What can be done to strengthen the tourism industry in Bukit Lawang?

by Jeffrey Fraser, Global MBA Ambassador 2018-2019 | Digital Business & Innovation major

Being face to face with orangutans in the middle of the Sumatran jungle may seem like an unusual place for a cohort of MBA participants to be coming up with real-world business solutions, but ESSEC Business School’s Global MBA isn’t your average program. In August 2018, our class of Global MBA participants who began the program at ESSEC Asia-Pacific traveled from Singapore to Bukit Lawang in Indonesia for an intensive Design Thinking workshop at Hotel Orangutan. While there, they developed ideas on how to strengthen the tourism industry while preserving the UNESCO World Heritage site. The trip to Bukit Lawang is one of three trips that participants beginning the Strategy & Management and Digital Business & Innovation majors in Singapore will take throughout the course of their program; the other trips will take the group to ESSEC’s campus in France as well as a field trip to Morocco.

Joined by Neal Cross, Managing Director and Chief Innovation Officer of DBS Bank and Founder of Hotel Orangutan, we slipped, climbed, and trekked (some of us even swung) our way through Sumatra’s jungles with the hope of catching a glimpse of the wild orangutans who resided in this UNESCO World Heritage site. They didn’t disappoint. Both shy and curious, orangutans could be spotted gliding through the jungle canopy throughout the day, gradually coming closer to inspect our sweaty group. It was hard to tell who was more interested in whom - we in them, or they in us.

 

After several hours of trekking, it was time to go back to Hotel Orangutan. We waded our way across the river’s chilly thigh-high waters with families of monkeys in audience above us. Along the way, three smiling Indonesian tour guides were waiting with rows of tires roped together. The river’s rapids and this makeshift raft would be our mode of transportation back to Hotel Orangutan -- and we were eager to jump onboard. The ride back to Hotel Orangutan may have marked the end of our trek, but we still had a lot of work to do.

As incredible as the experience was, we hadn’t traveled from Singapore just to take photos of orangutans. We made the trip to Bukit Lawang to engage in an in-depth design thinking workshop led by Alvin Chia, DBS Bank’s Innovation Program Lead and author of “Hackathons Unboxed”, and to help address a critical question: “What can be done to strengthen the tourism industry in Bukit Lawang?” 

This simple question embodies the divisive way forward for Bukit Lawang’s local community. The World Heritage’s Conservation Outlook for Sumatra’s rainforests has pointed ominously at “Critical” for the past 14 years, identifying illegal logging and deforestation as two major culprits. To make matters worse, the tourism industry’s environmental footprint is a source of mounting concern as more and more world travelers are seizing the opportunity to see orangutans in their natural habitat every year. The residents of Bukit Lawang are torn by the economic opportunity provided by capitalizing on its burgeoning tourism industry and the impact it may have on the rainforest and its inhabitants.

This is where design thinking came in.

Our work began well before we even set foot in the jungle. In groups and with Alvin’s guidance, we took the time to identify who the stakeholders were and conducted interviews with representative populations to understand their wants, needs, and perceptions. We refined our definitions, segmented them accordingly, and reassessed our approach to the problem. From there, we started to identify possible solutions and opportunities, then set back out to test these ideas with the people.

“How do your customers find you?”

“What brought you here? How many of your friends travel like you?”

“What’s unique in your offerings compared to other businesses in the area?”

“How important is eco-friendly tourism to you?”

“How much more would you pay for eco-friendly accommodation or tour services?”

Two days after we were set to the task, our groups came up with three entirely different solutions. One was a community center meant to galvanize and empower the local community to unite their efforts in building sustainable tourism. Another group pitched a customizable online platform to connect eco-friendly travelers with likeminded accommodation and activity providers. The third group designed a certification and brand solution that leveraged customers’ willingness to pay more for officially accredited eco-friendly businesses. 

All of these ideas were presented as part of a friendly competition to Neal Cross and Prof. Aarti Ramaswami, Deputy Dean of ESSEC Asia-Pacific and Academic Director of the Global MBA. I’ll leave it to your imagination who won the competition and instead share some interesting insight from our judges: these ideas are not distinct from one another, but rather different phases of the same solution.

