Author Archive
SFU MBAs in Singapore: Siloso Beach Resort
Posted by: Eva in MBA Experience on September 16th, 2011
Today, we made our way through the forests of Sentosa Island to Siloso Beach Resort, one of our survey respondents and industry best practice leaders who agreed to host our onsite visit and interview. One of Siloso’s CSR Team members gave us a tour of their facilities at the hotel. This Eco-resort was designed from the planning phase to be built in harmony with the surrounding environment, and to minimize any harmful effects once in operation.
Perhaps the most striking thing to me about this resort was the efforts made towards keeping the surrounding environment undisturbed. For example, the terrain had not been flattened to build the resort. Instead, the hotel structure was built on stilts to account for the natural slope of the terrain. Siloso also went to great lengths to preserve trees that had originally existed in the area. When we visited one of the villas, a tree was right in the middle of the room, coming up through the floor and extending through the ceiling! As far as a hotel experience can go, it really felt like you were living amongst the natural habitat. A relaxing soak in one of the villas’ outdoors jacuzzis, listening to the jungle sounds would really complete that experience. There was also a beautiful swimming pool, which was built where an old road used to be, which meant that less digging was required to construct it.
SFU MBAs in Singapore: Together at Last!
Posted by: Connie in MBA Experience on September 16th, 2011
In terms of our progress for this project, we have currently received survey responses from 18 hotels in total, many of which represent key players in Singapore’s hotel industry. Initially, we were a bit disappointed in our seemingly low response rate. However, after speaking to the Singapore Hotel Association last week, we were reassured that getting responses from roughly 20 hotels in Singapore would be considered successful. This discussion motivated us to approach hotels even more aggressively and helped us re-adjust our focus to target the remaining hotels that are either large in size or are well-recognized for their environmental sustainability efforts. We are optimistic that we will be able to boost our response rate over the next couple of days and that we would be able to schedule at least a few more onsite visits and interviews with industry best practice leaders, in addition to the eco-tour that we have scheduled for at the Siloso Beach Resort tomorrow.
SFU MBAs in Singapore: Local Food
Posted by: Eva in MBA Experience on September 16th, 2011
Shrimp at Japanese Burger place, MOS Burger
Teh Si at a traditional Singaporean breakfast cafe
Bread with kaya and butter at a traditional Singaporean breakfast place
Asian soft drinks at 7-eleven
Mee Goreng (fried noodles)
Various feast items! Fried rice, satay, kang kong, baby gai lan, sambal sting ray, cereal prawns, turnip cake omlette, sugar cane juice.
SFU MBAs in Singapore: Lessons from Singapore
Posted by: Kathleen in MBA Experience on September 16th, 2011
We’re having a great time so far. We’re starting our days by going to the gym followed by breakfast and then working until lunch. After lunch it’s back to work until dinner and then some exploring and debriefing.
We’ve been really using our networking skills to try to increase the response rate to our survey and to learn more about environmental CSR in Singapore. As such we’ve established contact already in-person with the Singapore Hotel’s Association, and are in e-mail contact with face-to-face meetings scheduled with Contact Singapore (our project supporter), the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and Singapore Compact. All of our contacts have been invaluable thus far.
Some things I’ve learned so far in Singapore:
1. Use of Aunty/Uncle as a respectful term for persons who help you (ie. taxi drivers, hotel attendants etc) eg. Thank you Aunty
2. Cars have right of way as opposed to pedestrians when one is crossing the road
3. Durian (the fruit) is banned in many hotels due to the smell. There is actually a no durian sign in our hotel elevator
4. The MRT (subway system) is very civilized and may have some lessons for Vancouver. See the photo below for instructions as to where to stand while waiting for the train and what space to leave for passengers to exit. The full wall there is glass with doors that open when the train arrives.
Some photos:
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| MRT – guidelines as to where to wait versus disembarking |
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| By the river – you can see the Marina Bay Sands in the background. |
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| Eva, Peter and Kathleen with Eva’s high school friend Eugene |
SFU MBAs in Singapore: Day 3
Posted by: Eva in MBA Experience on September 16th, 2011
After our first night at the new hotel, Hotel Bencoolen, the three of us worked out at the hotel gym. The gym was a covered but outdoor gym, and so we were all sweating PROFUSELY! Luckily there was a small pool next to the gym so we were able to cool down afterwards.
