Post on 04-Apr-2018
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TheresNoSuchPlaceasAsia
Pacific
10keyinsightsaboutthe
regionfortheglobalbusinessexecu=ve
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WhatintheworldisAsiaPacific?
WhiletechnicallytheMiddleEastformspartofAsia,mostorganiza>onsaachthatareato
Europeforpragma>creasons
Commonplacedefini>onsseeAsia=PakistantoJapantoIndonesia
AsiaPacificincludesAustralia,NewZealandandPacificIslands
Halftheworldssurfacearea Halftheworldspopula>on Theworldstwomostpopulouscountries(China
andIndia)
ThecountrywithworldslargestIslamicpopula>on(Indonesia)
Fourknownnuclearpowers(China,Russia,India,Pakistan)
Democraciesthroughtocommuniststatestomilitarydictatorships
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Whatstheissue?
" Theregionissodiverse,complexandwithsuchlileincommon,itsimplydoesntexistinameaningfulsense
" Andyetglobalorganiza>onsmustfindawayofmanagingthis,andsotheyoSenwillexpressAsiaorAsiaPacificasaconsolidatedregionfromafinancialrepor>ngandmanagementperspec>ve
" Itseasyforpeoplewhodontknowtheregionwelltothenstarttothinkofitasaregionthathassomeconsistencyorhomogeneity
" Thismisconcep>oncanimpedeanorganiza>onfromfullycapturingtheopportuni>esintheAsiaPacificregion,ormakingmistakesthatcost>meand/ormoney
" Thismisconcep>onisnotlimitedtoexecu>vesfromoutsidetheregionespeciallyNorthAmericaandEuropebutoSenexistsamongseniormanagementwithintheregion,whomays>llperceive
thingsthroughthelensoftheirowncultureorpersonalexperience
" Whileno-onecanbecomeanovernightexpertandfewwouldclaimdeepknowledgeofeveryfacetoftheregion,thereare10keyinsightsanexecu>veneedsinordertohavesomeframework
ofunderstandingAsiaPacific
Understandthese10keypoints;beawareofthemasyougoaboutyourbusiness;reflectonthemasyouseektounderstandwhycertainthingsoccur;
andavoidtheobviouspi
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1.Distancesandtravelling>mes
Upto8hours>medifferencebetweenKarachiandWellington
Distancesandtravel>mesoSennotwellunderstoodoutsidetheregion
EastcoastAustraliafrom/toChina,Japan,EAsia7-10hoursflying>me,Japan/ChinatoIndia
similar,IndiatoAustralia15-20hours
Evenfromcentralloca>onsuchasHongKongorBangkok,flight>mescanbe3-6hoursintra-region
Localtravelto/fromairportsischallenginginmanyloca>ons
Themostfinanciallysignificantmarketsformostcompanieslieontherimoftheregionmakingit
moredifficulttoavoidtravel
Thetypicalexecu>vecoveringthisregionwillspendconsiderablymore>metravellingthanhis/
hercounterpartsinotherpartsoftheworld
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2.Nocommonculture
ThereisnosuchthingasanAsianculturethereareamul>tudeandoSenhaveverylile
incommon
omethingsthatappeartobeincommonshouldnotleadtotheassump>onthat
everythingissimilar
Whathasbeenlearnedandisappropriateormayworkinonemarketmaybeinappropriate
elsewhere
Cultures,andanindividualsiden>fica>onwiththeirculturalheritage,canbeveryspecificand
failingtorecognizethisislikelytobe
detrimentaltoarela>onship
Thisisalsoreflectedinthebusinesscultureswhichcanvarysignificantlyacrosstheregion,
determiningwhatisacceptableorexpected
behaviourandwhatisnot
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3.Nocommonlanguage
WhileMandarinistheofficiallanguageofChinaandspokenextensively,itisnotcommonly
usedforbusinessoutsidetheChineseethnic
community
TherearemanyChinesedialects,althoughthewrienlanguageiscommon.Howeveritis
characterbasedandcomputersoSwareneeds
double-bytecharactercapacityunlikethe
Romanalphabet Therearemul>plemajorlanguagesand
alphabetsacrosstheregionthathavecome
fromverydifferentroots,havinglileifnothing
incommon
En>relanguagestructuresvaryincludingtonal/nontonalpronuncia>onandcharacter/leer
