Visiting the Geely Holding Group in Hangzhou, November 2010

Posted on by Cheryl Marie Cordeiro

Geely headquarters, Hangzhou, China.

The Geely Holding Group headquarters in Hangzhou, November 2010
Photo: J E Nilsson and C M Cordeiro-Nilsson for CMC © 2010

It was with great expectations that I went to visit the Geely headquarters in Hangzhou, the Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. Ltd, as part of a Swedish delegation from the University of Gothenburg. Geely’s acquisition of the Swedish car manufacturer Volvo with their headquarters in Gothenburg was announced on Monday the 2 August 2010 and with that, the Zhejiang Geely corporation had concluded the largest ever acquisition of a foreign car company in the history of China.

Geely headquarters, University of Gothenburg visit 2010.

A warm sign at the Zhejiang Geely Holding Group headquarters that welcomed the visit by the Swedish delegation.

Geely headquarters, hallway.

Just inside the Geely headquarters entrance.

Having followed the Ford and Geely negotiations as well as could be done in the press, I expected this acquisition to be an important opportunity to study the process of top management knowledge transfer between modern China and the West. Continue reading “Visiting the Geely Holding Group in Hangzhou, November 2010” →

M on the Bund, Shanghai

Posted on by Cheryl Marie Cordeiro

Cheryl Marie Cordeiro-Nilsson and Yina Huang at M on the Bund, Shanghai.

Sunday lunch at M on the Bund with the Swedish delegates to Shanghai (pictured below) and Yina Huang, Associate Director, Global Local Public Relations Office, Shanghai University’s MBA Center.
Photo © Olof E Johansson, J E Nilsson and C M Cordeiro-Nilsson for CMC 2010

Shanghai is a remarkable city. Considering all vicissitudes this unfortunate city has seen over the last century it was with great expectations that I recently got to visit it, and to explore to what extent this city had regained its former glory. And in many ways it has.

The ebb and flow of great fortunes being made and lost ripples through the city, constantly changing its face. What is a constant is the river, and facing it is still the Bund however much widened. Across the river on the east bank, an entirely new skyline of Pudong greets us, the new skyscraper-laden financial and commercial district that also houses the new Pudong International Airport. Continue reading “M on the Bund, Shanghai” →

Sunrise in Shanghai 2010

Posted on by Cheryl Marie Cordeiro

The Hengshan Picardie Hotel, Shanghai

Morning skylight, at the Hengshan Picardie Hotel, Shanghai.
Photo © C M Cordeiro-Nilsson and Per-Olof Larsson for CMC 2010

And I thought I would walk into a city that would be so foreign to me that I would not have understood half of what was going on as soon as I landed. But I was wrong. In fact, the melding I felt to Shanghai was so immediate it was as if I had stepped off the plane, right back home.

One of the things I look forward to whether travelling or at home, is breakfast. Shanghai, being such a dynamic and cosmopolitan city, has no problems providing for all sorts of palates. In fact, settling for both a red bean steamed bun and a mini chocolate muffin at breakfast was just the sort of thing that a Singaporean for example, wouldn’t think twice about either. Continue reading “Sunrise in Shanghai 2010” →

Jonsered – Swedish knowledge industry now, and then

Posted on by Cheryl Marie Cordeiro

Jonsereds herrgård, terrace.

Jonsered Mansion, today owned by the Gothenburg University
Photo © J E Nilsson and C M Cordeiro-Nilsson for CMC 2010

When we first approached the Jonsered Mansion it was one of those early winter days where the night frost had added a crystal sparkle to everything, like a dusting icing sugar on the grounds. Continue reading “Jonsered – Swedish knowledge industry now, and then” →

The RESER 20th Anniversary Conference Gala Dinner, Gothenburg 2010

Posted on by Cheryl Marie Cordeiro

2 Patrik Ström and Cheryl Marie Cordeiro, RESER's local organizing committee 2010.

Dr. Cheryl M. Cordeiro-Nilsson and Associate Professor Patrik Ström (Chairman of the local Organizing Committee for RESER 2010), a last inspection of the Odd Fellows Estate grand hall, prior to dinner.
Photo © J E Nilsson and C M Cordeiro-Nilsson for CMC 2010

The 30th September to 2 October, 2010 saw the world’s leading researchers in the field of Services Research gather in Gothenburg, Sweden, for their annual conference.

