consultants offering all sorts of solutions to help “manage change”, but more often than not, they tend to neglect the dynamics of the personal transition and transition of the organization itself, that are integral to the outcome of any change effort. There is a very real need today for leaders and managers to be coached as to how to go through the transition process themselves, before they can effectively coach others.

It’s all very well to have a plan. Indeed plans are essential. Most managers, however, think that a good plan is all it takes to implement change. Just detail what needs to be done, establish a task force, set some timeframes, tell everyone their respective new responsibilities and then monitor the results – see what happens. After all, to make change work, employees just have to follow the plans and decisions of the management.

To take this approach is like marching through a minefield blindfolded!

The trouble with this kind of attitude and thinking is that it doesn’t even consider the fact that “transition” occurs in the course of every attempt at change. Whilst change is external (policy, practice, structure etc.), transition – the state that change puts people into – is a psychological reorientation that people have to go through before the change can work.

An excellent definition of change was given by King Whitney Jr.:

“Change has a considerable psychological impact on the human mind. To the fearful it is threatening because it means that things may get worse. To the hopeful it is encouraging because things may get better. To the confidant it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make it better.”

Most leaders and managers, even if they acknowledge that a transition exists, imagine that it is automatic – that it occurs simply because the change is happening. But it doesn’t. Transition takes time because it requires that people undergo three separate processes, and all of them can be unsettling and in many cases upsetting. Remember, people’s lives and livelihoods are at stake here. Their futures and their happiness.

The first stage is Saying Goodbye. People have to let go of the way that things – and worse, the way that they themselves – used to be. For many it’s a place where they don’t want to go. They have gotten used to doing their work a certain way, and maybe they were very good at it, reaching the management’s expectations of performance. They worked well with their colleagues and friends, they understood their supervisors and managers, they had a sense of pride in their job, they felt needed and important. For many, letting go is extremely difficult as it is asking people to leave their whole world of experience, even their identity.

Secondly, after people have let go of their old ways, they find themselves in the Neutral Zone – a difficult phase of transition - which is like an in-between state full of uncertainty and confusion and coping with it takes understanding, patience and energy. The neutral zone is uncomfortable and many people are driven to get out of it, grasping at other opportunities without giving them rational thought. But in this zone, if management have done their homework correctly, time is not wasted because it is here that creativity and energy of transition are found and the real transformation takes place. Successful transition requires that an organization and its people spend some time in the neutral zone together for it is where they can all come to grips with what is being asked.

The third stage of transition is that of Moving Forward. Having made their way through the first two phases, some people freeze when they have to face the third phase – the new beginning. It requires people to start behaving in a new way and that can be disconcerting for some. A lot of people are afraid to take the first new step and don’t want to be singled out over others. Many stand back, waiting and watching to see how others handle the new beginning.

Today’s leaders face incredible challenges. Whether they be the captain of a sporting team, a manager of small company, or the prime minister of a nation. The world does not stand still – it is in a constant state of movement, flux and change. An understanding leader takes into account the nature of change and its complexities both in terms of the projects and goals ahead and the innate nature of man.

“Men make history, and not the other way around. In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous, skilful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better.”

- Harry S. Truman

Have a great week!

Christina can be contacted by email at christina.dodd @incorptraining.com or directly at Incorp Training Associates in Bangkok. Tel: (0)26521867-8 or Fax: (0)26521870. Programs and services can be found at our website: www.zincorptraining.com

Social Commentary by Khai Khem

How to cross Pattaya’s main streets - be creative!

Our publication has had a number of readers write in and complain how difficult and dangerous it is for a pedestrian to cross Pattaya’s main streets. Second Road seems to be the hardest place to get from one side to the other. People actually do get across this busy street. I suspect the most successful have personal techniques that work best for them.

Locals are usually the least bothered about the possibilities of being run over by a motorcyclist or baht bus. They are lithe, nimble and were born into the chaos on Thailand’s public roads. Thais know pedestrians don’t necessarily have the right of way. Motorists can and do stop and let them cross eventually. Mostly one must wait for a kind-hearted driver who’s having a particularly good day and wants to make merit. To wait for one like that to come along needs patience.

Some of us take it a step at a time. We inch our way into the busy lanes of traffic, freeze in place when a speeding vehicle is bearing down on us and let it pass. Then we move forward another meter or two until finally we have arrived on the other side.

I personally like the sprinters. These come in all shapes, sizes and nationalities. They move off the curb like a flash of lightening, get to the center dividing line and wait there in what I refer to as the ‘no-fly’ zone. They calculate the oncoming traffic, its speed, spacing and type of vehicle much in the way kids beat the video games on computers. They’re halfway to their goal and the battle is nearly over. Muscles tensed and eyes peeled, they push off for another dash and cross the finish line.

After reading one of the last letters from a reader about the bike rider who nearly ran over his toes, I decided to spend some time watching people cross Second Road. Many Western tourists used the painted crosswalks, or crossed at appropriate corners with traffic lights in their favor. These were obvious sightseers with no pressing appointments or any real missions bearing down on them.

