Testimonials

2002 - Present

1995 - 2002

It is hard to describe a profoundly life-changing experience in the space of few lines. Still, I will try.

From the moment, I arrived in China as a delegate from Siemens Singapore till now, the challenges at work, and the pleasures of discovering a new country and culture, have not stopped gushing.

At work, I soon got a feel of how the country’s size and economy translates in reality to a totally different dimension of complexity and dynamism than I could have imagined from prior reading. What struck me more was the level of competence of my local colleagues. On one side, this provided me the most valuable opportunity to learn. At the same time, I found myself continuously challenged to perform to the high and exacting demands. And despite the pressures of work, I found my colleagues to be modest, unassuming, eager to learn and to help, and equally willing to share. Socially and culturally too, I consider the experience most rewarding. Being lucky enough to make several friends (outside of work) I found that I was welcomed as a friend simply because of the same common values that my friends here and those elsewhere share with me. The fascination with the country, the colleagues, and the newfound friends also motivated me to learn elementary Chinese in my little spare time – which in turn made the social integration deeper and helped me to learn more about the culture.

It would be unfair not to pause for a special thanks to the people who made all this possible: the colleagues in HR departments of both the countries for making the transition smooth, and my colleagues and superiors in Siemens China for their welcome, concern and thoughtfulness.
Before ending, I have to admit that I came to China with little some apprehension. Now I find myself nervous at the thought that one day I will have to leave the country!

2002 – Present

1999 – 2002

Delegation to the US is a great experience both from personal and work standpoint. The colleagues at work are accommodative and open to new business ideas. Office culture is extremely professional, dedicated and concentrated towards achieving the corporate and departmental goals. People are practical and will try and do maximum justice with their job responsibilities. The acceptance of foreigners is good, as the country has benefited enormously from migration of skilled people from almost all over the world. Approach to one another within the company and externally to the customer is done in a very pragmatic manner. Siemens is an equal-opportunity-employer in the United States.

In personal life the experience is pleasant as well. Customer satisfaction is the top most priority of all the sellersand that makes any kind of shopping a great experience. Freedom and equality is what the US constitution supports. The country is huge in size and so is the economy.

All in all this delegation is educative and a diversified experience both at work and in personal life.

2002 – Present

Working in a global company like Siemens allows its employees to be exposed to opportunities to work in different business sectors as well as in different countries. My opportunity to work overseas came last year in 2002. As part of my career development plan drafted by my superiors, I will undergo a two step job rotation and training, first in Shanghai, China and thereafter in our headquarters in Munich, Germany.

Moving overseas was a challenging experience, both in my professional and private life. There are many things to plan and preparefor and even the best-laid plans may be put to severe tests. My family and I were rather apprehensive of the move as it was the first time we would work and live in another country outside of Singapore. However, working in a global company like Siemens ensures that the inconveniences and bad experiences are minimised. The logistics and paperwork were handled in a quick and efficient way when we were moving. My family and I were able to settle down quicker than we had expected.

Culture shock is something which everyone would experience when relocating overseas. Language is not the only barrier. I am fluent in both written and spoken mandarin but the dialects spoken by the Chinese colleagues are quite a challenge to overcome. Impacts and influences from unfamiliar (as a foreigner) external factors such as governmental, economical and social factors also cannot be underestimated. Miscommunications occurred frequently during the initial stage of my assignment as the same spoken or written words may carry a different meaning in a different environment setting. Although, I am working in the same business unit as I was in Singapore, the way in which some daily routines are handled is quite different. Processes and procedures which worked in Singapore may not work effectively or efficiently in China. After being in the job for the last eight months, I can only admit that I have learnt many valuable lessons and have improved my knowledge while of dealing with people and issues in a different cultural and business environment setting. One learns to be more open-minded and considers all available alternative solutions when deciding on a the best course of action(s). It has definitely helped to prepare me for more challenges ahead in my career. I am looking forward to learning and experiencing more on how to work in our Global business environment due to the rapid pace of Globalisation.

