Throughout the trip to Singapore, we explored multiple companies across many different industries. During my time here, I realized there are both similarities and differences to the nuances of doing business in Asia as compared to the United States.
We first visited the Mandarin Oriental hotel, where we spoke with the general manager, a property negotiator, and a hotel employee. The hotel?s goal is to create fans of the hotel across the world and let guests have a magical experience that they will remember for a lifetime. The management of the hotel must make decisions about day-to-day operations, as well as long-term decisions, such as when to renovate and how to allocate funding. With multiple direct competitors on the island, the staff of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel must provide impeccable service, award-winning food, and amazing views to provide an overall premier experience to their guests.
The employees with experience both in the United States and Asian hotel businesses agreed that globalization is causing work ethics to merge between the west and the east. There is not a large difference between how hard people work in each culture. However, the employees explained that unions in the U.S. make operating a luxury hospitality business difficult. Workers in the U.S. are less likely to go out of their way and out of their job description to help guests due to union laws. Another big difference is the collective culture of Asia. In the United States, business operations are much more of an individual effort, with the individual hoping to succeed and make their own way to the top. In Asia, they have a more communal perspective, where the desire is for the community as a whole to succeed together.
We also toured an aquarium to learn about specific business strategies they employ. Here, everything seemed very similar to a business you would find operating in the United States. They use to bundle and odd-number pricing, strategically placed gift shops, seating, dining, and hands-on experience, as well as promotional offers, to entice tourists to come and experience the aquarium. We learned about customer service strategies and the company?s marketing mix.
One big difference I noticed, however, is the aquariums focus on appealing to the superstitions of Chinese culture. For example, lots of prices end with the number ?8? as that is good luck in Chinese culture. They don?t use any prices with the number ?4? as that means ?death? in Chinese culture.
Lastly, we had a talk with Ted Haley, a hedge fund professional. He discussed the differences in the financial markets of the United States and Asia. In Asia, the stock markets are not as well policed, so he must be more skeptical before investing in businesses. Important questions he asks before investing include why they listed the company instead of keeping it family-owned and what is the reason the company wants investors to exist. In Asia, keeping businesses in the family is the default, unlike in the U.S. where most companies prefer to go public on the stock market. Ted?s goal is to try to buy part of a company for less than the value of its discounted future cash flows. He spends time researching the company’s financials and statements to model their future cash flows and recommend when and what stock to purchase. It seems like a fast-paced and exciting, but high-risk career choice.
