Tidying-ups of the Analysis of Interviews and Pragmatics

Interviews and Tidying-ups of the Pragmatic Analysis

The First Interview on Production and Marketing Employees　　Interviewers:Anthurium Billowing Group

Items

Organization of Production

Interview Object

Green Flower Marketing Cooperative

Name

Mr. Lin Ching-shan

Telephone

07-6673555

Date of Interview

2011.02.08 Feb. 8^th, 2011

Part I. The Connection with Green Flower Marketing Cooperative

Content of Interview

1.Would you please tell us what mechanisms and features make Green Flower Marketing Cooperative a famous local enterprise

A.We have a uni-channel shipping-marketing system and registered brand. Also, our anthuriums have gain great reputation in quality, so whenever an auction is held in any flower market, we always get good prices. Besides local florists, in the auction, florists from neighboring towns and cities also take part, all using our brand. The Cooperative puts its business mainly on export. Flowers for export have to be extraordinarily monitored, which is why makes anthuriums cultivated in Neimen so well-known globally.

2. What made you, Mr. Director Chair, set up Green Flower Marketing Cooperative?

A. Because I want to cope with global demand and to solve the problem of unstable export supply

3. How do anthuriums make Green Flower Marketing Cooperative a profittable organization?

A.Anthurium cultivation is a highly-profitable industry in quality agriculture. As long as adquate supply is assured, profit is insured. My aim is to help small farmers transfer into big ranches and make money together. Also, cultivating new species, improving packaging, and preservation techniques lower our cost in shipping, which helps us earn more than others.

4. What is your Cooperative’s main marketing product? What are its features?

5.What are the basic facilities used by Neimen anthurium industry to cultivate their flowers?

A:We adopt cultivation facilities, such as double-plumb-hose net-room, greenhouse, and W-shape trough of coconut fiber material. Some other basic facilities are automatic spraying equipment, computer irrigation environmental monitoring system, and micro-mist cooling system.

6.What is the growing duration of anthuriums before they can be harvested? How to harvest them?

A:The most suitable harvest time is when two thirds to three fourths of their meat spikes is changing color. It is easy to harvest anthuriums. You just pick them with bare hands.

7. After being harvested, how much longer should we wait before they can be delivered?

A:After cut harvesting, they have to be dump into the water for them to draw in more water. The SOP is cleansing, classification, preservation treatment, bagged packaging, packing, packaging, then delivering to flower markets for local sales or delivering to the yard to be loaded to the cargo ship for export.

8.What is the marketing of the harvested anthuriums?

A:The marketing networks for local MIT anthuriums are two. The one is through florsits→promoting the sales on one’s own or participating in the co-marketing system of some production-marketing organization→wholesale markets→retailers or wholesalers→retailing flower shops→consumers. The other network is mainly for export. The mode for it is “florists→promoting the sales on one’s own or participating in the co-marketing system of some production-marketing organization→Taipei Flower Market→export dealers→foreign markets.”

9. How much does an anthurium cost?

A: It depends on the color shades. For example, if they are outbound for The Japanese market, light color ones are about NT$20 a piece, while their red color counterparts are about NT$15 a piece.

10.How does Green Flower Marketing Cooperative cooperate with its florist members?

A: They work together decide the packaging standards of cut flowers, set the prices, make use of the existing production-marketing facilities, and use the brand of Green Flower Marketing Cooperative to boost the sales.

11.Do anthuriums cultivated by Green Flower Marketing Cooperative go domestic or abroad? Where do they mainly go?

A: 85% of anthuriums is going abroad, mainly to countries like Japan or USA.

12.How do you decide which anthurium species to cultivate?

A: Because they are contract produced and mainly export to Japan, florists generally choose to grow the Japanese favored light pink shades and green shades, such as the Dream and the Emerald.

13.Why do Japanese come to Taiwan to order our anthuriums?

