Free Sample - Malaysian Institute of Management

management
VOL. 49 NO. 4 | 2014
www.mim.org.my
PQ PP/11505 (938)
W. MALAYSIA RM 10.00
E. MALAYSIA RM 12.00 THE IMPACT OF CHANGING
HUMAN MINDSETS
IS YOURS A
TRULY GLOBAL
COMPANY?
8 STRATEGIES TO
KILL COMPETITION
IS YOUR BRAND
FAMOUS?
THE INSIDE GUIDE TO
PROMOTING YOUR BRAND
DISRUPT OR
BE DISRUPTED
DATO’ FARSHILA EMRAN
THE AGENT
OF CHANGE
DISCOVER THE
IMPACT OF
GRADUATE
MANAGEMENT
EDUCATION
18
26
10
Dato’ Farshila Emran
The Agent of Change
CONTENTS
In Touch with Tech
10 Dato’ Farshila Emran
The Agent of Change
Bold and dynamic, this CEO grabs bulls by
the horn – and rattles a few feathers along the
way – and whips all and sundry into shape to
get things done efficiently and immediately!
18 In Touch with Tech
Keeping at the forefront of technology and its
changing landscape have been key elements
that have shaped the career of Lester Francis
of M3 Technologies
22 Bugs Away
Being a woman in the male-dominated field
of science and entomology hasn’t stopped
Dr. Wahizatul Afzan Azmi from staking a
big claim
26 Carving a Legacy in Fashion
Find out how Carven Ong journeyed from his
modest
beginnings to become a top fashion
designer, educator and entrepreneur in
Malaysia and his principles of success
30 Does Photoshopping Bomb the
Consumer’s Self Esteem?
Photoshopping models in advertisements
damages the self-esteem of teenage girls,
even when a warning is given
Carving a
Legacy in
Fashion
35 Good Corporate
Responsibility Reporting
Discover the guidelines to report with
credibility and reliability
62 Protecting Your
Intellectual Property
We speak to KASS International on design
rights and ways
to protect your Intellectual
Property rights
66 8 Popular Strategies for Blowing
Away Competition
Want to bump off the competition? Here are
8 popular strategies that will do just that
MIM EVENT SPECIAL REPORT
40 Analysing and Developing
Your Social Network
Professor Martin Gargiulo discusses some of
the strategies required to learn more about
your social network and how you can turn it
into an asset for your career
45 The Impact of Changing
Human Mindsets
What does it mean to be a truly global
company? Fedrik Härén, renowned speaker
and author discusses what it takes to be a
truly global company
The Psychology of Social Capital:
Managing Your Talents
50
68
Inspiration
CONTENTS
50 The Psychology
of Social Capital:
Managing Your Talents
How to get the best balance and
results in a team by Professor
Ian Robertson
55 Problem Solving for
Innovation and Creativity:
Getting the Best From
Your Teams
Picking the best team is not as easy
as simply grouping top performers
together. In fact, doing that could give
you the opposite effect
EXECUTIVE DIGEST
78 Brand Famous
The inside guide to promoting
your brand
81 Disrupt or Be Disrupted
Discover the impact of graduate
management education
84 Innovation Governance
Why should we pay attention to
innovation governance?
87 A Force for Change
Effective leaders create change and
are able to mobilise their followers to
achieve such change. However, the
act of leadership is morally neutral, as
the changes can be good or bad
90 The Carpenter
The story about the greatest
success strategies
93 Winning Global Markets
Understanding the economic power
of global cities
BEST FOR SUCCESS
70 Inspiration
L’Oreal’s feisty and capable
Head
of Corporate Communications, Jean
Loh shares just how she rules beyond
lipsticks and hair colour!
72 Ideas
Find out how to be productive at the
workplace with some efficient tips –
and tricks!
76 Motoring
BMW has given its 520D a bit of a
face-lift, not that it matters because it
still is rather good
REGULAR
6 Ceo Foreword
8 Editor’s Note
96 Chairman’s View
55
Problem Solving for
Innovation and Creativity:
Getting the Best From
Your Teams
Motoring
76
CEO’s
Foreword
Inclusion in today’s world is often used in
the context of creating opportunities for
willing participants. The focus is on the
internal behaviours and practices that allow
all to feel included in the bigger scheme of
things – the quest to create success.
With the war on talent to keep the
brightest and the best, it is inherent to
fully understand and explore how the
power of inclusion can help support
business success.
In MIM, we understand the need to
promote not just the idea of inclusiveness
but walk the talk and ensure that the walls
of this esteemed establishment reverberates
the calls for making inclusiveness an
integral part of our management style.
Inclusiveness’ positive persona is one
that shares ideas from all perspectives
and one where people of different
characteristics work together to achieve
one common goal. It is a work culture that
encourages the difference of opinions and
thoughts, which are in turn, celebrated with
enthusiasm here in MIM. It’s about giving
everyone the opportunity to be challenged
- and to challenge.
