This can be seen from performance-measurement indicators such as market-share shrinkage, highly increased fixed costs and negative bottom lines.
Whenever a company becomes weaker, it is highly possible for it to be wiped out of the market eventually.
One of the key factors that can undermine a company’s strength is the emergence of a bad corporate culture.
The routine management of a failing company may start with listening to updates on unsuccessful assignments or jobs with many reasons behind them.
Finally, when those unwanted results are accepted more and more, it creates a harmful culture in the company that can lead to disastrous consequences.
It is like when a person takes a very hot shower the first time. He may feel that he cannot stand it. Then this is followed by the second time, third time and so on. Finally, he can easily withstand such hot water without feeling much disturbance.
The same behaviour may happen in any organisation where management allows failure, non-commitment and repeated excuses to exist and become the norm.
It is advisable for management to realise the negative impact on the future of the company and to try to stop behaviour that may come in several forms, as follows.
Asking for delay: Responsible persons who fail to deliver expected results usually ask for a delay on submission of the work. This can happen in many cases such as the postponement of the completion of construction, extension of the reporting time for important information and delay of the delivery of assignments.
Referring to exceptional cases: Some people like to defend poor performance by calling it an exception. It is important to limit the number of exceptional cases and ensure that those cases will not be recurring in the future.
Negotiating the deadline: Often, ineffective people prefer negotiating the adjustment of the target date by extending it further before it arrives. When these practices keep on happening, it can become a norm that any commitment is negotiable.     Delivering less than expected: As management looks forward to a complete and perfect job from subordinates, it may appear that the submitted result is less than expected in terms of quantity or quality. This is an unacceptable performance that should be stopped.
Effective management is essential for companies that thrive on sustainable competitiveness.
Unless a weakness that slowly destroys a company is fixed, it could jeopardise the capability of the company to stay in the marketplace where new players keep entering the industry.
The leader of the organisation should play an important role in cultivating the good practices and culture that enhance the ability of the company to pursue its mission successfully.
Once unacceptable cases are detected, it is good to reiterate that no additional case will be accepted.
This message must be direct and clear to everyone whether via a meeting or proper communication channel.

Yanyong Thammatucharee is the senior vice president for finance and accounting at Central Marketing Group. He can be reached at yanyong@cmg.co.th.

“Reported profits were down, but adjusted profits were higher than last year’s third quarter in all four global businesses and four out of five regions,” chief executive officer Stuart Gulliver said.
The September quarter adjusted profit, which strips out one-off items, compared with the previous corresponding period’s $5.24 billion.
It also topped the $5.29-billion average estimate of five analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News.
Reported pre-tax profit plunged 86 per cent from a year ago to $843 million, the British banking giant said in a statement.
That figure included the impact of the sale of the bank’s Brazil business and the cost of implementing a cost-reduction programme. – AFP

Thailand PayPal appoints new head
PayPal, a global leader in digital payments, has appointed Somwang Luangphaiboonsri as the leader of its Thai subsidiary.
He will be responsible for helping PayPal capitalise on the explosive growth of cross-border e-commerce in the Thai market.
Together with the new PayPal Thailand team, he will also focus on educating Thai merchants on the growth opportunities available in the global e-commerce marketplace.
Having spent more than 16 years in the finance and technology industries, Somwang is a veteran in the e-commerce space.
Before joining PayPal, he co-founded a domestic online payment service provider and built the company to be the platform of choice for many Thai consumers.
He is well entrenched in the Thai payments scene, and is also a secretary of the Thai E-Commerce Association and the secretary of the Thailand e-Payment and e-Money Association.
Somwang’s appointment is one of the latest steps taken by PayPal to reinforce its position in Thailand this year.
PayPal has been actively building its merchant portfolio to enable Thai businesses to have access to a seamless cross-border payment experience.
In August, an agreement was signed with the Department of International Trade Promotion to promote and facilitate cross-border trade for Thailand’s small and medium-sized businesses.
PayPal is also the sole payment provider for cross-border online payments for leading travel businesses such as Centara Hotels & Resorts, Centre Point Hotels Group and Thai Airways International as merchant partners.

