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Online hiring rises in Sept. led by retail

ONLINE hiring rose in September compared to August, according to an index compiled by online job postings company Monster.com.

The Monster Employment Index (MEI) had a reading of 100 points in September, against 98 in August and 96 in the same period last year.

The retail sector registered the biggest hiring gains at 21% year-on-year.

“Strong macroeconomic fundamentals and rising disposable income have attracted many foreign retail brands to set up shop in the Philippines. This has propelled economic growth as well as created more jobs across this sector,” Sanjay Modi, Monster.com Managing Director of Asia and the Pacific and the Middle East, said in a statement.

“While the economy and the job market are showing signs of recovery, professionals and fresh graduates must not discount the affects of AI and automation, reforming all aspects of the workforce and must constantly upskill to remain relevant in a highly competitive market,” Mr. Modi added.

Following the retail sector’s gains were the logistics, courier/freight/transportation, import/export and shipping segment, in which hiring grew 18% year-on-year.

Hiring by information technology, telecom/internet service providers rose 15%; banking, financial services and insurance expanded 13% ; and advertising, market research, public relations, media and entertainment gained 8%.

Meanwhile hiring in the health care sector fell 5% year-on-year to its lowest level since April.

The education sector, as well as the consumer goods/fast-moving consumer goods, food and packaged food, home appliance, garments/textiles/leather, gems and jewellery sector, both saw hiring decline 1%; business process outsourcing/information technology enabled services fell 2%; while engineering, construction and real estate dropped 5%.

Software, hardware and telecom professionals were the most sought during the month with a 12% rise year-on-year while demand for health care professionals dipped 6%.

This Monster Employment Index is a monthly measure of online job posting activity, and measures recruitment trends across industries and occupations. – Janina C. Lim

What to see this week

3 films to see on the week of November 3-10, 2017

Spirit of the Glass 2: The Haunted

ONE EVENING, Bea, Lisette, and Chelsea, along with their partners, play a game of spirit of the glass with Bea’s Ouija board. Supernatural events begin and disturbed souls who seek revenge from a 50-year-old crime harass them. Directed by Joey Javier Reyes, it stars Cristine Reyes, Daniel Matsunaga, Maxine Medina, Benjamin Alves, Ashley Ortega, Enrico Cuenca.

MTRCB Rating: PG

Jigsaw

WHEN A series of murders bear markings of the Jigsaw killer, law enforcement chase after the ghost of a dead man. Directed by Michael and Peter Spierig, it stars Tobin Bell, Matt Passmore, Callum Keith Rennie, Clé Bennett, and Laura Vandervoort. Variety’s Owen Gleiberman remarks, “For 92 minutes, it more or less succeeds in sawing through your boredom, slicing and dicing with a glum explicitness that raises the occasional tingle of gross-out suspense but no longer carries any kick of true shock value.”

MTRCB Rating: R-16

The Ghost Bride

Mayen has to choose between living a normal but difficult life versus accepting The Ghost Wedding, a strange business proposal to marry a deceased person from a wealthy family in exchange for financial gain. Directed by Chito Roño, it stars Kim Chiu, Matteo Guidicelli, Kakai Bautista, Beverly Salviejo, Bea Saw, Jerome Ponce, Elizabeth Chua, and Luz Fernandez.

MTRCB Rating: PG

Business Busan

By Cecille Santillan-Visto

BUSAN may well be Korea’s land of festivals with unique celebrations for every season. From the Haeundae Sand Festival, Polar Bear Swim Festival, Busan Nakdong River Canola Blossoms Festival, the Busan One Asia Festival and the now world-renowned Busan International Film Festival, there is a reason to troop to Korea’s second-largest city any time of the year. But even without these special festivities, this major maritime hub has been attracting more visitors as it slowly establishes itself as a preferred location for meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE).

It prides itself for having a wide array of accommodations, convention facilities, and a perfect support system complementing both business and tourism.

