Australian Business Culture

Australian Business Culture (ABC)

[email protected]/in/sureshsood

Download: http://www.slideshare.net/ssood/australian-business-culture

July 2014

Areas of Discussion1. Indigenous Australians

2. Public holidays in 2014

3. Australians according to Google and What do Chinese think about Australia ? (social media)

4. History since James Cook, Aussie icons and Aussie innovations

5. Australians as city dwellers, Australia outback, beaches and surfing

6. Politics

7. Australian slang

8. Sport, Beer, Wine and Food

9. Australian Business – social conventions, introductions, negotiating , entertaining, dining and game play

10. Multiculturalism

11. The Next wave and Lucky Country

First Australian Instagram and Twitter Studies Conductedwww.datafication.com.au

Culture

”…complex system of concepts, values, norms, beliefs and practices that are shared, created and contested by people who make up a cultural group and are passed on from generation to generation. Cultural systems include variable ways of seeing, interpreting and understanding the world. They are constructed and transmitted by members of the group through the processes of socialisation and representation.”

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) 2011, Draft Shape of the Australian Curriculum: Languages, Sydney

Public Holidays in 2014

Young Australian of the Year 2014Jacqueline Freney OAM - Paralympic champion

Being born (1992) with cerebral palsy has not stopped Jacqueline Freney from achieving greatness in the sporting arena. Following in the footsteps of her swimming family, Jacqueline set herself the goal to become a competitive swimmer. In 2012, Jacqueline won a remarkable eight gold medals at the London 2012 Paralympic Games, becoming Australia’s most successful Paralympian at a single Games. Two of Jacqueline’s performances were under world record time. She won a gold medal for every event in which she competed and her gold medal haul was greater than any other competitor from any country. Her success earned her the crown of Australia’s 2012 Paralympian of the Year. Jacqueline’s indomitable spirit is not confined to the swimming pool. She is actively involved in the wider community, working with Swimming Australia as a motivational speaker to help other people with disabilities reach their potential. Jacqueline is an inspirational role model and positive proof that, with hard work and determination, anything is possible.

Source: http://www.australianoftheyear.org.au/

Australian of the Year 2014Adam Goodes - AFL player and community leader

An Adnyamathanha man, Adam Goodes is a champion Australian Rules football player with the Sydney Swans. Adam holds an elite place in AFL history, winning two Brownlow Medals and two premierships. He is a four-time All-Australian, member of the Indigenous Team of the Century, and has represented Australia in the International Rules Series. Adam is proud of his Indigenous heritage, and is actively involved with several Indigenous sport and community programs. He has spent time working with troubled youth, including those in youth detention centres. Together with his cousin and former teammate Michael O’Loughlin, Adam established the Go Foundation which empowers the next generation of Indigenous role models in all walks of life. Adam co-chairs the foundation, focused on promoting education, employment and healthy lifestyles. Adam is a great role model and advocate for the fight against racism both on and off the field and is admired by a great many people around the nation.

Source: http://www.australianoftheyear.org.au/

According to Google "Australians are known for *"

Source : http://blogoscoped.com/prejudice

Your English Social Network Cheat Sheet

Ideas concerning Australia may be different between Chinese people in Australia and Chinese citizen. (date: 1st May 2014)

Chinese social networks

Australian social networks

• Sina weibo (132,555,895)• QQ weibo (3,721,300)• Taisha BBS (1,228,967)

In total: 137,506,162

• Tigtag (21,755,909)• Oursteps (14,568,879)• Yeeyi（ 6,635,153）• FreeOZ (4,718,210)

In total: 47,678,151

The following number is the Australia-related posts found in each site.

China in Comparison with Australia (Hofstede)

Source: http://geert-hofstede.com/

Indigenous Australians• Aboriginal and Torres Strait

islanders

• Aborigines – “first” Australians, world’s oldest civilisation

(70,000 years ago)

• 2.5% (about 575,000) of total Australian population

• “Stolen Generation”

• Dreamtime stories about the creation of the land and people and animals.

