| China Seminars | |||
| What China Means for America Geoffrey Garrett, President of Pacific Council for International Policy and Professor of International Relations, USC The US-China economic relationship will likely become more contentious in the coming years for three reasons. First, the rise of innovation in China will adversely affect tech-sector employment in the US. Second, the growth in Chinese consumption will benefit US multinationals with Chinese operations, but will not help employment in the US. Third, national security rivalry will cast an increasing shadow over US-China economic relations. |
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| What’s Important to Know About China William Overholt, Asia Policy Chair & Director, RAND Center for Asia Pacific Policy | |||
| Chinese Banks: The Path to Reform Daniel Fineman, Economic Senior Analyst, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Dan Fineman will discuss the importance of bank reform for China, the achievements made so far, and the challenges reformers face in implementing further improvements to China’s financial system. |
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| China: The Victory of Materialism, The Rise of the Middle Class and the Implications for American Business Stan Rosen, Director, USC East Asian Studies Center and Professor of Political Science, USC The reforms in China have already led to the rise of a new middle class, as well as a stratum of the rich and even super-rich. Current trends strongly suggest that this phenomenon will continue, particularly since the Communist Party has been encouraging private entrepreneurs to join the CCP. These developments in turn have created new role models and new patterns of consumption. For example, whereas price and Chinese brand name had always been the key factors in purchases, more recent surveys have shown that, depending on the consumer item, such things as quality, style and foreign brand name have become far more important. At the same time, Chinese society has become "fractured," with Chinese social scientists suggesting that individuals in different parts of the country are now living in five different technological eras. Moreover, image has become extremely important, with obvious new patterns of social stratification (for example, no one who aspires to social success wants to associate with "smelly" migrant workers). Chinese social scientists and popular newspapers and magazines have discussed the new relationship between strata (or "classes") and the effect of these changes on daily life and consumption. These changes have important implications for those doing business with China . Thus, this presentation will discuss the changes and their implications, using survey and public opinion data, interviews in China , and the Chinese media as sources. | |||
| Managing the Power of Perceptions/Expectations: How to Work Effectively with the Chinese Mu Dan Ping, Executive Director, World Heritage Foundation (Los Angeles) International business deals do not usually fail due to external factors such as money, technology, the market, product, politics, economics or technical considerations. Most often failures are caused by a lack of understanding of cultural differences based on personal values, expectations and perceptions held by people from different cultures. Successful business relationships between U.S. and Chinese firms require cross-cultural exchange and mutual understanding. The inability to interact effectively can lead to misunderstanding and negatively affect the peoples and commerce between the two countries. | |||
| The Art of Negotiating with the Chinese Mu Dan Ping, Executive Director, World Heritage Foundation (Los Angeles) Although negotiation is a universal business practice, methods and goals of negotiating vary depending on one's culture and values. For Americans, negotiation is focused on bottom line maximization of profit. On the other hand, the Chinese emphasize building trust and maintaining good relations through negotiation. For U.S. firms, successful negotiations with their Chinese partners can be distilled to three fundamentals: be patient, be respectful and be informed. Learn effective strategies when negotiating with the Chinese and avoid creating potential pitfalls – even after a contract is signed. |
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| China: Six Years After WTO Baizhu Chen, Associate Professor of Finance & Business Economics, USC Marshall School of Business The seminar will provide an overview of the current economic situations in China. It will evaluate the commitment of China to WTO, and present descriptions of different sectors, including foreign investment and trade. |
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| From Nothing to a Profitable Wholly-Owned Foreign Investment Enterprise in China in 250 Days Christopher Goode, President & Managing Director, White (China) Drive Products Co. Ltd., (Hopkinsville, KY) Learn how White Drive Product overcame the cultural gap with Chinese officials and suppliers to build a manufacturing facility and engineering and test center in Zhenjiang , RunZhou , China in 2005 in a span of 250 days. Christopher Goode, President & Managing Director, White Drive Products (China), will discuss how to navigate the labyrinths of Chinese administration and regulations that are required to establish a wholly-owned foreign investment enterprise: to acquire property, build, and populate a facility with state-of-the art equipment. |
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| Japan Seminar | |||
