Vol. 4, #10, December 2014, No. 44img1.midea.com/global/about_midea/publications/201501/P...Advances Newsletter, December, 2014 1 Vol. 4, #10, December 2014, No. 44 Farewell 2014 and

Advances Newsletter, December, 2014

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Vol. 4, #10, December 2014, No. 44

Farewell 2014 and Thanks for the Memories

It is time to reflect on what was a very special year for Midea


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ADVANCES Newsletter

Contents

Midea Advances Newsletter is published monthly

by the International Strategy Department of

Midea Group. We welcome all comments,

suggestions and contribution of articles, as well as

requests for subscription to our newsletter. You

can reach us by email at: [email protected]

Address:

ADVANCES, International Strategy Department

Midea HQ

No. 6 Midea Road

Beijiao, Shunde, Foshan, Guangdong

P.R.C. 528311

Tel: +86-757-23270461

Web: www.midea.com/global

Managing Editor:

Kevin McGeary

Regular Correspondents:

Matteo Griziotti

Qiu Chuanzhen

Li Yanping

Zhou Pu

Liu Long

Cai Yu

NEWSLINE

RAC’s All Singing, All

Dancing Factory Workers PAGES 5-6

Smartphone Maker Xiaomi

Joins Forces with Midea PAGE 3

Statement of Intent in Italy’s

HVAC Market PAGE 4

Meet Dr. Zhu Jun: Engineer

and Extreme Sports Lover PAGE 7

www.midea.com

Marketing Midea around the

World PAGE 15-17

Big Picture

People

Idea

Idea of the Month: Music in

the Workplace PAGE 14

Gym Opens at Compressor

Factory PAGE 11

The Wonders of Product

Placement PAGE 13

Factory Opens Daycare

Centre PAGE 11

A Brief History of Golf in Chi-

na PAGE 12

Fun Facts

Goodbye 2014 and Thanks

for the Memories PAGE 9-10

10 Million RMB Donated in

Beijiao for 6th Straight Year PAGE 8

Construction Begins on

Innovation Centre PAGE 8


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Smartphone Maker Xiaomi Joins Forces with

Midea By Advances

C hinese smartphone maker Xiaomi Inc. has invested

1.26 billion Yuan ($203.7 million) in Midea Group, in a deal that

will boost its presence in the market for Internet-connected

home electronics.

The in-

vestment by

Xiaomi, China‟s

biggest

smartphone

maker by ship-

ments, gives it a

1.29% stake in

Midea, the

phone maker

said in a state-

ment late on

Sunday Decem-

ber 14th. Xiaomi said it would acquire 55 million shares in

Midea at 23.01 Yuan each.

As followers of our company know, Midea has already

developed a handful of smart home products in the areas of

nutrition, water, and energy, with about 25 on the market as of

this year. The smart home

project, known as M-

Smart, is key to the compa-

ny‟s long-term strategy.

Xiaomi says Midea‟s

strategy is in line with its

own, so the two make a

good fit. From Xiaomi‟s

point-of-view, the heavy

smog that has afflicted

many of China‟s major

cities mean that an air puri-

fier that can be controlled

from a smart phone is a

sound investment.

Midea Group has been

expanding its e-commerce business in recent years, with a sales

goal of 200 billion Yuan (US$32 billion) for 2015. Since the

company established an e-commerce group in 2014, sales have

been surging with a growth rate of 120% as of November 11,

compared to the same time last year.

E-commerce provides great opportunities for traditional

home appliance makers. Midea Group's e-commerce sales this

year are estimat-

ed to account for

10% of its total

sales in China,

said chairman

Paul Fang.

Meanwhile, Xiao-

mi can nominate

one of its execu-

tives to be a

member of

Midea's board of

directors, accord-

ing to the state-

ment.

The two companies will cooperate in sectors such as smart

home appliances and mobile Internet, the statement said. Mr.

Fang stated that the deal represented the “transformation” stage

of the “Transform, Strange

Grow” principles that he

laid out at the beginning of

2014.

Xiaomi is a particularly ex-

citing company to work

with. It made US$56 million

in profit in 2013 and its

CEO Lei Jun – once de-

scribed in Reuters as

“China‟s Steve Jobs” – was

recently named Forbes

Asian Businessman of the

Year.

Xiaomi says it plans to invest

in 100 hardware companies,

and it already has 25 on board.

NEWSLINE

Lei Jun, “China’s Steve Jobs”


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Statement of Intent in Italy’s HVAC Market

By Matteo Griziotti

T he inaugural Midea Convention was held in

Italy in Milan on November 14. The great and the good

came to the Hotel Melià where Midea presented itself as

the “new air.”

