Day 10, Shanghai-Hong Kong-Delhi (Team 1: Michel, Malloy, Windham, Jencks)

“Stranded …”Friday, June 27 … How to begin?

We opened a rainy day in Shanghai with a visit to a local Subway store. The visit was led by their operations manager for the Subway stores in Shanghai and the surrounding province. He was incredibly personable and accommodating, and he took us on a tour of three other nearby Subway stores. As part of their localization strategy, Subways in China have a lobster-salad sandwich, in addition to the classic menu from home, which is surprisingly delicious! An interesting business point he highlighted is Subway’s ability to locate multiple stores within close proximity without cannibalizing sales from each other. This is due to the different market segments that each store targets. While one of the stores located at a major Shanghai landmark is geared mainly to tourists, the nearby shopping center store targets more local shoppers. Another nearby Subway store caters almost exclusively to daily office workers. This was an excellent and informative visit. It also made a number of strategy, legal, marketing, operations, HR and leadership issues we studied in our various courses come to life. A big shout out from Asia to our Cal Poly alumni (you know who you are!), for helping set up this visit for us and for all you do for the college and its students. We really appreciate your time and support. This was a fantastic visit and learning experience.

After leaving Subway we were dropped off at the Shanghai Maglev train – a commuter railway which is actually the world’s fastest train. The train levitates on electromagnets, and reached a top speed of four hundred thirty-two kilometers per hour while we were riding it. The sole purpose of the train is to provide rapid transit between the Pudong district and the Shanghai International Airport. The conventional one hour car ride is accomplished in only fifteen minutes on the Maglev. Through this ride and experience, we caught a glimpse of China’s future infrastructure plans, as we were advised it plans to build similar lines along its eastern seaboard.

Once we got to the airport the fun really started. An international business trip wouldn’t really be complete without a world-class travel debacle, and this one was a doozy. First, we discovered that our Shanghai-Hong Kong flight was drastically delayed due to the typhoon near Hong Kong, and thus would undoubtedly miss our connecting flight to Delhi. After eleven of us checked our baggage in to the airlines, Cathay called an “emergency staff meeting,” suspending all baggage check until 8:00 pm. The eleven of us that did have our baggage checked had already passed through customs, and were enjoying a leisurely meal in the airport food court, and had no idea that the rest of our group was stuck back at the baggage check area. After a couple hours and multiple indecipherable airport pages from the rest of the group we made contact via instant message on someone’s laptop. We were then escorted backwards through customs in order to reconvene with the rest of the group, earning us a rare “canceled” stamp on our China visa. Once back at the check in area we waited for baggage check to reopen and were reissued boarding passes, as our first ones had been voided. Then we re-entered Customs and security, and eventually boarded the aircraft about five hours behind schedule. We did not arrive in Hong Kong until 2:30 am.

Upon arrival in Hong Kong the leaders and translating students spent about three to four hours diligently working with the airline to try and get our group on to the next flight to Delhi. The problem was there were almost no flights departing for Delhi for the next two days and the airline would only be able to guarantee seats for twenty out of the forty-six people in our group. The remaining people would have to fly standby with no guarantee that they would get a seat. Many of us slept (or tried to sleep) on the ground near the check in counter. As the airport geared up for the morning, the twenty randomly selected people who were guaranteed seats left for the gate, while the rest of us hung out in the food court, dreading the coming day of standby status. Minutes before the flight was scheduled to leave, we were greeted by the good news that twenty-one more of us had found seats on the morning flight. However this meant that five people would be left behind to wait for a later flight departing that night.

The forty-one of us that did get on the flight gratefully touched down in Delhi at around 3:00 pm on Saturday, twenty-five hours after arriving at the Shanghai Airport. As we staggered out through Indian customs, many of us spotted our luggage on the nearby carousel. As the minutes ticked on, however, the students who had been deemed standby began nervously shifting our weight. As the last pieces of luggage arrived on the carousel, our fears were confirmed. All standby students had lost our luggage. We proceeded to a counter where we filed a complaint form, which was then hand copied and recopied by the local authorities. We then met our Indian hosts, and were finally brought to our Indian Hotel, where we were able to take a very welcome but cold shower.