| Benchmarking Japan, 2007: Some New Ways to think about the World's Second Largest Economy Michael Zielenziger, Visiting Scholar, Institute of International Studies, University of California at Berkeley and Author of Shutting Out the Sun: How Japan Created Its Own Lost Generation Since the collapse of the nation's bubble economy in the early 1990s, investors and forecasters have regularly predicted the robust recovery of Japan. Yet mainly they have been disappointed with a nation whose growth over the past decade has lagged all other members of the OECD. Japan still seems to be "turning the corner..." What explains the malaise in modern Japan, its complex interactions with China, and its economic prospects? And what are the opportunities for foreign investors and companies to help accelerate recovery? |
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| Cultural Clash: Where Communication Breaks Down With The Japanese Diana Rowland, President, Rowland & Associates (Del Mar, CA) The success of your business relationship and interaction hinges on your ability to communicate well across the cultural divide. Conflict and misunderstanding between Japanese and Americans more often occur from differences in style than in substance. At the very least this causes delays and frustration -- at the most it can cause a complete breakdown in the relationship and lead to lost business opportunity. It is smarter and easier to take steps to avoid misunderstandings than to try to repair the relationship and regain trust, or pay the price to fix the problems, once the damage is done. This interactive seminar explores the major areas of communication differences and the implications to you for business success. We will discuss techniques for accurately deciphering the Japanese “message” – ways to perceive the “real” truth -- and how to respond effectively. Practical tips and guidelines for communicating across cultures, for developing a “virtual relationship,” as well as for using translators, will also be provided. |
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| Getting Past “Hai:” Negotiating with the Japanese Diana Rowland, President, Rowland & Associates (Del Mar, CA) Business customs and styles are formed from cultural norms. Consequently, negotiation styles vary greatly around the world. To avoid being caught off guard by a different approach or assumptions, savvy negotiators investigate the preferred style of those who will sit across the table from them. The cost for not doing so can be measured not only in terms of money when a deal is lost, but also in terms of the wasted time and ensuing frustration when you fail to persuade your Japanese colleagues on an issue of importance to you. In order to prevent these pitfalls, it is essential to understand the Japanese style of negotiation. In this seminar we will explore the Japanese business mindset and the values that drive the way business is done. We will identify techniques for getting the information you need, for giving effective presentations and for coming to productive conclusions. If time permits, we will also discuss Japanese negotiation strategy and conflict resolution. |
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| International Business Seminar | |||
| Entrepreneurship as a Strategic Weapon Thomas O’Malia, Professor, USC Marshall School of Business In today’s world the only constant is change. To be a competitive force a company must reinvent itself every two years. That can’t be done with top down planning – that model is broken. Success in the future will come from imperfectly seizing opportunities. The ability to innovate and adjust requires new cultures, new mindsets, and a bottom up organizational structure. Without a culture of entrepreneurship, today’s companies will not see tomorrow. |
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| When International Executives Derail Morgan McCall, Professor of Management & Organization, USC Marshall School of Business International assignments can be an exciting adventure as well as a significant leadership challenge. Unfortunately things sometimes go wrong, and far more often than in domestic assignments. In this session we will explore how an executive's strengths and weaknesses, the challenges of working in a "foreign" culture, and organizational mistakes contribute to the derailment of talented executives in international assignments. Whether contemplating taking an expatriate assignment, managing people who do, or considering organizational policies, the dynamics of derailment are a relevant factor to consider and to do something about. |
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| Prospects for the U.S. in the 'New' Pacific Rim Economy Gary Schlossberg, Vice President & Senior Economist, Wells Fargo & Co. The presentation will discuss the U.S. economic and interest-rate outlook in the context of an increasingly "globalized" Pacific Rim economy. Included in the discussion will be the ramifications of that outlook both for the U.S. and for the regional economy, along with an assessment of the threats to economic and financial-market stability. Chief among those risks is the impact of any future transition from ample "liquidity" conditions now shaping the economic, financial and investment environment. |
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| Taking the Foreign Currency Risk out of Foreign Investment David Gopal, Vice President , Wells Fargo As more and more companies are expanding overseas and hedge funds/private equity are investing overseas, the need for global foreign exchange and interest rate risk management has increased dramatically. Foreign investing invariably entails some level of foreign currency and interest rate risk. This presentation will discuss the nature of the risks along with various hedging strategies in the context of today's global markets. Achieve the benefits of foreign investment but manage the risk. |
