Stinky Tofu

They say you can't go to Taiwan without trying the stinky tofu. I recommend you don't and just say you did. The only thing I ate that tasted worse than the stinky tofu was the ox intestine. The Taiwanese people love stinky tofu...I have no idea why. Check out the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puGoEzbDadI

Recap Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xEr-TyKRd0&feature=player_embedded

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

I am sad to say that this will be my last post for this trip. I have so much more to talk about and share, but I could go on forever. This was a remarkable experience that I will remember for the rest of my life. I learned so much about international business, other cultures, and myself. I now have a new outlook on several things. I feel like the blinders have been removed. I cannot imagine going through life and/or business without an experience like this. I recommend it to everyone.

So….planes, trains, and automobiles. Yep, I think I covered that on this trip. I traveled from the far north to the far south of Taiwan, as well as a day and night in Tokyo, Japan. Planes, trains, and automobiles………….

This was my luggage for almost three weeks.
A carry-on and a small duffel bag.
I had to pack light because we were moving
around so much. I stayed in approximately 10
different hotels. I had to do a lot of laundry.

Commuter bus

Light rail train (subway)

Bullet train

Ferry

Taxi

Yacht

This thing was pulled by a speed boat, which I was on.

Jeep

Tourist bus

Tour boat

Shuttle bus

Plane

Tour bus

I'm sure I am forgetting at least one or two other forms of transportation. It was hard to keep track.

I want to end this by thanking Dr. Peng. He is a remarkable (and patient) man. We were extremely lucky to have done this trip with him.

Kenting

At the southern tip of Taiwan is Kenting. It is very tropical and relaxing. More of a tourist area. Well needed after two long weeks of a busy schedule. It was a great time to hang with my new fiends, get to know them better, and just have fun with them. I spent the two prior weeks with my fellow students, but we were always on the move and tied up with activities. 

A video of our Jeep ride through the mountains:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YkpsS9H6qk

The resort

The beach

In the mountains

Feeling the breeze

Tubing

Snorkeling

As you can see, these two days were more relaxing and all about culture.

Surgical Masks

In Taiwan and Japan, I saw several people wearing surgical masks in public. They wear them when they have a cold so they don't infect others. Some of the people in Japan may have been wearing them because of the threat of radiation after the disaster, but for the most part they are thoughtful and don't want to spread their sickly germs.

At a Sushi bar in Taipei

Pedestrians wearing masks in Tokyo

Jade Yachts

The visit to Jade Yachts was another of my favorites. We got to see some amazing yachts, watch production of the yachts, and the presentation by the vice president was very good. He talked about their strategy of setting a goal, planning an approach to accomplish the goal, determining the tools/resources available, recognizing threats and evaluating risks, following through with their plan, and finally learning from their mistakes. He also talked about social responsibility, which was refreshing. It was evident from the presentation and discussions that most Taiwanese business strategies are very similar to those in America. With all of the companies we visited, I did not see much that was unordinary in their business strategies. Nevertheless, there were still some differences in business practices. Where I saw the biggest difference between Taiwanese and American business practices was in the cultural environment.

In most cases, Americans are anxious to make business transactions happen as soon as possible. They are also reluctant to mix business with pleasure. Personal relationships between business partners are regularly avoided to prevent conflicts of interest and to avoid “bad blood” as a result of terminating the partnership. In Taiwan, as in many other Asian countries, personal relationships and trust are extremely important between business partners. A potential business partner must be acceptable on a personal level before being considered in a business deal. It is not uncommon in Taiwan for three or four meetings to take place between two companies before one word about a business deal is mentioned. The first meetings will involve meals and recreation, and only personal things will be discussed. They will learn about each other, their families, hobbies, etc. 

This is a Jade yacht

....just kidding. This is a Jade yacht

 

Takes about 2 years to build

Floating in style

There are many customary gestures that are important when building personal and business relationships in Taiwan, such as business card exchanges, gift giving, and proper meal and drinking manners. Each must be done properly to show respect and build trust. Failure to properly adhere to these customs can severely offend someone and permanently ruin any chance for a personal or business relationship.

Lunch with the big-shots.

Confucius Say….

…”he who has eyeballs that roll also has head that rolls.” Or at least that is what my middle school teacher would tell me when he would catch my eyes wondering onto another student’s paper. The temples in Taiwan are amazing. The colors are vibrant and the details are indescribable. Many of the temples are Buddhism. The Confucius Temple is obviously Confucianism. There are also many temples along the coast line where fishermen come to pray for good luck and safety. 

Confucius Temple

The one on the left is a column with amazing
detail. The one on the right is a dumb tourist.

Giant

The Giant world headquarters visit was one of my favorites. One reason is because I like biking and the second is because we got to see the jidoka concept in action. I studied the Toyota way in operations management and it was nice to see it working. The assembly line works different than most American assembly lines. In America, if there is a defect along the line, the line keeps moving and they deal with it at the end. At Giant, and many other Asian plants, if a problem is discovered on the line, they pull a rope (Andon cord) to stop the line. The problem is addressed and the line is restarted once the correction is completed. This delays production, but insures quality and eliminates the same problem from repeating itself.