According to the Busan Tourism Organization, this city in the southeastern tip of the Korean Peninsula ranked fourth among MICE cities in Asia and 15th in the world in a study conducted by the Union of International Associations (UIA) in 2011. In a more recent UIA survey released in June, Korea ranked first for meetings held in 2016. Out of 11,000 international meetings, 997 were held in Korea, representing 9.5%, increasing from 7.5% in 2015. The Land of the Morning Calm has consistently improved its standing from fourth in 2014 with 636 events to second place the following year with 891 events. Notably, Busan captured a respectable share of the events, hosting 152 meetings last year.

Korea recorded over 2,200 MICE tourists from the Philippines from January to December 2016. In the first 10 months of the year, more than 3,000 MICE visitors from the Philippines were listed. Seoul remains the top destination, followed by Busan, Gyeonggi, Gyeongnam and Daegu.

Busan decided to take the MICE path when it launched a meetings industry promotion plan in 2012. Aiming to become Asia’s business meeting hub, it expanded the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center (BEXCO) and auditorium, established other conference venues, and developed hotels and other types of lodgings for the expected deluge of visitors.

Now, Busan is more than a just alternative stop to Seoul. It is a destination that offers a vibe different from the capital city and certainly worth exploring well after the scheduled conference or exhibit is over.

Here are some of the recommended sites and activities for business travelers to Busan:

1. Ride the Busan Songdo Cable Car — Opened in June, this newest attraction provides an eight-minute ride from Songnim Park to Amnam Park. Also called the Busan Air Cruise, the cable car runs about 1.6 kilometers east to west across the sea and peaks at 86 meters. Although more expensive by 5,000 Korean Won, it is best to choose the crystal cabins with transparent bottoms for a more spectacular view of the Songdo Beach and the city as a whole.

2. Hit the beach — Haeundae and Gwangalli Beaches are open all year round but can only accommodate swimmers during summer. However, tourists visiting either during spring or fall will nonetheless enjoy as there are other things to do besides swimming. The nearby Busan Aquarium has an extensive collection of marine wildlife while those who prefer the outdoors can just commune with the pigeons of Haeundae.

3. Find the Little Prince at the Gamcheon Cultural Village — This colorful village with quaint cafés and one-of-a-kind shops continues to draw visitors. Dubbed as the Santorini of South Korea, it boasts of installations, murals and other artworks lined in its many art streets. Its picturesque and colorful hillside houses provide the area with a different creative charm. For some reason, however, tourists are drawn to the statue of The Little Prince, the main character in Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s novella with the same title.

4. Say a little prayer at the Haedong Yonggungsa Temple – Although a bit difficult to reach by public transport, this majestic cliffside temple is a must-visit Busan monument. Buddhist monks roam the area and we were lucky to have been gifted with bracelets and more importantly, blessings, during our visit.

5. Food trip at the Jagalchi and Gukje Markets and the nearby BIFF Square – As a maritime port, even Koreans from other regions flock to Busan for its fresh seafood. The Jagalchi and Gukje Markets have restaurants with some of the best seafood platters. The adventurous may try the octopus sashimi, with newly harvested octopus that are moist, juicy, and still moving. BIFF Square, meantime, offers sweet Busan treats like ssiat hotteok, a sweet and chewy pancake stuffed with seeds and peanuts and may be addicting.

6. Check out the newly renovated Busan Tower — Busan Tower was refurbished last year and only reopened in July. Although not very tall compared to Seoul’s Namsan Tower or Lotte World Tower, it is increasingly drawing visitors for its multimedia display and interactive facilities.

7. Try the various unique hands-on activities — Busan is teeming with service providers that promote hands-on activities like the making of Samjin Eomuk (fish cake) or preparing your own makgeolli (rice wine) face mask. Short and simple, these projects are more for cultural appreciation. A jimjilbang (Korean spa) stopover at the Shinsegae, which holds the Guinness World Record for being the world’s largest shopping complex, will prove to be a unique experience. Leave your shyness at the door as customers will wander in their birthday suit.

8. Feel the adrenaline rush at Oryukdo Skywalk — There are five to six rock islands off the southern coast of Busan called Oryukdo (“o” means five while “yuk” means six in Korean) Island. Considered a National Cultural Heritage site, it is composed of the islands of Gonggotdo, Guldo, Surido, Usakdo (comprised of Bangpaedo and Sol), and Deungdaedo, where the lighthouse stands. A skywalk has been built so visitors can fully appreciate Busan’s deep blue ocean while walking on a transparent ledge.