After an energizing exercise session, we headed to a meeting with the Singapore Hotel Association. The meeting was incredibly helpful; two representatives gave us advice on our survey questions, answered questions about sustainability in Singapore and in the hospitality industry, as well as gave advice on how to increase our response rate. Overall, it was a very successful meeting, and we headed back to our hotel to work on some follow up emails and calls.
Soon we will be going out for dinner with one of my high school friends for some authentic Singaporean food!
SFU MBAs in Singapore: Arrival in a New Country
Posted by: Kathleen in MBA Experience on September 16th, 2011
After a fifteen hour flight, a run through Hong Kong airport, a suspected loss of the aforementioned guitar and a three hour flight we got here.
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| In the HK airport after a 15 hour plane ride |
Last night we stayed at Klapsons The Boutique Hotel. The hotel is amazing, very design-y. The bathroom actually has a light colour changer for in the shower – so you can switch the colour to any colour of the rainbow.
We got up early this morning, about 6:30AM with the intention of re-setting our internal clocks (Singapore is 15 hours ahead of Vancouver) and combatting jet-lag. Today is a national holiday in Singapore, so many nationals are on vacation. As a result there is not too much work we can do today though we were successful in setting up a few meetings.
After a delicious breakfast at the hotel and some administrative work we headed out into the city – walking through Chinatown, along the river and through a park. It is 30 degrees here today and a bit grey though we’ve had some periods of sun. As a result our walk felt much longer than it would in Vancouver.
Today we’re moving to our home for the next twenty days – the Hotel Bencoolen. More later!
Fireworks in Vancouver
Posted by: Houman Zandhabibi in Student Life on August 3rd, 2011
Celebration of Light is an event you don’t want to miss in Vancouver. One of my closest family friends took me last year for the first time. I had no idea what to expect but since that night, I have become a serious fan. Six weeks prior to the 2011 Celebration of Light, I prepared everything to make sure I wouldn’t miss this scenic event.
As a soon-to-be-MBA-student, fan of being green and a person who dislikes long delays, I decided to plan my trip downtown by taking public transit and cycling. Last year, we got stuck in a traffic jam driving down so this year, I planned a bike route connecting to my bus. I took bus 160 and it dropped me two blocks from the Vancouver Convention Center. Then I rode my bike for 20 minutes through Stanley Park towards English bay instead of going through downtown where it would’ve been jam packed with people. This route gives cyclists safe and convenient access to Stanley Park, First and Second beach, as well as English Bay.
Remember to bring:
- Blanket – Secure a good spot on the beach by spreading out a blanket
- Food and snacks – Especially if you are arriving early in the day
- Warm clothing – As hot as it could be in the daytime, it gets windy and chilly at night
- Flashlight – To find your belongings or for any emergencies on the way home
- Radio – Listen to the live music on 104.3FM synchronize with the fireworks
- Camera – Capture the beautiful lights but don’t spend all your time shooting or you will miss the main event itself
- Backpack – To hold of all of these items
The MBA as miniature history of civilizations
Posted by: Houman Zandhabibi in Student Life on July 29th, 2011
But my answer will be more like a miniature version of the history of civilizations than a sentence (and of course, it’s different for everyone). Here it is:
Years go by so fast that at one point, you will outgrow what you are wearing, literarally. For me, that moment was when I decided to immigrate to Canada, start a new life and follow my dreams. Immigration was a turning point in my life. It exposed me to a diverse spectrum of cultures and endless opportunities. You don’t have to be a so-called rocket scientist to learn that education here is synonymous with investment in success. In a moment, all the pieces of my future plans shaped in my mind. I turned my whole life upside down, so I didn’t want to still be working at the same job. I come from an entrepreneurial background with years of experience in industry and am always ready for challenges; characteristics which identify an MBA candidate! It was time for my challenge.
Financial risk management student Alex Conconi rides to conquer cancer
Posted by: Lisa Dalla Vecchia in Student Life on July 12th, 2011
Alex Conconi, a current student in the full-time Master of Financial Risk Management (MFRM) program and active participant in the Student Investment Advisory Service (SIAS Fund) recently completed the ride of a lifetime to raise funds for cancer research.
