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SKK GSB, hosted Korea Study Tour for Kelley School of Business at Indiana University students
SKK GSB hosted Korea Study Tour for Kelley School of Business at Indiana University students SKK GSB, led by Dean Eric Chuan Fong Shih, conducted the Korea Study Tour program from May 12th (Fri) to May 20th (Sat) for 24 undergraduate students from Indiana University's Kelley School of Business. SKK GSB and Indiana Kelley School have a collaborative dual-degree program and maintain a close exchange and cooperation relationship. Based on this, SKK GSB planned and organized this program. The Korea Study Tour program focused on the theme of "Business Trends and Solutions in Korea: Innovation." It provided students with the opportunity to visit various domestic institutions and companies leading innovation in their respective fields and learn in-depth about South Korea's economic development since the Miracle on the Han River. Starting with a special lecture by SKK GSB's Vice Dean Raunaq Pungaliya, titled "Miracle on Han River & Today's Korean Economy," the program included visits to major institutions such as the Korea Exchange, Seoul City Hall, and G Valley Industrial Museum. The students also visited companies including Hanwha Group, Netmarble Company, Boeing Korea, KBS, and the university's faculty startup bioventure, IMNEWRUN. They also participated in a CEO lecture by the CEO of Envisioning Partners, a well-known first-generation impact investor in Korea. Also, Indiana University President Pamela Whitten and Kelly School Vice President Pat Hopkins, who visited this school during the period, held a special President-Student meeting on our campus with students participating in the Korea Study Tour. A student who participated, Sean Liston expressed his impression of the program, saying, "Through this Korea Study Tour, I was able to clearly learn and feel the driving force behind South Korea's rapid growth in a short period of time. I came to realize that this driving force is the pride in Korea's deep roots and culture.“ Professor Alexandre Barsi-Lopes, who accompanied the students, expressed gratitude to SKK GSB for organizing and providing this meaningful learning opportunity, emphasizing the importance of maintaining a strong exchange and cooperation relationship in the future.
[Maeil Business News] ESG Marketing
Professor Minjung Koo has written a column about ESG Marketing on MK News (Maeil Business Newspaper Korea). "Don't buy this jacket!" This advertising phrase made the outdoor clothing brand Patagonia famous. The company, which emphasized the importance of environmental protection and sustainability by advertising with messages not to buy jackets, is considered one of the most successful cases of ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance). But can all companies become Patagonia? ESG has been a key topic in business and investment over the past decade. Although uptake is slower in Korea than in other countries, there are also significant domestic changes. According to Google Korea (2022), the year's No. 1 search term in Korea was 'climate change.' The global agreement , which promised ESG, took effect in earnest in 2020, and pushed domestic and foreign investment institutions to follow the trend. Pace accelerated with the growing influence of Millenials and Gen Z consumers, who tend to prefer consumption with social values or particular messages. Accordingly, SKK GSB provides various ESG classes to ensure that MBA students have sufficient knowledge and insight. Prof. Koo Min-jung's ESG marketing course is such a class. Prof. Koo has researched various marketing fields with social influence, e.g., CSR, CSV, and social marketing, for more than 15 years, she has served as an ESG management advisor for multiple organizations and companies, and she has lectured on ESG strategy to many large companies. ESG marketing classes deal with differentiation strategies that can increase practitioners' efficacy through global examples. This is because indiscriminate copying and imitation are likely to be a waste of resources, and may be criticized by consumers. Prof. Koo argues that not all companies can become Patagonia: the core of ESG is selecting a realistic strategy that fits each company's nature and situation, and designing an ecosystem where various stakeholders can participate in the company's ESG efforts. The mineral water industry, for example, has recently adopted a 'defensive ESG strategy' by releasing lightweight products and non-labeled bottled water to reduce plastic usage and minimize ESG-related risks. For this strategy, quiet and sporadic informative publicity is likely more effective. Since bottled water inherently causes environmental pollution, Patagonia-style active promotion of ESG efforts or branding products as green may cause unintended consequences. If ESG is given top priority without appropriate ESG capabilities, then this may