Programme for design thinking skills
Banpu and Thammasat University’s faculty of learning sciences and education recently signed an agreement to promote design-thinking skills in youth.
They have set up the Thammasat-Banpu Innovators for Learning Programme at Thammasat’s Rangsit campus.
The collaboration aims to equip high-school students and teachers with the skills of the 21st century’s innovators – critical and analytical thinking, creative communication and leadership.
The programme has received Bt15 million in funding from Banpu to be carried over a three-year period.
During the first year, the curriculum and study aids will be developed to help students build their design thinking and innovation design skills.
Recruitment of students for the programme will be rolled out, with the capacity of five students and one mentor from each of the 15 participating schools.
The second year will witness a series of workshops on design thinking through game design and creations for future innovators. The application of the resulting innovations and public sharing will take place in the third year of the programme.

Also, the ministry foresees stronger inflation next year from an expected average of between 0-1 per cent this year, mainly based on expectation of oil price increasing from US$35-$45 per barrel to above $50 per barrel.
Pimchanok Wornkorporn, deputy director-general of the ministry’s Policies and Trade Strategies Bureau, said Internet is playing a greater role in the daily life of people. The new inflation basket weight, which currently has 450 items of goods and services, would be adjusted next year. The ministry will revise some items and add items that play a greater role in the daily life of people so that inflation will precisely reflect the cost of living.
For instance, home Internet cost should be included in the inflation basket next year, while mobile-phone fee and the cost of processed food would have more weight in calculating inflation.
In addition, as an agency responsible for calculating the cost of living, the ministry would conduct a “purchasing power parity” index in each province so that the private sector and other government sectors can use the information to help local consumers or determine the minimum wage for each province.
The purchasing power parity is measured by finding the values of a basket of consumer goods (such as rice, fruits, and some essential goods, etc.). If that basket costs Bt100 in one province, in another province may cost Bt120 depending on the price of goods.
This PPP has been started to collect information covering 43 provinces now. The ministry plans to cover 77 provinces by early next year.

Capital will flow into US dollar assets. Given this mechanism, there’s concern over the Stock Exchange of Thailand. If the US interest rate rises, foreign capital will flow out of the Thai bourse. In the past three years, the SET has experienced such pressure.
From early May 2013 to the end of 2015, there was more than Bt368 billion worth of net foreign sales of Thai stocks, and to date, net foreign sales have been worth Bt259 billion (there were buybacks between February and September).
Therefore, the SET Index will likely absorb news of a US rate increase, and there should be no severe impact.
In addition, a study of capital movements on the Thai stock market when the US policy rate rose from 1 per cent in 2004 to 5.25 per cent in 2006 showed that capital did not flown out of the SET. On the contrary, there was a net purchase of Bt243 billion, which pushed the SET Index up 16.9 per cent.
There is a significant difference between then and now. Currently, the Thai stock market’s valuation is in the upper limit at 16-17 times, while in 2004 it was 10 times.
Therefore, if the SET Index makes corrections, that should be driven by high market PER (price-to-earnings ratio), likely from local investors and not foreign-capital outflows. Local institutional investors’ net purchases peaked during the past four years.
This week, we need to monitor the US presidential election tomorrow. There has been volatility in key stock markets around the world in the past two weeks. Most investors expect Hillary Clinton to win. However, if the unexpected happens, it could trigger selling sprees in key bourses, psychologically spilling over to the Thai stock market.
It’s believed that this issue will have a psychological impact but only in the short term. Investors should monitor this situation closely.
In this country, the economic recovery should be focused after signalling positive signs in the third quarter. However, in 4Q16, some key signs have come out negative. Most distinctively, consumer confidence dropped again, while agricultural-product prices declined. Both may affect household consumption, which contributes the most to gross domestic product.
Based on the above, the SET Index this week is expected to continue its corrections with more volatility. If the gauge dips to close to 1,450 points, there is a chance to accumulate stocks for investment. Focus on construction stocks and those with high dividend yield.

Chaiyaporn Nompitakcharoen
Head of Non-institutional Broking Group
Bualuang Securities
The result of tomorrow’s US presidential election will be in investors’ focus but in fact it appears any immediate impact on the Stock Exchange of Thailand will be small.
The Democratic Party has a chance to claim victory in my opinion as major government policies should continue. The key issue Thailand should address is a tax treaty related to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which is an indicator for foreign direct investment.
In the short term, market sentiment is expected to remain weak as we are moving closer to the US Federal Open Market Committee meeting in December and the long year-end holiday period. The MSCI Emerging Markets Asia excluding Japan started dipping in mid-October because of a rising spread in long-term US bonds. The SET Index is expected to move in a range of 1,470-1,500 points.