So a visit to Busan need not be all business. Convention participants, managers, executives, and even incentive recipients can certainly take pleasure in what Busan has to offer after the last item in the agenda has been stricken off. And thereafter, Busan will definitely beckon you back.

For inquiries, contact the Korea MICE Bureau mice@knto.or.kr or visit www.koreaconvention.org.

Climbing Australia’s giant red rock Uluru banned

CLIMBING the world’s largest monolith Uluru was banned Wednesday amid concerns it was becoming a “theme park,” undermining the giant red rock’s deep cultural significance.

Scrambling up the symbol of the Outback, also known as Ayers Rock, is seen by many tourists as a must-do on their visit to Australia. But they do so against the wishes of the traditional Aboriginal owners, the Anangu, to whom the site is sacred.

At a meeting of the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park Board, made up of traditional owners and National Park representatives, a unanimous decision was made to ban the activity. It will come into force in October 2019.

“This decision is for both Anangu and non-Anangu together to feel proud about; to realize, of course it’s the right thing to close it,” board chairman Sammy Wilson said. Speaking to state broadcaster ABC after the decision, he added that the site was not a “theme park.”

Uluru monolith
A tourist looking at the Kapi Mutitjulu waterhole at Uluru, formerly known as Ayers Rock. — AFP

“Some people in tourism and government for example might have been saying we need to keep it open but it’s not their law that lies in this land,” he said. “It is an extremely important place, not a playground or theme park like Disneyland.”

The rock’s traditional Aboriginal owners’ connection to the site dates back tens of thousands of years and it has great spiritual and cultural significance to them.

Mr. Wilson urged tourists to respect the ruling. “If I travel to another country and there is a sacred site, an area of restricted access, I don’t enter or climb it, I respect it,” he said in the statement. “It is the same here for Anangu. We welcome tourists here. We are not stopping tourism, just this activity.”

Park authorities have long looked to close the climb permanently. It is currently left up to visitors to decide whether to tackle the sandstone monolith, which soars 348 meters.

About 300,000 people visit each year and, while there are no official figures on how many climb, their numbers are reported to have declined significantly. Tackling Uluru’s sandstone slopes is not an easy exercise and there have been numerous deaths over the years on the rock, where summer temperatures often hit 45 degrees Celsius. — AFP

Former Butuan City mayor, 2 others face charges over 2012 fire that killed 17

FORMER BUTUAN City Mayor Ferdinand M. Amante, Jr., who lost his bid for a third term in the 2016 election, is facing graft charges arising from a 2012 fire incident at the Novo Jeans and Shirts Enterprises wherein 17 female workers died as they were sleeping in their quarters. The Office of the Ombudsman, in a statement released yesterday, said it found probably cause to charge Mr. Amante along with former licensing officer Paul Cabrera and acting city fire marshal Alric Gomez. Based on the Ombudsman’s investigation, Novo’s business permit was issued despite the lack of the required Fire Safety and Inspection Certificate (FSIC). The company was given a 30-day period to comply with the submission of all documentary requirements, but its business permit was not revoked despite failing to do so. The Ombudsman said the three public officials must be held individually liable for graft for the specific acts they committed: Mr. Amante for approving Novo’s business permit without the required FSIC and failure to revoke it subsequently; Mr. Cabrera for recommending the approval of the firm’s business permit to the mayor and failure to subsequently act on its revocation; and Mr. Gomez for failure to notify Mr. Amante of Novo’s noncompliance and to recommend the cancellation of its business permit. In the related administrative case, Messrs. Amante and Cabrera were found guilty of gross neglect of duty and have been perpetually barred from public office.​ — ​ Mindanao Bureau

Struggling Cleveland Cavaliers fall to Indiana Pacers, drop fourth in a row

LOS ANGELES — A Cleveland Cavaliers lineup struggling to come together and sustain effort for a full game suffered its fourth consecutive NBA loss on Wednesday, falling 124-107 to visiting Indiana.

Every Pacers starter scored in double figures, with Thaddeus Young netting 26 points, Darren Collison adding 25 and Victor Oladipo pouring in 23 as Cleveland (3-5) suffered a fifth loss in six games, the past three by a combined 58 points.

