The MBA Business Tour in East Asia

The MBA Tour is an independent and high quality information source regarding MBA admissions. Portland State University leads by Kelly Doherty, Director of Marketing and Recruiting, Graduate Business Programs will be setting up the Portland State University booth around the East Asia from August 30 to September 8, 2012 in the following locations:

• Tokyo, Japan

Thursday August 30, 2012              16:00 – 22:00  at Hilton Tokyo

• Taipei, Taiwan

Saturday September 1, 2012          10:00 – 16:30 at Grand Formosa Regent Taipei

• Seoul, Korea

Tuesday September 4, 2012           16:00 – 22:30 at Millennium Seoul Hilton

• Beijing, China

Thursday September 6, 2012         11:00 – 22:00 at Peninsula Hotel

• Shanghai, China

Saturday September 8, 2012           11:00 – 17:30 at Pudong Shangri-La

The registration is free of charge. Kelly Doherty will be there to introducing the graduate programs: MBA, MSFA, and MIM that Portland State University offers. We are welcome the alumni to go visit our booth and helping us answering any question to our perspective students who are interested in enrolling at Portland State University.

Thunyarak “Goy” Katikavongkhachorn

Thunyarak Katikavongkhachorn or Goy is a full-time student in Master of International Management Program. She received a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Portland State University. She was interested in studying MIM program because she would like to broaden her career in supply chain and logistics at the global level that focusing on Pacific Asia while studying Chinese as a third language. She currently specialize in supply chain and finance in the MIM program.

MIM hits the road to Asia!

As the number of Asian students attending the graduate business programs at Portland State University has significantly increased over the decade, the university has been sending a representative to recruit students from Asian countries for more than ten years. Likewise, this year PSU officials will join 50 other business schools on an all-Asia tour.

In the coming September, Kelly Doherty, the assistant marketing director of PSU Graduate business programs, will travel to one city each in Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, China, Vietnam, and Thailand. The schedules are as followings.

 

Thursday September 1, 2011- Tokyo, Japan

Venue: Hilton Tokyo Hotel  (Address: 6-2 Nishi-Shinjuku 6-chome, Tokyo, Japan)

Time: 15:30 – 21:30

 

Saturday September 3, 2011- Taipei, Taiwan

Venue: Grand Formosa Regent Taipei (Address: 41, Chung Shan North Road Section 2, Taipei, Taiwan)

Time: 9:00 – 16:30

 

Monday September 5, 2011- Seoul, South Korea

Venue: JW Marriott (Address: 19-3 Banpo-dong Seocho-gu, Seoul, 137-040 Korea)

Time: 16:00 – 21:30

 

Wednesday September 7, 2011- Beijing, China

Venue: Peninsula Hotel (Address: 8 Goldfish Lane Wangfujing, Beijing, 100006 China)

Time: 15:45 – 21:30

 

Saturday September 10, 2011- Shanghai, China

Venue: Pudong Shangri-La (Address: 33 Fu Cheng Lu, Pudong, Shanghai 200120 China)

Time: 11:00 – 17:00

 

Monday September 12, 2011- Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Venue: Legend Hotel Saigon (Address: 2A-4A Ton Duc Thang Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam)

Time: 16:00 – 21:30

 

Thursday September 15, 2011- Bangkok, Thailand

Venue: Shangri-La Hotel (Address: 89 Soi Wat Suan Plu, New Road, Bangkok, Thailand)

Time: 16:00 – 21:30

 

For more information, please visit https://www.thembatour.com/

 

For anyone who is interested in MIM program and lives in the aforementioned countries, this would be a great opportunity to talk and discuss with our staff in details. Please come and join us!

Age of Pacific Lecture: “The relationship Polygon” by John Larkin

John Larkin is a recent transplant to the Portland area following a 36 year career, with Kimberly-Clark, in banking and consumer products, seventeen of which involved foreign assignments, with postings in England, Thailand, Korea and India. His lecture is really interesting to both American students who plan to work in Asia/with Asian company and international students who should have a broader perspective on the Americans’ viewpoints.

John began his career in 1972 with the Northern Trust Bank in Chicago where he held the position of Assistant Vice President. In 1978 he left banking to pursue his true career with consumer products giant, Kimberly-Clark Corporation (K-C), joining as Manager of Finance for corporate capital investment activities. He held numerous assignments in the Kimberly-Clark’s finance function, including Director of Business Analysis – Consumer Tissue, before being appointed Staff Vice President to Darwin Smith, CEO, in 1985.

John’s international career kicked off in 1990 in London where he led K-C Europe’s strategic planning function. From 1993 to 1996 he was responsible for business development initiatives in India (Kimberly-Clark Lever-Limited), the Middle East/Israel (Hogla-Kimberly Limited), Turkey and Northern Africa prior to his relocation to Bangkok, Thailand in 1996 as Vice President – Finance & IT for Kimberly-Clark’s Asia-Pacific operations. Following K-C’s reorganization of its Asia-Pacific region, John relocated Seoul, South Korea in 2003 as Vice President – Finance, North Asia and Asia-Pacific IT. He subsequently moved to New Delhi, India in 2007 where he served as Vice President, Partner Relationship Management, overseeing Kimberly-Clark’s ambitious foray into the world of outsourcing involving simultaneous go-lives of five functional towers.

Throughout his career with Kimberly-Clark Mr. Larkin was at the forefront of strategic initiatives including the re-assessment of K-C’s tissue industry presence leading to the revamping of its flagship KLEENEX® brand, rollout of K-C’s premier HUGGIES® diapers in Europe, joint venture development in the Subcontinent and Middle East, and the expansion of Kimberly-Clark’s presence throughout Asia-Pacific.

In his lecture, John advised many crucial points (and all is so true) for creating a good business relationship with Asian partners.

– First, in most Asian countries, relationship leads to business. The good relationship is always a starting point, a central focus, and more important.

– Second, there are some specialties of Asian business relationship including traditional social and family values, cultural fragmentation, non-confrontational communication style, and ever-present role of Hierarchy.

– Third, there is always the language maze so the Americans should concern that Asian partners may understand much less than the Americans expect.

– Fourth, Asians and Americans have a significantly different idea about contract- while Americans use contract as a definitive roadmap, the Asians tend to use it as a way station on a journey.

– Lastly, John provided useful solutions for dealing with Asian partners; 3-S’s- “Slow down/ simplify/ slang free”, extreme sensitivity, intermediaries, and translate key communications.

 

In my opinion, I completely agree with John’s lecture. Plus, I would also like to restate a crucial point to deal with Asian people- “Good deals or best offer is not as important as a good relationship.” In brief, this was another impressive and interesting lecture I had during my MIM course. 😀