According to Leon Mann, conformity means ‘yielding to group pressures’. Everyone is a member of one group or another and everyone expects members of these groups to behave in certain ways. If you are a member of an identifiable group you are expected to behave appropriately to it. If you don’t confirm and behave appropriately you are likely to be rejected by the group. Like stereotypes, conforming and expecting others to conform maintains cognitive balance. There are several kinds of conformity. Many studies of conformity took place in the 1950’s which led Kelman to distinguish between compliance, internalisation and identification.
Compliance is the type of conformity where the subject goes along with the group view, but privately disagrees with it. Internalisation is where the subject comes to accept, and eventually believes in the group view. Identification is where the subject accepts and believes the group view, because he or she wants to become Leon Mann identifies normative conformity which occurs when direct group pressure forces the individual to yield under the threat of rejection or the promise of reward. This can occur only if someone wants to be a member of the group or the groups attitudes or behaviour are important to the individual in some way.
Apart from normative conformity there is informational conformity which occurs where the situation is vague or ambiguous and because the person is uncertain he or she turns to others for evidence of the appropriate response. Thirdly, Mann identifies ingratiational conformity which occurs where a person tries to do whatever he or she thinks the others will approve in order to gain acceptance (if you make yourself appear to be similar to someone else, they might come to like you).
The first major research into conformity was conducted in 1935 by Sherif who used a visual illusion, known as the auto-kinetic effect. Sherif told his subjects that a spot of light which they were about to see in a darkened room was going to move, and he wanted them to say the direction and distance of the movement. In the first experimental condition the subjects were tested individually.
Some said the distance of movement wasn’t very far in any directio, others said it was several inches. Sherif recorded each subjects response. In the second experimental condition, Sherif gathered his subjects into groups, usually of three people, and asked them to discribe verbally the movement of light. He gave them no instructions as to whether they needed to reach any kind of agreement among themselves but simply asked them to give their own reports while being aware of the reports that other members gave.
During the group sessions it became apparent that the subjects reports strarted to converge much nearer to an average of what their individual reports had been. If a subject who had said that the light didn’t move very far when tested individually said ‘I think it is moving 2 inches to the left’ then another who had reported movement of 4 inches, when tested individually, might say ‘I think it may have been 3 inches’. As the number of reported movements continued the more the members of the group conformed to This spot of light was in fact stationary so whatever reports were made was the consequence of the subject imagining they saw something happen.
So they were not certain about the movement they observed and so would not feel confident about insisting that their observations were wholly correct. When they heard other reported judgements they may have decided to go along with them. The problem with this study, for understanding of conformity, as one aspect of social psychology is that it is a total artifical experimental situation – there isn’t even a right answer. Requested reports of imaginary movements of a stationary spot of light in a darkened room when alone, or with two others, hardly reflects situations we come accross in our every day lives.
Generalising from its conclusions to real life might be innacurate. However, some of them do have a common sense appeal. Ash was a harsh critic of Sherifs experimental design and claimed that it showed little about conformity since there was no right answer to conform to. Ash designed an experiment where there could be absolutely no doubt about whether subjects would be conforming or not and it was absolutely clear what they were conforming to.
He wanted to be able to put an individual under various amounts of group pressure that he could control and manipulate and measure their willingness to conform to the groups response to something that was clearly wrong. Ash conducted what are now described as classic experiments in conformity. This is not to say they aren’t criticised today or that its conclusions are wholly acceptable now – they showed the application of the scientific method to social psychology and we used as models of how to conduct In an early experiment Ash gathered a group of seven university students in a classroom. They sat around one side of a large table facing the blackboard.
On the left side of the board there was a white card with a single black line drawn vertically on it. On the right of the board there was another white card with three vertical lines of different lengths. Two of the lines on the card on the right were longer or shorther than the target line. Matching the target line to the comparison line shouldn’t have been a difficult task however for these seven students, all but one was a confederate of Ash and they had been instructed to give incorrect responses on seven of the twelve trials.
The one naive subject was seated either at the extreme left or next to the extreme left of the line of students so that he would always be last (or next to last) to answer. He would have heard most of the others give their judgements about which comparison line matches the target line before he spoke. The naive subject was a member of a group he didn’t know and might never see again who suddenly and for no apparent reason started saying something which directly contradicted the evidence of his own In subsequent experiments Ash used between 7 and 9 subjects using the same experimental procedure.
