The Korea Times

Global benefits governance

Good governance helps firms facilitate talent mobility, leverage global size By Imran Qureshi When Sarbanes-Oxley Act passed in 2002, the global benefits management landscape in the United States altered dramatically. So much so that the vernacular changed. Before Sarbanes-Oxley, or SOX, multinational corporations (MNCs) talked about global benefits management. Since then, MNCs have been concerned with global benefits governance. Some might consider governance to be roughly equivalent to management, but the difference is important. Management is an act involving supervising, watching and directing. Governance, on the other hand, is a process involving strategy, organizational structure and the distribution of power. It takes into consideration institutions, laws and culture. Quite simply, governance is much more complex and difficult than management. And as markets tumbled during the recent economic crisis and significant inherent risks in benefit plans were once again exposed, many companies saw a need to reexamine their global governance structures. What is good gov

Dec 25, 2011By Kim Jae-kyoung

Economy

12 crucial consumer trends for 2012

Korea taks lead in ‘SCREEN CULTURE’ trend By Kim Jae-kyoung In 2012, much as in previous years, some brands may be staring into the abyss, while others will do exuberantly well. Due to lingering uncertainties caused by the slowing U.S. economy and the debt crisis in Europe, the outlook for the global economy next year remains bleak. Global trend firm Trendwatching.com, however, claims that there are more opportunities than ever for creative brands and entrepreneurs to deliver on changing consumer needs if they are able to read new trends. The company has recently unveiled 12 must-know consumer trends that will dominate global retail markets in the next 12 months ― 1) Red carpet; 2) DIY Health; 3) Dealer-Chic; 4) Eco-Cycology; 5) Cahs-less; 6) Bottom of the urban pyramid; 7) Idle sourcing; 8) Flawsome; 9) Screen culture; 10) Recommerce; 11) Emerging maturialism; and 12) Point and know. In an interview with Business Focus, Henry Mason, head of Research and Analysis at Trendwatching.com, said that watching trends is all about inspiring successful innovations and unlockin

Dec 18, 2011By Kim Jae-kyoung

Economy

What does ’luxury’ mean?

By Michael Bang We’ve heard about trends regarding income equality for years now ― the collapse of the middle class. Rich gets richer and it is very important to deliver values to those who are willing to spend money on what they are attracted to and have financial resources to do so. However, it has not been well noted that those better-off customers show different characteristics by demographic groups and I’d like to point out important customer trends to understand these upper-income customers. First, the types of products higher-income customers pursue are different country by country according to the stage of economic development and culture. For example, in developing countries such as China and Russia where the economy is generating thousands of millionaires on a daily basis, people want to show off their wealth and they look for luxury goods which can serve these needs. Indeed, luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton or Prada, whose brand logo or “monogram” pattern can be recognized 15 meters away, are doing better in these countries than other more subtle luxu

Dec 18, 2011By Kim Jae-kyoung

Economy

Minding the gap

Widening income inequality suggest more intensely competitive environment By Ira Kalish For many decades prior to the 1970s, income distribution in the U.S. was relatively steady. Yet, starting in the early 1970s, something changed. The share of the adult population with university degrees stopped growing, even though the demand for highly skilled workers continued to rise. The result was that the less educated saw their wages stagnate while the educated experienced sizable income gains. In the first decade of the 21st century, as home prices rose precipitously, millions of American households took advantage of the opportunity to borrow against the increased value of their homes. Many Americans dramatically increased their debt, and lower income households increased debt by the largest percentage of any income cohort. This enabled them to expand their consumption even though their real incomes were not rising. In the aftermath of the global financial crisis, it will likely be a long time before the wealth lost in the housing market is restored. As of this writing, millio

Dec 18, 2011By Kim Jae-kyoung

Economy

Microsoft: a platform for competitiveness

By Ernst & Young The dissemination of technology in rapid-growth markets has been a vital catalyst of entrepreneurship and economic growth. But despite considerable progress in recent years at bridging the digital divide, access to technology in rapid-growth markets remains well below levels in developed markets. According to a 2007 report from Euromonitor, lower-income countries account for just one-third of total broadband subscribers worldwide. Josh Nash, a senior strategist at Microsoft, has seen an evolution in thinking on the digital divide in recent years. ``A few years ago, the hypothesis was that if you gave somebody a computer, they would figure out how to turn that into an opportunity which would lead to economic growth,’’ he says. ``I think over the course of time we realized there needs to be more to the equation than that.’’ Instead, companies like Microsoft increasingly see their role as providing a more holistic set of tools that will enable innovation to take place. Hardware and software form part of this, but there are also important roles for a broader