This past day served as a wake up call to a facet of doing global business that can be a real challenge — airport and travel delays. It clearly takes the right type of person and employee to be able to hang with these types of travel bumps and challenges.

1 comment June 18th, 2008

Day 11, Delhi (Team 3: Bowie, Eng-Rohrbach, Steen, Parsons and Team 8: Palmer, Kvilhaug, White, Michael)

Team Three:

I would like to tell you we took a bus tour of Delhi today, but we didn’t. Instead we received a real life lesson on international travel. We experienced some unpleasant aspects of what can occur when doing business overseas.

Our plane was scheduled to land at 2:30 am on June 28th in Delhi, India. Unfortunately, our connecting flight to Hong Kong was delayed due to bad weather. This led us to miss our flight out of Hong Kong to Delhi. Often times the airline company can get you onto another flight fairly quickly, but since we are in a group of 46 this proved to be a difficult task. Luckily, we had a team of people who could not only speak the language, but were also persistent. Eventually, after a night in the Hong Kong airport, we were able to get 41 people onto a flight into Delhi, leaving five group members in Hong Kong to catch a later flight. Even with the long layover times, the group stayed happy, trying to create methods of entertaining themselves. These methods included playing cards, video games, and watching movies. For a select few a more immediate and uncomfortable problem had arisen.

It seems that a week of Chinese food, ranging from fried scorpions to pigeon brains, can cause a few problems for those not accustomed to consuming such delicacies. One student, let’s just call him J.D., frequented the restroom with such intensity that the attendants knew him by name. While others worried about the flight and their next card move, in the forefront of J.D.’s mind was the locating of the nearest restroom. After 24 hours, everything was back to normal and back on schedule, but the lesson here is that it is important to choose meals cautiously because if J.D. was required to conduct business, he would not have left a very professional impression.

It is also important to allow for a little extra time between landing and a business event, that way if the plane is delayed and you miss a flight you can still make it to the event on time. Along the same lines, if you fall ill for any other reasons, you can hopefully recover in time. It should also be noted that proper medication should always be included in your pre-trip planning.

Upon arrival, the first group noticed a stark difference in India from China. The Delhi Airport was not nearly as extravagant as that of Beijing or Shanghai. In every corner there was something still in construction and most of the completed sections did not seem to have the same cleanliness. The differences did not just occur in the airports. On the bus ride to the hotel, we saw cows in the roads, garbage strewn streets, dirt mound sidewalks, and a general lack of infrastructure. We also saw a barbershop in the center divider, non-candid bodily-fluid relieving, and under overpass farms. It appeared as if Delhi had blown up overnight from a farming community to an industrial power as we noticed fancy company buildings, such as IBM, rising out of the dirt right alongside small rickety shanties. Motorcyclists weaved carelessly amongst the thick traffic, and nearly every eye within one hundred yards was fixed curiously on our fancy bus full of American students.

Upon arrival to the hotel, the group was surprised to find a four star rating on something that deserved far less. The rooms reeked of a delousing agent used to rid them of mosquitoes, and many lacked the 4 star amenities we had become accustomed to in China: water pressure, hot water, new fluffy bedding, painted wall, but ironically, the three quarter acre plot of land on which the hotel was located is easily worth two and a half million USD. Despite the downtrodden atmosphere of the neighborhood, homes are very pricey, and half of them are used only as vacation homes for the wealthy.