• Rich and diverse cultures, 250 distinct languages

Protocols: Acknowledgement of Traditional Owners and Welcome to Country

Understanding the difference between a Welcome to Country and an Acknowledgement of the Traditional Owners

Welcoming to Country and Acknowledging of the Traditional Owners are elements of Aboriginal cutural which are ancient in origin. These practices are also increasingly becoming part of Australian culture. However there is often some confusion regarding which is which and who can be asked to give it.

A Welcome to Country is a formal welcome onto Aboriginal land given by an Elder or person of that land. That is, someone who is a Traditional Owner of that place. As Traditional Owners it is they only who can welcome onto their Country. A Welcome to Country is not always needed and in many cases an Acknowledgment of the Traditional Owners is sufficiently respectful.

An Acknowledgement of the Traditional Owners is a statement of recognition of the Traditional Owners of the land. That is, an acknowledgment of the Aboriginal community who historically have occupied and continue to be the cultural custodians and holders of knowledge for an area. An Acknowledgement of Country can be given by any person, Indigenous or not. As mentioned, an Acknowledgment of the Traditional Owners is usually a sufficient act of respect.

Recommended wording for an Acknowledgment of the Traditional Owners at UTS events

Giving an Acknowledgment of the Traditional Owners is an act of courtesy on the part of the speaker. Therefore it should be said in a respectful and sincere manner. It should also be given very early in the formal proceedings. Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning, UTS suggests the following form of words for UTS staff and students:

'Before we begin the proceedings and behalf of all those present, I would like to acknowledge and pay respect to the Traditional Owners of the land on which we meet; the Gadigal and Guring-gai people of the Eora Nation. It is upon their ancestral lands that UTS stands. Similarly, I would also like to pay respect to the Elders both past and present, acknowledging them as the traditional custodians of knowledge for this place.'

http://www.jumbunna.uts.edu.au/about/protocols.html

• Captain James Cook on the Endeavour sailed into Botany Bay, 29th April 1770 and claimed NSW.

• Mapped and circumnavigated Australia

British Claim

Captain James Cook, 1770

First Settlement, 1788The First Fleet26th Jan 1788 in Sydney Cove

• 1500 men, women and chlldren in 11 ships

• Convicts and free settlers• Led by Captain Arthur Phillip• First landed in Botany Bay,

but lack of water and resources forced the fleet to look for another cove.

• Sydney Cove – named after the then British Home Secretary, Lord Sydney

The Gold Rush, from 1851

Early Explorers and Settlement (1800s)

• Edward Hargraves, a British opportunist and an unsuccessful gold prospector in California discovered the first gold field in Bathurst, NSW in 1851 – a defining moment for Australia

• A “gold frenzy” followed in all other states

• By 1852 370,000 immigrants arrived from different countries. By 1872, Australia’s population grew to 1.7M.

• Active railway and road infrastructure during this period.


By 1861, Chinese immigrants made up 3.3% (mostly males, only 11 women) of population, but many returned to China

• Western Australia was the last of the states to have convicts. The last convict ship to Western Australia, the Hougoumont, left Britain in 1867 and arrived in Western Australia on 10 January 1868. Transportation of convicts to Australia ceased after this.

• Estimated 2M Britons and 4M Australians have convict ancestors

Last Convict Ship, 1868


• Hero or Villain? – “such is life”

• Notorious bushranger carried out a series of successful bank robberies and outwitted the Victorian Police

• Became a hero in the eyes of the oppressed and Irish until he was gunned down and captured in a police shoot-out at Glenrowan

Aussie Icon – Ned Kelly 1880

Gallipoli, 1915

•Anzac’s were loaded from ships just short of Gallipoli early on April 25 1915

•They scrambled ashore an sustained the Gallipoli campaign for 8 months

•The soldiers displayed bravery and skill under great adversity

•Casualties 8709 Australian dead and New Zealand 2701.

