Republic of SINGAPORE

INTRODUCTION

CAPITAL - SINGAPORE CITY OFFICIAL LANGUAGE - ENGLISH, MALAY,CHINESE,TAMIL PRESIDENT - TAN KENG YAM TONY PRIME MINISTER - LEE HSIEN LOONG FOUND IN YEAR 16th FEBRUARY 1891 INDEPENDENCE (FROM UK) 31st AUGUST 1963 SPERATION FROM MALAYSIA - 16th SEPTEMBER 1965 GDP - (2011) TOTAL $259.849 BILLION PER CAPITA INCOME - $ 49,270 CURRENCY - SINGAPORE DOLLAR

GEOGRAPHY

Consists of 63 islands 23% of land is natural forests North of equator

FLAG

CLIMATE

Tropical Rain Forrest Climate High humidity Abundant Rainfall Average of 93 inches each year. Temperature Range (72-93 Degrees F)

NATIONALS
Bird Crimson Sun bird Flower Vanda Miss Joaquim Animal Lion Emblem Majulah Singapora Fruit - Durian

ECONOMY

The 2011 Index of Economic Freedom ranks Singapore as the second freest economy in the world, behind Hong Kong. According to the Corruption Perceptions Index, Singapore is consistently ranked as one of the least corrupt countries in the world, along with New Zealand and the Scandinavian countries. The Singaporean economy depends heavily on exports and refining imported goods, especially in manufacturing, which constituted 27.2% of GDP in 2010 and includes significant electronics, petroleum refining, chemicals, mechanical engineering and biomedical sciences sectors. The Port of Singapore is one of the busiest in the world. Singapore is the 14th largest exporter and the 15th largest importer in the world. Tourism is one of the cities largest industries. There are more than 7,000 multinational corporations from the United States, Japan, and Europe in Singapore.

There are also 1,500 companies from China and 1,500 from India. Foreign firms are found in almost all sectors of the economy. Singapore is also the second largest foreign investor in India. Over ten free trade agreements have been signed with other countries and regions. Tourism also forms a large part of the economy, and 10.2 million tourists visited the country in 2007. Singapore is promoting itself as a medical tourism hub: about 200,000 foreigners seek medical care there each year, and Singapore medical services aim to serve one million foreign patients annually by 2012 and generate USD 3 billion in revenue

Singapore is a world leader in several economic areas: The country is the world's fourth leading financial center, the world's second-biggest casino gambling market, one of the world's top three oil refining centers and a major shiprepairer. The World Bank has named Singapore as the easiest place in the world to do business and ranks Singapore the world's top logistics hub. It is also the world's fourth largest foreign-exchange trading centre after London, New York and Tokyo.

BUSINESS GREETINGS

When introducing two people, state the name of the more important or more senior person first.

Business cards are exchanged after the initial introductions. .Business cards are exchanged using both hands. .If you will be meeting ethnic Chinese, it is a good idea to have one side of your card translated into Mandarin. Have the Chinese characters printed in gold, as this is an auspicious colour.

Treat business cards with respect. This is indicative of how you will treat the relationship. Your own business cards should be maintained in pristine condition. Never give some one a tattered card.

VERBAL COMMUNICATIONS

Most Singaporeans speak softly. Loud talk is a sign of poor manners. The word yes might not mean your counterpart agrees with you. Avoid asking negative questions.

NON VERBAL BEHAVIOR

Expect a gentle handshake Men usually wait for a woman to offer her hand first Singaporeans sometimes smile to cover anxiety or embarrassment When seated, be careful not to cross your legs

ETHNIC GROUPS, LANGUAGES AND RELIGION

Population is diverse. Chinese constitute threefourths of population. Malays from the next largest group and Indians are third.
Chinese is the primary language spoken in majority of homes. English is the language of administration and business and it is widely spoken as second language.

Singapores religions are Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism and Christianity. The majority of chinese singaporeans follow Buddhism and more recently Christianity.

Malay singaporeans are predominantly Muslim, while more than half the Indian Singaporeans profess Hinduism

CULTURE

Singapore, as a country, in general is conservative socially, but some liberalization has occurred. Racial and religious harmony is regarded by the government as a crucial part of Singapore's success and played a part in building a Singaporean identity.

Singapore has a reputation as a nanny state. Singapore is known as the 'Lion City'. Public holidays in Singapore cover major Chinese, Western, Malay and Indian festivals.

WORKING CULTURE

Singapore work culture is a unique mix of Asian and Western cultural influences. Singapore is often called as a place where east meets west. Large western MNCs located in Singapore will often exhibit predominantly western-style work culture whereas majority of the local government and private companies will have greater influence of traditional Asian culture in their work environment.

Singaporeans have a predominantly strict attitude to life, marked by clear authority structures and distinct social status lines

DISHES

CHICKEN RICE BAK KUT TEH - Tea from Pork Ribs and Assorted Herbs CHAR KWAY TEOW - Flat rice noodles CHAI TOW KUAY Carrot cake FRIED HOKKIEN MEE KAYA TOAST Sandwich THE TARIK Tea POPIAH Chinese spring roll CURRY PUFF - curried potatoes, chicken and a slice of egg ICE KACHANG

SPORTS

Popular sports include football, basketball, cricket, swimming, sailing, table tennis and badminton. Most Singaporeans live in public residential areas near amenities such as public swimming pools, outdoor basketball courts and indoor sport complexes.