It’s not about creating the delusion
that everyone will always get along. It’s
not about agreeing for the sake of side
stepping a conflict. It is also not about
ignoring cultural and gender differences
that may exist.
A cohesive team could result from
this inclusiveness and the speed at which
an organisation’s goals are achieved, is
accelerated. Ask yourself how contributing
to the greater good of the organisation
makes you feel? Doesn’t it make you
beam with pride and want to go the extra
mile knowing that your contribution has
somewhat made a difference?
Inclusiveness has moved from being
a corporate catchphrase that down the
years would have lost its shine like a wellworn leather shoe. It’s one that has found
its place on the mantel in every corner
office, a reminder that inclusiveness is an
intrinsic management trait that will move
the organisation’s success and along the
way overcome changes and motivate drive
and focus.
In today’s corporate environment,
people feel the need to be valued for their
contributions most often through monetary
benefits. It does not always have to be
monetary. Allowing strong individuals who
are emerging leaders to take on more
responsibilities further illustrates a win/win
inclusive environment. When your team
members feel engaged in creating tangible
results, there is a likelihood that they will
stay on with the organisation.
Moving forward with MIM, with new
movements and engagements within the
fold, I look forward to a combination of
fresh thinking and experience to form a
powerful ammunition, an arsenal needed
to progress as the country’s foremost voice
of management and leadership.
MALAYSIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT
HONORARY FELLOWS
Royal Professor Ungku A. Aziz
YABhg Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad
YB Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim
YABhg Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
YAB Dato’ Seri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak
COURT OF EMERITUS FELLOWS
President
YABhg Tun Mohammed Hanif bin Omar
Vice President
YBhg Datuk Dr Paddy Bowie
In accordance to date of admission
YBhg Tan Sri Osman S. Cassim
YM Tunku Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Ahmad Tunku Yahya
YBhg Tan Sri Dato’ Azman Hashim
Ir. George Lee Yau Lung
Dr. Tarcisius Chin Nyet Leong
Mr. Robert Kuok Hock Nien
YAB Pehin Sri (Dr) Haji Abdul Taib bin Mahmud
Prof. Liew Shou Kong
YBM Tan Sri Tengku Razaleigh bin Tengku M Hamzah
The Honourable Chief Justice (Rtd) Yong Pung How
YBhg Prof. Tan Sri Dato’ Dr. Mohamed Rashdan bin Hj Baba
YBhg Tan Sri Kamarul Ariffin Mohamed Yassin
YBhg Tan Sri Dato’ Paduka Sallehuddin Mohamed
YBhg Tan Sri Wan Azmi bin Wan Hamzah
YBhg Tan Sri Kishu Tirathai
YBhg Tan Sri Dato’ Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahman
YBhg Tan Sri Dato (Dr) R V Navaratnam
Mr. Niels John Madsen R, R1
YBhg Datuk Haji Mohd Saufi bin Hj Abdullah
YABhg Tun Dr Ahmad Sarji Abdul Hamid
YABhg Tun Musa Hitam
YBhg Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Dr Teh Hong Piow
YBhg Tan Sri Dato’ Dr Lin See Yan
YBhg Jen (B) Tan Seri Datuk Seri Mohd Zahidi bin Hj Zainuddin
YAM Tunku Tan Sri Imran Ibni Almarhum Tuanku Ja’afar
YBhg Tan Sri Dato’ Dr Mohamed Munir Abdul Majid
YBhg Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Hassan Marican
YBhg Dato’ Ng Tieh Chuan
YBhg Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Tay Ah Lek
YBhg Datuk Seri Haji Mohamed Iqbal Rawther
YBhg Tan Sri Datuk Yong Poh Kon
YBhg Prof Dato’ Wira Dr Hj Khairil Annas bin Jusoh
YBhg Dato’ Sri Dr Ali bin Hamsa
YBhg Tan Sri Dato' Seri Siti Norma Yaakob
GENERAL COUNCIL 2013/2014
Chairman
YBhg Datuk Seri Haji Mohamed Iqbal Rawther
Vice Chairman
YBhg Dato’ Ng Tieh Chuan
Court of Emeritus Fellows
Tan Sri Dato' (Dr) RV Navaratnam
Mr. Niels John Madsen, R, R1
Fellows
Prof. Dr. Khaliq Ahmad Mohd. Israil
Sivanganam Rajaretnan
Chief Executive Officer
Malaysian Institute of Management
management
6
Ordinary Members
Ms. Rita Krishnan
Mr. Kamal Batcha Dawood
Mr. Christopher Chew
Associate Members
Mr. Darul Abdullah
Group Members
Dato’ Dr. Basant Singh Sidhu
Mr. Joseph Rocky Gomez
Pn. Rahima Beevi Mohd. Ibrahim
►FROM THE CORNER OFFICE◄
THE AGENT
OF CHANGE
The feisty and passionate Managing Director of
Pharmaniaga Berhad takes a breather and shares her
inspirational tale of rising to the top with integrity.
