Mr. Tong initiated an interactive question-answer session with the faculty members. Dr. Sanjeev Tandon enquired about the various challenges faced by the company, while entering a new market. Mr. Tong talked about market research, competition, customer perception for a new product or the existing products, as a big challenge faced by the company. Dr. Garima enquired about the cultural limitations faced by the company. The response shared was about variety of food habits, taste preference of Singapore citizens, which is not matching Japanese taste and preferences. The company educated the people about cooking processes to be introduced in the market. A Cultural and religious challenge for Muslim tourists was also addressed to suit their eating habits in Singapore. Dr. Satish enquired about the similarity in culture of Japan, Singapore and China. Mr. Tong talked about product quality, service offered and product offering in these three countries. The differences on these factors were also shared by him. Dr. Sanjeev Tandon enquired about environmental consciousness of his company and the initiatives taken.

Mr. Tong explained Japanese culture and consciousness about clean energy. He shared about his experience with a bio-diesel company in Japan. He explained the consciousness of companies in Singapore regarding hygiene and clean energy. Singapore is not as strong as Japanese way of life regarding environmental consciousness. Dr. DK Pandey enquired, “Why should anybody work for WASABI Creation?” Mr. Tong attempted the question very intelligently stating that, “it’s on the employee to find reasons to work with them. The aim of the company is to grow together. The employee should not take his work as a burden. Dr. Surendra asked about collectivism, which was answered sharing various examples of Japan & Singapore culture.

It was a very interactive and informative session.