Magazine & Newspaper

Why Am I Drawn to a City of Smog?

Why Am I Drawn to a City of Smog? By ROBERT PARKINSON Staring out the window on a rainy Sunday, I have to say that life is a bit boring here. By “here” I am referring not to Beijing, but my quiet hometown in the U.K. This is no longer surprising to me. Recently several journalists interviewed me, asking if the thick smog would cause a massive outflow of expats from China. After reading the dismal reports from foreign news agencies, I decided it’s time to explain how I feel about smog after 10 years in Beijing. Economic Meltdown? Although the European economy has been shaky for the past two years, many Europeans still look forward eagerly to a booming […]

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LGBT中国报告二:粉红市场

星巴克,苹果等大公司对 LGBT 市场的重视,催生了更多企业关注粉红市场(pink money)。对于中国的大型企业来说,变化也正在发生。随着企业规模扩大,计划打入国际市场,慢慢意识到企业责任感和多元文化的重要性,也逐渐意识到 LGBT 是不可忽视的。罗迈国际咨询经理肖忆云近期在接受好奇心日报的采访中也提出了他对LGBT群体和企业文化建设的看法,强调从文化上开始培养一家企业的价值观。以下为《LGBT中国报告二:粉红市场》全文,原文链接:http://www.qdaily.com/display/articles/1223 3000 亿美元市场? 没有哪个公司会对这个数字无动于衷。2012年,星巴克 CEO 在美国公开支持同性婚姻合法化,受到美国美国反同性婚姻组织“全国维护婚姻组织”(NOM)抗议,并且这种抵制扩大到包括中国在内的其他国家和地区。于是中国的同志机构、公益组织和淡蓝网、飞赞网等社交网络就联合发起了“同志反抵制 力挺星巴克”的行动,号召同志们去星巴克消费,并在其门店拍照上传微博,表示支持这家公司。这样来自消费者自发的支持活动,比普通的网络营销更有效,且直接带来了业绩上的增长。 “这些商家要是愿意站出来,我们就支持他们;他们要不愿意站出来,我们就支持他们的产品。”淡蓝网的耿乐说。事实证明,对同志友好的商家,是会获得LGBT群体的消费支持。 公开支持 LGBT 的苹果公司曾经公开拒绝了美国南部一个州的邀请,他们为苹果公司提供很多优惠政策,希望他们过去开工厂。苹果拒绝的理由是这个州的法律对同志群体有歧视性。要知道美国有 21 个州 LGBT 是被法律保护的,同时意味着另外 29 个州的 LGBT 是可能被解雇的。苹果公司坚持这样的原则,因为苹果的产品在同志群体里使用率很高。Damien Lu 根据自己在美国多年的观察总结道:“有趣的是,美国在同志问题上最进步的州也是最富有的州,大公司也就相对重视这些州的市场。” 大公司对 LGBT 市场的重视,催生了更多企业关注粉红市场(pink money)。