Wednesday, September 8, 2010


Women just love hanging out together to chat over desserts and wouldn't mind splurging on some pampering once in awhile especially if a special occasion calls for it.
Our pamper parties fundamentally consist of a basic manicure, spa treatment, makeup and image consultation, desserts and of course a take home goody bag for a minimum of 5 guests (including the host) and are typically held at a spa where privacy is assured.

Think this is a party you would like to have? This is your chance to enjoy this experience at only RM150 per person instead of the usual basic package of RM720 per person. We're having a little "try out" party for you to have a taste of what a pamper party is like. Care to join in the fun?

A spa, beauty, health and wellness day out with your
girlfriends and new friends complete with shopping,
inspiration and dessert.

Saturday, 2 October 2010
11.00am- 5.00pm at Ravissante Beauty Shop
(Kindly book your appointment in advance)


Ticket Price: RM150 per person
Promotion Price: Buy 5 tickets for only RM700!

PARTY INCLUDES:

Treatments and Services worth more than RM1,500!

Complimentary Ravissante Spa or Facial Treatment worth RM180++
Pamper your hands with a Ravissante Basic Manicure and Hand Massage
Find Your Right Bra Size with Bu Ra Girls Bra Fitting Consultation
Analyze your body with a Free Body Fat Analysis
Zap unsightly fat with a Free Slimming Trial worth RM348
Erase unwanted wrinkles with a Facial Spa trial at only RM30
Complimentary Portraiture Session by Joe Low of Photics Production
Be dazzled by Finding Snowflakes handcrafted jewellery

Tickets are sold at Ravissante Beauty Shop till 26 Sept 2010, so quick grab your friends and join in the fun!

Ravissante Beauty Shop
A-1-9 Pelangi Square Business Center, PJU 6 Persiaran Surian, Pelangi Damansara, 47800 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

Contact: +603 7728 2577 or 012 379 2389
Email: spa@ravissante.com.my or
bestevents88@gmail.com

A clearer image of the invite and a map is available on our Facebook page www.facebook.com/BestEventsAsia

Pamper Party on Oct 2, 2010

Women just love hanging out together to chat over desserts and wouldn't mind splurging on some pampering once in awhile especially if a ...

Saturday, September 4, 2010



Your choice of location can make or break your corporate team building session or executive retreat. Let your objectives and theme drive the location selection decision and not vice versa.

Before approaching an event consultant, determine if you will require assistance with location scouting. An experienced team building firm should be able to help you find a location to fit your budget. However, it does take time to call around, check availability and come up with just the right fit. It is not right to expect consultants to do your location scouting for free and do the event on your own or use the location suggested by one team building service provider (for free) and give the business to another.

For this reason, location scouting is now a service we provide as a stand alone or complimetary to organizations that have decided to engage our team building services. If your budget is limited, scout around. You may be able to find some unique and cost effective locations for your events. You can stretch your budget by using children's camps during off-peak season, amusement parks, acting studios, the catering department of community colleges to save on the cost of refreshments, movie theatres, camp sites, and conservation areas. To save money on location, it is important to book your session WELL in advance.....3 - 4 months in advance. To book a group camp site and shelter, you would need a 5 - 6 month lead time.

Do note that you can usually negotiate for better group rates when booking in advance.

For weekend teambuilding sessions, here are 5 of our favourite hotels in Malaysia:

Corus Hotel, Port Dickson




Corus Paradise Resort will captivate you from the moment you arrive at this beautiful Port Dickson hotel.

Descending down our grand staircase, you will feel the warm sea breeze on your face and the glimpse of Straits of Malacca as you make your way to our lobby area. Your journey in Port Dickson will be filled by the mellow and peaceful sounds of our cascading waterfall.

With 200 en-suite bedrooms equipped with modern facilities and amenities, Corus Paradise Resort in Port Dickson is the perfect getaway for your family.

Want to hold meetings in Port Dickson? Corus Paradise Resort Port Dickson is an ideal conference and seminar destination. It can accommodate up to 300 guests for meetings, seminars and banquets.