In the first series of experiments he tested 123 naives on 12 critical tests where 7 were going to be incorrect. Each naive therefore had 7 opportunities to conform to something they could see to be wrong. One third of the naives conformed on all 7 occasions. About three quarters of them conformed on at least one occasion. Only about one fifth refused to conform at all. Just to be certain that the result was due to the influence of the confederates responses and not to the difficulty of the task Ash used a control group. Each control subject was asked to make a judgement individually – there were no pressures at all. Over 90% Hollander and Willis give some criticisms of the early research into conformity.
Firstly the studies do not identify the motive or type of conformity. Do the subjects conform in order to gain social approval? Are they simply complying? Do they really believe that their response is correct? Secondly Hollander and Willis claim that the experiments do not identify whether the subjects are complying because they judge that it’s not worth appearing to be different, or because the actually start to believe that the groups judgement is correct.
Hollander and Willis also claim that the studies cannot show whether those who do not conform do so because they are independant thinkers or because they are anti-conformists. And Lastly, they claim that the studies seem to assume that independance has to be good and conformity has to be bad. However Sherif and Asch have each conducted fairly artificial laboritory experiments which showed that about 30% of responses can be explained by the need or desire of the subjects to conform.
Porsche’ S Legacy Essay, Research Paper
Porsche’ s Legacy Essay, Research Paper
The Porsche is a bequest of Ferdinand Porsche, and his belief in what an car should be. Porsche believed that autos should be the merchandises of technology invention, careful development and diligent workmanship.
Dr. Ferdinand Porsche was born in 1875 in Bohemia, and early on he devoted his clip to mechanical and electric constructions. When he was 15, his household was delighted to larn it had the 2nd electrically lit construction in town, for he had built a generator and everything else he needed, including the bulb, to illume their house. This would be merely the beginning of what was to come for Ferdinand Porsche.
The first Porsche name created a esthesis when it debuted at the Paris Exposition in 1900. Called the Lohner-Porsche, it was a battery-powered roadster that used electric motors in the forepart wheel hubs. Ferdinand Porsche designed the hub motors at merely 25 old ages old. Mr. Lohner, an employer of Porsche boasted to the imperativeness: “ He is really immature, but he is a adult male with a large calling before him. You will hear of him again. ” This quotation mark is what drove Porsche to make the type of auto that he is much acclaimed for.
The first auto that Porsche produced was something that he had been working on for a life-time. With a light human body and a low centre of gravitation, the production auto had a cardinal intent, while a rushing version, which was capable of 37 miles per hour, was besides planned.
In 1906, the Austrian subdivision of the Daimler Motor Company hired Porsche as its new Technical Director. Porsche designed a figure of landmark autos, finally presuming the place of Chief Engineer at Daimler central office in 1923. In 1924, he produced a Mercedes-Benz, which proved its design winning the Targa Florio. ( A competitory racing event. )
At Daimler-Benz, Porsche created one of the most keen autos of all clip ; the Mercedes-Benz S-series. Peoples now could rush and be comfy while rushing in a auto that was a street-legal racing auto. Porsche so created the Mercedes-Benz S, SS and SSK, which were theoretical accounts of the late twentiess. During his stay at Daimler-Benz, Porsche proposed that the
Mercedes-Benz S category should be mass-produced so that people in the businessperson category could afford a luxury auto. The board of managers rapidly turned down this thought. Disturbed by this determination, Porsche decided to discontinue and get down his ain sort of auto company. Unaware where his financess would come from, investors who were interested in his scheme gave him the fiscal support that he needed. Porsche eventually went into concern for himself. On March 6th, 1931, Porsche was established in Stuttgart, Germany.
Porsche and his interior decorators began the beginning work on a vehicle that would go the Volkswagen ( The people s auto ) . In a series of paradigms created throughout the mid-1930s, it ’ s easy to see Porsche s doctrine in pattern. First it starts with a design construct, and through a procedure of development, turn out the technology of each constituent. Porsche designed, built and tested 20 different engines before coming back to his get downing point, an air-cooled four-stroke level four. During this clip, Porsche designed three aerodynamic coupe versions of the Volkswagen for racing, the Berlin-Rome mass meeting autos. It ’ s easy to see why they are considered paradigms of the Porsche coupes.
