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20th May, 2008
KOTA KINABALU: It was first published in the October 2004 issue of the Harvard Business Review but more than three years later, the Blue Ocean Strategy is still making waves.
That is, enough waves to attract almost 100 people in Kota Kinabalu to attend a talk on a public holiday.
The Sabah Women Entrepreneurs and Professionals Association or SWEPA yesterday organised a 3-hour talk on the Blue Ocean Strategy given by academician and newspaper columnist, Dr Oh Ei Sun.
Many who came had heard of the business theory written by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne but few had actually read the book.
It was no wonder then that most had turned up out of curiosity if not to gain knowledge on how to improve their business.
Nurlena Quadra, an employee with an international consulting and research organisation, decided to come because her curiosity was piqued by the claims about this “ground-breaking” theory.
Although not an entrepreneur, she thought the presentation to be interesting.
“It’s always good to learn something new especially if it’s meant to improve your business,” she said.
Judy Jikulin, a marketing executive, agreed and said the talk was useful and the strategy applicable to almost any kind of business.
“Overall, it was good and I would certainly like to find out more about it,” she said.
The Blue Ocean Strategy was based on a study of 150 strategic moves spanning more than 30 industries over a period of 120 years (1880-2000).
At the core of the strategy is these strategic moves known as “value innovation” which create a leap in value for both the company and its buyers.
These moves differentiate one’s organisation from the competitors while at the same time, focus on lowering costs so that competition is rendered obsolete to give rise to new demands.
Blue Ocean is the reverse of “Red Ocean” which the authors described as markets where companies compete voraciously in overcrowded industries.
Meanwhile, organising chairperson responsible for training programmes in SWEPA, Karen Wong, could not be more pleased with the turnout yesterday.
“It was very unexpected! Our tickets were sold out and there were even last minute walk-in participants,” she enthused.
On whether there would be full-fledged seminars on Blue Ocean in the future, she replied that it would be based on the overall feedback from the attendees.
Incidentally, the topic on the Blue Ocean Strategy was chosen by the association’s vice president, Datuk Adeline Leong.
SWEPA president, Dolly Jimayol was equally pleased that many people came to listen to the talk.
“I am sure there are certain principles in the strategy that can help to improve a business or an organisation.
“It’s all about how to swim in the blue ocean in the face of cutthroat competition,” she said.
SWEPA usually conducts training programmes for members on a half-yearly basis on a non-profit basis.
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