JUNE- JULY 2013
Bi-monthly Magazine | Issue 16
ENGINEERING YOUR FUTURE Dr Teh Peh Chiong Head of Programme, Master of Engineering (Electronic Systems)
More in this issue: ISSN 2232-0342
9772232034009
Prof. Ir. Dr. Chung Boon Kuan Dr. Khaw Chwin Chieh
Head of Programme, Master of Engineering (Electrical) Chairperson of Centre for Communication Systems and Networks
Head of Programme, Master of Engineering (Mechanical)
9th Malaysia of
Festival the
MIND Read more inside:
National Transformation from a Theory of Everything based on Advanced Simplicity and Sophistication : Emeritus Professor Han Chun Kwong Phd (Cambridge) Faculty of Economics and Management Univeristy Putra Malaysia
PATTERNS OF BUSINESS MODELS : Dr Hendry HS Ng and KS Senerath De Silva FACON Education Fair : WORLD CLASS INSTITUTIONS AT FACON EDUCATION FAIR! PP17103/16/2013 (030736) 2013 Issue 16/ 2013 June/July RM7.00
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National Transformation from a Theory of Everything based on Advanced Simplicity and Sophistication Emeritus Professor Han Chun Kwong Phd (Cambridge) Faculty of Economics and Management Univeristi Putra Malaysia 3
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EDITOR’S
EDITORIAL TEAM Editor: Alexandra Wong Writers: Lee, Michael Contributors: Chin Kok San, Kok Chin Chai, Dr Silvaghami, Jocelyn Lee, Prashanth, Julian John, Choong Hoe Ming, Teoh Chin Heng, Subash Chandra Poudel, Teh Choy Yit Photographer: Mccain Photography Graphic Designer: Nazir Tay PUBLISHER Penerbit Wawasan Nusa (M) Sdn Bhd (866716-P), Wisma Wawasan, 19-2 Jalan PJS 8/12, Dataran Mentari, Bandar Sunway, 46150 Petaling Jaya, Malaysia Tel: 603-56301802, Fax: 603-6301803, Email: info@pwn.com.my, penerbitwawasan@gmail.com Website: www.pwn.com.my PRINTER BS Print (M) Sdn Bhd No 10 Jalan Indrahana 1, Off Jalan Kuchai Lama, 58200 KL, Malaysia Distribute by MPH Distributors Sdn Bhd
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When I saw the list of high-profile academicians slated for our latest issue, I was immediately intrigued. Would they prove to be high-faluters who live in ivory towers? Thankfully, my fears were unfounded, for they turned out to be approachable, practicalminded gentlemen who have their feet firmly on the ground and a down-to-earth view of the world, even though they may be shouldering a pretty heavy responsibility. Academicians have a tough job. As Prof. Ir. Dr. Chung Boon Kuan puts it, “An academician must be seen not only as a knowledgeable individual but a wise person with an open mind, able to unlearn and relearn; committed to life-long learning, not limiting himself to a narrow scope of knowledge; resourceful; and able to contribute to technological advancements in his field of expertise.” Is it any surprise that in an annual job-rating report, the position of a university professor was rated as an extremely highstress job? You’ll enjoy reading the lively three-way banter between Prof Ir Dr Chung, Dr. Khaw Chwin Chieh and Dr Teh Peh Chiong, all
EDITOR’S NOTE
NOTE respective heads of programme from UTAR’s engineering department. They discuss a range of provocative issues that concern the engineering field, both from an academic and real-world perspective. Find out how engineers, with their foundation in electrical theories and analytical skills acquired from the rigorous engineering training, are able to pursue a broad range of exciting careers, beyond the engineering industry. In their jointly written article, KS Senerath De Silva and Dr Hendry HS Ng provide a holistic approach of looking at business models, i.e. through the lenses of systems thinking and complexity science. We’re also fortunate to have Professor Han Chun Kwong, senior professor from the Faculty of Economics and Management Putra Malaysia, to share with us his views about approaching national transformation from the perspective of “theory of everything”. To paraphrase one of our interviewees, this issue is a huge warehouse of insider knowledge and insights. May you have an enriching read. I know I did.
Alexandra Wong
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CONTENTS
COVER STORY
08
ENGINEERING YOUR FUTURE
Dr Teh Peh Chiong
Professor, Faculty of Engineering and Science Head of Programme, Master of Engineering (Electrical) , Chairperson of Centre for Communication Systems and Networks
Dr. Khaw Chwin Chieh Assistant Professor, Faculty of Engineering and Science Head of Programme, Master of Engineering (Mechanical)
CONTENTS
Assistant Professor Head of Programme, Master of Engineering (Electronic Systems)
Prof. Ir. Dr. Chung Boon Kuan
Highlights 36
9th Malaysia Festival of the MIND
42
FACON Education Fair WORLD CLASS INSTITUTIONS AT FACON EDUCATION FAIR!
Featuring 20
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National Transformation from a Theory of Everything based on Advanced Simplicity and Sophistication Emeritus Professor Han Chun Kwong Phd (Cambridge) Faculty of Economics and Management Univeristi Putra Malaysia PATTERNS OF BUSINESS MODELS Dr Hendry HS Ng and KS Senerath De Silva
CONTENTS
SHOWCASE
49
Featuring
Interviews
43
18 19 26
CONNECTING COMMUNITIES Starbucks® Commits In Giving Back To The Local Origins Of Malaysia
27 34
21 Universities Educational Tour Dato’ Michael Tio Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director PKT Logistics Sdn Bhd TM One Logistics Hub
Chin Kok San Kok Chin Chai Dr Sivaghami Palaniveloo Jocelyn Lee Prashanth Martin
35 46 47 62 63
Jullian John Choong Joe Ming Teoh Chin Heng Subash Chandra Poudel Teh Choy Yit 9
COVER STORY
Dr Teh Peh Chiong
Assistant Professor
Administrative Post: Head of Programme, Master of Engineering (Electronic Systems) Qualification: Doctor of Philosophy (Optoelectronics), University of Southampton Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) (Electrical and Electronic Engineering) University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST)
Prof. Ir. Dr. Chung Boon Kuan
Professor, Faculty of Engineering and Science Administrative Post: Head of Programme, Master of Engineering (Electrical) Chairperson of Centre for Communication Systems and Networks Qualification: Doctor of Philosophy (Engineering), Multimedia University Master of Engineering Science (Microwave Remote Sensing), Universiti Malaya Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) (Electrical), Universiti Malaya Professional Qualification: PEng, MIEM
Dr. Khaw Chwin Chieh Assistant Professor, Faculty of Engineering and Science
Administrative Post: Head of Programme, Master of Engineering (Mechanical) Qualification: Doctor of Philosophy (Material Chemistry), Universiti Putra Malaysia Bachelor of Science (Hons) Industrial Chemistry, Universiti Putra Malaysia Professional Qualification : MIMM Dr Khaw received the BSc (Hons) degree in 2003 and his PhD in the field of Materials Chemistry from UPM in year 2007. He is currently the assistant professor in Faculty of Engineering and Science, UTAR. His research interest is in electroceramics and solar cell. He was a visiting postdoctoral in Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Sheffield, UK, in the year of 2007.
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COVER STORY
By Alexandra Wong
ENGINEERING YOUR FUTURE
W
hat types of engineers will be highly sought after in the future? Which are the most lucrative industries for prospective graduates? Most importantly, how do you position yourself to take advantage of these opportunities? In this three-way dialogue, Postgraduate Studies MEB poses these burning questions to Prof. Ir. Dr. Chung Boon Kuan, Dr. Khaw Chwin Chieh and Dr Teh Peh Chiong, heads of their respective programmes from UTAR.
