Summary on 5 seminars I attended as part of the course Talent &Development Management

1. SEMINARS
T A L E N T & D E V E L O P M E N T M A N A G E M E N T
M A R I A M A D I A L L O | 2 I B M 2 | 2 0 1 5 - 2 0 1 6

2. I N T R O
S O U R C I N G I N A S I A … ?
D O I N G B U S I N E S S I N T H E … ?
C R O S S G E N E R A T I O N A L M A R K E T I N G G E N … ?
D O I N G B U S I N E S S I N … ?
V O S E K O E V E N T : H I G H H E E L S , H I G H … ?
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3. SOURCING IN ASIA
Guest Speaker - Paul Melkebeke
Vice President Samsonite
Date
October 15th 2015
Place
Kantinberg | Artevelde University College | Aula 4
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4. FACTS
 The worldwide leader in superior travel bags, luggage, and accessories with more then 100 years of know-how.
 Combines notable style with the latest design technology and the utmost attention to quality and durability.
 Founded in Denver, Colorado in 1910 by Jesse Shwayder
 Initial cases were named Samson, after the Biblical strongman.
 Began using the trademark Samsonite in 1941.
 In 1966 the company changed its name to Samsonite.
 Registered office is in Luxembourg.
 Listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Brands:
 Samsonite
 Travelpro
 American Tourister
 Hartmann Luggage
 High Sierra
 Speck Products
 Tumi Inc
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5. INTRO – Topic
 Samsonite defines itself as a house of brands. From very expensive to affordable
 The high end brand Hartmann is produced in Belgium
 The company is always concerned with protection
 Visiting the eastern part of china as a visitor is very different from working there and dealing with factories
 Started operations 20 years back in ASIA. When the project began it was always zero business
 10 years ago decided to move from Belgium to Asia
 Samsonite: people always think that it’s a Belgian brand but it’s not and has never been
o The reason for this misconception is that the HQ of Samsonite Europe is situated in Oudenaarde
 The company is not centralised. It is an international company. Most of the revenues are generated in Asia. It has the
biggest market share in the luggage sector
 Predictions about sale in years to come: Asia will contribute 50% of sales
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6. SOURCING
Sourcing in Asia for the Asian market. And when talking about sourcing think of the total supply chain. It starts from the
moment that a marketing brief arrives to the design team, to product development, FOB price, inbound shipments etc.
Design department in Hong Kong
Cost of transportation is a very important element of the total cost of goods sold. Warehousing, No warehouses
everywhere => cost money: Rent warehouses and make agreements with third party warehouses to make the prices
variable. This will keep the inventory as low as possible
Delivery cost: outsourced but yet very costly
The in-house production factory in Oudenaarde only accounts for 14% of the total sourcing. 86% of what is sold is
manufactured in factories all around the world where other produce from competitors is also produced.
Three factories: The main one in Oudenaarde where the R&D happens. 2 satellite factories; one in India and the other in
Hungary.
Having a factory in Oudenaarde is a guarantee for the survival of the company. They developed technology developments
that cannot’ be found anywhere else in the world. It is vital to the company to have a factory where they can do R&D and
create a prototype and test the product on a production line.
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7. Suppliers: In order to be a preferred supplier of Samsonite, manufacturers need to have a sample room. Quality is a
never ending battle. The factories must understand that each brand has a quality level with different requirements.
Quality has to the same throughout
On time delivery: things go wrong every day in a factory. Suppliers should provide excellent customer service and
communication. If something goes wrong or there is a delay, inform the sales people on time
Good communication: insist on having a person responsible for direct contact in each factory
China: insist that everyone speak mandarin. To easy communication
You want competitive prices. Offering poor quality with competitive prices is not acceptable
Make sure to be the biggest customer of a factory because it has its advantages
– E.g. more demand than usual => ask and they will produce it because you’re the number 1 customer. Less demands
and orders; they can tell the factory to produce more for their customers
 More than 70% of the sourcing is coming from China
 Those days are gone when people say let’s go to China it’s cheap
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8. Competitive advantage of china
– Entrepreneurial spirit among the Chinese business men
– Ample amount of skilled workforce
– Logistics in China is phenomenal. No democracy
Convenience: Raw materials easily reachable.
– In case of change of production plans for instance.
Times are Changing: => challenges:
– Availability of man power (ONE CHILD policy => Inequality). The supply of labour force is shrinking.
– People are studying more and more in China => Better jobs
– Increasing costs: Wages are increasing at a very fast pace. Cost of social compliance. Employers have to pay
social security for workers
– Copy Cats or Inspired by… How does Samsonite protect themselves? Patents, as the number one customer you
can ask a factory not to produce imitated nor Inspired by products for other customers
– Exchange rate: The difference between the Chinese RNB and the US dollars. The Chinese RNB is growing
strong. The government is counter fighting corruption.
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9. Tips for us young upcoming professionals
The world is becoming small and the centre of gravity is moving to the east. (Asia)
Consumers will be in Asia. International experience is a must.
As young students you have to travel
Travel on low budget/with backpacks. Languages are becoming indispensable
You need to have some sort of creativity. You should have something you are good at.
You do better than the rest. Think out of the box. Dare to make the move!!!
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10. 10
REFLECT

