Companies Grapple With Fiscal Pressures
Doing business in Asia is a tight squeeze. Rising costs and pressure to cut prices are seen as the top two business challenges by company managers in the region. But even in the face of these fiscal pressures, companies aren't likely to shave budgets.
MANAGING IN ASIA
? Asian Executives Struggle to Manage Stress
? Part One: Asians Are Optimistic on Business
12/02/04
That is the word from respondents to the Managing in Asia survey, which polled business people in the region. Spiraling costs and strong downward pressure on prices were identified by 74% of the 859 respondents as their main concerns.
That sentiment was strongest among Singaporeans, Malaysians, Hong Kong citizens, Thais, Taiwanese and South Koreans. Rising energy costs and raw-materials shortages are pushing up prices in many sectors important to these economies, including electronics manufacturing, chip making, vehicle production and construction. At the same time, companies are continually pushed to compete on price.
While sharing those concerns, respondents in other markets identified challenges unique to them. Australians, for example, say increased competition on their home turf is the top challenge.
Filipinos, meanwhile, say the economy is their biggest business headache. While the third quarter was surprisingly strong, growth has been underpinned by the agriculture sector and the economy is expected to moderate in 2005.
Indonesians are most concerned with corruption. Recently elected President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has pledged to eradicate the country's endemic graft.
Japanese respondents identify a shortage of skilled workers as their No. 1 concern. A declining birthrate and an aging society -- by 2025, 30% of Japanese will be more than 65 years old -- are contributing factors. To fill the void, Japan may need to turn increasingly to migrant workers and consider outsourcing more operations. This is reflected in the survey's results: When asked what their companies' plans were for the next year, 63% of Japanese respondents said more internal services, such as call centers, billing and back-office operations, will be outsourced.
Company managers elsewhere in Asia say they are preparing to tackle their business challenges on three fronts: offering new products and services; focusing on the customer, developing customer loyalty and cultivating a larger customer base; and being quick to adapt to change.
For many respondents, investing in innovation makes sense. Several said their companies will seek to stay ahead of the pack by focusing on developing new products and services in the coming year. Customers count, too, and many companies are looking at ways to grab more customers and keep their cherished clients. Managers in Asia also recognize the need to keep the competitive edge by making sure they adapt faster and better to rapid changes.
To achieve their goals, they don't intend to cut budgets. Staff will be learning new skills, with 62% of respondents reporting that their companies plan to increase spending on staff training this year. There's more good news for staff, with 66% of respondents saying they aren't planning to freeze compensation at 2004 levels.
But many bosses will be watching employees more closely, as they plan to move toward a performance-based system for pay. A bigger portion of compensation will be tied to bonus payments and/or stock options than during the past year. There is bad news for vendors and suppliers, however: They can expect to come under more pressure, as 61% of all respondents said their company likely will lean on them to reduce costs.
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About the Survey
Asia's top managers are facing some tough decisions in these cutthroat times. Rising costs and a strong pressure to compete on price are crucial concerns. In response, many managers are thinking strategically, keeping budgets intact and investing in staff training.
So say respondents of the Asiawide Managing in Asia survey, conducted during September and October by research companies Aegis Group PLC's Synovate research arm and NFO WorldGroup Inc.'s Insight Express affiliate. The survey polled influential business people throughout Asia and aims to give insight into their thinking on issues such as economic growth in China and India, business challenges and personal hurdles.
Taking part were 859 people -- most in top managerial positions and with household incomes in excess of $147,000 -- from Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand.
In the first part of the series, published Dec. 2, we learned Asia's managers are confident of competing against the emerging economic powerhouses of China and India. Today, we uncover crucial business challenges, identify some of the strategies companies are adopting to gain the competitive edge and peek into the psyches of some of Asia's stressed executives.
In the third part, to be published Dec. 16, we identify business-travel trends and some business-travel habits.
