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. I was correct in my initial assumption that the Eastern cultures in Singapore contribute to its way of business.
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 Mandarin Oriental Hotel employees who spoke to us had experience working in both American and Asian hotel businesses. They agreed that globalization is actually causing work ethics to merge between the west and the east. There is no notable difference between how hard people work in either culture. However, the employees explained that unions in the U.S. make it difficult to operate a luxury hospitality business. For example, due to union laws, workers in the U.S. are less likely to go out of their way and out of their job description to help guests. Another big difference between the U.S. and Singapore is due to 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. When engaging with business individuals in Singapore, it is important to use phrases such as ?we? or ?us?, instead ?I? or ?me?.
We also toured an aquarium to learn about the specific business strategies they employ. Here, everything seemed very similar to a business you would find operating in the United States. They use bundle and odd-number pricing, strategically placed gift shops, seating, dining, and hands-on experiences, 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 aquarium?s focus on appealing to the superstitions of the Chinese culture. For example, they end lots of prices 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. 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 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. 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. Singapore?s stock market is ?third tier? as opposed to the top-tier NYSE. Important questions he asks before investing include, ?why did you list 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 the U.S. where most companies prefer to go public on the stock market. This is reflective of my initial impression that family is valued differently in Singapore than in America. This also changed my perspective of the different financial markets all over the world. I take for granted living in a country whose financial exchange is, for the most part, regulated and fair.
One of my initial impressions that was not accurate, was regarding the separation of the various ethnicities. Though it is true that geographically main ethnicities remain separate, some of that is just for tourism purposes. We learned that originally, only the Chinese where required to live in a specific area of the island, Chinatown. ?Little India? was something that was created only to contribute to a tourist?s multicultural experience. There actually seems to be a lot of cultural overlap and ?borrowing?, especially when it comes to the food. Food is at the center of Singaporean culture. A traditional greeting in Mandarin is asking an elder ?have you eaten??. If they respond that they have eaten, it means they are blessed and in good health. Many times, Don would take us to what he called ?Singaporean Chinese Food?, which was different from ?traditional Chinese Food?. Both had some overlap of flavors, rice, meats, and vegetables, but were not the same.
Throughout my time in Singapore, I learned a lot about the difference between American and Asian cultures. I am thankful to have a first-hand learning experience with Singapore’s business environment.
