Social Media

Saturday was a free day for the delegation in China.  We took a tour around West Lake, which is a large natural lake in Hangzhou.  It has a very traditional feel – there are beautiful bridges and other archways across the water and you travel in old-style wooden boats.  We also had a chance to tour a tea factory.  Tea is a very important commodity in China.  They showed us how it is grown and processed, explained the different types of teas, the significance of tea and how to drink it (how to hold the cup, etc.).  In the evening we had a large impromptu dinner where the delegates talked about the trip and the benefits of this job mission.  The delegation was very upbeat and very positive.  They felt like there are incredible business opportunities that resulted from this visit.  We hope there will be tangible results announced when we return to Indiana!

Sunday was primarily a travel day to Japan.  There are no direct flights out of Hangzhou, so we had to drive three hours to Shanghai and then fly to Japan.

The contrast between the two countries is interesting.  Of course, there is a long rivalry between the two – our Chinese hosts did not like the idea of us spending time in Japan and vice versa.  They are very competitive with each other, so this was a delicate balance for the delegation to maintain while visiting both countries.  Differences in the cultures are very strong.  China looks to end results and production, while Japan is detail-oriented and very focused on quality over quantity.  Japan is a very urban society, with only four percent of its labor force engaged in agriculture.  The labor force is very well-educated and industrious, with over 42 percent of the work force being female.  Japanese tend to have a high rate of savings and investment.  There is a strong promotion of trade – much more so than in China, obviously, with a communist government – and more open communications.  For example, Japan has embraced Twitter, Facebook and other social media, while under China's government these social mediums are heavily regulated or even not allowed.  There are also differences in how people dress.  Japanese people are very formal and style-conscious, big on designer clothes.  China is very casual and low-key.  There is also a huge difference in population.  China has the well-known one child per family rule, due to the explosive growth here, but Japan's population has recently started shrinking.  Japan is trying to develop social programs and incentives to encourage families to have more children.

Japan is very organized and very structured.  From the minute you land in the airport, there are signs indicating exactly how many minutes the wait will be.  They have individuals constantly monitoring and rushing you through in an orderly manner.  The environment is hurried, rushed and precise.  It's a very clean and neat society.  The streets and sidewalks are immaculate.  The terrible pollution problems I mentioned in an earlier blog about China are completely absent in Japan.  When you enter a building, there is a special machine that covers your umbrella up so that rain does not drip onto the floor.  When you walk by someone in an establishment, they bow to you and greet you.  If a task is done untimely or it takes a period of time to accomplish the task, they are incredibly apologetic, constantly indicating how sorry they were that you waited.  They are a society that very much wants to please you and is incredibly service oriented, polite, and courteous. 

Japan is slightly smaller than California, and about 73 percent of the land is mountainous.  Their economy is the third largest in the world and it is highly efficient and competitive, with areas linked to international trade, but has very low productivity in areas such as agriculture (because of all the mountains) and services.  What little agriculture they have is highly subsidized and protected by the government.  Japan has few natural resources, so trade helps foreign exchange.  Major industries include electronic equipment, food processing, machinery and metals.  Electronics are state-of-the-art and common.  Even curtains are opened and closed electronically.  Televisions and appliances are top-of-the-line.  Japan is very proud of its electronic achievements and they are a fairly successful society.  The GDP is about $5 trillion and the per capita GDP is about $32,700. 

Governor Daniels met today with the senior leadership of Honda, Toyota Motor Corporation and Subaru.   According to Ron Christian (fellow delegation member and executive vice president of Vectren), the governor expressed the appreciation of the people of the state of Indiana for these organizations' continued support of the Indiana economy through their presence of facilities in the state.  He also described the benefits the state provides relative to other locations for existing and expanded operations.  They had a very good exchange with the companies about their operations in the state and continuing opportunities that might exist.

Phil Repp, Vice President for Information Technology, Ball State University

Thanks to all for a great evening on the security roundtable!

I was struck by the shared opinions on social media and its link to information security practices. We seemed to agree that IT organizations can only do so much and the primary, and most critical, strategy is to educate the user of social media.  Abuses of privacy and exposing personal information will end when people stop responding to phishing or other tricks that ask for personal information. Information security starts with a single individual.

