ous and observing local ways of solving problems might help the business back home. New business opportunities are found, the business horizon widened. Starbucks is a good example. While visiting Italy, Howard Schultz discovered the Italian way of enjoying coffee and the concept of a coffee bar. As he tasted his first cup of cafe latte in Verona, Italy, he witnessed how customers would drink coffee for hours, study, read or socialize, enjoy the trendy coffee house surroundings. He brought the concept back to the U.S. and adapted it to the local market. Starbucks sales exploded.
Be a Traveler, Not a Tourist There is an important distinction between the traveler and the tourist. As Daniel Boorstin pointed out, the traveler is active; he/she is going strenuously in search of people, of adventure, of experience. The tourist is passive; he expects interesting things to happen to him. He goes "sight-seeing.� Howard Schultz, in the example above, was a traveler, not a tourist. Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind said Seneca over two thousand years ago.
Learn From Experience
Avoid Repeating a Mistake The state of the solar energy industry in China represents a good example for understanding what is happening to others and how to avoid mistakes in our country. Common knowledge says that China represents the future in green technologies while USA and Europe are falling behind in solar technology development. Since 2006, Washburn students have participated in a transformational experience, working for Chinese companies and enjoying the experience of a culture significantly different than theirs. Among the Chinese companies the students interacted with, several were high tech businesses. During the discussions with the owners and employees of these companies and with their project partners, Chinese students from a local university, we learned that the solar energy equipment manufacturing industry has encountered many difficulties and is in trouble. The Chinese government, besides providing a permanent subsidy, had to intervene and inject additional capital multiple times in almost all major local solar companies. In spite of this active intervention, the industry is still experiencing major
Travel abroad is also important because other societies around the world have faced the same problems as we in the USA have and they designed and implemented inventive or unusual solutions to these problems. Some solutions work well when implemented, and some don't. Travel makes people in these societies valuable resources. Discussing with local people and observing the society’s behavior can be rewarding. Mistakes made by others could be avoided back home. And often, one can appreciate more the way things work in the U.S.
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Fall 2012
TK...Topeka's Business Magazine
Company and Ticker Symbol
Price per Share (approx. Range) 2007-2008
difficulties. The table below shows the changes in the share price for the four major solar equipment companies in China. Due to their interaction with employees of Chinese companies and Chinese students, Washburn students were aware and understood the systemic difficulties in this industry years before the troubles experienced by Solyndra and other U.S. solar energy companies. Traveling and interacting in foreign settings provides valuable experience. Mistakes made by others in foreign countries may be avoided back home. For local businesses, the successes, failures and experiences of those in other countries can be a valuable resource.
TK
Peak Value and Date
Price per Share August 3, 2012
Yingli Green $35-40 Energy Holding Co. Ltd. (YGE)
$41.4 (Dec. 2007)
$1.68
Trina Solar Limited $30-35 (TSL)
$35.43 (July 2007)
$4.26
Suntech Power Holdings (STP)
$85.16 (Dec. 2007) $0.93
$40-80
LDK Solar Co. Ltd. $30-70 (LDK)
$73.95 (Sep. 2007)
$1.32