The Chairman of the local Organizing Committee for RESER 2010 was Patrik Ström, Associate Professor, Docent, PhD, Ek.Dr. Staffan Helmfrid Pro Futura Fellow at the School of Business, Economics and Law, University of Gothenburg, whom I had the pleasure to assist in the materializing of this event. Continue reading “The RESER 20th Anniversary Conference Gala Dinner, Gothenburg 2010” →

Fika and the Swedish Management style

Posted on by Cheryl Marie Cordeiro

Cinnamon roll served with milk; kanelbullar med mjölk

The Cinnamon Roll – a Swedish fika staple.
Photo © J E Nilsson and C M Cordeiro-Nilsson for CMC 2010

Before Sweden, I only ever heard of the British inherited concept of afternoon Tea in Singapore from my grandparents, more specifically, my paternal grandmother. She often served Royal Danish butter cookies, of which I favoured the ones with raisins and those that came coated with granulated sugar on top. Light sponge cakes were sometimes served at these sessions, and accompanying these cookies and cakes was tea, with lots of milk.

Melting butter for cinnamon rolls or kanelbullar.

Melting the butter – the first step in making Cinnamon Rolls.

The Swedish fika, which translates to ‘coffee break’ was an activity whose local ritualistic implications dawned on me only gradually, beginning actually with my attendance at late evening seminars at the university whilst pursuing my doctorate degree.

I came to know these research seminar sessions (often held as one large fika) as ‘cheese parties’ because the group of us attending these meetings would gather around a table in the seminar room, pass around buns, fruit, sandwiches, coffee, tea and sometimes red or white wine, discussing the most current research in the field, its challenges and how to move ahead in our projects,

As a side issue, I often wondered if these sessions were actually useful, since too many opinions might derail you rather than help you focus, but in hindsight I think they were both pleasant and valuable, and that my favourite ones were those where our creative spirits and constructive criticism were fueled by one or two glasses of wine to go with the cheese.

Kneading the dough.

Kneading the dough is a pleasant pass time that takes very little effort. Some soft kneading where you calmly let the springy gluten threads develop is all it takes.

And what is current at some fika sessions at work today are Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Sustainable Development, where one aspect of is the social well-being and welfare of employees – how can Swedish leadership create (and sustain) a working environment that nurtures creative innovation, etc.

Melted butter onto the dough.

Melted butter on the dough, just before the cinnamon and sugar goes on.

Hembakade kanelbullar, fikabröd.

Cinnamon Rolls, fikabröd.

And the Swedish fika, together with its fikabröd, one of which is the cinnamon roll, is focal in these discussions because all of these issues are currently being discussed, over coffee. No doubt the Swedish fika is one of the key ingredients of what makes the Swedish management style unique.

Awaiting this theory to be confirmed in some scientific paper, Cinnamon Roll day in Sweden is upcoming in about 2 weeks and I for one, am already looking forward to seeing lots of these at the upcoming fika sessions at work, improving as it were, both creativity and the Swedish Management style.

ICMIT 2010 and the changing face of Singapore

Posted on by Cheryl Marie Cordeiro

conference_1

From left to right Keynote speaker, Professor Philip Phan, Dr. Cheryl Marie Cordeiro and Keynote speaker, Professor Michael Song, ICMIT 2010 in Singapore
Photo: Courtesy of ICMIT 2010

Behind the short and cryptic ICMIT stands the full title of the IEEE International Conference on Management of Innovation and Technology 2-5 June 2010. Originally a Singaporean initiative, this conference was now held for its fifth time.

Since my academic interest revolves much around Knowledge Management, Communication and Information Technology, I was happy to find towards the end of last year that a paper I had submitted to this conference had been accepted, and not only that but I was also invited to take a more active role in the conference by being part of the scientific review committee and indeed, actually chairing one of the sessions. Continue reading “ICMIT 2010 and the changing face of Singapore” →

Doctoral awards ceremony at the University of Gothenburg, 2009

Posted on by Cheryl Marie Cordeiro

Cheryl Marie Cordeiro promovering-086a

On stage, halfway through the ceremony. I’m seated third row from the back, in a white dress. Deans and faculty leaders of the University of Gothenburg (GU) are seated at the front of the stage, in the respective faculty colours and gowns.
Text & Photo © JE Nilsson, D Neikter Nilsson, A Lindström, CM Cordeiro, Sweden 2009

The 30th of October, 2009 was the University of Gothenburg’s annual prize giving and doctoral awards ceremony and gala event. It was wonderful to have these grey autumn days lit by people dressed up in formal attire, tailcoats mandatory for all men receiving awards that evening, and all women in long dresses or ball gowns. Everyone looked smart and regal. Continue reading “Doctoral awards ceremony at the University of Gothenburg, 2009” →

Reflections from days at the Division of Information Studies (DIS), NTU in Singapore

Posted on by Cheryl Marie Cordeiro
It was at the end of 1990s that I was doing my MSc in Information Studies at NTU, graduating in 2000. Photo by JE Nilsson, 2009.