The Porsche house moved in 1938, to new central office in Zuffenhausen, merely outside of Stuttgart. When war engulfed Europe, Porsche was involved in the design of a figure of undertakings that included farm tractors, planes, and ship engines.
Never far off from the automotive work of his male parent, Ferry Porsche was shortly behind the wheel of a auto and, by the age of 12, he was even permitted to run in the category winning Targo Florio auto, the lightweight Austro-Daimler Sascha. While constructing a household, his boy, Ferdinand jr. ( Ferry ) was ever cardinal to their construct of car design. So it was natural that in the postwar old ages, when Porsche eventually had an chance to construct a auto of its ain, they built athleticss autos. That vehicle was the legendary Type 356. Production began in the spring of 1948 in Gmund, Austria, where the Porsche house had temporarily relocated towards the terminal of the war. As with every Porsche, you could see that it followed a certain doctrine that could be seen in every auto manufactured. The auto was light, aerodynamic, antiphonal, and possessed character. There was an air-cooled engine located behind the driver, but frontward of the rear axle. These have been the features that have made Porsche alone and continue to do Porsche the most envied and desirable auto on the market.
Joseph Stalin one time invited the interior decorator to Russia, merely to see, but in world to experience him out on the possibility of his going the Soviet Union ’ s curate of engineering. There was no racing in Russia, though Stalin and Porsche both liked racing. So Porsche headed back to
Germany and designed the P-wagon of 1932, a auto resembling the race drivers of the sixtiess and 1970s. It was a pacemaker that gave the Mercedes Benz entries their best competition.
Porsche himself laid out everything in the Volkswagen, including the Beetle form, every bit early as 1931. The auto was announced in 1938, when 100s of orders were taken for the auto at $ 400 per unit. Porsche had a originative life-time of some 40 old ages. Unlike most automotive applied scientists, he was surprisingly diversified in his work with making autos, trucks, aircraft engines, armored combat vehicle and other military vehicle, windmills, bikes. Porsche came out with more that 70 vehicle designs, some that stand out in peculiar are the Prince Henry Austro-Daimler, the 38/250 Mercedes Benz, the P-wagon Auto Union Grand Prix auto, the Volkswagen, and the Tiger Tanks of World War II.
Although the company was formed on April 25, 1931 as “ interior decorators and advisers for land, sea and air vehicles, ” it was Professor Dr. Ferry Porsche, who took the company to be one of the universe ’ s taking automotive technology design companies, and specialist maker of athleticss
autos. From the clip he designed the first Porsche, the Type 356 in 1948, it was his personal engagement that made Porsche the great car it is today.
With the success of Ferry Porsche s autos, he was subsequently to take the freshly founded Auto Union Company. They had decided to name Professor Porsche as the interior decorator of a new Grand Prix auto to run into the new 750 kilogram. maximal weight expression.
The Auto Union was the most advanced racing auto design construct. He designed a auto that featured a 16-cylinder super-charged engine, with a typical valve control mounted merely behind the driver ; an engine place which is standard for all modern coevals F1 autos. Ferry s function was ruling in its design and building. Ferry Porsche conducted much of the initial trial drive of the autos, his male parent declared one twenty-four hours, I have adequate drivers, but merely one son. ”
One other auto which the Porsche house designed before World War II was to hold an of import influence on both Ferry Porsche and the remainder of the universe. It was, of class, the most produced auto of all clip, the Volkswagen Beetle.
WWII had put a block in the route for the Porsche household concern. Demolishing Stuttgart, Ferry Porsche and a few co-workers had to get down once more from abrasion in 1945 by maintaining busy with fix occupations and the building of simple farm machinery.
Meanwhile, the Gallic held Ferry ’ s male parent, Professor Ferdinand Porsche until 1947, when Ferry Porsche ’ s household managed to raise adequate money from new contracts in Italy to purchase his freedom. One of these design undertakings resulted in the Cisitalia Formula 1 racecar, unveiled at the Turin Motor Show that same twelvemonth. It was the first race auto with a mid-mounted engine and four-wheel thrust.
