Reflection on the attended seminars

Jasmine Verstraete

Sourcing in ChinaSpeaker: Paul MelkebekeDate: 16/10/2015Place & Timing: Aula 4 @ 15u00

My own researchBefore the seminar I looked up who Paul Melkebeke was. I checked for the most common mistakes and what you need to do if you want to successfully source to china.

Most common mistakes• “Lack of well-defined strategy• No well-defined standards for suppliers• Inadequate due diligence performed on supplier• Lack of protection for payment and quality issues• No written contracts• Written contracts not reviewed by attorneys• No Mandarin speaker on the team” (Franch, 2014)

7 steps to successfully sourcing to China“1) Use an independent agent2) Check the agent’s business credentials 3) Provide a detailed specification 4) Request an exact sample5) Consider an independent quality inspection6) Understand the quality control7) Don’t make price the primary factor” (McBlain, n.d.)

ReflectionIt struck me how important relations are, not just with the people in China but also with your people in Belgium. Only with the best partnerships and open communication between them you can make the best product. The second thing that I learned form this seminar is that you always need to be on the lookout for changes, be flexible because the environment you are in is always changing. The tips that he gave to us in the end showed that we were heading in the right direction to work in an international environment but that there is still a path of life long learning ahead of us.

Doing business with China

Speaker: Jeanne BodenDate: 21/10/2015Place & Timing: Aula 4 @ 18u45

My own researchBefor this seminar I had dinner with some asian friends. There we discussed cultural differences among the different countries and what the differences are of working in Belgium and working there. I conisder this as my research before the seminar.

ReflectionI found the seminar itself not that interesting, since I already knew most of it. This seminar did show the importance of symbolisation; the most important person in the middle, Ying and Yang that resembles Guanxi, the wall that shows their insider-outsider mentality.

Furthermore is this seminar a good example of the value of researching the culture and habits of a country before working there.

Rebranding AfricaSpeaker: Paul Nchu NgangDate: 27/10/2015Place & Timing: Aula 5 @ 15u00

My own research Two years ago I did my bachelor thesis in Uganda. While living there I saw the challenges (e.g. stigmatization, perception of others, the government, …) but also the opportunities ( e.g. big workforce, younger generation that is more educated, the creativity and innovative spirit, …). Next to that I also have African friends where I have now and then a good discussion with, which also gives me new perspectives. Because of this I didn’t do any desk research before the seminar.

ReflectionThe speaker his enthusiasm reminds me of the people I met in Uganda that were so proud in what their country already achieved and on the huge developments on a short notice. It is with such an enthusiasm and willingness that this continent will unite whole of Africa. They still have challenges to overcome but I have the feeling that the continent has a huge self-knowledge and that they will (hopefully) will learn form other countries their mistake. As said in international strategy, it is not always bad to be the follower of a new invention. It gives the opportunity to see the good an the bad examples, to learn out of their mistakes and to be even better.

I always hear of people that in the future African countries will develop and industrialize. What they don’t realize is that development is already happening now. This is also what the speaker said, there are different areas that are lucrative and worth investing in. The businesses that already established a market in any African country has a huge advantage on his competitor and will probably see a considerable growth in the future.

Who’s up next?Speaker: Joeri Van den BerghDate: 01/03/2016Place & Timing: KNT L03.01 @ 15u00

My own research As a research for the seminar I looked up the company “InSites Consulting”. I was impressed by their portfolio and also was also attracted to their creative and international business environment. Next to that I also did some research on the different generations since I realized I didn’t really knew what differentiate each generation. The video I watched you can see on the next slide;

ReflectionThis seminar focussed more on marketing for the younger generation. It is hard to attract and maintain that attraction for one generation but it also shows how hard it is to make different generations interested in your product. This seminar got me thinking how hard it has to be in human resource to attract different generations for one company, because the benefits you give to one person is not of interest of the other. Also communication in a company with four different generations can probably lead to some conflict. How to solve them and prevent this?

Innovathon Deloitte Digital

Client: BNP Paribas Date: 12/12/2015Place & Timing: Deloitte University @ 08u00

Why this seminarIn the first semester I participated in a hackathon at school. I wanted to do something like this again because it was such a great experience. It was a great way to connect with other people and to translate the theory we already saw into an end product.

My own research It is hard to prepare for an innovathon since you don’t know the topic and/or assignment from before. The only thing that I did was looking up new brainstorm techniques because I think a good brainstorm is one of the keys for a good idea. An idea that I found intriguing and that I didn’t tried yet was with post-its. To write all the things that come up in you – try to put it in groups and connect everything.

ReflectionThe hardest thing about an innovathon, when you only have 8 hours, is not really coming up with an idea. An idea is indeed important but our group had enough ideas but had a hard time working them out. To make them concrete. A tip that we got from our mentors was making a persona, to make your idea concrete for that type of customer. Group dynamic is also a crucial point when working in a team. It is important that you all have your own strengths but that you also know about them and the pitfalls of them.

References• McBlain, G. (n.d.) The 7 steps to successfully sourcing products in

China. Retrieved on 15/10/2015, from http://www.ebl-global.com/EBL-Global-7Steps.pdf• Franch, R. (2014). 8 Common mistakes U.S. companies make when

sourcing goods and suppliers in China. Retrieved on 15/10/2015, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/allbusiness/2014/01/30/8-common-mistakes-u-s-companies-make-when-sourcing-goods-and-suppliers-in-china/2/#24b47eea5461• InSites. (2016). InSites Consulting. Retrieved on 27/02/2016, from

http://www.insites-consulting.com/