Q1 What does it take for graduates to be globally competitive? In today’s challenging global working environment, graduates need to be comfortable working in a multi-disciplinary team, contributing and providing solutions to challenging problems, in order to be globally competitive. In addition to good technical skills, the graduates must also possess holistic attributes. They also need to be analytical, flexible, dynamic and able to handle a broad range of subjects, not just technical but managerial as well.
Graduates will be globally competitive if they have an analytical mind and are able to deprecate intellectual subjects. They must not follow blindly but be critical of everything that they learn. Of course, there are also other attributes which are important: the ability to communicate, be committed to present themselves and their works in a professional manner, right morality, leadership skill, the ability to think and act as an individual and a team player, the ability to unlearn
and relearn, have an understanding of economic history and a sense of current world economy, hardworking, and have a healthy lifestyle. It is essential that graduates possess a strong innovation/ creativity and problem-solving skills. With these two skills, together with their knowledge in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, they should excel in diverse working environments. 11
COVER STORY
Q2. Share with us your own postgraduate experience and how it helped you in your career. I did my PhD in the United Kingdom. Being in a foreign country away from Malaysia, I learnt to be independent and focused on my postgraduate research so that I could complete the PhD in 3 years. During my time as a research student, I gained many valuable experiences and knowledge from working together with researchers from other countries and actively participating in valuable discussions during meetings, seminars or conferences. These qualities have helped me tremendously during my career when working in the industry. Upon graduation, I returned to Malaysia. I started work in a R&D company in KL, before moving to a fiber-optic manufacturing company. I was there for five years before joining the UTAR in year 2010. In the industry, often I need to work with many different groups of people, from different parts of the globe, so I need to be able to be a team player and able to help solve engineering problems.
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My postgraduate experience is one which emphasizes a lot on independent study and work. I rarely seek advice or guidance from my supervisor. And I believe that is the way it should be. A postgraduate student must learn to be independent; he must determine what he needs to know, find the material to study, critique the methods used in research, innovate new ideas and new ways of doing things, search and garner the required resources to get the job done, make the necessary judgments and decisions, and communicate the results clearly to prove the learning outcomes to the supervisor and international peers. These attributes helped me to become an independent thinker who is able to deprecate intellectual subjects and innovate new ideas. The 4 years of PhD study, both locally and overseas – with a few months in UK - was a wonderful learning and training experience. It trained me to be a more innovative and independent person. I am better at planning and conducting research in solving various challenging tasks. These are skills I never learned during my undergraduate study, thus it benefits me tremendously in my current job as a lecturer.
A postgraduate student must learn to be independent; he must determine what he needs to know, find the material to study, critique the methods used in research, innovate new ideas and new ways of doing things
COVER STORY
Q3. What was the thesis of your doctorate paper? My thesis was titled “Application of superstructure fibre Bragg gratings for Optical Code Division Multiple Access and Packet Switched Networks”. This thesis describes the research on the implementation of all-optical code generation and recognition based on superstructure fibre Bragg grating (SSFBG) for use in Optical Code Division Multiple Access (OCDMA) systems and also in high-speed alloptical packet switched networks.
My doctorate thesis is on the Modelling, Design and Construction of a Multipurpose Anechoic Chamber.
Q4. What should we consider while choosing an educational faculty to do our postgraduate studies? In postgraduate studies such as Master by coursework, you should consider the quality of the programme, the strength of the lecturers and their industrial experiences, and the facilities available. You should also consider if the faculty has strong industrial links with related companies so that you can start or extend your career with these companies upon graduation. In our UTAR Master of Engineering in Electronic Systems, we have strong links with various top electronics factories in Penang, e.g. Intel, Agilent, Venture, Osram, Infineon, etc. Also, the cost of the programme is an important factor.
The first thing to consider is the competency of the professors in terms of his journal publications and his understanding of the subject matters that you want to work on. Although the available research facility is important, it is not always necessary. Doing hands-on experiment is technically a technician’s job whereas the gist of postgraduate research is the intellectual ideas. Albert Einstein and many Nobel Prize winners did not need any sophisticated research facility. Of course, some researchers could use trial-and-error methods, mixing different chemicals, get some new substances by accident, and obtain their postgraduate degree or publish a few journal papers. It is just another route of research.
I studied the structure and electrical properties of electroceramic materials, particularly dielectric materials, which would be applied in materials such as capacitors.
“You should also
consider if the faculty has strong industrial links with related companies so that you can start or extend your career with these companies upon graduation
”
Choose a faculty that promotes a high research culture among their staff and students. The lecturers are one of the paramount considerations; they must be knowledgeable in their fields so as to be capable of providing suitable guidance to their students. It is also good if the faculty is well equipped with good facilities for postgraduate studies. 13
COVER STORY
Q5. What sort of opportunities await students in this field today? How broadly varied can a career in engineering be? As a graduate in electronic engineering (whether it is undergraduate or postgraduate), they can work with multi-national companies (MNCs) or small medium enterprises (SMEs). Job prospects for positions such as design engineer, process engineer, production engineer, R&D engineer, service engineer, etc that are related to the electronic industries are available for electronic engineering graduates. Very good engineers can command a high salary, as their knowledge and skills will be an asset to the company. A career in engineering can be very broad. With this qualification, they can also pursue careers in oil & gas, consulting, commerce and business, software and IT or continue as researchers, scientists or even join the academics.
Dr. Teh Peh Chiong, Assistant Professor and also Head of Programme, Master of Engineering (Electronic Systems in University Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR)
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In the field of electrical engineering, there is an increasing need to use renewable energy to address the escalating demand for energy. Graduates with the required skills and knowledge are highly sought after for positions in designing sustainable systems for electricity generation, transmission, and distribution for better operational safety and efficiency. Graduates of electrical engineering can also contribute in the growing requirement to reduce energy
consumption and produce less environmental pollution in new electrical product design and innovation, transport system development, industrial automation and control. Students in the mechanical field can work in a broad range of industries, e.g. education, consultancy, manufacturing, semiconductor, banking, business, etc. Of course, with a postgraduate degree, it would be an added value to help advance their future career.
COVER STORY
Q6. Which sectors/industries are in high demand for graduates from this field? The electronics industry, including MNCs and SMEs, are continuously looking for new employees. Our UTAR Master of Engineering in Electronic Systems focuses mainly on Embedded System and Integrated Circuit Design knowledge, which are currently in demand within the electronics industry.
good engineers “ Very can command a
high salary, as their knowledge and skills will be an asset to the company.
