Blog #4

            The culture that Australia has created around wine is astounding.    It is an Australian phenomenon born of globalization because the first wines arrived in 1788 from Britain according to the course packet, Scott, and Woody.  Because of the increased demand for bulk, cheap wine, Australia has experienced a significant comparative advantage in the wine market.  This has lead to two main distributors throughout Australia and wine brands such as Fisheye being representative of Australian wine in America.  Scott, our wine guide at Tyrell Wine said that Australia missed a huge opportunity in marketing their wines worldwide.  Instead of focusing on their premium wines, they focused on distribution of cheap, ambiguous wines that are widely appealing, especially for Americans.  Yet, the wine industry in Australia employs around 30,000 individuals and in 2007 had a value of around $42.87 billion dollars according to the course packet. 

            Both Tyrell’s Wines and Tempus Too wineries understand that wine is a commodity, it is not just a hobby or a small business, but they do go about accessing the market differently.  Globalization has brought about changes in the wine industry that wineries have to go along with in order to survive or flourish.  This can be seen at Tyrell’s, Tempus Too, the Hunter Valley, and the whole wine world.  They need to expand their variety of wines and many times, in the example of YellowTail, cater to the tastes of the mass consumer.  Now wineries can connect to the market on a global scale to find larger distribution and consumer base. Tyrell’s has taken advantage of the market by focusing on quality, but that means that when the quality is not there, they feel like they can’t put out their product and be proud of it.  That meant that last year, they could not bottle and distribute their vintage red because it wasn’t up to quality.  This caused them to lose out on a lot of money.  Tempus Two on the other hand has hugely focused on the whole lifestyle of wine.  They appeal greatly to the tourist side of the wine community.  They host large events to bring people in.  Though both wineries has deep heritage in the Hunter Valley vineyards, (Tyrell’s 152 years- Tempus Two, Lisa McGuigan is 4^th generation winery owner), they have gone about it completely differently. 

            Australian wine, I believe needs to find a way to continue to be recognized as major wine producer, but stray from the mass-produced, extremely cheap wine.  If they were able to gain reputation for producing high quality wine as well, it would broaden their marketability.  Scott was saying that in developing countries with increased middle to upper class, they are becoming more and more interested in wine consumption and collection.  If Australia recognizes this potential market, they should try to focus their efforts on these countries, such as China, South Korea and India.  That is being started, because according to the course packet, 38% of Australia’s wine exports are to China.  

Scott from Tyrell's Winery was HIGHLY knowledgable about the wine industry.  He had been working in this industry for around 20 years.  He explained the history of Australian wines and how they are dealing with globalization and the worldwide market.

These barrels are great example of the global market for wine production machinery.  These oak barrels are French oak barrels, but they also use American oak barrels.  They cost upwards of $16,000 and influence the flavors found in the wine.  

The group at Tempus Two, in one of their very nice conference rooms learning about the wines at the Tempus Two vineyard.

Blog #3

            After hearing the build-up of this event from Russ, the media (newspapers, Sydney radio stations, websites), and from advertising Sydney has sponsored throughout the city (NYE 2011), I was expecting a lot.  I was expecting an amazing amount of people, an elaborate display of fireworks, and an overall mood of celebration.  Surprisingly, my expectation were exceeded and I was not let down in the slightest.  As with many things, movies, events, etc, the hype is often more built up than the actual event, but this was not the case.

            Sydney is recognized worldwide as a go to location for New Years Eve.  The article in our course packet, predicts that the 2009 celebration was expecting to bring in “$156 million in direct economic impact for Sydney.” This event not only gives fireworks companies a chance to show off their newest technologies, it gives Sydney a chance to have a global spotlight placed upon it as the world rings in the new year.  As the phrase goes, ‘all publicity is good publicity.’  This event stirs people desire to visit Australia, and gets peoples attention from all over the world.  The whole New Years Eve celebration is an attraction on a global level.

            During the day on New Years Eve, I went shopping on Market Street.  Every store that I visited, shoppers and people working asked me what I was doing.  The fireworks are an event for everyone; young children, adults, older generations, native Sydney residents, native Australian’s visiting domestically, and of course international tourists. By providing some places designed to be without alcohol, it provides a good place for families and a less rowdy crowd.  One event that I was not expecting was the dance party that was set up in Rushcutters Bay.  When we set our blankets up around 7 p.m., others in the group and I was slightly dreading the five-hour wait, as I was cold and impatient.  The dance party was an amazing way to get people moving, in a good mood, and to pass the time.

            The entire New Years Eve event is meticulously crafted. Working a year in advance, with over 1000 workers, the city is able to provide this amazing experience for everyone FOR FREE.  Sydney understands that their return on investment will be great.

            One of questions that I would ask an expert would be what the total amount spent on the event?  Along with that I would like to get a breakdown of that price.  I would like the breakdown to include sectors such as marketing, fireworks, salaries, etc…  Another question for an expert would be how does the $156 million received in economic stimulus money get reinvested and impact the residents of Sydney? 

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Even before the sun set, there were masses of individuals from all over the world preparing to spend their New Years Eve watching the Sydney fireworks.