By SHARMINI M RETHINASAMY
Photography SEAN/31 SQUARE
Make Up MECIA LOH
management
10
►FROM THE CORNER OFFICE◄
A
phone call from her sister-inlaw, Sharifah Fauziyah Syed
Mohthar, lamenting on wanting
to quit her job and do something else,
presented an entrepreneurial opportunity to
Datuk Farshila Emran, now Managing Director
of Pharmaniaga Berhad.
It was a long shot worth venturing into
despite not having the finances. Understanding
that the financial obstacles could be overcome
between them, Datuk Farshila decided to grab
the bull by the horns and move forward with
their plans.
They opened a pharmaceutical retail
business under the name Idaman and drew
in a mere RM60 a day. “It was time to
move in a different direction to garner more
sales,” explained this MARA alumnus with
a Diploma in Office Management. “One
day, watching some kids go on pony rides,
a business opportunity was triggered. Ponies
take medication and so we decided to supply
those and, eventually, branch out to supplying
to canine units that also require antibiotics.
From that point onwards, our daily income was
incrementally positive.
MOVING ONTO
BIGGER CHALLENGES
Then came news that a plant up north was
under receivership. “We thought we would
acquire it despite not having the experience,”
she laughed, reminiscing about the early days.
“I became the “bulldozer” of sorts for the
company, bulldozing my way through!”
So they decided to rope in some assistance
and approached Tan Sri Datuk Seri Lodin Wok
Kamaruddin of Boustead. As the synergy
between Boustead Holdings and themselves
came to fruition and despite the latter having
I BELIEVE THAT IF YOUR KNOWHOW IS CHALLENGED, WE
SHOULD MOVE ONTO THE NEXT
PLAN OF ACTION – GO TO THE
KNOW-WHO!
little expertise in the field, they made up for it
with unrelenting enthusiasm.
“We did not have the know-how,” she
divulged in all honesty. I believe that if your
know-how is challenged, we should move
onto the next plan of action – go to the knowwho!” That’s exactly what she did. She sought
the assistance of a friend, Datin Shamsinar
Hj Shaari, who has had some 25-year’s
experience working in a leading international
pharmaceutical company. “She fell for our
enthusiasm and hunger to succeed. Despite
being the one who would sign the cheque
for her consultation fees, I put up with some
amount of ribbing from her but, given her
seniority and experience, eating humble pie
was all worth it.”
The return of investment was to be achieved
in seven years, but Datuk Farshila managed to
garner a return of investment within three and
a half years. In the meantime, Pharmaniaga
Berhad was looking to sell one of their plants in
Sri Iskandar. With already having a synergistic
partnership in place, acquiring the plant in Sri
Iskandar seemed like a natural progression in
the scheme of things.
The subsequent takeover of Pharmaniaga
Berhad’s Sri Iskandar plant saw a return of
investment, breaking the initial prediction!
Rumour had it that UEM wanted to divest
off Pharmaniaga Berhad because it was
not their core business. This mooted an idea
for acquisition.
“I agreed to do the due diligence,”
she explained. “I roped in the help of the
very capable Datin Shamsinar and Sharifah
Fauziyah to pull off this takeover bid.”
She remained unfazed bidding against
big names because she was confident that
her passion and drive would see her through.
Going in with guns blazing, she helped clinch
the deal. But her involvement did not stop there.
Having had very little knowledge of running a
public listed company, she was on the lookout
to find someone to head the company. Despite
the many CVs of hopeful candidates presented
to her, she was requested to helm the company
and form a credible team to take Pharmaniaga
to the next level. “I brought in many capable
management
13
►LEADERSHIP◄
IN TOUCH
WITH TECH
Keeping at the forefront of technology and its changing
landscape have been key elements that have shaped the
career of Lester Francis of M3 Technologies.
By RICHARD AUGUSTIN
Photography LEON
management
18
L
ester Francis is a hard man to pin
down. As the Executive Director and
Group Chief Operations Officer of
M3 Technologies (M3 Tech), Lester keeps a
busy schedule spearheading the company
whilst keeping tabs on what’s trending in
the highly-competitive technology industry.
In fact, with M3 Tech rapidly expanding its
presence in several Asian markets, Lester is
constantly on the move, developing strategies
and charting the growth of the company on a
regional scale.
A quick glance and you can immediately
gauge how successful M3 Tech has been since
its inception in 1999. Priding itself on being
Asia’s premiere mobile value added services
(VAS) provider, the company has established
itself in key markets such as Malaysia,
Thailand, Singapore, China, Indonesia and
Pakistan. Although predominantly offering
mobile content, M3 Tech has diversified its
portfolio to include consumer electronics,
multimedia products and services.
Being in the company since its start, Lester
has been credited as one of the key people
who have helped develop M3 Tech to what
it is today. Throughout his 15-year tenure with
the company, Lester has constantly been at the
forefront of technology and has borne witness
to the on-going evolution that has shaped the
industry and the business, as he tells us during
a recent chat.
