In an interview, SMU Assistant Professor of Strategy & Entrepreneurship (Education) Terence Fan shared his views on the attempted transition over to SimplyGo to facilitate payment for public transport and discussed possible reasons for the outcry.
Commenting on Land Transport Authority's (LTA) shelving of its SimplyGo plan, SMU Assistant Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship (Education) Terence Fan noted that this was the second time in recent months that LTA had changed course in response to a public outcry. Looking ahead, he said LTA would eventually have to move to a single ticketing system, but the authority should make tweaks to make the system more palatable.
Commenting on Lazada's layoffs coinciding with the changes at its parent company Alibaba, SMU Associate Professor of Strategy & Entrepreneurship (Education) Kenneth Goh said that if Alibaba is gearing up for an IPO for its e-commerce unit, it must highlight more than just profitability.
On people in Singapore seeming more open to other novel foods than elsewhere, SMU Professor of Communication Management (Practice) Mark Chong explained this with a concept called kiasu.
Now nine years into his role at SMU, Associate Professor of Finance and Co-Director of Singapore Green Finance Centre (SGFC) Liang Hao looks back at various profiles of students he has taught for nearly a decade. He was among the first to start teaching the topic of sustainable finance. As market demand for sustainable finance grew, so did SMU’s offerings. This August, SMU will welcome its first batch of full-time and part-time Master of Sustainability graduate students.
SMU Associate Professor of Marketing Hannah Chang said that Singapore’s implementation of a plastic bag charge has led to the beginning of a change in norms. However, mindset changes at a different pace for everyone, she added. Assoc Prof Chang also said awareness is important as “many times, people may not be fully aware or cognisant of the type of negative impact the single-use plastic bag has on our environment”. However, she noted that around the world, the rolling out of such practices usually happens slowly.
In a commentary, SMU Professor Emeritus of Operations Management Arnoud De Meyer discussed the need for people in Singapore to go beyond the call of duty, develop entrepreneurial behaviour, take risks, commit to change, deploy their talents, and prove themselves. He noted the hurdles for young people to take risks and engage in change and outlined the five types of effort needed for people to achieve success in their professional life.
In an interview, SMU Assistant Professor of Strategy & Entrepreneurship (Education) Terence Fan discussed why Certificate of Entitlement (COE) premiums closed mixed in the latest bidding exercise. He opined that COE prices may not experience any major changes for the remainder of the year, subjected to any economic and political changes in the coming months.
Commenting on the connectivity issues for some remote and central estates, SMU Assistant Professor of Strategy & Entrepreneurship (Education) Terence Fan said that Singapore may be well-connected by global city standards, but within the local context, there is room for improvement. He explained that, unlike other cities, many residents in Singapore do not own private vehicles, and taxi and private-hire rates are high, so a reliable transport system is essential.
Local supermarkets have been charging for single-use shopping bags for a year now. Some plastic bag manufacturers have noticed a significant decrease in orders from supermarkets, but retail demand remains high. SMU Associate Professor of Marketing Hannah Chang noted that implementing charges for plastic bags may not happen overnight across all stores. Instead, it needs to be introduced gradually, allowing people time to adapt and develop the habit of bringing their own bags.
