Program News
Executive from Haier America shares global strategy with IMBA students
Dr. David Parks, Senior Vice President of
Haier America, recently spoke to an IMBA class about global strategy and the experiences its parent
company, Haier Group, has had expanding into the highly competitive U.S. market. Haier, one of
China's most successful global manufacturing companies, produces major appliances and electronics
in 96 product categories and sells them in 160 countries. Haier's goal is ambitious, to say the
least: for everyone in the world to own one of its products.
Haier has experienced meteoric growth since it was founded in 1984 when it produced only one model of refrigerator. Today, Haier manufactures and sells an impressive array of appliances and electronics, has more than 240 subsidiaries, 30 design centers, plants and trading companies and more than 50,000 employees throughout the world.
Moore-Haier Relationship
As part of its expansion, the company built the $40 million Haier America Industrial Park in Camden, SC, just outside of Columbia. This close proximity to the Moore School strengthened the school's relationship with Haier. Earlier this year, Dean Joel Smith, IMBA Executive Director Marty Roth, and USC Provost Mark Becker met with Haier executives at their headquarters in Qingdao, China, to discuss collaborations that emphasize the Moore School's expertise in international business education and Haier's global expansion endeavors.
Haier Education
Dr. Parks' lecture to students during Professor Kendall Roth's Global Strategic Management core IMBA course was just the first of the collaborations the group discussed. Dr. Parks was recently appointed as a South Carolina Ambassador for Economic Development by Governor Mark Sanford. Parks has also led efforts for collaboration between Chinese universities and the University of South Carolina.
He shared with students what he has learned first-hand about the dynamics of intercultural communication, and he explained just how flexible one must be to work effectively in a global environment. Parks said each country has a distinctive approach to relationship building that influences the steps needed in building trust with customers. In China, for example, meetings are conducted with a team approach and specific commitments that are often documented with signatures by participants at the conclusion of the meeting.
Dr. Parks explained how the company is using this knowledge to become more than just a global manufacturer. Haier wants to build and grow strong, global brands for the world's major markets. To achieve its goals, the company is striving to build a solid trust relationship with customers around the globe. This requires a commitment through the entire life of each product-from exploring the market, maturing the technology, using outreach to grow the market, and sustaining excellence.
This process is part of Haier's greater objectives:
* Develop innovative products that meet and exceed customers' needs
* Establish a new value-added design team within Haier America
* Leverage Haier Group global resources
* Advance the high-end image and styling for Haier in the U.S. and globally
These objectives and steps led to Parks' universal theme of Three E's-Energy, Enthusiasm and Eagerness-that he uses in addressing business issues across cultures and in daily operations. He explained how the Three E's are critical for a leader to be effective rather than just efficient, especially in a global company. "You have to be flexible and willing to adapt. Sometimes that means a lot of hours and working in a place where you don't speak the language," said Parks, "but if you have the energy, the enthusiasm and the eagerness, you will be successful."
Haier's success in the global market, due to its innovative strategies and leaders like Parks, provides a model framework for IMBA students as they pursue careers with global companies. By maintaining flexibility, focusing on clear objectives and following the Three E's, Moore graduates can follow Haier's model for success in the global marketplace.
October 2006