Days 6, 7, & 8: Further Adventures in the Lion City

A warm hello to all my family and friends! 

Apparently, Singapore has three nicknames:

1. The Garden City (this refers to the numerous greenery and beautiful landscaping that is fully integrated into the urban setting)

2. The Little Red Dot (this refers to the relative size of Singapore when you look at it on a map)

3. The Lion City (the story of this is quite interesting and you can read about it here: http://meridian103.com/issue-7/history/merlion/ but basically it refers to a giant merlion that has become an iconic image in the city, pictured above)

Below are a few pictures of us gallivanting around town from the past few days:

Wednesday was an incredible day for us.  It started with class in on marketing and the Singaporean consumer.  We focused on values and learned about how values have changed over time, how they are different between the US and the Asia Pacific Region, and also on the differences in values among the countries in this region.  I was struck by a few things.  I was reminded of the universality of many of our values including things like accomplishment, self fulfillment, and security.  I was also fascinated by how much this region and especially Singapore is more focused on fulfilling basic needs even though the consumer culture here is so focused on status. 

After a wonderful day with Dr. Tambyah, we got to visit a real life consumer goods company, P&G.  This was particularly wonderful for my group because we had studied P&G extensively for months and could not wait to pick their brains about their global, regional, and local strategies.  The picture below is my team at the P&G regional headquarters (from left to right: laura, amy, lisa, and me!):

The P&G presentation was tailored to accommodate our project and interests so it began with a discussion of the differences in conceptions of beauty between the east and west.  Here are some interesting facts we learned about asian consumers:

1. The average korean women uses an average of 14 products in her skin care regime while the average american woman uses 2

2. Having clear fair skin is a sign of status and equated with beauty here.  Women often undergo skin whitening treatments

3. It is common for Japanese women to shave their faces because the white powder they used is easier to apply on a shaved face

We were then introduced to four trends that are shaping P&G's growth strategy in Asia:

1. Older: the population is aging

2. Richer: many consumers will enter the middle class

3. Smaller: the number of people in households will continue to get smaller 

4. Urban: the trend here is great urbanization as consumers move from rural areas to urban areas 

Then we also got to listen to one of their executives discuss their regional and local strategy in light of this.  She also gave an interesting presentation on the corporate social responsibility and sustainability initiatives P&G has here and abroad.  I was moved by both P&G's commitment to make the world a better place and by the P&G's employees passion for P&G's ethos.  

Finally, P&G gave us a presentation of how they can have a 360 degree view of the global operations and performance of the company through a new Business Intelligence software initiative they have recently implemented.  The software allows them to have a visualization of data that was previously in printed reports that no one could use because it was too tedious and bulky to go through.  Now, managers have an incredible amount of information at their fingertips that they can use to drive strategic decisions.  This demonstration was easily one of the coolest things I have ever seen in my entire life!

Thursday morning was spent studying HR issues in Asia.  Here's some interesting things we learned:

1. Family and relationships are especially important in Asia and there is a sense of duty surrounding them

2. Typically, they are high power distance societies 

3. There is a different sense of personal space and body language can be deeply meaningful 

4. "Face" is very important 

We also learned some fun things about society here and one of their favorite foods that is hard for westerners to stomach because of the overpowering repulsive (to us) smell, durian.  Here's a picture:

Thursday afternoon we had an unbelievable opportunity.  I wish I could express the significance of the corporate visit we got through some miracle.  We visited Temasek Holdings.  Temasek is the name of one of the sovereign wealth funds of Singapore (although they don't call Temasek a SWF).  The other SWF, that Singapore does call a SWF, is the GIC, Government of Singapore Investment Corporation.  Temasek is so called because the original name of Singapore, back when it was a tiny fishing village, was Temasek.  Temasek is the holding company for many government linked companies like SingTel and Singapore Airlines. Also, Temasek makes strategic investments all over the world typically in rapidly growing markets in the developing world.  They like to look for "emerging champions," firms who are doing well but need more capital and greater access to resources Temasek can provide to mature.  Temasek also owns significant shares in american companies like Bank of America.  They were quite helpful in providing liquidity and rescue capital during the global financial crisis.  Temasek is incredibly controversial and secretive.  One of the prominent businessmen here said he has never heard of a group like ours getting a private meeting with Temasek.  We were so lucky!

One controversial thing about Temasek is that its CEO, Ho Ching pictured above, is the wife of the current prime minister and daughter in law to the former prime minister.

Friday was also an interesting day.  We spent the morning in class learning about global strategy and some common challenges Asian firms face.  We did this through the lens of Sony and Samsung.  We learned that Sony has a history of innovation but has suffered in recent years because they can't make their strategy of delivering hardware and software cost effective while delivering on their brand promise of innovation.  Samsung, on the other hand, has mastered cost efficiency and speed to market through an almost militaristic management regime that has hampered a spirit of innovation.  It was also incredible to learn how Samsung is ultimately controlled by a family through an incredibly complicated ownership structure.  This is quite typical of Asian firms and relates back to how families are important and dominate the business environment here.  It also is significant because it shows how oligopolistic these countries truly are.

Friday afternoon was spent going on a corporate visit to Ernst and Young.  E&Y is one of the big four accounting firms.  We got some perspective on their operations in Singapore and throughout the region.  We were further able to see the importance of relationships because E&Y relies upon its reputation and the relationships it fosters with its clients to be an industry leader.  We also learned that E&Y has been particularly busy in this region because of the many IPO's they have been involved in.  Below is a picture of their amazing office building:

Friday night was also wonderful because my friends planned a little surprise for me for my birthday!  We went to La Pa Sat for a delicious dinner and then to a power station that had been converted into a complex of bars.  Some of the girls had arranged for me to have a crown to wear about.  Obviously, this made us stick out even more as if the tall american boys and blonde haired girls weren't enough! We had so much fun and it was really sweet of everyone to think of me.
I think this catches all of you up!
Next time I write, we'll be in Jakarta and there will be many more memories to share!
Love you all,
Maddy