Marianna Zhao, General Manager of Midea‟s West

Europe Division, was one of the stars of the show. Mrs.

Zhao, along with Midea Italy's Country Manager Daniele

Marangoni and myself, gave introductory speeches on

Midea‟s business and products.

Topics discussed included the business expansion

strategy, specific growth targets, technological innova-

tion and brand building. The growth targets are ambi-

tious but feasible. The first is to become one of the

world‟s top 3 HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air con-

ditioning) brands in the next nine years.

Sales in the Italian market will go exclusively

through Italian subsidiary Midea Italia S.r.l. In just sev-

en years, the subsidiary has turned Midea into a brand

to be reckoned with in the European country, with con-

tinually improving services, eye-catching promotional

activities, and expansion into local professional chan-

nels.

In the second part of the meeting, the entire range

of Midea products to be launched in 2015 were present-

ed to the audience, starting from the much anticipated

Mission Series, with its attractive appearance, high quality com-

ponents and unprecedentedly user-friendly interface. It has a Wi

-Fi Smart Kit that allows the unit to be controlled by a specific

app and a specially designed remote called The Arctic Fox. It is

set to be a hit in Italy.

The author is Marketing Manager for Midea Italia S.r.l.

NEWSLINE

Daniele Marangoni , Midea Italy's Country Manager

The audience at the Hotel Meli{

Matteo Griziotti, Marketing Manager for Midea Italia S.r.l.


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RAC’s All Singing, All Dancing Factory

Workers

T he Chopstick Brothers‟ dance song

“Little Apple”, which was recorded to pro-

mote the film “Old Boys: The Way of the

Dragon,” is probably China‟s biggest soft pow-

er triumph of 2014. Like “Gangnam Style” two

years earlier, it has inspired a huge number of

celebrities, individuals and even businesses to

imitate its song and dance routine.

Never one to fall behind the times,

Midea Residential Air Conditioning (RAC) had its factory work-

ers in Shunde record their own dance routine to

accompany some specially adapted lyrics which

espouse the philosophy of Midea RAC.

After the music was professionally recorded

in a studio, hundreds of factory workers got in-

volved to dance and sing along. Admittedly, there

was not enough time to have all the workers prac-

tice their dancing to the point of perfect synchro-

nicity.

However, there was some excellent perform-

ing

on

show, including a piece of breakdancing by one

young male worker. And there is certainly no

faulting the time, effort and passion that went into

the project.

Here is Advances‟ translation of the lyrics:. Alas,

like all poetry, it is somewhat lost in translation.

The Shunde factory is as beautiful as a painting

The workers here are happy as larks

We‟re all as close as a family

We strive together for cost efficiency

Our products are the most competitive

And the management is truly awesome

The assembly plant performs miracles during

peak times

The components plant works wonders all the

time

Here we give people something to look forward

to

NEWSLINE

By Kevin McGeary


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RAC’s All Singing, All Dancing Factory

Workers (Cont.) By Kevin McGeary

We will love each other forever and never part

Never part! Never part!

You are my dream, you are my home

I give you all the love I can

This love that shines around me keeps me warm

And lights up the fire of my life


Like the most beautiful cloud in the heav-

ens

When the peak period comes, we give it

all we‟ve got

And strive together to be the very best

I have no ill to say of you, everything

about you is lovely

You enrich me every day

By day we make cool stuff by night

we have sweet dreams

Our group makes people‟s lives more

splendid

Our efficiency is the highest in the world

After that our customer service is the very best

We treat our workers like brothers and sisters

When peak period comes we have passion in

our hearts

Passion in our hearts! Passion in our hearts!


I give you all the love I can

This love that shines around me keeps me

warm

And lights up the fire of my life


Like the most beautiful cloud in the heavens

When the peak period comes, we give it all

we‟ve got

And strive together to be the very best

You can hear the song here: http://

mip.midea.com.cn/mipcul/km/culture/doc/

km_cul_doc_main/kmCulDocMain.do?

meth-

od=viewVideoPublic&fdId=4087331760

NEWSLINE


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By Qiu Chuanzhen

Meet Dr. Zhu Jun: Engineer and Extreme

Sports Lover

D r. Zhu

Jun of Midea Resi-

dential Air Condi-

tioning (RAC) is

accomplished aca-

demically. He took

a Bachelor‟s De-

gree in Electrical

Engineering and

Automization at

South China Uni-

versity of Technol-

ogy in 2007 and

later entered the

Chinese Academy of

Sciences from which

he graduated with a

doctorate in June 2014.