CONSTANTLY EVOLVE
“When M3 Tech started back in 1999,
we were primarily a SMS content services
provider,” reveals Lester. “We offered the
whole range of SMS content like ringtones,
downloadable logos and other forms of
content like sports results. We had banks using
EVERY BUSINESS HAS A SATURATION
POINT AND IN ORDER TO OVERCOME
THAT, IT’S IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND
WHAT THE CUSTOMER WANTS.
our mobile SMS services to communicate
with their customers and we also signed
unprecedented agreements with Maxis,
Celcom and DIGI as a third party provider.”
Business boomed in the next few years and
the company soon expanded into Singapore,
China and Indonesia replicating the same
business module that spurred its success in
Malaysia. It was at this point that M3 Tech
began to expand its portfolio to offer services
like reverse charging but soon the market
began to change, which prompted M3 Tech
to relook its business module.
“Five years ago, we realised that the
mobile business would not be able to
sustain us. So we decided to diversify our
business,” explains Lester. “We went into
the GPS business where we developed an
app for tracking and location based services
and we partnered with PapaGo to become
their exclusive distributor for their devices
in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and
Indonesia,” he added.
Today, M3 Tech’s portfolio has expanded
into LED lighting called Way LED and online
retail. They’ve also created new and exciting
products such as the i3Display, an androidbased electronic display and the i3D Selfie,
which allows users to snap selfies and instantly
share them on social media platforms. The
company has also developed SpeakEZ, a
voice recognition app that teaches its user
the correct pronunciation of English and
Mandarin words.
“I feel that it is necessary to constantly
diversify the business and evolve the product
offerings in accordance to the development
of technology as well as what the consumer
wants,” explains Lester. “In our case, we’re a
technology company and if we don’t evolve
with the technology that comes out then we’ll
get left behind,” he elaborates. “We have to
constantly be at the forefront of technology to
see and understand what’s going on.”
UNDERSTAND YOUR MARKETS
“Every business has a saturation point and
in order to overcome that, it’s important to
understand what the customer wants,” Lester
management
19
►RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT◄
BUG’S
AWAY
Being a woman in the male-dominated
field of science and entomology hasn’t
stopped Dr. Wahizatul Afzan Azmi
from staking a big claim.
By Suloshini Jahanath
management
22
D
r. Wahizatul Afzan Azmi, a
Senior Lecturer in Entomology, at
the School of Marine Science &
Environment, Universiti Malaysia, Terengganu
(UMT), didn’t really envision winning an
award when she chose to go into the sciences.
In fact, it was all about the bugs for her –
researching insects, insect pests and disease
management, and environmental biology. In
other words, bugs don’t bug her.
Yet, this wife and mother of three didn’t
take into account the recognition she would
gain with her hard work in developing a new
pest control strategy for palm trees.
“I felt honoured by the submission alone,”
she says. “The impact it had on me was a
feeling of being respected and recognised.”
THE RESEARCH
Dr. Wahizatul is developing a new pest control
strategy for palm trees using entomopathogenic
fungi (EPF), which is a form of biological control
rather than a synthetic insecticide.
She has been researching Rhynchophorus
Ferrugineus, or the Red Palm Weevil (RPW), a
species that is the most destructive insect pest
of major cultivated palms. According to the
study, the RPW is described as a pest of no
less than 26 palm species belonging to 16
different genera.
The RPW isn’t limited to just one place;
in fact it has spread from its native Southeast
Asian region to the rest of the continent
including China and India, Northern Africa
and the Middle East, the Caribbean (Aruba
and Curacao) Europe and Oceania (including
Australia and Papua New Guinea).
It was captured in the south of Spain
and other European countries in 1994 and
listed on the A2 list of the European and
Mediterranean Plant Protection Organisation
(EPPO) as a serious pest.
The research further suggests that in the
Middle East, the RPW is the most destructive
insect pest of the date palm, and this is
IT’S DEFINITELY A CHALLENGE
BEING A WOMAN SCIENTIST.
especially true for Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman
and Egypt. The RPW is considered a serious
pest of the coconut palm and oil palm in India
and Sri Lanka, especially as it can completely
destroy these plants.
In Malaysia, an unidentified cryptic RPW
was first reported in some small land holdings
in Rhu Tapai, Setiu, Terengganu in early 2007.
While the origins of this cryptic RPW were
unknown, the theory was that it could have
been accidentally transported in dates which
were imported from the Middle East. The study
notes that this species of weevil is probably
Rhynchophorus Ferrugineus as it is one of the
most destructive pests of coconut palms in the
Southeast Asian region.
“This invasive pest is likely the most
aggressive pest that will threaten the coconut
industry and the survival of oil palms, which
represent the backbone of Malaysia’s
commodities market,” Dr. Wahizatul says.
Malaysia is home to about four million
hectares of oil palm, a stable income source
to many small holders and the Federal Land
Development Authority (FELDA) settlers in this
country. She points out that urgent action
is needed in order to prevent significant
economic yield losses.