Prakit Sirivattanaket
Vice President
Kasikorn Securities
Tomorrow’s US presidential election will be in the world’s focus. Hillary Clinton was, according to the latest polls, ahead of Donald Trump by 1.7 per cent, compared with 7 per cent mid-October. If the movement continues in this direction, there will be a risk of capital flowing out of emerging markets, continuously pressuring the SET Index.
There are three likely impacts from the US presidential election.
The world’s money markets: If Clinton wins the election, markets are forecast to have a positive response. On the contrary, If Trump wins, markets will have concerns over the fiscal and monetary policies and tax measures that will attract capital to move sharply back to the US, which could affect other money markets in the world.
The US economy: If Clinton wins, the US economy in the next 12-15 months will not see much change, and Janet Yellen will likely continue her position as chairwoman of the Federal Reserve. However, if Trump wins, the US economy will see high uncertainties as a result of extreme policies like tax reductions, limits on foreign labour, and tariff barriers against products from China and elsewhere.
International trade: No matter who will be the next president, it’s believed there will be a review of the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement. There may not be much impact on Thailand’s trade, as this country has not yet participated in the TPP. Therefore, Thailand can take more time to make a decision on this matter. However, if Trump wins, Thai businesses may face risks of foreign-exchange volatility, competitiveness and GSP (General System of Preferences) advantages.
During the last four US presidential elections, two weeks before the vote, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose with a probability of 75 per cent and average return of 3.79 per cent, but the SET Index dropped three out of four times with an average return of minus-0.05 per cent.
Two weeks after the election, the DJIA fell with a 50-per-cent probability with an average return of minus-5.09 per cent and the SET Index declined with a 75-per-cent probability with average return of minus-3.88 per cent.
These average returns came out quite unsatisfactorily, given the US-led global financial crisis and the 2008 US presidential election. At that time, stock markets across the world plummeted dramatically, and that pulled down the averages for these four elections.

Yuthasak Supasorn, governor of The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), said the news would reassure people with plans to visit Thailand.
“Some annual events like the Loy Krathong festival, to be held on November 14, Christmas celebrations, New Year countdowns, and Chinese and New Year celebrations will be going as planned,” he said.
The Loy Krathong Festival will be used to show respect to His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyade. The Grand Palace will be reopened to visitors from November 1.
Yuthasak said local fairs and festive events such as walking street markets, Red Cross fairs, and other entertainment activities would also take place as normal.
That includes the Likay folk performance, concerts and contests, and traditional ceremonies like the Kathin robe offering and Buddhist ordination ceremonies
In another sign it is business as usual for the tourism industry, hotels will be able to hold celebrations and events, including meetings and seminars.
In addition, sporting fixtures will also go ahead as planned. Clubs, bars and other entertainment venues will also return to their usual operating hours.
In another tourism bonanza, Thailand will host the first Air Race 1 in the Asia-Pacific region.
Multiple races will take place at the U-tapao Royal Thai Navy Airfield on November 19-20, marking another milestone in Thailand becoming the sports hub of the region.
The Air Race, which will feature eight planes racing simultaneously around a set course at speeds of up to 450 kilometres per hour. Air Race 1 is regarded as the aircraft equivalent of Formula 1 racing and is becoming increasingly popular around the world.
Television and radio broadcasts will also return to normal programming.
“Although there has been minimal disruptions to events, festivals and tourism activities, with entertainment restrictions being lifted from November 14, visitors can feel assured that they will spend their time here experiencing a warm welcome and continue with their holiday plans,” Yuthasak added.
The development has let locals know that while the mourning period for the late King is being respected, other areas of life will be returning to normal to avoid disruption and enable people to make a living.