“The other games we just got our butts kicked,” Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said. “Tonight, I thought we did some good things. We just couldn’t sustain it. But the other games we just flat out got our butts kicked. So seeing improvement.”

The Pacers had lost nine meetings in a row with the Cavs since March 2014 — four months before LeBron James returned from Miami to the Cavs.

“It’s just we have an opportunity to be very good and then you see some of the lulls that we have and it’s just very difficult on our team right now,” James said.

“We’re just trying to figure it out on the fly and unfortunately we don’t have time to practice a lot and do those things.”

James led Cleveland with 33 points and 11 assists but committed a game-high eight turnovers, while Derrick Rose added 19 points.

“We can’t sustain effort for 48 minutes,” James said. “They hit a few bombs at the end and the game got out of hand.”

Cavs center Tristan Thompson missed the second half with a left calf strain.

“Now Tristan went down again so we don’t know how long he’s going to be out,” James said. “Our team is kind of depleted as well, both on and off the floor.”

With an average age of 30, the Cavaliers have the NBA’s oldest roster.

James is the NBA’s sixth player with 400 regular-season games of at least 30 points, joining Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. — AFP

TPP talks sans US near homestretch

URAYASU, JAPAN — The 11 remaining nations in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) without the United States edged towards sealing a comprehensive free trade pact after New Zealand agreed to amend laws that are not subject to TPP, to enable its ban on foreign home purchases.

The pact aims to eliminate tariffs on industrial and farm products across an 11-nation bloc whose trade totaled $356.3 billion last year.

This week’s compromise saves member nations from having to renegotiate the ambitious trade pact to accommodate the New Zealand government’s demands for firm measures to rein in housing prices.

It also brings member countries closer to an important victory in support of free trade to be finalized at an Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit next week in Vietnam’s central city of Danang.

“The momentum towards (an agreement) at the meeting in Danang has significantly increased,” said Japan’s chief TPP negotiator, Kazuyoshi Umemoto.

Negotiators gathered for three days in Urayasu, east of the Japanese capital, to narrow down which terms of the original 12-nation deal to suspend, so as to salvage the pact at the Vietnam summit.

Canada though played down the chances of any kind of formal deal next week, citing the need to ensure the provisions in a new TPP treaty would not cause problems at ongoing talks to update the trilateral North American Free Trade Agreement. The NAFTA talks are due to wrap up next March.

“We’re moving quite expeditiously but it’s probably going to take a little longer, so as for a signature (next week) — that’s highly optimistic,” said an Ottawa source familiar with the government’s position.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who was sworn in last week, has announced plans to ban foreign home purchases that should curb speculation without forcing TPP countries to renegotiate the pact.

Japan hopes the deal, which links 11 countries with a combined GDP of $12.4 trillion, can show other nations it is able to champion free trade.

It could also help Japan resist U.S. pressure for a two-way trade pact, which is likely to come up when President Donald Trump visits, from Sunday until Tuesday, for a summit with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

The TPP pact was thrown into doubt when Trump pulled the United States out in January to prioritize protecting jobs. New Zealand and Vietnam subsequently pushed to renegotiate it, but countries have been able to narrow their differences in the final stretch. — Reuters

Let the client tell you what they want!

THERE are no shortcuts to effective selling. Practice, experience and training all help the professional improve his ability to close sales against strong competition or unconvinced buyers. The very best salespeople are those who spend time listening to their clients. They ask questions with the sole purpose of getting the customer to express opinions, problems and needs.

If I had to give a single piece of advice, it would be to stop trying so hard to make a sale. Logically, a customer will not spend money on anything unless he has convinced himself that it is needed. The task of a salesperson is to ask questions to help the client determine what his needs are.

I would agree that providing salient details about a product is important once the client has determined the need to buy. But to do so before the client knows that he needs the products is probably a mistake. A customer who is clear in his own mind that he needs the product will be more receptive to a sales pitch detailing how useful the product is. If he is not convinced that a purchase is a good idea, he will read the salesperson’s effort as a pushy attempt to get him to buy something he doesn’t need.