Conveniently located, Corus Paradise resort Port Dickson is well serviced by major roads and is connected to the North-South Highway. It is 1 hour 30 minutes by car from most Kuala Lumpur hotels and just 40 minutes from Kuala Lumpur International Airport

http://www.corusparadisepd.com/

Swiss Garden Kuantan




Swiss-Garden Resort & Spa Kuantan Pahang Malaysia is a world-class beach resort located on the pristine shoreline of eastern Peninsular Malaysia. Idyllic and charming, this coconut-swaying paradise fronts the azure waters of the South China Sea. With luxurious accommodations, excellent facilities, attentive service and true Malaysian hospitality, every guest of ours can expect to be treated like royalty. Holidaymakers and business travelers alike will find the Swiss-Garden Resort & Spa Kuantan, Pahang Malaysia an unforgettable experience.

Swiss-Garden Resort & Spa Kuantan, Pahang Malaysia comes with 304 well appointed guestrooms. The rooms comprises of 111 Deluxe Garden View, 134 Deluxe Sea-View, 23 Family Suites, 16 Studio Rooms and 20 Executives Suites. A harmonious blend of contemporary design, the Resort's elegantly refurbished guest accommodation in subtle earthy tones combined with exclusively designed soft furnishings create a unique atmosphere and perfect balance between luxury and homely familiarity. Facilities in all rooms include a long bath with a built-in shower, king-size or twin beds, individually controlled air conditioning, satellite TV, broadband internet connection, safe, mini-bar and coffee & tea making facilities. Each room has a private balcony and boasts panoramic view of the South China Sea or the lush green garden.

http://www.swissgardenkuantan.com/

Swiss-Garden Golf Resort & Spa Damai Laut



Swiss-Garden Golf Resort & Spa Damai Laut (formerly known as Swiss-Garden Resort & Spa Damai Laut), a 4 star resort, open on 18 December 1997 is an international standards resort blended with the quiet charm of traditional Malaysian hospitality in a rich tapestry of comfort and luxury. Swiss-Garden Golf Resort & Spa Damai Laut (formerly known as Swiss-Garden Resort & Spa Damai Laut) offers guest a wonderful retreat to nature. Providing superb hotel amenities coupled with attentive, personal service, the resort is perfect for business conferences or a holiday filled with recreational fun.

Swiss-Garden Golf Resort & Spa Damai Laut (formerly known as Swiss-Garden Resort & Spa Damai Laut) is a very private hotel with 300 well appointed guestrooms overlooking the Straits of Malacca and Pangkor Island. It is located on a 425 acres of natural rainforest and surrounded by lush tropical rainforest, wetlands and offers beautifully landscaped gardens and large open spaces with breathtaking sea view for guests who want to relax and enjoy a wonderful retreat to nature. All rooms are equipped with amenities including High Speed Internet Access, IDD telephone, individually controlled air-conditioning, colour television with CNN International news service, Astro channels and in-house videos and an electronic safe in every room for personal documents and valuables. This resort is perfect for business or holidays complete with recreational fun. All rooms are air-conditioned and come with its own private balcony.

http://www.damailaut.com/index.html

Bukit Gambang Resort City



BGRC, an integrated resort city with its multi-dimensional tourist attractions and reasonably priced resort accommodation, strives to be an added feature for the Kuantan's attractiveness among the west coast city dwellers. It further aims to be one of the “must-visit” resort destination, not only for the East Coast local residents but also all the West Coast visitors.

BGRC is conveniently located Gambang, Pahang with easy access via the East Coast Expressway. BGRC is a mere 218km, 2½ hours drive from Kuala Lumpur; while Kuantan folks are just 35km away. Nestled in a secondary forest, Bukit Gambang Resort City provides visitors with a serene environment, lush green surroundings and a great vacation spot for exciting activities.

BGRC is also the home of the first and the largest water
park in the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia; offering a
20-acre lake, 25,000 square feet wave pool with 8 modes of waves, the longest family raft
ride and 6-lane racer slide complete with timing scoreboard

Equatorial Cameron Highlands



Perched at 1,628 meters above sea level, surrounded by majestic mountains and gentle undulating valleys, Equatorial Cameron Highlands is the only resort situated at the highest accessible point of highlands.

Spread over 13 acres, the Tudor styled resort offers 141 attractive, self-contained low rise apartment suites and 268 superior rooms, deluxe rooms and suites in the hotel tower that offer breathtaking views of the highland landscapes.