亚洲经理人面临不断增长的经营压力
在亚洲开展业务并不是一件容易的事情。对于亚洲地区的公司经理人而言，不断升高的成本和降价的压力是他们面临的两大首要问题。不过即便是面临这样的财务压力，各公司也不大可能降低预算。
据一项对亚洲高级经理人的调查显示，在859名受访者中有74%人表示，不断增加的成本以及巨大的降价压力是他们主要担心的问题。
其中新加坡、马来西亚、香港、泰国、台湾和韩国等国家和地区的经理人对上述问题的反应最为强烈。由于能源成本攀升，加上原材料紧缺，推高了上述国家和地区许多重要行业的价格，包括电子制造、晶片制造、汽车制造及建筑等行业。同时各公司之间还不得不在价格上继续展开竞争。
虽然其他国家和地区的经理人也有这方面的担忧，但他们还面临其他个别的挑战，例如澳大利亚经理人表示，国内竞争压力加大是他们面临的首要问题。
而菲律宾经理人表示，国家经济是他们最头疼的问题。虽然第三季度菲律宾经济出奇地强劲，但其经济增长主要靠农业的支撑，预计菲律宾2005年经济增长将温和增长。
印尼经理人最担心的是腐败问题。印尼新任总统苏西洛(Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono)曾誓言要根除这个国家猖獗的腐败行为。
日本经理人认为熟练工人匮乏是他们最担心的问题。日本人口出生率不断下降，并开始步入老年化社会，到2025年，日本65岁以上的人口比例将达到30%，这些都造成了熟练工人的不足。为了解决这一问题，日本可能需要更多地依赖外来劳工，并且还要考虑将更多的业务外包。这一点在此次调查中也得到了应证。当被问到其所在公司明年有何计划时，63%的日本受访者称，公司打算将呼叫中心等内部服务、广告、后勤等更多的业务外包出去。
亚洲其他地区的公司经理人称，他们准备从三个方面应对挑战：推出新产品和新服务；以客户为核心，培养客户的忠诚度，扩大客户基础；迅速调整自己适应新的变化。
许多受访者都认为，在创新上投资是很有意义的。一些经理人称，他们的公司明年将把重心放在新产品和新服务的开发上，争取走在同行的前面。客户对于公司而言也十分重要，许多公司都想方设法在争取更多的客户的同时留住那些重要的客户。这些亚洲经理人还意识到，为了保持住自己的竞争实力，他们必须能够更快、更好地适应环境的迅速变化。
为了实现这些目标，经理人们并不打算削减预算。员工们将要学习新的技能，有62%的受访者称，他们的公司计划今年增加员工培训费用。另外，66%的受访者表示，他们并不打算将员工的工资仅维持在2004年水平，这对员工而言又是一个好消息。
不过许多老板将会对员工提出更加严格的要求，他们计划逐步采取以员工表现为基础的薪酬制度，与过去的一年相比，员工薪酬中奖金和期权的比重将会增加。另外，有61%的受访者称，他们的公司可能会通过与供应商谈判来削减成本，这对供应商而言可是个坏消息。
(back)Executives Struggle to Manage Stress
People in Asia are highly stressed. Recent studies show stress levels and suicide rates are both rising in the region. But what are the triggers?
Bob Broadfoort , the managing director of the Political and Economic Risk Consultancy Ltd. in Hong Kong, says stress is related to an inability to manage change. PERC recently published a report that shows stress levels among executives in Asia are escalating.
"In Asia, it's when people don't have the ability to manage a problem that stress escalates," says Mr. Broadfoort. As an example, he cites corporate restructuring and layoffs in Japan, where previous tradition has been a job for life. Japan has the highest suicide rate in the industrialized world, with 24.1 suicides per 100,000 people each year, according to the United Nation's World Health Organization.
MANAGING IN ASIA
? Companies Grapple With Fiscal Pressures in Asia
? Part One: Asians Are Optimistic on Business
12/02/04
The Managing in Asia survey attempts to discover what is pushing those stress levels by asking respondents to identify their most pressing personal challenges.
Trying to strike the right balance between work and life is what most worries Australians, Indonesians, Japanese, Malaysians and Taiwanese. Psychologist Melanie Bryan in Hong Kong described this response as a "good first step" in recognizing a problem.
Filipinos and Singaporeans are overwhelmed by mounting demands and insufficient resources, while Hong Kong citizens say coping with their stress levels is their top personal challenge.
The survey also asked respondents what they would ask for if they were granted one wish. Forget world peace -- all respondents had realistic wishes. The people of Hong Kong, Indonesia and Malaysia want all the poor performers in their company fired -- fast. Australians, Malaysians, South Koreans and Thais wanted bigger research-and-development budgets.
Taiwanese respondents are feeling bogged down by bureaucracy and would like to get rid of red tape at work. Japan's salarymen, meanwhile, want more staff to help reduce their workloads. Singaporeans would love huge pay increases while Filipinos simply want new jobs.
亚洲经理人个人压力不断增大
亚洲人承受著巨大的压力。最新一项调查显示，亚洲人面临的压力不断增大，同时该地区的自杀率也在升高。是什么原因导致这种情况出现呢？
香港政治经济风险咨询有限公司(Political and Economic Risk Consultancy Ltd., PERC)董事总经理鲍伯?布罗德富尔特(Bob Broadfoort)称，这些压力与人们无力改变现状有关。PERC近期公布的一份报告显示，亚洲经理人感受到的压力正不断增大。
布罗德富尔特称，在亚洲，当人们感到无力解决一项问题时，压力就会增大，比如在日本，公司的重组和裁员就是这种让人们感到无力改变的事情，因为日本人以前往往是在一家公司供职终身的。据联合国(the United Nation)世界卫生组织(World Health Organization)的数据，日本的自杀率在工业化国家中是最高的，每年每100,000人中就有24.1个人自杀。
此次亚洲高级经理人调查对受访者个人最大的压力问题进行了调查，试图从中找到亚洲人压力增大的原因。
澳大利亚、印度尼西亚、日本、马来西亚和台湾等国家和地区的人们最大的担忧是如何平衡好工作和生活的关系。香港心理学家布莱恩(Melanie Bryan)称，这是找到问题的第一步。
菲律宾和新加坡人面临的最大压力是需求增加和资源不足，而香港人表示，应付个人压力是他们最大的问题。
此项调查还向受访者提出了这样的问题：如果能让你实现一个愿望，你最想要的是什么。得到的回答并不是世界和平，所有受访者都有非常现实的愿望。香港、印尼以及马来西亚人希望公司里所有表现差的人都立即被解雇；而澳大利亚、韩国和泰国人则希望能有更多的研发资金。
台湾受访者觉得被官僚主义毒害不浅，希望去除工作中繁文缛节。而日本的职员希望公司能雇佣更多人手，以减轻繁重的工作负担。新加坡人希望能大幅加薪，而菲律宾人只想换一个新的工作。