construc>on
Englishistheoneunifyinglanguageandprevalentinbusinessuse.Whileitsuseandadop>onisgrowingquickly,language
complexityisamajorimpedimentto
undertakingbusinessacrosstheregion
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4.Longheritageandproudrecent
histories Manypartsoftheregionhaveaculturalheritagethat
stretchesbackcenturiesandevenmillennia
ThereisoSengreatprideandstrongaffinitytotheculturalheritageandhistory,moresothanmanywestern
countries,especiallythoseintheNewWorld
Historicalfacts,legendsandmythshaveasmuchdepthacrossAsiathansayEuropeanhistory;peopleareoSen
bemusedwhysomuchimportanceisplacedonthehistory
ofEuropeandsolileisunderstoodoftheirhistory Theregionhasre-wrienthehistorybooksduringthe20th
Centuryandanunderstandingoftheregionrequiressome
basicknowledgeofsuchmilestoneeventsasthe
independenceprocessesinIndia,IndoChinaandIndonesia;
thepar>>oningofIndia;Japaneseexpansionduringthe
1930sandtheecondWorldWarinAsia;Chinese
na>onhood,theCommunistrevolu>on,theCultural
Revolu>onandtheGreatLeapForwardtothemodern
era;andkeyconflictsandtheiraSermathsinceWWIIincludingKorea,Vietnam,Malayaninsurgency,India/
PakistaniborderdisputesandthekillingfieldsofCambodia
Itisimportanttoacknowledgeandrespectthesenseofhistoryandpridethatistypicalacrosstheregion
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6.Neverassumeanything
Inalmosteveryareaimaginable,thingscanworkindifferentandunexpectedwaysacrosstheregion,andmany>mesfrommarkettomarketwithintheregion(andin
someplaceslikeChinafromProvincetoProvince)
Expecta>onspeoplehaveofwhatisappropriatewheninterac>ngwithbusinesses,government,customersorcolleaguesmaybeverydifferentfromwhatyoumight
expect
Eachcountryhasitsownsetofregula>onsandthesearetypicallynotharmonized Viewsofwhatisrightandwrong,orwhatcons>tutesanagreement,orhowbinding
alegalcontractis,oranynumberofissuesmaynotbewhatisexpected,andthese
differentperspec>vesmayresultinfundamentalmisunderstandings
Oneofthemostcommontrapsforexecu>vesnewtotheregionistomakeadecisiononapar>cularissue,assumingthatthefactorsthatthisissuedependsupon
aswellastheeffectthedecisionwillhavearepredictable.ooSenthese
assump>onsturnouttobefalsebecauselocalregula>ons,commonprac>ce,
culturalissues,etc,cancreateaverydifferentoutcometothatan>cipated.Always
considerthedependenciesandresultsofakeydecisiontoensureyour
assump=onsholdtrue Transparencycanbeachallengingissueacrossmuchoftheregion.Levelsof
disclosure,transparency,formaldocumenta>onandadherencetorigidauditand
complianceregimesvary,anditiswisetolearnthataccep>nginforma>onatface
valemaynotalwaysbethebestapproach
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7.Keypopula>ontrends
Overall,birthratesaredecliningandlifeexpectancyisincreasingbutthistrendisatdifferentstagesacross
theregion
Thesedemographictrendshavesignificanteconomicimpactandareakeytounderstandingthefutureof
theregion
Japanspopula>onisreachingthe>ppingpointwheremorepeoplewillre>refromtheworkforcethan
join,contribu>ngtoJapanseconomicpressures ChinaandouthKoreaseethesamethingoccurring
withinthenexttwodecades
Elsewhereintheregion,thepopula>onisyouthfulwithmanymarketsinouthandouthEastAsia
consis>ngof50%+undertheageof25,andtheimpact
ofanageingpopula>onislikelytobefelt3-4decades
fromnow
Theunexplainedtrendtowardsmoremalebirthsplusongoingrural/urbanmigra>onarealsolikelytocon>nuetoimpacttheregion
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8.Risingconsumerism,dynamism
andearlyadop>onoftechnology
Acrosstheregion,newlyacquiredspendingpowerandtheappe>tefor
consumergoodsaredrivingconsumer
spendingatanastonishingrate
MorenewcarsweresoldinChinain2009thanintheUforthefirst>me;