�
Electrical engineers are in high demand in almost all manufacturing sectors to deal with the electrical infrastructure of the factories, not only in its daily operation and periodic maintenance but also in innovation and decision making on the needs to upgrade the electrical infrastructure for better energy efficiency, sustainable development, use of renewable energy sources for cost saving and energy security, and improvement of process efficiency. Electrical engineers are also in high demand in the electrical consultancy services industry to design the systems for power generation, transmission, distribution, integration
Prof. Ir. Chung Boon Kuwan, Faculty of Engineering and Science. He is also the Head of Programme, Master of Engineering (Electrical) and Chairperson of Centre for Communication Systems and Networks in University Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR)
with distributed renewable energy generators, and design and upgrading of electrical infrastructures for factories, hospitals, high-rise buildings, shopping malls, etc., including the safety and security monitoring and early warning systems. Electrical engineers can also work in the research and innovation of electrical devices, circuits, equipments, and systems. With their foundation in electrical theories and analytical skills acquired from the rigorous engineering training, electrical engineers are able to pursue an extensive and exciting range of electronic engineering industries and other professional careers. Industries in which R&D are highly promoted and encouraged by our government. Dr. Khaw Chwin Chieh is an Assistant Professor, Faculty of Engineering and Science and also Head of Programme, Master of Engineering (Mechanical) in University Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR)
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COVER STORY
Q7. What are the biggest challenges that academics face in your faculty? Our biggest challenge is always time management. We need to juggle our time between lecturing and conducting research, as well as applying for research grants. Some of the academicians are also involved in external consultancy with MNCs or SMEs. The job of university academics is not just teaching but also to do research. A good academician must be able to teach as well as to inspire the students on what is expected of a good engineer. An academician must be seen not only as a knowledgeable individual but a wise person with an open mind, able to unlearn and relearn; committed to life-long learning, not limiting himself to a narrow scope of knowledge; resourceful; and able to contribute to technological advancements in his field of expertise. He must be able to make the students see and embrace the wisdom that a university degree is
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not merely a paper qualification to gain employment but also to impress the employers with their capabilities, values, and performance on the job, for their career progression and, most importantly, for self-satisfaction. If an academician only knows what he learnt at the university, how can he possibly be inspirational without misrepresentation? Therefore, the biggest challenge that academics face is to display leadership quality by being an example of a good engineer. Technology available today is more than has ever been utilised at any moment of time. It’s like it is stored in a huge warehouse. The hands of the scientists reach into this warehouse of ideas, pull out a piece of technology and try it out to see if it can succeed or if it will fail. After two centuries of stimulated interest in technology, the warehouse is becoming depleted. And the challenge for academics to pull out new ideas is getting tougher every day.
“Electrical engineers
can also work in the research and innovation of electrical devices, circuits, equipments, and systems
�
Time and stress management. All academicians face the challenge to manage their time for teaching, conducting research, supervision of undergraduates and postgraduates, publication of scholarly papers and books and all sorts of administrative work. In an annual job-rating report by careercast.com in US, the position of a university professor was rated as an extremely high-stress job; thus stress management is very critical.
COVER STORY
Q8. How does your IHL ensure that its syllabus stays up to date with industry developments? To stay up to date with the industry, we regularly review and update our syllabus, especially the electives. These changes are overseen and reviewed by our Industrial Advisory Panel (IAP) members, many of whom are key technicians/engineers in the electronic engineering industry. There is a saying that “research is converting money to idea; innovation is converting idea to money”. Innovation does not necessarily need advanced technology; it could be a cool design or a new fun way to swing. And it may not necessarily involve a lot of knowledge in the sciences and mathematics. On the other hand, research always means new and advanced knowledge; solving complex problems reaching substantiated conclusions using first principles of mathematics and sciences. It always starts off without an obvious solution or any certainty
of producing any useful result. It requires abstract thinking and originality in analysis to formulate suitable models. It is for this very reason that university students are required to go through torturous training in fundamental sciences and mathematics. But, what the industry wants most of the time is innovation, i.e. converting ideas to money. Hence, in the revision of a syllabus, IHL must be careful to balance between the right set of skills that the students need in the future in order to contribute to technological advancement and what the industry wants i.e. job readiness, so that students can start making money for the companies after graduation. Academics must keep abreast of the latest technologies through wide reading of journals and magazines. At the same time, we should also listen to industry players through regular consultations and project collaboration meetings.
Staff members are encouraged to attend seminars, talks and forums conducted by industrial experts and have collaboration research/projects with the industry to incorporate the latest knowledge that they learn into the syllabus to benefit students. Besides that, we also have experienced industry advisory panel (IAP) members who provide us valuable input and advice on the latest developments in their related industry to help us in improving our syllabus. The feedback from employers obtained through the Employers’ Survey from time to time will be utilised for the syllabus improvement.
Students in the “mechanical field can work in a broad range of industries,
”
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COVER STORY
Q9. What is your advice for students entering Postgraduate programmes? Select the programmes which you have keen interest in and are relevant to your current or intended career. You must be able to cope – hence, good time management - and complete the programme within the stipulated time. You will need to be independent and group studies are strongly encouraged.
For students entering postgraduate programs, they must have a clear vision of how they want to transform themselves. Postgraduate programs always mean advanced training of the mind or cognitive competency rather than psychomotor skill. They must act as a knowledge seeker who is eager to learn as much as they can from multiple sources rather than a textbook. They must learn to be independent, and see that they have transformed themselves into an independent thinker who is able to deprecate intellectual subjects at the end of the programs.
Be prepared to step into a whole new environment as compared to undergraduate study. Grab the opportunity to gain as much experience as possible that you won’t gain elsewhere.
“Academics must
keep abreast of the latest technologies through wide reading of journals and magazines.
Q10. On a personal note, what is your educational philosophy? As Thomas Edison said, “Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.” Never stop trying to achieve your dreams. The most important educational philosophy that I preach is: freedom of the mind. Students must be encouraged to think out of the box, deprecate everything that they learn, and do not assume everything in the book or journal is correct. They must be allowed to make good decisions as well as bad ones. They will then be able to come out with new ideas.
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It’s life-long learning. Have a hunger for knowledge, as knowledge is power. Henry Ford said, “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.”
”
COVER STORY
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INTERVIEWS
Chin Kok San Personal Assistant
What made you want to study an MBA? The quality of its courses and lectures. I believe UTAR MBA will provide me with the personal development, professional skills, and
University : Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR)
networking to take me up the career ladder.
What inspires you? People who start from scratch.
Favorite Quote
“Don’t lie to me unless you are absolutely sure that I will never find the truth.” “Don’t think you’re the best when you are at the top, don’t think that you’re the worst when you’re at the bottom.”
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Brief Job Description : I organize and manage my CEO’s diary, email account and appointments; take dictation and minutes; and carry background research and present findings.
INTERVIEWS
Kok Chin Chai Project Engineer University: Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman
What do you consider the best takeaway value from your postgraduate programme?
(UTAR)
Having the opportunity to explore new ideas, the skills to conduct research, the methodological innovation. Also, making use of the platform to equip us with technical knowledge and analytical skills to transform our creativity into practical goals in our career path.
Brief Job Description As a Project Engineer with over 20 years’ experience in overseeing projects involving M&E works beginning from conceptual design to implementation, I carry out supervision and oversee works installation, find solutions and recommend measures in solving problems, and ensure projects are completed on time and to customer’s budget and requirements.
What is your advice to prospective postgraduate students to prepare for this programme? A student must work hard and independently. With the right mindset and strong determination, you can achieve your goal.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years? In 5 years time, I want to see that my personal career development achievement is at the highest level and I would like to contribute my professional technical expertise to this growing industry.
What is your motto in life?
“If he can do it, so can I.”
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FEATURING
National Transformation from a Theory of Everything based on Advanced Simplicity and Sophistication
P
ostgraduate Studies MBE speaks to Professor Han Chun Kwong, senior professor from the Faculty of Economics and Management University Putra Malaysia, about approaching national transformation from the perspective of “theory of everything”.