He joined RAC in July

and is responsible for

research and product de-

velopment.

Zhu spent his childhood in Hunan Province and his teen-

age years in Shaoguan in Guangdong Province. “My upbringing

was very normal,” Zhu told a Midea reporter. “My parents were

both middle school teachers so school was my home and I was

able to do well academically,” he added. It is his ten years in

higher education which made

Zhu the professional he is

today.

During the rigorous process

of becoming qualified to take

his current role, Zhu had to

find ways to let off steam in

his free time. It was then that

he discovered sports, includ-

ing extreme outdoor sports.

As well as running marathons

(his best time is 3 hours 29

minutes), Zhu has cycled to

Lhasa, trekked 53 kilometers

in two days across the Hobq

Desert in Inner Mongolia, en-

tered iron man con-

tests and done many

other things to push

his body to the limit.

This enthusiasm

and never-say-die spirit

no doubt fed into his

academic success. It will

hopefully prove contagious at RAC, which is in an iron man

contest of its own with its competitors.

NEWSLINE

Becoming a doctor in June 2014

Competing in a triathlon

Cycling to Lhasa

Zhu’s medal collection


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Construction Begins on Innovation Centre

By Li Yanping

T o mark the beginning of three years of construction

and 3 billion RMB

(US$482 millon) in

investment, the

opening ceremony

for the Midea

Group Global

Innovation Centre

was held on De-

cember 9. As well

as Group Chair-

man Paul Fang,

Deputy Governor

of Guangdong

Province Liu

Zhigeng and senior

representatives of

the Foshan Munici-

pal and Shunde District governments attended the event in the

eastern area of Midea Industrial Park.

Midea Group Vice President Hu Ziqiang explained: “The

construction of this centre is in

the spirit of the national strate-

gy of innovation-driven devel-

opment. It is also representa-

tive of the Group‟s philosophy

of Change, Growth and Trans-

formation.”

When completed, the centre

will have a research and experi-

mentation building, a piloting

centre, an industrial design

centre, a consumer experience

centre, and a “house of the

future.” It will also have a fit-

ness center, restaurants, apart-

ment buildings, training centers

and other ancillary services.

NEWSLINE

By Zhou Pu

10 Million RMB Donated in Beijiao for 6th

Straight Year

A ceremony was held at the

Midea Group headquarters on Decem-

ber 12 to announce the 10 million

RMB (US$1.6 million) donation by the

Group to Beijiao Village, home of the

headquarters and group founder He

Xiangjian. This is the sixth consecutive

year that Midea has made the donation

to Beijiao which is located in Foshan

City‟s Shunde District.

In recent years, Midea Group has donated over 100 mil-

lion RMB to various charitable causes. These include flood re-

lief, social welfare and agricultural development. Relief after the

Yushu Earthquake of 2010 was one of

the many causes that Midea Group do-

nated to.

Group Vice President Lu Shuping said at

the ceremony that Midea owes its suc-

cess to technology and innovation which

is itself dependent on the local govern-

ment and the Beijiao people. Lu pledged

to continue helping to build Beijiao, a

former fishing village that is fast emerging

as another hub of economic activity in south China.

Yu Zhuokun, Deputy Party Secretary of Beijiao, ex-

plained that most of the funds would be directed at helping

society‟s least fortunate people. “Pre-school education and pub-

lic facilities will receive particular attention,” said Yu.

Paul Fang (third from right) joins visiting dignitaries

The donation ceremony


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Goodbye 2014 and Thanks for the

Memories By Advances

A wise man named Ferris Buellar once said: "Life hap-

pens pretty fast. If you don't stop and look every once in a

while, you might miss it." Before we enter 2015, lets take a look

at some memories from an extraordinary year for Midea Group.

January

Midea Commercial Air Conditioning (CAC) won the first

national “Engineering Meritorious Suppliers‟ Luban Prize”

at the inaugural National Industry Application Seminar.

Midea CAC held the seminar “V5X Series New Product

Launch 2014” in Chatrium Hotel Riverside, Bangkok.

A seminar was held in the Philippines in which joint ven-

ture Concepcion Midea Inc. Philippines (CMIP) introduced

its brand to local channel partners. Rafael Hechanova Jr.,

Vice President of CMIP, was the keynote speaker.

February

Midea CAC was granted the much sought after AHRI cer-

tificate from the Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigera-

tion Institute.

