Every management textbook I read explains the need and virtues of teamwork, in class we discuss virtual teams, cross functional teams, self-directed teams, leadership teams and quality teams and the benefits they bring to the organisation.

I\’m a yachtie and sail on weekends, sailing on a yacht is all about teamwork with the skipper pointing the vessel in the right direction to move fast through the water. Controlling the mainsheet ensures we point high and are powered up, the jib trimmer ensures we have adequate power along with the tailer who ensures we tack quickly.

The forwardhand and masthand ensure downwind legs are efficient with raising and lowering of sails, they provide tactical information to the skipper and tacking. Yet, head across to my former workplace and teamwork is non-existent; people undermine your work, are horrible to get on with and actually slow the workplace down.

If they were sailing on a yacht they would be left on the shore as it is better to head with out one or two crew down. The damage inept crew can do far outweighs having them onboard, so just run short. Instead, not only do we pay them, we promote them and allow them to damage the workplace and the performing tam members.

I purchased a new Hewlett-Packard notebook computer when I started my MBA, my older notebook was getting a little tired and slow and I needed it to work optimally as I was using plenty of online resources. The HP turned out to be a pile of rubbish that had compatibility issues with all software uploaded. One such program was VitalSource Bookshop, all our text were online resources so I really needed this to work.

So I had to go out and purchase another notebook to run the VitalSource software and I chose a mini laptop for this task alone. At first I was very happy with my Acer E11, sure the Celeron processor was slow but I had time, or so I thought and the battery life was superb. I did a fair amount of study whilst on holidays, the mini-laptop was invaluable on those trips. My backpack was loaded up with textbooks and required readings so the lightweight notebook was invaluable.

I was hanging out down the coffee shop in Lapu Lapu on Mactan Island and was astounded to see two relatively young women wander into Civet Coffee and order take away coffees. Normally Philippine women are very particular about their appearance, so you could imagine my surprise when they entered the shop in their pyjamas. Maybe this is the new chic? This is maybe now the new standard in going out attire.

I am seeing this trend in western countries so I am guessing this is beginning to become the norm here. There isn’t any shopping malls in this area, an unusual occur acne for the Philippines but this is the hotel district so I would expect designer shops attached to the apartments and hotels. These two women were fairly young, attractive and I am guessing reasonably well off financially. I am guessing they have either picked up on this trend when travelling or at the very least by following the activities that the young set now are aligned. Either way, they pulled it off, they dressed down in public in their and turned heads.

It was a Saturday around 1 pm and we had just rolled into Cologne from Frankfurt after a two-hour train journey. As it was a day trip, a two-hour return trip awaited us, I was ok with that, I actually enjoy train trips. Wandering out of the train station I was not expecting the sheer number of people hanging around the square on this fine Saturday afternoon. There was plenty to see and do, I never really saw Cologne as a tourist destination and I saw Cologne in a new light.

I had been to Cologne about 15 years earlier for a series of business meetings, I had viewed the city somewhat differently because of that primary reason why I was initially in this city. This trip, I saw Cologne from a totally different perspective and I’m glad I did, it was a beautiful day, that certainly helped. I had expected to wander around Cologne for the day, it would be pretty quiet with not too many people, well, I got this one wrong. I really liked Cologne as a day trip, there was plenty to se and do, I could see myself going back any time.

I have long complained about the public transport system in Perth; that is how the bus links to the train network. So when I received a fine for fare evasion, this was going to be challenged. Let me begin, I purchased the wrong ticket and I was in the wrong. My Smartrider, not all that much of a smart system was running low in funds. Why didn’t I just make a payment through my bank you ask?

Well, I normally would make a payment but it takes working 3 days for the payment to show on my account and I must log onto the system within 5 days and log onto the train/bus network for the balance to register. Now, I had planned to be away from the network and was unable to log-on in that period, even if the money was transferred, the funds would not be credited to my account. I have learnt this lesson previously and I was in stunned silence when it was explained to me.

Now, as my funds were running low I decided to purchase a manual ticket and I purchased a 1 zone ticket for $3.30, when I was pulled up at the guard informed me I needed 2 zones for my ride. On the trip home, I jumped on the ticket machine and priced a 2 zone ticket for $4.90. So, we are dealing with a $1.60 shortfall in funds based on my mistake. I purchased a manual ticket but clearly didn’t understand the fee structure and made a mistake. A $100 fine is fair for a person who routinely evades fares, but not for a person who makes a mistake purchasing a ticket so I will challenge this fine.

But even better, I will use this moment to change the way the Public Transport Authority runs services. See, the bus I normally catch is frequently late to arrive at the stop, this means that the bus arrives late at the train station and as the bus is scheduled to link to the train – I miss the train. Now, as the train runs every 30 minutes at this time of night, this means I miss the train by normally 1 minute to 4 minutes. So, now another 30 minutes to wait plus the half hour trip home, this night is going downhill quickly so now is the time to do something about it – maybe this ticket is a positive.

Rooibos is a red herbal tea sourced from the fermented leaves of the Aspalathus linearis shrub, a native South African plant. So the South Africans introduced us to this tea, thanks for that – much appreciated. I can’t believe it took me half my life to find out about this tea.