A: It has something to do with their customs and seasons. The Japanese like white anthuriums, because they think white symbolizes purity. In spring, they like the green shades. Anthuriums MIT are superior to other in appearance and quality, which is why anthuriums cultivated in Taiwan mostly go to Japan.

14.How does Green Flower Marketing Cooperative ship their anthuriums abroad? By surface or by air?

A: They go by surface. Because of having the edge of patent preservation box, which can prolong storage life on the way and reduce the damage of scapes and buds, thus cutting down shipping cost of about NT$ 1.5 million per year.

15.What are the marketing strategies of Green Flower Marketing Cooperative?

A: They include participating in overseas business fairs or uniting Sung-Kiang Martial Matrix to boost tourism and leisure activities; going with the government’s policy to promote the globalization of agricultural products; and establishing industry-university cooperation mechanism.

16.What country does Green Flower Marketing Cooperative put its focus on?

A: For the moment we put our focus on the Japanese market, as well as markets of UK, France, Italy, America, and PRC.

17.On what countries will Green Flower Marketing Cooperative put its focus in the future?

A: Markets in both Germany and India are rather potential. The former is the country which imports the most flowers, while the latter is a religious country which is consuming a large number of flowers. Besides, markets in Macao, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, and Dubai are worth developing.

18.What are the business objectives of Green Flower Marketing Cooperative?

A: The present objectives are to market anthuriums to the whole world, to seek economic interests of the Cooperative members and instill cooperation concepts of life improving, and to make the export organization more robust and more globally competitive.

19.Did 2010 Taipei International Flora Exposition help promote anthuriums? Has it brought business opportunities to Green Flower Marketing Cooperative?

A: In my opinion, through holding large-scale international exhibitions makes us more well-know, which helps enhance the brand publicity and establish good image. In the coming April, our anthuriums will meet everyone in 2010 Taipei International Flora Exposition’s Expo Dome.

20.In what way do you hope agricultural guidance unit or governments of all levels give you assistance?

A: I hope that the governments could give aides to the anthuriums areas, upgrade the facilities, grant preferential loans, so that the florists can obtain more planting acreage, increase production, and make a stable supply.

Interview Content

1.When did you plunge into anthurium business? Why do you stay in Neimen to cultivate anthuriums?

A.In 1997 when my hometown (Neimen District) was assaulted by Foot-and-Mouth Disease, embracing the mood of relation-closeness and earth-closeness of Neimen origin, I transferred my business from livestock farming to flower cultivation. At that time, most florists raised orchids, making the market so saturated with them that decided to introduce anthuriums, which were easily accustomed to Neimen weather, to my hometown hometown.

2.Why did you choose innovation and creativity as your major in graduate school?

A:After cultivating anthuriums, I experienced that innovation and starting a business are of the same importance, so I chose to Graduate Institute of Business Administration of Shi Chien University to study innovation and business-starting, hoping to boost to export energy of anthuriums.