11. DOING BUSINESS IN THE
Guest Speaker – Elizabeth Vennekens-Kelly
Author and Member of VOKA, ABRA, VIW, SIETAR, FIGT
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12. INTRO – Topic
The American Way
But first a few cautions; america is not always what you see on tv, us citizens are more isolated and don’t travel
very often. It’s a big country but it differs by regions. Obscenities are not well received, music gives people the
impression that dirty words are accepted when it’s not, be very careful about your words. Amercians have
manners and always say thank you because they go a long way and like it as well when people are polite.
American Values
Americans are very self-reliant, but they do love taking care of others, they are open to change and are very
patriotic and they have an entrpreneur spirit.
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13. DOING BUSINESS
– Americans are capitalists, very result driven; if they do something they want to see the results of it.
– They are risk takers,
– Americans are very confident people, even though u shouldn’t confuse confidence with arrogance because
there is a very thin line in between
– They are hierarchical, who is in charge is important and so are titles
– They are individuals but they also have a team spirit, major sports over there are team sports so they learn to
be apart of a team from a very young age.
– They believe in being direct and honesty but they want to do it politely
– They give criticism, but always begin positively but people shouldn’t miss the right message
– Education valued, but experience and accomplishment are also very important.
– Accomplishments vs senority, u can’t just be in a job because it’s too expensive to be fired
– ‘Political’ correctness, in business americans don’t touch each other when greeting, they only shake hands
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14. CONDUCTING BUSINESS
– Management Style: always learn from your boss
– Relationship management: Americans don’t have to like the poeple they work with, as long as they get the job
done. Introductions are still very important, u can’t just go in without someone introducing you.
– Negotiations: most of the time they want to have a win-win situation but they prefer to have a 60%, 40%
result. It’s about they outcome and less about how it’s accomplsihed, and it also always has to be written
down, if it’s not written down then it didn’t happen.
– Communication style: Communication is generally quite correct. If you need something from someone it’s best
to tell them what they are going to benefit from it.
– Decision making: the boss always decides and they are worried about having great relationships
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15. COMMUNICATION ISSUES
– English isn’t english; there are different types of english so you need to know which english is used.
– Errors;
– Greetings:
– Humor: Americans love it if you use humor but you have to be careful because some people may not get it
– CYA: If something does something write it down, protect yourself! It’s about covering your ass
– Conflict:
– Numbers: Numbers are written different here than in america
– Gestures: gestures are important and non verbal communication is also important
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16. 16
America is the land of honey presenting starts at a very young age in kindergarten
Failure is a badge of honor, it’s oke to fail because people learn from that
On average Americans change jobs between 10 to 15 times => open for changes
Highly work focused => No one can force you to retire as long as you love what you do
1. Finger at the temple has multiple meanings, it can mean that you’re smart or crazy
2. A queue: In THE USA. personal space is important so you can’t stand in line too close
3. Calling someone over to you: careful doing that because it can seem negative if you do it with
only 1 finger, in America they do it with one hand.
4. Showing interest in a meeting: it is important to show interest in a meeting by nodding once in a
while especially when you’re participating
5. At a networking event: being nervous is normal but you shouldn’t show your insecurity
EXERCISES

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REFLECT
Do not generalise. If you haven’t travelled to a country and experienced it’s culture,
you shouldn’t base your assumptions about the country only on what you see on TV
or what you hear. (stereotyping)
I never knew that Americans feel isolated because of the distance (ocean) between
the USA and the rest of the world.

