BEAUTY - ONLY SKIN DEEP!

I had a shock when I came across an article called, 'Twenty Most Shocking Photos of Celebrities Without Makeup!' (http://superbooyah.com/index.php/Home/Galleries/Celebrity/The-20-Most-Shocking-Photos-Of-Celebrities-Without-Makeup.html) The photos revealed many 'plain Jane' images of Celebrities, my favorites included, that I had never for a moment thought possible. Without their make-up, they appeared to be just another 'girl next door!' Some even looked 'much older' than their known ages.

I guess, in some cases it makes us wonder how many of them went for botox treatment, face-lift, breast augmentation and liposuction, and other cosmetic surgeries (including Rhinoplasty). According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, more than 160,000 American children, yes children underwent Cosmetic Surgery in 2008! In terms of the number of Miss Universe titles any country had won, Venezuela takes second place, but the rank in terms of surgical procedures being carried out in any Nation, took 20th place. Not too bad......I guess!

There are indeed many non-invasive ways to counter physical signs of aging such as wrinkles, cellulite and sagging skin namely, adequate sleep and proper dietary habits, Yoga , massage and spa treatment, human embryonic stem cells treatment, health supplements, skin care treatment and other alternative solutions. Most of these treatments are should we say, only able to achieve 'skin-deep beauty'.

There is a tagline that runs like this; 'Everyone Has A Right To Be Beautiful'. It may come as a 'shock' for some to know that it is used for the Miss Landmine Beauty Contest held in Cambodia, (a country that's littered and plagued with landmines) in 2009. This contest had raised quite a lot of controversies like for instance; it was considered a mockery and an insult to see these 'physically-challenged' handicap victims walking around with or without prosthetic limbs in a Beauty Contest! "What's important is that 'MISS LANDMINE' has been a tool for the participants to overcome prejudice, fear and discrimination. It allows them to highlight their abilities while acknowledging the disabilities to themselves and the outside world," says Morton Traavik, Miss Landmine Director and Creator. http://vimeo.com/15485224

Beauty is a subjective matter that concurs well with the saying, 'Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.' It also conjures thoughts of a 'perceptual' nature that connotes experience of pleasure, meaning and satisfaction. In Koine Greek, beauty was called 'hora', hour. Beauty was then associated with 'one's hour'. It was further expounded with the salient experience of positive reflection about the meaning of one's existence! I feel nobody in this whole wide world would disagree that everybody is beautiful in their own way!

After all if a BLIND MAN can be a 'photographer', what's so wrong about a lady without a leg or a hand taking part in a Beauty Contest?

KICKBACKS!

By implementing certain policies or practices without doing prior Research and Analysis puts the Company at risk of facing 'kickbacks' which erodes away the very fundamentals of Building, Sustaining and Growing. It may appear insignificant but over the long term, the side-effects are cumulative. At even a 10% loss of revenue each month, it is wasteful 'deterioration' that a new business can ill-afford.

Take for instance, a Cinema Operation where the main activity involves 'over-the-counter' transactions and 'call-in' telephone bookings. The main criteria for CUSTOMER SERVICE is friendliness, attentiveness, accuracy, communication skills, courtesy, promptness, pro-activity, sincerity and willingness of the Staff to 'go the extra mile'. Apart from cleanliness and freshness of utilities and environmental comfort (that includes ambiance) and consistent and constant upgrading of service, the drawing force that keeps the customer coming back is not in in the hands of the Cinema Staff. It is a pure waste of time and effort on the part of the staff to call the customers and enquire why they have stopped patronizing the Cinema for a period of time. Customers may conclude that 'the Company might be in financial problems to behave in such a desperate manner' apart from the feeling of annoyance, to be 'disturbed' in this way! As a means of ensuring compliance is maintained, Tools such as KPI (Key Performance Indicators) are implemented. Failure to fulfill certain individually-specified quotas (in revenue) will mean having to explain in writing why it was not fulfilled. On top of that, the Staff concerned will not qualify for incentive entitlement. Such punitive measures are demoralizing and puts the Company on the loosing end! Synergy will not be derived as Staff will have to fight for 'survival' in 'grabbing' as much of the 'cake' as possible, instead of pooling their energy resources to work as a TEAM and focusing on CUSTOMER-SERVICE SATISFACTION. To further compound the situation, it is part of the KPI requirement that the Staff is also to identify, reach out and introduce himself/herself as the personally appointed Staff-in-attendance. Somehow disharmony takes root when Staff start to think, 'well that's not my customer.........so I should not have to bother to do more than what is necessary!'

When Staff feel that they are being forced to do something that makes no sense because some 'smart alec' cooked up the idea that KPI initiatives is the effective way to derive strong bottom line gains is both frustrating and humiliating! The resulting 'kickbacks' will not be obvious though there will be 'adverse reactions' as Staff constantly 'conspire' to do the things that will 'on the surface' appear to be FULLY-COMPLIANT but in reality, many areas had been compromised. The Management hierarchy will also be affected if Venue Heads are included in the KPI exercise, as assertiveness lessens gradually to the extent enforcement is minimal. Top Management should know better than to lose their hold on the 'reins of influence' with Venue Heads.

It is clearly evident that certain categories of KPIs are NOT applicable in certain types of business operations. As we have read in the Newspapers, KPIs had even been found to backfire when applied to the Judiciary, and that can be said to be a matter of life and death!