Ferry Porsche decided to construct his ain athleticss auto, efficaciously the first “ Porsche. ” He took out programs he made back in 1939 for a light, compact auto based on the Volkswagen, practically the lone constituents available in Germany at the clip. Besides supplying rapid acceleration, odd braking and good route keeping an indispensable standard was the auto had to be practical for mundane usage. Its “ marketing construct ” adopted by Ferry Porsche was, “ If I build a auto that gives me satisfaction, so there must be others with the same kind of dreams who would be prepared to purchase such a car. ”
The first auto to bear the Porsche name, the Type 356, was delivered on June 8, 1948. It boasted a cannular infinite frame human body, an aluminium organic structure and a rear-mounted four-cylinder 1.131 milliliter VW engine. The undermentioned twelvemonth, in order to guarantee continued production of the 356, Ferry Porsche negotiated a new contract with the so caput of Volkswagen, Heinz Nordoff, for the supply of parts. The contract appointed Dr. Ing h.c.F Porsche K.G. as a adviser applied scientist to VW, exclusive importer of Volkswagen ’ s for Austria and receiver of a royalty amount on every VW Beetle produced at Wolfsburg.
A sum of 52 356 autos were built at Gmund in Austria before the company returned to Stuttgart. Production remained there in March 1950. During the same twelvemonth, Porsche began planing its ain engine, the Carrera. The 356 theoretical account, which was ab initio forecast to hold a universe gross revenues potency of 500 units, was last produced in 1965 after over 78,000 autos had been built. The policy of theoretical account endurance is continued today with the Porsche 911, which enters its thirty-fifth twelvemonth of production.
Professor Dr. Ferry Porsche was happy and thankful that his male parent witnessed, and with blessing, the start of Porsche as a specializer athleticss auto maker. Since 1948, he besides further enhanced the Porsche merchandise, which enjoyed a all right repute from the beginning, by spread outing client service and selling, speed uping merchandise development through motor racing, and set in decennaries of difficult, dedicated work. But Ferdinand Porsche suffered a shot and died in 1951. Professor Porsche will be remembered for his entrepreneurial accomplishments in the international car industry. About 50 old ages ago in Gmund, Austria, he conceived and built the first athleticss auto named “ Porsche. ” Under his counsel and from really low beginnings, the auto company developed into an internationally celebrated endeavor.
“ For his work on the development of the original Volkswagen Beetle every bit good as the 16-cylinder Auto Union Grand Prix race autos and Porsche athleticss autos, Professor Porsche played an of import portion in automotive history. His leading will be greatly missed at Porsche operations around the world. ”
Since come ining Le Mans in 1951 and accomplishing a category win, the name Porsche has been the same with success in motor athleticss. Amongst its triumphs, Porsche has been crowned World Endurance Champion in athleticss auto rushing 14 times, and since 1970, has won the Le Mans 24-hour race a record 15 times. The universe celebrated Monte Carlo mass meeting was won
four times by Porsche 911s, and an experimental 4WD 911 Carrera won the 1984 Paris-Dakar desert race first clip out, the really first athleticss auto of all time to accomplish this award. Subsequently in 1986, Porsche 959s finished foremost, 2nd and 6th on their introduction outing in the event every bit good as going the first all-wheel thrust racing auto to come in and win its category at Le Mans.
Professor Dr. Ferry Porsche demanded a great trade from his applied scientists, mechanics and drivers. He made bold investings in new developments and by this means founded the worldwide position of his house as a in private controlled, independent manufacturer of technologically advanced athleticss, and rushing autos for worldwide usage.
In 1972, the twelvemonth the Porsche household withdrew from active direction of the company, Weissach was opened. Today, Weissach is universe celebrated as a site for research and development, where 30 % , of all work is undertaken on behalf of other makers, Governments and NATO.
Back in 1965, the Technical University of Vienna awarded an Honorary Doctorate Ferry Porsche in acknowledgment of his accomplishments in so many subdivisions of the car universe. In 1984 on his seventy-fifth birthday he was awarded the honorary rubric of ‘ Professor. ’
Malaysian Entrepreneur Lim Goh Tong
Lim Goh Tong, Malaysia’s third-richest man who turned a forested hilltop into a thriving casino resort, died Oct. 23, leaving behind a diverse business empire worth $22 billion. He was 90. Mr. Lim was the founder of Genting Group of companies. His son, Lim Kok Thay, who took over from Mr. Lim as Genting’s chief executive in 2004, did not give a cause of death in his statement. Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi described Mr. Lim as a hardworking entrepreneur who had contributed to the country’s economic development. “He is also a well-known philanthropist.