Across the road from our hotel, a four story shopping mall towered above the shanties. Many were afraid to leave their rooms for the market, because they feared being struck by a moving moped, motorcycle, car, or bus. Crossing the street resembled a game of Frogger, but with more dire consequences. One member of the group, the troubled one aforementioned, received a checkup at the local health clinic. The service fell far short of the cleanliness standards set by American institutes.  At 6:30 pm the group traveled into the center of Delhi to eat dinner. Again jaws dropped as we stared out their window at the scenery of Delhi. As we arrived at the restaurant, however, we were surprised to find ourselves treated as royalty. We entered the elegant courtyard and were escorted to three large Hookahs sitting on large tables surrounded by soft cushioned seats. We gathered around and sipped beers recapping the day and unwinding from the long chain of events. The meal was deliciously prepared by the best chef in all of India and it is one of the most expensive in India. Our meal was graced by the presence of the late Prime Minister Ghandi’s grandson, who sat at a table near ours.  After our meal, we were treated to a belly dancer.

On the bus ride home we drove through a neighborhood where homes are in the eight million dollar range. They definitely would not sell for that much in the US, but it is the location that has the value, not the homes. These homes were still not far from the shanties that we saw everywhere else and were still surrounded by the dirty roads. Many wondered what types of people lived in these houses. Were they the owners of the companies we saw posted on the fancy buildings?

As we headed back to the hotel, many were quickly fading. After a quick stop for beer, we arrived back at the hotel and most were happy to finally sleep in a bed, even if it wasn’t 4 star quality. We knew we had a big day ahead of us the next day since we will leave the hotel at 8 am and head to the Taj Mahal!

Team 8:

Brief Summary of the Day

Day 11 was started in the Hong Kong airport, literally. All of our flights were delayed due to the hurricane and flight delays in Hong Kong. We arrived at approximately 1:30 am to the international terminal, ready for news of an extended layover. After much delay we arrived in New Delhi, India around 12 pm. At that time we were bussed to a hotel in Gurgaon, a suburb of Delhi. Between hotel check-in and dinner time some of us found our way to a near by mall to investigate the shopping scene. For dinner we were bussed to a Lebanese restaurant where we were fed buffet style Lebanese cuisine followed by a live entertainment. Dinner consisted of various vegetable dishes as well as some chicken wraps. After dinner we were bussed back to the hotel and most crashed immediately.

Discussion

The Hong Kong airport was much larger and cleaner than the air port we flew into in India. The airport in India had nets hanging from the ceiling to protect people from falling debris and “Under Construction” signs everywhere. The long trip to India was then compact into an even better situation when we learned that about twenty people’s luggage did not make the flight with us. After accepting the fate of lost luggage, we left the airport and loaded onto our bus. Driving from the airport to the hotel consisted of going down dirt roads, honking the horn (air and electric) and trying to dodge people, cows, motorcycles, rickshaws, and other vehicles. There are many more pedestrians, bicycles, scooters and motorcycles here than in China and a lot less cars.

The scenery from the bus was interesting in that there would be a large new looking building surrounded by mud, trash, cows and other street vendors. There weren’t too many places where there was a big group of building, the single building style was common here. Another contrast would be the street vendors on the side of the road. Typically in China there were vendors with beer, water, ice cream and things on sticks. However, in India, mangos and fruit vendors were the most predominate. The context of this contrast of cities is Gurgaon versus China. At this time we have not really been through nearby Delhi.

Hotels in India are much different than China or the United States. A four star hotel here means that you may have clean sheets/towels, you should have running water and air conditioning, but no other amenities (little shampoos, lotion etc.) are provided. The mall had a little store in it with bathroom goods, food and basic household items. There were also several clothing stores and a few restaurants varied from Mexican food to ice cream.

Showing us a different side of India was dinner. The restaurant is located in a very prestigious five star hotel in Delhi. To give a scale, people without connections at this restaurant have to pay substantially more for a cover, and food and drinks.  According to our Indian contact the Chef at this restaurant is rated #1 in India and #2 in the world, not sure what the rating scale represents but either way those numbers are impressive. The buffet style dinner (more like choose your own five course meal) contained several vegetable dishes. Some were in salad form and a few other dishes had grilled vegetables, seasoning and maybe some pasta. Towards the end of the buffet there were chicken wraps. To conclude dinner was some live entertainment provide especially for our group as a cultural experience. This live entertainment came in the from of a beautiful woman displaying traditional belly dancing techniques for our educational and cultural pleasure.