A salesperson’s role should be to assist the customer identify current problems, difficulties, dissatisfactions or concerns and then to help him determine how he wants to address these issues. Shortcutting this process almost always results in an uncommitted buyer. Perhaps this is why so many salespeople slip up.

One of my brother’s less “pleasant” girlfriends had an annoying habit of interrupting any conversation with strong statements like, “You have to see that movie; it is absolutely brilliant,” or, “That book you are reading is rubbish; you really must read these books by my favorite author.” Tell me anyone who would not be annoyed or irritated by such comments! But doesn’t this have a faint ring of a salesperson who sits in front of his client and tells him what to buy!

The best piece of advice I can offer salesmen is to restrain themselves from offering solutions until the end of the sales call. They should wait for the customer to express a clear need before explaining how their range of products might meet these needs. Professional salespeople who use this approach enjoy considerably more success in selling than those who push-sell.

Years ago, itinerant salespeople could often be found hawking everything from kitchen aids and cleaning products to encyclopedias and expensive appliances. Many of these salespeople felt forced (because remuneration was commission based) to push-sell their products to every prospect, irrespective of whether they needed them or indeed, could afford them. Consulting for one company with such a sale team; I learned that they had a monthly turnover of about one third of their salespeople and this was almost certainly a result of the lack of success these individuals enjoyed.

Nowadays of course, sales of this nature are often made by “infomercials” with highly engaging and informative demonstrations. I would certainly not suggest that this type of selling will replace the role of professionals any time soon but it does demonstrate one important facet of selling. The “pushiness” of the salesperson has little or no impact since the customer is free to determine whether the product is something they want to buy.

Salespeople selling high value, complex solutions to their clients will always enjoy more success if they take time to listen to customers’ requirements and try to match their products against these needs.

Terry Hockenhull is a long term resident of the Philippines. He is an accomplished sales consultant. He currently holds an executive sales position with an Italian geotechnical company.

Contact the author at hockenhull@gmail.com.

Enabling change

In 2006, the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (FINEX) started the annual tradition of recognizing the country’s most outstanding chief finance officer through a permanent partnership with Dutch financial giant ING Bank N.V., one of the world’s largest banks.

Today, the ING-FINEX CFO of the Year Award is the Philippines’ longest-running and only search that honors the top financial stewards of the land. This joint venture between two major institutions is envisioned to herald a legacy for future generations of Filipino financial leaders.

Previous winners were Delfin Gonzalez, Jr. of Globe Telecom, Inc.; Sherissa Nuesa and Luis Juan Oreta of Manila Water Co., Inc.; Jose Sio and Danny Yu of SM Investments Corp.; Ysmael Baysa of Jollibee Foods Corp.; Jaime Ysmael of Ayala Land, Inc.; Jeffrey Lim of SM Prime Holdings, Inc.; Felipe Yalong of GMA Network, Inc.; and Jose Jerome Pascual III of Shell Philippines Exploration B.V.

This year’s search revolves around the theme, “The Agile CFO: Enabling Change.” The 2017 winner will be announced on Nov. 20 at the New World Makati Hotel during the FINEX general membership meeting with Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Nestor A. Espenilla, Jr. as guest speaker.

SPOTLIGHT ON DIGITAL MEDIA
Dr. Donald Patrick Lim, Country CEO of Dentsu Aegis Network Philippines, headlined a forum on out-of-home (OOH) media in the digital age held last week at the Tower Club in Makati City.

He noted that digital media has been growing aggressively over the past two years. Based on data from AGB Nielsen, media marketers are now looking into the “big three” of advertising – television, radio, and OOH. The Philippine digital market has been growing at 30 to 40%, with Metro Manila having the highest point of reach among the country’s 17 regions.

According to Dr. Lim, the displacement of print media by OOH in terms of advertising share can be attributed to the rise of digital media, with more people getting connected through mobile devices, personal computers, and light-emitting diode (LED) displays.

Citing EDSA traffic as an example, he stressed that an artfully crafted billboard or OOH display next to a bus stop leaves motorists with no choice but to notice it, becoming interruptive to being a point for recall. He said the current trend for marketers is linking online data to digital billboards, with LED displays gaining ground after the once-static billboards became capable of showing video ads.