I believe his death is a loss not only to the nation but also to the business and entrepreneurial community in the country,” Abdullah said. Mr. Lim, a migrant from China, battled the odds to build Genting Highlands, a casino hotel that opened in 1971 and flourished into a Las Vegas-style resort. It is the country’s only casino and includes five hotels and a theme park. Forbes magazine listed Mr. Lim among the world’s top 250 billionaires in 2006 and the third-richest person in Malaysia, with a personal net worth of $4. 3 billion. Born in Anxi in Fujian province, Mr. Lim was the fifth of seven children.
He migrated to Malaya, as Malaysia was then known, in 1937 at age 19 with only a suitcase and $175 in his pocket. He made his first fortune by trading in secondhand heavy machinery after the end of Japanese occupation in the 1940s, and later ventured into mining. While working on a hydroelectric power project in 1964 in Cameron Highlands, a popular hill resort patronized mostly by British colonials at the time, Mr. Lim dreamed of building a similar hill resort nearer to the country’s biggest city, Kuala Lumpur, as a getaway for residents. He found the remote 5,900-foot Ulu Kali mountain, about an hour’s drive from Kuala Lumpur.
In 1965, he set up the Genting Group to transform the dense virgin tropical jungle into one of Malaysia’s top holiday destinations, which attracted 18. 5 million visitors in 2006. The Genting Group has since diversified into plantations, properties, paper manufacturing, power generation, oil and gas. It comprises five listed companies with a combined total market capitalization of more than $22 billion, according to its Web site. Genting has also developed resorts and casinos in Australia and the Philippines.
MALAYSIAN Billionaire tycoon Lim Goh Tong has died at the age of 90, following a short illness, leaving an estimated US$4. billion (S$6. 2 billion) fortune. The tycoon handed over the running of an empire with interests in property, power generation, plantations, paper manufacturing and information technology. Genting’s Hong Kong-listed subsidiary, Star Cruises, is the third-largest cruise operator in the world, while the group also controls Britain’s biggest casino operator Stanley Leisure. But Tan Sri Lim, one of Malaysia’s wealthiest businessmen, is best known for turning Genting Highlands, a hill outcrop just outside the capital Kuala Lumpur, into one of the world’s most profitable casino resorts.
And to his admirers, he was more than just a developer, personifying the clutch of overseas Chinese business entrepreneurs who fled hardship in their homeland to build the corporate empires that played a major role in South-east Asia’s economic boom. “He is a model of success, starting from scratch, and his achievements came through hard work” said Tan Sri William Cheng, who controls Malaysia’s diversified Lion Group of companies. Tan Sri Lim, who hailed from China’s Fujian province, was forced to leave school at the age of 16, after his father died, and began selling vegetable seeds to support his family.
In 1937, he left Fujian for what was then British-controlled Malaya, where he dabbled in a host of businesses ranging from selling machinery to building and tin mining. Tan Sri Lim, who did not speak English and conversed with Malaysia’s political elite in colloquial Malay, came up with the idea of a hilltop resort while working on a hydroelectric project in 1963. The development of Genting, whose name in Chinese means “on top of clouds”, now attracts more than 18 million visitors a year, but it brought him perilously close to bankruptcy before taking off.
He was helped by the Malaysian government, which subsidised the building of a road to the resort and awarded him a casino licence. But his eventual success was attributed to his entrepreneurial spirit, and he gave an insight into his style in his recent autobiography. “The Genting project fitted my idea of an ideal business,” he wrote. “No one was interested in it, which meant no competition. ” He always used this as his success key
Never make language barrier a limitation to succeed. Lim Goh Tong did not speak or write in English. He spoke Hokkien in his native land China, and after coming to Malaysia, he learned Bahasa Malaysia, Cantonese & Mandarin. But that did not stop him to negotiate one of the biggest business contracts in the country.