18. CROSS GENERATIONAL MARKETING
Guest Speaker - Joeri Van den Bergh
InSites
Date & Time
October 20th 2015 | 15.00 - 16.30
Place
Kantinberg | Artevelde University College | Aula
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19.  ON NXT Gen Marketing
 You ain’t getting any younger: a song to start
with
 2 generations: gen Y and gen Z
 How many 4 to 10 year olds get a weekly
allowance?
 53%: depending on the country, its education
system, welfare etc. In Scandinavian countries
children get weekly (10,50) allowance at a
much younger age => learn how to spend
money and know its value.
 NXTGen has a strong influence on food,
technology, holidays,...
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INTRO – Topic

20. STUDY THE NXTGEN DNA
In trends the Gen Z are the ones always busy with smartphones
Often WhatsApp-ing and snapping while watching TV
Ephemeral media - lasting for a very short time. Used by e.g. Spirit to reach the younger GEN without using the
traditional marketing media
E.g.
Trends: impatient: TLDR =>Too long; didn't read
ADHD: All Devices Head Down
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21. E.g. GEICO ad: why make a 20seconds ad when after 5 sec it gets skipped on YouTube. It's about
giving the message in a short time but still making them see the rest of the 15 sec
UBER FRESH, 7-11 items you need
AMAZON new button
STARBUCKS: app to reduce waiting time
=> snappy, cut costs and make the best of your time. Skip queues cuz we are impatient but at the
same time we make deliberate choices to go to the cinema to eat pop corn, and see a movie of 2
hours. We want to reduce time so we can have more pleasure doing things we love.
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22. A BETTER WORLD
Gen Z are most in favour of gender equality
– Blurring gender line is more common nowadays with younger Gen (Gen Z, the millennials)
Disney (since 2009 most successful movies: => females are the leading characters
Mattel wit => Barbie the entrepreneur
P&G => #likeagirl campaign.
GSTAR Raw => using plastics from the ocean to create denims
141: TOMS if u buy one pair u are donating a pair
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Gen X => I have made it | have
a career | have a house | have
a private jet etc.
Millennials => we've made it:
collectively
Gen Z => I have made it:
Personalization

23. E-commerce thru hype personalization
e.g. PURINA for pets, Oreo, Lays, Minecraft(u create your own world and your character)
IMPERFECTIONS are the new PERFECT...for youngest gen.
Nike => all about perfection before. Now there is a change in tone of voice. It's about the normal imperfect humans.
The main purpose is "JUST DO IT"
Tendency in society is to stay younger => Babyboomers & the Gen X => important to rejuvenate & innovate with the
youth => LIVE YOUNG WHILE OLD
Brands doing marketing or market research with youth don't want customers or competitors to know about it. => WE
DON'T DO MARKETING!
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A confronting topic about millennials in the 21st century. It was clear that all facts mentioned are
actually true. I realised that without been aware of it, we are constantly attached to our devices.
Socialising does not happen in the same way that it was done before.

