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Lai See

Watch your snacking, or Big Bro will be nagging

Hong Kong has built its economic success by faithfully following small-government and laissez-faire policies for decades. The government's hands-off policy gives the city full economic freedom, but when it comes to everything else, Big Brother seems to be distinctly hands-on.

Soccer fans are being reminded to stay away from unhealthy snacks and cigarettes while watching World Cup games in the coming weeks.

A Department of Health spokesman says: 'Even though crispy snacks and alcoholic beverages could add to the World Cup festivity, it is important to maintain healthy eating, get sufficient sleep, avoid tobacco or excessive alcohol and stay within the law in terms of the smoking ban.'

But it's the advice about how to snack smartly that really galls. 'Consume snacks only when you are hungry. Do not snack for the sake of snacking.'

Has our government embarked on a new campaign - NagHK? Hooray for small government!

Have a shot at POAD's game

World Cup excitement is filling the air in South Africa and sending ripples across the globe. Everyone is trying to get on the World Cup bandwagon and Hong Kong is no exception.

POAD, a leader in outdoor billboard advertising, has launched a street-level interactive competition that will run till June 24.

Participants need to answer, via SMS, questions displayed on POAD's six prime tram shelters and billboards. There will be nearly 1,000 daily prizes and those who submit correct answers will automatically qualify for the final grand lucky draw.

During the competition, the company will deploy a special 'soccer-fever taxi fleet' around town to fire up the World Cup spirit.

We hope they are sensible enough not to enlist the services of our insane 'Formula 1' public minibus drivers.

All set to have a ball of a time

A new survey claims that the Hong Kong public is less enthusiastic about this year's World Cup ... but then goes on to say that the tournament still appeals to almost three-quarters of the population.

Phew! Those businesses, especially pubs and Hong Kong-style cafes, or cha chaan teng, which expect to capitalise on the tournament, can breathe a sigh of relief.

The TNS online survey found that only 73 per cent of Hongkongers were interested in this year's tournament, compared to 83 per cent in 2006 when it was held in Germany.

Thomas Isaac, director of research services, explains the decline in interest: 'For one thing, South Africa, this year's host, is less well known than Germany in Hong Kong, and the image most people have about the country is mainly associated with negative issues ... Soccerwise, it is not known for its soccer talent, unlike Germany ...'

We suggest Isaac shouldn't read too much into the poll. Boys will be boys, and their attitudes towards football will never change.

Rules of the game apply

Please allow Lai See to make a bold prediction: Brazil and Portugal will contest the World Cup final on July 11.

But, this will only materialise if we evaluate team performance the same way we analyse company culture and manager performance, according to Towers Watson, a global professional services company that helps organisations improve performance.

The analysis assumes that national football teams are illustrative of what happens in corporations in their respective countries in terms of organisational support and management skills. It is based on 'employee' data from the 32 participating countries and examines the drivers of superior team performance.

'We thought it would be fun and interesting to apply our research and expertise to predict the winner,' said Yves Duhaldeborde, managing director of employee engagement at Towers Watson. 'In short, we believe that Portugal would be the team most likely to win the World Cup, beating Brazil in the final.'

He stressed that successful coaches often took a sophisticated approach to managing their teams and used analytical data to better predict outcomes and deploy talent around specific operating models - such as Brazil's use of two defensive midfielders this year.

'Football has embraced the use of data in the last few years enabling its managers to pinpoint their team's areas of strength and weakness,' Duhaldeborde explained.

'Too many organisations still rely on intuition when looking at performance. To modify the old adage: you need to measure to know what to change.'

It's true, but predicting football games is like predicting the weather.

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