41 students who made their way to London as part of the Oct/Nov 2011 Global Classroom programme had their final presentation recently. The students were divided into four groups with each group working on a project that involved a Malaysian brand of their choosing.

Group 3 studied Malaysian mobile phone brand, CSL. The students were required to gain an understanding in the company, how it is marketed and run, and to work out ways and means to create more sales and bring the company to success by using their creativity and teamwork.

The group worked out their objectives and mission for the company, and decided that CSL needed to bring ‘Total Commitment, Excellent Service and Undivided Loyalty’ to their customers worldwide. Their goal was ambitious to say the least: They wanted CSL to become one of the biggest producers of mobile phones in Asia.

The group carried out a SWOT analysis early on in their research to determine CSL’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The results of this SWOT analysis meant they had a better understanding of their priorities and the problems they needed to tackle in order for CSL to progress.

They discovered that some of CSL’s weaknesses included not hitting their targets, lack of originality and lack of passion. The company was seen as one that planned for the short term and drastically losing customers in the process. The group decided that this had to change and put considerable thought into this to ensure that they used their creativity to turn the company around. They knew that CSL’s target audience was young adults, so had to include this in their thinking about new products to produce.

The group brainstormed on the ways they would:

• Approach their goals
• Achieve their goals
• Determine CSL’s target audience
• Decide on the ideal time to take action
• Come up with a business strategy

‘Green’ phones were chosen by the group as being the way forward for CSL, taking heed of the lessons they learnt from a recent lecture on consumer behaviour they attended on campus. To date, no companies have created a phone like this which gives CSL an excellent chance at seizing the lead. The team decided to make the ‘Touch Green’ mobile phone, as it will produce less carbon dioxide compared to normal phones, will use recycled materials, will save energy and not use poisonous chemicals. These advantages will be what CSL will use to target a bigger audience and to carve a larger share for themselves in the mobile phone market.

Inspired by a prior visit to Coca-Cola Ltd. UK where they spoke to Operations Manager, Joseph Bradford, the team decided that a change of scenery was needed. They decided to move CSL’s head office to one of the largest financial, commercial and business centres in the world. CSL would move from Malaysia to Connaught Place in New Delhi, India.

This new building would mostly be constructed with environmentally-friendly materials, and be used as a research and production display house. They also came up with the innovative idea of making the building in the shape of a leaf, so that it would eye-catching and instantly recognisable.

In addition, the team worked on creating a unique new logo and motto for the company. They chose to design the logo with the use of a telephone wire to make the letters up, as a metaphor for communication.

Overall, this project was an excellent experience for the students. Being placed into a situation that requires strong teamwork, creativity and business acumen, helps students understand the reality that there is more to think about than just the end product and they must take many aspects into account if they are to succeed in anything they set out to do.