Becoming experts on doing business in Thailand

The course is progressing very well and the students are getting closer to becoming experts on doing business in Thailand. So far we have had very interesting lectures on marketing strategy and consumer behaviour in Thailand by Aj. Kitima  (on the left picture having lunch with me) followed by a field trip to observe consumer buying behaviour in a large shopping center. The trip included a nice lunch at a Japanese restaurant!

Wednesday evening we were invited by the Danish-Thai Chamber of Commerce (http://www.dancham.or.th/) to a network meeting at the Grand Millenium Hotel. This meeting gave the students a unique possibility to meet business people with a lot of practical experience on doing business in Thailand which also could help as input to the project they have to write.  A number of questions were prepared and the challenge was to overcome the nerves and approach the members of the chamber with all the questions. Luckily this turned out to be easier than feared by the students. The members as well as the representatives from the Danish Embassy were very kind and helpful and gave valuable information and shared their personal experiences with the students. Some students even eyed an opportunity to get a contact for a possible internship.

Thursday international marketing strategies (entry strategies) and legal aspects were on  the agenda. Aj. Atchariya gave a very inspirering lecture on the subjects. The students (and myself) learned a lot about Thai culture – what to do and what not to do – and we have now among other things learned how to give a proper “Wai” (greeting) as well as the difference between  Phu Yai (“big people”) and Phu Noi (“little people”).

Preparing for the trip we have discussed Thai customs at home and we were surprised to see that at least in Bangkok the cultural gap between Denmark and Thailand is not as big as expected. We know of course that it is an entirely different story outside Bangkok and we are now ready to do business “the Thai way”.

Tomorrow (Friday) we are going to visit the Electrolux factory in the Rayong province and we are all very excited about this trip. I will tell more about the trip in my next post…….

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