方文光“去中國吧，那里有我的根”

兩種不同的文化思維的交融使彼此的優點被運用于自己的工作與生活中。

一直聽說全球的華人中，以馬來西亞華人的語言能力最為強悍。耳聽為虛，眼見為實，在上海從事酒店管理工作的馬來西亞華人方文光先生，就能說一口的流利的英語、馬來語、印尼語等六種語言和方言。

“在馬來西亞，因為漢語不是官方語言，所以只有在華文學校才能學到，由于我念的不是華文學校，所以我能說英語，能說馬來語，漢語卻說得不好。一次偶然的機會可以來中國工作，我就對自己說，去中國吧，那里是我的根。

于是，他開始了長達近十年的“中國尋根”。方文光認為，正是馬來西亞華人的這種特殊教育環境，使自己既接受了良好的西方教育的影響，又受到傳統的中國文化的熏陶。所以對他來說，兩種不同的文化思維的交融使彼此的優點被運用于自己的工作與生活中。這就是方文光事業發展中的秘密武器。

人永遠需要目標需要激情

方文光，1969年出生于馬來西亞一個華人家庭。他的祖父早年從中國廣東“下南洋”前往馬來西亞謀生，通過祖父的勤奮與努力，成為了當地的中產階層，他的祖父與父親都有著馬來西亞的“金飯碗”的工作——在當地的銀行工作。由于馬來西亞華裔重視教育的傳統，作為第三代華人的方文光，在馬來西亞圣澤維爾學院接受了良好的教育，并在畢業后“繼承”家族的傳統，成為了一位銀行信貸部職員。

但是，性喜挑戰的方文光放棄了這門“祖傳”的職業，作出了一個有些“冒險”的選擇，他踏入了一個完全陌生的行業酒店行業，沒有資源、沒有背景、沒有經驗，一切重新來過。“在當時，能夠進入銀行工作是一個很體面的事情。但我想，我還是需要找一個充滿激情與活力的地方，所以我決定進入酒店業服務。因為那里有更多的機會與挑戰。”

1990年，方文光進入了馬來西亞著名的香格里拉酒店集團工作。20歲出頭的方文光從酒店銷售代表開始做起，到宴會銷售經理、高級銷售經理再到市場銷售總監，一步一個腳印在工作中積累并成長為一個成熟的酒店職業經理人。談及此處，方文光說，當時作為一個激情四溢的青年，激勵他奮斗的就是馬來西亞華人首富，香格里拉酒店老板郭鶴年(Robert Kuok)的傳奇故事。“Robert Kuok真的很了不起，我很喜歡看他的傳記。”方文光說，“作為那些現在還在奮斗的年輕人，我認為，他們需要一個成功人士的激勵，也需要給自己設立一個長期奮斗的目標，這很重要。”

之后，方文光的“冒險精神”一直伴著他從檳榔嶼走向吉隆坡、泰國等地的酒店。終于到了1999年，方文光又獲得了一次前往中國“拓荒”的“冒險”機會。當時，亞洲金融危機爆發，馬來西亞貨幣貶值，東南亞酒店業受到了劇烈沖擊。“那個時候酒店拼命去開發歐美客戶來東南亞旅游，同時酒店也決定前往中國開發市場。”得知有前往中國的機會，方文光立刻就決定申請去中國。雖然當時的中國高級酒店業剛剛開發不久，內地的經濟發展還在過程之中，但這些都阻止不了他的“尋根熱情”。

萬事不怕難“家”和萬事興

1999年，方文光來到中國，擔任蘇州吳宮喜來登銷售總監一職。“當時的蘇州，街道上為數最多的是自行車。和現在滿街的汽車完全不同，由此可見中國經濟發展之快速。”同時也是從蘇州吳宮喜來登酒店開始，方文光從他的中國員工及同事身上慢慢了解中國，發現中國。2004年，方文光又轉戰廈門，參與了廈門喜來登酒店的開業籌備工作并在開業后負責市場策略的制定及營銷工作，并取得了良好的成績。在廈門喜來登酒店工作期間，方文光特別享受著鄉音閩南話和當地的同事、朋友暢快地溝通交流。

2006年，為了把握2010年上海世界博覽會的客流商機，業主方上海由由國際廣場和專業國際酒店管理集團喜達屋強強聯手合作，作為投資方和管理方在位于2010上海世博會中心展區最佳的位置上精心打造了上海浦東喜來登由由酒店及公寓，結合已經存在的上海福朋喜來登由由酒店，這個房間數目為992間的綜合體酒店成為了上海最大的一家綜合體國際酒店，同時也是離世博園區最近的國際綜合體酒店。2008年，為更好的開發世博市場，喜達屋集團調任對中國市場透徹了解并善于開發本地及國際客戶群的方文光先生為上海浦東喜來登由由酒店及福朋喜來登由由兩家國際奢華酒店的駐店經理。

