The tour itself was really nice as it was separated into 3 different sections: Tanformer, Leaf to Life and the Interactive Exhibition. In the Tanformer, we were able to see their process of mass production and the different machines that were used. Based on this we can assume that their revenue expenditures are more likely to be high due to maintenance costs of the machines. In the Leave to Life section it focuses on how they are able to create bottles such that it reduces energy and plastic consumption. It was also really fascinating to hear that Captain Tan actually donates 90% of Itchitan profits towards charity. Hence, not only are they supplying drinks in large quantities but they are also making sure they are giving back to the community. This heavily links to the corporate social responsibility (CSR) in which consumers may have better perception of the brand. Lastly, for the interactive exhibition we were able to watch videos on seals and how they were being harmed by global warming and carbon emissions, thus the link with Itchitan here is they tried addressing that by saying that they are focused on helping that decrease too. Other things in the interactive section included taking photos with an AI version of Captain Tan which was fun.

What separates SK TES from the rest of their competitors in Thailand is that they are a central hub for recycling batteries in Thailand. It was mentioned in their presentation that they are the only company in Thailand to do so. SK TES in Thailand has the role of discharging the batteries and from there they send it to Singapore where they will further recycle it. It was really interesting to hear that Thailand isn’t actually allowed to import any of these batteries into the countries but they are allowed to export it. This ties in with STEEPLE in which policies by the government are set to prevent this. These thoughts can be put into Abraca too as they also sell B2B and will most likely follow a resource recovery model regarding their e-waste line which they convert circuit boards into gold and sell them to jewelry makers. Depending on the country which Abraca falls in, their policies may be different. It may also tie in with the value of the gold. Since it isn’t retrieved from mines is it really as valuable as pure gold? 

Overall this experience was really cool as it was great to see the difference between a capital intensive business in Itchitan and a labor intensive business in SK TES where they need highly skilled workers to go about their business. 

1) The amount of defects that the operation leads to. I was looking at the bottles being produced and realized that so many to get defected and have to be thrown away. Looking at it made me wonder: where does it go? Is it sold to consumers at a lower price? It was interesting to think about the fact that there must be a whole other objective regarding the treatment of these defects that likely bundle and accumulate through the flow-production of Ichitan over time. 

2) The flood highlighted in the video presentation genuinely moved me. It was touching to observe how negatively impacting the flood was to the company and to the city in general. It led me to understand the gravity of external factors on not only businesses but societies in general. We'd often learn of things such as the PEST or the STEEPLE, but seeing things in actuality rather than just hypothetical words truly deepened my understanding and empathy. It also opened doors to me considering the influences these external factors can have in terms of businesses. For instance, I realized the amount of motivation Ichitan's BOD or managers would have to generate amongst the employees to regenerate the prior sales, work together, and have them return to the pre-existing drive. During crisis, it can be assumed that people's emotions would not be as structured as usual, with people having different self-interests (for instance, taken from SLIM), which can lead to resistance to change, etc... Therefore, it shows that these external factors don't only have effects on financial aspects but also many other. 

All in all, I learnt many more of the little things that may not be explained in words but are rather felt and contextualized. Each and every detail of this experience will likely enhance my awareness of the different business units and its application to the BM paper 1 case study. Now I must embark on a journey to the paper 1 with the guide of captain Tan himself, as I feel the support of his guidance through this pathway. 

Visiting Tan Land was a very cool opportunity to experience and see the production process of Ichitan's drinks. After entering, we were prompted with a video to watch, which detailed the history of Ichitan and tea as a whole. We were then able to walk through the facilities of Ichitan. Walking through the facility, we saw the magnitude of automation that Ichitan had. The silence and cleanliness contradicting the traditional image of an actual factory was somewhat disturbing. This made Ichitan feel like an industrial site, where a lot of happening. Their factories were capital intensive, with little to no workers present. Seeing many rows of machines and robotic-arms performing tasks that used to be done by humans made me realize that in modem manufacturing, the human role has shifted towards designing and supervising the systems. We also learned that Ichitan is going "green", as shown by the entrance. The transition from green to industrial and back to green has shown me that despite the use of heavy machinery, Ichitan still has care for sustainability and the environment.

In relation to BM, seeing the massive machinery and mass production shows the economies of scale done by Ichitan. This helped me understand the competitive pricing of Ichitan, while also showing profit from economies of scale. Also, it showed us a good case for capital intensive production, as it gave us an idea of high initial R&D costs versus the low long-term variable costs. Tan land also shows us the physical evidence, by turning a factory into a tourist destination. By doing this, Ichitan allows its production process to also become a marketing tool. In relation, their "green" mission also becomes a unique selling point of Ichitan, differentiating themselves from competitors who might not be as transparent as Ichitan. This can help as through-the-line promotion, as both helps the image of the company and can help boost visitors/customers.