Han Chun Kwong, Professor (VK6) from the Faculty of Economics and Management, Universiti Putra Malaysia, has a PhD in information technology from Cambridge University’s Engineering Department. Since 2012, Han has been Emeritus Professor, Techno India University. His managerial experiences include stints in Multimedia Development Corporation (Borderless Marketing), Centre for Research on Information Management and Policy Action, and Electronic University at Universiti Putra Malaysia. He played a key role in government policy initiatives including the drafting of national and state-level ICT blueprints. He is the Founding President of Customer Relationship Management and Contact Centre Association of Malaysia, and Management Science/Operations Research Society of Malaysia. He was President, Association of Asian Pacific Operational Research Societies from 2007 to 2009. His research papers have appeared in key local and international journals.
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FEATURING
Q1. In your abstract in several international conferences, you say that the Government has been taking a radically new approach to national transformation in the past three years. How is their approach different from yesteryear’s? Four years ago, the government announced it was taking a new approach by applying the “transformation” tag to all its initiatives. The Government Transformation Programme was initiated in 2009, followed by the New Economic Model and Economic Transformation Programme (and subsequently political and rural transformation) in 2010; and recently, the Transformation Budget 2012 announced the National Transformation Policy. Actually, “transformation” has been a recurring pervasive principle among all the Malaysian public sector initiatives — beginning with the Multimedia Super Corridor in the mid-1990s, then the knowledgebased and innovation economies, and subsequently the regional development corridors in the 2000s. My professorial inaugural lecture in 2003 - entitled “Transformation or Business as Usual?” - was about transformation at the nationallevel mega project through the
At this stage, transformation can be perceived as at the inception stage; implementing the various programmes will be a long continuous journey to achieve the target of a developed country by 2020. Inception is characterized by acts of birth, evolution, inspiration and illumination.
Multimedia Super Corridor, statelevel K-ICT Blueprint in Penang and industry-level outsourcing and contact centres. The concepts sounded radical and new because implementation occurred in a conventional manner - given the extant institutional framework – and success was on a modest scale, rather than great.
In the ELLTA conference in December 2012, his presentation was “Again, Transformation or Business as Usual?”
Under the leadership of Dato’ Seri Najib Razak, affirmative action has been re-evaluated. It is now deemed obsolete and needs to be demolished. Many oppressive colonial-era laws, such as the ISA, were repealed. Liberalizing reforms were made with the strategic intent of achieving 1Malaysia in order to promote a multi-ethnic Malaysia. Various transformation initiatives were introduced to break out from the middle-income trap. Transformation implies drastic and critical major changes. It is a longterm progressive journey to 2020. The recent re-election of the Barisan Nasional enables the various transformation programmes to be continued and reap the benefits to the nation over the next few years. Pemandu, with the help of an international consulting company, designed the new transformation model, which we know as Vision 2020. To help the public understand transformation policy and programmes, Pemandu has been heavily educating the public through various media channels. 23
FEATURING
Q2. What is your view on national transformation? The strategic intent of the National Transformation Initiative was to ensure that the country will achieve the status of a developed nation by 2020. The transformation programmes were developed for a time frame of 10 years. Presently, we are at the inception period. This conclusion is based on the recent 2012 annual progress reports, in which the initial successes were benchmarked against the achievement of KPIs and set targets.
Q3. You’ve chosen the movie Cloud Atlas as the framework to explain your theory. Why?
“Theory of everthing” (ToE) is a concept that had been used in the management studies and social sciences in the last two decades. However, whenever I write or speak about the need of a theory of everything for National
24
Transformation, people get confused about the terminology. So I created a new slide to inform people through the movie “Cloud Atlas” based on David Mitchell’s 2004 novel and released in November 2012 via the reference
Eakin, E., (2012). Cloud Atlas’s Theory of Everything, The New York Review of Books, 2 November. The theoretical model of Pemandu that underpinned the transformation programmes is the “Doing and
FEATURING
Being” or Yin Yang Model. But practitioners implementing the programmes are influenced by their prior experiences and theoriesin-use besides espousing the Doing and Being principles. As an academician, I offer another way of seeing and doing transformation using a ToE based on simplicity and sophistication. The extant national transformation model of Doing and Being or Yin Yang is a model of simplicity. As Malaysian academicians, we have a significant role to provide thought leadership in developing a theory of everything by combining the Doing and Being with a sophisticated model based on an understanding the complexity of human behavior. I am providing a model of sophistication based on an enhanced framework of critical practice. We define critical practice
as an iterative reflexive process, firstly by developing knowledge-forunderstanding from a sophisticated model of reality based on the practitioners’ thoughts, actions, processes and structures. Secondly, we provide a critique of underpinning assumptions and presumptions whereby the constraining conditions of the status quo and emancipation become knowable and explicit, that is, knowledge-for-evaluation. Thirdly, we re-create, re-define, re-design, re-imagine, re-invent and re-vision the pragmatic, doable and implementable programmes from knowledge-for-action. This theory of everything provides a new vigorous theoretical model to review and redesign the practical methodology for implementation success of the national transformation programmes.
“ The strategic
intent of the National Transformation Initiative was to ensure that the country will achieve the status of a developed nation by 2020
”
Note that a ToE is generally a sophisticated model, and hence using any of the ToEs have been difficult, even in the West. To the best of our knowledge, there is no user in Malaysia or any other Asian countries of any of the theories in our ToE.
Q4. How can academic institutions play their roles more effectively in producing thought leaders - as opposed to robotic followers - for the nation? Thought leadership is a management terminology first coined by Joel Kurtzman in 1994 when he was founding editor-inchief of the Booz Allen Hamilton magazine, Strategy & Business. Kurtzman was also once the Editorin-Chief of the Harvard Business Review. There are 2 categories of thought leadership, namely academic thought leadership and practitioner thought leadership. To provide thought leadership, we first need to be critical, per
my definition of critical theory and practice above. Doing and Being of the Pemandu’s Transformation Programmes is a model of simplicity. Doing and Being needs to be complemented by the sophisticated model of being
critical. Being critical can only be accomplished by understanding one’s own interpretive schemes or model, social intelligence, emotional intelligence and cultural intelligence, and the institutional structures that enable implementable actions. 25
FEATURING
At GeGF 2012, Prof Han explained how he combined the Korean idea of “Advanced Simplicity” from Prof Sung Joo Park, Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) with a Model of Sophistication based on Critical Practice. Korea has been ranked No. 1 in e-Government in the world.
“We need both professors in
the traditional academic sense and practice professors Q5. A recurring grouse is that Malaysian students don’t have a global mindset. What’s a short term and long-term remedy to this conundrum? The education system has been about getting all As. Hence students focus on academic excellence, rather than nurturing an interest that is not directly to their examinations. But today, social media provides an easy vehicle to develop a global mindset. 26
”
Q6. It’s been said that academicians live in a ivory tower detached from the real world. What is your response to that? Getting promoted in the academic world is based on getting published in top-ranked academic journals. But business schools need both professors in the traditional academic sense and practice professors, a title currently used
in some top business schools. Practice professors are high-level practitioners in the business community who would share their experiences in the real business world, rather than concepts from textbooks.
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INTERVIEWS
Dr Sivaghami Palaniveloo Assistant Medical Director, PM Care Sdn Bhd
What made you want to study an MBA?
University :
Prior to this job, I was engaged in patient care and treatment. My
Victoria University MBA (VUMBA)
medical background well suited my current position in the organization.
at Sunway; MBBS at Manipal
An MBA would help me to be more involved in the business aspect of
Academy of Higher Education
my company. I believe by integrating both, I would be a much more valuable employee.
