Girls Week~

My fellow classmate/friend from Pepperdine, who is studying abroad in Beijing, came to visit me for a week in Korea. I took her to the palace's, temples, museums, shopping, city towers and a round of golf. That's right! We had time to play a round of 18 holes in Korea. Rebekah and I both played on the women's golf team in college. I was a wildcat for University of Arizona while Rebekah played for Brown University. (I have no idea what Brown's mascot is.. do ivy league school's even have mascot's, or are they just too cool to have one?) Anyhow, we both have a little competitive streak in us as we both competed in tournaments. 

However this round was purely a fun round, enjoying each other's company. We were able to take in the wonderful view of the autumn tree's, catch up on life abroad, chat about the men (or lack of) in our life.... (But in case your wondering, I kicked Rebekah's little butt. .^_^.) And we both enjoyed the round so much, that we decided to be partners for Pepperdine's alumni golf tournament in the spring. So anyone who is signed up to play, better bring your "A" game if you're planning on winning!

Americans~

My most influential class at KAIST University is my Cross Cultural Management class taught by Professor Betty Chung. Our last lecture was a fish bowl simulation on negotiating with different cultures. There were 5 people seated in front of the class and our goal was to establish a company logo in 30 minutes. We all worked for company X, but worked from different countries. I represented the US and there were reps (exchange students from their home country) from Korea, Japan, Germany and Denmark. 

As soon as the simulation started, I took the lead role only because it is my nature to be assertive. (and we only had 30 minutes to accomplish this task) So within 25 minutes, we had come up with a company logo that we all unanimously agreed on. I thought we did a spectacular job. However, do my disappointment, our process in achieving this goal was not so successful. The comments from the class was that this meeting felt too rushed and more time could have been spent on brainstorming. The professor commented that I took the leading role immediately and wondered why no one in the group thought to stop me when I was moving too fast. Professor Chung had commented that "Anne, as an American tends to be very time conscious, negotiates with a lateral checklist, comes to a consensus on a democratic vote, and is very impersonal." At first I took it a little personally, but asked myself, "didn't we just accomplish our goal and everyone in our group agreed on it, so what's the problem??"

So here's the deal. Before any business is conducted in Asian culture, potential business partners spend time together to build a personal relationship. It is very common that the Korean business men will take their potential business partners for a night of non-stop drinking. This is just how business is done. And it is common for Asian cultures to negotiate spontaneously and not on a lateral checklist like an American. (Meaning they jump to another topic before settling one point)  And as for many Europeans such as Denmark, coming to a consensus on majority vote is not acceptable. Everyone in the group must be happy about the final outcome and every one's idea must be incorporated or else business is not settled. 

I sat in class thinking, "how ineffective is that??" 

In America, we are so programmed with deadlines and moving onto the next "big" project that we often do become a bit "impersonal." For instance, the Korean rep wanted to go around the room and have personal introductions before we began the meeting. I thought this was a great idea and gave each rep 30 seconds to introduce themselves. And before we voted on the final logo, Germany had stopped me and asked if we shouldn't spend more time on different ideas for the logo. She had thought there were more ideas to be explored. I argued that there is not enough time to discuss more ideas. (ooppsssss)

I have learned a huge lesson in class. Negotiating as an American with other countries is hard work. While I think that my style is most effective, it is just not done in other countries. In a way, I have to adapt to the cultural differences. This is much easier said than done...

In my next lifetime...

I know Fall has arrived in LA when I see the display windows on Rodeo change from Manolo strappy sandals to the latest Christian Louboutin booties. Because how else are you supposed to know that it is officially fall? By the weather? Please. It's sunny and 80 degrees in LA year round. In Seoul however, I officially know it is fall because I just had to purchase my first winter coat and I am wearing Uggs not only as a fashion statement, but because without them my toes are freezing! Who knew Uggs had a purpose other than its cuteness??

Other than that, I officially know its fall here because the whole city has become orange, yellow, red, brown... If you have ever lived in the East coast, you would know exactly what I am talking about. The trees. The green leaves has changed colors into a magnificent array of Autumn colors. Picture to the right: I am posing at KAIST and I get to walk through this beautiful walkway everyday to class. Am I lucky or what??? 

Also with the changing of the season, the Dean of KAIST has sponsored Autumn Festival. We had just completed mid-term week and now celebrations are in order. How can I begin to describe Autumn Fest? The event is from 2-11:30pm where drinking beer (from kegs) and soju (Korean vodka) begins promptly at 2pm. There are endless amount of food and music. For entertainment, there is a talent show, eating contest, sports games and also a concert where a Korean celebrity comes on campus to perform live. The singer was Jung Hoon Kim who is infamous for his charity work in Korea. He mostly sings ballad with occasional soft rock. I wasn't a fan until I saw how great he worked the crowd. Not only are his music catchy, but he was ge

nuinely funny on stage! He would crack jokes with the students, professors and even the Dean. He even got the Dean of KAIST to do a shot of soju with him on stage! It was quite a debacle. 

I have decided in my next lifetime, that I want to return as a rock star. A Britney Spears (pre-craziness of course) and donate lots of my money to charity, have only 1 successful marriage and become a good role model to teenage girls. But in this lifetime, I must return to reality and finish my portion of the group project for HR strategy. I am currently researching Google and incorporating the companies efficient employee retention into my proposal. So for now, I 

must return to reality in order to obtain my MBA, while hopes of becoming a rock star in my next lifetime. :)

A week of Therapy...

I have spent 5 whole days in Hong Kong visiting my dear friend Winnie. She is currently studying abroad at HK University and I had a chance in between classes to take a short trip to explore HK. Here is a recap of my week...

Picture to the Right: Here is a picture of me shopping. Let me tell you all, for those who have never been to HK. Practically every subway stop leads you to a (gasp) department store!!! HK is truly my haven, where there are endless amount of shopping! And each department store is about 7 stories high with fabulous eatery's and merchandise from all over the globe. It was truly a week of retail therapy.

                  

 Picture to the Left: This is the the biggest bronze Buddha statue in the World. In theory, it doesn't sound very interesting. Winnie practically had to tear me away from shopping to visit this site. I am so glad that I was forced to go because it was incredible. You have to take a 30 minute cable cart up to the mountains. The view was nice, but after 15 minutes... really, same scenic view. But the last 10 minutes of the cable cart ride, you see this huge statue of the Buddha in the middle of mountains. It's really a spectacular sight because it gets you thinking.. "How in the world, did someone build a huge statue in the middle of nowhere?? And on top of a mountain??" It's really a jaw dropping experience to view the whole image in it's entirety. 

Picture to the Right: I also took a cable cart (different cable cart than the Buddha) to Victoria Peak at night. Up at the top, I was able to do some shopping (yet another department store), have dinner and view a light show. It was truly a romantic experience and Winnie was an excellent filler-inner as my BF for the night. :) Overall, HK is definitely a city that I must return too. I love the exciting night life, endless shopping and the nice, hot weather year round.

Currently, I am back in Korea, in my personal island. (An isolated desk in the corner of the library at KAIST) I have yet again endless amount of articles to catch up on, chapters to outline, case write-ups, group projects..... the usual MBA school work. However, it's nice to be home again and not worry about being out of town for a while. I will get back to my usual routine of  MBA-life at KAIST. But knowing me, there is never a dull moment and of course I will be sharing it with you all via Blog. :)