•Campaign was a disaster but defined Australia as a nation.

… lest we forget …25th April – ANZAC Day

Australian New Zealand Army Corp

National Remembrance DayIn memory of the fall of

Gallipoli, 1915

ANZAC Day

1920 - QANTAS, The Flying Kangaroo Queensland and Northern Territory

Aerial Services

1923 - Vegemite 22 millions jars per

year

Aussie Icons

Aussie Icon

Harbour Bridge, 1932• Construction began in 1923

that kept many Australians employed during the Depression

• Opened in 1932• “The Coathanger” – world’s

largest steel arch (not the longest) 134m from top of the arch to harbour

• Ave daily traffic – 11,000 cars (1932); 160,000 (today)

• Bridge Climb – opened in 1998

Aussie Icon

Sydney Opera House

Grand Opening 1973

Sydney Opera House Samsung Galaxy

Launch 2013

Australian Inventions

Notepads (1902) Aspirin (1915) Pacemaker (1926) Penicillin (1940) Hills Hoist clothesline (1946) Plastic disposable syringe (1949) Wine cask (1965) Bionic ear (1978) Dual-flush toilet flush (1980) Anti-counterfeiting technology for banknotes (1992) Long-wearing contact lenses (1999)

Aussie Innovation – 1928

The Flying Doctor ServiceRev John Flynn

Aerial Medical Service

To the Outback

Whitehistorytoday.com

Aussie Innovation - 1961

The Blackbox Recorder

David Warren

The first ultrasound scanner

George Kossoff and David Robinson

Aussie Innovation - 1992

WiFi technology In1992 John O' Sullivan and the CSIRO developed WLAN technology and was “officially” recognised after winning a US litigation against companies who used technology without license

Australian based Danish brothers, Lars and Jens Rasmussen cofounded Australian start up, Where 2 Technologies in 2003 and sold to Google in 2004 which becames the Google maps platform

Square Kilometer Array (SKA)

The data collected by SKA in a single day take nearly two million years to playback on an MP3 player The SKA central computer has processing power of about one hundred million PCs.

The SKA will use enough optical fiber linking up all the radio telescopes to wrap twice around the Earth.The dishes of the SKA when fully operational will produce 10 times the global internet traffic as of 2013.The aperture arrays in the SKA could produce more than 100 times the global internet traffic as of 2013.The SKA will generate enough raw data to fill 15 million 64 GB MP3 players every day.The SKA supercomputer will perform 1018 operations per second - equivalent to the number of stars in three

million Milky Way galaxies - in order to process all the data that the SKA will produce.The SKA will be so sensitive that it will be able to detect an airport radar on a planet 50 light years away.The SKA will contain thousands of antennas with a combined collecting area of about one square kilometer

(that's 1,000,000 square meters).Previous mapping of Centaurus A galaxy took a team 12,000 hours of observations and several years. SKA

ETA 5 minutes !

To the scientists involved, however, the SKA is no testbed, it’s a transformative instrument which, according to Luijten, will lead to “fundamental discoveries of how life and planets and matter all came into existence. As a scientist, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

Sources: http://bit.ly/amazin-facts & http://bit.ly/astro-ska

Galileo

http://bit.ly/amazin-facts

Australians – who are we?• 23 million, April 2013• 2.5% are Aboriginal and the rest are migrants and

descendants of migrants from about 200 countries since the first European settlement in 1778

• Growing (1.7% as of 2012), but • Ageing (81.2 years, compared to world of 70 years)• One in 4 were born in another country• 25% are Catholics, then Anglican at 18%, and other

Christian at 19% (21% have no religion)• About 18% (4M) speak a language other than English

World News Australia, SBS, Helen Davidson

Australia’s population and major urban areas are much more sparsely dispersed than either the US or UK