After dinner the group dispersed, most of us went back to the hotel and got some much needed sleep, consisting of a bed and pillows, not dirty airport carpet.

Add comment June 18th, 2008

Day 12, Delhi (Team 2: Wong, Banks-Orosco, Marlin, Fencl)

The Road to the Taj Mahal

We loaded in the bus around eight o’clock today and started our trip to Agra. Agra, a “small” city by India standards, is most famous for the Taj Mahal …an absolute must see when in the New Deli area. In between our hotel and Agra lay five hours of driving though rural India. The experience is difficult to describe; what we saw through the bus windows created an almost surreal scene that the Travel Channel and National Geographic attempt to capture periodically and bring to you in HD quality. The infrastructure of India is not as advanced as it is in China. This results in a number of problems. First, there is no real waste removal system; trash simply collects where it is thrown or swept by water until it is raked and sometimes burned by the locals.  Also, whereas the PRC in China plans cities by zoning, there is no real method to the madness in the locations of the shops, shacks, homes, and shanties that line the roads.  Most of these buildings appear to have been improvised by their designers out of whatever materials were available: ridged sheet metal, loose brick, rocks, boards, and canvas are popular.  In and around these buildings India is working: cleaning, carving, selling, washing, building, etc.  The area is shared with cows and dogs that are given free reign to roam freely throughout the country…they don’t seem to disturb the people until they wander into the road and disrupt the chaotic flow of traffic.  The roads in India deserve description.  Due to British influence, you normally drive on the left side of the road in India.  I say “normally” because straying onto the right side to pass bikes, carts, rickshaws, and mopeds transporting a family of four is all too common.  The horn is used indiscriminately to telegraph driving maneuvers so they certainly get a lot of use.
A few things were pointed out to us on the drive are worth mentioning.  Near Agra, we passed by a “green” oil refinery that was designed to operate without spewing soot into the air.  The intent is to minimize the likelihood of creating acid rain that could permanently damage the expertly crafted marble of the Taj Mahal.  The emperor who requisitioned the Taj recruited the best craftsmen and artisans from Asia to construct the building.  To this day, the decedents of these workers reside in Agra, making the city renowned for its arts and crafts.

The Taj Mahal is a diamond in the rough. Once baring the journey through rural Indian villages you arrive at magnificent pink sandstone structure that is the entrance to the compound where the Taj Mahal is located. In the center of this symmetrical compound is the glistening white marble structure of the Taj Mahal, which was originally built for the emperor’s favorite wife after she died giving birth to their 14th child. It is apparent why this structure earned its position as one of the “Seven Wonders of the World,” especially after considering it took 20,000 of the world’s best stone carvers 20 years to complete its construction.

There were a number of interesting local Indians that we encountered along the path to the Taj Mahal. It was surprising to me that the people living in these villages did not seem unhappy. Many people greeted us smiling, waving, and welcoming us to their village. Scooters passing by with three grown men hugging each other and smiling were not uncommon. Everywhere you go there are people trying to sell you different goods and services. The local’s sales strategy is much different from that of those selling goods in China. In China, people would basically just beg for you to buy their goods. In India, many of the people selling things would ask your name, tell you theirs, try to shake your hand, and tell you to come back to them if you change your mind. In one instance, a child even told me to remember his name and color of his shirt so that I could buy a postcard on my way back from the Taj Mahal. Other peddlers offered to have a picture taken of them with their monkeys, or even offered to take a group photo for you. After providing this service they would request that you pay for it, which usually worked out in their favor. These strategies seem more effective than the begging and aggressiveness of many Chinese merchants. Seeing India’s people, infrastructure, and incredible past was an eye-opening experience.

