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International Awards Blog

Fifth Annual Asia-Pacific Stevie® Awards Extends Final Deadline Through April 11

Posted by Maggie Gallagher on Thu, Mar 15, 2018 @ 09:20 AM

The Stevie® Awards, organizer of the world’s premier business awards programs, announced today that they have extended the final entry deadline for the fifth annual Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards to April 11. No additional late fees will be charged.

 “We’ve received so many requests for individual deadline extensions that we’ve decided to extend the deadline for everyone,” said Stevie Awards president Michael Gallagher. The original final deadline was March 14. Gallagher emphasizes that no additional late fees will be charged for entries submitted through April 11, and late entries will not be penalized in any way in the judging process. All organizations now have an additional four weeks to prepare and submit their entries in hopes of winning a Stevie award for their achievements.

REVIEW THE ENTRY KIT HERE

APSA 2017 pic 1-1.jpgThe Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards is the only business awards program to recognize innovation throughout the entire Asia-Pacific region.  The competition is open to all organizations in the 22 nations of the Asia-Pacific region: Large and small, for-profit and non-profit, public and private. The awards focus on recognizing innovation in all its forms, wherever it is achieved in the workplace. Entries are accepted in eight languages – Chinese, English, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Thai and Vietnamese - in the following category groups:

New categories introduced for 2018 include Award for Innovative Management in Government, Award for Innovative Management in Non-Profit Organization or NGOs and Award for Innovative Management in Public Enterprises.

Asia-Pacific Stevie Award winners will be announced on April 18. Winners will be celebrated and presented their awards during a gala banquet on June 1 at the Mira Hotel in Hong Kong.

Scores of professionals from throughout the region will participate in the judging process to determine the Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie winners.

Some of the Asia-Pacific region’s most innovative organizations have won Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards in the past four years including ABS-CBN Corporation, Bangkok Health Research Center, Delta Air Lines, Dentsu, Freelancer.com, GE Indonesia, Globe Telecom, Hong Kong Tourism Board, Huawei, Maras Group, MetLife Asia Ltd., MSLGROUP China, Ooredoo, PT Petrokimia Gresik, Samsung, Seoul Metropolitan Government, Singapore Power, Sony, Telkom Indonesia, Xiaomi and more.

The name Stevie is taken from the name Stephen, which is derived from the Greek for "crowned".

PR Newswire Asia is the official news distribution partner of the 2018 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards.

Topics: innovation awards, management awards, award winning website, custome service awards, business developement

Korean City Improved Economy Through Innovative Management

Posted by Maggie Gallagher on Tue, Jun 27, 2017 @ 02:25 PM

As a local self-governing body in Gyeonggi-do Province, Yongin in South Korea performs a variety of civil services for its citizens so that they may enjoy a happy life in a convenient, safe, and clean environment. The city’s land area has reached 98% of Seoul, and the city has achieved unprecedented growth in the past 20 years with the population growing four folds and the fiscal scale growing 6.3 folds. Especially, Yongin became the fourth city to have a population exceeding one million as of August 2016 in South Korea. In addition, the city is home to Everland, a theme park, and the Korean Folk Village which play a pivotal role in attracting more than 10 million tourists, both domestic and foreign, to the city.

Yongin City-2.jpgThanks to the debt repayment and innovative management of the city by Mayor Chan-min Jung, Yongin City received the Grand Stevie Award in the 2017 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards.  They also received the Gold Stevie in Award for Innovative Management in Government or Non-Profit. As an organization, Yongin City won Silver Stevie in Award for Excellence in Innovation in Non-Profit or Government and in Award for the Innovative Use of Technology in Customer Service respectively with "Creative City Brand Creation" and "Desired Book Borrowing System".

Mayor Chan-min Jung spoke about the effects the Stevie Awards had on Yongin. "The Awards provided an opportunity to internationally promote our innovative achievements and major policies such as zero-debt, prenatal education city, special city for moms, investment attraction, and industrial complex development that Yongin has pursued up until now and to enhance the brand value of the city. In addition, I felt the importance of policy networking along with insight from various perspectives through examples of innovative and creative policies implemented in various countries around the Asia-Pacific region.”

From Debt City to ‘Zero Debt’

The situation at the time when Chan-min Jung was inaugurated as Yongin mayor was comparable to the darkness of the night. The city's finance which boasted as being the best in Korea was disgraced with the title, "the city of debt", while citizens endured severe discomfort due to various projects and services that were stopped due to financial difficulties. All of these problems were not only damaging the image of the city but the shame and distrust public officials and citizens felt were at where highest.