Population 20.4 m 301 m 60.8 m

Population Density 2.7 people / km2 33.3 people / km2 254 people / km2

Australia United States United Kingdom

Source: CIA fact book, CIESIN (Columbia University), ABS, UN

Persons per km2

• Australia is a large country with a small population and low density

• Majority of population lives either in large cities or small population areas

• Urban areas are sparsely dispersed, but predominantly near the coast

• The US has a large population and much greater population density than Australia

• US population is also distributed among very large cities or small population areas

• Urban areas are much less dispersed than in Australia, esp. on the Eastern seaboard

• The UK has a large population living in a very small land area

• Only 2 large cities; majority of population lives in regional cities

• Result has been very high density and concentration of urban areas

Australians Are City DwellersOne of the most “urbanised” countries in the

world

89% live in the citiesCAPITAL CITY % OF TOTAL POPULATION

SYDNEY 4.6M (20%)

MELBOURNE 4.2M (18%)

BRISBANE 2.2M (10%)

PERTH 1.9M (8%)

ADELAIDE 1.3M (6%)

CANBERRA 0.4M (2%)

HOBART 0.2M (1%)

DARWIN 0.1M (0.4%)

OTHER CITIES

Mercer Cost of Living Survey 2014

Sydney drops from 9 (2013) to 26 in 2014

Melbourne drops from 16 to 33

Brisbane and Canberra fall outside top 50

Adelaide (59) has also fallen twenty five spots

Shanghai is 10

Beijing is 11

The drop in rankings mean Australia becomes more attractive for global talent because expat’s dollars will go further, it does not mean that Australian cities have become cheaper for Australians

The survey covers 211 cities across five continents and measures the comparative cost of over 200 items in each location, including housing, transportation, food, clothing, household goods, and entertainment.

Some Australian Rules for Speaking ?

Australiians often abbreviate words and then add an ‘o’ or ‘ie’ on the end

‘bring your cossie to the barbie this arvo’

Reverse nicknames

calling people with red hair ‘bluey’

saying ‘snowy’ to someone with dark hair,

tagging ‘lofty’ to someone who is small in stature

Australia and Freedom

"You feel free in Australia. There is great relief in the atmosphere - a relief from tension, from pressure, an absence of control of will or form. The skies open above you and the areas open around you"

D.H Lawrence (English author)

Australia – Down Under

SMH, M Maiden June 2012

Australia – Australis Latin for “Southern”

Smallest and flattest continent

And the

Largest Island in the world

Australia is big !

• Almost same size as the USA, excl. Alaska

•2 x size of India

•32 x size of UK

http://www.anbg.gov.au/maps/aust-usa-map.jpg

Different Regions & Relationship to Australia

ANZ – Australia and New ZealandAUSTRALASIA – Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, New CaledoniaOCEANIA – Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, etc APAC – East Asia + Southeast Asia + Oceania

Australia – States and Territories

States Capital

NSW SYDNEY

VIC MELBOURNE

QLD BRISBANE

WA PERTH

SA ADELAIDE

TAS HOBART

Territories Capital

ACT CANBERRA

NT DARWIN

Where is the Outback?

Outback

out of the back of “Bourke” town;

somewhere inland; a long way from the

sea

Not the bush!

•Central Australia•Desert, dry, red dirt

Traveloutbackaustralia.com.au

Aussie Icons in the OutbackWorld Heritage in Central Australia(formerly Ayers Rock)

Australian Sunshine

Australia.ed.au

• Bikini in Dec; Winter coats in June• Mainly temperate • Warm and Humid (tropical) – Qld/NT/Northern WA• Snows only in Thredbo/Kosciusko and Victorian Alps

Aussie Icons – Our Beaches

11,000+ beaches30,000km (18,000 miles) of

Australian coastline

Sun, surf and beaches

bondi, cronulla, manly, harbord, garie beach, newport, torquay, gold coast, noosa, crescent heads, byron bay, seal rocks, margaret river,