Those who used the painted crosswalks instantly regretted the decision when they found out that zebra crossings in Thailand are there for decoration only. Pedestrians who crossed at intersections with traffic lights did only slightly better. They learned quickly that a green light doesn’t mean all traffic from the other direction will let them cross without incident. Their lessons were etched across their startled faces.

I watched a group of Korean tourists all grasp each other by the hands and literally cross themselves before they attempted the feat. They were obviously devout Catholics. Thais often wear amulets to ward off danger and insure protection. That’s probably why most simply cross wherever it suits; completely switched off without a care in the world. I’ve also noticed that visitors from Europe and the USA are always looking the wrong way when they attempt the crossing. It’s a dead giveaway as to where they are from since motorists in those countries drive on the right side of the road.

My very favorite street-crossers are the ones who step into oncoming traffic with a hand in the air to attract attention and impart the message that they will cross at all costs, and safety be damned. Screeching brakes and swerving vehicles do not faze them. These are usually our weekend Bangkokians - visitors who would never have been further than their own front door had they not long ago learned that this really is the only way to get across to the other side.

When I lived in Bangkok I had a lady visitor from San Francisco stay with me for 2 weeks. For the first few days I was busy and did not have time to take her around. Since I lived on Sukhumvit Road on Soi 11 my neighborhood was well placed to accommodate and amuse a visitor without much babysitting.

When I finally had time to entertain her and take her around, she baulked at crossing the street. She froze and would not move. I was puzzled. She’d been going out everyday for nearly a week on her own. Each day when she returned she had obviously been enjoying herself, shopping, eating and meeting people. She finally told me she had been walking up and down Sukhumvit Road for miles in one direction and then doubling back. She had not once had the nerve to cross the road.

A true Bangkokian, I took her hand in mine, raised one arm high in the air and dragged her across the street. Cars did stop and let us pass. We zigged, we zagged, horns blasted and drivers swore, but we did get to the other side. I don’t advise using this tactic anymore. Bangkok traffic cops now give jaywalking tickets to pedestrians who do.

Women’s World:How to walk like a lady (Part I)

by Lesley Warmer

Have you ever squeezed your foot into a pair of heels after a long absence? I did and as I tottered around the bedroom endeavouring to balance and not walk as if I’d had one too many, a thought came to me, where did high heels come from? I have always been impressed as I watched the Thai ‘ladies’ sway delightfully as they walk in the most impossibly high heels; it’s fascinating and beautiful. Don’t you think it’s strange that we could never imitate it without looking absolutely ridiculous?

Most of us have at some time seen pictures, movies or documentaries of ancient Egypt (approx. 4000 B.C.). In these you will have noticed the murals on tombs and temples showing the earliest depictions of shoes, which were soft leather pieces held in place with laces. It’s conceivable that some form of foot covering came before this in the ‘caveman period’ but there doesn’t appear to be any evidence. It was probably a piece of animal skin wrapped around the foot and tied with twine from a tree. If the ladies were fashion conscious, and who’s to say they weren’t, I suppose they may have coordinated with whatever loincloth they wore.

The platform shoes that our young Thai friends think are so modern and fashionable have been around a very long time. Platform sandals called Kothorni, with high wood or cork soles, became popular among Roman tragic actors in approximately 200 B.C. I found it interesting to note that at Saxon weddings (approx. 1000 A.D.), it was the custom for the father of the bride to present the groom with one of the bride’s shoes, symbolizing the transfer of his authority over her. The bride’s shoe was then thrown to the bridesmaids; the one who caught it would be next to marry. Some of the shoes I see walking around Pattaya would be more likely to knock the bridesmaid out cold!

The birth of the future ‘winkle picker’ was during the reign of King Henry II of England (1154-1189). They say he had deformed feet so would only wear shoes with narrow, pointed toes to hide them. He is probably responsible for creating a few deformed toes throughout the following centuries, with his fetish for narrow pointed shoes.

During 1189-1199 the Knights of Richard the Lionhearted began to wear Sollerets, downward curving pointed toes, to keep their feet from slipping out of their stirrups. My imagination conjured up some horrible thoughts with these shoes, what happened if they fell off the horse and couldn’t get their foot out of the stirrup?

For some unknown reason, or at least I can’t find one, in Paris in 1215 a law was passed banning university professors from wearing shoes with long, pointed toes. Pointed toes had become a symbol of rank, growing longer and more pointed during the next two centuries, concluding by approximately 1382 in the spiky-toed Cracowe. It was known for Kings and princes to wear points 30 inches long!

I read an amusing story about a battle in Switzerland where the knights had to cut off their ‘points’ after dismounting before they could advance on foot to do battle.

The shoe became a more substantial item around the beginning of the 1500’s; a flexible upper was designed to be attached to a heavier stiffer sole. This lead to the introduction of the heel, devised as a better way of keeping a rider’s foot in the stirrup. Heeled boots for men quickly became fashionable.