At the iF De-

sign Awards,

four Midea

water heater

prototypes,

the Beverley

Front-

Loading Washing Machine, and the ZL Split Air Condition-

er all triumphed.

March

Midea renewed its

partnership with

FINA, the world‟s

governing body of

indoor swimming,

diving, water polo,

synchronized swim-

ming and open water

swimming.

Midea Group Vice President Cai Wuqi hosted an event on

March 10 to launch M-Smart, a smart home program we

will hear much more about in the coming years.

April

Midea‟s first quarterly report saw the company gross 38

Billion RMB (US$6.12 billion) from January to March.

Midea Residen-

tial Air Conditioning

won the contract to

be exclusive air con-

ditioning supplier to

what will become

the world‟s largest

film production area

in Qingdao, Shan-

dong Province. The

area will require at least 7,000 air conditioning units.

To mark the 14th World Intellectual Property Day, Com-

mercial Air Conditioning set up a “patent wall” on its cam-

pus. On the wall, patents are displayed like awards of merit.

May

Wuxi Little Swan Co., Ltd. donated 660,000 RMB worth of

fans to Jiangsu Foundation for Disabled Persons (FDP)

ahead of The National Day for Helping the Disabled.

A Midea microwave-oven appeared on screen with Jackie

Chan in the new comedy Joy Street.

Carrier Midea India (CMI) showcased its 2014 range of

residential air-conditioners at Coolex 2014, the biggest

event of its kind in the Asian country.

June

The World Cup began in Brazil. Nine of the twelve stadia

contained air conditioning equipment from Midea-Carrier.

Midea Group Chairman Paul Fang attended the final the

following month.

Midea‟s Water Heating Division broke a Guinness World

Record at an event in Guangzhou. The event involved 609

members of the public learning how to clean the compa-

Newsline

Agreement signed with FINA

Film City


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By Advances

Goodbye 2014 and Thanks for the

Memories (Cont.)

ny‟s water heaters.

CAC won the Dalma Mall Chiller Project, meaning that the

company would install its own equipment at the largest

shopping mall in Abu Dhabi.

July

CAC won the project to

provide air conditioning

equipment to The 11th All-

Africa Games in Brazzaville,

capital of the Republic of

Congo in 2015.

A camp for 1,200 recruits was held at Shunde Polytechnic.

CAC won the Thailand Don Mueang Airport Project, fol-

lowing on from the Singapore Changi Airport Project

which it won the previous month.

August

Midea Group's financial report for the first half of 2014 was

announced, showing that the Group made US$12.6 billion

in the first six months of the year, a year-on-year increase of

18%. Among this, net profit

was US$1.07 billion, a year-

on-year increase of 58%.

Earnings per share were

US $0.26, a year-on-year

increase of 58%.

Midea Group received a

heating, ventilation and air

conditioning (HVAC)

standard certificate from the

Canadian Standards Association (CSA), a globally respected

certification and testing authority.

The Beira Rio stadium in Porto Alegre, Brazil, which con-

tained Midea-Carrier air conditioning equipment won the

much sought after Leadership in Energy and Environmen-

tal Design certificate.

September

Midea held a weeklong training session in Germany from

September 1-7 to enable some of the company‟s employees

to learn strategy from their German counterparts. The 28

attendees examined eight leading German companies to

learn case studies. The leading companies included SUSPA,

BMW, Aldershof, and Siemens.

Midea attended the 2014 Internationale Funkausstellung

(IFA) Berlin, the world's leading trade show for consumer

electronics and home appliances. At the event, M-Smart

was promoted in Germany for the first time.

The Water Heating Division was granted the AB135 Stand-

ard Certificate by auditors from Korean Gas Safety. Passing

the audit took months of preparation and ensures that the

water heaters can now be marketed in South Korea.

October

Midea had its most

dazzling Canton

Fair stand yet.

Among many other

new products, M-

Smart was displayed

in full.

The Marine Series,

the Laundry Divi-

sion‟s latest washing machine equipment, was launched in

Indonesia in a tour that took in four cities. Journalists rep-

resenting nearly 100 news outlets were in attendance.

Celebrity chef Edu Guedes was appointed Midea‟s brand

ambassador in Brazil.

November

The third quarterly report revealed that revenue was at

US$17.8 billion, a year-on-year increase of 16.4%.

CAC was awarded the Golden Pillow Award as China‟s

Most Popular Hotel Supplier for the third year in a row.

Midea sold 200 million RMB (US$32.5 million) worth of

small appliances online on November 11, a day that has

become known as Single‟s Day and is chiefly characterized

by a splurge in online shopping.