not only waste resources but also increase expectations for the company's ESG performance, leading to adverse effects. Ryu In-sul, who has been working at POSCO since graduating from a full-time MBA course, recalls the case of Fiji Water, which he learned in this class. Fiji Water, famous for its premium bottled water, experienced a fall in the image and a plunge in sales due to the direct impact of the anti-bottleneck movement in Europe. In response, it runs an aggressive campaign called Carbon Negative, aiming to reduce the amount of carbon. Although the attempt to protect the environment was commendable, consumers criticized the campaign, labeling it greenwashing. Since bottled water remains poor for the environment, Fiji Water's active ESG strategy worsened the situation, and they suffered severe damage to their reputation and brand value. This is why not all companies can, and not all companies should, be Patagonia, at least immediately. According to Mr. Ryu, "This lesson taught us strategies to help companies cope with social problems and improve brand value. The class has given us an important insight to use in various business decision-making processes." Original article in Korean https://www.mk.co.kr/news/special-edition/10721107
SKK GSB Forum: 'Investing in Climate, Investing in Growth' Second Quarter Special Lecture
Investing in Climate, Investing in Growth The Second Quarter Special Lecture "Batteries: A key enabler of a low-carbon economy" (SKK GSB "Investing in Climate, Investing in Growth", Mujeeb Ijaz CEO, Our Next Energy) The second quarter of the "Investing in Climate, Investing in Growth" organized by SKK GSB at Sungkyunkwan University, took place at the university’s International Hall on April 25th. Mujeeb Ijaz, CEO of Our Next Energy (ONE), a U.S. LFP battery company known for its outstanding performance, announced the theme of the forum as "Batteries: A key enabler of a low-carbon economy." Mujeeb Ijaz, who led Apple’s EV project, founded ONE in 2020. ONE's electric vehicle batteries gained worldwide attention in 2022 after the company succeeded in driving 1,210 km on a single charge. ONE is currently building a battery production plant worth 2 trillion won in Michigan with the support of the U.S. government. The company has invested in BMW and Bill Gates' innovation funds and has expressed a great deal of interest in Korea, where it established a branch at the Hwaseong Knowledge Industry Center this year. The “Investing in Climate, Investing in Growth” forum, organized by Prof. Youngju Nielsen of SKK GSB and Dr. Ben Meng, Sustainability Executive Director and CEO of Asia Pacific at Franklin Templeton, will take place throughout the year. The forum will feature global experts from various fields and will address a range of business topics related to climate change and growth opportunities. It will focus on exploring how the climate change crisis can be turned into growth opportunities. [Related Article] Maeil Business Newspaper Korea https://www.mk.co.kr/news/economy/10721437 Aju Business Daily https://www.ajunews.com/view/20230507103944733
Student Interview_Junho Kyung (Business Analytics MBA class of 2024)
[Student Interview] "Enhance Analytics Skills and Business Insights with a Business Analytics MBA." Junho Kyung, Business Analytics MBA class of 2024 I'm Junho Kyung, working in the finance team of a major logistics company in Korea. I oversee fund management, fund system management, and company performance management. In August 2022, I began a Business Analytics MBA at SKK GSB, and I completed the course about ten months ago. Why did you choose our Business Analytics MBA? First of all, I wanted to learn the latest trends in management technologies, such as AI and big data, and to be able to create new business values. As I studied the cases of various innovative companies, I thought that future businesses would accelerate in discovering new values through big data and AI, and I wanted to learn more about this field. When I decided on my focus and looked for courses from various schools, I found that SKK GSB's Business Analytics MBA curriculum applies recent industrial trends such as AI and big data well to practical work. If I had the ability to analyze data and insight into the overall business, then I could become an extraordinarily competitive and necessary person in this era. I was impressed that the entire curriculum was designed in detail from beginning to end. While listening to the detailed guidance of the professor at the admission briefing, I felt that I would experience active discussions and "living learning" centered on hands-on excellence, not theory-based learning. Top class professors recognized at home and abroad are also one of the reasons for my choice. Furthermore, as SKK GSB’s MBA has been selected as the No. 1 MBA course in Korea every year in the Financial Times MBA evaluation, I expected the faculty and learning resources to be the best. Lastly, this course