UTAR participates in Summer Global Programme

The Faculty of Business Administration of Soka University hosted the “Summer Global Programme” virtually from 10 to 13 August 2021. The theme of the event was ‘Japan in Global Business: Humanism/SDGs, Soft Power & Post-COVID19 Leadership’. A total of twelve participants from UTAR participated in this summer programme. The programme also saw the participation of other universities, namely The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), National Economics University (NEU), Singapore Institute of Management (SIM), Soka University (SU), University of Malaya (UMal) and University of Macau (UMAC).

The aim of the programme was to understand the “Humanistic Leadership Post-Covid-19, under VUCA: Buddhist’s Perspectives”. The programmes were divided into few sessions each day.

From left: Matsumoto and Dr Pingping FU

Soka University academic Yoshiko Matsumoto from the Faculty of Business Administration started the programme on the first day with an ice-breaking session and a welcome speech. It was followed by cultural exchange activities and a talk on Humanistic Leadership Post-Covid-19, under VUCA: Buddhist’s Perspectives. The talk was conducted by Dr Hirohisa Shimura, a professor at Soka University and Dr David Marutschke, an associate professor at Osaka University of Economics.

According to the speakers, today’s rapidly evolving businesses operate in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) world, and the Covid-19 pandemic has certainly contributed further to this situation. In the VUCA world, even at the time of crisis, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, a series of updates is mandatory in the organisational system of a company. Defining VUCA 2.0, they explained that it stood for vision, understanding, courage and adaptability. Towards the end of the session, a group discussion was held whereby participants were divided into a few groups.

The topic “Humanistic Management and Leadership” was covered on the second day. Professor of Organisational Behaviour Dr Pingping Fu from the Nottingham University Business School China (NUBS China) spoke about Humanistic leadership in the Confucian context, the essence of Confucianism and humanism in China. She shared the importance of executing challenges from the humanistic point of view or with moral and ethical restraints. The session ended with a group discussion. Subsequently, Dr Naoki Kuriyama, (Session Coordinator) the dean of the Faculty of Business administration of Soka University, spoke about Matsushita Leadership / Responsible Leadership. The last session for the day was on SDGs and Humanistic Management. It was conducted by Dr Ernst von Kimakowitz, the founding director of the Humanistic Management Center and co-founder of the Humanistic Management Network.

The topic covered on the third day was “Multidisciplinary Approach and Collaborative Group Work”. A total of three sessions were held and each session featured a different talk. The titles of the talks were “SDG Innovation: Japan’s KBEs (knowledge-based enterprises) & Creative Industries in Global Business”, “The Case Study of ACG (Anime, Comic and Games) Industries” and “The Future of Japanese Soft Power Leadership: Integration of Leadership and Management”. These sessions were conducted by Dr Tai Wei Lim, an associate professor at the Soka University of Japan.

“We need to restore and revive our humanity. We must create a society where people can live with dignity; a society where people can live in peace and happiness. People are tired of playing games for power and profit. People are tired of hatred and conflict. They want to live with confidence and in peace,” Dr Lim. The last session for the day was titled “Preparation for Presentations”. It was conducted by Dr Michiko Izumitani, an associate professor at Soka University.

From left: Dr Lim and Dr Naoki Kuriyama

On the last day, the session focused on collaborative group works and presentations. Moreover, the participants also had a discussion with Prof Shimura and Prof Marutschke. They spoke about Humanistic Management and Marketing Post-Covid-19.

 In general, the topics and lectures shared by the respective lecturers were interactive and insightful. Since different people think differently, the participants were also able to exchange knowledge as they discussed among themselves.

Group photo with the speakers and participants

This Summer Global Programme is associated with SDG GOAL 3: Good Health and Well-being, GOAL 4: Quality Education, GOAL 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities, GOAL 12: Responsible Consumption and Production and GOAL 17: Partnerships to achieve the Goal.