Business Leaders Shared Their Views on Success in Management: The Asian Way
01 Nov 2006

With the theme "Success in Management: The Asian Way", an annual conference of HKMA was held on 1 November 2006 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. Over 330 senior executives were attracted to the scene. Eight prominent speakers coming from big companies and academics had shared their insights on management with the participants.

Mr. Thomas Kwok Ping-kwong JP, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Sun Hung Kai Properties Limited said the company emphasized people and team work. He further highlighted that gathering and implementing feedback from employees and delegating authority to employees were keys for the success of the company.

Dr Allan Fung, Managing Partner, Hong Kong, McKinsey & Company mentioned 'there is an old saying that "the success and failure of a company boils down to three things: people, people and people". ' With Asia's booming economy, multi-nationals and local companies alike were now focusing heavily on recruiting and retaining the best talent. His speech focused on the specific challenges that both local and multi-national companies faced in recruitment and retention, and the strategies some have adopted to be successful.

Mr. Henry W K Chow, Chairman & CEO, IBM Greater China Group said during the conference, in a "flat" world where opportunities and competition were coming from all around the world, businesses that wanted to succeed need to be GLOCAL, having a global perspective while maintaining local strengths. Mr. Chow used IBM China as an example, discussing local versus global, and how corporate culture and organization structure operated in a globally integrated company. He also shared his insights in the development of a local business into a global company, in a flat economy.

Professor Leslie Young, Chair Professor of Finance & Executive Director, The Asia-Pacific Institute of Business, The Chinese University of Hong Kong expressed that it was widely recognized that cultural factors affect the validity of management theories. His speech discussed why China has succeeded despite disastrous rankings in all international indices of competitiveness, rule of law and corruption.

Dr Philip Chen SBS JP, Chief Executive, Cathay Pacific Airways Limited pointed out that as the world became increasingly globalized, the understanding and dealing with different culture, values and work practices were essential for a company to succeed. He also emphasized that company values should match with the external environment and companies should always be well prepared for changes.

Dr Edward Suning Tian, Chairman, China Broadband Capital Partners LP (CBC Capital) said China broadband market was growing as one of the largest broadband market in the world. Driven by the broadband development, China telecom operators were transforming themselves into integrated multi-media communications services providers. Emergence of new internet business models like online games, online broadcasting, etc. were also driven by the development of broadband. Dr Tian admitted that CBC Capital is devoting itself to building a new "Broadband Eco-system" in China.

Mrs. Eva Cheng, CEO, Greater China & SE Asia of Amway China, expressed that the East and the West could be very different in ways of thinking and in values. For multi-national companies in China, they needed to adapt to the local cultural, and promote harmony and fusion of the conflicting elements that existed between the two cultures. In its first 10 years of operation, Amway China learned to do just that, and succeeded in fostering a strategy which bridged the gaps and made possible business growth.

Mr. Michael Lee, Managing Director, Hysan Development Company Limited said management was recognized by most as an invention of the West. With the avid economic development in Asia and globalization, a lot of Asian companies have fast latched onto Western management principles and initiatives. Mr Lee shared his experience at Hysan and how he sought to engender a culture and build up systems to succeed as a new hybrid - retaining Asia virtues while leveraging the essence of Western management.