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Interview - Prof. Xing Zhang
Professor Xing Zhang, a marketing professor at Sungkyunkwan University, discusses his background, life before becoming a professor, and his experience at SKKU this year. ■ Where are you from? I grew up in Inner Mongolia, an autonomous region in northern China. It is a region where most Mongolian-speaking people – Mongols in China live. I admit that the name of the place may confuse people if they are not from China. When I say "I am from Inner Mongolia in China," probably they hear "Inner Mongolia" as "in…eh…Mongolia". From time to time, the response was:" So you are from Mongolia? Not China?" I have to give a five-minute lecture on China's history and the difference between Inner Mongolia, which is a region in China, and Mongolia, which is a state. By then, the conversion would often come to a dead-end. ■ Where did you study? I did my undergraduate in China and a PhD in Singapore. ■ What made you choose a business? Admittedly, studying business was not my first choice and not based on my parents' expectation, either. Like many Asian families, my parents took excellent care of my extracurricular activities when I was a kid. I spent a great deal of time practicing accordion after school. At the point I had to decide which major to choose in college seriously, they figured out that studying accordion may not lead to a promising career, and we all happened to agree that studying business may be a better choice in terms of job prospects. ■ What made you decide to go into teaching? Being a student for long enough, I have encountered a lot of great teachers who make significant impacts on me. They were the role-models whom I would like to follow. Several years ago, I served as a teaching assistant to a senior professor who was diagnosed with late cancer and passed away two months later. At the time, he could no longer walk on his own because of the severe side effect from the chemotherapy, so another teaching assistant and I fetched him from the car to the classroom using a wheelchair. What struck me was that he could not speak for very long when we were on the way to the classroom. His voice was so powerless, and I was always worried that he would not be able to teach. But once the classes began, it seems that he was fed with some magical energy from the crowd. He would suddenly turn into a lively lecturer and a powerhouse in leading the class discussion. Everyone in the classroom was so engaged that I even forgot he was ill, and I think so did he. What I saw was that teaching might not be easy, but it is exhilarating if one is entirely devoted to it. ■ What do you enjoy most about teaching? The most enjoyable moments are the ones during the class discussion. Since our MBA students' background are very diverse, they often offered fascinating insights which are completely beyond my expectation. I still remember in one class when we were discussing a case about the fashion retailer "Forever 21". One student from the U.S said the number "21" is very special to American youth because it is the age when drinking alcohol becomes legal. I am still not sure whether that is the reason why the company was named "Forever 21", but now I can remember the legal age for drinking in the U.S forever. ■ What type of research did you conduct in the past? I use lab and field experiments to study consumer psychological biases and their implications in marketing. ■ What are you currently researching? I am working on a project with my co-authors on the chatbot. We look at how chatbot's ability to conduct chitchat influences people's trust towards the chatbot's financial advice. Research in psychology has shown that we tend to use superficial, and sometimes irrelevant characteristics to make inferences about the others' competence. If you like the politician's appearance and voice, you are more likely to consider him/her as trustworthy. This tendency, or bias in decision-making, is coined as the "halo effect" in psychology. We found that this tendency is manifested during human and chatbot interaction. When human decision-maker is randomly assigned to a chattier chatbot who knows the meaning of life (it is 42, of course) and can tell a joke, the decision-maker is more likely to take the chatbot's advice about whether to take financial risk, although the chitchatting and advice-giving are two unrelated features of the chatbot. ■ What has been your best experience so far at SKK GSB? The best experience is interacting with colleagues when I first joined SKK GSB last year. I was impressed by the collegiality here. Everyone is so generous in helping and supporting each other. I felt welcomed when I was settling down in Seoul. There were countless times that I received advice and guidance from my colleagues, which helped me adjust to the new environment. Whitley Pannell, SKK GSB PR Committee, Class of 2021
2019 Full-Time MBA Year-end party
The first semester for the Full-Time MBA class of 2021 and the last semester for the Full-Time MBA class of 2020 came to an end. SKK GSB organized the annual Study Break—a formal gathering of students and faculty before Christmas— to wish the class of 2020 a prosperous future and to encourage the class of 2021 to move forward. The annual party started at 6 pm at the Grand Ambassador Hotel, Seoul. The main purpose of this event was to encourage students and instructors to cooperate, socialize and build good relationships outside the classroom. Since the get-together party was held at a time when we were all free, it was a way for us to share information on study and job opportunities as well as to find out how we spent our time and to update everyone else on what was going on in our lives. A delicious buffet style dinner and wine was laid out for all the participants and a lucky draw followed. After the dinner party, some of the students and faculty went to Itaewon to continue their second-round of parties. Everyone enjoyed the time after their final exams, before students and faculty started to plan their own Christmas and new year winter holiday events. Some students planned to visit their home town, some planned to travel abroad with their friends and family members, some decided to stay, review their studies and seek new internship and job opportunities, and some were preparing for their Dual degree and Study abroad program. The class of 2021 will all return and resume classes the first week of Jan, 2020. Yin Lin, SKK GSB PR Committee, Class of 2021
Donation to ‘Dong-Haeng’ with proceeds raised from the PMBA graduation party