In recent times, he had been spending a significant amount of time organizing a team for the Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer, a two-day cycling event from Vancouver to Seattle, in benefit of the BC Cancer Foundation. This would be Alex’s second year participating, and this year, he co-captained an enthusiastic team of 21, the “Knight Riders,” who collectively maintained an ambitious goal of raising $100,000.
On June 18 and 19, the “Knight Riders” joined over 2,800 cyclists for a gruelling ride—over 200 km over two days—and one that took place mostly in the rain.
When the team gathered in celebration at the finish line, the rain subsided, the sun came out, and fatigued-but-triumphant smiles were on display for all to see.
The ride is especially important to Alex. On a very personal level, his father had been diagnosed with throat cancer last summer (shortly after last year’s ride). Fortunately, he has since been given a clean bill of health. Alex credits his father’s recovery to the great work of the BC Cancer Agency, its medical team and dedicated staff.
Alex would like to thank all of those who generously supported the Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer. This year, the ride helped raised over $11.1M for the BC Cancer Foundation. The “Knight Riders” raised over $74,000 of that total amount.
Alex would also like to thank his fellow MFRM classmate and SIAS organizer Lauren Looi, who committed to the ride without even owning a bike. Lauren was able to source a bicycle a few days before the ride. And despite virtually no training or practice, Lauren joined the team and successfully completed the 200+ km trek from Vancouver to Seattle.
To support the Knight Riders and learn more about the Ride to Conquer Cancer, visit: http://www.conquercancer.ca/site/TR?pg=team&fr_id=1371&team_id=37141
MBAs push Singapore hotels to go green with winning business pitch
Posted by: SFU Beedie in MBA Experience on July 12th, 2011
(Left to right) Kathleen Williams, Peter Konefal, Eva Tidlund and Connie Chang with the team’s faculty adviser, David Hannah
A team of four MBA students from Simon Fraser University’s Beedie School of Business has developed a project plan that has not only garnered top billing in a prestigious international competition – it could leave a lasting environmental impact on the dynamic Asian economy of Singapore.
SFU graduate business students Kathleen Williams, Peter Konefal, Eva Tidlund and Connie Chang were selected from a global field in the Graduate School Projects@Singapore competition. The team’s faculty adviser is David Hannah, Academic Director of the MBA program.
Their project proposal, which has now been accepted by Contact Singapore, an alliance of the Singapore Economic Development Board and Ministry of Manpower, is focused on integrating corporate social responsibility (CSR) and environmental standards in Singapore’s booming hotel industry. This is the first time a Canada-based team has been selected in the program.
“Connie, Eva, Kathleen, and Peter took the initiative to enter this competition, and they wrote a winning proposal while carrying a full course load in our full-time MBA program,” said Hannah. “We want our graduates to be great thinkers and communicators, and to be motivated to solve challenging problems. Needless to say, these students exemplify these qualities, and we’re very proud of them.”
The students will travel to Singapore this September to meet with stakeholder groups from government and industry, and to conduct field interviews and research. Stephanie Bertels, Assistant Professor at the Beedie School of Business, will provide guidance for their research. The team’s findings will be presented to Singapore government officials later that month.
They note that the Singaporean hotel industry was selected as a focus in their project because of its economic prominence, making up a significant four percent of the nation’s annual gross domestic product. “Hotels have the potential to be influential corporate hosts to international business and leisure travelers,” they argued. “Positive environmental practices… are noticed by hotel guests, and in turn have the potential for wide-reaching effects such as setting new industry expectations.”
The Graduate School Projects@Singapore program offers graduate students from all disciplines globally the opportunity to create a project that could impact the Singapore economy.
Using the vibrant Southeast Asia city-state as a focal point for study, participants demonstrate their knowledge of industry sectors and businesses in Singapore, by translating them into insightful research findings, creative ideas or products. Projects may cover any of the key growth industry sectors in Singapore, such as biotechnology, clean energy, tourism, finance, oil and gas, and electronics.
SFU Beedie MBA is Kicking it “Gold-School”
Posted by: SFU Beedie in Student Life on June 28th, 2011
From the Official CCV Blog:
Last Friday, CCV 2011 came to a close at BCIT as the last of eight sports wrapped up. The Indoor Soccer event displayed some of the most skilled and determined participants and after all was said and done, SFU Beedie School of Business was heralded as the first Indoor Soccer Champion of CCV.