The Resort is famously known for its capability in hosting events from company incentive trips to conventions and seminars. Besides the Resort's extensive recreational facilities and vast grounds, where telematches and scavenger hunts can be carried out; the Resort will also arrange trips to the "Orang Asli" settlement.

http://www.equatorial.com/cam/

Eagle Ranch Resort



Want to immerse yourself in a variety of sports and recreational activities, or simply unwind and relax without the hassle of long-distance travel? If your answer is yes, then Eagle Ranch Resort, which is set amidst rugged 30-acre surroundings with horse trails and live eagles soaring the skies, is the right place for you! Whether you're planning a family holiday or a corporate retreat, there are many fun activities for everybody, for the young, as well as the very young at heart.
Located in Port Dickson, an hour and a half's drive from Kuala Lumpur, Eagle Ranch Resort provides a wide range of interesting and exciting outdoor & indoor activities to keep you occupied during your stay here.

Accommodation at Eagle Ranch Resort is unique and varies from kampong houses over the fishing pond, log cabins, paddock chalets, bandwagons and tepees, equipped with queen and twin beds, colour TV, fridge, coffee and tea making facilities to dormitories furnished with double deck bunk beds.

http://www.eagleranch.com.my/

Selecting the Right Locations for Teambuilding or Corporate Retreats

Your choice of location can make or break your corporate team building session or executive retreat. Let your objectives and theme drive the...

Once you are clear about your objectives of your teambuilding session, it is important to determine:

•number of participants
•level of participants
•budget
•time frame
•special dietary requirements including allergies
•physical disabilities and constraints
•if you will require assistance with location scouting
If you are interested in using an external team building consultant, here are some reasonable expectations for a decision making process

•Before you contact prospective consultants, ensure that you can clearly state your objectives, identify a clear decision making process, establish decision making criteria and set a budget
•It is also important to have an idea of other agenda items that your company is planning to include on the agenda eg presentation of sales results, upcoming plans
•Ensure that you have an approved budget and sufficient time on your agenda for team building
•When you contact event consultants you should be prepared to share this information with them and indicate the size of the group, indicate group demographics and state your preferred dates
•You should give event consultants about a week to get back to you with a proposal
•You should be in a position to make a decision no more than 2 weeks after you receive proposals from prospective event consultants.
•Ideally, you should allow 5 - 6 weeks, preferably 2 months for adequate planning of your session.

It is not reasonable or acceptable to:

•Contact event consultants and indicate that your request is urgent unless you know for sure that you will be making a decision quickly
•Contact consultants on Friday afternoon indicating you urgently need information for a Monday meeting and then just disappear
•To ask consultants to spend time preparing proposals, contacting potential venues, etc. before the budget and time have been allocated for team building
•Take more than 2 weeks to make a decision after you get proposals or quotes
•Disappear without contacting suppliers who have taken the time to submit a proposal and let them know your decision

It is just plain unethical to:

•Skim off the best ideas and have the retreat using internal resources without paying a consulting fee
•Use the location that a consultant provided without paying a location scouting fee
•Contact other consultants and ask them to prepare proposals when you KNOW that you have already selected a supplier and you are just trying to meet your company's three quotes minimum requirement. Instead, Google the words team building and use information from company web sites.

Planning for your teambuilding event before asking for proposals

Once you are clear about your objectives of your teambuilding session, it is important to determine: •number of participants •level of parti...

We've had clients who come to us requesting for teambuilding proposals before coming back to us two weeks later saying that their company has decided to cut-back leaving room only for a weekend getaway. Why does this happen? Here's an article adapted from Training Oasis.

It's simple. Too much focus on the activity, not enough focus on results, tie-in to the business, and return on investment. It's happened in organization after organization. One day the money is flowing freely. Eventually, someone in the executive suite says "Hey wait a minute, we've spent RM1 million(or RM5 million and even more when one factors in the indirect costs like salaries for the participants) for drumming, hot air ballooning, paint ball, or go karting. Where's the value? How much time was spent debriefing the activity and drawing links to our business? Were business or planning exercises part of these sessions? How did this further the business? How did this improve performance or team interaction?" Suddenly, "poof" the money is gone and suddenly team building is something we used to do.

If you want to ensure that your budget for team building gets cut, treat it like a commodity. Give the most inexperienced person in your team the responsibility for contacting prospective suppliers. Give them very little guidance, after all you're busy right? They'll focus strictly on the fun activities and short list based on what sounded like the most "fun". They won't be able to answer questions like "What are your objectives for this session?", "What major challenges is your team facing?" and "What specific improvements do you want to see in organizational and team performance?" They'll shortlist and present options to you based on what sounds like fun or what's cheapest. When making your selection, go for the latest fad, what's hot and the flavour of the month. Eventually, the money for team building will disappear from your company's budget as it has in other organizations. It's guaranteed. On the other hand, if you really want team building to be a value added, give careful attention to clarifying your objectives and allow sufficient time for defining your team building strategy and planning.