NEWSLINE

The stadium in Brazzaville

Edu Guedes

Certification from CSA


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Gym Opens at Compressor Factory

By Liu Long

W orkers at Midea‟s

compressor factory in Hefei, capital

of

Anhui Province, can now train

at free state-of-the-art gym facilities when not working. The

gym, which opened on December 5, has a punch bag, a running

machine, an exercise bike, and many more facilities.

There are also facilities on which workers can do ab-

dominal exercises, sit ups and push ups. As well as exercise

equip-

ment,

there is

also a

foosball table for plain ordinary

old-fashioned entertainment.

As China grows more prosper-

ous, it is also growing fatter so

more people are in need of

exercise. Midea is following in

the footsteps of some of the

biggest Japanese and American

companies by providing its

workers with facilities to help

them stay fit.

NEWSLINE

By Cai Yu

Factory Opens Daycare Centre

I n a rising China, workers don‟t get to spend as much

time with their families as they would like. This can present par-

ticular problems during school holidays when workers need to

somehow arrange supervision for their kids. Midea‟s Handan

factory in Shunde

has come up with

the solution of

opening its own

daycare centre

with educational

activities.

Admission will

cost 700 Yuan a

month - a steal

compared with

most kindergar-

tens in China -

and it will allow

children aged 1.5

-6 years old,

most kindergar-

tens only allow

children aged 3-6. The centre operates Monday to Saturday but

can stay open on a Sunday for those who need it.

The centre is part of a redesign of the factory itself and its

dormitory areas. It should help Midea keep hold of some of its

experienced staff.


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Fun Facts: A Brief History of Golf in China

By Advances

I n a country where millions still live on about US$5 a

day, it is odd that golf, a game in which a round costs on average

US$150 a day is seeing unstoppable growth in popularity. Even

though China only began embracing the sport in the mid-1980s,

there is now anywhere between 600 and 1000 golf courses in

The Middle Kingdom, according to Dan Washburn, author of

“The Forbidden Game: Golf and the Chinese Dream.”

Like in the Western world, golf is particularly popular with

wealthy businesspeople who treat it as an effective way to bond

with clients. It is also popular with the leadership of Midea, who

have their own golf course here in Shunde. In fact, our head-

quarter building is designed to look like a golf player in action.

To paraphrase Homer Simpson: “If horse racing is the sport of

kings, then surely golf is…also a very good sport.”

Chuiwan, a stick and ball game with some similarities to

golf was played in China as early as 1000 AD. Players use a

set of up to 10 clubs, balls are of different sizes and made

of wood, holes are spread on terrain of various difficulty

and marked by color flags. Tee off areas are called Ji (基) -

which means base.

Golf was banned under the leadership of Mao Zedong, who

thought the sport representative of Western decadence. In

this respect, Mao had an unlikely ally in U.S. comedian

George Carlin who reviled it as an “arrogant and elitist

game,”

point-

ing out

that it

used

the

small-

est ball

and the

biggest

pitch.

The

first golf course constructed in China opened in 1984. It

was the Chung Shan Hot Springs in Zhongshan, based on a

design by Arnold Palmer. Born in 1929, Palmer is widely

regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the

sport. Even though the Chinese government largely frowns

upon the construction of golf courses due to their impracti-

cality and costliness, they continue to spring up.

Construction of golf courses has nearly tripled in China

over the past decade. According to a report by Forward

Golf Group, a leading domestic golf management compa-

ny, the number of golf courses in China increased from 178

in 2004 to 521 in 2013, despite several official bans in the

past decade. Beijing alone reportedly has over 200 golf

courses, many of which occupy prime plots on river banks,

such as the Olympic Park Golf Course along the Qinghe

River and the Yuquan Hill Golf Course near the Summer

Palace. Golf courses occupy farmland, consume huge

amounts of water and cause water and soil pollution. It's

estimated that the water 60 golf courses consume every

year is enough for one million people.

Government officials in Guangdong Province were banned

from playing golf during working hours this month as part

of President Xi Jinping‟s anti-corruption campaign. The

province‟s Supervision and Inspection Department issued a

notice on Sunday December 14 forbidding the practice as

part of a crackdown on wasteful and profligate behavior.

The notice also includes a ban on public money being used

to fund golf events. Government officials are under pres-

sure to set an example in the People‟s Republic when it

comes to civility and frugality.