Brief Job Description : As an Assistant Medical Director in
What inspires you?
a managed care organization my
Smiles and kindness.
duties lie in the line medical aspect of the business. On a day-to-day
Favorite Quote
basis I examine medical claims
“Be the change you want to see in others� - Mahatma Ghandi
made by the health providers, advise on issuance of guarantee letters for treatment and communicate with the clients on their medical related queries. I also prepare and present medical utilization review of the clients and recommend cost-effective measures and specific health programs suited for their employees. As a certified occupational health doctor my role extends to advising clients on safety and health issues at their workplace.
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INTERVIEWS
Jocelyn Lee Senior Executive - Group Brand Marketing University :
Why made you want to study an MBA?
Victoria University MBA (VUMBA) at
I graduated with a degree in biology and chemistry and worked as a marketer for 5 years. Joining the Sunway Corporate Office two years ago made me realise that I needed to expand my knowledge and skills in business in order to move my career forward, also to better equip myself for a managerial position. As such, I decided to take up the challenge to study the MBA. 4 months through the VUMBA programme, it has definitely changed my perspective and insights on business. I have proposed and implemented a few game-changing ideas in the corporation.
Sunway; Campbell University, USA
Brief Job Description: The department’s role is to consult by providing strategies, plans, innovation, tools, training and gamechanging ideas to impact the brand and business positively. Among other functions, I’m involved in developing the overall Brand Trust Strategy and Planning, managing and enhancing Brand alignment throughout the corporation, developing cross marketing opportunities and advertising campaigns.
What inspires you? Basically, this MBA course will help me in terms of managing the work and managing expectations of people in the company. With the knowledge, we can even help the company in achieving its mission in different ways, i.e. to determine whether the forecasting methodology used is suitable. This will help the company as well as the individual. I hope to fully utilize what I’ve learnt in MBA in my daily work. There is no need to change job if the company recognizes the effort that the individual has put in, and acknowledges the practical usage of MBA.
Favorite Quote
“Do not compare yourself with others. Compare yourself with who you were yesterday.” - Daisaku Ikeda
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FEATURING
PATTERNS OF BUSINESS MODELS
I
n this article, KS Senerath De Silva and Dr Hendry HS Ng suggest the holistic approach of looking at business model generation, i.e. through the lenses of systems thinking and complexity science.
INTRODUCTION Dr Hendry HS Ng
KS Senerath De Silva
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In our previous article (De Silva & Ng 2012) we highlighted Osterwalder and Pigneur’s Business Model Canvas (BMC) as a suitable tool for building new business models and for evaluating existing ones due to changing business environment. The BMC is a suitable language for describing the inter-related elements of a business as critical components within a system/ framework. Business models are the units of analysis for explaining how organisations do business through a systemic or holistic lens (Zott, Amit & Massa 2010). When there are sufficient business models, we
may study the similarities between them - the patterns (or fractals in complexity science) of similar characteristics, arrangements of building blocks and behaviours. To put it simply: Just as a new car is a system of inter-dependent parts, similarly, a business model should be viewed as a whole system - where all the parts work in synergy with each other to ensure that the whole business achieves its intended goals. A business, no matter how small, is often a complex system. When developing and evaluating a business model, it will not suffice
FEATURING
“ A business, no
matter how small, is often a complex system.
to apply traditional reductionist thinking of focussing on the component parts. The whole of a system should be considered (Open University 2012; Senge 1994).
”
System thinking focusses on the following: • Every system has a purpose within a larger system. In building a model for a particular business the designer must not lose sight of the business environment and purpose served within this environment. • All of a system’s parts must be present for the system to carry out its purpose optimally. Each building block is indispensable. Example: the channel with the customers is critical to the whole business.
• A system’s parts must be arranged in a specific way for the system to carry out its purpose. Example: the customer relationships must fit the target customers in realising value proposition. • Systems change in response to feedback. Example: when the revenue streams are less than the costs, the loss is a feedback for immediate action.
• Systems maintain their stability by making adjustments based on feedback. Example: customer complaints on delivery problems are important feedback for reviewing the key resources and channels so that the existing parameters are adjusted to overcome the problems.
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FEATURING
COMPLEXITY SCIENCE Organisations with humans interacting can get complicated and unpredictable. The global financial crisis shows that we are not facing a single shift or revolution, so much as an avalanche of ceaseless change. We are managing the business world that is not becoming more stable or easier to comprehend. Complexity science describes a business system as a complex adaptive system (CAS) with the following characteristics (Varney 2009): • It can adapt and self organise. Example: a business can adapt to a changing environment with new emergent properties e.g. aging customers. Hence a business model must also be adaptive to changing conditions. • It is non-linear and sensitive to initial conditions (butterfly effect). Example: what appears insignificant at first may have a big outcome such as moving a shop to a cheaper location and losing a choice location to a new competitor.
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• It can improve with diversity of people. Example: having a mix of talented people with varied backgrounds to coddle diverse ideas and hence enhance greater innovation potential.
• It allows recurring patterns (fractals) to emerge from the many intertwined interrelationships between people. Examples: studying patterns of successful business models may provide a template for a new business model or an old one adapted to suit new challenges.
FEATURING
COMMON BUSINESS MODEL PATTERNS
and data content development infrastructure and equipment manufacturing.
Any system that involves human interactions tend to be complex, hard to understand or study and therefore difficult to predict. However, complex systems such as stock markets, human bodies, forest ecosystems, manufacturing businesses, immune systems, termite colonies, and hospitals do have common recurring patterns of behaviour (Plexus Institute 2010; Varney 2009).
2. Long Tail This model is predicated on offering a large number of niche products, each of which is infrequently sold in small quantity. Instead of selling the most popular items in large volumes, it focuses on selling as many items as possible in smaller volumes which combines to sell a large volume in total (Anderson 2006). For example, Amazon. com uses technology to leverage distributed storage to achieve reduced holding and handling costs.
Osterwalder and Pigneur (2010) outline a number of recurring structures found in businesses. These identified patterns are useful as starting points for new business models or as benchmarks for existing businesses (although, it must be noted, there are other patterns waiting to be discovered as new business models are generated.) 1. Unbundled Some businesses will benefit from the unbundling or separation of the following components such as customer relationship, product sales and infrastructure into separate entities in order to optimize results in each entity. A combined or bundled business would require compromise in some areas in order to optimize in others. For example, telecommunication companies are unbundling their business models into separate companies. Whilst the main company focuses on customer segment and relationship, it outsources the rest such as voice
3. Multi-sided This platform allows two or more different groups to find values through their interactions between themselves. For example, iTunes manages a platform where music firms come together to offer to potential markets that grow through a network effect. 4. Free There are three variants. The most basic one, ‘Free’, has a multi-sided platform with advertisers on one side paying fees and free content
“having a mix of
talented people with varied backgrounds to coddle diverse ideas and hence enhance greater innovation potential.
”
users on the other. For example, The Sun newspaper in Malaysia is free for the public but levies a charge on the advertisers. Then there’s ‘Freemium’, which offers free basic services and charges for premium services. For example, www.google.com charges fees for customisation of its search engine. Finally, there’s ‘Bait & Hook’, where free samples or initial offerings for products act as promotional tools to sell the regular product. The last model is popularly used by telecommunication companies such as Maxis, DiGi, Celcom etc. 5. Open Open business models are used to create values through collaboration with external partners. This may happen ‘inside-out’ by providing excess or extra assets with outside parties; or ‘outside-in’ by taking in external ideas within the firm. An example of ‘outside-in’ is buying external technology for internal exploitation.