Mayor Jung had to do something even if it had little hope of success. He instilled awareness toward the crisis to constituents within the organization while seeking patience and participation from the citizens. The employees of Yongin City Hall worked hard going as far as to purchasing used goods and forfeiting their salaries. As a result, Yongin City paid back all of its debt amounting to 784.8 billion KRW two years ahead of plan and achieved a state of "zero-debt". We are now on the starting line to leap forward leaving our difficult past behind.

The public officials and citizens of Yongin learned the valuable lesson that they can overcome any difficulties or crises if they unite and work together as one. The story of Yongin was a case which demonstrated that a spark of hope will always appear from somewhere and that it is possible to overcome any difficult situation as long as people do not become discouraged and give up.

Priority in Attracting Businesses and Creating Jobs

According to Mayor Jung, "Research results recently introduced in the media showed a highly probability of small provincial cities disappearing in the next 20 years due to declining populations. Social structural factors such as an aging population and declining fertility rate may play a major role in this, but what we need to pay more attention to is that population transfers between cities are occurring due to combined factors such as urban environment, welfare and jobs. Migration to a city with a lot of job opportunities and a good environment to raise a child would be an irrefutable result. Alongside nationwide solutions, local organizations should also put great effort into improving the quality of life for their citizens through outstanding policies. As local autonomy and decentralization are gradually expanding, local autonomous entities are now entering an era of infinite competition. This is why I am prioritizing business attraction and job creation. This is also the case with the newly inaugurated U.S. President Trump, who is preventing companies from leaving the country and requiring US export companies to expand local factories. It is easy to come across stories from around world about declining cities left behind by companies."

Performance of On-site and Communication-oriented Administration

The words 'on-site' and 'communication' are two things recently being emphasized by the administration. Mayor Jung has a philosophy that the answer to the settlement of pending municipal businesses lies in ‘on-sites’. He emphasizes, "The solution to every problem can be found on-site. People possess the answers to all problems. That is why you must work together with citizens out in the field and seek the answers from them. For this reason, I have emphasized and practiced the "Three Pum Administration", which sells balpum (legs), nunpum (eyes), and guipum (ears) at all times since my inauguration."

Although Yongin had a population 1 million strong, it has never had an industrial complex. Despite its outstanding accessibility and location, it was held up under heavy regulations. However, overcoming this obstacle was merely difficult and not impossible. The efforts of city officials, running around the central government and related organizations, are finally reaping the fruits of its labor with the creation of 23 industrial complexes. The project costs amount to 1.40 trillion won with a total land area of 3.435 million square meters. The direct and indirect corporate investment effect is estimated to be upwards of 4.6 trillion won.

Perhaps, the greatest achievement was that urgent issues in the poorly supported areas have been resolved one by one. Yongin Industrial Complex, the first public industrial complex in Yongin, which has been delayed for more than 10 years, recently changed its name to Yongin Techno Valley. Sales of the real-estate has been successful and the complex is sailing towards completion by the end of 2018. The construction of the first university hospital, something which citizens had longed for a long time, is being resolved through the creation of an integrated high-tech medical industrial complex. Construction has recently resumed and the facility is due for completion by 2020.

Attracting Investment through Regulatory Reform and Sales Administration

In Yongin, the mayor personally holds corporate briefing sessions (Investor Relations, IR), communicates with company executives in face-to-face meetings, and goes anywhere he is needed to resolve all sorts of problems. Through efforts such as these, Yongin was not only able to attract top foreign companies but managed to also keep existing companies that have decided to increase investments within the region rather than transferring elsewhere leading to investments totaling 4.564 trillion KRW.

Based on their diverse efforts and achievements, Yongin City was awarded with the Presidential and Ministerial Award for Excellence in Regulatory Reform among Local Governments and Excellent Institution Award for the installation of certification and licensing departments for two consecutive years in 2015 and 2016. Evident from such achievements, the city is being recognized as a city that is “good for business” and “the best for licensing”.

Yongin is a young city which has rapidly grown over the recent years and still possess the potential for continued growth into the future. Mayor Jung stated, "In the future, we will do our best to implement innovative and creative policies to transform Yongin into an elegant metropolis for our one million residents. We hope you will look forward to seeing Yongin's new beginning and leap forward into a better future with her unique city brands such as ‘Prenatal Education City’, ‘Special City for Moms, 'Safety City' and 'Enterprise City'. 