Fun Facts

A depiction of a game of chuiwan

China’s oldest golf course, built in 1984, is 9 years younger than Tiger Woods


13

By Kevin McGeary

The Big Picture: The Wonders of Product

Placement

H ollywood screenwriting guru Robert McKee once

claimed that storytelling is the only universally trusted medium

of our age. While science garbles us with complexity and politics

and religion are pushed away from the mainstream, story is what

we turn to when we want to understand the world, McKee

claims. What better way of promoting a product or brand than

sneaking it into the 21st century‟s dominant storytelling media:

film and television?

In the 1930s and 40s, going to the cinema was the most

popular form of mass entertainment in the developed world.

The emergence of television, VHS and DVD are among the

things that have dented its supremacy, but film remains a multi-

billion dollar industry. However, as piracy and online streaming

threaten the industry‟s income channels, product placement is

among the options for film producers to guarantee a healthy

return on investment.

Famous examples of product placement include a futuris-

tic Pizza Hut in “Back to the Future: Part 2” (1987) and a satirical

scene in “Wayne’s World” (1992). “Fleet of Time” (2014), one of

the most hotly anticipated Chinese films of the year contains a

Suning product placement of sledgehammer subtlety during a

wedding scene. However, product placement isn‟t a uniquely

modern phenomenon.

By the time Jules Verne published the adventure novel

“Around the World in Eighty Days” (1873), his fame had led

transport and shipping companies to lobby for a mention in the

story. Whether Verne was actually paid to do so, however, re-

mains unknown. “Wings” (1927), the first film to win the Oscar

for Best

Picture con-

tained a plug

for Her-

shey's choc-

olate.

Nowadays,

product

placement –

when done

well – is one

of the most

ef-

fective and common ways of developing an emotional connec-

tion to a brand. In 2010, television show “Modern Family” aired

an episode in which an iPad was the focal point of the story just

three days before Apple‟s gadget became available. When father

Phil Dunphy discovers that stores will start selling the product

on his birthday, he exclaims: “It‟s like God and Steve Jobs got

together to say „We love you, Phil!‟”

Spanish fashion designer Manolo Blahnik was sometimes

described as the fifth lead in the TV series “Sex and the City”;

mainly because of the sheer number of times his shoes were

worn or mentioned by the four main characters. In one scene in

Season 4 Carrie, the heroine, finds a pair of black shoes and

says: “Oh, my God! Do you know what these are? Manolo

Blahnik Mary Janes. I thought these were an urban shoe myth!”.

Brand image is an important thing to consider when en-

gaging in product placement. “Castaway” (2000) is about a Fed-

Ex executive whose plane (with a FedEx logo on it) crashes on

a deserted island. To survive he has to open the few packages

that aren‟t lost without authorization. However, FedEx emerged

favourably from the film as brand awareness outside of the

United States (where it was already a household name) increased

exponentially.

So, how do you want your brand to be seen and what

kinds of people do you want to be seen using it? These are all

things to take into account for any brand that is hoping to make

the step from respected to famous. This year Midea products

appeared on screen with Jackie Chan. Keep a look out for fu-

ture appearances of our products.

Big Picture

Product placement satirized in “Wayne’s World”

A Midea microwave-oven behind Jackie Chan


14

IDEA

Idea of The Month: Music in the Workplace

By Kevin McGeary

I once had a boss who insisted that before we start

work we listen to music to get fired up. Popular song choices

included “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor, “Tubthumping” by

Chumbawumba and “A Little Less Conversation” by Elvis

Presley. Some of us would get so immersed in the music that

we neglected to get any work done.

There is a reason why listening to music is more pleasura-

ble than simply having a tune in one‟s head: “By providing the

brain with an artificial environment, and forcing it through the

environment in controlled ways, music impacts the means of

experiencing relations far deeper than we encounter in our eve-

ryday lives,” writes Robert Jourdain in “Music, the Brain and

Ecstasy.”

Studies conducted as far back as the early 70‟s found that

music can have a positive impact on workers.

One such study, conducted in 1972, discovered

that factory employees did their best work

when they were allowed to listen to happy or

upbeat music, according to Forbes.

Surgeons, according to a study conducted

by the Journal of the American Medical Association,

are particularly fond of listening to music on

the job. They have a tendency to work more

accurately while listening to music they‟re fond

of. Interestingly, the second-best option is mu-

sic they don‟t like. Apparently, no music at all

proved to be the least helpful option.

In one study, University of Illinois researchers found that

listening to music in "all types of work" increased work output

6.3% over a control group. In another study, 56 employees

working on basic computer tasks were found to be more pro-

ductive when there was no music playing over the same period

tested with music. So whether music increases productivity

depends on a number of factors such as the individual, the

noisiness of the workplace (bad noise can be offset by good

noise) and of course the choice of music.