2009年上海浦東喜來登由由酒店榮獲了TTG旅游大獎——上海最佳會議接待酒店獎。酒店為世博做準備，提供專業完善的工作，特別在方文光的帶領下成立了“世博事務小組”。2008年11月13日至14日，中國2010年上海世博會第三次參展方會議在上海浦東喜來登由由酒店的1019平方米的大宴會廳舉辦，來自不同國家的700多名代表參加了此次會議， 而酒店為了照顧到不同國籍不同信仰的來賓，精心做了各項準備，從客人進入房間的小禮物到當天晚宴的擺臺，食物的準備無一不讓上海簽世博參展協議的各國代表印象深刻、稱贊不已。“我們就是要做名副其實的‘世博酒店’，讓各國來賓通過在喜來登的入住體驗，更加感受到世博會的專業和熱情”，方文光說著露出了他一貫的溫暖但自信的笑容。問及這近十年在中國的感受與感悟。方文光說，中國文化中的“家和萬事興”的觀念是引導他在中國發展順利的法寶。“與西方文化相比，中國人對‘家’的感情十分依戀與重視。忠誠與愛心、團結與合作，小處講是家人的和睦與幸福，大處講是企業的和睦與繁榮。和中國人更在意家人的感受相比可能西方人會更注重自己的感受。”為此，方文光無論到哪里，都灌輸著這個“家”的概念，他對自己的“家長”不離不棄，為所屬的喜達屋酒店及度假村集團工作近9年。他抱著“建家”的概念打造了自己的管理團隊，激發他們的工作激情。一位體貼溫柔的中國太太和一個可愛調皮的女兒，他也在中國建立了屬于自己的一個小家。

將中西文化濃縮于酒店管理

在員工眼中，方文光是一個思維非常開明、工作充滿激情、精神活力四射的人。“和他在一起大家感覺很開心。他工作的時候很有親和力，又有主見又有創意。”酒店公關部總監唐小姐這樣形容方文光。雖然大家工作的時候很緊張、很累，但方文光在業余的時候卻是一個自行車與保齡球運動的高手，一到周末，他的家就成了員工團隊k歌狂歡的場所，方文光早年的DJ經歷又被用上了。

用方文光自己的話說，這是西方教育的結果，但是，在具體管理與生活中，中國傳統對華人的影響同樣大。能夠將西方的管理與工作理念，中國的文化與道德觀念相互結合起來，交融起來，才是一個最佳的選擇。

方文光說，西方人喜歡直接表達自己的想法、十分自信、充滿活力。比如，酒店中餐廳中推出了開放式的制作廚房，向來此用餐的西方人介紹“神秘的中國菜”，結果不但吸引客流還建立了餐廳的品牌。而自信，被方文光用于工作團隊的管理中，對于員工，方文光總是去讓員工發現自己的優點，從而激勵他們的工作激情，建立彼此的信任。

在中國元素這一邊，中國人的道德感、責任心、哲學觀也是方文光所吸收的養分。比如，在本次的金融危機中，在面臨國際客源下降，入住率下降的市場環境下，“多元經營、集中優勢”的中國哲學理念就被很好地運用起來。作為上海不多的國際品牌綜合體酒店，酒店的客房不僅有滿足元首級的高級項目，也有符合國外商務客流的中檔項目，更有符合國內普通客源的普通項目。所以，即使是全球金融危機，酒店的入住率還是保持在60%左右，其中的60%—70%來自中國本地。

對于這種海外華人的“東西交融”的特長，方文光坦然形容為“一半是中國，一半是馬來西亞”。在馬來西亞有他的兄弟姐妹，在中國，有他的妻子女兒。兩個國家，一個家庭，雖然遠隔千里也永遠無法割裂方文光的中國情結。在中國生活工作了近十年，方文光的“中國之旅”還將持續下去。“我愛中國，也愛馬來西亞。馬來西亞華人就是連接兩國文化與友誼的橋梁。”

Fang Wenguang “Step forward to China， as my root is there.”

Text/Li Xiao Dong

A person needs objectives and passion

Fang Wenguang was born into a Chinese-Malaysian family in 1969. In earlier days， His grandfather

traveled long way from Canton to Southeast Malaysia in order to make a better living， after spending enormous efforts， he established middle class status and lay the foundation for the family. Both Fang’s grandfather and father had held plum jobs from local banks. As third generation， Fang received prestigious education at St. Francis Xavier University .

Fang Wenguang was only a bit over 20 when he started working for the famous Shangri-la Hotel Group in 1990. He worked through many different positions， starting form Sales， gradually to banquet sales manager， senior sales manager， marketing director， and ultimately became a professional hotelier.