For Dr. Lim, billboards can pose a challenge to blockbuster movies and TV commercials in generating massive brand awareness. He said: “It’s all about strategy in placement, it’s all about creating ‘talkability’ and finding ways to cut through a cluttered market through creative OOH executions ranging from static to dynamic billboards.”

Alvin Carranza, President of McGraphics Carranz International, observed that consumers nowadays could opt not to watch free TV for their favorite series and not to read newspapers for the latest reports, but they cannot avoid passing the common routes when going to work or other destinations. His firm is at the helm of larger-than-life displays in Metro Manila and key cities nationwide.

Since marketers compete for the most strategic locations in major thoroughfares, it leads to a spot battle among OOH providers in metropolitan areas. Messaging can now be sustained 24/7 and is not likely to be missed by its target audience, with OOH fast becoming the most cost-effective advertising medium.

“In this day and age of user-generated content, marketers can take advantage of OOH’s low cost and wide reach that have made it a game-changer in advertising,” Mr. Carranza said. He believes that OOH is reinventing itself in the digital realm because content follows people everywhere – from transit ads and online promotions that push viewers to social media sites, to hot-air balloon displays and directional stickers embedded on pavements for pedestrians to follow as they walk along sidewalks and underpasses.

Dr. Lim predicts that the future of OOH in the digital age paves the way for a new experience that is technology-driven, generates talk value, transforms other media to OOH, and evokes feelings through physical engagement. Under this scenario, there is no escaping the OOH experience as it redefines the way we work and live.

J. Albert Gamboa is Chief Financial Officer of the Asian Center for Legal Excellence and serves as Co-Chairman of the FINEX Media Affairs Committee.

Positive sentiment, earnings push stocks higher

STOCKS CLIMBED on Thursday to reach a new high, buoyed by positive sentiment on third-quarter earnings and bullish outlooks on the economic performance of the US and Europe.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) closed at 8,516.02 yesterday, showing a 1.80% or 150.76-point increase, while the all-shares gauge closed at 4,956.97, rising by 1.33% or 65.04 points.

With the funds rate kept at expected levels by the US Federal Reserve, the upgrade of the growth assessment to “a solid rate” from “rising moderately” was the surprise, said Luis A. Limlingan, managing director at Regina Capital Development Corp.

“The statement noted that this growth occurred ‘despite’ disruptions from the hurricanes, and it explicitly attributed the decline in September payroll employment to the storms,” Mr. Limlingan said in a text message. “This return to a “solid” pace of growth – last referenced in the January 2015 statement – underscores the [Federal Open Market] Committee’s more positive view on real activity, following softness in parts of the economy over the last two years.”

Mr. Limlingan added that the inflation estimate for the Eurozone in October, which was lowered to 1.40% in October from 1.50% in September, also gave a push to the index. Eurozone gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 0.60% for the third quarter “was above the 0.50% expected.”

For Jervin S. de Celis, equities trader at Timson Securities, Inc., investors are maintaining a positive outlook for earnings performances after good results from BDO Unibank, Inc. and Manila Electric Company (Meralco).

“Index heavyweights such as SM [Investments Corp.], AC (Ayala Corp.), and BDO lifted the market today after BDO’s 3Q earnings disclosure report buoyed local market sentiment. Investors are probably expecting better earnings performance from the rest of the Bluechips after BDO and Meralco posted positive performances for the recent quarter,” Mr. De Celis said in a text message on Thursday.

All sectors recorded increases except mining and oil, which declined by 22.9 points or 0.17% to 13,201.58. Financials rose by 63.4 points or 3.16% to 2,064.46; industrials climbed 24.53 points or 0.22% to 10,935.37; holding firms gained 163.4 points or 1.9% to 8,741.29, services went up 3.97 points or 0.23% to 1,712.15; and property moved up by 69.47 points or 1.76% to 4,014.95.

Value turnover climbed to P9.5 billion with 1.47 billion shares changing hands from P6.67 billion last Monday.

Advancers beat decliners, 116 to 79, while 47 names closed unchanged. Foreigners increased their shareholdings to yield net purchases worth P758.47 million, a reversal of the P150.19-million net selling recorded on Monday.