25. DOING BUSINESS IN
Guest Speaker – Jeanne Boden
CEO China Conduct
Date & Time
October 21st 2015 | 18.15
Place
Kantinberg | Artevelde University College | Aula 4
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26. INTRO – Topic
A difficult task: comparison between European culture? (does that exist?) and Chinese culture (if that exist at all)
No such thing as an essential culture
China seen as one big country but there are huge differences
When we go to school we learn to look at the globe from a certain focus
e.g. Eurocentric point of view
Democratic
Freedom of speech – speak your mind
Believe that the rest of world will adopt to its way of life
Society is inspired by the romans
Multiple centres of authority
Work in a very sequential way
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27. Chinese think of Europeans…
As been cold
Lose lot of opportunity because they stick to the planning
Model: good work and life balance
– There are schools in china that teach about western thinking
China
Sino-centrism: the emperor is the centre
Educational system follows a certain dynamic
Huge difference between north, east, west and south
when they started opening the doors to the rest of the well, they did this one after the other: => like to work with pilot
project
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28. Chinese business context
A mixture of all kind of influences: Now possible to work in china in an international corporation
Relationships very important
How could china grow so rapidly?
China: think of a pyramid. Always have one top. At the top there is an emperor: enormous amount of power: exist over
2000 years
Whole country is organised in a pyramid form.
1 centre of authority:
– e.g. one press agency : control
One leader at the top of the team: European have to learn that when doing business
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29. Culture
Mixture of Confucianism & Legalism
Since 1949 became Communist
The centralism is linked partly to the Confucianism system.
Societies are built on different social models
Confucianism: nothing to do with religion => purely a society organisational model
– No such thing as everyone is equal
Meritocracy: e.g. Educational system you have to merit what you deserve
All relationships between humans are hierarchical
You can see it everywhere: there are codes of conduct: very formalized
Logic of equilibrium: present yourself as high as possible
Speak with one voice
Symbolism: everything is interrelated in the universe => e.g. numbers. Be should try as human beings live in harmony
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30. As diverse as cultures are, there are similarities you will find in different cultures. During the
seminar I learnt that many aspects of the Chinese culture are also present in the African culture.
e.g. the concept of meritocracy which is so entwined in the Chinese culture is also practiced in
Africa. when I was in school in Africa, we were thought to merit our spots in society and once you
do so your place in the society is respected by others.
The biggest similarity is the hierarchical relationship between human beings in society. Respecting
people who are above you, who have a high place in society is a basic principle in both cultures.
E.g. in Africa you can’t call someone older that you by his/her name.
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31. VOSEKO EVENT - HIGH HEELS, HIGH…
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INTRO - Topic
VOSEKO the Ghent University alumni association of the
Faculty of Economics and Business Administration
DEBATE - A panel of four leading (super) women
 Anne De Paepe: Doctor, Professor, Researcher, and Rector of University of Ghent
 Francoise Roels: Compliance Officer, Group Counsel, Secretary General, Risk Manager, Executive
Director and Member of Executive Committee, Cofinimmo S.A.
 Lutgart Van den Berghe: Executive Director of the Belgian Governance Institute and Extra-Ordinary
Professor at the University of Ghent (B) and the Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School. Her main
topic of interest is “Corporate Governance”.
 Evelien Putman: Crisismanagement & Turn-around Leadership at Enordics

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Do you know any female CEO’s?
1/3 of entrepreneurs are women
E.g. Recto of Ughent – Proximus
Average % of women in management boards in 2017 => 11%
There is much work to humanitarian evasion
DEBATE
It is not because more women came to the business world, this means that
women will have the same battle-flow opportunities.
this has nothing to do with objective procedures but mentality. there are plenty
of capable and motivated women. lots of potential but the profiles are made
too specific.

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women on board
Van den Berghe
the glass ceiling is much higher than
people think.
Invest in middle management
Quotas does not solve much
In the land of the blind the one-eyed king
Evelien
Glass ceiling and Gender inequality is
stereotyping
Women should think of themselves as
well
The probe clay is not at the top but much
lower
Do not make yourself into thinking that
you can do everything yourself in your
family and professional life.
Organize yourself and seek help. You
don’t necessarily have to be better than
your male colleagues
Believe in yourself and be confident of
your abilities
Difference between male and female
behaviour are important

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add table
This diversity is important! but it 's important in terms of attitude
Work / Life balance is Important but it is not the only thing. (Not always Important in a passionate
project)
Preserve your feminine qualities!
Having a view of 80% of the mountain is also good. Does not always need to be 100%
Assert yourself and know your value
Believe in yourself and go for it!
Women Men
Risk averse
LT-Thinker
Risk taker
ST-Thinker

36. REFLECT + EXTRA
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Educative and empowering
I learned interesting facts about women that
are in management boards and the
inequality between them and their male
colleagues.
As I always tell myself, once again confirmed
by these women, it’s utterly significant for us
women to be feminists but doing so, we
have to at all times preserve our feminine
qualities and know that a man is a man for a
reason and a women is woman for a different
reason