This picture shows some of the fireworks from the family show at 9 p.m.  The family show is a great way for families to still see the fireworks but not have to stay out until midnight with their kids.

This is a great picture depicted the mood and vibe of New Years Eve.  By providing a dance party to meet people and pass the time, it livened everyone up and was really fun.

The harbor bridge and the Sydney Opera House are prominent symbols of Sydney and Australia.  They are icons that people know Australia by, and that generate great amounts of revenue for the Australian economy.  Russ said that every day, $100,000 is earned from people just climbing the bridge!!  These two venues are huge tourist attractions.

The skyline of Sydney shows just how much of a global and connected city it is.  The skyscrapers and buildings operate and connect with other companies and corporations around the world.

The amount of people by the bridge and around the streets in general is amazing.  Most of the people that I am seeing come from so many ethic groups, cultures, and nationalities.

Though it is in the distance, the magnitude of beach-goers occupying Bondi Beach is astonishing.  Similar to the above picture, these locations offer a meeting point of so groups of people.  With connections going on from company to company and person to person, globalization 3.0 can be seen even on the beach.

The Sydney Olympic Park was constructed with environmentalism in mind.  All of the lights are operated with solar electricity and all of the other buildings have green features as well.  As an environmentalist, and a tourist, I am drawn to that aspect of Australia's economy- trying to be efficient and not detrimental to the environment. 

Another view of the beach, and the people who are at the beach.

Blog #2

            The Sydney Olympic Park is an amazing example of a site that was initiated based upon an event that would bring in tourism revenue.  Once Sydney won the Olympic bid for the 2000 Summer Olympics on September 23, 1993, construction started construction on multiple arenas and sporting venues to get it ready for millions of fans, athletes, and worldwide attention. Just driving into the Olympic Park, I could tell that this area was erected with the plan to hold large numbers of people in both the sporting arenas and the general groups.  That could be seen in the large open spaces, the train station, and the overall expanse of the grounds. 

            With a price tag of $6.5 billion, the Sydney Olympic Games needed to come a long way to break even.  According to the article by Jill Haynes, between the years 1994-2005, $6.5 million extra will be generated for Australia from the 2000 Sydney Olympics (CP 125).  Looking at the games as a continuous investment in Australia’s largest service export of tourism is crucial.  Because the Olympic games are so heavily televised and publicized, it produced much advertising and education about Australia, which produced a huge tourism boost. 

            In the Tourism Australia article/brochure, they focused on the current base numbers of tourism and how they are going to increase by 2013.  In these statistics, they look at criteria such as marketing, business events, industry developments, and R & D.  The Sydney Olympic Park is a great place to use for events to draw tourists, both domestic and international, in.  With large sporting events, concerts, and potentially business events, the Olympic Park still has the potential to draw many people to Sydney and other parts of Australia. 

            One thing that I was particularly impressed with was the amount of volunteers that helped put the Olympics on because they saved the event $140 million dollars in costs. 

Blog Entry #1

It seems as though Australia was born and exists as a country because of Globalization 1.0.  Because Australia began as a location for Britain to send their convicts and as a geographic advantage to Britain’s trade economy.  Globalization 1.0 was from 1492 to around 1800 and was focused on countries.  During this time, the spice trade with India and China dominated trade and was a huge factor in the global economy.  There was a great deal of competition between France, Portugal, Spain and Britain.  British muscle in Australia, and their governance of it was strengthened during Globalization 1.0. 

            Richard Florida believes that instead of the world being flat, the “world is spiky.”  Friedman, rather, believes that during Globalization 3.0, the world is becoming flat with the 10 flatteners that connect the world on an economical basis.  Florida does not think it is possible to say that the entire world can be treated equally because it fails to take into account urbanization.  Urbanization has been one of the main reasons that many cities and strong research and communication entities have developed, it is because they have the resources and funding to accomplish many things.  Well-educated people in the world would often come to the spiky, urban parts of the world and because the main factor is education.  It has given a great advantage to those who are looking for global connectedness.  “People in spiky places are often more connected to one another from over half a world away then they are to people and places in their own backyard.” The peaks of the world, many situated in US, China, India, and Japan are changing continuously, but the valleys are staying the same.

            The general population at the beach today consisted of individuals within the range of 20-35.  That is not to say that there were not outliers that included small children, parents, grandparents, etc… but overall it was an extremely young, rowdy, and boisterous population.  There was every nationality and ethnic group that you could imagine at the beach.  Asian men fully dressed in business suits walking in the sand, the stereotypical Italian with the sweat suit and gelled hair, and everyone in between.  Asians, Indians, Italians, English, American are just a few of the nationalities and ethic groups that could be found.  To me, visiting Bondi beach proved that this beach would not have the broad appeal that it does without Globalization 3.0.  By catering to a vast array of people, Bondi beach offers something for each group.  The stores and restaurants by the beach have international food variations and who doesn’t love a day in a gorgeous location with an ocean and the sun!  The “steroids” that people use to communicate with others at the beach is also amazing- digital, mobile, personal, and virtual. 

            It is so hard to be able to answer the “typical Australian” stereotype question because I still have no idea who is Australian!  This country as such a huge transient population, tourist economy, and general resident diversity that finding an Australian to analyze is a difficult task to accomplish.