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Lessons for Canadian companies today
from the '97 Asian Crisis
VANCOUVER, BC, August 27, 2009 –
Fears of a world-wide economic meltdown.
The collapse of currencies. Soaring
personal debt. Crisis. Disaster.
Headlines
ripped from the pages of today's papers?
No - this
was 1997 in Asia … and a new report by
the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada
and the Richard Ivey School of Business
at The University of Western Ontario
shows that today's Canadian companies
can learn from how foreign investors in
Asia weathered that crisis.
Then, as
now, there was a need for a complete
re-evaluation in order for corporations
to be successful, according to David
Conklin, Professor, Ivey Business
School, and co-ordinator of the latest
issue of Asian Business Cases.
"Companies
today are looking at going to a
zero-based strategy starting with a
blank sheet of paper," he said.
That's
exactly what the three international
companies studied in Conklin's report
did in the late '90s, and he said there
are many lessons for Canadian companies
in Asia that are struggling to manage
today's crisis.
"One of the
key things being considered is whether
to pull out altogether," said Conklin.
The report,
"Issues and Strategic Options for Asia:
Lessons from 1997," is embargoed for
release on August 31. The new issue of
Asian Business Cases probes the
experiences of Dharmala Manulife,
Kodak's Health Imaging Division in Asia
and First Pacific, and gives in-depth
analysis of what worked and why.
One of the
study's success stories is Dharmala
Manulife. What made it successful in
1997, said Conklin, is that, "they were
prepared to completely reconsider
everything, and (as a result) came up
with new products, new prices and new
methods of doing business in Asia".
Asian
Business Cases is a quarterly
publication of the Asia Pacific
Foundation of Canada, produced in
partnership with the Richard Ivey School
of Business. The report draws on the
School's expertise and vast portfolio of
case studies and offers executives and
researchers valuable insights into the
way major companies solve problems and
overcome obstacles in their Asian
operations. The publication is supported
by Export Development Canada (EDC).
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For
interviews with Professor Conklin and
more information, please contact:
Carolyn Jack, 604-970-3234,
carolyn.jack@asiapacific.ca
The fall
issue of Asian Business Cases can
be viewed at:
http://www.asiapacific.ca/en/asianbusinesscases/september2009
For free
subscriptions to Asian Business Cases,
or any of Asia Pacific Foundation's many
other publications, visit
www.asiapacific.ca/en/newsletter/subscribe
About
APF Canada
The Asia
Pacific Foundation is an independent
resource for Canadians on contemporary
Asia and Canada-Asia relations. As a
national not-for-profit organization
established by an Act of the Federal
Parliament in 1984, the Foundation
brings together people and knowledge to
provide the most current and
comprehensive research, analysis and
information on Asia and on Canada's
transpacific relations. It promotes
dialogue on economic, security,
political and social issues, helping to
inform public policy, the Canadian
public and Canada's Asia practitioners.
The Foundation is funded principally
through an endowment from the Government
of Canada and by corporate and
individual donors.
For more
information, please contact:
Jessica Brunt, Asia Pacific
Foundation of Canada, 604-630-1541,
jessica.brunt@asiapacific.ca
About the Richard Ivey School of
Business, The University of Western
Ontario
The Richard Ivey School of Business at
The University of Western Ontario (www.ivey.ca)
offers undergraduate (HBA)
and graduate degree programs (MBA,
Executive MBA and
PhD) in addition to non-degree
Executive Development programs. Ivey has
campuses in London (Ontario),
Toronto, and Hong Kong. Ivey
recently redesigned its curriculum to
focus on
Cross-Enterprise Leadership â€" a
holistic issues-based approach to
management education that meets the
demands of today's complex global
business world.
For more
information, please contact:
Dawn Milne, Richard Ivey School of
Business, 519-850-2536,
dmilne@ivey.ca
About
Export Development Canada (EDC)
EDC is
Canada’s export credit agency, offering
innovative commercial solutions to help
Canadian exporters and investors expand
their international business. EDC’s
knowledge and partnerships are used by
more than 8,300 Canadian companies and
their global customers in up to 200
markets worldwide each year. EDC is
financially self-sustaining, is a
recognized leader in financial reporting
and economic analysis, and has been
recognized as one of Canada’s Top 100
Employers for eight consecutive years.
For more
information, please contact:
Phil Taylor, Export Development Canada,
613-598-2904,
ptaylor@edc.ca
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