在美国,每年会举行 LGBT Expo,即同志交易会,为面向 LGBT 市场的公司提供资源交换的平台。在香港,一款叫 pink dollar 的手机应用在同志人群中很流行,是用来让LGBT 分享消费行为,并且通过评价来列出对 LGBT友好 的商家。LGBT Capital 也在发现对 LGBT 友好的公司,并成立专门的基金对其进行投资,“我们会用一些指标来衡量公司的多元化环境,因为我们相信有多元化环境的公司有更好的业绩,没有歧视和完全的理解会让员工感到非常舒适,对工作有积极作用。” Paul Thompson 说。 中国的粉红市场也已经开始显示出其潜力。淡蓝网移动端 Blued 显示,其 iPhone 的装机率有 40% 左右,远高于陌陌等面向大众群体的产品,陌陌大概是 30%,表明同志群体更愿意投资去买苹果手机;采访的多名同志也表示,他们在数码产品、服装等产品上更加愿意消费。 对于中国的大型企业来说,变化也正在发生。随着企业规模扩大,计划打入国际市场,慢慢意识到企业责任感和多元文化的重要性,因为这在西方市场是关键的评价标准之一,所以也逐渐开始关注不同需求的个体,意识到 LGBT 是不可忽视的。 这些大公司纷纷对 LGBT 群体“示好”,是在多元化的主张下看到了这个群体的重要性,不仅普遍存在于他们的雇员中间,而且是他们消费者和客户的一部分。 “当一家公司要走向全球扩张的时候,要面对各种各样的市场,多元化政策是你必须要考虑的,而 LGBT 就包含在多元化政策中。”IBM 的陈军对《好奇心日报》也这样表示。 有些公司虽然没有明确面向 LGBT 的广告或活动,但他们的主要购买群体是同志;另一些公司直接推出带有明显 LGBT 特征的产品,2008 年绝对伏特加开发了一款彩虹瓶身的限量款酒,叫 Absolut Colors,官方声称是为了纪念彩虹旗诞生 30 周年,十分畅销。面向 LGBT 人群的营销不一定和伏特加原有的男性特质定位相符合,但是这家公司仍然采取了多元化的市场策略。 LGBT 在各个领域的需求开始被更多的商家发现,从中挖掘市场。这在国际上统称为 pink money,泛指同志群体的购买力,他们对酒吧、服装、旅游、理财等各个行业的产品和服务都有自身的需求,这也是很多企业开始关注 LGBT 群体的重要原因。 Paul Thompson 将这种 LGBT 的购买力称之为 LGBT GDP,他表示根据调查,LGBT 不仅收入高,而且更愿意消费:“原因很难用数据来表示,有假设说因为 LGBT 一般来讲没有孩子,而且更注重事业,很多移居到其他地方找新工作,远离家乡,住在大城市里,因为这样他们有更多的自由,而在大城市里他们也有更多的机会赚钱。就拿中国来说,在上海、北京这样的大城市里有更多的同志群体,更自由,来自家庭等的压力更小,收入也可能更高。” 旅游业是最先挖掘这部分商机的行业之一,因为很多 LGBT 的收入不错,又没有孩子,在本地环境不开放的话,就更愿意去对LGBT 人群友好的目的地旅游,由此产生了一系列为 LGBT 人群服务的产业链。欧美国家的伦敦、旧金山等大城市、亚洲的泰国都是热门的旅游地,在西班牙巴塞罗那有针对 LGBT 的 AXEL 酒店集团,美国的 Atlantis 邮轮公司开发专供 LGBT 的旅游航线,泰国更是成为最受亚洲同志欢迎的地方,因为那里对性的开放和多元化服务。 在亚洲,同欧美市场不同的地方在于,大多数 LGBT 人群都没有出柜,在现实社会中没有公开渠道认识彼此,各方面的诉求得不到表达和满足,于是就诞生了同志群体在线上活跃的社交网络。网络是匿名的,私密性更强,也更容易找到同类,所以催生了一批同志社交网站和应用。 淡蓝网建站于 2000 年,属于较早开办的同志交友社区,2012年 推出手机客户端 Blued,用不到十个月的时间积累了 150 万用户,2013 年 8 月拿到中路资本的 […]

