Since coming back to the United States, I have been able to reflect on the lessons I have learned while in Singapore. Throughout my visit, the idea of sustainability was reiterated throughout multiple industry visits. This not only showed me that many Singaporean businesses were concerned about creating eco-friendly business practices, but that they were concerned about having a unified vision (regarding sustainability) as an entire country. It was incredible to see so many businesses share the same strategic vision in regard to their sustainability challenges, as other countries may struggle to achieve similar goals. In regards to how business was actually conducted abroad, I also learned about the importance of learning from other countries/businesses. As Singapore is still a very young country, they have had to learn from the failures and successes of the countries around them. Being such a small country, Singapore was also not gifted with an abundance of natural resources – pushing the country to expand its negotiations outside of its borders. For example, Singapore imports sand from other countries in order to aid in its land reclamation process. Although this was not an easy task at first, Singapore has been able to gradually import sand over the past few decades in order to further develop urban areas in the country. Additionally, Singapore?s first prime minister – Lee Kuan Yew – discusses the journey of creating modern-day Singapore in his book From Third World to First. Reading this book has opened my eyes to how many opportunities truly exist for such as small country; nevertheless, these same opportunities are (more often than not) invisible to the naked eye. From my experience in Singapore, I have come to learn that leaders like Lee Kuan Yew had to take risks and overcome personal and societal pressures in order to create Singapore?s thriving economy. Strategic planning played an essential role in not only deciding which tactical action should be taken but when those actions should be taken. Prior to coming to Singapore, I had not realized the impact of strategic planning in regard to changing the landscape of an entire country and its economy. Although I had looked at strategic planning from a management or business perspective, I had not considered what such as practice would look like from a political or social perspective. When discussing Singaporean history with local individuals, many of them were proud of how far their country has come in regard to the city-state that it is today. Not only were Singaporean locals proud of the economy they are a part of, but they are also proud to boast so many diverse cultures in the small country. The sense of unity and belonging within Singapore was something I admired as, in other countries, differences between individuals tend to divide rather than unite. Overall, my experience in Singapore was life-changing, and I hope to continue learning more about the Asian Business Environment through class, research, or even personal visits to Singapore as my career progresses.