Jargon and facts about wine - you might (or might not) want to know about

by Ranjith Chandrasiri

by Ranjith Chandrasiri

Somehow during the last few decades with the rapid growth of the wine industry, a jargon of it’s own has spawned. People thought they had to know the geography and language before they could appreciate wine. They started to feel like social failures if they didn’t know the name of each and every grape and couldn’t smell or taste fruit, spice or wood in their wine. Things really started to get out of hand when wine writers began to write an inordinate amount of wine reviews in the magazines and newspapers.

Take the following description of a Cabernet Merlot from a wine magazine. “A wealth of stylish cabernet fruit sets the wine apart from the rest, with beautifully integrated vanillan oak aroma distinguishable on the nose. The oak flavour is powerful on the palate, dominating full-bodied sweet minty fruit. Soft tannins are furry and restrained on the finish.” The story here seems to be about oak that imparts a vanilla bean flavour and you can also expect sweet, mint flavours - but what does the wine taste like? What is the predominant flavour? Vanilla bean perhaps, may be mint? Interestingly, in pages of wine reviews, grapes are seldom mentioned. Shouldn’t a wine taste of grapes first? Any sensible person who liked a glass of wine but didn’t want to enter the ranks of wine bores, would have to come out paranoid after reading and hearing this lingo.

Another wine review that says nothing much about the wine goes like this: “A distinctive wine which shows abundant varietal style. There is a marked fruit character, which is garlanded by some barnyard aromas and mulled spices. The palate is full and rich with a huge depth of flavour balanced by fine-grained integrated oak tannins which show a high tone char character plus a zest of sappy vanillan Troncais oak”. Translation: The wine has no fruit, smells like a cow pat and tastes like a burnt barrel.

It is annoying having to listen to wine snobs spitting out this jargon and “bits-o- info” at a tasting, but it’s kind of handy when you know them.

Here are few facts you might (or might not) want to know about wine. Some are mind-boggling while others are just trivial. So read on, you might even find some useful.

1. There has only been one change in the famous 1855 Classification of Bordeaux wines. In 1973 Chateau Mouton-Rothschild was promoted from a ‘Second Growth’ to a ‘First Growth’ status.

2. The largest cork tree in the world is known as ‘The Whistler Tree’. This tree is located in the Alentejo region of Portugal and averages over 1 ton of raw cork per harvest. Enough to cork 100,000 bottles of wine.

3. The only 3 grapes that can be used in Champagne are Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay.

4. The residual sugar levels in Champagne that are represented on the labels are categorized as follows: BRUT (0-1.5 % residual sugar), EXTRA DRY (1.2-2.0 % residual sugar), SEC (1.7-3.5 % residual sugar), DEMI-SEC (3.3-5.0 % residual sugar), DOUX (5.0 + % residual sugar). Brut being the most popular.

5. The 10 Cru status villages of Beaujolais are: Brouilly, Ch้nas, Chiroubles, C๔te-de-Brouilly, Fleurie, Morgon, R้gni้, Saint-Amour, (and the king of Beaujolais) Moulin-ภ-Vent.

6. Merlot is more heavily planted in the Bordeaux region than Cabernet Sauvignon.

7. Napa Valley recently surpassed Disneyland as California’s #1 tourist destination, with 5.5 million visitors a year.

8. The world’s smallest vineyard and winery is Africus Rex. The Vineyard is 4 feet by 18 feet, located in Canada, and produces Cabernet Franc. http://www.cyberus.ca/~chorniak/africus/index.html

9. The pressure in a bottle of Champagne is about 3 times the pressure in your motor vehicle tires. Now you know why the metal cage is over that cork so tight.

10. Foxwoods Resort & Casino in Connecticut is the largest single purchaser of Dom Perignon in the world.

11. The strict French system for ensuring quality in winemaking and grape growing regulations known as the A.O.C. (Appellation d’Origine Contr๔l้e) was implemented in 1935. It was based on a system already in place in Chโteauneuf-du-Pape since 1923.

12. Wine regions you might have never heard of but may remind you of someone: Melissa, Nardo, Faro, and Ischia. All located in Southern Italy and Sicily.

13. The average number of grapes it takes to produce a bottle of wine: 600.

14. According to scientist Bill Lembeck there are approximately 49 million bubbles in a bottle of Champagne.

15. The German law established in 1971 that categorized wine quality, designated the best stuff as Qualitไtswein mit Prไdikat or QmP for short. It means “quality wine with distinction or special properties”. Within this highest level there are 6 sub-levels that distinguish quality and grape ripeness at harvest. Kabinett-Reserve. Spไtlese-Late Harvest. Auslese-Select Harvest. Beerenauslese-Berry Select Harvest. Trockenbeerenauslese - Dried Berry Select Harvest. Eiswein - Ice Wine.

16. The largest publicly displayed collection of Chateau d’Yquem, valued at 1 million dollars and encompassing every vintage from 1855 to 1990, is on display at the Rio Resort in Las Vegas.

17. The soil of the famed Grand Cru vineyard “Clos de Vougeot” in France’s Burgundy region is considered so precious that vineyard workers are required to scrape it from their shoes before they leave for home each night.

Ranjith Chandrasiri is the resident manager, Royal Cliff Grand, Royal Cliff Beach Resort, Pattaya, email [email protected] or [email protected]