Aussie Icons - Surfing brands

Layne Beachley, from Manly (Sydney), first woman to

win 7 world championships Mark Richards, Most Influential Surfer

1963 to 2013

Aussie Icons – ReefsWorld Heritage Wonders in the Pacific and Indian Oceans

Great Barrier Reef

Sydney

Map, Kutztown University

Australian Politics – the best of both worlds

The Queen

Executive Council

Parliament Heads of Public Service

Departments

Ministers

Cabinet

Governor General

Government Departments

House of Representatives(148 electorates)

The Senate(78 state/territory)

VOTERS

Head of State

Prime MinisterHead of

GovernmentAnd Cabinet

Upper House

Lower House

Federal Parliament

Appointed byGovernor General

On advice of PM

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Politics – best of both worlds

Type of Government How Many are there?

Make Decisions about …

FederalSystem of GovernmentSimilar to the US

1 National Matters Defence, Immigration, Foreign Affairs, Telecommunications, Environment, Social Security, Health Service

StateFrom the United Kingdom came responsible government, the practice of ministers being members of parliament and having to obtain majority support from the lower house

6 States, 2 Territories

State MattersDomestic law & order, schools, hospitals, public housing, state roads

Local 565 Councils (as of 2011)

Local IssuesCommunity services, Libraries, Local Planning and development, Recreation Facilities, Local roads

The “Washminster” system because it combines elements of the Washington (US) and Westminster (UK) systems of government.

Aussie Icon – Coat of Arms

Symbol of Australia

Shield = Badge for each state

Star of the Federation

Golden Wattle – floral emblem

Emu and Kangaroo – animal emblemNeither animal can move backward, only forward

(progress)

Australian Slang (Sayings) G'day mate: good day friend

Howzat go'wn?: how are you?

Fair Dinkum : genuine

Shelia : woman

Bloke : man

Steady on Bruce: hold on or wait up

BYO – Bring your own (restaurant or BBQ)

Source: http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Australians

Australian Slang (Sayings)Like a stunned mullet : dazed and confused

Bogan: a very simple unsophisticated person

Pay out : make fun

Ratbag : not a very nice person

Pokies : poker machine

Ta : thank you

Dunny/Loo : toilet

Buskwalking: hiking

Chokkers: completely full (“like a boot”)

Australian Slang (Sayings)Chrissie : Christmas

He’s flat out like a lizard drinking!:very busy

Grasshopper or Grassie : Toursit

It’s your shout,mate :Your turn to pay for drinks

Pommy : Someone form the UK (convicts used to have initials “P.O.M.E on their clothing [Prisoner of Mother England])

Ripper, as in “Bloody ripper, mate!” Someone or something really good

.

Sport - "Who do you barrack for?" • Rugby and Cricket

• National Rugby League NSW/QLD

• Footy – a favorite Melbourne game

• Australian Rules Football

http://www.beijingbombers.com/

Sir Donald George Bradman-The “Don”

the greatest cricketer of all time

Melbourne Cup

http://rolexsydneyhobart.com/

Beer, Food & Wines

Australia's "national dish"

Meat pie&

mushy peas

Burger with the “lot"

The lot =Bacon, beetroot, fried egg, pineapple, lettuce, tomato, "tomato sauce" (ketchup) and cheese

Desserts

Pavlova Lamington

Wine Regions of Australia

http://cleanskins.com/index.php/regions.html

Australian Business

• Casual or formal dress ?

• Work hours Mon-Fri 9:00 am to ~5:00 pm

• Small talk before hand

• Hand shake at beginning and end

• Exchange email addresses, LinkedIn or business cards (often no formality)

• Gift giving is not normal

• Invitations to BBQ after hours on occasions (bring food and wine)

Source: http://www.justlanded.com/english/Australia/Australia-Guide/Business/Business-etiquette

Introductions

First names are widely and quickly used in Australia.However, it is wise to wait until invited to do so.Many visitors have found themselves surprised

by the speed with which Australians adopt the first name as a way of addressing their visitors.