3. In what way do you encourage and expect from we senior high school students?

The Second Interview on Production and Marketing Employees

Interviewers:Anthurium Billowing Group

Items	Organization of Production
Interview Object	Green Flower Marketing Cooperative
Name	Mr. Lin Ching-shan
Telephone	07-6673555
Date of Interview	2011.03.09 Mar. 9^th, 2011
Content of Interview
1. How does your Cooperative distribute surplus of the year? A: The Cooperative conducts its business through real cooperation, serving the farmers without taking profits from them.
2. How does your Cooperative allot and use your funds? A: All the management capitals are managed by farmers-members. Financial ins and outs are directly transferred through their accounts.
3. What is the percentage of fixed assets in total assets? Which one costs more, production cost or marketing cost? What is your investment return? A: The ratio of fixed assets and total assets is 1:1; production cost is greater than marketing cost, with a ratio of 3:1; and the investment return is around 60%.
4. What are the establishment motivation and management philosophy of the Cooperative? A: The motivation is relation-closeness, earth-closeness, and neighborhood; while the management philosophy is to activate rural economy and focus on anthuriums production and marketing.
5. What are the major business projects and service targets? A: Our business projects, such as co-selecting, co-tallying, co-pricing, co-utilizing, delivering and marketing, and uni-procuring, are to serve the farmers. As for the issue of service targets, anyone living in Kaohsiung City can be our service target.
6. Do you ever encounter with any invincible difficulties when running the Cooperative? A: Although we have a promising export market for anthuriums, there still remains some bottleneck to be broken through, like lack of supply, equipments, capitals, and planting areas.
7. How do you recruit new members and carry out staff education and training? A: The procedures are as follows: (1) We get new members through volunteer application, not through enlisting. (2) The training of technical staff is planned and unified. Under the situation which anthuriums cannot be co-selected, every household has to send in two members to attend the training sessions of flower classification. (3) When we are to comply with the government’s policy to set up Export Demonstration Area, we will a. draft an educational plan for the ones who intend to join the Cooperative to start their businesses; b. give educational training sessions to the new blood to strengthen their professional knowledge; and c. carry out regular educational training sessions: giving education and professional workshops to the needed. (4) If a florist plans to grow anthuriums, he can join the Cooperative, which offers the new comers a series of zero-to-one instructions, from leasing the land, building the garden, preparing the land for growing, packing and packaging, delivering to the market, to wire money to his account.
8. How does the Cooperative increase the involvement of Neimen residents in the anthuriums industry? A: We are promoting the growing of anthuriums to attract the youngsters to stay at their hometown starting their own businesses. a. We comply with the government’s policy piloting the project of “Small- landowners-large-tenants,” and taking part in the activities of Export Demonstration Area. b. We work with the government to implement a New Agricultural Campaign, guiding wandering florists, helping set up their own gardens, and making them better gardeners.
9. Whether or not does the Cooperative protect local anthuriums industry and make it the core of its management philosophy? A: Yes, such is the case. We’ve being trying very hard to get the anthuriums business to the global stage for an everlasting management. The Cooperative is the only cooperate whose anthuriums are conferred on an ISO certificate. Moreover, we are also the only cooperate whose packing and packaging are patented. All of this ado is to enter the global market. To have a strong foothold in the global market, you have to have new species. Besides, your packing boxes have to be innovative, different from those of others.
10. Do you discuss the developmental direction of anthuriums industry with cadres or farmers? A: We hold an annual general assembly on a yearly basis and a monthly association meeting of Board of Councils and Supervisors. Every week, the florists get together to discuss things. Whenever a problem arises, they can relay it to us any time. We in turn immediately deal with it. For example, issues rising from the monthly association meeting of Board of Councils and Supervisors, the latest governmental policies, and market changes of foreign countries are to be discussed and debated. After so doing, we will relay our discussions to the florists when they are doing weekly watering.

The Second Interview on Production and Marketing Employees

Interviewers: Chong Hau-hsuan, Lin Yia-hsuan

Items	Intermediate Outlet Networks
Interview Object	Kaohsiung International Flower Co., Ltd. (Kaohsiung International Flower Market)
Name	Manager Chao
Telephone	NA
Date of Interview	2011.02.08 Feb. 8^th, 2011
Content of Interview
1. Do your company hold an auction for anthuriums from Green Flower Marketing Cooperative? A: Yes, but the number was small. Because it was during the Chinese New Year and the weather was cold and the production was low.
2. Why do anthuriums from Green Flower Marketing Cooperative need to be auctioned through your company? A: There are some differences between the shipment of local flowers or produces and regular products. Usually, anthuriums, together with other flowers, will be shipped directly to the flower market for auction after harvesting from their places of origins.
3. How is the shipment of anthuriums carried out? A: Take the procedures of Green Flower Marketing Cooperative for example. The sequence is as follows: Member florists or florists from neighboring townships→ The co- shipping department of Green Flower Marketing Cooperative→Flower Market in kaohsiung→The wholesalers and retailers→Retail flower shops→Consumers