1) Growth options. The lady mentioned that the SK Tes factory would form strategic alliances with well known companies such as DTAC or True, acting as a strategy for promotion and increasing the perceived CSR of both the allied company and SK Tes.

2) I think the company’s operations also directly relates to the applications of unit 1.6: Multinational Companies. Because SK Tea originated in Korea and Singapore, its movement to other nations would mimic (and does mimic) the theoretical content we learn in unit 1. For instance, we see that SK Tes has somewhat of a first-mover advantage coming into Thailand where the e-waste market is not as potent and condensed. Additionally, its hiring of local workers will directly impact the activity of the national economy. Lastly, as an MNC, it can be assumed that market research costs are extremely high in regards to understanding the local culture, trends, markets, and language. Once more, like reflection on the Ichitan factory, seeing all these little, real-world factors needing to be considered from offshoring shows the amount of minute decision making businesses have to make for every choice to minimize high opportunity costs.

3) Visiting the factory enhanced my understanding of the importance of fringe benefits and hygiene factors in relation to Herzberg’s two factor theory. The facility had no air conditioning and was very humid, which visibly upset even the students and made us lose our focus. Additionally, the rough conditions of the faculty correlated with a lack of exploration. This was the reaction from those who temporarily visited, showing the impact that these lack of hygiene factors may have on motivation daily. Actually being in the scenario truly allowed us to feel those withdrawals and the effects it had on our perception.

Overall, SK Tes was great in terms of actually connecting to the business management objectives, not only because the organization relates to this year’s paper 2 more, but also because the employees (the guiding lady) stated explicit business connections. yay

In relation to Business Management, SK Tes is a good example of using circular business models. Unlike other traditional firms that use a linear model, SK Tes focuses on value recovering. By refurbishing 1.2M+ devices annually, they help extend the product's life cycle, which is a key strategy for sustainable operations. Also, we observed how they used lean production principles to process e-waste. Their management system ensures a clear custody chain, which is used in quality management and building trust with B2B clients who care about data security. Also, SK Tes has a unique selling point due to their sustainability. Their focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions for their clients shows how CSR can be a core strategic driver rather than just a tactic for marketing.

Some of the things I learned from this visit were that the company appears to be highly motivated under the leadership of Captain Tan. Not only are employees working in the factory with a sense of purpose, but there are also staff members who take students like us on tours. This creates interactions with students and visitors, making the company feel connected to the outside world rather than just being a closed-off factory. It also provides physical evidence of the company’s culture and operations. Additionally, the efficiency of the factory was actually really impressive, with highly standardized products and processes due to mass production. While watching the production process, there were only around 8 bottles that did not meet the quality requirements during inspection. This shows how they’ve maximized efficiency through economies of scale while still trying to remain green and sustainable. On top of all of this, it is actually impressive that Captain Tan continues to donate 90% of his profits to charity.

Some of the things I learned from the trip were that the company is actually very sustainable and handles many of its operations with care, such as battery recycling and IT disposition. The place also seemed like it needed a lot of creativity and innovation, but from what I learned from what they said, those activities actually take place in another branch. Because of this, it seems like the company may be structuring their organization by function. It was also interesting to learn that the multinational company has its headquarters in Singapore, which plays an important role in handling imports and exports. In the branch we visited in Thailand, we could clearly see the connections with STEEPLE factors, as government regulations affect the company by not allowing the import of broken down materials. However, there are also external influences that support the company’s success, such as the rise in EV batteries, especially BYD’s EV batteries which help keep revenue stable. Moreover, the company has strategic alliances with multiple businesses like BYD, such as True/DTAC in order to raise awareness and for CSR efforts, benefitting both companies. It was also very interesting to see the SEK tes’s multiple revenue streams and how they manage so many operations, which reflects their need for strong control. From the question I asked about which revenue stream is most stable, they explained that they try to balance their product portfolio, which I found interesting. This shows how well they manage the business and maintain control, while still motivating employees through financial rewards as well as intrinsic motivation, such as a sense of purpose of helping the environment e.g. by having zero landfills. This may encourage people to want to work there in the first place.

• Ichitan's Operations Method seemed to be Mass Production. The process of making and bottling the tea was highly standardized, as one of the videos explained. We could also see how the assembly line had a section with advanced laser beams that scanned for any defects and automatically removed the imperfect bottles.

• I believe that Captain Tan could be classified as an Intellectual Property, as Ichitan's intangible asset. Although Captain Tan is a real person, his presence is woven throughout the brand. Even when he was in the hospital, he was present in the form of statues and through AI, transcending physical limitations to be valuable branding that sets Ichitan apart from other brands.

• I also noticed that Ichitan seemed to have a rather strong CSR, as Captain Tan played a philanthropistic role, appealing to the locals.

• The reason why they were so accommodating to us was because it was their way of promoting themselves. Through word of mouth and by educating business students, they simultaneously become better known, benefiting all parties.