Topics: Asia-Pacific Business Awards, management awards, non-profit awards, government awards

Thanks to the Stevie Awards, Expansion in Asia-Pacific is No Longer A Dream for Australian Architecture Practice

Posted by Maggie Gallagher on Fri, Jan 29, 2016 @ 04:59 PM

Rebekah Hurworth, Director of Your Architect in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, won a Gold Stevie Award for Female Entrepreneur of the Year in Asia, Australia or New Zealand in the Individual categories of the 2015 Stevie Awards for Women in Business.

To receive information about the 2016 Stevie Awards for Women in Business, register here.

The 2016 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards is currently accepting entries.

REVIEW THE ENTRY KIT HERE.

In Australia, less than 1% of architecture practices are led by female directors. Rebekah Hurworth, Director of Your Architect, an architecture practice specializing in new homes, renovations, and extensions, is making ripples across this male-skewed industry.

1601YourArchitect-1.jpgAfter seven years working at four practices, Rebekah identified that whilst the practices were proficient in delivering on professional expertise, there was a distinct gap in the methodologies used, hindering business growth potential. She knew she could provide an additional level of business services through implementing systems and ideas new to the industry that would generate more leads, increase marketing reach, and increase revenue. In 2008, she established Your Architect.

Breaking the Mold

In addition to the Gold Stevie Award, Rebekah also won the Silver Stevie for Female Entrepreneur of the Year in a Business Services with 10 or Less Employees. We asked Rebekah what winning these awards had meant to her and the Your Architect team.

“Most businesses in our industry do things the same way,” she told us. “In fact, most architecture businesses look virtually the same. We’ve broken away from this mold and do things very differently, but as a business owner you always have a level of trepidation about change. Winning a Gold Stevie Award provided reassurance to me as a business owner—and gave our whole team a lot of confidence—that the changes we’ve made and the new ideas we’ve pioneered are worthwhile.”

Continued Rebekah: “Having this peer recognition has given us the courage to share our ideas and approach with our local community. We’ve started a proactive PR campaign for 2016 and updated and rebranded our website in order to share these concepts and explain why we do what we do—all driven by my team and their desire to celebrate our differences with their new-found confidence.”

B2B and B2C Marketing

Rebekah recognized the power of B2B and B2C marketing and the dividends networking would yield. She created a series of workshops, which she delivers to real estate agents, educating them on architecture and how to use this knowledge to educate their buyers, which in turn reaps rewards through word of mouth referrals to her business. She has climbed the ladder of Business Networking International to become a Director, and her insight and knowledge in lead generation through networking has led to various keynote speaking engagements. As a result, 80% of her business is generated through networking.

In comparison to architects’ general practice of charging initial consult fees, Rebekah introduced a free 30-60 minute consult. Additionally, clients are guaranteed a maximum three-week time frame for turnaround, and each client project is managed systematically with a transparent fee structure for each stage of the project, a practice uncommon in the industry.

Wholesale Drafting

As a result of her tactical foresight, Rebekah has identified a gap in the market and created a secondary revenue stream to her business called Wholesale Drafting, a sub-contracting service to others within the business delivering a faster turnaround on design drawings for a greater return on investment.

Additionally, Rebekah implemented an hour-long training session on Friday mornings for her architects, which helps ensure the business is abreast of industry changes. This greatly exceeds the minimum professional requirements of 20 hours per year. Introducing this as mandatory has ensured the retention of quality staff who reap the rewards of professional development.

Rebekah also engaged in her own development through training courses at the National College of Business (NCB) and Business Blueprint, and was awarded Business of the Year by NCB in December 2014.

Big Plans for 2016
“In 2016, Your Architect is starting an educational series under the banner of The Family Home Experts, providing a three-hour workshop and two-day master class,” Rebekah told us. “This program will be focused on teaching our potential clients how to buy the right house or property to start with, and how to weigh up these important decisions.   A house is the biggest financial investment most people will make in their life, and we want to share our knowledge to help people do this right, regardless of whether or not they use our services to renovate or build.”

“Most architects only get involved once the house or land has been purchased,” explained Rebekah. “Often this is too late, and we regularly see people buying the wrong property. These seminars will also be open to university students, as this material is not taught at architecture school.”

No Longer A Dream
We asked Rebekah what she thought about the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards and how they might help in broadening awareness of a company such as hers in the region.