On the personal side, my family had few problems settling in. Due to advanced planning and good support from our local Chinese colleagues in HR and Admin, we moved into our permanent residence from day 1 of our arrival in Shanghai. Our kids were also able to continue their education without much disruption. In fact, our home-sickness was short-lived and we have started to adapt and appreciate living in a foreign country which is quite different from our home country. We went through our first winter and though challenging, was a new and refreshing experience. We will definitely look back in later stages of life that the experience and exposure gained are valuable and we'll benefit from them.

All in all, I can say that this assignment has been beneficial to me and I am already looking forward to my next assignment in the near future.

2003 – Present

2000 – 2003

When I first took the job as Regional Marketing Director (SSEA) for Mobile Phones in Jan 2000, I never knew it will lead to a posting to Munich HQ in September 2002 as the Director of APAC Affairs (ICM MP SM Product Management).

My role in the Munich HQ is to work with Product Portfolio and Marcom to develop an Asia Pacific marketing strategies strategy and product roadmap that will deliver the long term market share and financial objectives for mobile phones.

The challenges were many in moving to Munich in October 2002. Firstly it was Oktoberfest – and I had to attend at least 3 sessions of drinking and singing in the beer gardens in Munich. For the uninitiated Oktoberfest in Munich is not a karaoke session – at the beer garden that I went to, imagine 2,000+ Germans, Italian, Australians and other nationalities congregating together, drinking, standing on chairs and tables – singing and stomping and having a party. The beer garden atmosphere is so spontaneous and electrifying during Oktoberfest in Munich and you will find out why Germans are so proud of their beer – because there is so much variety and it is still brewed in a very traditional and wholesome manner. Oktoberfest is a great way for colleagues and friends to get together to unwind, do things together and build bonds.

Secondly, it was autumn and the nights were getting longer and colder. For a Singaporean who is used to nice weather all year round it was quite an experience. Every morning the first thing we do is to find out what the weather would be like today and for the rest of the week. On weekends, when it is the weather is niceand sunny weather over the weekend, the first thing me and my friendsand I will do is to plan for an outing in the parks around Munich orto take a train down south to the beautiful lakes at Stanberg or Amerssee to have a picnic.

The countryside in Bavaria (South Germany) is beautiful – most of the lakes and mountains are easily accessible from Munich within 2 hours’ ride by train &/or bus. During winter it is ideal to try some winter sports like snowboarding or skiing as the mountain is just near by.

My most memorable winter experience was when my department organised a workshop in Feb 03 at Garmisch (the ski resort that was the venue of one of the Winter Olympics). We had a good workshop – but we had an even better team building event that evening. We were told that we need to climb like 45 minutes up a hill to get to our dinner. The actual climb up the “hill” took 2 hours as the hill tracks were covered in snow and all we had was a wooden torch in our hands to light the way. Along the way up the hill – we try tried our best to avoid people who were speeding down the tracks on their snow sledge – some had torches with them – others were going down the hill in the dark! Anyway our torches burnt out three-quarter of the way and we had to manage the rest of the climb in the dark.

When we reached the top of the “hill” – there was a solitary wooden lodge that was also a very good Bavarian restaurant. The 2 hours climb up the snow track was worth it as the schnitzel and beer were excellent. After dinner – as we walked out of the door – we were each given a snow sledge and we had to race one another down the “hill” to get back to our hotel. We were told that like the autobahn – there were was no speed limit riding down a hill on a snow sledge in the dark. I had never ridden a snow sledge before – especially in the dark with a bunch of enthusiastic colleagues – one was riding facedown and racing down the track head first! It took us only 15 minutes to get to the bottom of the hill. After racing down the snow track in the dark with your colleagues and surviving it, there is nothing that you can’t do together after that – that is what I call team building and bonding!

And now it is spring time and I’m writing this article here in my service apartment in Shanghai. I’ll be in China for the whole month of May working on a process integration project with the APAC HQ here. Although there is a SARS epidemic going on in China – it is business as usual here at MP. Of course we take the usual precaution of washing our hands, not going to crowded places, not travelling within China unnecessarily, etc, and we are especially careful about our hygiene and health, but SARS or no SARS we will continue to push on to build our business here in China.

There is nothing more challenging then working in Siemens. I wish that others will take on the many challenges that are available in the company – who knows where it will take you!