Be polite, humble and respectful to others. If you can rub shoulders with tycoons, politicians and high officials, ask yourself, can you get along well too with hawkers and manual workers? Often times, success goes to our heads and we forget where we came from and our hardship seems to be a forgotten past.
When it comes to appointment and meeting, have a habit to be punctual. Better still, come 5 to 10 minutes early. Malaysians have a very weird habit when it comes to appointments, interviews and meeting. Don’t be one. Make punctuality your personal and business principle. Do not make excuse to cancel appointments just because the person is not important. Also, a good advice is that, if you want to know if a person will be a good friend and business partner, watch if he arrives on the appointed time when you set a date or meeting. If you are late for job interview when you can be early, know that you will not make a good employee.
Live a disciplined, simple life. Get up early from bed to start your day. You will see prosperity coming your way. Make effort to carry something that you can write or jot down when you have anything coming to mind. Lim Goh Tong used small notebook. Now you are spoiled with choices when it comes to note taking – PDA, mobile phone, note book and so on. Do not make excuses. Also, organize your day with a diary or personal organizer. Always create a to do list.
Be bold yet cautious (the Chinese say ‘dan da xin xi‘). Try things that have never been done before. Challenge the norm of ways of doing work or job. Be willing to take that risk. A reward is waiting at the end of it.
Believe the power of conviction. If you make a decision and you believe that is a strong one, go ahead with it, no matter what you are up against. Believe in yourself. Don’t make enemies. Avoid stepping on other people’s toes which is quite a norm in business and corporate world. People who do this will not last long. People who take short cut will have their success short lived. You have witnessed this. People say sometimes this can’t be avoided.
That’s a lie. Under all circumstances, stay away from it. 9. If you build a successful business and organization, always believe that the most valuable asset of a company is its people. It is the people that make up the organization. It is the people that run the organization. It is the people that makes things happen. If you don’t have benefit and exposure to modern management, never doubt you can run a company as big as Microsoft. Good education is essential, but lack of education and training is never a barrier to become a boss to the smartest people on the planet.
Employ a person or make business with a person when you trust him or her. If you do not trust them; don’t employ and don’t make business with them. Do good to others; you will be rewarded somehow. Learn to give first, and receive later. Prepare for personality makeover. If you are shy and quiet (like Lim Goh Tong when he was 20s), learn to be articulate and more extrovert. Banish the shyness and the inferiority complex. Otherwise, you will not get that job, or awarded that business contract. If you are rude, learn to be polite.
Be grateful for what you have. Life has been kind to us. Hence we should treasure our life and make it a meaningful one. Drive yourself harder and become more committed to work. Biography Mr. Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong (February 28, 1918 – October 23, 2007) was a prominent wealthy Malaysian Chinese businessman. He was renowned for his vision and courage in transforming Genting Highlands from an unexplored hilltop to one of the world’s most successful casino resorts. He was once the 3rd richest man in Malaysia with a net worth estimated to be 4. 2 billion USD, making him the 204th richest person in the billionaire list compiled by Forbes.
The Japanese invaded Malaya in 1942 and caused Lim to have a few near-death occasions. During the early Japanese Occupation, he earned a living as a vegetable farmer, but decided to switch to petty trading for a better living. Later on Lim ventured into scrap-metal and hardware trading. When the Japanese Occupation ended, there was an urgent demand for heavy machinery for resumed operations in mines and rubber plantations, Lim seized the opportunity and engaged in second-hand machinery trading, making his first fortune. From used machinery trading, Lim strayed into iron mining fortuitously.
Lim joined as a partner in an iron mining company which couldn’t settle the outstanding payment of two bulldozers with him, and this proved to be a successful venture as he earned a substantial amount of profit from the mining industry, including forming a joint-venture tin mining company which was one of the first Chinese tin companies to utilize dredges in mining tin. While dealing in heavy machinery, Lim accumulated a wide range of reconditioned machines as well as a substantial amount of cash to move into the construction and related industries.
In the name of his family construction company, Kien Huat Private Limited, Lim began taking on several contracting jobs with help and guidance from his uncles. Kien Huat won accolades and became recognized as one of the leading construction companies after successfully completing many major projects. Among the biggest projects completed was the Ayer Itam Dam, the first time a local contractor had been given the construction job of such magnitude. Lim went on the brink of bankruptcy when construction work was facing problems in the Kemubu Irrigation Scheme, but managed to overcome the obstacles and completed the project.
