Massey in China – Day Six – A Farewell to China
May 22, 2008 - Written by Amy Thran - "Everyting is gonna be all right"
The morning buzz during breakfast consisted of the many adventures different groups took the night before. Details included an elaborate Shanghainese club using a secret code for entry, a less exclusive more familiar evening in the trendy French Concession area and yet another group shared hilarious stories of a morning workout session in the park with the locals. With the conclusion of breakfast we pile, yet again, into our trusty Mercedes coach (not sure why it is a coach and not a bus, but Lily seemed to make a clear distinction) for a trip across town to visit the port.
Peering out of the coach window has become one of my favorite past times. Just when I think I've seen it all, a bike passes with a gentleman smoking a cigarette, talking on his cell phone, all while hauling a load of caged birds on the bed of his bike. Meanwhile in the lane on the other side of the coach there is anything from a Yugo knock off (who would want to knock off a Yugo???) to a pimped out 7 series flying by, at what seems to be unregulated speeds. As I continue to be mesmerized we arrive at Shanghai Pudong International Container Terminals Limited for our final business visit.
Massey in China – Day Five – Business in Shanghai
May 21, 2008 - Written by Ryan Arthur
Well now we get down to business. Today is our most jam-packed business visit day yet. With Three stops today we begin to wrap up our world wind travels through China. But today is no exception to the wonder that can be
seen in this developing country.
We start today with a visit to Jun He law firm. What do you call 1,000 lawyers jumping off a cliff? A good start. Well after my visit to Jun He I would like to differentiate, what do you call 1,000 Chinese lawyers jumping off a cliff? A loss of 1,000 great employers. Any law firm that receives an award for being a great employer is somewhat an oxymoron to my way of thinking. Many of you know that I work for attorneys and I can attest this fact, and often do in every one of my classes. But the Jun He attorneys appear to be different. The presentation was given by Mr. Adam Li, but parts of the discussion occurred with some of his new associates. Amazingly, it seemed more like an information session for them as it was for us. They were fascinated to know about MBA's in America and continued to ask questions and discuss our program and American culture. I am interested in seeing if this firm actually succeeds in pulling business from America in China. It makes sense to hire legal services in the home country you are doing business, but then you begin to wonder if conflicts of interests arise from such agreements. I have personal high hopes that my own law firm will help Jun He become more and more successful as we attempt to become an international firm ourselves.
Massey in China – Day Four – Arriving in Shanghai
May 20, 2008 - Written by Ryan Arthur
Good morning fellow train sleepers. Again much thanks to Dean Raines for the "soft sleeper". I personally didn't sleep that well, but I can't imagine having to sleep on the hard sleeper, or even the seats. Jennifer told us that Phoenix takes the trek on the seated cars when she goes back and forth between Beijing and Shanghai. Massive props to Phoenix for braving the seats.
We awoke this morning to the central train station in Shanghai. We were introduced to our new tour guide, Lily Sun. Unfortunately or fortunately for some, although Lily was the opposite sex as John, she apparently read the same joke book for Chinese tour guides.
Massey China Trip – The Rest of Day Three
May 19, 2008 - Written by Ryan Arthur
Ring Ring…Ni Hao. Well if you didn't believe in language barriers, after today you would have seen or heard that they indeed do exist. Today was our real immersion into the Chinese culture sans tourist stops.
Our morning began with a presentation from Cory Grenier, Marketing Project Manager at Lenovo. Lenovo is attempting to become the first Chinese company to be successful in the global market. And from touring their facility it is clear to see they have the capabilities of achieving this goal. With an extremely impressive automated warehouse, computerized inventory monitors, and computer aided manufacturing lines, Lenovo has an excellent infrastructure established that is similar to its non-Chinese competitors. What sets Lenovo apart from its Western competitors is their management style. In Western Management, the employee review process is kept private. Employees are reviewed by their supervisor behind closed doors so that employees are not embarrassed by poor performance. However, Lenovo implements a public review system. The Grape system, as referred to by our guides, allows for all employees to see how each employee is doing in relation to their fellow employees on a daily basis. This system coupled with Lenovo's new product line was an interesting view to the way businesses grow in China.
Massey China Trip – Morning Run on Day Three
May 19, 2008 - Written By Kimberly May
Everyone loves getting up at 5 am, right? Okay, waking up early may not be everyone's cup of tea but Clint (Hill), Jeff (Williams) and I decided to run the ~1.5 miles to Tiananment Square to try to catch the sunrise flag raising service. The flag raising ceremony isn't normally a big deal but how many times are we going to be in Beijing? There were two things we were not aware of when planning this run: (1) The sun apparently rises in Beijing earlier than anywhere else in the world (leaving the hotel at 5:15 am was about 30 minutes too late for catching the flag raising), and (2) this day marks exactly one week since the early quake in the Sichuan region and begins three days of mourning, making the flag raising a really big deal...and we missed it.