Dec 12, 2011By Kim Jae-kyoung

Economy

Toyota Scion’s revolution

How Japanese automaker transformed to create new business model By Emi Osono In many industries, the prevailing model is being challenged by an all-new business model. A most recent example of this is “iTunes” in the music delivery industry. Pharmaceutical companies are looking into the possibilities of customized drugs. Automobile manufacturers are thinking about how to make a car part of the home’s energy management system. Sometimes, a company must undergo a transformation because the new business model requires new capabilities. Let me introduce Toyota’s Scion, a model launched in the U.S. in 2004 and targeted at the youth segment. This new auto model was one of the first to successfully appeal to “Generation Y,” the children of baby boomers ― born between 1980 and 1994. This segment is large, but difficult to attract youngsters who have been exposed to mass marketing since childhood, and are not easily convinced. Moreover, they do not like to shop for cars. Many Americans do not enjoy car shopping, but this generation is even less tolerant to it than most.

Dec 11, 2011By Kim Jae-kyoung

Economy

How to capitalize on this opportunity?

By Jeong Young-moo Over the next two decades, rising per capita wealth in rapid-growth markets will generate a significant growth opportunity for multinational companies. Understanding this market, and developing products and services that meet its needs, will therefore become a strategic priority that cannot be ignored. Currently, the middle class in Asia alone numbers some 525 million people. Between now and 2030, an additional three billion people globally will enter this income bracket. And this offers companies a rare and highly valuable opportunity to seize a new market of unprecedented size ― by thinking differently about how they innovate. Companies that downplay its importance, and only keep focusing on traditional premium markets in developed economies, will not just miss out on this massive opportunity but also find themselves increasingly disrupted by agile new competitors in their home markets. And this cannot be an exception for South Korean enterprises. Innovating for the next three billion, then, will not just mean the establishment of a rapid-growth marke

Dec 11, 2011By Kim Jae-kyoung

Economy

Innovating for new purchasing power

Population in middle-class income bracket set to triple by 2030 By Ernst & Young Companies will need to change their strategic direction to capitalize on new demands from a fast-growing global middle class, particularly in emerging markets. And this will involve creating entirely new products and services if they are to truly innovate and grow. These are the main recommendations from a new Ernst & Young report, ``Innovating for the next three billion: The rise of the global middle class,’’ based on a survey of 547 executives worldwide and in-depth interviews with some of world-leading entrepreneurs. The survey highlights that the majority of companies from developed economies currently direct most of their energies and activities towards the premium end of the market in their main high-growth segments. Even among high-performing companies in these markets, that proportion remains as high as 40 percent. This focus on luxury goods, however, will have to change. With the new middle-income customers expected to grow by three billion by 2030, representing a growth in

Dec 11, 2011By Kim Jae-kyoung

Economy

Power of ’positive thinking’

Woongjin shows how innovative spirit turns crisis into opportunity By Kim Jae-kyoung Every business has its ups and downs. What ensures success in business is how companies manage to weather turbulent times. In other words, only those able to turn crisis into opportunity can survive and prosper in the long term. The Chinese word for crisis consists of two characters: one meaning danger, and the other representing opportunity. This implies that a crisis and an opportunity aren’t that different and they tend to coincide at the same time. Successful leaders are well aware that key factors in determining the fate of firms are not the challenge itself but how to address it. History shows that a mishandled opportunity can turn into a crisis, while a well-managed crisis can offer a better chance. When coming across a challenge, good leaders do not treat it as a crisis because they know that it will only make them live in fear. They instead take bold and courageous action to make the situation work in their favor when everyone tends to shrink into oblivion. Woongjin Group

Dec 11, 2011By Kim Jae-kyoung

Yoon Seok-keum and#8212; sales king

Economy

End of expansion?

Economy passing a peak point; set to slide into contraction By Kim Jae-kyoung For policymakers, it is extremely important to correctly analyze and assess the state of the economy as a wrong diagnosis results in the wrong prescription, which could cause significant consequences for the country, such as a prolonged contraction and high inflation. In this regard, policymakers and investors are always paying close attention to the so-called business cycle, which shows where the economy is heading. The cycle tends to exhibit a pattern — an expansion, a peak, a contraction and a trough. Depending on which phase the economy stays in, the financial authorities shift the focus of their policies. Correct analysis of economic developments makes it possible for them to take policy actions in a preemptive manner so that unwanted shocks can be prevented. The business cycle has emerged as one of the hottest topics here after the Bank of Korea (BOK) released on Nov. 29 the minutes of its October monetary policy committee meeting where a couple of members voiced concerns over Asi

Dec 4, 2011By Kim Jae-kyoung

Kim Jae-kyoung

Read more

Global benefits governance

12 crucial consumer trends for 2012

What does ’luxury’ mean?

Minding the gap

Microsoft: a platform for competitiveness

Toyota Scion’s revolution

How to capitalize on this opportunity?

Innovating for new purchasing power

Power of ’positive thinking’

End of expansion?

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