Heading into quarterfinals, WorkSafeBC skillfully secured their position as the top seed. MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates followed closely behind, while SFU Beedie School of Business was seeded third overall after round robin games. The four top seeds, including Electronic Arts, easily advanced to semi-finals with decisive victories over their opponents.
Top seed, WorkSafeBC was set to play Electronic Arts once again for a shot at gold. The two had previously met as rivals in the same round robin division. By the end of the match, WorkSafeBC had once again solidified their standing as the stronger of the two teams with a 4-1 win. EA was sent into the bronze medal match.
On the other side, SFU Beedie School of Business had the challenging task of knocking out the MDA team in order to advance to championships. Neither teams had lost a single match throughout the entire tournament, but that was all about to change. The once impenetrable MDA team was struck down at their Achilles’ heel by the sharp players of the SFU team who won with four goals to two. Thus, the MDA team was set to play EA in the bronze medal match while SFU Beedie entered the championship match with WorkSafeBC.
At the onset of the bronze match, both MDA and EA appeared as equally-matched opponents. At the end of the first period, MDA and EA were tied at a solid 2-2. However, as the game progressed, the drive in the EA team came to light and the team aggressively stepped up their game. Outshot and outscored, MDA was obliged to accept fourth place as EA made their way to the podium off a 7-2 victory.
In the CCV Indoor Soccer final match, SFU—the champions of CCV 2011 Dodgeball, and WorkSafeBC—the champions of CCV 2011 Outdoor Soccer, both competed for a second gold medal to add to their collection. Fifteen minutes into the first half of the match, SFU and WorkSafeBC were neck-and-neck at 1-1. With only a couple minutes left in the first period, SFU scored two more goals consecutively giving them a 3-1 advantage heading into the second period.
Unwilling to be silenced, WorkSafeBC responded with two goals in less than four minutes at the start of the second half, and not more than two minutes apart. Tied at three points a piece, both teams played impeccable defense and extraordinary offence in attempt to capture gold. Finally, with less than half to go in the second period, SFU sank their fourth goal, followed by a fifth to seize control of the match. As minutes turned to seconds, and seconds ran down on the clock, the horn sounded signaling the end of the match, the defeat of WorkSafeBC, and another golden moment for SFU Beedie School of Business.
Congratulations to the winners of each CCV 2011 event and a big thank you to all the participants that made it out this year. The Corporate Champions will be crowned this Saturday, June 25th at 11:00am to 2:30pm at the Wrap-Up Beach Party held at Locarno Beach. All CCV participants are invited and friends and family are welcome as well.
Written by Diana Hu
You can check out CCV 2011 event photos on our Facebook page
The 20/30 Series: Sustainability in the City – Recap
Posted by: Maria Ghassemi in Sustainability on June 24th, 2011
Our first Net Impact speaker event at the SFU Segal Chapter at the Beedie School of Business was an incredible success thanks to our speaker panel and their willingness to share their expertise with us. We would also like to thank our associate dean, Colleen Colins for her opening remarks at our first speaker series event. Below is a brief summary of themes covered on Monday. We are grateful for their involvement in helping us educate students and young professionals in sustainability in the world of business. Our speakers were Shawn Burns, CEO and President, Carbon Credit Corp Canada; Brenda Reid-Kuecks, President, Ecotrust Canada; Saul Brown, President and CSO (Chief Story Officer), Saul Good Gift Co; Bonnie Wong, Investment Manager, VanCity Community Capital; and Jacqueline Go, Sustainability Programs Coordinator, Teck Resources.
Shawn gave us insights into the average lifespan of species and how our culture of consumerism is increasing. Brenda spoke about tourism, fisheries, and forestry sectors, and how place and environment should matter to all of us because we have an impact on each other either directly or indirectly. Saul gave his background story of how he started his own business of corporate gift baskets that are both sustainable and interesting. Bonnie spoke about travel and discovery and Jackie spoke about the transformative forces of big business like mining.
We hope to host speaker events on an annual basis, visit our Facebook page for event photos and invitations to our future events. For more information on making a positive environmental, social and economic impact in the Vancouver community, visit our Net Impact Blog.