Her response: “I had intended one day to take Your Architect and The Family Home Experts national throughout Australia, and then eventually into Asia. With the response we have had from winning our Stevie Award, as well as the interest we’ve had in our behind-the-scenes arm, Wholesale Drafting, this is no longer a dream. It is now written into our business plan.”

Explained Rebekah: “I’ve now re-written our business plan to start to go national by the end of this year, and start to go international into Asia within two years. I already have my first meeting booked to discuss this, and will be visiting Singapore and the Philippines in April! We’ve also had venture capital interest which may help in how we go about broaching the international market.”

Concluded Rebekah: “The Stevie Awards have certainly given us the recognition to be able to approach bigger companies with confidence and back up the success of what we do.”

Rebekah has already invested heavily in training a Philippines-based faction of her business to complement her three Brisbane-based architects, flying out to meet them and sharing her vision and her long-term goals for her business. Taking this risk proved to be a success: the Philippines business has expanded to two administrators and four draughtsmen, and is growing.

Making Architecture Accessible
Rebekah is full of enthusiasm for the future. “We’re pioneering new ways to do architecture, to make it both cost effective and accessible to a wider range of people,” she told us. “Traditionally, most architects work in the high-end area with blank cheque budgets; however, we can bring a huge amount of value to real, everyday people. This has long been the focus of our practice, and we deliberately select team members without ego who are focused on great outcomes for our clients and maximizing value for money, no matter the size of the project.”

In conclusion, Rebekah explained: “Our high-end clients are still just as interested in getting value-for-money as our budget clients. It’s amazing how excited and motivated this makes our whole team. For me, personally, I see the results we get, how fulfilled my team is, and how happy our clients are, and this drives me to build what we do bigger and take it to a wider market. I’m inspired by the future and everyday work towards a point where we can take our services beyond Brisbane to Australia and Asia.”

About Rebekah Hurworth:

Often described as “not your usual architect” and a self-confessed “accidental over-achiever,” Rebekah Hurworth is Director of Your Architect, an architecture practice specializing in new homes, renovations, and extensions. A Level One Member of the Australian Institute of Architects and RAIA, she has recently completed a twelve-month training course with the National College of Business and is currently completing her ‘Business Blueprint’ course under the tutelage of Dale Beaumont. A Director of her local faction of the leading networking group, Business Networking International, she has twice been elected President, and has recently been accepted on the International Board of Advisors as one of 100 people who sit on this board worldwide.

Rebekah has a Bachelor of Architecture degree and a Bachelor of Built Environment (Architectural Studies) degree from Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane.

About Your Architect:

Your Architect is a Brisbane-based housing specialist founded in 2008 by director Rebekah Hurworth. Currently, Rebekah leads a team of three architects in her Brisbane team supported by a team based in the Philippines. Your Architect has strong networking connections and is known for its work with charities such as Salvation Army, Cardmaking For A Cause, Meals on Wheels, and Glam It Up For Charity. For more information, go to: www.yourarchitect.com.au/

Topics: women awards, management awards, Asia-Pacific, Women in Business, expansion

Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards Training Sessions Now Available

Posted by Maggie Gallagher on Thu, Dec 04, 2014 @ 02:34 PM

The Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards are pleased to announce a tour of "how to enter" training sessions in China.  The training sessions are open to all organizations and individuals in China.

Three training sessions for the 2015 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards are to be held across various cities in China.  More training sessions may be added at a later date. The overall topic of the sessions is “A Focus on Best Business Cases.”

APSA

Past Stevie Award winners that will speak during the sessions include Pepsico Asia, Huawei Group, and UCWEB. These speakers will share their “Best Business Cases," provide details on how they created their winning nominations, and share professional insights. Most Asia-Pacific Stevie Award categories require a 625 word essay. Some organizations may find it difficult to summarize their accomplishments in a short essay, but the training sessions will help entrants narrow down where to begin and what to include.

If you are interested in attending the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards training sessions, please contact Dr. Richard Hu for further information.

Dr. Hu can be reached at +86 186 2514 2168
Email: RichardHuWorldwide@163.com
Skype: Richardhuzhaoyang
Weichat: Suipiankongjian

The first step to winning an Asia-Pacific Stevie Award is to get your entry kit.

The Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards are open to all organizations in the 22 nations of the Asia-Pacific region, and feature a wide range of categories to recognize achievement in every aspect of the workplace. In the 2014 awards, only 18 categories were offered. This year there are over 250 industry specific entry categories including:

The entry deadline is January 28 and late entries will be accepted through March 11 with a late fee. Awards will be presented in Shanghai, China on May 15. Attendance is not required to win.