GO WORLD
Visa’s “Go World” campaign is one of my favorites of the year. Not only do the spots capture the emotion and determination of individual Olympic heroes, the commercials also speak to a certain drive to excel that can be found in, or at least admired by, all of us. The Olympics sponsorship/this campaign is a great fit for the brand that claims to be “everywhere.” You can visit Visa’s Go World site to read athlete stories and even share your own.
On a side note, the phrase “Go World” also makes me think about competition in another realm, i.e. the implications of international business. Today, globalization means people are competing internationally for jobs and resources, which makes professional development and an international understanding that much more important. If you are interested in learning more about Belmont’s International Business program, click here, and be sure to read to the entries from Massey’s graduate students from their recent trip to China.
Massey Students In China – Day Two
May 18, 2008 - Written by Ryan Arthur
Day 2 in China, and not only can I not speak the language, but I can't walk normally from my legs being a little sore from our climb on the Great Wall. But now I can consider myself a hero, but even better jet lag never really
truly set in. So here goes day two.
Our day began with a tour of a Chinese jade factory. Here, raw jade is sculpted into everything from bracelets and necklaces to life size monuments of tigers. Jade is a beautiful and rare stone and it was very interesting
to learn that although Americans associate jade with a green color, the highest quality of jade is actually white with a faint hint of green. I personally prefer the green over the white, and I think some of the bracelet buying people in the group did as well. Another fascinating tidbit was the sound high quality jade makes. After learning this fact, I proceeded to clink every item I wanted in the store to test its quality. Sadly, the bracelets were the only items to make that melodic ring, that or I have bad taste in jade.
Be Like Mike
A new Michael has captured the hearts of millions and inspired a new generation of athletes. Michael Phelps, the “greatest swimmer of all time,” continues to win gold, setting new world records along the way. As a former competitive swimmer, the swimming events have always been my favorite part of the Olympics, but this year, these events have been even more exciting.
According to the Herald Tribune, the “Phelps Phenomenon” has gone global, drawing “banner headlines across the world, including in regions and countries where swimming normally gets scant attention.” Even Chinese media have named Phelps the “flying fish.” Rightfully so. He’s well on his way to becoming the most decorated Olympian in history, trying for eight gold medals in a single Olympics. Six down, two to go.
It’s interesting to consider how this attention has and will affect Michael Phelps as a brand spokesperson/endorser. Apparently the “flying fish” is becoming the “Billion Dollar Man.”
Obsessive Brand Disorder
Ad Creep. No, I'm not talking about one of the Fruit of the Loom guys, Tom Shane, or even one of those characters off of a Capital One credit card commercial. "Ad Creep" is a concept described in Lucas Conley's book titled, Obsessive Brand Disorder. , which has been described by Publisher's Weekly as "an incisive investigation that illustrates how defenseless consumers are against advertising."
Now, some of us from within the marketing discipline might not agree with 100% of his conclusions, but he does offer some compelling evidence to support his theories. For example, he states that U.S. advertisers have spent more over the last decade than in the four previous decades combined and that the average American is exposed to about 5,000 advertisements per day (according to David Shenk's "Data Smog: Surviving the Information Glut). Any of us with a pulse would have to admit that if we stopped for just a moment to review our daily routines, we are bombarded with a lot of branded information. This comes from traditional media channels, such as television, radio, and billboards certainly, but we are increasingly seeing nontraditional media channels emerge that did not even exist a few years ago. For example, many grocery shopping carts now carry branded advertising messages, as do the backs of seats in some public venues, and most men have by now noticed that even public restrooms are not off limits for an eye-level commercial message to a temporarily captive audience.
Beware of “Brandjacking”
While you might not be twittering, blogging or using social networking for your brand, there may be a chance that someone else is doing it for you. Consider “Janet,” who has been posing as an Exxon employee to answer questions about the company and respond to consumer feedback via Twitter. While some readers commended Exxon on their efforts to connect with consumers, the company has made it clear that it had no part in the conversation. Check out the story from Jeremiah Owyang, Sr. Analyst at Forrester Research, and see the alleged ExxonMobilCorp Twitter account.
Our lesson: consider the value in brand-consumer dialog and monitor your online brand presence to know who is saying what about your brand. The Internet has provided a more convenient channel for conducting market research and developing brand relationships. Search for your brand and visit consumer opinion sites to review comments. Start an online community where customers can congregate, be informed and give feedback. And, ALWAYS be transparent.