How to handle a Corporate Event?

As an internationally renowned educational institute, Curtin is frequently visited by local and foreign dignitaries, administrators, professors, scholars and students. So, it is very important to know the process and the required standards of managing a corporate event.  

Before this semester commenced, the China General Consul based in Kuching paid a visit to Curtin Sarawak. As a China Student, I was involved in the meeting with some China students and the affected Curtin staff pertaining to this event. Since I was involved in the whole process, I would like to share some of my experiences with you.

Preparation for the Event

There were several things that needed to be done at this stage such as the preparation of the “Guests list” (the names and titles of the visiting persons), the “Invitation List” (of those to be invited to the event), “the program of the day” and the “Letter of invitation”.

Firstly, you need to confirm who is coming to visit our university and how many of them to arrive at a guests list. Also, you will need to know when they will come and the purpose of the visit. Is it an official visit or an informal one? Only after this, can you make a decision as to how to manage this event and come up with the program of the day, the invitation list and the content of the invitation letter. 

 

The program normally includes time, activities, venues and the persons in charge. Constant communication with the Curtin staff involved, either those meeting with the visitors or organizing certain portions of the program, is essential for things to run smoothly. 

Here is a sample of a program:

Chinese Consul General Liu Quan visits Curtin Sarawak Agenda
22 February 2014
Time	Activities	Venues	Person in charge
2:30 pm	Give VIP-Pass to Consul and Datuk’s vehicle	Security Check point	On duty security
2:35 pm	Welcome Consul and Datuk.	Entrance of HERON 1 (John Curtin Building)	Vice-Chancellor
2:40 pm- 2:45 pm	Welcome speech	Conference Room in HERON 1	Emcee
2:45 pm- 3:00 pm	Introduction of Curtin Sarawak	Conference Room in HERON 1	Vice-Chancellor
3:00 pm- 3:10 pm	Introduction of Consul Liu	Conference Room in HERON 1	Datuk Lee Kim Shin
3:10 pm- 3:30 pm	Speech by Consul	Conference Room in HERON 1	Consul Liu
3:30 pm- 4:00 pm	Interaction with China students	Conference Room in HERON 1	Consul Liu
4:00 pm- 4:05 pm	Group photo taking	Conference Room in HERON 1	Camera Person
4:05 pm- 4:20 pm	Tea break with refreshment	Hall in HERON 1	Cafeteria staff
4:20 pm- 4:50 pm	Campus tour	Campus area	Vice-Chancellor
4:50 pm	Consul and Datuk leaving	Security Check point	On duty security

                                                                                                                          update: 22 Feb 2014

The above is the program during the visiting, there are other things that need to be considered, such as the conference room booking and decoration, equipment booking and checking (of the Screen, projector, desktop computer, microphone, camera and video camera ), as well as the refreshment required and cleanliness. Normally, a budget list will be attached to the program. 

      

An invitation list is necessary after you have finalized the program. There are two kinds of people who should be including in this list: intern (staff and students who are involved) and extern (Journalists and some VIPs).

After that, send the program to the people who are on the invitation list. Usually, this is double confirmed through email or phone calls. It is also very important to inform all the students and staff in campus about the event, irrespective of their involvement in the event.

During the Event

Style of honorific

Pay attention to the titles used in Malaysia, it might be much different from other countries. In Malaysia as elsewhere, people in high position always carry honorific titles. It is usual to refer to the position and organization’s name first, followed by person’s peerage, and last being the person’s name.

Quotes in a report in Curtin Sarawak’s official website:

• “Consul General of the People’s Republic of China in Kuching, His Excellency Liu Quan and his wife”
• “Sarawak Assistant Minister of Communications, Datuk Dr. Lee Kim Shin, who is the chairman of Curtin Sarawak’s management board”
• “Deputy Pro Vice-Chancellor Professor Ir. Yudi Samyudia”

Furthermore, in the introduction before a speech is made, the guest is first mentioned, followed by Malaysian government officials and then introducer’s own staff.

The following Link is useful reference on the manner of address when encountered with honorific titles:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Style_(manner_of_address)

Meaningful photo taking and speech recording are very important for the coming media release. Last but not least, always be prepared to deal with emergency cases such as having umbrellas readied for bad weather.

After the Event

Media release and feature story will be sent to all the local print media. It will also be posted on our university’ own official website as well as our Facebook page.

Media release on Curtin website:

http://www.curtin.edu.my/campusnews/mediarelease/2014/PR_14-016.htm

Media release on Curtin Facebook:

This visit has been reported by the local media which includes:

• English Newspapers: The Borneo Post, Sarawak Tribune.
• Malay Newspapers: Utusan Borneo.
• Chinese Newspapers: Sin Chew Daily News, See Hua Daily, United Daily News.

Photo: media release about this event reported by different newspapers in three languages

Photo: feature stories about Curtin Sarawak in three Chinese newspapers.

Both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of People’s Republic of China and the Consulate-General of the People’s Republic of China in Kuching have also reported this visit on their official websites.

http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_chn/zwbd_602255/nbhd_602268/t1131905.shtml

http://kuching.chineseconsulate.org/chn/xwdt/t1131902.htm

By my participating in this event, I have learnt a lot on how to manage an official visit or meeting especially on what are considered small details but are items that could make an event a success or a preventable disaster. These details and the finer points in the process are unavailable in most textbooks. 

As a Chinese, I appreciated the show of sincere respect to the VIP visitors from China. This is not only obvious from the time and effort spent in preparing and arranging for the visit but in the content of the speeches. One suggestion from my observation is that the Speeches could have been delivered in both Chinese and English to avoid any misunderstanding in the communications and to show further respect to the language and culture of the guests.

Zou Dan Ting

14963841

Miri