Topics: website awards, International business awards, it awards, information technology awards, management awards, Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards

2015 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards Schedule Published

Posted by Maggie Gallagher on Tue, Jun 17, 2014 @ 02:57 PM

After the first Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards successfully concluded on Friday, May 30 with a gala event in Seoul, South Korea, we have announced the schedule for the 2015 awards.

The Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, Asia's premier business awards program, are the first APSA logoStevie Awards program to be launched in seven years.  This business awards program is open to all organizations operating in the 22 nations of the Asia-Pacific region. Organizations and individuals may enter a variety of categories for Technology Awards, Management Awards, Manufacturing Awards, and more.

Join the mailing list for the 2015 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards and you'll be emailed the entry kit as soon as it's available this fall.

The 2015 Asia-Pacific Stevie Award schedule is as follows:

September 2014:  Open entries

October 29: Early-bird entry deadline

December 3: Entry deadline

December - mid-February: First-round judging

January 28 2015: Late entry deadline. 

March 11: Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners announced

April 6-15: Final judging to determine the Grand Stevie Award winners

April 24: Awards banquet, setting TBD

Learn all about the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards and see the full list of 2014 Grand, Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners at http://Asia.StevieAwards.com.

Topics: business awards, stevie awards, company awards, new product awards, management awards, public relations awards, Asia-Pacific

3 Tips for Businesses Operating in Africa, from a Stevie Awards Judge

Posted by Liz Dean on Thu, Jun 14, 2012 @ 04:27 PM

Shaun Battlemann is CEO of African Access Holdings in Durban, South Africa, and Chair of the committee for final judging of the management awards categories in The 2012 International Business Awards. (The final entry deadline for the 2012 IBAs is 27 June. If you haven't already done so, you can request your entry kit today.) Here we talk to Shaun about his tips for operating a business in South Africa.

What are your top 3 tips for companies operating in South Africa?Shaun Battlemann

  1. Before doing business in South Africa, you should fully understand and accept the political, social, and cultural challenges within the South African workplace.
  1. Think outside the box.
  1. Use South African solutions for South African challenges.

What item of news recently caught your eye and why?
The Annie Dewani murder case: I have been fascinated by the media coverage generally and their ability to drive everyday thought processes.

What is your favorite app?
News 24
. This is an invaluable South African online news resource, accessible via the web, on DStv, and as a mobile phone app.

If you could choose another profession, what would it be?
Entrepreneurial advocacy.

What quality or qualities do you most value in your business associates?
Applying the expression “No Bridge Too Far” to everyday work, and the uniquely African sense that there is a God.

As someone at the top of your profession, what keeps you inspired or makes you hit the ground running in the morning?
There is a GOD!

About Shaun Battlemann:
In 2003, Shaun founded African Access Holdings, a diversified investment company that acts as a springboard for black emergent entrepreneurs. The company was formed as the result of a challenge from the South African National Department of Education to provide Learner/Teacher Support Material (LTSM) in an accountable and verifiable manner. In addition to serving as CEO of African Access Holdings, Shaun serves as a director on the boards of some 50 companies across the country including LND Projects, Edu Management Solution, Prop Access, Ndabi Investment, Edu Access Holdings, African Access International, Chanti Travel, CJM Property Developments, and African Access Agriculture.

About African Access Holdings:
African Access Holdings mentors black-owned SMMEs, creating jobs, developing skills, and giving back to the nation.  Founded in 2003, African Access Holdings was listed by 2005 as a Top 300 Performing Company in South Africa. In 2007 it had become a Top 200 Performing Company. In 2009, Shaun Battlemann and African Access Holdings won Metropolitan Oliver Awards for Top Black Entrepreneur of the Year, Top New & Innovative Empowered Company, and Top Black Empowered Business of the Year. In 2010, the company received Van Ryn’s BBQ Awards for Businessman of the Year, for Corporate Social Investment, and for Community Builder of the Year. In 2011, African Access Holdings was named Entrepreneurial Company of the Year in the Black Management Forum.  The company also received Stevie Awards for Executive of the Year, Company of the Year, and a People's Choice Award in The 2011 International Business Awards. In 2012 African Access won a gold category International Arch of Europe Award for quality and technology. For more information, go to www.africanaccessholdings.co.za.

Topics: International business awards, Shaun Battlemann, African Access Holdings, management awards

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