This should not be mistaken as a sign of real friendship -- it only indicates Aussie friendly informality.

Australians are generally quite informal.Don’t be too stiff or overly tactful.

Introductions-2

People shake hands upon introduction as well as at the beginning and end of meetings.

The handshake should be firm and friendly.

When addressing business colleagues, even senior managers, the business title is generally not used.

Australia has its share of British titles and honors.Holders of such titles in Australia may or may not use them.In case of doubt, the general term “Sir” may be used to address

anyone with respect.

Introductions-3Aussies greet each other with “Hello” or an informal “G’day,” but they tire of hearing tourists overuse the latter.

It is appropriate to present a business card at an introduction.

Don’t be surprised if you do not get one in return, since many Australians do not have them.

Social Conventions-1

Australians are direct, like people from the U.S.

There are many unique words and phrases in Australian English. Introductory conversation unrelated to business should be short.The spectacular Australian architecture, local cultural events, and leisure and outdoor activities

are useful conversation topics.

Avoid making comparisons between U.S. and Australia.

Social Conventions-2Don’t give unsolicited advice and avoid “putting on airs.”

Australians demonstrate their disdain of class by sitting up front with their drivers, both in taxis and limousines.

Aussies are suspicious of pretension and status-conscious behavior.

It is very difficult to impress an Aussie.

Men are fairly quick to call another man “mate” if they take a liking to him.

Key Negotiating Pointers

Be punctual.Australians are easy-going, but they are sticklers about time.

Be informal, but courteous.Americans tend to feel very comfortable dealing with Australians, who regard formality as insincere and artificial.

Efforts to impress usually are hurtful.Don’t be afraid to use humor.


Make presentations detailed and factual.

Be prepared to respond evenly to pointed questions.Negotiations move quickly.

Make brief introductory remarks and then get down to business.

Keep your administrative requirements to a minimum.

Australians do not like being told what to do.

Operate with few rigid lines of authority.


Stress the practical over the conceptual.

Australian negotiators are pragmatic and profit oriented.

Make the opening offer fairly close to your desired final position.

Leave yourself some room for movement.

Australians do not tend to be “blue-sky”bargainers (haggling for long periods from very high initial offers).


Expect Australian negotiators to remind you of the competition and to keep pressure on to make concessions.

Patience is another often-used Australian tactic, as they hope to wait it out for you to concede.

Australians tend to make concessions in descending pattern. Generous at first, then tapering off.

Contracts are written, specific, and firm.

Business Practices-1Australians are motivated to work hard by affliction and quality of life.

Stark contrast to other countries, where status and money are viewed as key incentives.

Punctuality is highly regarded.

Appointments are necessary, preferably one month in advance.

Business cards are routinely used.

Business Practices-2

Business is often conducted while having drinks.

Buy only when it is your turn, as it is considered rude to buy out of order.

Melbournians are slightly lmore conservative than fellow Australians.

Meeting protocol: get down to business quickly.

Presentation should be complete, while not concealing problems areas.

Communicate directly and respond to their directness with confidence and good humor.


Due to great distances, it is important to have representation within Australia.

There is an Australian version of the “Old Boy”network among senior industrial executives

It helps to have connections.

Vast majority speak only English. Australians are, first and foremost, pragmatic.

Time has value and they will not waste it.

Delays are viewed as inefficient.


Decision-making still tends to be concentrated at top echelon of companies.

Informality reigns in matters of etiquette.

People are seated in random fashion, generally with no special seat of honor.

Seniors in company status may receive certain gestures of respect, but such a show is a formality only.

Australians do not practice deference -- their overall sense of equality is well-ingrained.

Business Entertaining-1

Business lunches are a popular and acceptable way of both initiating and doing business.

However, business and pleasure do not mix in Australia.

Do not use social occasions, besides lunches, as opportunities to talk business.

Once a social relationship has been established, a businessperson may invite his/her contact to lunch.