Asian shares touched 10-year highs after the US Federal Reserve expressed optimism about the economy, virtually cementing the case for a year-end rate hike as investors awaited the formal nomination of the next head of the central bank. – Patrizia Paola C. Marcelo with Reuters

Getting too informal

In his 2009 book, Predictably Irrational Dan Ariely, yet another proponent of behavioral economics, notes the distinction between social and market norms, for the same activity or different activities dealing with the same person.

He gives as an example having a wonderful thanksgiving dinner at the mother-in-law’s place. As a sign of appreciation, do you pull out a hundred bucks and give this to her? The social context of this activity makes such a gesture the height of bad manners. And yet the same meal in a restaurant is not concluded by hearty compliments and appreciative remarks; a bill has to be paid.

The distinction between a social situation where even hard tasks (washing clothes for the family) are offered for free and a market norm where the same services (doing the hotel laundry) are charged can get tangled in a culture that tries to avoid bringing up the matter of money among friends. Should a former classmate who happens to be an interior decorator be prevailed upon to give free consultations?

Even in the corporate world, not all relationships are covered by market norms where contracts usually define rights, obligations, and fees. Thus, an informal adviser who gives valuable and solicited evaluation of a business issue, analyzing problems and providing marketing solutions may be tapped for lunch or coffee devoid of power point presentations and opened notebooks.

And to be sure the meeting is considered “purely social,” the talk is interspersed with gossip about aging associates, and common friends who have been diagnosed with some dreaded disease. No staff assistants are on hand.

Since there is not even any taking of notes or designation of “next steps,” the lunch ends with a vague plan to meet up again with the spouses. The advice seeker picks up the bill — it’s your turn next time.

Informal chats over lunch are trapped in Ariely’s social norms.

Advisers feel awkward moving the informal consultations on a market norm, and putting a value on their inputs, even when these have been acted on afterwards without credits given. If they even hint of possible compensation, the timid request to formalize some consultancy arrangement is met with an incredulous stare — you mean you’re going to send me a bill for your jokes?

Being sociable has its costs. This exchange is sure to end the lunch meetings altogether, and fray whatever friendship was involved at the start, not necessarily with a fiery exit but an awkward coolness.

Lawyers, PR crisis managers, doctors, ghost writers, and tax accountants are experts in avoiding this predicament of an ambiguous market norm. These professionals have a ready response to anyone bringing up a problem for free consultation — I have this recurring ache in my big toe. Before the complainer removes his shoes and gets further with more details, he is quickly told not to take it up here at the party and just make an appointment with the secretary for a diagnosis at the clinic, so the problem can be more properly evaluated… and billed.

Still, even the successful professional who gets paid by the hour for his advice can be generous with free comments. He understands where the line for the charging can be drawn as when contracts and pleadings need to be drafted. A seemingly generous sharing of ideas can be an effective demonstration of expertise and justification for high fees later.

Anyway, someone who puts everything on a market norm, including text messages and casual conversation, can be perceived in our culture as too greedy. The vernacular characterization is even more graphic, “mukhang pera,” which roughly translates to: it’s all about money. I know that doesn’t capture the contempt of the original.

In the realm of philanthropy and good works, market norms can be subsumed. Legal skills for example can be provided by a group pro bono in the service of persecuted sectors, using a purely social norm.

The blurring of social and market norms can sometimes become problematical. A professional relationship initially based on market norms entailing the exchange of services for a fee on a per appearance basis can evolve into a more complex relationship with expectations and commitments, the inflicting of pain, even possessiveness and the introduction of rules. This type of complication and emotional roller coaster is not limited to dental care. It can apply to other situations where regular flossing doesn’t help.

As in any social and economic relationship, it’s best to define which norm applies… and if you can afford it.

 

A. R. Samson is chair and CEO of Touch DDB.

ar.samson@yahoo.com

ASEAN Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index, October

THE PHILIPPINES in October wrested from Vietnam the lead in Southeast Asia manufacturing activity that the former lost back in February, as local businesses began 2017’s last quarter with anticipation of greater demand at home, according to monthly tracking done by IHS Markit for Nikkei, Inc. Read the full story.

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