Consumer Interview

Interviewers: Chen Guan-ling, Peng Yu-cheng

Items	Purchaser
Interview Objecct	Clothing Store
Name	Ms. Chuei
Telephone	NA
Date of Interview	2011.03.20 Mar. 20^th, 2011
Content of Interview
1. Would you please tell us where the anthuriums arranged in your store are from? A: A florist’s shop in Hsing-chung Road.
2. Why do you decorate your store with anthuriums? A: Because it is the 16^th day of the lunar calendar, I buy red anthuriums for offering worship. Besides, they can also be used for decoration.
3. Do you buy anthuriums on ordinary occasions? A: Seldom. Because anthuriums bear not much fragrance. Besides, the bigger an anthurium is, the more expensive it will be. Mostly I buy Mid-century lilies.
4. Do you know that anthuriums are a floral species which can make the air cleaner, good for the air in the store? A: Actually I don’t. Next time I will consider buying a pot of anthuriums for decoration.
5. What is your opinion on the promotion of anthuriums in the future? A: I think that they should have a certain share in the market. Because red anthuriums are really gorgeous, being a festive color. It will be even better if the prices can get lower.
6. From where do you like to get the information of anthuriums promotion? A: Directly from the flower shop’s DM.

Consumer Interview

Interviewers:Anthurium Billowing Group

Items	User
Interview Object	Floral Design
Name	Aunt Li
Telephone	NA
Date of Interview	2011.02.23 Feb. 23^rd, 2011
Content of Interview
On February 23^rd, 2011, we went to Hsing-chung Street Flower Market visiting Aunt Li, a florist, who then took us to pay a visit there to other florists. As soon as we went to the second flower shop, we came across a row of anthuriums at the door. Clearly on the box holding these flowers are words identifying they were from Neimen’s Green Flower Marketing Cooperative. From this we came to know that anthuriums from Neimen had a certain share in the flower market.

Interview on Retailers Practitioners

Interviewer: Chong Hau-hsuan

Items	Flower Wholesaler & Retailer
Interview Object	Hua-hsin Florist
Name	Store Manager
Telephone	NA
Date of Interview	2011.02.23 Feb. 23^rd, 2011
Content of Interview
On our way back to school after dispatching and collecting the questionnaires, we came across a flower shop called Hua-hsin Florist, seeming not so eye-catching to look at. While I told her I’m a student from Hsiungshan doing research on anthuriums, the store manager was busy sorting flowers just coming. She said, “You are talking to an expert.” Introducing me to a specific spices—the Dream—she further stated, “These flowers come into my shop directly from a farmer’s flower field, which is why the price is not too high. Besides, because they are fresh and gorgeous, with a long viewing period, many customers come for them.” While taking out several species from the refrigerator, she explained things about some rare species in detail, which was really an eye-opener. This occasion visit, making me learn a lot more about the ecology and buying habit of customers, proved to be more than worthwhile.

Consumer Interview

Interviewers: Li Mei-hua, Song Yi

Items	User & Purchaser
Interview Object	Lisa & Amy Creativity Workshop
Name	Ms. Li
E-MAIL	Lisa168168@seed.net.tw
Date of Interview	2011.03.1 Mar. 1^st, 2011
Content of Interview
Ms. Li, with 20 years experience of flower arrangement, informs us that anthuriums are suitable for cut flowers, bonsais, garden open field cultivation, and flower beds, meaning their use is very wide. The use includes occasions of weddings funerals and arrangements of homes and stores. Also, their viewing period is longer than that of roses. Besides, they are lovable because their pronunciation in Taiwanese is “make it good.” Thus, they are a favorite in large venue arrangements, graduation ceremonies, and gift-giving, gradually replacing roses. While white anthuriums have the tendency of replacing Mid-century lilies in memorial arrangements. Ms. Further says that owing to the high wholesale prices of anthuriums, it is not easy to promote their use in ordinary households. At the present, our store targets our business on wedding market. Finally, she personally demonstrates packing design a bunch of anthuriums, which is given to us as a gift.