Dinner is usually about 6 pm.

Come 30 minutes early or be on-time, but never be late.

Guests sometimes bring flowers or wine -- not gifts.

A “thank-you” upon leaving is all that is expected.

More formal evening entertaining is in order when thevisitor is dealing with upper managerial levels or once a business relationship has been established.

Business Entertaining-3Formal occasions, especially if the Australians host them, are likely to take place in a club.

Clubs are often formed around athletic events, but may also be professional.

The business visitor should not propose entertainment over the weekend.

Australians treasure their free time.


Invitations to a home are not common and must be considered special.

Since this kind of entertaining could be formal or very informal, it is best to ask the host about appropriate dress.

Often such visits will center around a casual outdoor barbecue and will include all family members.

A modest gift for their home would be unexpected but appreciated.Otherwise, the practice of giving gifts is unwelcome and might even be

considered taboo.

Dining with Australians-1The main meal is eaten in the evening.

It may be called dinner or tea.

Table manners are European, but viewed with informality and flexibility.

While it is considered proper to use the fork with the left hand, other styles are tolerated.

When eating soup, do so by moving the spoon away from you, not toward you.

Dining with Australians-2

Salads are generally served with the main course.

Indicate that you have finished by laying your knife and fork parallel on your plate.

At a restaurant, use a simple hand gesture to get the waiter’s attention.

Beer is the most popular national drink.

Australian Game Plan

Australians do not suffer from inferiority complex among nations, but they do demand respect and recognition.

Proud of their country.

Do not want to be thought of as a little America.

Any display of superiority will turn them away.

Strongest values are egalitarianism and antiauthoritarianism.

Treat them as equals.

Likewise, do not defer to them.

Australian Game Plan

Accept their informality and do not be too formal around them.

Do not be offended if they use your first name.

Do not assume it means friendship…it is a way to disarm and equalize opponents.

They do not like inflated prices.

Bargaining as an art is a waste of time.

However, they are competitive and want the best deal.

Be ready to give up something (if needed).

Portrait of an Australian Businessperson-1What does she believe is a person’s responsibility?Personal satisfaction and enjoyment of life; independence.

What does she expect of others?Equal treatment.

How does he interact with others?

Open and friendly. Very informal. First names are used almost immediately.

Humor and Businesshttp://www.roninmarketeer.com/2014/06/25/thats-not-funny/

1. There is no formula for funny.2. Like chess, there are some proven openings, but you have to do the hard

work of filling in the details and there’s no guarantee you’ll get it right (in fact you won’t most of the time as you start). And get this – comedy case studies are useless, once the joke is out copycats are viewed with disdain.

3. At the heart of comedy is the irony of us being woefully unable to deal with everyday life. For more on this, Steve Kaplan’s “The Hidden Tools of Comedy” is worth reading.

4. Brute force does work. As a young person I thought Johnny Carson was just an amazingly funny guy, then I learned there are teams of people that drive the late night shows. I don’t know why this was so surprising to me, I was also amazed to hear about the same thing about This American Life, only about half of the segments that get made make it to the airwaves.

5. Committees never work, it may be funny, but not funny enough to go viral. This is the bane of corporate humor. Pretty good for 10 people is not even in the same country, never mind neighborhood of awesome to 1. Even great to 4 people will probably be ignored.

Humor and Businesshttp://www.roninmarketeer.com/2014/06/25/thats-not-funny/

6. Humor never works when there is power disparity – making jokes when you are laying someone off is a bad idea. If you are the big boss you may be in for a rude awakening when you tell the same jokes and stories to

people not on your payroll.7. Humor runs the risk of being offensive. As mentioned earlier, a lot of

humor is about our inability to deal with life. That’s why there are a lot of victims in comedy and that doesn’t always mesh with political correctness or the PR position of your brand.8. Much of business is improvisation. I thought there would be a lot of

material here. There are a bunch of books on improvisational comedy. 99% of it boils down to working well with your partners and some

generally agreed to frameworks (again back to the chess openings). The other theme here that keeps showing up is: do a ton of writing.9. “Be funny” is like saying, “be charming, be empathic, be service oriented,

be a great product designer”. Good advice at first listen, until you realize that there aren’t any detailed instructions besides “Listen well, and act appropriately”.