was taught only on Saturdays, so it was easy to manage time working in my office during the week. What did you learn in the MBA Business Analytics course that was helpful for your work? I often applied what I learned to my work so I could work more efficiently. For example, after learning about Data Management and its advantages, I worked with an in-house developer to generate an automated report to update corporate card user data (which used to be in the form of Excel files) in real-time on the cloud system. Thanks to this report, our corporate card management time has been dramatically reduced, and the number of problems due to missing data has also decreased. I used to be an "데알못(someone who doesn’t know data)," but I lost my fear of dealing with data by learning about business analytics in my MBA. We now entirely use systems and data to contribute to our business efficiency. Thanks to my MBA classes, my decision-making skills are also improving. For example, I worked on a business forecasting project calculating optimal prices by applying supply–demand graphs and economic concepts. This entailed accurately understanding the problem, modeling, interpreting the results, and making decisions. This taught me how to make scientific and reliable decisions based on clear evidence and appropriate predictive models. Did the MBA course help you develop your career? Of course. First, it is rare for a company to have an understanding of both data and domain knowledge. But on the other hand, data-related departments continue to emerge in the company, and there’s increasing demand for people who can handle data. Throughout the industry, AI and big data industries are growing. However, it's still early, so there will be more opportunities. Furthermore, being an administrator with analytic and modeling capabilities will be a significant advantage for my career growth. More than half of my MBA colleagues are at the manager level. They are currently learning about big data and AI models even though they don’t manage data analysis departments or relevant work. Yet in the future, companies will want managers to be skilled in this field. When employees work on projects using AI models, there will naturally be a big difference between managers who understand the model and suggest directions and improvements, and those who don’t. Opportunities don't come to us: we make them. We must therefore be one step ahead. What did you like about SKK GSB's Business Analytics MBA course? SKK GSB actively provides ways for students to get help. Business analytics is an unfamiliar field for typical office workers, so it is often difficult to solve problems alone. Furthermore, I was busy at work, so it was essential to solve problems quickly. SKK GSB helps with these difficulties by assigning assistants for each subject. The school’s global culture is also an advantage, so we could freely communicate with professors directly with messengers and e-mails to solve problems. Of course, I am always grateful for the environment and atmosphere where I could solve problems while cooperating with my friends. What was the biggest challenge you faced while studying? I had to work and study simultaneously, and there were subjects in unfamiliar fields, so at some points, I felt like it was too difficult. However, the Business Analytics MBA course is for more than just learning I had a healing time with my joyful colleagues, and I enjoyed various social events organized by the school, interacting with students from other courses at SKK GSB, so I regained my positive outlook. In addition, the school’s Career Development Center (CDC) helped us develop our careers, and the CEO Lecture Series hosted by famous domestic and foreign CEOs helped us grow. While actively taking these opportunities, I listened to the motivations and advice of leaders who had gone through the same process and overcome various problems. I could therefore focus my efforts on overcoming my current crises while recognizing that these problems were not only mine. Please advise those who are worried about taking an MBA. Don't be afraid to challenge yourself. Through the MBA process, I tried many things, and thanks to that, I could clearly understand what I am good at and what I need to enhance in the future. SKK GSB provides an optimal learning environment and gives students the best feedback while they’re working on various projects that are difficult to implement in their company. These were priceless experiences. When you enter the school, don't just focus on your studies, but participate in various programs and opportunities the school provides. If you broaden your horizons and build up your human network, you will not only stimulate your growth but also develop your infinite potential.
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The Indiana Kelley–SKK GSB Executive MBA Class of 2024 Immersion 2 Program in Washington, D.C.,
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