As mentioned in our previous post, before you plan your corporate team building session or executive retreat, it is important to be clear about your objectives. Remember you need the steak AND the sizzle. It's an organization you're running not a social club so keep that in mind when determining the best course of action. Far too often, companies end up disappointed in team building sessions and corporate retreats because expectations were not clearly identified and articulated.

Examples of Team Building Objectives

•Forge stronger alliances between geographically dispersed teams
•Fine-tune your marketing and sales strategy
•Reduce friction and "turf wars" between organizational levels and departments.
•Improve communication between teams and departments
•Improve your decision making process
•Identify strategies to reduce red tape and duplication of effort
•Brainstorm and generate new strategies to resolve business issues and overcome challenges
•Manage projects more effectively even within tight timeframes
Then, think carefully about whether or not team building is really appropriate. Select your programme based on your objectives not just because a particular activity sounds "cool".

There is a place for team recreation, socials, picnics, etc. The key is to be clear about what you're doing. Don't call it team building just to have an excuse to party or next year maybe that budget will disappear. Here at BEST EVENTS each and every one of our team building sessions and accelerated learning programmes is LOADED with the "fun factor". However, unless someone has hired us strictly for recreation, its fun with a purpose. Why gather all of these people together, pay money to stay at a resort or rent meeting space at a hotel if your goal is strictly "fun". Order a pizza, go bowling, go out for dinner and then salsa dancing, or go to an amusement park. It's a lot cheaper.

Anne Thornley-Brown M.B.A., President
Executive OasisInternational

Toronto Based Consulting Firm Specializing in Business Team Building,
Executive Retreats & Incentive Travel

Featured Destinations: Canada, Jamaica, Anguilla, Grenada,
St. Lucia,Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Oman

http://www.thetrainingoasis.com/teambuildingprimer.html
http://www.executiveoasis.com

Why companies cut back on teambuilding

We've had clients who come to us requesting for teambuilding proposals before coming back to us two weeks later saying that their compan...

Wednesday, September 1, 2010


With the recent Merdeka celebrations, the citizens of Malaysia were shown being united and living in harmony despite some minor incidences that showed otherwise. As a nation, there are those who express patriotism openly either by displaying the national flag or declaring their undying love for the country. Then are those who love their country just as much but are just not into being as expressive and there are still those that put the country down no matter how good they've got it. For a country to be united, all the citizens should work together to bring the country forward.

The same goes with a company. It's all in the state of mind and personal drive. There are those who will work extra hard because they believe that this will work in their benefit, and are there are those who just enjoy complaining without getting any much work done.

It's usually the Managements' belief that one teambuilding session or workshop can change the mental state of those who are not working in harmony with the company hence not being as productive as they should be. Teambuilding sessions do help but companies need to know that the whole outlook of the company - it's mission, values and objectives are there to ensure that positive change is being implemented continuously.

Symptoms that Signal a Need for Team Building


Decreased productivity
Conflicts or hostility among staff members
Confusion about assignments, missed signals, and unclear relationships
Decisions misunderstood or not carried through properly
Apathy and lack of involvement
Lack of initiation, imagination, innovation; routine actions taken for solving complex problems
Complaints of discrimination or favoritism
Ineffective staff meetings, low participation, minimally effective decisions
Negative reactions to the manager
Complaints about quality of service from clients


Successful team building, that creates effective, focused work teams, requires attention to the 12Cs below as identified by Susan M. Heithfield.

Clear Expectations: Has executive leadership clearly communicated its expectations for the team’s performance and expected outcomes? Do team members understand why the team was created? Is the organization demonstrating constancy of purpose in supporting the team with resources of people, time and money? Does the work of the team receive sufficient emphasis as a priority in terms of the time, discussion, attention and interest directed its way by executive leaders?

Context: Do team members understand why they are participating on the team? Do they understand how the strategy of using teams will help the organization attain its communicated business goals? Can team members define their team’s importance to the accomplishment of corporate goals? Does the team understand where its work fits in the total context of the organization’s goals, principles, vision and values?