The ornate instrumentation and composition of Baroque

music (the most famous Baroque composers being Bach, Han-

del and Vivaldi) gets a lot of attention for its possible mind-

boosting effects. Eight radiologists were asked to go about their

day while listening to Baroque music. They mostly self-reported

better mood and productivity, according to Lifehacker article

“The Best Sounds for Getting Work Done.”

Also helpful is the genre that is variously known as

“ambient” or “chill-out” such as Brian Eno‟s “Music for Air-

ports.” This work is designed to relax the mind and allow it to

roam, while providing just enough stimulation to register as

inspiration. Researchers for the blog Kotaku found this music

superior for deep tasks and serious study.

Historically, the ability to make noise is a sign of power.

As R Murray Schafer writes in “The Soundscape: Changes in

Our Sonic Environment”: “It descends from God, to the

priest, to the industrialist, and more recently, to the broadcast-

er and the aviator.” For a period of over a century, the major

inventions were on an almost entirely upward trajectory in

terms of noisiness. The steam engine makes about 85dBA of

noise while the rocket launchers makes about 160dBA. The

microphone may be the least democratic inven-

tion ever.

If you are going to have music in the workplace,

delegation of the power to select it can be compli-

cated. One company in California came under

legal fire because of the hostile work environment

created by an employee‟s taste in music, according

to the article “Music in the workplace can disrupt

harmony” in Business Management Daily.

An African-American assembly technician repeat-

edly complained to his supervisors that he felt

racially harassed by a co-worker who played loud

rap music and sang along to lyrics that included racial slurs.

When the employer allegedly did nothing to address the com-

plaints and subsequently fired the African-American employee,

the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

(EEOC) filed a racial harassment and retaliation lawsuit on the

employee‟s behalf. The employer settled the case for $168,000.

(EEOC v. Novellus Systems, Inc.)

In modern industrial society, silence is both rare and

much-maligned. If you check a thesaurus, silence has mostly

negative connotations (a silent person can be taciturn, moody,

etc.)

If we must be surrounded by sounds, we might as well

make them pleasant ones made by professionals. However, this

is a privilege not a right and the selection should be put in ca-

pable and responsible hands.

Baroque composer Vivaldi


15

Marketing Midea around the World

By Kevin McGeary

UJ Huang Senior Associate of Product Marketing

For most of its history, Midea Group has been a suc-

cessful brand in China, but only since around the turn of

the millennium has it started to promote itself internation-

ally. Since beginning to sell its products abroad, Midea

has mostly been known as an original equipment manu-

facturer, so M.I.D (Midea International Division) was cre-

ated to help turn

Midea into a recog-

nized brand in Asia,

Latin America and

North America.

The division

boasts talent from

Canada, Germany,

Argentina, Brazil,

the United Kingdom

and Southeast Asia.

However, some of

the people brought

in to help bring

knowledge of inter-

national marketing

come from much clos-

er to home.

UJ Huang (黄于真) joined Midea International Divi-

sion in the autumn of 2014 after spending four years with

advertising agency Ogilvy. Before that she studied Busi-

ness Administration at National Chengchi University

(known colloquially as “Chengda”、政大) in Taipei City.

She kindly took the time to speak to Advances about the

experience she brings to the company, the products she is

helping to promote and exactly how at home she feels as a

Taiwanese in Shunde.

ADV: What markets and products do you primarily deal

with?

UJ: Our division markets products in southeast Asian

(ASEAN) countries, Latin America and North America. Since

I‟ve arrived I have mostly done work for the Southeast Asian

and Latin American markets.

As for which products I market, I actually do all of them.

M.I.D is not specifically a product division, so we are responsi-

ble for marketing everything from residential air conditioning to

washing machines to refrigerators. Personally, I work more with

large appliances such as residential air conditioning.

ADV: What are some of the division‟s big success stories

of recent times?

UJ: In the short time I

have been here, the

highlights have included

the launch of the Ma-

rine Series of washing

machines in Indonesia

and Vietnam. Now we

are working on the

launch of a range of

refrigerators in Argenti-

na.

ADV: What are some

of the biggest obstacles

we are facing?

UJ: I think most of the

problems are internal.

When I joined this com-

pany I thought it would be easy because we were in the head-

quarters, at the nerve centre of Midea. Instead, I find this com-

pany is quite decentralized with so many divisions and depart-

ments that need to keep communicating with each other.