Following his adventurous spirits， Fang Wenguang moved from Penang Pulau to Kuala Lumpur and Thailand to work for hotels in different regions. In 1999， he was brought in front of an opportunity of traveling to China for further adventure and career development. At the time， Southeast Asian hotel industry was devastatingly affected by Asian #64257;nancial crisis which burst out with significant currency devaluation. “During that period， hotel business heavily depended on European and American tourists， meanwhile they started thinking about exploiting China market.” Driven by his “root seeking’ passion， Fang Wenguang immediately decided to journey to China， despite mainland China was under economic development and high-end hotel industry were almost untapped during the phase.

“As Chinese descendant， I feel the strong passion for going there. Why not? my grandfather came from there， although I can’t speak very well Chinese.” Fang Wenguang smiled.

If there is peace at home， everything will prosper

Fang Wenguang began working in China in 1999， holding the position of Sales Director in Sheraton Suzhou. “Streets were packed with bicycles on those days， now you see cars everywhere， It’s amazing when you witness the rapid growing process of this country.” He also started getting better and deeper understanding of China in the course of working together with his Chinese colleagues. 2004， He relocated to Xiamen where a new Sheraton hotel opened up， he successfully led the marketing strategy and implementation of sales and marketing of the hotel. At work， he particularly enjoyed communication with colleagues and friends in Fukien dialect.

In 2006， Sheraton You You Hotel and Apartment， located in 2010 Expo central exhibition are， come into operation， it was built by You You International Plaza as investor， and is currently managed by Starwood， the professional international hotel management group. The new hotel and apartments， together with existent Shanghai Grand You You Hotel constitutes the city’s largest hotel complex with supply of 992 rooms， it’s also the closest hotel to the World Expo center. In 2008， Starwood decided to transfer Fang Wenguang to take lead in managing the two hotels， intending to make best use of his thorough understanding of China marketing and experience in both local and

international client acquisition.

Shanghai Pudong Sheraton You You Hotel was awarded the best conference hotel by TTG in 2009. As practice for serving the 2010 World Expo， Fang Wenguang has initiated and set up a “World Expo Team” to offer professional services. On November 13 14， the third exhibitor conference of World Expo was held in the 1019 square meter large grand ball room of Sheraton You You Hotel. 700 delegates from different countries attended this conference and were left with great impression about the excellent services meticulously provided by the hotel， from welcome kit to banquet set up. “We aim at being the true ‘World Expo Hotel’， spreading the professional image and passion of the city to international guests through offering the best accommodation experience.” Fang Wenguang smiled with confidence. When asked about his open sesame to success career development， Fang Wenguang believed it is his strong family value highlighted in Chinese culture that has facilitated cooperation and solidarity in both work and life. Therefore， he always bears the concept of “family” wherever he goes. He worked for Starwood hotel and resort for near 9 years without leaving the “family”; when he were building his own management team and trying to stimulate passion out of his staff， he indeed considered the team as his “family”; and of course in his life， a true family has been established in China， with his gentle wife and their naughty daughter.

Combine Chinese and Western Cultures in hotel management

According to his staff， Fang Wenguang is open-minded， energetic and full of passion. “you always feel happy when having him around. He has got his own mind， yet amicable and creative.” Miss Tang， hotel’s PR director gave a portrait of him. He is good at cycling and bowling when it comes to sports. Often on weekends， his home becomes the KTV venue for the staff and he himself will function as DJ.

He considered his open-minded-ness as a direct result of western education. And Chinese culture threw equally signi#64257;cant in#64258;uence on his work and life. He believes well combined western and Chinese traditional values will generate optimal outcomes.

Westerners like to express the-mselves straightforwardly， they are confident and full of energy. For example， his initiation of setting an open kitchen in Chinese restaurant to show western dinners the process of Chinese cooking was very successful， it helped the restaurant attract guests and build brand awareness. He also stressed importance of confidence in management and team work， He likes to encourage employees to seek for and be aware of the strong points on themselves， so that to simulate their work enthusiasm and build mutual trust.

Among Chinese cultural values， sense of morality， responsibility and philosophy of moderation are highly appreciated by Fang Wenguang. For instance， during the world financial crisis， he applied “multiple business approaches with core advantages” to cope with declined occupancy rate. As one of very few hotel complexes in Shanghai， the hotel not only offers superb executive rooms to state heads and medium high level rooms to international business travelers， it also provides ordinary rooms to meet the need of local travelers. Therefore， even in economic downturn， the hotel occupancy rate still kept at 60%， among which 60% to 70% are local Chinese guests.

Fang Wenguang spoke frankly that he is half Chinese and half Malaysia. With siblings in Malaysia， whereas wife and daughter in China， he always considered them as one family crossing two countries. Nearly 10 years working in China， he will continue his China journey. “I love China， so is Malaysia. Chinese Malaysians play the role of bridging the cultures and friendship between the two countries.”

He told us his 4 years old daughter could speak both languages well. “She is not like me， I always pronounce Ma Ma (horse) when I mean Mama (mom)， she switches between English and Chinese very fast.” When saying so， he blinked with a sort of father’s softness.