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FEATURING
CONCLUSION
REFERENCE
Rather than building a business model from scratch, we can learn from the common patterns of successful business models identified through the lenses of systems thinking and complexity science. These recurring patterns provide useful insights into some of the characteristics of the businesses, and this understanding helps us to build better business models.
Anderson, C. 2006, The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More, New York: Hyperion. De Silva, K. S. S. & Ng, H. H. S. 2012, “Business Model Generation”, MBA Edge Postgraduate Studies, no. 9, pp. 34-35. Open University 2012, “What is systems thinking?”, Viewed 7 Nov 2012, Retrieved from: URL:http:// www.open.edu/openlearn/moneymanagement/management/ leadership-and-management/ managing/introducing-systemsthinking. Plexus Institute 2010, “A complexity science primer”, Viewed 17 Oct 2012, Retrieved from: URL: http://www.plexusinstitute. org/?page=exploring1. Senge, P. M. 1994, The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of The Learning Organization, Doubleday, New York. Varney, S. 2009, Complexity uncovered, Viewed 20 Oct 2012, Retrieved from: URL: http://www.spaceforlearning. com/docs/Complexity%20 uncovered%20-%20Sharon% 20Varney%20Aug%2007.pdf. Zott, C., Amit, R. & Massa, L. 2010, ‘The Business Model: Theoretical Roots, Recent Developments, and Future Research’, IESE Working Paper, WP-862, Revision 2010, Viewed 15 May 2012, Retrieved from: URL: http://www.iese.edu/ research/pdfs/di-0862-e.pdf.
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INTERVIEWS
Prashanth Martin Management Consultant
What made you want to study an MBA?
University :
As one progresses on in his or her career, it becomes important to
Edinburgh Business School,
further hone your business acumen and skills to meet the demands at the workplace. As such, pursuing an MBA is providing me with the advanced knowledge that I need to go further in my career. Having accumulated more than 5 years of working experience has also allowed me to appreciate my MBA curriculum more!
What inspires you? I am inspired by those whom I work with. I am fortunate and privileged to work with capable individuals at my workplace, be they my colleagues or my clients. There’s always something to learn from these gifted individuals, whether it’s personal or professional.
Favorite Quote
Life isn’t about counting how many times we fall, but rather how we get up and learn from it.
Heriot-Watt University, UK; Bachelor of Commerce in Business and Economics, University of Windsor, Canada Brief Job Description : I am a management consultant with close to 5 years of experience, now specializing in the area of Talent and Organization. I primarily work in the area of Organization Change in which I focus on providing change expertise and delivery. I mostly work with clients from the Oil and Gas sector.
Pursuing an MBA is providing me with the advanced knowledge that I need to go further in my career. 36
INTERVIEWS
Jullian John Manager University :
Why made you want to study an MBA?
Victoria University MBA; B.Eng
To further strengthen my management knowledge and credibility, I decided to enroll in an MBA programme that would provide a 360-degree view of business management and its various operational aspects. I chose Victoria University’s MBA programme because the breadth and depth was suitable for someone who had never studied business before. Since enrollment in early 2013, I have enjoyed the hands-on experience and practical teaching methods such as group projects, case studies and industrial exposure. My fondest classroom experience thus far is crafting a strategy for a fictional women’s fashion business. The balanced teaching method in the VU MBA programme is important for an experiential learner like me.
(Hons) in Communication & Electronic Engineering, Northumbria University
Brief Job Description After a year of being a research officer and finally realising that I had more fun communicating with people than sitting in front of a circuit board all day, I made the leap to corporate management. Over the next 7 years, I crafted a career in corporate affairs. I now handle corporate-government liaison tasks for a leading multiindustry conglomerate in KL. I currently coordinate and assist with preparing strategies to reach out to key government and regulatory stakeholders to further advance the company’s corporate objectives.
What inspires you? While I’ve long been inspired by leaders such as Schultz, Branson, Bezos, Vader, Jobs and Malaysia’s very own Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar AlBukhary and Tony Fernandes, I also believe that everyone should seek to establish their own unique pathway and legacy.
Favorite Quote
“Be yourself, everyone else is already taken” - Oscar Wilde
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HIGHLIGHTS
9th Malaysia
Festival
T
of the
MIND
he Malaysia Festival of the Mind is organised by the Malaysia Mental Literacy Movement (MMLM). Registered by the Registrar of Societies under the Societies Act 1996 on 4 July 2006, MMLM aims to introduce and promote various techniques and skills pertaining to the improvement of mental literacy among Malaysians.
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HIGHLIGHTS
• To imprint on the national consciousness the importance of mental literacy, i.e. intellectual resources for the nation’s growth, development and progress as well as the pursuit of quality life of all Malaysians.
• To create awareness about the human mind and its unlimited potential and ways of tapping into and developing one’s brainpower. • To promote and introduce various techniques and skills pertaining to the improvement of mental literacy among Malaysians, i.e. memory skills creativity, thinking skills, enhancing the right brain and others.
”
Together with Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman and Tunku Abdul Rahman University College, MMLM organises the Malaysia Festival of the Mind with the following objectives:
If you don’t use it, you will lose it” –
MMLM Chairman Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik on mental literacy.
”
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HIGHLIGHTS
Highlights The 9th Malaysia Festival of the Mind comprises a number of programmes i.e. exhibition, public talks on topics such as brain power, creativity, emotional intelligence, memory skills, mind mapping and thinking skills, consultation on mind-related matters, demonstration on memory skills, mind games and other mental literacy products. Among the talks by local and international speakers are as follows:
How to tap into the power of ‘Theta’ brain waves for super learning by Terry Winchester This award-winning self-hypnosis programme is simple to use and will put students ahead of their peers who are struggling with oldfashioned study methods. The MindFrame Technique will allow students to enter the creative ‘Theta’ state, double their reading speed within minutes, develop a photographic memory and recall information with a click of their fingers.
The law of attraction and the power of the unconscious mind by Dr Teoh Hooi-Meng Each of us has the desire to make certain changes to our lives; yet, most of us remain complacent, held captive by feelings of unhappiness, dissatisfaction or frustration. By learning about the mind, we will understand how to create our realities in life. By changing the perception in our mind, we will be empowered to achieve our goals in life.
Tsunami of creativity by Bugs Tan Meet Bugs Tan, who will share his insights on how to give birth to new ideas using techniques for creativity. Find out how this region has been engulfed in a tsunami of creativity in recent years and how such waves have boosted the economy of certain countries and where Malaysia stands compared to other countries in the field.
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HIGHLIGHTS
Bring out the learning genius in you by Lily Kong The art to a resourceful mental state for better learning is something we can appreciate and, more importantly, attain. Paradoxically, the secret to effective learning is to be relaxed –to be in the alpha mode of brain-mind function for the optimal uptake, retention and recall of information stored. The question is “How to create this resourceful state, at will, to enjoy a more effective learning experience?” Lily Kong will enlighten you.
Mind Mapping by S. Jeyaraman Created by Tony Buzan, Mind Mapping is one of the world’s best visual thinking tools and note-techniques designed to stimulate practitioners to think, learn and communicate more effectively and efficiently. This talk will show audience how their brain works and how ‘brain-friendly’ Mind Maps can help them to brainstorm, make decisions, plan and prioritise, solve problems, make notes, take notes and prepare reports and presentations.
Unleash your Human Calculator potential by West Wong Fancy learning how to be a human calculator in a fun and lazy way? For the first time in Malaysia, you have the chance to discover the human brain potential in Mental Calculations and Mathematics, and to learn Math in the 21st century with whole brain approach. Nicknamed Human Calculator, the speaker will share the genius way of calculation and how to recognise number patterns in daily calculations.