3 comments June 18th, 2008

Day 13, Delhi (Team 4: Ybarra, Linker, Miura, Hughes)

After a night’s rest the group awoke to have breakfast in the downstairs hall of the Swasno Palace. After taking a look around the dinning hall it was apparent that it was designed for elegant and grand large events; however, now it was just being used for serving small meals.

The group met in the lobby for a 10:30 checkout, two days earlier than planned. During a group vote, it had been decided that we would upgrade to a hotel closer to Delhi. We were told that the Swasno Palace was a stereotypical Indian hotel. This self proclaimed executive hotel would probably rank at the bottom when compared with any western hotels. Out the front window, the Gurgaon landscape was in a state of flux; multinational companies and large malls/entertainment complexes were springing up like daisies. With the influx of western culture and companies, it seems that there was an opportunity for western hotels/hospitalities. In fact, Dr. Singh commented as we drove away that there were few mid-range hotels. Either hotels catered to the business class client and were superior five star qualities, or they catered to eastern clients and offered poor service and amenities.

Our bus ride started with the usual honking and tailgating madness that is the antithesis of driving in America. The bus took us on a tour of major sites and scenes in India from new construction to historical and politically significant sites. Driving around Gurgaon you can see all of the construction on buildings being erected for big named companies like Dell, Veritas, and Genpact. The building construction is curious to most of us, as we are used to American style construction that requires a large amount of steel. Here buildings are constructed of a framing made from concrete, and walls are built of brick. Brick is simple, cost effective and offers a good deal of insulation.

During our tour, we went through one of the most prestigious neighborhoods in Delhi. The houses cost around $40 million in this area. Some famous residents included the President’s house and the Prime Ministers residence. Many of the students were surprised at how small and plain these multi million dollar homes were. There appeared to be a lack of upkeep on these residents but that may be the result of the challenges the weather poses to the white exteriors of these mini mansions. Also, Dr. Singh told us that the houses were all historical and no changes could be made to the exterior or landscaping. A $40 million mansion in the United States would look much more grandiose in the United States. As a side note, most of the “mansions” on the block are reserved for government officials (such as high ranking judges or congressional delegates). Since the row is owned by the government, lots are rented to these officials at the discount rate of $30 a month. From there we stopped the bus at India Gate, a monument dedicated to fallen soldiers, to get a group photo.

As soon as we stepped off of the bus we were bombarded with small children and other peddlers trying to sell us little trinkets, necklaces, and camera parts, or simply begging for money. This scene was replayed throughout the day, but offered insight into one of the major differences between China and India. In China, it was a rare occurrence to be touched and pulled at by people looking for money – but in India, little kids do it in bunches. We’ve heard multiple times that China has some challenges ahead because it has an aging population, but conversely, the young men and women and children that China does have are getting opportunities to succeed through school, technology advancements, and infrastructure growth. In India, it seems there are a lot of young people, but only the privileged youth have a real opportunity to succeed. It will be interesting to see how the two countries develop as the next generation of worker starts to control their respective governments.

Our ventures then led us to Parsvnath Developers Ltd. Again, as we stepped off the bus children on the street dashed towards us to give a small performance; hoping for some spare change - once again reminding us that we were in India. Parsvnath is one of the largest developers in India, with a hand in the growth of planned communities, retail centers and metro stations. Currently they have over 100 projects in the works in 17 states around the country. The housing they build provides residence to all classes, and one of the focuses is on the rising middle class in India that is expected to see a severe shortage of housing in the near future. There is an incredible push for environmentally conscious buildings, and Parsvnath seeks to meet this demand. With growth numbers in the double digits there is potential for exponential growth in pollution around India. To curb this potential growth, there is an extensive approval process that developers must go through to evaluate environmental and residential impact. In China we saw a much different picture where the central planning had laid out an entire plan for the city.

Lunch was served from the famous Indian bakery called Nathus Pastry Shop. The main dishes consisted of a paneer (Indian soft cheese) chili croquet, a potato curry croquet, and sweet cole slaw sandwhich. Salty chips were served on the side. The lunch was finished off with a dessert pastry known as a barfi. The particular variety, called kaju katli, was made of dough and cashew nuts and is quite famous throughout India.

