Home - Knowledge@SMU

What's Hot

Nation Branding: Presenting the image that matches national identity
Brand launches are, more often than not, quiet affairs. Attention-hungry marketers might sometimes resort to controversies, so as to leverage on hype. Even then, it may take a fair amount of provocation and amusement just to get the slightest response from the modern-day multi-tasking, attention-deficit consumer. Contrast this with the launch of Singapore's latest tourism brand, YourSingapore, earlier this year – an event that elicited some fervent objections from the public. The people behind those heated responses were not necessarily experts on tourism or marketing. It was a matter that compelled everyday citizens to weigh in with their thoughts. Why, and should the marketers behind YourSingapore listen?

Knowledge@SMU Aug 01 - Aug 31

Grooming baits for poachers: UOB's approach to talent management for the private banking industry
After a hiatus during the financial crisis, the poaching of private banking relationship managers is back. For the players, incumbent and new, local and international, poaching is probably the quickest and most straightforward means of a headcount-led expansion. No need to nurture and develop new recruits when they come nicely packaged with all the right credentials to hit the ground running. But what happens as more and more companies adopt this attitude to recruitment? Wilson Aw, head of private banking at United Overseas Bank, says the industry knows that it cannot grow from within such a vicious cycle. He shares his long term view on the talent issue with Knowledge@SMU.

Right up our Valley: Why Singapore ought to quit copying Silicon Valley
For a small piece of land with no natural resources to offer, Singapore's economy relies a lot on its strategic geographical location, human talents, as well as a penchant for wanting to be the global, and if not, regional 'hub' for commerce, arts and sciences. Where technology is concerned, the one to beat is Silicon Valley. A tall order, perhaps, but the draw is unmistakably alluring. On its own, the Valley boasts a GDP of US$100 billion, generating more wealth per person than anywhere else in the USA. Not content with just salivating over that piece of the pie, Singapore wants to emulate the Valley's success. This, however, might not be such a good idea, says one technopreneur.

Before the fields run dry: How to avoid the 'Dutch Disease'
For any economy, the discovery of abundant natural resources is almost akin to striking nature's lottery. But as any eager financial planner might say to a lottery winner, no windfall can last for long without a solid financial plan. Singapore, a country admired for its relatively substantial national reserves, is home to almost no natural resources (except for human capital, we're told). This lack of natural resources, however, may well be the reason behind the country's economic success. According to Svein Gjedrem, governor of Norges Bank, natural resource-rich countries often suffer from a 'disease' that causes them to rely too heavily on the easy money that comes from exploiting those natural resources.

Private equity: The players, the jargons, and what lies ahead
What do private equity and venture capital fund managers do? The short answer to that question will hardly do justice to the profession. Yet, it is not easy to provide an accurate explanation without first condensing the nuts and bolts that form the mechanics of the industry. Dan Schwartz, editor of the Asian Venture Capital Journal, does just that, albeit in the form of the 236-page The Future of Finance: How Private Equity and Venture Capital Will Shape the Global Economy – a book that has prominent industry leaders speaking to the layman.

Changing business practices in a world of emerging economic giants
It can sometimes seem as if there is an overemphasis on Asia's two economic powerhouses. But while few people would dispute these manufacturing capitals' knack for delivering good value for money, very little attention has been given to the countries' capacity to innovate and market. Today, blueprints and concepts are often seen as domain of those 'advanced economies', whilst 'emerging economies' are habitually discounted as engines of production. Such notions are quickly being displaced as businesses and consumers of China and India exert their influence on the rest of the world.