Singapore began hosting a round of the Formula One World Championship, the Singapore Grand Pix, in 2008.

HR PRACTICES

HRSINGAPORE is the FIRST online community for Human Resource (HR) professionals. Their mission is to create an inclusive community for anyone interested in HR and workplace communication practices in Singapore and provide long-term value to our customers. HRSINGAPORE provides HR Training, Certification and Consultancy. HR Training for those who wish to be current, HR Certification for those who wish to enhance their competencies, and HR Consultancy for companies who wish to improve HR practice.

RECRUITMENT & SELECTION

In Singapore, local daily newspapers have extensive classified ads for job vacancies. The print media is used most widely to recruit all levels of employees such as operators, supervisors and managers. There are some differences for specific types of employees. Reference checks were more commonly used to select managers (58%) compared with supervisors (40%). Performance tests, work samples, job ability tests and physical ability tests are more frequently used to select rankand-file employees. Among the numerous recruitment methods, pamphlets, signs and bus advertisements, and radio and TV advertisements were among the least popular, with less than 20% of companies using any of these methods.

COMPENSATION AND BENIFITS

The Singapore Employment Act sets the basic terms of employment and compensation. It is also possible for an employer and a union to set additional terms and conditions between them, but this has to be certified by the Industrial Arbitration Court (IAC). The purpose of the employment act is to protect employees, who may have weak bargaining power against their employers, from abuse or exploitation. Singapore has a National Wages Council (NWC), consisting of representatives from the government, employer associations and trade unions. The NWC makes recommendations on guidelines for annual wage adjustments, and although these are not mandatory, these guidelines are generally accepted and adopted by most organizations and trade unions .

Singapore has no mandated minimum salary, and wage rates are purely dependent on the private and mutual agreement reached between an employer and an employee.

CONT

The Employment Act also covers other forms of compensation such as entitlement to overtime pay, and extra pay for holiday work. Overtime cannot exceed 72 hours per month without prior approval from the Commissioner of Labor. Singapores 11 public holidays, employees entitlement to paid sick leave for 14 days a year. Under the act, employees are only eligible to receive retrenchment benefits after three years of service in a company. However, this entitlement would only be valid if the retrenchment benefits had already previously been included in the original employment contract. Otherwise, no retrenchment benefits will be offered.

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT & APPRAISAL

Appraisals were done once a year, with the likelihood of rank-and-file and supervisors being appraised more frequently. About nine out of ten companies with HR departments had appraisals compared to seven in ten companies without a separate HR department.

The most commonly used performance management and appraisal system design of companies in Singapore is the trait-based approach with 35.6% of companies doing so due to the difficulty of setting objective performance goals for non-technical/sales positions.

TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT

Government ministers and leading unionists constantly remind Singaporean workers that they should constantly upgrade their skills, accept changes and prepare to work for more than one employer in their lifetime Most workers in Singapore undergo on-the-job training (OJT) at some point in their careers. The Standard Productivity and Innovation Board estimates that 40% of the Singapore workforce undergoes some form of OJT every year. It has been reported that over 90% of the companies in Singapore do practice OJT

CONT

In 1990, SPRING collaborated with a Japanese company to develop a self-instructional OJT package. This was implemented in the hope that more companies will engage in training their employees, and the package shows step-by-step and serves to guide companies on how structured OJT can be developed and implemented by an organization. Over 3,500 packages have been sold to 1,500 companies, and have trained over 10 000 employees on how to develop and deliver OJT

ATTRACTIONS

National Museum Of Singapore Singapore Zoo Rain forests/ Nature reserves Wetlands Mount Faber Cable Car

LANDMARKS
Raffles Hotel New Parliament House Sultan Mosque

A view of the Causeway

The National Theatre

St. Andrews Cathedral

FESTIVALS AND EVENTS

Food Festival Art Festival Many artists from different countries participate Singapore National Day Every august the event is celebrated with fireworks

Hofstede

POWER DISTANCE

Singapore scores high on this dimension (score of 74). With a Confucian background (the Chinese) they normally have a syncretic approach to religion, which is also the dominant approach in Singapore. One of the key principles of Confucian teaching is the stability of society, which is based on unequal relationships between people.

Power is centralized and managers rely on their bosses and on rules. Employees expect to be told what to do.

INDIVIDUALISM

Singapore, with a score of 20 is a collectivistic society. This means that the We is important, people belong to in-groups (families, clans or organizations) who look after each other in exchange for loyalty. A person is not primarily an individual; rather, he or she is a member of a family. Children should learn to restrain themselves, to overcome their individuality so as to maintain the harmony in the family.

MASCULINITY / FEMININITY

Singapore scores 48 and is in the middle of the scale but more on the feminine side.

UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE

Singapore scores 8 on this dimension and thus scores very low on this dimension. In Singapore people abide to many rules. Singaporeans call their society a Fine country. Youll get a fine for everything.

LONG TERM ORIENTATION

Singapore scores 48, which is rather in the middle. Yet Singapore shows cultural qualities supporting long term investment such as perseverance, sustained efforts, slow results, being sparse with resources.

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