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| November 2007 |
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This month's newsletter focuses on the INSEAD Leadership Summit in Asia which was held recently at INSEAD's Asia campus in Singapore. On the Knowledge website you'll find a range of articles and podcasts highlighting the issues discussed at the school's flagship event. If you have feedback or suggestions, please feel free to contact us. Stuart Pallister | ||
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Leadership: A Chinese puzzle China’s economy is booming, but one of the major challenges facing the country will be leadership – or the lack of it – in political or business spheres. INSEAD Affiliate Professor of Asian Business and Comparative Management, Michael Witt, says that although the Communist Party still tightly rules China, the leadership in Beijing does “not have a lot of power,” with the result that it’s difficult to get things implemented. |
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Is China friend or foe? ‘Neither,’ says Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew In a keynote session at the INSEAD Leadership Summit in Asia, the founder of modern Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, revealed that during a meeting with Washington aides to presidential candidates, he was asked whether the US should regard China as a friend or foe. His reply: “Neither at the moment.” He then added that in 20 years’ time, the US will be dealing with a different set of leaders. |
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Environmental degradation: Counting the cost of rapid economic growth Bad air, polluted water, depleted resources and global warming. These are some of the emerging hallmarks of Asia’s booming growth in recent years. From Beijing to Bangalore and beyond, the consequences of industrial development are tainting the region’s environment. |
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Globalising the brand: Looking beyond lower costs While many multinational firms are choosing to outsource services and production to Asia, one company says it’s looking beyond lowering costs and is aiming to ‘globalise its corporate brand’ by developing a major R&D base in India. Wim Elfrink of Cisco Systems, who holds the unique corporate title of Chief Globalisation Officer, says cost differentiation at the company is “a bonus, but the not the main driver anymore.” The networking firm is investing around 1.2 billion dollars in a globalisation centre in India to tap not only the region’s growth but also its innovative capabilities. |
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Building global brands in Asia Look closely at the top 100 Global Brands, according to Interbrand and BusinessWeek, and you’ll see many European and North American favorites that have given great products or services over many years. What you won’t see on that list are many Asian firms, apart from some notable companies in Japan and South Korea. Why, in a burgeoning region that’s brand-crazy, have very few homegrown favorites earned world-class recognition? What will it take for Asian companies to rise to the level of global superstar? |
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CEO view: Judy Leissner of Grace Vineyard A mainland Chinese winery is establishing its name internationally for its wines, even though it’s targetting the domestic market at present. “We currently send the wine over to a lot of wine critics,” Grace Vineyard CEO and President Judy Leissner told INSEAD Knowledge. A recent article in the Financial Times spoke of Grace’s Chairman’s Reserve as ‘the finest wine so far made in the country that is already the world’s sixth most important grower of grapevines.’
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