Commitment: Do team members want to participate on the team? Do team members feel the team mission is important? Are members committed to accomplishing the team mission and expected outcomes? Do team members perceive their service as valuable to the organization and to their own careers? Do team members anticipate recognition for their contributions? Do team members expect their skills to grow and develop on the team? Are team members excited and challenged by the team opportunity?

Competence: Does the team feel that it has the appropriate people participating? (As an example, in a process improvement, is each step of the process represented on the team?) Does the team feel that its members have the knowledge, skill and capability to address the issues for which the team was formed? If not, does the team have access to the help it needs? Does the team feel it has the resources, strategies and support needed to accomplish its mission?

Charter: Has the team taken its assigned area of responsibility and designed its own mission, vision and strategies to accomplish the mission. Has the team defined and communicated its goals; its anticipated outcomes and contributions; its timelines; and how it will measure both the outcomes of its work and the process the team followed to accomplish their task? Does the leadership team or other coordinating group support what the team has designed?

Control: Does the team have enough freedom and empowerment to feel the ownership necessary to accomplish its charter? At the same time, do team members clearly understand their boundaries? How far may members go in pursuit of solutions? Are limitations (i.e. monetary and time resources) defined at the beginning of the project before the team experiences barriers and rework?

Is the team’s reporting relationship and accountability understood by all members of the organization? Has the organization defined the team’s authority? To make recommendations? To implement its plan? Is there a defined review process so both the team and the organization are consistently aligned in direction and purpose? Do team members hold each other accountable for project timelines, commitments and results? Does the organization have a plan to increase opportunities for self-management among organization members?

Collaboration: Does the team understand team and group process? Do members understand the stages of group development? Are team members working together effectively interpersonally? Do all team members understand the roles and responsibilities of team members? team leaders? team recorders? Can the team approach problem solving, process improvement, goal setting and measurement jointly? Do team members cooperate to accomplish the team charter? Has the team established group norms or rules of conduct in areas such as conflict resolution, consensus decision making and meeting management? Is the team using an appropriate strategy to accomplish its action plan?

Communication: Are team members clear about the priority of their tasks? Is there an established method for the teams to give feedback and receive honest performance feedback? Does the organization provide important business information regularly? Do the teams understand the complete context for their existence? Do team members communicate clearly and honestly with each other? Do team members bring diverse opinions to the table? Are necessary conflicts raised and addressed?

Creative Innovation: Is the organization really interested in change? Does it value creative thinking, unique solutions, and new ideas? Does it reward people who take reasonable risks to make improvements? Or does it reward the people who fit in and maintain the status quo? Does it provide the training, education, access to books and films, and field trips necessary to stimulate new thinking?

Consequences: Do team members feel responsible and accountable for team achievements? Are rewards and recognition supplied when teams are successful? Is reasonable risk respected and encouraged in the organization? Do team members fear reprisal? Do team members spend their time finger pointing rather than resolving problems? Is the organization designing reward systems that recognize both team and individual performance? Is the organization planning to share gains and increased profitability with team and individual contributors? Can contributors see their impact on increased organization success?

Coordination: Are teams coordinated by a central leadership team that assists the groups to obtain what they need for success? Have priorities and resource allocation been planned across departments? Do teams understand the concept of the internal customer—the next process, anyone to whom they provide a product or a service? Are cross-functional and multi-department teams common and working together effectively? Is the organization developing a customer-focused process-focused orientation and moving away from traditional departmental thinking?

Cultural Change: Does the organization recognize that the team-based, collaborative, empowering, enabling organizational culture of the future is different than the traditional, hierarchical organization it may currently be? Is the organization planning to or in the process of changing how it rewards, recognizes, appraises, hires, develops, plans with, motivates and manages the people it employs?

Does the organization plan to use failures for learning and support reasonable risk? Does the organization recognize that the more it can change its climate to support teams, the more it will receive in pay back from the work of the teams?


One teambuilding event won't be able to solve all problems at one go so it's important to know what your company wants to achieve from the first teambuilding event and have the event company customize the activities in order to achieve this objective. When the company is satisfied that the staff is responding well, they can then slowly introduce other positive changes.


Teambuilding is not just about playing games and having fun while building relationships. It's about uniting staff towards the same goal- the moving forward of a company.

Will having a Teambuilding Event Help your staff?

With the recent Merdeka celebrations, the citizens of Malaysia were shown being united and living in harmony despite some minor incidences t...

 

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