“My study is crucial in exploring and
developing the potential of indigenous EPF that
could be pre-adapted to the tropical climate of
Malaysia, where factors such as temperature
and humidity are critical when using biological
rather than chemical control methods,” she
adds. “EPF is cost effective and works against
more than 200 insect pest species. It is
safe, non-toxic and environmentally friendly.
Application is also not labour intensive; in
fact, it is less time consuming, which is more
practical for small holders in Malaysia, thus,
improving the lives of people that rely on
agriculture for a livelihood in Malaysia.”
When asked what prompted her to
get behind this very specific research, she
attributes her interest to retired UMT Professor
Abdul Rahman Abdul Razak, who is also her
research mentor. “He inspired me to be a
successful scientist,” she explains. “He is such
a good friend, an enthusiastic mentor and a
supportive co-researcher.”
management
23
CARVEN ONG
CARVING HIS LEGACY
IN THE MALAYSIAN
FASHION INDUSTRY
Find out how Carven Ong journeyed from his modest
beginnings to become a top fashion designer, educator and
entrepreneur in Malaysia; and, his principles of success. By Edlyn Khoo
management
26
►ENTREPRENEURSHIP◄
THE MALAYSIAN MARKET IS GEARED
MORE TOWARDS READY-TO-WEAR;
AND IN BUSINESS, VOLUME IS
WHERE THE MONEY IS.
I
met Carven Ong on a rainy Saturday
afternoon at his boutique at Prince Hotel
Kuala Lumpur. He was slightly late,
being stranded across the road at Pavilion
Shopping Mall by the rain and having to
borrow an umbrella to get back. Apologising
profusely, he immediately got us settled
in at a discussion table, offered me some
water and amiably declared, “Let’s start!”
Humble, professional, resourceful, friendly
and sincere… Looking back on those first few
minutes of our encounter, I realised it summed
up the essence of who Ong is.
Ong is one of Malaysia’s most renowned
fashion designers and his brand “Carven
Ong” is synonymous with feminine, classic
elegance. As the proud owner of a fashion
academy, several fashion counters in leading
department stores, a couture boutique
specialising in wedding and evening gowns,
as well as a wedding-planning company,
he has certainly come a long way from his
humble beginnings.
THE BIRTH OF A DREAM
Ong grew up in a small village in Taiping,
Perak; the youngest of seven siblings.
Ever since he could remember, Ong loved
drawing. By the time he was 13 years old, he
had dreams of becoming an artist. However,
it was his elder sisters who eventually inspired
him to be a fashion designer. He was
fascinated by how they sketched, designed,
sewed and modelled their own fashionable
clothes; and he quickly learned the basics
from them.
After finishing secondary school, Ong
announced his desire to study fashion and
design. Unfortunately, his parents were not
supportive, insisting that there was no “future”
in fashion. If Ong insisted on going ahead,
he would have to support himself. Taking that
as his parents’ blessing, Ong found a job in
KL as a salesman with a direct-sales company
and started saving up to study fashion. After
half a year and the passing of his father, Ong
realised that he wasn’t doing very well at his
job and he was nowhere close to realising his
fashion dreams. His sister(s) encouraged him
to pursue his passion and agreed to support
his studies.
Ong wasted no time in enrolling at the
nearest and most affordable fashion academy
he could find. Thanks to his innate talent and
grasp of the basic skills, Ong was able to
complete his three-year course within only one
year. It was also then that Ong took part in a
fashion design competition and won the first
prize; a scholarship to study in KL. Recognising
his talent, the fashion institute also offered him
a position as a part-time fashion lecturer.
Ong’s first real job was as a senior
designer with a fashion wholesaler. Ong
was given the freedom to design clothes, in
particular, party dresses, for sale to boutiques
all over Malaysia. After work, he also taught
part-time. What started out as a tutoring gig
at home to one student soon expanded to
10 students.
AN EDUCATOR AT HEART
By then, it was 1991 and Ong was 23
years old. With a capital of only RM10,000,
Ong decided to take the risk and focus fulltime on his academy. He quit his job and
rented a 600 square foot shop lot to hold his
classes. This was the birth of his first business
venture, the Carven Academy of Fashion.
Today, after 23 years, the academy has
expanded to occupy a three-storey shop lot
and accepts 60 students per intake. He has
achieved this by consistently reinvesting to
expand and upgrade the academy’s premises
and teaching facilities. What’s impressive is
that he has never invested in marketing, all
the while relying solely on the power of his
students’ referrals!
The academy occupies a special place in
Ong’s heart, as it is his sincere wish to help
management
27
►ADVERTISING & PROMOTIONS◄
DOES
PHOTOSHOPPING
BOMB CONSUMER’S
SELF-ESTEEM?
Photoshopping models in advertisements damages the self-esteem
of teenage girls, even when a warning is given. By JASON ZHAO
I
n France, the world capital of fashion and
luxury, lawmakers in Parliament recently
voted in favour of a new ruling asking that
advertisements should include a warning to
inform consumers that certain models had been
modified by computer. This proposed law,
which although in the end was not adopted,
clearly reflects a growing preoccupation with
the use of enhanced photos in advertising.