The idea of building a hilltop resort was first conceived when Lim Goh Tong was having a dinner in Cameron Highlands. As he was enjoying the soothing cool breeze of Cameron Highlands, an idea struck him that as the standard of living rose steadily in Malaysia, more and more people would visit mountain resorts for relaxation and recreation, but Cameron Highlands was too far away from the capital city Kuala Lumpur, therefore building a mountain resort nearer to Kuala Lumpur would have great business potential.
After doing some research, Lim found Gunung (mountain in Malay) Ulu Kali at a place called Genting Sempah to be an ideal location for his plan. He formed an expedition and explored the place, collecting a wealth of data on the topography, drainage, soil conditions and other relevant aspects of the region, this proved to be very useful in drawing up the plan for developing the resort. Upon conceiving this idea, many naysayers were skeptical of Lim turning a wilderness into a tourist resort.
Most thought it was really risky and reckoned Lim who was financially comfortable to be foolish to invest heavily in money and time to develop Genting, but Lim brushed off all these negativities and went ahead firmly with his plan. After getting approvals from the federal and state governments, Lim began the project in the face of a colossal task. Among the problems were building the access road towards the hilltop, water and electricity supplies, sewerage system and fire safety.
Lim managed to build the access road towards the summit in three years when it was estimated to take fifteen years. Several sources of water in the mountain were identified, water supply was secured by building water-collection stations and water filtration plants with treated water stored in reservoirs. Electricity is supplied through a central electricity generation system with 12 big generators. During the construction, Lim survived six close brushes with death. Meanwhile, Lim had to administer another major project in Kelantan, the Kemubu Irrigation Scheme at the same time.
This stretched his physical endurance to the limits as he had to shuttle between Kuala Lumpur and Kelantan and he worked seven days a week. During the Genting project, Lim spent all he had without earning any income. He sold an 810-hectare rubber estate to raise RM2. 5 million. In addition, he invested all the money he had made from iron mining, sub-contracting and hardware business. The project was a heavy drain on Lim’s finances. When asked to invest in this project, Lim’s friends turned him down and counseled him to drop the entire scheme instead.
Genting was granted the only casino license after Tunku Abdul Rahman, the prime minister of Malaysia then, visited Genting Highlands and commended Lim’s effort to develop a resort contributing to Malaysia’s tourism industry without government help. Lim managed to obtain a pioneer status for Genting Highlands and tax incentives despite its resort development not qualifying for it. He did so by convincing the government that tax incentives in the early stage of development of Genting Highlands were not only vital for them but also profitable to the government later on.
The whole Genting project was completed in January 1971, but prior to officially commencing business, Kuala Lumpur and its surrounding areas were hit by the worst rainstorms in a century, the road to Genting was closed by landslides at 180 locations, the damaged sections took four months to repair. Genting opened its door for business on May 8, 1971. In the next 30 years, Lim continued to develop and expand Genting Highlands beyond its original idea of a hotel with basic tourist facilities. Among the projects were the construction of more hotels, indoor and outdoor theme parks, and a convention centre.
A new road was built to shorten the journey to Genting from the northern states, and RM120 million was invested to widen a 10 km stretch of the access road to reduce congestion. Another RM128 million was spent on constructing a cable car system to provide visitors with an alternative mode of transportation. In 1993, at the suggestion of Tun Mahathir, the prime minister of Malaysia then, a township was developed on an 81-hectare piece of land around the site of the Genting Skyway cable car station.
It was named Gohtong Jaya after Lim as a token of remembrance for his efforts in the development of Genting Highlands. As of now, Genting Highlands is one of the most successful casino resorts in the world and is one of the primary tourist attractions in Malaysia. Lim’s company, Genting Group operates Genting Highlands and has diversified into many other industries such as plantations, property, paper, power generation, oil and gas exploration and cruise industries.
In the process new company brands were created that have become distinctive names in their respective fields, namely Asiatic, Genting Sanyen and Star Cruises. In 1978 Lim set up Yayasan Lim, a family foundation that donates regularly to educational and medical institutions, old folk’s homes, various organizations for the physically handicapped and other charitable causes.