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Chamber Programmes

Draft Code of Practice
Monitoring and personal data privacy at work

Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data Raymond Tang discussed at the Chamber's April 30 roundtable luncheon the commission's Draft Code of Practice on Monitoring and Personal Data at Work.

The code will cover monitoring of employees' telephone calls, e-mails, computer usage and close-circuit-TV monitoring, among others. Employees are no doubt uneasy about being spied upon, but employers are also worried that if such a code is enacted, rather than it being a non-legally-binding guideline, then they will have to invest in considerable resources to comply with the code.

Mr Tang said that in formulating the code of practice, the Privacy Commission is merely recognising a need in certain areas where employers wish to guard against the risk of their company information being abused. He stressed companies should not go about installing pinhole cameras everywhere, but instead should perhaps identify which sections of their company should be monitored, and then implement the lowest form of proportional monitoring.

In a survey conducted by the commission, employees said they felt monitoring of their phone calls would be very invasive. The second most intrusive form of monitoring would be reading of their emails, and thirdly keeping track of calls made at work.

While employees cringe at the prospect of their boss looking over their shoulder, many may already be being monitored without even knowing it. Mr Tang said the survey showed that 64 per cent of employers have at least one form of surveillance in the workplace, while 33 per cent have two or more forms. However, only 22 per cent of employers have told their employees about it.

"It is valid for employees to feel their privacy is being invaded," Mr Tang said, "but from the employers' side, why should they not have the right to protect their property and information?

"So the question we have to answer is where do we find the middle ground?"

Once that question has been answered, employers have to be honest, open and transparent in informing staff to what extent they are being monitored, and employees can then decide for themselves if they feel the monitoring is proportional and fair.

Other issues involve the cost and manpower needed to implement a surveillance plan.

"Major organisations should have no problem setting up, monitoring and producing a written guideline for employees, but SMEs may not have the resources to accomplish this. I believe that the Chamber can help a great deal in this regards," he said.

Members attending the luncheon said they understand the goals of the code in principle, but that they felt the practical issues make it prohibitive. If employers want to check emails, for example, the amount of resources needed to read through thousands of emails makes it almost impossible to do.

Also, by monitoring employees at work, the company may also inadvertently record employees' personal data.

Few people today work from 9-5, and because staff often have to work one or two hours overtime a night, many employees feel their employers should give them some latitude to attend to some personal matters while at work.

Mr Tang said this is where the issue of trust and transparency comes in, because if both sides know the rules, staff will decide whether or not they are willing to disclose some personal data to their employer.

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Book review
"The China Dream"

For centuries, the exoticism of China has sent conservative businessmen giddy with the thought of reaping untold riches from selling their wares in the world's most populous country. From the time of Marco Polo to the multinationals of today, people have been saying, "loads of money here," "must go here," or "fantastic opportunity here."

"Even in the late 1500s and 1600s people were beginning to talk in the terms that they are today in the size and potential of the market," author and journalist Joe Studwell said at the Chamber's May 13 roundtable luncheon.

"So this concept of China as a fantastic market has been building up for a long time, but recently it has taken on new prominence."

In his book, "The China Dream: The Elusive Quest for the Last Great Untapped Market on Earth," Mr Studwell says capturing a slice of the China market, for many companies, has proven to be nothing more than an unattainable fantasy.

But he stresses that he is not implying that the China market is a waste of time. Companies that enter the Mainland looking to capitalise on its cheap manufacturing costs and ability to get things done, however, generally do very well.

"That is why the book is called 'The China Dream,' because dreams can come true," he said.

Problems arise when businesses convince themselves that just by entering the China market that they cannot help but succeed.

He cites the example of General Motors investments in China in 1992, which at that time only 200,000 cars were sold in the country.

"So it gets it into its head that the market for General Motors alone by the end of the decade could be as high as 1 million units. And so they decide they want to build three car plants in China," he said.

Other carmakers were as convinced as GM that the market would skyrocket. Likewise, the insurance sector thought the market would grow by 40 per cent annually and invested a great deal to secure licences for the China market, despite it being smaller than the Taiwan insurance market.

"But no one was focusing on this, they were all focusing on headline growth which was coming off a very low base," he said.

Because China is coming off a very low base, Mr Studwell said growth and GDP figures in China do not matter a great deal, what ultimately matters is profits.

In his book, he also cites other stories of multinationals and also the stories of the smaller people who went into China with equally powerful dreams.

"But I think the difference is they didn't strategize the market to the same extent. They didn't convince themselves that they could go to Beijing and cut a deal and be handed a great business opportunity," he said.

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Dow Corning
Finding the right equation

Gary Anderson, chairman, president and CEO of Dow Corning Corporation, explained at the Chamber's April 29 luncheon how his company has managed to find the right equation in responding to customers' needs in today's rapidly changing environment.

In sum, Mr Anderson said businesses first need to continuously listen to customers, and then to assess how to align capacity, services and people to meet customers' needs -- the needs that are most important to them.

"If your company now provides only products, consider what services and solutions you can offer to more fully address customers' needs, problems and opportunities. This will let you strengthen and expand your relationship with customers," he said.

He also suggests companies consider how they can leverage information technology and innovation as a key point of differentiation, and to have the courage to embrace change.

Businesses should also communicate their business strategy with staff, so that all employees can believe in and ensure they know how their role supports it.

"For Dow Corning, the answer was simple: give customers what they want, build on the strengths of our heritage, our people, and our brand. And do it in a unique and differentiating way," he said.

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Logistics
Hong Kong vs Singapore

Hong Kong must do a better job at promoting itself as Asia's logistics hub or lose out to Singapore, Peter Levesque, CEO of Hong Kong based V-Logic Limited, told members at the Chamber's May 14 roundtable luncheon.

He believes Singapore is winning the "perception" game of being Asia's logistics hub over Hong Kong by aggressively promoting the Lion City and the companies it has wooed there.

"Things are being done [here in Hong Kong]. The problem is we need to turn up the juice and to get out to where these companies are and tell them about the advantages of Hong Kong," he said.

Hong Kong's geographical location makes it the logical hub for Asia, especially the China market and North Asia, and has many advantages over Singapore, which geographically seems to be the best choice as a hub for businesses concentrated in Southeast Asia. Yet it is also selling itself quite effectively with its marketing campaigns, tax incentives, and links with foreign universities as the hub for North Asia, he said.

Mr Levesque believes many of these companies will likely realise their mistake and come to Hong Kong sooner or later if their focus is the China market, but it highlights the need for the SAR to toot its horn a little more loudly.

He also feels that Hong Kong must adopt an open-skies policy -- as Singapore has done -- if it is to truly call itself the logistics hub of Asia.

"The biggest drawback facing Hong Kong is its no open-skies policy," he said. "The lack of open skies will be a disadvantage in the future when Hong Kong tries to attract large investments."

The territory, with its infrastructure, free-port status and more efficient logistics services, is unlikely to see any threat from the Mainland looking to steal the logistics-hub crown for some years to come. But Mr Levesque said there is scope for Hong Kong to further its advantage by working with the Pearl River Delta.

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