Sometimes it is difficult to get all the departments and

product divisions to cooperate and move in a single direction

because everybody has their own ideas and style of communica-

tion. One department decides which product will be sold into

which market, then our department will decide on how to pro-

mote it, bringing together communication materials, etc. We

need to have a good grasp of retail and point of purchase.

People

UJ after taking the interview on December 24


16


(Cont.) By Kevin McGeary

ADV: What are some of the professional experiences that

took you into this job?

UJ: My major in college being Business Administration,

my background is largely in markets and admin. My last job was

in advertising agency Ogilvy – my first job after college – and it

was actually very similar to my current role.

I heard about this company from my ex-boss. Midea is a

client of Ogilvy, even though Midea does not currently sell in

Taiwan.

ADV: What do you think some of

M.I.D‟s goals should be for the next year

or two?

UJ: Now, Midea is a very big and

well respected brand in mainland China.

But in most of the world, our brand

recognition is very weak. We are only

known as an original equipment manufac-

turer. So the first step is to start building

our brand around the world.

The first step is to decide what we

want our brand to be (what promises do

we make? what do we want the consumer

to think of us?). The next step is to let the

customer know who we are, such as tele-

vision commercials and magazine com-

mercials. Finally, we have to establish a rela-

tionship with the consumer to build brand

loyalty. That is what the strongest brands do.

ADV: What about the advertisements we are making in

the domestic market?

UJ: In China, the pattern is to use a celebrity and highlight

the functions and brand names. This may be effective in China,

but to create effective advertisements, we need to intimately

understand the specific market we are advertising into.

ADV: Is this company using all of its strengths?

UJ: I think, with MID having its own marketing function,

and each product division having their own marketing func-

tions, we can sometimes overlap. A single body to make final

decisions on marketing might help realize the company‟s

strengths.

ADV: What are our star products?

UJ: I think everyone knows our star products include air

conditioning and fans, which have the longest history in our

company. To tell the truth, I have only been with the company a

short time, so am not familiar with the entirety of our vast prod-

People

The launch of the Marine Series in Indonesia, which UJ cites as a success.

UJ talking to Advances on a bright December day.


17


(Cont.) By Kevin McGeary

uct range.

ADV: What are some of Midea‟s competitive advantages

in the markets you deal with?

UJ: We are an affordable brand that can offer products at

the same value but a lower price than our competitors. We have

long been an original equipment manufacturer, we need to work

on our product planning, that is knowing the market and how

the product can fit into it. Research and development is also an

important

aspect in this

process.

My first

task upon

arriving was

to work on a

dishwasher

catalogue to

help com-

municate our

message in

North Ameri-

ca ahead of

the launch of

a range of

dishwashers.

This involved

identifying the

target audi-

ence and the

pricing.

ADV:

Being from a

part of the world that is more Westernized than most of main-

land China, do you feel you have knowledge of the world that

your Chinese colleagues can use?

UJ: Haha, well you could say that in Taiwan we are more

“worldly.” There is a very famous restaurant in Taiwan called

“Dintaifung” (鼎泰丰) that is popular with mainland tourists.

In October there was a media storm when a little boy from the

mainland peed on a table at this restaurant, which brought a lot

of shame to mainlanders. It later emerged that the boy was actu-

ally from Taiwan, but this just goes to show the reputation that

mainland Chinese tourists have gained in recent years.

Being from Taiwan could have its advantages here in the

long-term. But our team is already very international anyway.

The head of my department is from Taiwan, and half of my

colleagues are foreigners, from Malaysia, Canada and other parts

of the world.

ADV: Does Shunde feel foreign to you?

UJ: Not

really. It

is a small

village

and I

myself am

from the

small

village of

Jiayi in

Taiwan,

though I

studied in

the capital

city of

Taipei.

When I

am not

working,

I pass the

time here

in my apart-

ment read-

ing or

watching television. Sometimes at the weekend, I go to Guang-

zhou.

I can keep in touch with friends and family back home

through Facebook and other social media and my Taiwanese

boyfriend is here so I don‟t get too homesick.

People

UJ outside the Midea Group headquarters


18

SNAPSHOT

Zhu Jun , star engineer and Zhu Jun , star engineer and Zhu Jun , star engineer and

sportsmansportsmansportsman

Documents

Vol. 4, #10, December 2014, No. 44img1.midea.com/global/about_midea/publications/201501/P...Advances Newsletter, December, 2014 1 Vol. 4, #10, December 2014, No. 44 Farewell 2014 and