The Korea Times

Promoting wellness in Asia

Investment in employee health care to produce sustainable savings By Aon Hewitt The cost of health care in Asia is certain to rise and, therefore, employee health will rise as a priority. Employer’s health care costs in Asia will rise for two basic reasons: the workforce in Asia, especially North Asia, is becoming older and employees are becoming more demanding as their incomes rise. These factors combined with the inability of governments in Asia to pay for it on their own, ensures that higher health care costs for employers combined with the inability of governments in Asia to pay for it on their own, ensures that health care costs for employers in Asia will rise sharply in the years to come. China is a case in point. According to a recent report, between 1995 and 2005, China added 107 million working-age adults to its population. Between 2025 and 2035 though, it is projected to subtract 79 million. In fact, China’s population is aging faster than any other country in the world. In addition, many multinational employers in China have seen the average age of their workf

Dec 2, 2011By Kim Jae-kyoung

Economy

Financial regulation in transition

FSS shifts focus to 'consumer protection' from 'financial stability' By Kim Jae-kyoung The global financial crisis triggered by the U.S. subprime mortgage meltdown in 2008 has changed the landscape of financial markets and regulations. The look of the financial sector has since changed toward “bigger government” and “more regulation.” The Wall Street crisis has exposed inherent flaws of the free market capitalism, forcing financial regulators to fix their financial systems with public money and to find ways to keep markets afloat. One of the biggest lessons from the unprecedented crisis was that financial firms, including investment banks, were prospering at the expense of consumers and the whole financial system. In other words, the crisis has shown how poor standards of consumer protection can spread instability throughout the entire financial system. In short, following the crisis, there has been a major transformation in the financial regulatory scheme worldwide as regulators have shifted the focus of their policies toward “consumer protection” from “financial soun

Nov 27, 2011By Kim Jae-kyoung

Economy

Measure collaboration among employees

By Kim Sang-ik Collaboration is hugely valuable but largely intangible. Most managers today understand the importance of collaboration to the success of their companies. Important outcomes ― revenues, patent approvals, cycle time reduction and client retention ― are associated with collaboration. Moreover, investors regard it as an asset that differentiates frontrunner companies from those in the middle of the pack. Collaboration may never appear on a corporate balance sheet but it directly affects enterprise valuation while knowledge sharing is also the core essence of building smart companies. However, most modern IT infrastructure and mere sharing of knowledge does not automatically make a company smart. Accenture defines the “smart company” as the ultimate company with the collaboration and knowledge sharing culture that encompasses “three C” elements; Connect, Contribute, and Cultivate. “Connect” refers to the connection between people to people, employee and data, data and data. “Contribute” is when one employee shares the process and result of the experienced tri

Nov 27, 2011By Kim Jae-kyoung

Economy

Fostering high-value collaboration

Firms urged to focus on developing human capital, leadership By Accenture The dictionary defines “collaboration” as “working together.” Strictly speaking, then, any work that relies on the cooperation of two or more people would qualify as collaboration. However, there should be a definition that is useful to practicing managers. And, it is essential to highlight the truly distinctive quality of collaboration: the unstructured and voluntary component of working together. Thus, the definition of collaboration should be people working together on things that require negotiation of meaning and order. After reviewing the diversity of work activities one finds in organizations, it’s concluded that there are two defining characteristics to collaboration. The first dimension has to do with purpose or why collaboration is initiated. Sometimes collaboration is instigated by an intentional search. For instance, someone is looking for the solution to a problem or a partner who can provide much needed expertise. The initiator may not know all that she needs, but she knows that she’s got

Nov 27, 2011By Kim Jae-kyoung

Economy

Korean firms urged to focus on software

_ Creating ‘a family of compatible products’ key to competing with Apple _ By Kim Jae-kyoung For most big Korean companies, the biggest issue now is how to turn into innovative leaders from being mere followers in the past. Korea’s manufacturers such as Samsung and LG have emerged as world-class companies by adopting fast follower strategy over the past decades. However, with Apple becoming one of the world’s most powerful companies with its smart products _ iPhone and iPad, _ local players are feeling the urgency to revamp their strategies toward innovators in order not to fall behind. A former senior executive of Apple point out that it is time for leading Korean companies to shift the focus of their strategies to “software and human” sides from “hardware and technology.” “Last 10 years, Korean firms, including Samsung and LG, have become the master of physical hardware development innovation. They took over the role from Sony. I believe they have done a great job,” Jay Elliot, the former senior vice president of operations for Apple, said in an interview with Busine

