I remember at least two Assistant Cultural Affairs Officers whose office management strategy was to hold "confidential" conversations with employees, elicit gripes against other employees, and then go on to those other employees and do the same.

Fortunately, it is part of diverse Philippine culture for underdogs to generously share information among friends and enemies alike, and so, this was one management strategy that just did not and will never work.

Were these officers actually trained to do that? The same quirk is not only apparent but also rampant in TV shows on fashion, modeling, cooking, racing, and house construction, in which participants are encouraged to bitch against one another, as though nothing can be entertaining without it.

In all fairness to such TV shows, there are two that consistently nourish HIGH ESTEEM AND RESPECT for ALL of their participants, be they winners or losers:  American Ninja Warrior and The Voice.