It’s been a few months since our trip to Hotel Orangutan, but the learnings from the trip continue to resonate as we pass the halfway point for the first term. We’ve freshened up our fundamentals in Term 0, and in Term 1 we’re tackling Financial Accounting, Marketing Management, Strategic Management, Statistical Analysis, Financial Management and more. The focus on leadership is no mistake - we don’t just learn how to navigate the technical aspects of these subjects, we learn how to consolidate and apply this knowledge to high-level decision making. Like the design thinking workshop at Hotel Orangutan, we’ve had to rely on our own tact, grit and savvy, as well as trust in our teammates to achieve as a whole what we could not do individually.

Just as how the end of the trek didn’t mean the end of our work, the end of the first term is nigh but we look forward to even more learning opportunities and experiences. Stay tuned for more ESSEC Global MBA adventures in Singapore, France, Morocco, and beyond!

#ESSECGMBAExperience

Learning by Pedaling #GMBAEXPERIENCE

by Kailash Satyanarayan, Global MBA Ambassador 2018-2019 | Finance Major

What is the life of a Global MBA participant outside of campus? What is it like exploring the most traveled city in the world? To answer these questions, together with some of the Global MBA participants, we decided to bike around the city of lights at its most prominent time, at night!

Traveling through time, we discovered the iconic places in Paris, including the Louvre, the Place de la Concorde, the Eiffel Tower, and the Notre-Dame Cathedral, to name a few. We got a taste of the lively Paris city, a very entertaining history lesson on the city and some physical fitness traveling on the bikes.

From the majestic architecture of the various structures to the historic events that shaped the country, we went through a journey to discover the city. The joy of having the most iconic monuments in the world virtually at our doorstep got us very thrilled and excited.

Reflecting further, I could see a strong connection between the Global MBA program and the historic city of Paris.

Intercultural Experience

ESSEC ensures its participants have a truly global view. With participants coming from over 25 cultures and nationalities, the Global MBA emphasizes on leadership with a cultural lens. As I pedaled across Paris, I reflected on the city being such a big part of this experience. Living in a connected world, the aspect of learning from one another is ever so vital. The unique story of all my classmates related to the story we were discovering as we explored Paris.

Discovery

The Global MBA program is one of discovery. Discovering not only my leadership style but also my real aspirations. A sense of understanding of what I am really passionate about. Riding through the alleyways of Paris, I could sense the discovery connected to what I was experiencing in the MBA, feeling heartened that ESSEC’s mentors and professors will always be there to help and guide me in my journey of discovery.

Visit to Louis Vuitton Museum & Atelier

By Emilia Wilson, Global MBA Ambassador 2018-2019, Luxury Brand Management Major

 

Upon walking into the gated familial home of Louis Vuitton, we were welcomed by a very finely dressed gentleman, who accepted our bags and jackets before offering us tea and freshly squeezed juice. The group of 30 of us walked around the residence in awe of the Art Nouveau style of the salon and the lovely garden. We enjoyed our tea and juice while, of course, taking many photos and soaking in the experience.

Salary Negotiation - Learning-by-Doing in our Managerial Communications Course

by Sébastien Leroy, Global MBA Ambassador 2018-2019 | Hospitality Management major

Salary negotiations are an exercise which many find challenging. How do we approach this delicate discussion without being over demanding, and how much more would be considered acceptable? To help us manage such negotiations better, our Managerial Communication professor, Boris Quinchon, organized an interactive role-playing activity for our class today. It is always motivating to take part in such activities because it engages us through active involvement in the course, allowing us to apply what we’ve learned to real-life situations.

For the case, we were split up into groups of four. Each group had one employee and one manager, who were discussing a salary negotiation, as well as two observers who analyzed the exchange and the discussion. This exercise was interesting because both the manager and the employee were given different sets of information. The employee was playing the role of a senior employee in an organization, who was a newly-wed father asking for a raise, while the manager had newly arrived in the company and did not know her subordinates very well. While the employee had high expectations in the negotiation of the raise, the manager did not have much leeway in terms of how much the increment could be.