The survey was a collaboration between Krungthep Turakij, the country’s leading daily business newspaper, and Mirum (Thailand), a digital arm under British media giant WPP Group.
It tapped the thoughts of top Thai executives from leading business sectors about their investments, business-performance projections and management.
The study found that majority of respondents, or 62.96 per cent, predicted that their turnover this year would be better than last year while 9.88 per cent said their turnover would decrease.
Almost 50 per cent of CEOs believed that their net profit would increase from last year while 39.24 per cent said they would see no growth and 11.39 per cent admitted that their bet profit would be in negative territory.
Fifty per cent of respondents revealed that their revenue grew in the first half of the year while 29.76 per cent said there was no growth and 20.24 per cent presided |over a decline in turnover.
The key factors that affected on the performances of business were consumer purchasing power (79.52 per cent), public sentiment on the general economy (77.11 per cent), the global economic situation (60.24 per cent) and government stimulus policies (57.83 per cent).
Asking about to predict national economic expansion, 44.05 per cent predicted this year’s gross domestic products (GDP) would rise 2.5 per cent to 3 per cent while 29.76 per cent believed that GDP growth would exceed 3 per cent but only 15.48 per cent estimated that the growth would be between 2 per cent and 2.5 per cent.
For the forecast on the Thai capital market, 46.91 per cent of CEOs believed that by end of this year the SET Index would be between 1,500 to 1,600 points while 25.93 per cent estimated that the index would land between 1,400 to 1,500 points.
When it came to the topic of investments this year, 57.69 per cent of the participants revealed that they had maintained their investment value at the same level as last year while 32.05 per cent said that they had increased their investment spending.
Another 10.26 per cent confessed that they cut their investment budget.
Among those CEOs expanding their business, 44.44 per cent explained that their new investment aimed to increase their business competency while 14.81 per cent believed that they were in an emerging industry and 11.11 per cent said it was needed to accommodate their business growth after the Asean Economic Community had been put in place.
However, 14.81 per cent of CEOs put their new investments on hold, blaming the national economic slowdown as the key reason for that while 3.7 per cent acknowledged that their business was in recession and 2.47 per cent admitted that they were suffering liquidity issues and having trouble sourcing funds.

A source from the ministry said that while a ministerial review of the relevant part of the draft found no objections to the draft proposed by the Ministry of Public Health, plain cigarette packaging remains a contentious issue at the WTO.
Accordingly, the source said the ministry has suggested waiting for the WTO’s ruling on the matter, as the measure may breach Thailand’s obligations under international agreements and may limit relevant business operators’ rights beyond what is appropriate.
The Standing Committee on Commerce, Industry and Labour and the National Legislative Assembly share the same opinion on this matter, the source said.
On October 25, the Cabinet approved the draft Act, with the legislation set to be forwarded to the National Legislative Assembly for ratification.
In a letter to Secretariat to the Cabinet, the Commerce Ministry noted that the Public Health Ministry may disclose the list of ingredients of tobacco products and their emissions, which could breach trade secrets, according to the criteria, methods and conditions prescribed in a ministerial rule.
The Commerce Ministry said the Public Health Ministry should comply with the Trade Secrets Act (2002) and an associated amendment by not disclosing such information so as not to impinge on the rights of the trade-secret owners, except where it is necessary to protect public health.
The WTO became involved in the plain-packaging dispute after the Australian government was sued by many countries such as Honduras, Ukraine, the Dominican Republic, and Cuba – who accused Australia of breaching the WTO’s rule on restricting business opportunities.
The WTO is considering this case.
As a result, the Commerce Ministry wants the Thai government to wait for that judgement before enforcing the Tobacco Product Control Act.

The committee is expected to wait to evaluate the impacts from major events in the US, including a possible policy rate hike by the Federal Reserve and the nation’s direction under the new US president.

STRONG GROWTH IN PASSENGER TRAFFIC

Global passenger traffic statistics for September show that demand, measured in “revenue passenger kilometres”, or RPKs, grew 7 per cent compared to the same month in 2015, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
This was the strongest year-on-year increase in seven months. Capacity climbed by 6.6 per cent and load factor edged up 0.3 percentage points to 81.1 per cent. Growth in domestic traffic slightly outpaced growth in international traffic.

