PICTURE this: Your boss signs you up for a course to learn more about team-building and to develop your leadership quality.

But instead of picking up tips on managing staff, you are put through a series of activities that 'humiliates' you.

Participants said they were asked to crawl towards a team-mate seated some distance away, kneel down and beg for forgiveness.

They were also told to pit their strength against one another by getting into arm-lock fights.

And they had to tolerate verbal abuse hurled at them, such as 'idiot', 'useless bum' and 'good-for-nothing'.

Some participants The New Paper on Sunday spoke to wondered how all this would help them become better managers.

One participant, who had complained to her boss about the training she had undergone earlier, quit her job when told she had been selected for an advanced course.

Others claimed they did not want to raise the issue with their employers or be identified in this report because they felt it would jeopardise their careers.

The $800-per-head course, Teamwork Quotient, is run here at hotels by Pop Workshop, a subsidiary of a company in Taiwan.

Said Ms Jessica Cheah, 36, who has been managing the company here since 1998: 'The role-play was to allow participants the chance to view matters from various perspectives.'

Most of its trainers are professionals who work part-time, with two who are full-time employees, she said.

All the trainers are 'clinically trained'. Asked to be more specific, she said: 'They have already gone through all the courses themselves.'

The company conducts several other courses too, including supervisory training and money management programmes.

The New Paper on Sunday spoke to participants from different employers who had separately attended the two-day workshops held in the past year.

Mixed feelings of anger and embarrassment surfaced as they recounted the events that took place.

A 29-year-old marketing executive with a statutory board, who gave his name as Patrick, said: 'I couldn't help feeling that the trainers were being sadistic.

'I was made to kneel before a woman - whom I had met for the first time at the workshop!'

He said he felt humiliated.

He recalled: 'A team-mate was nominated to act as my 'mother'. I was asked to drop my head in remorse and crawl towards her.'

When he was at her feet, Patrick had to 'confess' his sins and beg her forgiveness.

Jasmine, a manager with another statutory board, was riled by another training method - the 'bull fight', where the leaders from two teams had to grab their opponent in an arm-lock and wrestle.

The teams - each with about five members - were asked to 'back our leaders' in the mock fight, said Jasmine.

'It didn't matter what gender (you were), so a woman could (end up being) pushed against or pressed between men,' she added.

Several participants were left with bruises, claimed retail executive Queenie, 25, who said she had cuts on her leg and lips.

Route deliveryman Chester, 40, felt the trainers did not control the situation enough.

In one activity, he was instructed to write his weaknesses down on a piece of paper.

He did so, listing things like his bad temper and gambling.

'What shocked me was that in between breaks, my team leader was told to scold me in front of everyone,' said Chester.

'He had to keep repeating my weaknesses. At another session, he used a pillow to hit me while he scolded me.'

It did not help that some of those who did the scolding got carried away, said property agent Lisa, 29.

She added: 'I was already in tears, but this team leader just continued.'

Lisa claimed when she tried to walk away, the man shouted: 'You stupid woman, how are you ever going to learn your lesson with this attitude?'

Said Lisa: 'And the trainer actually commended him for his good work. I just can't believe it.'

Two companies that had sent their employees for the course told The New Paper on Sunday a few complaints had been made by trainees.

But the training director of a property chain, who requested anonymity, said the firm had not received any complaints from its agents.

She said: 'We would have investigated if any of our staff had approached us with a concern.'

The company has sent about 50 employees for various Pop Workshop courses.

The human resource manager of an entertainment establishment said only one employee, out of the 40 who attended the course, had complained.

That was the woman who resigned.

And the company has continued to send employees for the course.

Said the HR manager: 'We won't simply reverse our training programme on just one person's complaint.'

He added: 'Besides, if our employees approach the course with the right mindset, they will realise how much they can benefit.'

His managing director had done this and it prompted the boss to send his employees.

The course has other supporters too.

One of Lisa's colleagues, property agent Horace Chen, 33, was full of praise.

He paid more than $1,000 from his own pocket for an advanced course.

He said: 'It instills confidence. If we can take the mock humiliation, we can suffer anything from our clients.'

Ms Cheah said she was aware that her firm's workshops had attracted brickbats from some participants.

She insisted that the activities are carried out with safety measures in place. They are held in a carpeted room and students are told not to wear shoes or any accessories.

Participants were also asked to sign health declaration forms before joining the course.

She felt it was natural that local participants felt uncomfortable about some activities, like expressing themselves through shouting.

'Westerners are more open about expressing their emotions, whereas, as Asians, we tend to keep our feelings in check.' The workshop aims to help participants rediscover their inner self, she said.

'Participants should learn not to view the mock scolding as being humiliating,' sheadded.

'In your work place, there are worse, real humiliations that one has to go through. This course merely prepares you for it.'

However, psychologist Richard Lim offered a few words of caution.

'Unless the lecturers or teachers are professionally trained, they would not be able to detect if someone is in distress,' he said.

'The difference in mindset between Westerners and Asians is precisely why it can be risky to assume that the same formula can be applied in principle.

'A professional counsellor can help to arrest any negative repercussions.'

Trainer: It's how you interpret objectives

HOW one views the course content depends on the individual's mindset, said the owner of Pop Workshop.

Ms Jessica Cheah told TheNew Paper on Sunday: 'Sometimes, participants are resistant to attending the courses in the first place.'

Ms Cheah, who is also one of the two main trainers, confirmed that the participants had to go through acts like kneeling, crawling, crying, shouting and pushing.

She claimed that on their own, the actions would seem meaningless to the participants.

'It is how they interpret the objectives behind such actions that would determine the value of the message to be put across,' she said.

'EGO ISSUE'

'I roughly know who are those who have complained. Let's put it this way, some of them feel they're very well-trained already. Thus, their ego comes into play.'

On the rationale behind kneeling and crawling, Ms Cheah said: 'It allows the participants to view issues from a different perspective - from that of a parent or employer.'

The 'bull fight' is to deliver the message that 'unity is strength'.

She said: 'Theory is one thing, but it is only through the actual experience that one can fully understand how that strength is derived.'

About the 'indemnity form' that participants have to sign, Ms Cheah said: 'It is just like any other activity, we'd err on the side of caution, like reminding those who are pregnant or who have heart problems to avoid participating.'

The workshop is to help participants 'in rediscovering their inner self', she claimed.

'Our trainers are mindful of that and there is definitely no risk involved.'

This article was first published in The New Paper on Feb 10, 2008.