Nov 21, 2011By Kim Jae-kyoung

Economy

Korea urged to focus on software

Creating ‘a family of compatible products’ key to competing with tech giant Apple By Kim Jae-kyoung For most big Korean companies, the biggest issue now is how to turn into innovative leaders from being mere followers in the past. Korea’s manufacturers such as Samsung and LG have emerged as world-class companies by adopting fast follower strategy over the past decades. However, with Apple becoming one of the world’s most powerful companies with its smart products — iPhone and iPad, local players are feeling the urgency to revamp their strategies toward innovators in order not to fall behind. A former senior executive of Apple pointed out that it is time for leading Korean companies to shift the focus of their strategies to “software and human” sides from “hardware and technology.” “Last 10 years, Korean firms, including Samsung and LG, have become the master of physical hardware development innovation. They took over the role from Sony. I believe they have done a great job,” Jay Elliot, the former senior vice president of operations for Apple, said in an inter

Nov 20, 2011By Kim Jae-kyoung

Economy

Steve Jobs’ secret of success

Eggs inspired late IT guru about iProduct design, functions By Kim Jae-kyoung Christopher Columbus and Steve Jobs. What do these two historical figures have in common? The answer may be simpler than you think: both were visionaries with unlimited creativity. Since they always tried to see beyond what was there, the same words are used to describe both heroes — genius, inventor and innovator. Columbus opened a new chapter of the world’s history in the 15th and early 16th centuries by discovering the Americas, while Jobs, founder and former CEO of Apple, changed the lifestyle of the 21st century by introducing iProducts. Interestingly enough, they have one more thing in common — eggs. Both drew inspiration for creativity and invention from them. While Columbus challenged his critics to make an egg stand on its tip, Jobs challenged himself to get something out of an egg, according to Jay Elliot, former Apple executive and author of “The Steve Jobs Way.” He indicates that Jobs received clues to the design and tactile feel of his innovative products —

Nov 20, 2011By Kim Jae-kyoung

Korean firms urged to focus on software

Economy

No more ‘alternative,’ do it now!

By Yoon Byung-suk There has always been much hype surrounding alternative energy. Yet turning that hype into reality has proven to be rather challenging. Investors, stung by a series of false dawns for the sector, have pulled back further, sensing that alternative energy is destined to remain tomorrow’s story for the foreseeable future. And stakeholders conclude from the ongoing stalemate in global climate talks that there is little shared commitment or sense of urgency regarding the development of energy sources beyond fossil-based fuels. The skeptics are right to say that conventional energy sources will remain the lion’s share of the world’s energy mix for at least the next couple of decades. Yet technologies in some alternative-energy sectors are approaching inflection points in their development and are on a path to becoming viable on a standalone basis, either completely decoupled from subsidy programs or requiring much less assistance. The skeptics are wrong to be so dismissive of the new technology. It is time for them to realize a new reality: several alternative energ

Nov 18, 2011By Kim Jae-kyoung

Economy

Revisiting energy storage

Electricity storage offers a wide range of business opportunities The growth case for using renewable energy (RE) remains very much intact ― the effects of a global economic downturn notwithstanding ― and the prospects for wind and solar photovoltaic (PV) power appear particularly strong. While some markets saw a dip in RE growth rates during the financial crisis in 2009, overall growth continued. Some countries, such as the U.K. and China, have even defined more ambitious growth targets. However, these technologies will have to overcome a key hurdle: the challenge posed by their intermittent nature. Unlike other forms of renewable energy, such as hydropower and geothermal energy, energy generated by wind and solar PV fluctuates. These fluctuations pose a sizable challenge to their integration into the power grid, and their widespread adoption as bona fide mainstream power sources. Strong growth in fluctuating RE generation is producing an increasing need for compensation mechanisms. Once the share of wind and PV has increased to around 20 percent or more of actual electric

Nov 18, 2011By Kim Jae-kyoung

Economy

Won's rally amid external woes?

Local currency expected to remain strong after near-term volatility By Kim Jae-kyoung With the eurozone debt crisis continuing to linger despite European leaders’ efforts to contain it, the Korean won has remained highly volatile against the U.S. dollar. Although Korea’s economic fundamentals are considered strong, investors and market participants here are now paying close attention to the course of the local currency as the epicenter of the crisis, in many previous cases, was outside of the country. Since there are both upside and downside risks to the won-dollar exchange rate, it is hard to forecast how the exchange rate will unfold down the road. However, this time would be different from the past, according to most analysts and experts. Most remain very bullish about won’s future. They share the view that the local currency will show wild ups and downs in the short term due to external uncertainties but is expected to gain ground against the greenback in the long term, possibly appreciating to as strong as 975 per dollar a year from now. “In the m

Nov 13, 2011By Kim Jae-kyoung

Kim Jae-kyoung

Read more

Promoting wellness in Asia

Financial regulation in transition

Measure collaboration among employees

Fostering high-value collaboration

Korean firms urged to focus on software

Korea urged to focus on software

Steve Jobs’ secret of success

No more ‘alternative,’ do it now!

Revisiting energy storage

Won's rally amid external woes?

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