"Greed is good," said Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) in the hit 1997 film, "Wall Street." The scene defined the material excesses of the 1980s and was one of the more enduring images of the decade. Douglas' Gekko was arrogantly confident, almost untouchable - until his demise at the end of the film.

The scene repeated itself throughout the 1990s with the dot-com boom and bust. Money flowed freely between overindulgent corporate types, but eventually the floor fell from beneath them. Appropriate checks and balances were few and far between.

The lesson in both examples is that nobody is untouchable, particularly those who speed ahead without forethought.

China is increasingly a land of lucrative opportunities. The economy is booming, investment is pouring in and there is no shortage of organizations seeking to take advantage. The images presented in Oliver Stone's film, however, carry an important message: Unchecked greed and carelessness are not easily forgiven in the marketplace.

Carelessness and sloppy management can spell the difference between a strong company and a weak one. These kind of shoddy practices can be seen across the world of business, particularly within the realm of business travel management. Management-level controls on employee travel expenses are key to running an efficient business. The way a company handles business travel says a lot about the organization's integrity, accountability and soul.

Effective business travel management is a challenging proposition in today's China. Several factors need to be considered in the execution of a business travel strategy, including the nuances of the local market and the learning opportunities available overseas, where travel management is a far more advanced concept.

A good first step to developing a travel management strategy is to break down the corporation's travel and entertainment (T&E) expenses. For most companies, T&E expenses are the second largest controlled expense after salaries and benefits, which usually range between 10 and 20 per cent of the total.

The China Business Travel Monitor, released by American Express Business Travel in April of this year, shows that meals and entertainment are the largest costs for the average company in the Chinese market, accounting for 39 per cent of T&E expenditure. Industry air and flight expenses average close to 24 per cent, while other forms of transportation usually make up 11 per cent of travel expenses. Hotel costs account for 13 per cent, reimbursable communications at 11 per cent, and other miscellaneous items account for two per cent.

Breaking down an organization's expenses like this enables corporations to focus on its spending patterns, and the categories offer insight into which costs require the most attention.

The next step is to observe and assess this data. It is important to understand the regulated ownership structure of travel suppliers, the fragmented nature of supply distribution, how geographic and economic zones operate in China, and the limited exposure to frequent travel in an increasingly mobile workforce.

This represents a big opportunity for organizations to further distinguish themselves and present a positive message to prospective investors. Travel is typically a relatively small part of a company's gross expenditure, but it is an emotive and highly visible category that often defines the culture and constitution of a corporate entity.

Accumulated information on travel expenses must be used to define programme objectives. These need to be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely. These goals should be discussed with a travel management company. Their knowledge of the industry can help identify significant savings and ways to boost productivity.

Modern travel management is also about employee mobility, business enablement, travellers' security, talent retention, social responsibility, corporate accountability and a number of other related factors. Each of these should be considered in a travel management programme.

Once objectives have been defined, it is important that they are discussed with senior management, whose support is essential. This can be a taxing process in China due to the structural fragmentation of many organizations. Programme success and organizational benefits are nonetheless very real for perceptive senior managers who know from experience what happens to sloppily-run companies. Enron and Worldcom are vivid reminders of how hubris, manager complacency, inadequate controls and insufficient oversight can sink a business.

Many travel programmes in China today lack these basic factors. Data gathering, strategic objective setting and senior management support are rarely practically applied. Without this, travel management programmes usually get bogged down in daily travel, become extremely reactive and represent sources of frustration for a variety of stakeholders.

Those responsible for travel management programmes should consider the critical stakeholders in the end-to-end process, latent potential and the strategic contribution they can make to their organizations.

Three programme objectives can kick start this process. Companies should produce and distribute a single comprehensive travel policy for China within 12 months. Policy is the strategic framework and it is essential.

Policy success is built on five fundamental considerations known as "the five C's": company Culture, Comprehensive documents, effective Communication, quality Content, and the Controls in place.

Companies must define and communicate the measures of success and the sources of data used to reach conclusions. It is not enough to say that your objective is to execute a travel programme. Service levels require measurements of things like telephone service factors, speed of dispute resolution, error rates of consultants, and process efficiency.

Also vital for consideration are levels of compliance, discount target levels, value measurement and behavioural attributes. Data effectiveness, technology advancements and safety and security considerations are other examples of factors requiring metric development to ensure progress is observed, tracked and achieved. Defining the metrics ensures timely, effective and reliable data sources. This is the key to success.

Map out the end-to-end travel process from pre-travel to payment reconciliation. Empowerment is a critical aspect of successful programmes. Complex bureaucratic processes foster internal resentment, cost money and distract from what is most important.

Travel is essential to business progress. It is an investment in the future, and it should be purposeful and focused.

China's future is bright but even the sunniest outlook requires a diligent approach. Effective travel management programmes are too often overlooked. Basic principles can elevate a programme from the tactical to strategic level.

Effective travel management can help companies in China distinguish themselves as successful ventures in an increasingly competitive market.

American Express Business Travel Consulting Services

(China Daily 09/05/2005 page8)