Rooibos is a herbal tea but is not related to the black or green tea varieties; Rooibos tea is usually consumed the same as black tea, although I was introduced to this variety as a cold tea. Naturally sweet in flavour, nutty overtones combined with low tannin ensures a bitter taste is not experienced. I generally drink as a flavoured tea these days, I like the TWG Tea varieties, they have some great blends.

Whilst rooibos tea isn’t for everyone, I am happy to keep some pure origin at home as well some blended versions from TWG Tea and T2. I don’t much like black tea or breakfast tea and I really can’t drink green tea so rooibos is really my only choice. The waiter in TWG Tea in Shangri-La Plaza in Mandaluyong in the Philippines introduced Mecky and myself to this tea and we are both eternally thankful.

Mastercard® like the other credit card issuers is offering a premium product for high-end clients, out of interest’s sake I couldn’t help but look into it. The Black card is an exclusive product with a higher perceived value over competing credit cards. Needless to say, Mastercard® claims the card displays a certain degree of prestige through high credit limits, combined no doubt through the high fees and would be best suited to the business traveller paying bills on the company card.

Manufactured from stainless steel with a carbon back for greater durability and distinction, I would tend to like this card as I always tend to damage my plastic credit cards in my wallet. With 46 worldwide patents, this card has a reasonable annual fees supported by a host of luxury benefits such as concierge, VIP lounge access and Priceless® invitation only entertainment.

The card offers a list of exclusive services including travel assistance, travel medical insurance, luggage protection, travel insurance, trip inconvenience insurance, airport lounge access irrespective of frequent flier programs and concierge services. I have a standard Mastercard® and whilst always searching for improved products, I have to look at what Mastercard®, Visa® and American Express® offer. I don’t think I will be upgrading anytime soon – not for that price anyway.

So, whilst it was never high on my wish list, I have finally made it to my first Oktoberfest. Ironic really as I went there in late September and not October. But since the festival was underway, it was worth the effort to make our way across and I am glad we did.

It wasn’t as I expected, but I don’t want to base my portrayal on the Chevy Chase National Lampoon’s ‘European Vacation’ and I’m glad I didn’t. I try not to over-research as that leads to disappointment. Instead, I wanted to just arrive and be part of the atmosphere and that’s exactly what happened. What I found is Oktoberfest is held at a large showground, we started off with a beer at one of the outside bars, it was very nice. We found a Paulander bar fabricated from pine and that was nice for a couple of casual drinks.

I wasn’t interested in any of the rides, certainly not recommended after drinking beer by any means. There was food, boy was that expensive but we ended up getting a bite after all. We hadn’t especially headed to Munich for Oktoberfest, we happened to be passing through the area so decided to stop off since we were there anyway. We arrived at the showground late in the afternoon, we weren’t staying in Munich per se, that was way too expensive at this time of year. So we took a train in from an outlying area after catching the train in from Augsburg.

So we wandered into a couple of beer halls, by this time of the day getting a seat was near impossible. The beer halls were full and festivities were well under way, there was music playing, people singing along with plenty of pushing and shoving. All of the major breweries had their own pop-up beer hall, so you could choose the beer of your choice. I decided to take a couple of drinks outside at Lowenbrou, can’t say it is my favourite beer but as it turned from day to night, better to be somewhere.

So around midnight it was time to head back to the Munich hauptbahnhoff and squeeze into a carriage for the 60 minute ride back to our accommodation. The train ride was fun to a degree, no seats but pressed into the aisles with a bunch of very merry people was a laugh. To be honest, I didn’t drink all that much over the course of the afternoon. Since I was down in southern Germany at the right time of year warranted popping in for a look. I was happy to soak up some of the atmosphere for an afternoon before heading onto the next place.

I love a Riesling in the summer, to me this dry and acidic white wine can’t be beaten on a warm summer afternoon drinking outside – for me, preferably in the garden. I especially like drinking a dry Riesling with my father, a sauvignon blanc is a little too sweet for me, the dry fruit driven drink is to my tastes, I can’t say I enjoy this wine in winter though.

According to Vickery winery the Watervale Riesling has volumes of lime fruit flavour and floral notes with bright, fresh citrus acidity. The Watervale Estate in South Australia’s Claire Valley produces brilliant white wines according to my views, the reds in my opinion tend to be a little lacking. Looking at the reviews on their website, the wine is rated from 91 to 95 points with most reviewers accentuating the lemon/lime flavours.

So we have just been through a period of quantitative easing but what does it all mean? Quantitative easing is considered an unconventional monetary policy, or at least new, to lower interest rates and increase money supply.

So the central bank creates electronic money to purchase government bonds from the secondary market, as this creates buying demand the price of the bond should rise in accordance with the principles of supply and demand. Naturally, this distorts the natural equilibrium of the free market creating an oversupply of capital.

So far we haven’t seen the effects of inflation and we need to ask why? Have the central banks managed the process to such a fine degree that they avoided the old issue of inflation? The core issue during the global financial crisis was liquidity and business lending, as the banks held onto cash with business activity curtailed.

QE provided the required liquidity and flooded the bond market with cash. The growth of money didn’t appear to affect the  markets, well not yet anyway and may just push the problem out. This is what we are finding out now, I was told they will be no world growth for the foreseeable future, just the growth of money and that is what we are seeing.