The spices used in Indian food are fabulous, and it is easy to see why, historically, India was the center of spice trading in the east and in Europe. Food also seems to be a large part of Indian culture and economy. Looking out the bus window, we estimate almost half of the carts and mini-entrepreneurs we see driving around the city are selling some type of food or drink.

After our firm visit ended we headed to our new hotel, the Intercontinental Eros. The Intercontinental is a five star hotel with all amenities included. The rooms included a mini bar, a variety of cocktail glasses, luxurious beddings that ensured a restful night’s sleep, and two hairdryers. The pool area was amazing with pillowed lounge chairs and crystal blue water. The luscious greens and shrubbery that surrounded the pool added to the ambience. After everyone checked into the hotel they showered and dispersed towards shopping, the pool, or the hotel lounge.

While some stayed back at the hotel a group of us taxied over to an area of Delhi called Janpath for some shopping. Shopkeepers were still willing to wheel and deal, but unlike China, their initial offers were much closer to the final settling price. Being that shopping was so close to the restaurant where we were to meet for dinner we didn’t have to worry about hailing a cab.

Our group gathered again for dinner about 30 minutes from the hotel at a restaurant called Saravana Bhavan. For those living in the South Bay area, they have a sister restaurant in Sunnyvale (1305 S. Mary Ave). The restaurant served food from the southern region of India, an area outside the scope of our trip. The cuisine was different from what many of us had experienced in Indian restaurants in America. Our first course came in a large metal tray called a thali. Inside this tray were a variety of small metal trays all filled with different dishes. These dishes included a variety of curries, a mixed pepper, a plain yogurt and a spiced onion yogurt. The dishes were eaten with rice and rotis (similar to a puffy tortilla). The second course was called uttapam which was a large tomato and onion stuffed flat bread served with a coconut, a coriander, a tomato, and two additional chutneys, and sambhar, a dipping broth. Fresh squeezed watermelon juice was served on the side. The meal was topped off with Indian mouth fresheners which consisted of flavored sugar crystals and anise.

After a great meal we all settled into the bus for a short ride back to the hotel. Though the night was young, the exhaustive pace of the trip had caught up to most, and sleep was desperately calling. However, some brave souls found the courage and energy to celebrate Mr. Christopher Kirk’s birthday.

So far, we’ve had 13 great days of adventuring, and so far, we’ve all survived … but another long day awaits.

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Day 14, Delhi (Team 5: Trieu, Chou, Ciesco, Dominguez and Team 9: Greenlee, Drum, Mohr, Belloni)

Team Nine:

We started the day with an amazing breakfast at the Intercontinental Eros in Delhi before heading to our first company visit. Our hosts were extremely gracious and gave an interesting presentation about their technology company. Due to a non-disclosure agreement we signed, we are unable to go into further detail about this company but this was a highlight of our business tour and we are very thankful to our hosts for their hospitality.

Our second firm visit of the day was to a company that manages business processes for companies around the world. We were given a very informative presentation by the Senior Vice President about this firm’s services and strategy. We also observed firsthand how the Indian work mentality differs from the Chinese. The Indian mentality is to “try harder” meaning everyone is willing to go the extra mile. For good or bad, our host said they customize too much and don’t say no to their customers. In comparison to China, India is more flexible while China has a higher degree of discipline. In terms of workforce, India has an abundance of qualified candidates, but the challenges they face are teaching their employees the cultural differences of countries around the world. A common thread throughout our international business tour has been the focus on six sigma and lean business practices in the companies we have visited. It has been very interesting to see these tools applied in a company setting as most of us recently completed a course focusing on lean operations. This visit was extremely valuable to our understanding of Indian business practices and we greatly appreciate such an experienced business leader taking the time to meet with us.