The 2011 Q1 SIAS Performance Review
Posted by: SFU Beedie in MBA Experience on June 20th, 2011
The 2011 Q1 SIAS Performance Review presentation held at the Metropolitan Hotel on May 27 focused on the past quarter, future outlook, and also featured keynote speaker Margaret Franklin, Chair of the Board of Governors of the CFA Institute and President and CEO of Kinsale Private Wealth.
The SIAS team began the presentation by reporting on the fund’s performance and risk attributes for the first three months of 2011. The SIAS Fund returned 3.08% for the first quarter and was 42 basis points above the benchmark. The positive results are due to each of the asset classes beating the benchmark with returns of 6.35%, 2.87% and 0.41% for Canadian Equity, Global Equity and Fixed Income respectively. The portfolio benefited from being underweight in Japan and Europe for the Global portfolio, overweight in financials and energy for the Canadian portfolio, and overweight short term bonds for the Fixed Income portfolio.
There were two major economic events that occurred in the first quarter: the Japanese earthquake and the turmoil in the Middle East. The team spoke about how these specific events, in conjunction with the continuing European sovereign debt crisis, affected the portfolio. In addition, they highlighted the executed Canadian trades and discussed the rebalancing of the US portfolio.
After the presentation, the SIAS team hosted a Q&A session for the executive panel. Here, they addressed the portfolio risks, expectations on commodities and the fixed income strategy. Master of Financial Risk Management (MFRM) student, Simon Hutchison also highlighted the team’s success at UBC’s National Investment Banking Competition (NIBC), University of Dayton’s Redefining Investment Strategy Education (R.I.S.E) Challenge and the CFA’s Global Investment Research Challenge (GIRC). This was followed by an inspiring keynote by Margaret Franklin, recently named one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women.
The event concluded with a wine and cheese networking reception for students and industry professionals. Overall, the event offered a wonderful opportunity for Vancouver’s finance community to learn more about SFU Beedie’s student-run fund and an opportunity to meet the future leaders in finance.
To learn more about the SIAS Fund, please click here. To view photos of past presentations, please visit the SIAS Fund’s Facebook page.
The SFU Beedie MBA Team wins gold in Dodgeball
Posted by: SFU Beedie in Student Life on June 10th, 2011
Congratulations to the SFU Beedie MBA Team for winning the gold medal for dodgeball at the Corporate Champions Vancouver 2011! Here is an excerpt from the Official CCV Blog about our win.
The SFU Beedie MBA Team at CCV2011
“As the night progressed, an underdog story was born: SFU Beedie School of Business who had lost their first playoff matches against the 13th seed, Impark, moved through the back-door bracket, winning six matches to bring them to the finals against the undefeated, Electronic Arts.
Although City of Vancouver fought hard to move into the championship round, they were swept aside by SFU and accepted a well-deserved bronze medal.
In the finals, Electronic Arts gained an early break advantage with a 2-1 lead in a best-of-five-games match. One game away from winning the title, SFU pummeled their way back to win the first match. However, because of the double elimination structure, SFU had to defeat EA in one more match before they could claim their gold medals. Sleeves rolled up, heart pumping, and sweat dripping—both teams laid down the rest of themselves to play at their very best. When all the dodgeballs finally rested peacefully on the ground and the battle had ceased, the only team left standing victoriously was SFU.”
Read the rest of the post here
Corporate Champions Vancouver is Metro Vancouver’s Annual Multi-sports Challenge. Building Teams, Generating Company Pride & Connecting Organizations Though Sport
SFU Makes a Strong Presence at the Haskayne 24 Hour Case Competition
Posted by: Connie Chang in Student Life on April 11th, 2011
For the second year running, the Haskayne 24 Hour Case Competition took place in Calgary from March 10-13, 2011. Four SFU MBA students, Kelvin Chiu, Kathleen Williams, Timothy Charles and Connie Chang, rose to the challenge and represented the Beedie Graduate School of Business in this intense competition.
The SFU team delivered a solid strategic growth plan for Fotolia, a European online photostock company that is currently expanding into North America, and was commended for our logical thinking and professionalism by the Judging Panel. Up against 16 teams from ten MBA schools across Canada, we stood out with our genuine enthusiasm, light-spirited West Coast style and tastefully coordinated dress attire. By the end of the event, we were proud to rank 2nd in our division, coming close behind the experienced Queen’s team, who moved onto the Finals to achieve 2nd place in the overall competition.