There is a wealth of data on individuals out on the Internet – location, banking information, medications, heart rate data from your morning run, caloric consumption, personal ruminations, maybe even your shoe size!  Before a user sends any or all of this kind data into the cloud, he or she should stop and think before they reveal – yes, even your shoe size. Watch what you click, make sure it is a secure site, and read the privacy policies first. How many people have read the privacy policies for Facebook or Twitter?  Probably very few!  Know that scams are everywhere, so be wary and vigilant.

Since 2007, one issue has consistently dominated the list of top issues for CEOs – corporate reputation.  As Warren Buffett reportedly said, "It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.  If you think about that, you'll do things differently."  Just ask BP, Enron or Arthur Andersen.  Even in times of major economic change, the 2010 CEO survey found that CEOs, for the most part, maintain a relatively consistent structure of priorities. 

Since we first conducted the survey in 2007, we've seen the explosion of social media Web sites including LinkedIN, Twitter, Facebook and everything from Advogato to Zooppa.  In this emerging virtual world, reputation and reputation management will likely play an even bigger role as customer complaints and employee grievances hit cyberspace and the potential to reach millions of consumers in mere seconds. 

If you thought good news traveled fast, bad news travels even faster.

The Butler University College of Business, Ice Miller and Inside INdiana Business announced today the results of their fourth annual statewide survey of Indiana's chief executive officers, senior executives and business owners. The survey, "The State of Our Business – A Perspective from Indiana Executives," provides insight and understanding on the significant issues facing the state's business leadership.

The project partners identified 2,420 CEOs and other executive officers as potential respondents. Of those contacted, 428 responded to a comprehensive online survey designed by the Butler University College of Business.

The project partners identified 2,420 CEOs and other executive officers as potential respondents. Of those contacted, 428 responded to a comprehensive online survey designed by the Butler University College of Business.

"The survey found some reasons for optimism," stated Gerry Dick, president of Grow INdiana Media Ventures, LLC and host of Inside INdiana Business. "For example, many CEOs report there is now a stronger likelihood they will pursue adding jobs compared to their outlook in 2009." The survey found that central Indiana companies are more likely to add jobs as are companies with less than $5 million in revenue and those between $10 million and $50 million in revenue.

"We're now seeing several trends emerge as we start to analyze the data over a four year period," noted Byron Myers, chief managing partner, Ice Miller. "Many of the priorities of Indiana executives, with the exception of customer loyalty and retention, received importance ratings that are statistically equal to ratings received in 2009 as well as all past years of the survey. This may be an indication that even in times of major economic change CEOs maintain a relatively consistent structure of priorities."

"This year's CEO survey shows that the general business mood is improving but most CEOs are hesitant to implement solid growth strategies until the economy settles down somewhat," said Bill O'Donnell, director of graduate programs, Butler University College of Business. "We are also pleased that now, with four years of data, we can start tracking trends and see the direction CEOs view the state's economy to be moving."

Study highlights from 2010 include the following:

•  Customer reputation is back on top as the highest ranked business issue. In 2009, the highest ranked issue was customer loyalty and retention.
•  K-12 education and innovation continue to be ranked as the strongest disadvantages for Indiana as compared to neighboring states. Cost of living is still seen as the strongest advantage that Indiana has over neighboring states and has been on the rise as the strongest advantage since 2007.
•  CEOs believe the availability of private funding sources is significantly less compared to 2009.
•  A new question was added in 2010 regarding CEOs' plans to hire workers. There is optimism among CEOs that they will hire in 2010, as adding full-time and part-time workers was ranked above the midpoint on the scale.
•  Having enough time is still CEOs most challenging issue, although keeping up with technology has moved up in the ranking.
•  New questions about social media were added to the section relating to information technology. One-third of CEOs said they have a policy concerning social media usage for employees.

The project partners will continue to benchmark the results from the 2010 survey and monitor, discuss and analyze the state's progress. A full summary of the report can be found online at: www.inceosurvey.com.