We arrived back to our hotel around 6 pm and had the rest of the evening to ourselves. We all dispersed in different directions but many of us found our way down to the hotel pool. After a few hours of escaping the heat, a few of us ventured into the hotel lounge for their July special “Salud Mexico” for a little taste of home. While we are all enjoying the Indian cuisine, it was a treat to find Mexican food in the middle of Delhi, India! After our delicious meal, we headed to bed to get a good night sleep before our long train journey to Mumbai.

Today provided a fascinating look into the Indian business culture. Although both of the companies we visited offered very different services, it was interesting to see the similarities in company cultures which are heavily influenced by the Indian mentality of flexibility. Our hosts were very accommodating in that they focused their presentations on the things that we were interested in learning about. This is an excellent example of their flexibility. Instead of having a rigid agenda, both speakers allowed our questions to build the content of their presentation. It was a very informative day and we are all looking forward to our adventures in Mumbai.

1 comment June 18th, 2008

Day 15, Delhi-Mumbai (Team 7: Haskell, Dip, Munio, Dundon)

Day 15, one of the longest days of the trip, started off with a great breakfast buffet at the Intercontinental Eros Hotel where we had been staying for the last two nights in Delhi. The Intercontinental was probably the nicest hotel we experienced to this point, the polar opposite of the first hotel at which we stayed outside of Delhi. Following the breakfast, we checked out of the hotel and proceeded to our sole company visit of the day.

For our final visit in the Delhi area, we met with several upper management members of Nokia India. Nokia, as most of us know, is the world’s top cellular phone manufacturer. Though its market penetration seems to have slowed in the States due to the recent introduction of Apple’s iPhone and the popularity of countless other brands including BlackBerry, LG, Sony Ericcson, and Motorolla, Nokia actually sells more phones in India than all of the other makes combined.

Our visit with Nokia took place at the Trident Hotel, by far one of the nicest hotels in the Delhi area. The hotel boasts seven stars, its beauty augmented by crystal-clear water sculptures, soaring ceilings, and deep green landscaping. The hotel, however, was a stunning oasis in the poverty stricken areas that surround it. No more was the oft-mentioned contradiction of Indian poverty and wealth evident than at the Trident. Nokia rolled out the red carpet for us, complete with snacks, coffee, tea, and mango milkshakes before the meeting. We were honored to receive such special treatment and are deeply indebted to the generosity of this market leader Firms in China and India are teaching us a great deal about attention on the client and the customer — they take it to another level from the US.

During the meeting, we learned how Nokia has earned its top status by taking care of its customers, developing the top brand trust in the nation, and taking care to bring cellular penetration into rural areas through strategic partnerships with cellular service providers. Their team graced us with an excellent and informative speech, and together answered all of our difficult questions with poise and honesty. It was amazing to see how a technology company is bringing communication to the masses and showing many Indians the possibilities that had up to this point not been available.

After some rest at the hotel we packed our bags and headed out to experience railway travel in India. Upon arrival, we immediately compared the infrastructure to that of China. Conditions seemed poorer, but only slightly. The temperature was unbearable, especially considering the poor design of the station which required travelers to lug their heavy baggage up a long stairway. As in China, our large group of foreigners was definitely the focus of all other people at the station. Some looked on in pure curiosity, though we couldn’t help being suspicious about the intentions of a few, causing us all to grip our bags tighter.

The train itself had poorer accommodations than China. This was mainly due to the lack of privacy, requiring travelers to use a curtain rather than a locking door for their respective beds. About half of the group occupied the majority of one car, and the other half were more dispersed among the Indian travelers in other cars. This was an interesting situation, which seemed to identify some students who may have been more “sheltered” in their upbringing. Some requested to be moved after being uncomfortable by their surroundings. I even heard one student refer to her situation as being surrounded by “nasty Indians,” a term that I felt was disrespectful considering it was stated out loud and in the presence of other Indian people. Some people are just so out of their comfort zone here that they can hardly handle it. But better to learn that lesson about themselves now and where their flexibility threshold is located, perhaps, rather than make that discovery for the very first time when their firm may send them to one of these markets and countries to do business.