Capital will flow into US dollar assets. Given this mechanism, there’s concern over the Stock Exchange of Thailand. If the US interest rate rises, foreign capital will flow out of the Thai bourse. In the past three years, the SET has experienced such pressure.
From early May 2013 to the end of 2015, there was more than Bt368 billion worth of net foreign sales of Thai stocks, and to date, net foreign sales have been worth Bt259 billion (there were buybacks between February and September).
Therefore, the SET Index will likely absorb news of a US rate increase, and there should be no severe impact.
In addition, a study of capital movements on the Thai stock market when the US policy rate rose from 1 per cent in 2004 to 5.25 per cent in 2006 showed that capital did not flown out of the SET. On the contrary, there was a net purchase of Bt243 billion, which pushed the SET Index up 16.9 per cent.
There is a significant difference between then and now. Currently, the Thai stock market’s valuation is in the upper limit at 16-17 times, while in 2004 it was 10 times.
Therefore, if the SET Index makes corrections, that should be driven by high market PER (price-to-earnings ratio), likely from local investors and not foreign-capital outflows. Local institutional investors’ net purchases peaked during the past four years.
This week, we need to monitor the US presidential election tomorrow. There has been volatility in key stock markets around the world in the past two weeks. Most investors expect Hillary Clinton to win. However, if the unexpected happens, it could trigger selling sprees in key bourses, psychologically spilling over to the Thai stock market.
It’s believed that this issue will have a psychological impact but only in the short term. Investors should monitor this situation closely.
In this country, the economic recovery should be focused after signalling positive signs in the third quarter. However, in 4Q16, some key signs have come out negative. Most distinctively, consumer confidence dropped again, while agricultural-product prices declined. Both may affect household consumption, which contributes the most to gross domestic product.
Based on the above, the SET Index this week is expected to continue its corrections with more volatility. If the gauge dips to close to 1,450 points, there is a chance to accumulate stocks for investment. Focus on construction stocks and those with high dividend yield.

Chaiyaporn Nompitakcharoen
Head of Non-institutional Broking Group
Bualuang Securities
The result of tomorrow’s US presidential election will be in investors’ focus but in fact it appears any immediate impact on the Stock Exchange of Thailand will be small.
The Democratic Party has a chance to claim victory in my opinion as major government policies should continue. The key issue Thailand should address is a tax treaty related to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which is an indicator for foreign direct investment.
In the short term, market sentiment is expected to remain weak as we are moving closer to the US Federal Open Market Committee meeting in December and the long year-end holiday period. The MSCI Emerging Markets Asia excluding Japan started dipping in mid-October because of a rising spread in long-term US bonds. The SET Index is expected to move in a range of 1,470-1,500 points.

Prakit Sirivattanaket
Vice President
Kasikorn Securities
Tomorrow’s US presidential election will be in the world’s focus. Hillary Clinton was, according to the latest polls, ahead of Donald Trump by 1.7 per cent, compared with 7 per cent mid-October. If the movement continues in this direction, there will be a risk of capital flowing out of emerging markets, continuously pressuring the SET Index.
There are three likely impacts from the US presidential election.
The world’s money markets: If Clinton wins the election, markets are forecast to have a positive response. On the contrary, If Trump wins, markets will have concerns over the fiscal and monetary policies and tax measures that will attract capital to move sharply back to the US, which could affect other money markets in the world.
The US economy: If Clinton wins, the US economy in the next 12-15 months will not see much change, and Janet Yellen will likely continue her position as chairwoman of the Federal Reserve. However, if Trump wins, the US economy will see high uncertainties as a result of extreme policies like tax reductions, limits on foreign labour, and tariff barriers against products from China and elsewhere.
International trade: No matter who will be the next president, it’s believed there will be a review of the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement. There may not be much impact on Thailand’s trade, as this country has not yet participated in the TPP. Therefore, Thailand can take more time to make a decision on this matter. However, if Trump wins, Thai businesses may face risks of foreign-exchange volatility, competitiveness and GSP (General System of Preferences) advantages.
During the last four US presidential elections, two weeks before the vote, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose with a probability of 75 per cent and average return of 3.79 per cent, but the SET Index dropped three out of four times with an average return of minus-0.05 per cent.
Two weeks after the election, the DJIA fell with a 50-per-cent probability with an average return of minus-5.09 per cent and the SET Index declined with a 75-per-cent probability with average return of minus-3.88 per cent.
These average returns came out quite unsatisfactorily, given the US-led global financial crisis and the 2008 US presidential election. At that time, stock markets across the world plummeted dramatically, and that pulled down the averages for these four elections.