careers
Trading Up:
In search of Greener Grass
By Raymond Langley
–No nation was ever ruined by trade.
Benjamin Franklin
T
he world economy has become increasingly interdependent and in
recent decades the process of globalisation has accelerated due mostly to
trade liberalization, increased labour,
capital mobility and the internet revolution. New opportunities are emerging
constantly and as part of this process
new markets and new players are challenging current business practices.
But how do companies, especially
small and medium-sized enterprises,
which lack the resources and global
structures of larger groups, go about
circumnavigating the troubled waters
of slowing economies and depleted
sources of financing, in their search for
growth wherever it may lay?
After many years of involvement in
trade development and export promotion, Claude Cellich and Michel Borgeon,
professors at Geneva-based International University in Geneva have a clear
view on the past, the present and the
future of the tool box available to companies seeking to widen their horizons
and discover new markets. In 2012, they
co-authored “Trade Promotion Strategies – Best Practices” (Business Expert
Press) which critically delves into the
best available practices and descriptions
of those organizations that are meant
to support export-oriented companies.
During a recent conversation at the
International University in Geneva campus, Messrs. Cellich and Borgeon sat
with Swiss Style to outline these solutions.
“Growth for companies is becoming
a constant challenge that needs to be
addressed in a consistent manner”, explains Prof. Cellich. “When companies
reach limits to growth in their own
70 – Swiss style
Michel Borgeon, co-author of “Trade Promotion Strategies” and professor at International
University in Geneva.
country or comfort zone area, they have
to look outside the borders to further
develop their business. But by contemplating the entry into an international
market outside their comfort zone, they
face multiple challenges”.
“Language and legal considerations
are just part of the problem”, adds Professor Borgeon. “Issues such as lacking
knowledge of networks in the target
market, facilitation to identify and
meet the right partners and finally receiving the right support to translate
opportunities into real business leads
are major hurdles”.
Both academics agree that going it
alone can be an important risk: firms
pursuing cross-border economic opportunities must engage in a costly process
of identifying potential partners and
assessing their reliability, trustworthiness, timeliness, and capabilities.
Although diplomatic foreign missions
and trade promotion organizations, by
informing on foreign markets and disseminating information on domestic
products, may contribute to overcoming this problem it is much more productive for the firm to participate in
national trade promotion programs designed and implemented with government assistance. Most Trade Promotion
Organizations (TPOs) are either fully
financed and controlled governmental
organizations or public organizations
under government control, with only
a small proportion being operated as
private organizations. They can be local, regional or national, with national
TPOs providing the most important role
in coordinating and managing national
export strategies.
In the past though, this type of assistance too often resulted in very sporadic
and uncoordinated involvement of the
business community and of non-trade
related government agencies. But for a
TPO to be strong and effective, it must
be the product of a coordinated effort
by all interested parties and be linked
to other economic and developmental
issue n° 230 – 71
careers
initiatives in order to fulfil its mission.
“In recent years” explains Claude
Cellich, who is also a guest lecturer at
various trade promotion organizations
and universities, “we have witnessed a
significant shift from traditional promotional activities to innovative trade
tools, instruments, and measures. As
a result of increased globalization, the
Internet revolution, and intense competition, TPOs have been forced to restructure and reorient themselves to
remain relevant and to stay abreast of
an ever-changing commercial environment: they are retooling and recalibrating for the future, reflecting the need
to provide exporters with sophisticated
and targeted advisory services to compete successfully in foreign markets”.
Michel Borgeon, who has been involved
in trade promotion for over three decades, mention that “TPOs have proven
their worth over the last decade in the
rapidly changing nature of world trade.
This is demonstrated by the experiences of countries with successful exports,
many of which have strong centrally
organized national TPOs: the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), the
Korea Trade Promotion Corporation
(KOTRA) and the Singapore Trade Development Board.
The higher the hurdles, the greater
the value TPOs can deliver. They can
guide guide their companies into the
most appropriate sectors and highlight
areas of national competitiveness, and
enables exporters to gain access to foreign markets.
The co-authors believe that TPOs
can also assist in accurately assessing
the market-readiness of potential exporters. “It is instrumental and vital
if resources are to be used effectively”
clarifies Professor Borgeon, “for companies to ensure that they are objectively
ready to make the leap into foreign
markets. This can be done skilfully,
as in many cases one is dealing with
ego-driven entrepreneurs who may not
take kindly to what they may consider
direct criticism”.
Claude Cellich clarifies this point:
“A means for providing efficient advice
while removing this subjective part of
the advisory role of a TPO is to use computer software, in order to identify potential deficiencies of a given company.
For example, some TPOs in Canada and
72 – Swiss style
Australia provide self-assessments online, which are useful because they take
participants through a step-by-step
process that uncover key issues which
may have not even occurred to them.
According to the KOF Swiss Economic Institute, Switzerland is one of
the most globalized countries regularly
ranking amongst the top 5 of their surveys. Although considered a somewhat
conservative and risk-averse breed,
Swiss companies, large and small, have
learned to grow outside their limited
market, with SME’s often choosing the
less challenging course of trading with
neighbouring countries. Perhaps not
surprisingly, export sentiment among
Swiss SMEs at the start of third-quarter
2013 is the most optimistic it has been
since mid-2011. All sectors are expecting a rise in exports. One reason is the
positive impact of the improved economic situation in the euro zone but
more and more firms are expecting
growth to come from Japan, the US,
Eastern Europe and the major emerging-market countries.
Recently OSEC, Switzerland’s better known TPO, was rebranded as Switzerland Global Enterprise with “Enabling
new business” as its value proposition
as well as its motto. Apparently, this is
one instance were marketing DOES reflect reality. «««
International University of Geneva’s
New MBA/BA Programs
The International University of Geneva (IUG) reached a new milestone in
2013 by being included in the Higher
Education guide International Handbook of Universities (IHU) published
by UNESCO and the International Association of Universities. In an effort
to offer more diverse programs as well
as providing a an practical learning
experience, IUG is now offering three
new programs as of this September,
two graduate and one undergraduate:
Master of Business Administration
(MBA) in Entrepreneurship, an Master
of Business Administration (MBA) in
Sales & Marketing, and a Bachelor of
Science (BS) in Computer Science.
The new MBA programs reflect current management trends geared towards company creation and sales
development. The MBA in Sales &
Marketing is designed for professionals who wish to progress their career
in sales within a merchandising context. The program builds managers
who master the marketing and sales
process, including how to design and
manage successful strategies.
The MBA with a focus on Entrepreneurship is designed for professionals
who wish to redefine the way of doing
business. This focused MBA supports
entrepreneurs who wish to develop
their entrepreneurial skills. The program addresses all the challenges of
following the entrepreneurial path:
generating new ideas and managing
innovation, financing start-ups, bringing new ideas to market and leading
the business successfully.
Along with the MBA programs, IUG
is launching a BS in Computer Science. The program is designed for
high school graduates interested in
pursuing careers in information systems programming and IT management. The program covers all key
aspects of systems analysis, design,
implementation, testing, deployment
as well as IT services, security and
project management. The key benefits
of the program will be the learning in
a dynamic environment in Switzerland
with a multicultural student body and
faculty from academia and international business thereby gaining an effective, comprehensive understanding
of information systems design and
programming.
Following this launch of new programs in critical areas in business,
IUG’s new programs should prove
to attract more students in their new
school years as the University provides educational opportunities with a
global outlook.