GLOBE is a one-of-a-kind business education programme which aims to cultivate in its students a global mindset through international exposure and multi-cultural interaction. As in previous years, GLOBE students were given the valuable opportunity of experiencing the dynamic business world first-hand through attending an orientation trip held overseas. This year, their destination was Osaka.
Within a week, they had already gained insight into the spirit of entrepreneurship, learnt about Panasonic’s vision of its company as a “public entity”, witnessed Toyota’s renowned production system, grasped the innovative “MICE” marketing concept, and caught a glimpse of how Hong Kong was being promoted to the world.
In order to learn more about the unique spirit of entrepreneurship, GLOBE students visited the Osaka Entrepreneurial Museum of Challenge and Innovation. They were shown a detailed exhibition on the extraordinary lives of 105 Japanese entrepreneurs whose contributions towards their country’s economic and social development can still be seen and felt today. For some, their impact extended beyond Japan’s borders. From Ando Momofuku who created the world’s first “Instant Cup Noodle” to Muto Sanji who revolutionized Japanese labour management through introducing the concept of “Family-like Management”; Osaka has proven itself to be the breeding and nurturing ground of bold and innovative individuals whose achievements will certainly continue to inspire and motivate people for generations to come. Through this visit, our students gained a deeper understanding of why Osaka remains as one of the best cities for innovation and industry in the world.
The visit to Panasonic Centre Osaka proved to be an interesting, informative, as well as impressive one as GLOBE students were introduced to Panasonic’s latest technological innovations, which included digital cameras with automatic scene selectors, blue-ray theatre equipment, and large screen plasma TVs with multiple ingenious functions.
While the students were all mesmerized by these amazing products, what touched them most was Panasonic’s dedication towards reducing its negative impact on the environment. With its philosophy that “a company is a public entity of society”, Panasonic has invested substantially into producing energy-efficient home appliances and engaged actively in the recycling industry by building its own recycling plants, as well as recycling all its used electronic products. Furthermore, conservation projects such as tree-planting are also well supported by the company. Having learnt all this, the students came to appreciate how Panasonic has been living out its “twin business vision” – “to realize a ubiquitous network society while living in harmony with the global environment.”
GLOBE students witnessed the renowned Toyota Production System first-hand as they visited the Tsutsumi plant during this Osaka trip. They learnt that one Toyota car is produced every 58 seconds on average, fully illustrating the successful implementation of the “jidoka” concept of an impeccable cooperation between man and machine in order to maximize efficiency while reducing defects. The latter is made possible through Toyota’s exceptional monitoring system which stresses the importance of dealing with defects immediately whenever they are detected. Another impressive device the students came across was the “Synchronized Dolly” which enables a swift production of a chain of unique automobiles. After learning that this device was created from an “Employee Suggestions System” initiated by the company since 1951, the students’ respect for Toyota’s company philosophy grew. Coupled with its eco-friendly production methods, Toyota proved to be an inspiration to all who attended the visit that day.
During their visit to the Osaka International Convention Centre, a representative of the Osaka Convention and Tourism Bureau presented how Osaka is being promoted as the ultimate tourism spot. They learnt about the novel marketing strategy of “MICE” – an acronym which stands for “Meeting, Incentive, Convention, and Exhibition”. They also gained insight into how Osaka was currently promoting itself alongside Busan and Shanghai as the “Asian Golden Triangle” to penetrate into the European market. Through a comprehensive tour, they witnessed the daily operations of the Centre and the various facilities. In addition, they learnt about marketing at a much more personal level – to ask what your customers need instead of hard-selling what your company is offering. The Centre’s customer-based focus and international outlook revealed to the students how such important business concepts were being put into practice.
As Hong Kong citizens, it is very easy for us to take what the city has to offer for granted and to become less aware of its merits. Visiting the Hong Kong Tourism Board Office in Osaka gave GLOBE students the opportunity to understand more about Hong Kong’s role as a tourist hot-spot, with its superb shopping and dining destinations, unique festivals seeped in Chinese culture, as well as state-of-the-art meeting and conference facilities. They also learnt how the Board has been actively engaged in a series of campaigns and activities to arouse the interest of Japanese people in coming to Hong Kong. One of the interesting campaigns being promoted is the “Campaign for incentive tour” under which Hong Kong is being promoted as the ideal destination to Japanese schools for their compulsory school tours. Furthermore, the students came to realize the importance of PR activities in tourism development, as they were shown how maintaining good relations with the media had helped promote Hong Kong’s world class image to a wider audience.
