Executive Roundtable

Taiwan’s Position in Business Globalization and Outsourcing
Global Product Development

Asian economies have long relied on exports and manufacturing as a road to increased prosperity. The recent global economic downturn has shown that they cannot continue to rely on ever-expanding Western appetite for goods made in Asia but that they must instead cultivate a more diverse economic basis based on unique offerings and value-added services. GDP growth in Mainland China dropped dramatically in 2008 compared to its robust 13% growth in 2007, while industrial production in Taiwan dropped by 32% in December, 2008 (source, The Economist, January 29, 2009).

One of the dangers in the face of disappointing economic conditions both in Asia and the West is that companies or even national economies may become much more skeptical of international partnerships or that it will be harder for outsourced development providers to justify their services to potential partners nervous about the economic future.

In this Executive Roundtable, business leaders and upper-level management from Taiwanese and international companies will examine the issues affecting global business today and the opportunities available to Asia, Greater China and Europe.

Registration

Executives may register for the Roundtable on this page.

Speakers and Facilitators

The key speakers and discussion leaders at this program are:

	Joseph Hsu, Chairman of the Board Symbio Investment Holdings Company
	Dr. Jyh-Sheng Ke, President Institute for Information Industry (III)
	Grace Chen, Chairman and CEO OceanSoft International
	Dion Wiggins, CEO Asia Online
	Karl-Johan Lönnroth, Director General European Commission Directorate-General for Translation (DGT)
	Eric Mou, Vice President, Global Delivery iSoftStone
	Dirk Meyer, Product Manager, Globalization and World Readiness Adobe Systems
	Michael Anobile, Founder and Managing Director Localization Industry Standards Association
	Square Fang, President PTSGI

Topics

The presentations and discussion sessions will address the following topics:

1. Cultivating expertise. How can companies in Greater China demonstrate their expertise in particular skill sets? How can potential partners assess these skills? How can Taiwan leverage their expertise in OEM and ODM as they shift towards globalization and “higher” added-value services?
2. Taking advantage of linguistic and cultural diversity. Language and culture are often seen as barriers to be overcome in outsourcing projects. How can organizations utilize diversity to their advantage?
3. Continuing innovation. Asia has invested substantial sums in research and development and technological innovation, particularly in Mainland China, Taiwan, and Korea. How will the macroeconomic climate affect these investments and how can Asia, and Greater China in particular, maintain and demonstrate a strong commitment to innovation?
4. Cross-Straights collaboration. How can Taiwan and Mainland China work together to provide more compelling service offerings to foreign clients?
5. New infrastructure. Greater China has invested heavily in technology infrastructure in recent years. How can foreign investors take advantage of this infrastructure? What can the U.S. and Europe learn from the Chinese experience as they contemplate their own national infrastructure projects?
6. Telecommunications and culture. Taiwan in particular has invested heavily in telecommunications technologies to support global business but the technology to facilitate across culture and language has not kept pace with the physical infrastructure. How can companies in Greater China improve their capacity to work in tandem with foreign partners?

About LISA Executive Roundtables

LISA brings together an audience of company leaders, upper-level managers and government executives for a daylong program characterized by frank and open discussion of important issues and business strategies that impact global business. Previous attendees have declared that these meetings are “extremely valuable,” “enlightening,” and “highly useful.” To foster open dialogue, members of the press are not allowed to attend, and all discussion is “off the record.” The diversity of attendees, who come from many countries, creates a unique diversity of perspective that helps all attendees come away with a broader view of the issues that impact their organizations’ future success.

All enquiries for this program and future Roundtable sessions should be forwarded to Michael Anobile, LISA’s Managing Director (mike@lisa.org) or Arle Lommel, the LISA Standards (OSCAR) Chairman (arle@lisa.org).