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| Competing in an Era of Global Giants: Strategies of a Successful Start-up Arvind Bhambri, Professor, Management & Organization, USC Marshall School Ronald Oehm, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Trianz, Inc., and former Senior Global Partner of KPMG's Consulting Division In this era of outsourcing, global product engineering, and IT consulting, a few giants from India (Infosys, Wipro, TCS) and the U.S. (Accenture, IBM, EDS) have become dominant players. They have distinct advantages in scale and infrastructure. In such an environment, how can a small company with global intentions succeed, especially if it is competing for the same blue chip clients as the majors? The two presenters, Ron Oehm and Arvind Bhambri, are both associated with such a venture, Trianz, Inc., and will use it as a case study to illustrate the challenges the company faced and what they have learned. Trianz is now a 5-year old global consulting, enterprise applications, and product engineering company with more than 700 employees in the U.S., Europe, Japan, and India. It has achieved a consistent growth rate in excess of 50% a year since its founding in 2002 |
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| Strategic Decision Making: A Dialog on Making the Commercial Service Work for You in China, Asia & Beyond Maryavis Bokal, Senior International Trade Specialist, U.S. Department of Commerce, Newport Beach, CA Kellie Holloway Jarman, Commercial Officer, U.S. Department of Commerce, Portland, OR Ray Cohen, Chief Executive Officer, Symphony Medical Inc., Laguna Hills, CA Are you looking to find a partner overseas? Need to qualify a distributor? Gain market exposure? Identify new regulations or confirm if they apply to your product? Collect overseas market intelligence? The U.S. & Foreign Commercial Service can be your partner in global trade. This is a great session to enhance your understanding of the U.S. & Foreign Commercial Service and prepare for one-on-one meetings with the Senior Commercial Officers during the conference. Join this dialog on how to make the most of this useful government resource to increase your exports! |
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| Korea Seminar | |||
| 2007 Presidential Elections in South Korea: Implications for Inter-Korean and U.S.-Korean Relations Chaibong Hahm, Professor of International Relations and Political Science, Director, USC Korean Studies Institute In December 2007, the South Korean electorate will go to the polls to vote for the next President of the South Korea who will assume office in January 2008. What are the major issues surrounding the election? How are the different candidates and parties positioning themselves? What will the election mean for the future of U.S.-Republic of Korea Alliance and the future of North-South Korean relationship? |
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| Mexico Seminar | |||
| Investing in Mexico: Formulas for Success Richard Sinkin, Partner, InterAmerican Group (San Diego) This session will provide specific examples of how to set up manufacturing in Mexico and how to acquire undervalued assets in Mexico drawn from the real-world experience of one of the premier advisory and investment firms focusing on Mexico, the InterAmerican Group. Richard Sinkin, founder and managing partner, will draw on his firm’s success in starting up over 27 manufacturing operations, advising companies on how to be successful in cross-border mergers and acquisition activities, and highlight some of the cultural issues that often get in the way of success. |
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| Attacking the Mexican Market Richard Sinkin, Partner, InterAmerican Group (San Diego) Selling a product or service in the Mexican market is a challenge. In this session, Richard Sinkin, founder and managing partner of the InterAmerican Group, will provide real-world guidance for finding the right structure for selling into Mexico. He will highlight some of the more unique aspects of Mexican demography, household income, and consumption patterns as well as provide specific advice on avoiding the traps the unwary often fall into. |
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| Managing Successful Manufacturing Operations in Mexico Ricardo Vidal, President, Clemex USA, Inc. In order to successfully penetrate and operate in the Mexican market, U.S. managers must have a clear understanding of the business climate and the expectations and business practices of their Mexican counterparts. Ricardo Vidal will share his practical advice based on his extensive experience on how to deal successfully with the opportunities and challenges presented by this important market. Discussion will focus on the Mexico Free Trade Agreement, determining the best places to establish new manufacturing companies, and the day-to-day operations in the Mexican business environment. Vidal will also discuss the impact of China on Mexico’s manufacturing industry—is Mexico or China a better investment for your manufacturing operations? |
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| Thailand Seminar | |||
| Thailand: Political & Economic Perspective James P. Rooney, Chairman,US J.P. Rooney & Associates Ltd., Bangkok, Thailand A coup in September, a new sufficiency economy, a new constitution and regulatory changes in the economic sector. An assessment of what has happened in Thailand since the coup and what is in store for the Thailand as the interim government guides the country towards democratic elections. |
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| Doing Business in Southeast Asia James P. Rooney, Chairman,US J.P. Rooney & Associates Ltd., Bangkok, Thailand Is it “Amazing Southeast Asia” or “a maze in Southeast Asia”? Examples of successful (and unsuccessful) investments in Southeast Asia provide valuable lessons for maximizing business opportunities in the region. |
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