“As far as we know, there are no exact
statistics on the number of images of models
in advertising that have been enhanced by
computer, but some reckon that all photos
appearing in fashion or women’s magazines,
or even those aimed at teenagers, are
enhanced by photo editing software,”
said Adilson Borges, Faculty Director at the
NEOMA Business School in France and
author of a recent study, The Effects of Digitally
Enhanced Photos on Product Evaluation and
Young Girls’ Self-Esteem.
Moreover, the media often presents models
that have been enhanced by computer, with
a final result that is incompatible with certain
normal characteristics of the human body
management
30
► O P E R AT I O N S & S T R AT E G I E S ◄
GOOD
CORPORATE
RESPONSIBILITY
REPORTING
The guidelines to report with credibility and reliability.
By Paul N C Tiong PhD CPA (Aust.) and Choon-Yin Sam PhD Associate Lecturers, The University of Wollongong, Australia
management
35
► O P E R AT I O N S & S T R AT E G I E S ◄
TODAY, THE REPORTING OF THE
THREE ASPECTS OF A COMPANY’S
PERFORMANCE (FINANCIAL,
ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL
PERFORMANCE) HAS BECOME A WIDELY
ADOPTED BUSINESS PRACTICE.
C
orporate responsibility reporting
(also referred to as corporate
sustainability reporting and
triple bottom line reporting) is the reporting
of a company’s financial (economic),
environmental and social performance.
Traditionally, the primary focus of corporate
reporting has been on the company’s
financial performance. However, today, the
reporting of the three aspects of a company’s
performance (financial, environmental and
social performance) has become a widely
adopted business practice.
According to The KPMG Survey of
Corporate Responsibility Reporting 2013,
71 per cent of the largest 100 companies
by revenue in 41 countries (N100) prepared
corporate responsibility reports. Among the
top 250 companies listed in the Fortune
Global 500 (G250) ranking, the reporting
rate is around 93 per cent. In countries in
the Asia-Pacific, the reporting rate among
the largest 100 companies is as follows:
Australia (82 per cent), China (including
Hong Kong) (75 per cent), India (73 per
cent), Indonesia (95 per cent), Japan (98
per cent), Kazakhstan (25 per cent), New
Zealand (47 per cent), Singapore (80 per
cent), South Korea (49 per cent) and Taiwan
(56 per cent). In Malaysia, the reporting rate
of the largest 100 companies is 98 per cent.
The key drivers for corporate responsibility
reporting in Malaysia are the government’s
The Green Book (Enhancing Board
Effectiveness) and The Silver Book (Achieving
Value Through Social Responsibility), Bursa
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Malaysia’s Listing Requirements (Item 29, Part
A, Appendix 9C of the Main Market Listing
Requirements and Item 30, Appendix 9C of
the ACE Market Listing Requirements) and
Securities Commission Malaysia’s Malaysian
Code on Corporate Governance.
In preparing corporate responsibility
reports, due to an absence of legislative
requirements that specify the contents of the
reports, many companies refer to various
voluntary reporting guidelines. Examples of
these guidelines include the following: Equator
Principles’ Risk Management Framework,
Global Reporting Initiative’s Sustainability
Reporting
Guidelines,
International
Chamber of Commerce’s Business Charter
for Sustainable Development, International
Labour Organisation’s Core Conventions,
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and
Development Guidelines for Multinational
Enterprises, Reverend Leon Sullivan’s Global
Sullivan Principles, United Nations’ Global
Compact’s Ten Principles and United Nations’
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Among these guidelines, the Global Reporting
Initiative’s Sustainability Reporting Guidelines
are the most widely used. The KPMG
Survey found that 78 per cent of the N100
companies and 82 per cent of the G250
companies refer to these guidelines.
The external assurance of corporate
responsibility reports, which is voluntary
in most countries, has also become more
widespread. According to the KPMG Survey,
the rate of assurance for the N100 companies
and G250 companies is 38 per cent and 59
per cent respectively. The previous KPMG
Survey – conducted in 2011 – reported the
percentage of companies that undertake
assurance of their corporate responsibility
reports by country. The rates of assurance
for countries in the Asia-Pacific region are as
follows: Australia (51 per cent), China (37
per cent), Japan (23 per cent), India (80 per
cent), New Zealand (19 per cent), Singapore
(7 per cent), South Korea (75 per cent) and
Taiwan (43 per cent). There was no data for
Malaysia because it was not included in the
last survey. The motivations for the assurance
►MIM SPECIAL EVENT REPORT◄
ANALYSING AND
DEVELOPING YOUR
SOCIAL NETWORK
Professor Martin Gargiulo, a Professor of Organisational
Behaviour at INSEAD Singapore, discusses some of the
strategies required to learn more about your social network and
how you can turn it into an asset for your career. By Karan Dhillon
management
40
they arise, whether it is to meet new people,
forge closer relationships with acquaintances
or nurture already close relationships.