thereareextensivewai>nglistsfor
IndiasinexpensiveNano
Consumersareearlyadoptersandvoraciousconsumersofnew
technology.Morethan50%ofthe
worldsnewsmartphonesare
expectedtobesoldinChinain2011
Youth-orientedculture,fashion,dynamism,brandconsciousnessand
theprevalenceofluxurybrandsareall
apartofthisphenomenon
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9.Internaldissent
Asiaisnotonebig,happy,extendedfamily Poli>caltensionsremainhighinplaceslike
India/PakistanandtheKoreanPeninsula
InternaldissentmakesitselfknowninChinafrom>meto>me
Poli>calinstabilityoruncertaintyandthethreatofviolenceexistsinareassuchas
Burma,thesouthofthePhilippines,thesouth
ofThailand,NepalandtheChina/Taiwandebateisnotover
Theappropriatesharingofeconomicprosperitycreatestension;recentlythis
eruptedinBangkokanditisonlyadecadeago
violencewasdirectedagainsttheethnic
ChinesecommunityinIndonesia
Rivalryandjealousiesbetweenprovincesorcountriesandindividualsacrosstheregionmaynotbeoutwardlyevidentbutexisttothe
sameextentasanyotherpartoftheworld
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10.Australasiasiden>tycrisis
WhetherAustraliaandNewZealandshouldbeconsideredpartoftheregionorcompletelyseparateisamaerof
debate
Twodecadesormoreago,theanswerwouldhavelikelybeenno
HoweverextensiveAsianimmigra>onandAsianinvestmentinbothcountries,extensiveAsianstudent
popula>onsandAsiashungerfortheimporta>onof
naturalresourcesfromthesecountrieshasdrivenmuchcloserbonds
Atthesame>meAustralasiastradi>onalhistoricrela>onshipsandtradingpartnersinEuropeandNorth
Americahavewanedtoadegree
Thisresultsinthesome>mesin,some>mesoutposi>onandtheoSenconfuseduseofAsiaandAsiaPacific
notknowingisthisdoes/shouldincludeAustraliaandNew
Zealand
Mul>na>onalorganiza>onstypicallytakeoneoftwoviews,unlessA/NZstandsalone.Geographicproximityto
therestofAsiaforcestheirinclusionintoanAsiaPacific
regionalstructureforsomecompanies,whiletheother
approachistokeepA/NZgroupedwithdeveloped
marketslikeEuropeandNorthAmerica
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Abouttheauthor
AveteranoftheAsiaPacific
businessscene,DavidChristensenis
anAustralian(withNewZealand
roots),currentlybasedinBangkok,
ThailandwhereheisCEOof
premiumskincareandan>aging
productsmanufacturerRoyaliam
NaturalHealthandBeauty.
Havinglivedandworkedin14
countriesaswideafieldasRussia,
India,andJapan,Davidhasabackgroundinadver>singwith
aatchi&aatchiandDDB,
extensiveinterna>onalbusiness
strategyconsul>ngexperienceasa
PartnerwithGravitasPartnershipin
HongKong,andseniorregionalline
managementrolesacrossAsia
PacificwithAmericanExpress,
CarlsonWagonlit,andAXAAsia
Pacific.
HisLinkedInprofilecanbeseenatthislinkLinkedInProfileandyou
cancontacthimbyemailat
david@royalsiam.asia
.www.royalsiam.asia
RoyalSiamNaturalHealthandBeauty
Royaliamisaninterna>onalmanufactureranddistributorofbrandedskincare,haircareandrelatedhealthandbeautyproducts,withitsheadquartersinBangkok,Thailand.Thecompanyspecializesintheuseofnaturalingredients,leveragingtheextensiveknowledgebasebuiltupovermorethan800yearsbytheThaiTradi>onalMedicineprofession.Inaddi>ontothisemphasison
naturalandtradi>onalingredients,Royaliamresearchesandincludessomeofthelatestingredientsandtechniquesdevelopedbymodernscienceresul>nginarangeofpremiumskincareandan>agingproductsthatrepresentworldbestprac>ceinboth100%naturalproductsaswellasthosethatincludesynthe>cingredients.Thecompanydistributesitsproductsthroughretailopera>onsinThailandandgloballyviaandinterna>onalonlinestore,accessedathp://www.royalsiam.asia.Thewebsiteofwww.royalsiam.asiacontainsextensiveresourcesandinforma>onabouttheskincareindustryaswellastheroleRoyaliamplayswithintheindustry.