London to Bath and misc.

(Check out all the pictures at: http://s233.photobucket.com/albums/ee286/mbamsa/UMaine%20MBA%20UK%20trip%20May%202010/  )
It is Thursday, May 20th and we just arrived in Bath (9:00 pm our time) to a beautiful hotel (Bailbrook House) that looks like an old English manor house.

It's been a busy and exciting week. Everyone has decided that we have walked at least 300 miles over the week and have become pros on the London underground; we can push our way in and out with the best of them! Yes- we are all exhausted, but as I write this, everyone is down at the bar in the hotel, so there's still a spark of energy left.

OK- a few recaps and some lessons learned:

Short recap:
Saturday, May 15: full day tour of London with a terrific guide named Warren; saw pretty much the entire city.

Sunday: May 16: Warwick castle (look for the pictures of Tim and Justin with 15th centure knight and their swords. The Madame Tussaud's wax figures of Lords, ladies and commoners were fantastic in the castle. Stratford on Avon was a lot of fun. Did you know that 18 year old William had to marry 27 year old Anne Hathaway because she was 3 months pregnant? Blenheim palace (Winston Churchill's uncles home) was unbelievable; you'll have to see pictures online: http://www.blenheimpalace.com/

Monday, May 17: In the morning we all got up early (well, most of us), took the tube to the London Eye: http://www.londoneye.com/
Then, most of us got half price tickets to the West End theatre; some went to see Phantom of the Opera and others went to see Les Miserables. Both were fantastic!
That afternoon, we all got dress up and went to the US Embassy for our first business meeting; very tight security there.

Major lessons learned:
- the US Foreign commercial service is available to US businesses to help them with international business. They will help with research as well as evaluation of the business products and business models and try to match them with the correct markets and local contacts. This is a hidden jewel that we need to make sure our business students know about!
- they also try to advocate for American companies in international markets and try to influence decision makers and/or remove barriers for US companies.
-Education: they have internships available... we should try to develop this relationship for our students.
- they said that the US is still one of the major destinations for UK tourists. Maine needs to take advantage of this opportunity.

Tuesday, May 18: Got up early and took the tube to Willis Insurance in the financial district of downtown London. Willis just built a beautiful glass skyscraper last year and it was fun to tour it. We were able to see almost the entire city from the rooftop; about 23 stories I think. One of our hosts, John, gave us a very interesting review of insurance, risk management, and the insurance industry.

Then, they split us into 3 groups; each group with someone from either Willis or Lloyds of London and they took us on a tour of Lloyds. Lloyds of London is actually a market place for insurance. It has about 80 independent companies (called syndicates) that have tables (sort of like booths in a market) there. It was started in 1688 by Edward Lloyd in a coffee shop where ship owners and merchants came to purchase insurance, usually by wealthy people who committed their own wealth to cover losses. The syndicates are like franchises. They all have to adhere to a required business plan, rules and policies. Many are known for certain specialties or industries. We then returned to Willis and had lunch in their beautiful new cafeteria overlooking the city from one of the upper floors. Our hosts were wonderful and we learned a lot with this visit.

We then took the tube across town for our meeting at Harrods. http://www.harrods.com/harrodsstore/ When we arrived, we split into 2 groups. Hannah, a marketing research and public relations person took one group and Charles, a marketing person, took the other group on a tour of Harrods. This was unbelievable. Every retailer in the world who wants to "get it" in terms of retailing should require their managers to visit Harrods! Some lessons learned:
- They use unique products to make the store a destination. They also have exclusive products from well-known brands. They mentioned that they sell more Gucci products (I think that was the one) than all of Gucci's own stores..
- Make the retail experience extraordinary. Each room was fabulous. The architecture, the design, and the products were amazing. For example, in the food court, there were probably 4-5 different rooms. One room looked like an old fashioned market where they sold an amazing selection of unique cheeses that you probably could not find anywhere else as well as unique meats, etc. There was a decadent chocolate, tea and coffee room that was also beautiful in the architecture and design. There was a champagne bar amidst the fashion sections, a bank downstairs that actually sold gold bars, a toy section that was both whimsical and fun, etc.
- Customer relationship management: they used that very effectively to understand customer needs .

At the end, we met with the general manager of the entire store who had a clear vision and mission; to provide the most beautiful products in the most beautiful environment. The reason for the exceptional customer service was "absolute discipline" with the staff in terms of performance, dress and decorum and a customer focus.

At 5:15, we had high tea there in the Georgian Room, the oldest restaurant at Harrods, dating from the 1800's. We all felt like royalty having tea there. The piano player, the elegance and the wait staff who were there at our beck and call was a very lovely experience!

Wed. May 19: Sandra talked about our visit with Lord Watson at the House of Lords. He talked about the new coalition government and the interesting challenges that lay before them with the quote: "how do you do the new in the context of the old"? E.g. how do you create new forms of government while keeping with the old traditions, values and customs that represent the core of who they are?

Thurs. May 20: Off to another early start for a 9:15 am meeting with the Baroness Harris of Richmond; back to the Houses of Parliament. Baroness Harris actually came out to meet our group and took us through security personally. She had a beautiful old room set up like a "round table" and made us feel right at home. She was absolutely delightful; telling us funny stories with great impressions of the people and history in the Houses of Parliament. She also shared the history and processes of how the Parliament works with the House of Commons creating legislation and the House of Lords reviewing and refining the legislation. She explained that the laws often become a "ping pong" with the laws bouncing back and forth between the 2 houses with the adaptations. She also explained the process of the new session; next Friday, May 25th when the Queen will be driven in her coach from Buckingham Palace to the Houses of Parliament (the crown follows behind her in its own coach) to read the letter of what the Parliament will work on that year. She also explained the role of the Lords in reviewing all EU laws to make sure they fit with the needs of the UK. Her words of advice for our future business leaders: "just do it"; business and government must work together to make sure that they understand the implications of policy and business decisions on the economic and social health of the country. Each business person must be part of the legislative process! The Baroness gave each of us a nice gift on departing; the history and processes of how the Houses of Parliament work; not to mention a House of Lords mouse pad and post-it pad! :)

That afternoon, our last session in London was with the UK representative to the EU. He explained the different components within the EU and how they worked. E.g. The European council is represented by the Prime Ministers of each of the 27 member states. In contrast, the European parliament are officials elected by their countries. The European commission is the group that creates the laws.

It was an interesting day, but by the end, we were all exhausted.

So, now we are in Bath, ready for our visit and presentations of our semester-long (year long for the BUA 605 folks) research on Hydro International! NJ