Other speakers include Chan Say Aun, Cheong Kok Wai, KC Chia, Lee Yee Dian, Lim Teck Guan, Ng Thian Watt, Professor Dato’ Dr Goh Sing Yau, S. Nanda, Sivan Koran, SK Tan, Sussanne Lee, Rita Goh, Teoh Poh Yew and Wong Chooi Yee. Festival details are as follows:
9th Malaysia Festival of the Mind Location Kampar, Perak Date 15 - 16 June 2013 Time 10.00am - 5.00pm Venue Dewan Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman Jalan Universiti, Bandar Barat 31900 Kampar Perak.
Kuala Lumpur 22 - 23 June 2013 10.00am – 5.00pm College Hall Tunku Abdul Rahman University College, Main Campus Jalan Genting Kelang 53300 Setapak Kuala Lumpur.
Admission to the festival, talks and workshops is free. For more information, call 03-76250328 or visit www.utar.edu.my/mmlm or email mmlm@utar.edu.my.
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HIGHLIGHTS
WORLD CLASS INSTITUTIONS AT FACON EDUCATION FAIR!
T
he ever popular Facon Education Fair returned in March 2013 with more than 500 booths set up by institutions of higher learning. The fair is endorsed by Ministry of Education and Ministry of Higher Education in recognition of its success and contribution to the education industry.
with 1,000 renowned institutions from Malaysia and overseas.
The fair also covered 11 cities in Peninsular & East Malaysia where school leavers and working adults had the unique opportunity to meet
Facon Education Fair will be back in December 2013 and the dates and venues are as follows:
Since its inception in 1990, this prestigious event has been attended by millions of visitors underlining its popularity and public recognition for its success and contributions to human resources development and the education industry.
Peninsular Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Alor Setar Penang Ipoh Malacca Johor Bahru
Dec 7 & 8, 2013 (Sat & Sun) Dec 10, 2013 (Tue) Dec 11, 2013 (Wed) Dec 12, 2013 (Thu) Dec 13, 2013 (Fri) Dec 14 & 15, 2013 (Sat & Sun)
Putra World Trade Centre (Hall 3 & 4) Holiday Villa Hotel Traders Hotel Kinta Riverfront Hotel & Suites Equatorial Hotel Persada Johor Intl’ Convention Centre
Dec 7, 2013 (Sat) Dec 8, 2013 (Sun) Dec 9, 2013 (Mon) Dec 13, 2013 (Fri) Dec 14, 2013 (Sat) Dec 15, 2013 (Sun)
Grand Palace Hotel Riverside Majestic Hotel RH Hotel Sandakan Hotel Promenade Hotel MB Hotel
East Malaysia Miri Kuching Sibu Sandakan Kota Kinabalu Tawau
For more information on Facon Education Fair please visit www.faconex.com or follow us on facebook, www.facebook.com/faconeducationfair. 44
FEATURING
CONNECTING COMMUNITIES STARBUCKS® COMMITS IN GIVING BACK TO THE LOCAL ORIGINS OF MALAYSIA Starbucks® unveils its latest Local Community Project with HOPE Worldwide and Introduces the New Limited Edition Starbucks Malaysia 15th Anniversary Card
KUALA LUMPUR – To celebrate its upcoming 15th Anniversary in December, Starbucks® Malaysia has big plans in place deriving from Starbucks® ethos in community connection. As part of the company’s commitment to the community where it does business, Starbucks® Malaysia launches Connecting Communities in Malaysia project. The project will benefit the rural farming villages within Malaysia.
Black Bottom Banana Pie
Connecting Communities in Malaysia is a scalable community project that contributes to small villages consisting local farming that are often overlooked in our supply chain. This project will not only encourage ethical sourcing but also a gateway opportunity to make an impact to the farmers’ family and their entire community.
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FEATURING
Starbucks® first destination is Kampung Lubok Jaya, a rural village allocated in the outskirts of Kuala Selangor. Consisting of only 240 villagers, 58 being children; their stream of income derives from agriculture with banana fruits being its main source - homegrown within 450 acres of land utilized for variety of plantation out of 500 acres. An adequate amount of banana fruits will be purchased directly from the farm and thus processed into several types of banana based edible products, such as; muffins, biscotti, danish, biscuit and etc. These will then be retailed at all Starbucks® stores nationwide. Proceeds from every banana based product traded will be channeled to building a Community Computer Center for the children of the village. Starbucks has a global tract record of partnering with the change maker organizations that have a proven record in creating progress and instill development. With the aid of HOPE Worldwide Malaysia;
course syllabus, materials, and class conduction will ensure full practice of the community computer center. This will help children of the village to keep in par with the technological world and improve their tech skills as they embark further in their education.
“We are grateful to collaborate with Starbucks on this project to connect with and meet the needs of the rural communities. With the help of our volunteers, we hope to equip the children with the essential computer technology skills and knowledge which would aid them when they venture into the working world,” says Miss Katy Lee, Executive Director of HOPE Worldwide Malaysia. Other classes such as English language and other extracurricular classes will also be included as part of their course outline.
Dreamy ‘Nana
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HOPE Worldwide is an international, non-profit, organization established throughout the world. It has grown from 3 programs in 1991 to over 150
programs, spanning 6 continents and 100 nations with focus on 5 areas worldwide. Their work focuses on Health, Children, Education & Volunteerism Program. HOPE Worldwide Malaysia has been entrusted with the Starbucks® Community Grant in managing 2 major community projects that are concurrently ongoing, namely; a Free Paediatric Clinic that provides medical aid in low cost residential area at the northern region of Peninsular Malaysia, and, a Free Mobile Clinic that travels to give medical support in the areas of Seberang Perai as well as several indigenous villages. The unique Starbucks communitycentric vision engages customers with the program in the simplest way, just pick up a Starbucks® Card from the nearest store, load up with the minimum amount and make a purchase of any banana based product. By purchasing with a Starbucks® Card - Starbucks® will donate 15% to the project. In conjunction to this, Starbucks also introduced its Limited Edition Starbucks Malaysia 15th Anniversary Card, in which will be retailed at all
FEATURING
About Berjaya Starbucks Coffee Company Sdn Bhd
Starbucks store nationwide as of 23rd April 2013. The Limited Edition Starbucks Malaysia 15th Anniversary card also supports Connecting Communities in Malaysia project. “This card is our way of bringing communities together and creating opportunities for people living outside of our own neighbourhoods. The simple act of using a card allows the public to contribute to the ongoing well being of rural communities here in Malaysia,” explains Mr. Sydney Quays, Managing Director of Starbucks Malaysia. This project will in time transform to the long term value, promoting ethical sourcing with the focus of youth education from one village
Cheesy Monkey Wrap
to another throughout Malaysia, reaching out to each and every community. Plans with Kampung Lubuk Jaya will commence as of 23rd April 2013 concurrently Starbucks outlets will retail all banana based food as well as the Limited Edition Starbucks Malaysia 15th Anniversary Card. Completion of the Community Computer Center is to take place tentatively in December 2013, just in time for Starbucks® Malaysia 15th Anniversary celebration. To find out more about this project visit Starbucks Malaysia official website at: http://www.starbucks.com. my/responsibility/community/ connecting-communities
Berjaya Starbucks Coffee Company Sdn Bhd is jointly owned by Starbucks Coffee International and Berjaya Group Berhad. The company operates Starbucks retail locations throughout Malaysia and is committed to offering the world’s finest coffee while enriching Malaysians’ lives one cup at a time. For more information, please visit the official site at www.starbucks.com. my or check out our Facebook page at
www.facebook.com/StarbucksMalaysia
About Starbucks Since 1971, Starbucks Coffee Company has been committed to ethically sourcing and roasting the highest quality arabica coffee in the world. Today, with stores around the globe, the company is the premier roaster and retailer of specialty coffee in the world. Through our unwavering commitment to excellence and our guiding principles, we bring the unique Starbucks Experience to life for every customer through every cup. To share in the experience, please visit us in our stores or online at www.starbucks.com.