THE STRUCTURE OF YOUR
NETWORK
The structure of your network is a reflection of
how the people in your network are connected
to each other. Garguilo believes that this
is almost always a result of circumstances
than personality, but by understanding the
characteristics of your particular structure, you
can be better prepared how to nurture your
social capital.
There are three tiers of network structure –
a sparse network, a centralised network and
a dense network.
In a sparse network, nobody or very few
of the people that you know actually know
each other. For example, they could be from
different countries or different organisations
and therefore do not get the chance
to intersect.
People with these social networks often
suffer from a lack of group support that a
centralised or a dense network may provide.
In a centralised network, everybody
is connected through one central contact.
Therefore, you will realise that there is
somebody who is very important to your social
network because everyone is connected
to him.
The obvious downfall of this is that if your
relationship with that person goes wrong,
your network unravels. Knowing this, you can
either start to diversify your network i.e. meet
people or nurture relationships with people
that you already know who are not connected
with this central person.
In a dense network, everybody is
connected to each other and everybody
A LACK OF DIVERSITY IN A PARTICULAR
DIMENSION OF YOUR NETWORK CAN
HOLD YOU BACK IN YOUR LIFE, CAREER
OR ORGANISATION.
knows everybody and potentially – everybody
hates everybody. This network offers a great
support group, but there is also group pressure
to conform and group inertia – a likeliness to
stick in a herd.
It is also important to know how much you
depend on a particular person and how this
person relates to the rest of your network. If,
for example, you realise that the person you
most depend on is also the person that is
central to your network, then the situation is
brittle, because your entire livelihood depends
on your relationship with this person, so you
need to nurture the relationship as much
as possible.
However, this person could leave
the country, retire or even pass away, so
diversifying is important.
BUILDING AND NURTURING
YOUR NETWORK
REDUCING HOMOGENEITY
If your network is homogenous in terms of the
nationality of your contacts, then you may
have difficulty conducting business with an
international team because you are unaware
of the differences in cultures and customs,
which could lead to misunderstandings.
If a Malaysian man, on typical Malaysian
time, shows up late to a meeting with a
Japanese man, it would be seen as a sign
of great disrespect by the Japanese, and it is
likely the relationship will fall apart. This could
have been avoided if the Malaysian had had
previous contacts that were Japanese and
was exposed to that culture.
If your goal is to increase the national
diversity of your network i.e. meet people
from different countries, then you can start to
identify initiatives or projects that would put
you in contact with these people. You could
even approach your boss to request such
an opportunity.
BIRDS IN A NETWORK FLOCK
TOGETHER – BUT THEY
SHOULDN’T
The last time you went to a conference or
business dinner, did you spend most of your
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►MIM SPECIAL EVENT REPORT◄
THE IMPACT OF
CHANGING
HUMAN MINDSETS
What does it mean to be a truly global company? Fedrik Härén,
renowned speaker on Business Creativity and author of nine books,
including The Idea Book that was included in “The 100 Best Business
Books of All Time”, discusses what it takes to be a truly global company
and how you can change your mindset to get there. By Karan Dhillon
management
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►MIM SPECIAL EVENT REPORT◄
THE PSYCHOLOGY
OF SOCIAL CAPITAL:
MANAGING
YOUR TALENTS
Does teamwork always give you better results? How can you harness
the desire for power? What are the leadership differences between
men and women? How can you get the best balance and results in
a team? Professor Ian Robertson addresses these and other insightful
ponderings during his talk entitled The Psychology of Social Capital at
the MIM Asian Management Conference & Exhibition 2014. By Karan Dhillon
management
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►MIM SPECIAL EVENT REPORT◄
PROBLEM SOLVING
FOR INNOVATION
AND CREATIVITY:
GETTING THE BEST
FROM YOUR TEAMS
Picking the best team is
not as easy as simply
grouping top performers
together. In fact, doing
that could give you the
opposite effect. By Karan Dhillon
D
uring his MIM Asian Management
Conference & Exhibition 2014
workshop, Ian Robertson, Author
and Professor of Psychology at Trinity
College, Dublin, discusses some of the key
characteristics of an effective team and some
practical strategies one can take to increase
the overall performance of a team. Below are
three of the key salient points taken from the
session, along with some real life examples.
WHAT IS GROUP IQ AND HOW
DO YOU ASSESS THE GROUP IQ
OF A TEAM?
Although it is tempting to think that the best
teams are made up of the smartest people,
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►MIM SPECIAL EVENT REPORT◄
AN INAUGURAL FEAT
IN MANAGEMENT
Registration of participants comprising of both MIM members and
members of the public.
T
Dato' Sri Rohani Abdul Karim officiating the event.
he
Malaysian
Institute
of
Management (MIM) hosted the
inaugural
Asian
Management
Conference and Exhibition 2014 (AMCE
2014) on October 13 and 14 at the Royal
Chulan Hotel.
Offering comprehensive insights of the
latest challenges facing all industries, the
event saw some 500 participants from the
region in attendance.