• SK TES seems to fall under the operation method of job production, since the services are personalized.

• It seemed like the workers' main non-financial reward was job enrichment, since there would be unpredictable and appropriately challenging work that came with each client. In other words, the work did not seem monotonous.

• Every space in the Ichitain factory was used for a purpose, maximizing capacity.

• There was CSR from the Ichitan factory as Captain Tan gave back to the community and helped a lot especially when there was a flood crisis.

• Ichitans unique selling point is their green leave came from the Ankha village instead of common and famous primary producers which a lot of other companies may use.

Some of the most memorable and outstanding ones were:

• The stock/storage room for all the drinks: I was so shocked and impressed by how many batches/boxes of drinks were placed in the storage room. It genuinely felt like I was in a room full of treasure, as it was so much to the point where we couldn't even catch up with just our eyes!

• The amount of drinks produced everyday; there was this one digital board that kept counting the amount of drinks that was produced from 12:00am of that day to around 14:00 pm, and the staff had mentioned that it had already produced about 800,000 bottles. This was such a surprise to me, as I didn't realize how efficiently they produce these drinks, with Ichitan genuinely considering economies of scale while producing these bottles.

• How capital-intensive the entire factory was; there were few to no employees working with the automated machines to produce the drinks, which I was quite amazed by, as we were able to genuinely count how many employees there were in the entire day. It made me realize how the business wasn't exactly labour-intensive, but rather invested more in high capital expenditure, thus leading to the business being capital-intensive.

• The number of defects found. While observing the production and scanning process of these drinks through the automated machines, I realized that there were so many defective drinks. This made me ponder and question how much waste is produced every day due to these defects that occur once in a while among these drinks. This led me to think of whether or not it affects the flow of the production process, or if it just leads to more waste being produced, due to these bottles also having to be thrown away.

Overall, the educational tour and the observations made throughout the factory were very helpful, and it was really nice to learn and dig deeper into. Having different sections and interactional activities definitely allows Ichitan to raise more awareness about their brand image, which could further improve their CSR as well, depending on how well they promote the sustainable aspect that Ichitan considers. I believe that the biggest takeaway from this trip was that businesses that produce in mass or batch should maximize their efficiency and production through economies of scale, while also being able to promote education and awareness through different opportunities, such as this Tan Land educational tour. I believe that this trip was very memorable and nice, and having Captain Tan all over Ichitan also displayed how big of an impact he had on the company, as well as the accomplishments and achievements that he had gained outside of the organization as well.

SK Tes factory really helped me understand e-waste and its importance. I am not a big fan of technology, especially computer hardware; however, this factory kept me engaged, and they did a very good job of connecting it to other areas outside of IT, such as policies, which I really enjoyed. Additionally, I realized the hardships of trying to be sustainable, such as in Thailand, where you can't import any waste products. This helped me realize that most companies worldwide are trying to be sustainable, but sometimes the rules and regulations may not allow them to be. Additionally, SK Tes touched on many areas of business, such as partnerships with True and DTAC, which helped them not only gain recognition but also expand their business to reach new consumers, such as Users who buy products from True and DTAC. It was a great experience seeing each room dedicated to a single department. Also, seeing both Tan Land and SK Tes helped me see the differences between the companies. Tan Land is very capital-intensive, while SK Tes is the opposite, being labor-intensive. This helped me understand that different businesses have different operations and sometimes operations outside of their current one may not fit their business and can instead cause more problems, such as SK Tes using newer technology whenever they want to minimize the impact of e-waste. I believe that this experience helped me understand that e-waste is not a boring topic, and as a visual learner, getting to see how the process is for e-waste really helped me understand more about Abraca, and I feel more confident about my Paper 1 BM exam. 

It was really interesting to learn that SK TES' main driver and main E-waste product was derived from batteries, most typically batteries from EV cars or electrical devices. I didn't exactly know how batteries were recycled or shipped into different countries, so understanding the mechanism behind that was very helpful and intriguing. Furthermore, this experience to SK TES allowed me to connect and link a lot of factors and infromation to our paper 1 case study organization, ABRACA, which waqs super helpful and useful to knoew about. As we learnt more on E-wste focusidng on circuit boards, laptops, different revenue streams, and more, this allowed me to expand the possible information that may come up in the upcoming exam, which definitely allowed me to become more knowldgeabnle bout the context of the case study to a certain extent. In addition to all of this, I really liked how they mentioned their vision and mission statement clearly, alongside the strategies they have been using to achieve these specific statements. I really liked how they explicitly mentioned it in their presentation, as this immediately allowed me to understand what their main driver or purpose of this business was.

As one of the biggest E-waste recycling factories in the world (and operating as a multinational company), I believe that this experience was definitely super interesting and helpful for me, allowing me to understand more concepts not just linking to BM but also to ESS.