It has come to our notice that there are a number of "articles" which have been posted on web sites that claim to attest to AsiaWorks and our work. The advent of the World Wide Web has not only brought incredible opportunities to organisations and individuals but has also allowed individuals to publish and/or distribute their opinion with much less critique than the traditional press would have allowed. In conversations with many of our global clients we have discovered that the majority of companies face this same issue in some shape or form. We aim to address the AsiaWorks position on the claims made by these articles.

Such articles have arisen from time to time and in some cases have been posted permanently on websites. When AsiaWorks are informed of such articles we seek to fully investigate their source and where in our opinion they are factually incorrect we seek to have them amended. When they refer to any of our students we seek to identify which student is involved and provide any assistance as is needed. As yet all of the articles that seem to circulate have been written, not by participants of AsiaWorks, but usually anonymous "friends" or "relatives" of AsiaWorks graduates. Our attempts to find the source are usually fruitless.

Websites that publish such articles are usually focussing on a collection of one single point of view on a subject. They attempt to collect as many examples of similar articles as possible and are usually sites that promote the profession of supposed experts whose careers are built around their ability to show as diverse an expertise on a subject as possible. As such, many diverse sites include some of the most mundane references and articles. Sites that contain references to AsiaWorks also contain references to Steven Covey, Anthony Robbins and other reputable professionals in the fields of personal and corporate development. None of the sites which post articles about AsiaWorks have ever approached AsiaWorks for comment and as with sites that criticise any company, readers can observe that there is always a collection of one point of view only and readers are left to find differing points of view on their own. There are countless positive articles surrounding AsiaWorks but they are never posted on these same sites.

The very nature of the articles usually indicates that they are written by individuals who do not have any first hand experience of AsiaWorks or have made any attempt to discover the extent of AsiaWorks operations. The articles usually attempt to link AsiaWorks with any number of companies and organisations that exist or have existed in the past. AsiaWorks can attest that it is an independent company and has no links to any other organisations nor is it a "front" for any other organisations. The main focus for AsiaWorks is and has been, indoor and outdoor programmes for members of the public and corporations using practices and techniques that have become standard in the corporate training industry over the past 20 years. These range from team building, outdoor executive challenges, personal awareness seminars to coaching and leadership.

AsiaWorks will continue to monitor the World Wide Web and provide as much accuracy as possible to any articles that are circulated. We recommend that people ensure that they read articles in context with the volume of work completed by AsiaWorks. We have not yet seen on these websites such an article written by a participant of an AsiaWorks programme and the ones we have seen refer to one or maybe two "supposed" individuals out of over 100,000 people who have worked with us over the past 10 years.

We would like to thank individuals and clients who bring such "articles" to our attention and will continue to investigate each and every alleged instance of dissatisfaction. Where necessary the correct action, including legal action, will be taken to protect the AsiaWorks corporate reputation and that of the many clients who use us. In the mean time we urge existing and prospective clients to treat what one reads on the World Wide Web with the caution it deserves and be sure to get as many of the facts as possible. The Web opens up many possibilities for us all; but also for the occasional misplaced and misguided publication which can appear quite authoritative and current without thorough investigation.

If you have any specific concern, we encourage you to contact the AsiaWorks office in your region for more information.