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Sunday, October 12, 2008

7 steps to ride out the financial storm

From TODAY, Voices
Thursday October 9, 2008

I Say, by Gilbert Goh Keow Wah

What can we do to handle the current economic crisis?

This financial storm will pass us by, but the important thing is to hang in there. This is what I try to live by:

1 Try not to delve too much into what is being published. Read just enough to stay abreast of what is happening round the world. Read motivational books rather than the negative news to stay on top of the situation.

2 Stay positive always. Remember that as in previous financial catastrophes, banks and corporations have a way of bouncing back. The same will happen for our economy: Be patient.

3 Stay lean. Cut back on unnecessary expenditure. But if you smell a bargain and if you need it, why not make the purchase? In good times, the same dollar may not get you the same product. Shop smartly for good deals.

4 If you are out of work, focus on getting back into employment. Register with the Community Development Council (CDC) employment arm nearest you — there are five such CDCs spread round Singapore. They also provide financial assistance for a limited period if you qualify.

5 If you are being hounded by banks for repayment of mortgage or credit loans, stay steady and face up to the credit officers.

It is best to arrange for a meeting to explain your financial situation. Most banks are sympathetic and will even arrange for the interest less the principal to be paid over a limited period before the situation improves for you.

The worst thing to do is to “hide” from them. Once a lawyer’s letter is issued, the banks may not be so willing to negotiate then.

6 Network more, especially in these lean times. I managed to find employment after 911 through networking with a long lost friend. Even though it was part time work, at least I had income coming in and I got my self-esteem back. With that experience, I found full time employment with another company six months later.

7 Stay fit. The body is wired to the brain and vice versa. Those who handle downtime better are those who manage their physical and psychological health well. When we feel good about ourselves, we will approach a crisis better prepared. It’s time to take out those running shoes again!

The writer was unemployed for two years from 2001 and writes this from personal experience.

Email your views to news@newstoday.com.sg

Friday, October 3, 2008

People lie more by email: Study

This is a bummer, at the least! Most of our business communications are already done through e-meow...
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From TODAY, World
Friday October 3, 2008

CYBER DECEPTION

ANAHEIM (California) — People are more likely to lie in an email than in other forms of communication, new research has shown.

Psychological tests conducted by business professors at Rutgers, Lehigh and DePaul universities in the United States found people are significantly more likely to lie in emails than in handwritten documents.

In the tests, 48 students were given US$89 ($99.50) and told to split it with a stranger who had little idea how much money was up for grabs.

A total of 92 per cent of the students lied when dividing the money over email, while 64 per cent lied when asked to write by hand. Emailers ended up handing over an average of US$29 — keeping $60 for themselves — while pen-and-paper negotiators gave up $34 and pocketed $55.

The paper, Being Honest Online, published at the annual meeting of the Academy of Management in California, suggests people feel they have more capacity to mislead when using high-tech communication than with more traditional methods.

“People seem to feel more justified in acting in self-serving ways when typing as opposed to writing,” said co-author Terri Kurtzberg, an associate professor at Rutgers Business School.

Co-author Liuba Belkin, an assistant professor at Lehigh University warned that businesses should be particularly careful when dealing with e-mail.

“You’re not afforded the luxury of seeing non-verbal and behavioural cues over email, and in an organizational context that leaves a lot of room for misinterpretation and — as we saw in our study — intentional deception,” he said.

THE GUARDIA N

Thursday, October 2, 2008

$10m contract to build zero-energy building


From TODAY, News
Friday October 3, 2008

ESTHER NG

THE $10.47-million contract for Singapore’s first zero-energy building (picture) has been awarded to local firm ACP Construction. Work to retrofit an existing building at the BCA Academy along Braddell Road starts this month and should be completed by next year.

As announced earlier, everything in the building, from the lights and air-conditioning, to the water in the toilets, will be sourced from renewable energy.

It will house green classrooms, a library, as well as a visitor centre that can be used for training purposes. The retrofitted building will also function as a test-bed for green building technologies, to see if new ideas can be adopted for commercial use.

The building is part of the Building and Construction Authority’s (BCA) plan to raise awareness of a sustainable built environment and is its flagship R & D project under its Green Building Masterplan.

The BCA had earlier awarded another tender for the building’s solar panel to Singapore firm Grenzone for $1.7 million.

ACP Construction has a track record for constructing high-tech buildings. They were involved in two Green Mark projects — 138 Depot Road and Neuros Biopolis Phase 2 in One North.