It was at the end of 1990s that I was doing my MSc in Information Studies at NTU, graduating in 2000. Photo by JE Nilsson, 2009.

My academic career has taken me through several institutes of education, and the Division of Information Studies (DIS) at the Nanyang Technological University of Singapore (NTU) has been one of them.

It was a part-time Master of Science course that I took with NTU, while pursuing my Master of Arts at NUS full-time. The schedule was gruelling but nonetheless manageable, with mornings through afternoons spent at NUS, and evenings spent at NTU. I thought it all fine, till exam period came along and it became darkly humorous at one point, when I found myself sitting for papers in the mornings at NUS and evenings, at NTU!

Perhaps it was that I spent mostly evenings at NTU, when the greater student population would have gone home or be back at their hostels that I found the place generally more relaxing than my time at NUS. The long corridors of the NTU wings seemed to help sort your thoughts as you walked to and from classes, pondering the day’s lectures or simply unwinding as you stepped away from the lecture hall.

As I’m now looking to pursue new research projects, I realize that my research interests have always been cross-disciplinary in nature. That I found myself wanting to learn about information management (at NTU) whilst majoring in the English language (at NUS) was just the beginning of it! These days, it’s linguistics, organization science and information management that draws my attention.

With NTU being in the top 1% of the world’s universities (together with Swedish universities such as Lund and Uppsala) it was not surprising that DIS at NTU has put into practice the use of social media, as a medium of contact and social networking and also giving it a place in the education system.

To Prof. Chris Khoo, Head of DIS, NTU: Thank You for updates and contacts!

Cheryl

Stilettos, as a feminine power statement

Posted on by Cheryl Marie Cordeiro

Vivienne Westwood, Emilio Pucci, Bottega Veneta

Some women build their daily outfits beginning with their shoes. Beginning with this pair of Emilio Pucci wrapped purple suede heels, this is an outfit ensemble I could see myself wearing to the office in autumn. A wool blend Bottega Veneta shift dress paired with a charcoal grey jacket with double lapels by Vivienne Westwood. Over this ensemble, a square wrap coat by Vivienne Westwood Anglomania with a large purple patent tote (35cm x 40cm x 13 cm), also by Vivienne Westwood.

I’ve been following with interest, the following articles from the more lighthearted Daily Mail in the UK:

Apparently the Trade Union Council (TUC) in the UK would like to call for a ban of the use of high heels for women in the office (printed on the 6th of August, 2009), citing sexism and health problems for women who wear high heels to work everyday. This article was followed the next day with a counter article written by Maureen Rice (7th August, 2009) who said that the best careers advice ever given to her was one from her female boss:

‘Whenever you know you are going to have a challenging meeting,’ she said, ‘and especially if that meeting is mainly with men, wear high heels.’

Rice’s article gets more interesting from there on, citing heels as a symbol of feminine power in the office and how heels can give women more confidence in the office when facing their male colleagues. Heels as symbols of small daggers clinging to the heels of women who wear them, are not so much “I want to turn you on” as “I want to take you on”.

In the numerous brands of feminism, the one that caught my imagination most were essays from the genre l’écriture féminine or ‘feminine writing’, writings predominantly by Hélène Cixous and Luce Irigary from the late ’70s. The writings of Cixous in particular, would trouble women who resist the sense of being tied to the biological, but for others, it could offer a strong sense of relief that gushes from the inner core as her works encourage the celebration of differences between the biological male and female. Why fight biology and climb an uphill battle for equality that sounds defeating to begin with when we can revel in it, and with it, celebrate too the subsequent differences in manifestations of the sexes whether in speech, writing or in this case, dressing.

The article by Rice voices this very aspect of being female and of possessing your femininity on your own terms, especially in the highly competitive world of business. And where once restraining clothing items such as corsets and stilettos were seen as a tools of constriction, a mark of biology, is now viewed as an expression of will and control of self when worn, for today, the difference lies in choice. Now women decide for themselves what to wear.