While certain groups did not reach an agreement in the exercise and ended up in a confrontational situation, others were able to negotiate a common ground and found themselves in a situation of mediation and common discussion. The takeaways from this exercise for MBA participants would include being more mindful and empathetic of both the employee’s and the manager’s position during salary negotiation. An employee may not be aware of the budget restrictions that may be imposed on a manager, perhaps by the board members or the organization, and likewise, a manager may not be aware of the daily difficulties (financial or personal) that an employee may be facing outside of the workplace. Being aware of these biases is helpful in understanding the mechanics of an effective negotiation. 

At the end of class, the observers had the chance to summarize their interpretation of the exercise and the different groups discussed their results. In this Managerial Communications class, we have the opportunity to consolidate the skills and new perspectives, which we have acquired in our other classes, such as in our Negotiating or Management of People at Work classes, which we attended earlier in the year. 

Stay tuned for the next first-hand Global MBA class experience!

The Saint-Cyr Experience and its Relevance

by Anirban Paul, Global MBA Ambassador 2018-19 | Strategy and Management Major

   

One of the first things a Global MBA participant experiences as part of the program is the Leadership Training program at Saint-Cyr Coëtquidan, the French military higher education school located about 200 miles from Paris. The 2018-19 batch had the opportunity to visit Saint-Cyr in September this year, one week after the induction program. After a late evening arrival at Saint-Cyr, we were welcomed by military officers who would also be our mentors for the program. After a quick briefing, we were divided into teams of ten and asked to collect our gears and get ready for an early morning start.

    

What followed was an intense 3-day Leadership training program, where each team had to perform a set of physically-and-intellectually challenging team-building tasks. For each task, our mentor assigned a chief and a deputy chief, who would together lead the task. All team members took turns in managing the tasks as chief and/or deputy chief. Most of us within the team had just met each other and over the first couple of tasks, we got to know more about each other’s personalities.

   

What impressed me was how the Leadership training program was designed to reflect the experiences of the corporate world. Having worked in multiple Consulting projects for over ten years, these were my key takeaways from the program:

Leadership: In today's competitive world, leadership skills are crucial for both personal and professional development. Leadership is an important function of management which helps an individual or a business to maximize efficiency and to achieve goals. Over the span of a career, people are likely to lead teams and work with managers of different leadership styles. 

The ability to adapt and align to these styles contributes significantly to the success of an individual as well as the organization. Saint-Cyr provided a great opportunity for people to lead teams and work with teammates having different leadership styles. The mentors at the program emphasized the ability to adapt and the importance of active listening as key aspects of leadership development. I am certain that we will continue to develop these qualities throughout the Global MBA program and eventually implement them in our careers upon graduation.

Inclusion and Diversity: We live in a world where inclusion and diversity are key to the success of corporations, especially the ones which have a global footprint. For professionals looking to develop an international career, it is also integral to be able to thrive in a multicultural environment. The current batch of Global MBA participants includes a diverse group of people from over 20 countries. 

At Saint-Cyr, each team had a good mix of people from across the globe, which gave everyone a taste of working with people from different cultures and with different personalities. The Saint-Cyr experience, as well as the overall Global MBA program, will provide us with the opportunity to work in an inclusive environment and help us integrate into corporations with diverse cultures seamlessly.

Teamwork: At Saint-Cyr, through the team-building activities, we were able to achieve our assigned goals, collaborate, and synergize. We reflected on how we delegated tasks, influenced each other positively and held accountability as a team. We often faced challenges in completing tasks, but at key moments, many of us stepped up to go the extra mile for the team. This demonstration of team spirit helped us complete tasks and build camaraderie with each other. 

At the workplace too, teamwork plays a key role in the success of a project and most importantly the growth of an individual. The Global MBA program is designed around activities that need to be performed as a team and this experience will most definitely prepare participants to work in teams at the workplace.