I took the opportunity to look out the window every once and a while during our 18 hr adventure. I was expecting some beautiful countryside but could not see past the incredible amount of trash that littered every mile of railway. After eating our sandwiches, a group of us collected our trash in a bag and handed it to one of the stewards to dispose in what we assumed would be larger storage bin. We were astounded when he took the bag, opened the rail car door, and tossed it out of the train. He did it casually as if it was common practice. After lifting my jaw back into place, I couldn’t help but feel saddened by this. I have traveled in many other countries with heavily impoverished areas, primarily in Latin America and the Caribbean. In those travels I have often known people to make the most of what they have. For instance, if someone lives in a hut, they typically keep it very clean since it is all they have. More often than not, this is not the case here. I know Indians are a very proud people, but there are times where that is hard to believe when observing how they maintain their dwellings.

I often see people shut the curtain or occupy themselves on the bus or train so that they may not be bothered by the sometimes horrible sights, but I feel that is when we should all keep the shutters wide open. Despite the conditions that surround us here every day, those sights serve to help us better appreciate how fortunate we are, and how easy our lives are. It also serves to show the potential for vast improvement India can enjoy if they can just grapple with a few infrastructure problems.

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Day 16, Mumbai (Team 10: Tripp, Dougherty, Sadowski, Belloni)

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Day 17, Mumbai (Team 6: Moore, Bilsten, Zarcone, Kirk)

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If The Great Wall Were Super-Imposed Into The USA, What Would It Look Like?

Man, kids are the best.

Just this week my seven year old, Amelia, asked me the following questions:

First set of questions: “Papa, who came first - God or humans? And if God came first, then who made God?”

Second set of questions: “Papa, how big is the Great Wall? And how many inches are in the Earth?”

Ok.

So where does one start with the first set of questions? That’s a pretty big issue to tackle. Did my best.

Re: the first part of the second set of questions, you would think it’s an easy question to answer …. until you find yourself having to explain it to someone who has never seen the Great Wall and/or whose sense of “big” is completely different than your own. But I did a bit better on this one, due to the good work of a recent National Geographic feature on China that I could show her.

Click HERE to see this visual of the Great Wall super-imposed onto a map of the United States that appeared inside that issue (it was a special issue on China called China: Inside the Dragon). The scope of this project was amazing. Can you imagine being the project manager responsible for making this thing happen, meeting budget, finding the right personnel, etc.? Makes my piddly little management worries and stresses seem insignificant.

And little Amelia, you are the best. Thank you for your wonderful honesty and curiosity about the world. It inspires and reminds me to keep learning and asking questions.

2 comments June 17th, 2008

Can North America Use The High Cost Of Oil To Recapture A Smidgeon Of Its Manufacturing Mojo Back?

Great article in today’s WSJ re how Pacific Ocean transport costs are soaring and some firms are bringing factory jobs back from China. Click HERE to read the article. It gives a great inside look at what it costs to ship something from China to the US and from Mexico to the US.

Be sure to take a close look at the article’s graphics and charts, as those pictures tell a powerful story.

My own prediction: Yes, a firm here and there will bring back said factory jobs, but Mexico (in particular), as much as I love the place, in my view, does not have its act together nearly enough, to take full advantage of this global comparative advantage softball it has been thrown. Also remember that many firms don’t go to China only because of cheap production costs — many also set up shop in China because they want to be ready and positioned to hit big in the China domestic market if/when it takes off, as applied to their industry and consumption of their product category.

Time will tell.

Your thoughts? And what business opportunities will this change in the landscape create?

By the way, with the soaring cost of fuel, I am very, very, very glad we bought our tickets back in February.

Note: This article should give you boatloads of questions to ask when we visit the port facility in China.  If peope ain’t shippin’, then Chinese ports won’t be as busy as would otherwise be the case.

Add comment June 13th, 2008