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Multinational consultants not old hat

The idea that only locals have solutions for China’s market overlooks expertise of international firms Having served in international consulting businesses for more than 20 years, Edward Tse, the former chairman of Booz & Company Greater China, made the decision to establish his own company, Gao Feng Advisory, in April. His wide experience in consulting has made him believe that multinational management consultancy companies with a US background no longer have solutions to Chinese companies’ problems. He insists that these companies’ DNA is locked into the United States. Dealing with the complexity of Chinese markets, they are in a weak position. However, it is quite unfair to make such statements if Tse talks only about the disadvantages of international consulting […]

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After the Interview – China Today

SO, the big day has arrived, you had the interview, what’s next? Probably your first instinct is either Starbucks, Erdinger or back to the hotel for an inroom burger. But don’t slack off just  yet – what you do next can have a great influence on the outcome of the process, so stay focused for a few more hours. Write a Journal Entry Your first step after the interview should be to write a journal entry of the event. By journal entry, I mean write down what you discussed, who you met, what you asked, and anything else that seems relevant. I personally like to keep a journal and photograph notes with my phone. You can do it however you […]

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Networking or Notworking Events?

FROM the very day you land in Beijing, either to become a fixed-term “Jinger” or to make Beijing or some other city your medium to long-term home (as with many of us), all you need to become involved in the nonstop networking events put on for us in China is an email address. You will soon find that with a modicum of effort you are subscribed to tens if not hundreds of networking event mailing lists. In this article I’d like to offer a perspective on these gatherings, according to my time in China (nine years and counting), and some suggestions on how to get the most out of them. First of all, the term “networking event” in China can […]

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Do you really understand employee happiness?

Job-hopping after the Chinese New Year has always been a tacit rule for job-seekers in different industries. As a result, headhunters are much busier than in other months. After working in China for around 10 years, I find it difficult both in terms of recruiting and job seeking in this period of time. In early February, Chinese technology industry experts announced the news about the high-end talent shortage, which in fact didn’t surprise me. It was in the process of conducting the RMG China Talent Flow Survey 2012-2013 in 2013 that the full picture of the current talent shortage became clear. I understand that labour shortage is always prevalent in the service industries and on the assembly and production lines […]

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References Not To Be Forgotten: Case study Of strategic Human Resources In China

References Not To Be Forgotten: Case study Of strategic Human Resources In China  References available on request is the footnote of most CVs written in English, yet all too often the ‘final hurdle’ of the hiring process is either forgotten altogether or given only cursory attention, yet a quality reference checking process is not merely a disaster prevention practice, it can unearth vitally important information required to manage and develop the new hire. In this article, I explore some of the less obvious reasons to properly check references with a specific focus on hiring in mainland China, as well as uncovering some of the reasons it’s so important for us, as employees, to remember that with the web 2.0 our behaviour can be […]

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Beijing ranked among top 10 global cities

But warning sounded over exodus caused by continuing severe pollution Beijing has made it into the top 10 of the world’s most global cities for the first time, ranking eighth in the A.T. Kearney Global Cities Index. The index, introduced in 2008 by the global consulting firm, includes 84 cities. Beijing scored an overall 3.5 in five categories: business activity, human capital, information exchange, cultural experience and political engagement. It stood out from other Chinese cities in terms of the number of Fortune 500 companies, international schools, broadband subscribers and museums. New York, London and Paris have held fast to their positions as first to third since 2012. “The increasing global importance of Chinese companies has helped catapult Beijing to […]

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Beijing ranked most global city on the mainland

Beijing has made it into the top 10 of the world’s most global cities for the first time, ranking eighth in the A.T. Kearney Global Cities Index. The index, introduced in 2008 by the global consulting firm, includes 84 cities. Beijing scored an overall 3.5 in five categories, including business activity, human capital, information exchange, cultural experience and political engagement. It stood out from other Chinese cities in terms of the number of Fortune 500 companies, international schools, broadband subscribers and museums. New York, London and Paris have held fast to their positions as first through third since 2012. “The increasing global importance of Chinese companies has helped catapult Beijing to fourth place on the business activity dimension. This, together […]

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China’s Smog Splits Expatriate Families as Companies Pay for Fresh Air

As a thick smog hung over Beijing last year, Stephanie Giambruno and her husband decided it was time for her and their two girls to return to the U.S. Giambruno’s husband stayed back in China for his job as general manager of a global technology company. He now skypes with the family twice a day and lives with “constant jet lag” as he travels to Florida once a month to see them, she says. While it’s hard to be apart, Giambruno says Beijing’s record air pollution left them no choice. She saw friends’ children develop asthma. Their own daughters, at age 6 and 21 months, were often forced to remain indoors. “It’s not a way to live, to keep your baby inside with an […]

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