Giant makes some extremely nice bikes. Expensive too. One of the most popular bands in America is Trek. I didn’t know it until the visit, but Giant makes the frames for Trek. Then like most all bike manufacturers, all of the other parts are purchased from suppliers and then assembled.

More Posts to Come

5/16/11 (From Detroit)

Yes, I'm back home but I have a few more posts typed up that I will upload within the next week or two. I just have to download a bunch a pictures and get caught up on some things around here before I can get to it. The posts will include some interesting stuff that might be worth checking out. Thanks for following along.

Tunghai University

5/7/11 – 6:00 pm (From Taipei)

Also in Taichung was our final university visit. Tunghai has a large beautiful campus with about 17,000 students. My professor, Dr. Peng, attended Tanghai for his undergraduate degree. One of the professors, who has lived in Taiwan for the past 20-some years but is originally from New Jersey, gave a presentation on the history of Taiwan and its current status. The presentation was well done and clarified some confusing topics. Why is there so much Japanese influence in Taiwan? That one’s easy; Taiwan became a Japanese colony for 50 years, between 1895 and 1945, after China’s defeat in the Sino-Japanese War. Is Taiwan its own country or is it part of China? Taiwan has its own leadership, currency, and flag, but Taiwan is officially known as Taiwan ROC (Republic of China). Are the people Taiwanese or Chinese? Those ones are much more difficult to explain. There is a lot of ambiguity with those subjects. The professor also discussed the rest of the world’s image of Taiwan. Many do not know anything about Taiwan and many have an inaccurate perception of the country.

In the background is a church
designed by the famous Chinese-American
architect I.M. Pei.
Yes, there is a church on campus.

Before hitting the road back to Taipei, we toured the Central Taiwan Science Park. It is an industrial park that is owned by the government. Many high tech companies lease the land from the government in this park, including Dow. The six major industries in the park are Integrated Circuits, Precision Machinery, Computers and Peripherals, Biotechnology, Optoelectronics, and Solar Energy. The companies in the park are responsible for some very advanced technology and products. Many people think Taiwan consists of only OEMs and assembly plants. The Science Park is evidence that Taiwan is very strong in R&D (Research and Development). There are several other parks like this in other areas of Taiwan.

The Service

5/13/11 – 11:00 am (From Taipei)

The restaurant service here is very different to what we are use to. It is the same when a traditional 10 or 12 course meal is served (large portions are brought out one at a time and everyone digs in), but not the same when everyone orders individually. In America we walk into a restaurant, sit down, and immediately someone comes over to take drink orders. Drinks are brought within a couple of minutes and everyone drinks and talks while they look through the food menu. Not here. They give you some time to look through the menu, then take your food order. If you don’t tell them you want something to drink at that time they will come back later for a drink order. Sometimes your drink will come after your food. We have been frustrated because we would order a beer and it would come 15 to 20 minutes later. This seems to be acceptable here. Not sure if it is related, but there is a 10% service charge added to every food bill. No tipping at all, for anything in this country. Another thing that is odd is how/when the food is served. As the dishes are ready they serve them, individually and not all at once. So my plate may come and I have to start eating without you because your plate may not come for another 15 minutes, even though we placed our order at the same time. It is not uncommon for some people to be done eating before the food arrives for others at the same table. I’m not sure if the Taiwanese realize how much they are loosing in sales by making people wait to get their booze. The servers are very nice and polite, but I am spoiled in America and look forward to American service again.

KPMG and Taipei 101

5/7/11 – 7:00 pm (From Taipei)

KPMG is a global company that provides professional services, mainly financial. They are one of the big four. KPMG operates in 146 countries and employs approximately 140,000 employees. Their world headquarters is in Amsterdam. Their Taipei office is located in Taipei 101, which up until last year was the tallest building in the world. It is a beautiful building inside and out. It is occupied by world leading companies and filled with the best brand-name stores in the world. Rolex, Gucci, Cartier, Armani, etc. Many Americans don’t realize it, but Taiwan has a lot of wealthy people. The government district of Taipei is different from the surrounding areas that we have been visiting. It is much more modern and spread out like a typical western city. Our visit to KPMG in 101 gave us a view from the 68th floor, which allowed us to see across the city for miles in all directions. Not only do the employees get a great view in a beautiful building, but they also have access to several amenities. Besides the shops and restaurants on the lower level of the building, KPMG has its own café and massage service, to name just a couple. They want to hire the best and retain their employees, so they create a very attractive work environment. The work environment also makes life a little easier for the employees that work long hours.

The government district: Government offices, the best
shopping, businesses, and American chain restaurants.

A long ways up

From the 68th floor. There are 101 floors above grade,
hence the name Taipei 101.

The conference room where we met. Nice view.

For Dusty

Above the clouds