Banana Biscotti
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INTERVIEWS
Choong Joe Ming What made you want to study an MBA? I was torn between a Master in Psychology and an MBA course as I had interest in both courses. After thinking it through, I went with an MBA simply because I found it to be more practical at the moment as I would like to be able to run my own business one day and having obtained an MBA would certainly help a lot.
What inspires you? Attaining the highest form of everything is almost every human’s dream. As for me, attaining the highest known form of degree is my dream. Enrolling in an MBA course is a step closer to obtaining a Doctorate Degree.
Favorite Quote
“Happiness is not achieved by the conscious pursuit of happiness; it is generally the by-product of other activities.” – Aldous Huxley
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Current University : Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR)
INTERVIEWS
Teoh Chin Heng Lead Safety Automation System Engineer Current University: Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman
What do you consider the best takeaway value from your postgraduate programme?
(UTAR)
I must say knowledge, experience & friendship.
Brief Job Description I’m working as a lead engineer in an Oil & Gas Consultant Company from Norway. I have been with this company for about 2 years but my total industry experience in a similar capacity amounts to 13 years. On a day to day basis, I work with clients and contractors to solve problems, and with team members by providing solution and guidance when needed.
What is your advice to prospective postgraduate students to prepare for this programme? I met some of my old friends before starting my postgraduate studies. Some of them are positive and of course some of them have negative feedback. Those with positive feedback, I can tell that they are actually planning their career path very well. They have a Master’s Degree and some of them even have a PhD with a successful career. Now that I’m following their footsteps I will be part of them as well. Studying while working may be a hectic, but with proper planning it can be overcome. So, do plan accordingly and 2 years is not a short period.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Five years from now, I would like to see myself as a successful engineer or even be a part of management personnel with more involvement in decision-making. With passion and enthusiasm, I believe I can be a successful person in my company.
What is your motto in life?
Be hardworking. I always believe there are no genius or fools, only hardworking and lazy people. Knowledge can be gained through hard work. Wealth can be gained through hard work. For example, rich people are neither geniuses nor fools yet they manage to achieve success and fame. What is their secret? Work hard. 49
21 SHOWCASE
Universities Educational Tour Showcase
DATO’ MICHAEL TIO Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director PKT Logistics Sdn Bhd One Logistics HubTM
P
KT Logistics Group Sdn Bhd (PKT Logistics) today proudly welcomes students from schools, colleges, polytechnics and universities to visit its 17 acre One Logistics Hub along Kesas Highway. With their vision to be the leading logistics service provider in the ASEAN region, PKT Logistics is keenly aware of the importance of nurturing the young talents, as they will eventually be future leaders in society.
Dato’ Michael Tio, Group Chief Executive & MD of PKT Logistics who also bagged numerous awards at last year’s Star Outstanding Business Awards (SOBA), will personally address the students and take them on a facility tour during their visit. Dato’ Michael Tio said, “Students that have visited us are very motivated and hope to work for PKT Logistics someday.” He added, “Educational tours create an effect which I call the Milo Van Theory
whereby students always remember the best tasting Milo during their school days and continue to drink Milo as their favorite beverage. This is the same kind of effect I want to create for PKT Logistics in the logistics world.” Backed by his personal philosophy of “Dream of It, Talk about It, Plan for It, Work on It and Get It”, Dato’ Michael Tio’s entrepreneurial skills have undoubtedly elevated PKT Logistics to world-class stature. 51
SHOWCASE
UNISEL
UCSI
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SHOWCASE
Politeknik Seberang Perai
Politeknik Melaka
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SHOWCASE
SEGI College
UPM, University Putra Malaysia
54
SHOWCASE
POLISAS
55
SHOWCASE
UiTM Shah Alam
UiTM Puncak Alam
56
SHOWCASE
IKM (Institut Kimia Malaysia) , JB
UUM (Universiti Utara Malaysia)
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SHOWCASE
EDS Business Academy
Womens Institute of Management
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SHOWCASE
Hull University-Malaysian Students Association
UNIKL
59
SHOWCASE
Politeknik Melaka
Politeknik Nilai
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SHOWCASE
UUM-International Business Students
DATO’ MICHAEL TIO’s Exclusive Tour 2012
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SHOWCASE
Uniten Muadzam Shah
DMT’s Entrepreneur talk at UTAR
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INTERVIEWS
Subash Chandra Poudel Assistant Finance Manager
What made you want to study an MBA? I pursued Chartered Accountancy and have a deeper understanding of Accountancy. When I started my job I realised that a degree in accountancy would not amount to much without proper administrative skills. I always had wanted to pursue an MBA and in my job I felt a proper guideline was needed to manage my employees and get work done. Since I am studying and working at the same time, I can bring whatever I learn in college to my workplace next day.
What inspires you? I like to make people around me happy and make them feel special and valued. Listening to all the dissatisfaction and grievances of the people takes away half of their pain. One thing I have learnt in my job is that you don’t need to solve half of the problems if you only listen to the problems. I like Richard Branson’s way of managing his empire. His first and foremost focus and greatest assets are his employees. His idea of management inspires me. The one philosophy that always drives me is “Honesty is the best policy” because it has a far-reaching meaning.
Favorite Quote
“Honesty is an expensive gift don’t expect it from cheap people”- Warren Buffet “Thanks to all those who said no, because of them I did it myself”- Albert Einstein 64
University : Victoria University MBA at Sunway; B.Com (hons), Delhi University, India Brief Job Description : I am involved in the 1) budgeting, forecasting and variance reporting for more than 100 branches in Malaysia, UK, USA, Middle East etc. 2) implementation of cost control measures for the overall organization 3) searching for the best business practices in the industry and incorporation of such (practices) in the company 4) supervision of the staff in their day to day operation 5) automisation of various office functions e.g. we recently implemented an automised inventory management system and employee payroll management system.
Start your day by swallowing a toad, nothing worse can happen for the rest of the day
INTERVIEWS
Teh Choy Yit Head of Modern Trade Current University:
Why made you want to study an MBA?
Victoria University MBA
By pursuing an MBA, it gives one the confidence to manage a business role with a more structural thinking behavior. I joined the MBA course for self-development as well as skill acquisition. I believe the work experience and academic knowledge acquisition will definitely enhance my critical thinking process at the workplace.
Brief Job Description I lead a team of customer development specialists in managing international and local chain modern trade customers in achieving organizational and brand objectives. The job scope involves identifying opportunities and developing business plans to fulfill those opportunities to promote sustainable growth of the organization and brands.
What inspires you? A self-development path that enhances work and life everyday.
Favorite Quote
“If you want something you never had, do something that you have never done.�
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Bring everything you are.
Here, you can have the kind of success you’ve always wanted. Dell is interested in you—the volunteer, scuba diver or marathoner. Bring it all. Let’s get started. Explore exciting careers http://jobs.dell.com/malaysia Like us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/dellcareersAPJ Follow us on Twitter http://twitter.com/CareersatDell 68