10. To do one great video, create 10 maybe you’ll be lucky and get one hit. Doing projects one at a time guarantees failure.

Hou Leong was born in Shanghai and resided in Macau before moving to Australia.

Chinese-born, and now Canberra-based, artist Hou Leong focuses in his work, on the idea of cultural appropriation and perceptions of identity and tradition. He raises questions of identity, for example, by combining and contrasting familiar Australian and Chinese photographic images - both of people and of landscapes - in confronting and amusing ways.

In his painting, he fuses Western tradition and Asian styles, such as in a recent series based on Leonardo da Vinci’s famous “Mona Lisa”.

As Melissa Chiu writes in the catalogue for the 1997 touring exhibition “Paradox”, Hou Leong “...juxtaposes different cultural imagery, daring us to question his images and in turn question our own assumptions and expectations.”

HOU LEONGPlaying with representations of Australian icons

An Australian (Wood chopper)”digital photograph, 1994.

In this series, Hou Leong replaces key figures within well-known Australian images with an image of himself, creating stark cultural contrasts and demonstrating “an intention to disrupt deeply-held cultural assumptions.”

(from the catalogue for the touring exhibition “Paradox” by Melissa Chiu, 1997).

“An Australian (Outback Pub)”digital photograph,1994.

What does it mean to be “an Australian”?

This is the question Hou Leong poses in this series, where he places himself into familiar images, which contain “an essentialised idea of Australian-ness personified by Anglo-Celtic tradition”.


“An Australian (With the Flag)”digital photograph, Hou Leong, 1994.

In this series, Hou Leong questions what it means to be an Australian.

“The exclusion of other cultures within the myth of Australian identity is inverted by the inclusion of Leong himself in each image.”


“An Australian (Crocodile Dundee)”

digital photograph,1994.

Is the character Mick Dundee from “Crocodile Dundee”, as quintessentially Australian as the film’s makers might like to think?

This seems to be the question Hou Leong poses - and answers, in his own original way - in this work from the series “An Australian”.

“An Australian (Ampol)”digital photograph,1994.

Placing himself into this familiar Australian advertisement, Hou Leong, as he does throughout this series, prods us into questioning what the term “as Australian as...” should really mean in today’s multicultural Australia.

“An Australian (Surfers)digital photograph,1994.

By placing himself into a photograph depicting one of the “typical” pastimes of Australians, Hou Leong raises questions about the blond, blue-eyed image often associated with the sport of surfing and indeed all too often, with Australian identity generally.

“Shells on Li River”digital photograph,1995.

In this work, Hou Leong places the Sydney Opera House on China’s Li River, surrounded by spectacular mountain ranges.

It’s part of his landscape series, which draws “attention to the symbolic and cultural value that landscape holds in the definition of a sense of place”.


Australia’s Current, Next and Future Wave of Growth 2013-33

Source: www.buildingtheluckycountry.com.au

Positioning for Prosperity? Catching the next waveDeloitte October 2013

Agribusiness: Global population growth of 60 million per year will increase food demand, with Asia’s growing middle classes set to boost their protein intake.

Gas: Rapid growth in emerging economies has polluted the air in the major cities to our north. That will underwrite demand for gas, a cleaner and greener alternative.

Tourism: This sector is set to double in size in the next 20 years, with Asia’s expanding middle classes fuelling the growth.

International education: Foreign students are already our fourth biggest export earner; with India and China likely to drive great growth in demand in the sector.

Wealth management: Three billion people in Asia will join the middle class by 2030 and by 2050 the region will account for more than half the world’s financial assets.

The Lucky Country?

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