MBA students at Sungkyunkwan University at their graduation party. Students of Sungkyunkwan University have become the talk of the town by their good deeds. The students donated the proceeds raised from the sale of fashion items that fit the dress code at the graduation party on behalf of "Action for Animals” (Dong-Haeng). The animal rights group Dong-Haeng, to which students donated the proceeds, is a professional organization founded for the welfare of captive animals, being the first of its kind in Korea. Since last July, the organization has held a total of 10 monthly-seminars for the welfare of animals used for experiments to provide more information to non-professional outsiders of the Animal Experiment Ethics Committee. Avril Han, an MBA student at Sungkyunkwan University, attended these seminars and was deeply moved by what she saw there. This experience prompted her to devise the donation scheme at the graduation party. Fancy items that fit the dress code of the graduation party were sold, and all proceeds raised at the party were donated to ‘Dong-Haeng’. Avril Han said, "My initial plan was to raise money for the Organic Animal Protection Center. However, I learned from the seminar about the work of Dong-Haeng, and through discussions with my colleagues, I made up my mind to contribute to that." As she explains it, Han was motivated to attend the seminar of Dong-Haeng, "Because I work for a cosmetics company, I had opportunities to visit laboratories and watch laboratory animals. The more knowledge I gained of the harsh reality that animals in experiments face, the more I wanted to do something worthwhile for them. This compelled me to attend the seminars of Dong-Haeng and donate the proceeds from this graduation party." Avril Han said that she was heartbroken whenever she saw the suffering of animals. In order to offer more practical help to the animals, she has been keen on attending seminars to learn more about what animals used in experiments face. Han said she was not aware of Korean organizations like Dong-Haeng, since she spent her early days abroad. She is thankful that there are organizations and groups that offer ideas for her to sympathize with and get inspired by. Avril Han, who spoke with much confidence about her thoughts and beliefs, is a very amiable person. Her amicable nature is exemplified in the picture above. The total sum of proceeds raised at the graduation party was 500,000 KRW; Avril Han herself organized the buying and selling of items that matched the dress code to her classmates. The hard work of Han and her fellow MBA students at Sungkyunkwan University seems to be well portrayed in the picture above. The photo above captures the joy of the graduation party, the thoughts of students on the welfare of the animals experimented upon, and the conviction of Avril Han, who led the party atmosphere. Although the amount of donation was not as huge as contributions sponsored by big companies, the meaning and significance of a 'donation' by the MBA students at Sungkyunkwan University shone brightly. This sponsorship of the MBA students at Sungkyunkwan University definitely inspired the future works of Dong-Haeng and encouraged its incessant focus on the welfare of animals used in experiments. Dong-Haeng is the nation's first professional organization founded for the welfare of captive animals. However, the field where the organization focuses on is yet to be known to many. Prompted by seminars for the Welfare of Animals used in experiments, the donation of MBA students from Sungkyunkwan University would further encourage welfare work in this field and draw the attention of intellectuals around the globe to the field of animals used in experiments. Like the famous saying ‘Rome was not built within a day’, this small deed of students may, one day, be considered as the first step toward greater achievement. Link to the original article(Korean): http://www.yahopet.co.kr/news/51793
Tips for Foreign students to get a decent job
According to the Korea National Statistical Office, foreigners who earn over 3 million won in monthly salary increased 25.5% in 2019 compared to the previous year. Eamon Byrne, the president of SKK GSB FMBA class of 2019 shared his experience on how to get a decent job. Firstly, your resume and even more importantly, a persuasive cover letter needs to be polished to perfection. I suggest drafting a one-page resume without a photo and with an international email address, such as Gmail. Put your Korea degree at the top and omit mention of Microsoft Word skill. Try to apply fast, because timing is the most important element in the recruitment process. Highlight the internship in Korea, if you have one. Check with your company for visa compliance. Using some professional legal advice and consulting will help you to get a higher salary and to reduce your tax and insurance payment. Secondly, do not be afraid to try. I had applied for more than 100 jobs. And finally, I choose a startup company called DC Medical as my first job in Korea. We acquire technologies that have been invented by doctors in the National Health Service (NHS) of the UK. We then transfer these technologies to Korea where we work to complete value-creating milestones including manufacturing, clinical trials, and regulatory approval. We finally sell our products back to the global medical market. I work alongside our leadership team to develop the firm’s strategic vision and also take part in investor relations while seeking venture capital funding. The experience that I gained at SKK GSB has been of great help in advancing my career and has greatly impacted my daily work. To share my personal experience, I am currently in charge of the due diligence on a company that we are in the process of acquiring. As a part of this process, I am constantly reminding myself of the principles that we learned during SKK GSB’s Corporate Finance class where we learned how to effectively progress through due diligence. As another example, as a part of DC Medical’s strategy team, I am frequently tasked with selecting the countries in which we aim to carry out manufacturing, R&D, and the markets where we plan to launch our products. Thanks to the lessons I learned in our Global Marketing Strategy class, I have been able to plan, align and logically back up the strategies that I could recommend to our company’s executives. Reach the dream job: Simon-Kucher’s pricing strategy specialization and my previous work experience aided me greatly in successfully obtaining my dream strategy consultancy job offer at Simon-Kucher & Partners based in London, starting in the year 2020. Simon-Kucher & Partners is a global strategy consulting firm that specializes in revenue growth by optimizing a firm’s strategy, pricing, marketing and sales. As mentioned above, I advise all students to put your best efforts to learn well from the classes and seek your dream job step by step. Last but not least, reach out to your network and ask for help. When a job interview opportunity does arise, prepare day and night to ensure you have given yourself the best odds to receive that golden offer. To all the fantastic GSB students, work hard, try your best and good luck in finding a decent job and starting your golden journey. Yin Lin, SKK GSB PR Committee, Class of 2021
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