Themed “Social Capital: Leading in a
Networked World”, the event focused on
managing social capital and use the power of
social networks to drive business growth. The
event was officiated by Dato’ Sri Rohani Abdul
A sponsor's booth draws an interested participant.
management
60
Karim, Minister for the Ministry of Women,
Family and Community Development.
The two-day event will consisted of a
conference, workshop, gala and awards
dinner as well as an exhibition.
MIM Chairman Datuk Seri Mohamed
Iqbal Rawther said MIM’s inaugural
annual event was designed to facilitate
sharing of resources, knowledge and
regional information in support of today’s
interconnected management.
“Utilising the networks of the 15 member
countries, the objective of this flagship event
is to create a common platform that leverages
the networks within the Asia-Pacific region to
The Minister looking at books.
► S T R AT E G I E S & O P E R AT I O N S ◄
PROTECTING
YOUR
INTELLECTUAL
PROPERTY
We speak to KASS International on the different faces of design
and ways to protect your Intellectual Property. By Suloshini Jahanath
W
e often hear or read
about legal battles
where one party attests
that their intellectual property has been stolen
by the other party. Take for example the Apple
vs Samsung legal battle of nearly four years,
which looks like it will be going on for at
least another three! And all because Apple
believes that some of Samsung’s phones and
tablets infringe on Apple’s patents.
Intellectual property is a tricky thing. You
create something, and it’s something that you
believe is new, and unique, but before you
even blink, there’s something exactly like it
at a shop just down the street from you. So
what’s going on? What exactly is intellectual
property, and how can you protect your
intellectual property rights?
According to KASS International, “Any
application of the mind or intellect to creatively
generate something new or original can be
considered intellectual property. The legal
protection of intellectual property – be it for
inventions, brands, trademarks, designs, art
works, written works or any artistic creation
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► S T R AT E G I E S & O P E R AT I O N S ◄
POPULAR STRATEGIES
FOR BLOWING
AWAY YOUR
COMPETITION
Want to bump off the competition?
Here are 8 popular strategies that will do just that!
By Lori Bassett
E
very small business owner has to learn
to deal effectively with competition.
The business environment is growing
more and more aggressively competitive
every day. Bigger companies have the
reach and the means to grab more of the
market for themselves, while the online
shopping revolution continues to rip apart
old traditions. Gaining a competitive edge
requires creative thinking and quick action,
whether your most threatening competitor is
a small-scale enterprise similar to your own, a
large company, an online business with less
overhead, or even an entire industry.
The fantasy goal for a small enterprise is
to blow the competition away by being so
much better in so many ways that as far as
customers are concerned, there is really no
contest -- yours is the one they like best. This
can happen if you make becoming “better”
your top priority. But first you have to define
what that means.
How do you describe “better” in concrete,
specific terms, and how would you quantify
it from the customer perspective? How much
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BEST FOR
SUCCESS
PERSONALITY
JEAN LOH She’s beauty bound for
most parts of her life
and it doesn’t seem to
be coming to a stop
anytime soon. L’Oreal’s
feisty and capable
Head of Corporate
Communications shares
just how she rules beyond
lipsticks and haircolour!
Compiled By Sharmini M.rethinasamy
Photography By Leon
HOW DID YOU COME TO BE
THE HEAD OF CORPORATE
COMMUNICATIONS AT L’OREAL
MALAYSIA SDN BHD?
I was recruited by a headhunter who made
a cold call to my previous employer looking
for the person who organised the Breast
Cancer Awareness Charity event. Next thing I
know, I met the Managing Director of L’Oréal
Malaysia and subscribed to his vision and
joined a month later.
WHAT ABOUT YOUR WORK
MOST EXCITES YOU?
I get satisfaction from seeing positive changes
in the organisation. One of my main missions
is to make L’Oréal Malaysia a great place
to work internally and externally. Being
able to influence policies, and introducing
programs that benefit employees, which in
turn leads to greater job satisfaction, makes
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WINNING
GLOBAL MARKETS
Understanding the Economic Power of Global Cities.
A
s companies move abroad,
they decide which nation
or nations to produce and
sell in and choose specific locations where
they intend to carry out their administration,
production, distribution and sales work. If a
company chooses to sell in China, where
does it locate its headquarters for China? Will
it be Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong or any of
a dozen other cities? And in each Chinese city
where it plans to operate, the company needs
to develop specfic presences and locations.
Choosing a pattern of locations around the
world is a gigantic task that can make a major
difference in the company’s success.
Every nation contains a set of cities that
differ in their importance and national and
global reach. Some of the world’s cities are
bigger than many nations. The 2007 Greater
Tokyo metropolitan region of 13,500km had
35 million residents. It was roughly equal to the
population of Canada and larger than that of
Malaysia, the Netherlands and Saudi Arabia.
Other megacity regions include Shanghai,
Beijing, Mumbai, Delhi, New York City,
Los Angeles, London, Mexico City, São
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